There is a treasure hidden and you have it. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look and what you’re looking for. Unlike the treasure chest, hidden treasure is, by its very nature not obvious to most people.
A favorite quote of mine goes like this.
Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. William Feather
To put it another way, work with what you already have and don’t be distracted by people around you abandoning what already works for the next “big thing”.
Knowing something is not enough most of the time. You have to apply that knowledge in the form of action. So where William Feather says “hang on” he’s talking about persisting with what we have rather than hopping from idea to idea without sticking around long enough to give the first idea a chance to work.
The hidden treasure is based on what you already know and how you do things now. Consider this slightly humorous look at how medicine has change over the last few thousand years.
A Short History of Medicine
“Doctor, I have an ear ache.”
2000 B.C. – “Here, eat this root.”
1000 B.C. – “That root is heathen, say this prayer.”
1850 A.D. – “That prayer is superstition, drink this potion.”
1940 A.D. – “That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill.”
1985 A.D. – “That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic.”
2010 A.D. – “That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root!”
In a way that is what I have witnessed over the last five years in blogging, internet marketing and associated online activities. Whether it is related to link building, PLR, affiliate sales, traffic, email list, article writing, coaching and so on, there seems to be a hot topic that gets hammered for a while and then it goes cold as the next one comes to the boil.
You will have seen bloggers collaborate and launch each others products and services. There will be hype around a pre-launch, then the launch and then … nothing. That’s because most new things are not really that new. This month’s potion is next month’s pill. Then a little while after that you’ll be sold antibiotics.
There are genuine products that do amazing things like saving you time, automating a process or making your life easier, but that’s not the case with every product. Consider for a moment the last product you bought.
- Where is it now?
- What have you done with it?
- Has it been integrated into your blog/business?
- Is it now making you money?
- Is it taking you closer to your business goals?
In many cases where the potion is being promoted over the prayer (refer to the history of medicine above) there will be affiliate links scattered throughout the story that lead you to this latest product or service that you “absolutely must have” to be a “with-it” blogger.
So what? you ask. There is nothing wrong with a little variety! There is if it comes at the expense of your sanity and credit card. A quote might help illustrate this point a little better.
As every divided kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself. Leonardo Da Vinci
The last part of the quote “…every mind divided …” translates to “… a blogger divided between last month’s product and the latest offering will be confused and operating at less than peak efficiency”.
My tip for you is simple.
Take hold of the treasure you already have – your knowledge and processes – the products you’ve already bought, and the relationships you’ve built, and put them to use. Seriously. Don’t play around the edges, dive right in and apply everything you currently know. Draw up a plan and stick to it. Avoid buying something new until you’ve exhausted most of what you already know and have tried everything you’ve bought in the last five years, or however long you’ve been at it.
Do read news in your area of specialisation, stay informed of developments in software, hardware and technology that can assist your business, but do not be tempted to purchase every new thing that hits the market. What you’re doing now will probably not be effective in 4000 years time like the medicinal root but I’d give most things between 1 and 5 years before going looking for an upgrade.
Knowing this, what’s the one thing you are going to act on today based on discovering and using your hidden treasure?
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Great post today Michael. Your brief history of medicine had me smiling because it’s so true.
Hi Joe. When I first saw that so-called history of medicine I knew it had a place in a story somewhere. It was just a matter of waiting until the story idea developed around it. Does the dental technology world have parallels?
Twitter: adorerealty
says:
You can spend more time with the learning curve that it takes to become leveraged or effective with technology. If you are always upgrading your gadgets time will be lost just in the learning curve and the set you required to use the tool.
So true David. I’m experiencing that at my day job right now. Every couple of weeks a new process or task is added to our regular list of duties. We have hardly had the time to settle in the last new thing then along comes something else that needs us to get our heads around. I am spending a lot of time juggling the introduction of so many new ideas that the core business is taking a back seat.
Twitter: chrissybiz
says:
I love this blog!! Seriously, you always deal with relevant topics in a positive manner. Your tone is gentle and teacher-like and the content is easy to understand and “swallow.”
Not only do I wholeheartedly agree with you — this is something I have had to seriously address with business partners and others who want to “help” my business. Relevant and thought-provoking post I will be RTing.
Chrissy
How Chrissy, you made my day
I thought I was a little harsh at times so it is good to hear otherwise.
Thanks for the RT.
Michael
Twitter: vinayagaonline
says:
I agree with Joe, Michael
Really a nice post. Many failure occurs when people never push hard on what their doing and never realize their own strength. They easily accept the failure and hop on other opportunity.Start allover again the same process…
Rammesh Perumal´s last post..Amazon Associate Pt 5 – Effective Marketing Strategies
It surely is important to never, never, never give up. I like to use failure as a guide to how to do something different next time, not as a prompting to go buy another product or service.
Twitter: eugenefarber
says:
Your history of medicine is priceless! And I have witnessed the same thing as you have. Everyone jumps on bandwagons. But there is no single solution to all of your internet marketing problems. You have to create a plan that is well rounded and effective. Don’t buy into the hype.
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Hi Eugene, it’s the same in education where I spend a bit of my time. The wheels on the “insert name of system” go round and round – meaning that the same old stuff continues to surface but often with a different name or dressed up to look like something completely new. Hype is what helps sales people reach their monthly targets but it most often is of no use to bloggers who are honestly giving their best trying to make a mark on their corner of the net.
Twitter: stevenpapas
says:
I think the reason why many people change from method to method and from a hot product to the next hot product is that they are not persistent enough or hard workers to see vivid results. They get tired too fast and get fooled by the next guru who will urge them to try another great product. What many new bloggers don’t understand is that online business is very demanding just like any other offline business. If we hop from plan to plan we will never come up with any result. Thanks Michael for the interesting article and for the funny history lesson; so true!
steven papas@VeryBestSoftware´s last post..World Of Warcraft Burning Crusade Collector’s Edition Review
It is perhaps more demanding than an offline business. With a shop or other street-front business you’re dealing with real products and real customers and selling/mailing packages out to them. With an online business it’s all done with IP packets zipping around at the speed of light (almost) with little tangible evidence that anything is going on. It is easy to slip into a state of thinking that it will all happen quickly and with little effort just because of the absence of physical infrastructure and live customers coming through the door.
Twitter: stevenpapas
says:
Great points, Michael! It’s wrong to jump from method to method without sticking on one which is a tested one and working hard to see results. What new bloggers think, is that online entrepreneurship has easy money and they get devastated when something doesn’t seem to work overnight. I agree with yout tip about drawing a plan, sticking to it and exhausting our current strategy.
stevenpapas@VeryBestSoftware´s last post..World Of Warcraft Burning Crusade Collector’s Edition Review
It’s a strategy that many of the world’s most successful businesses have proven to be reliable. McDonalds don’t bring out a new burger every week because they know that frequent change is often accompanied by significant risk of failure. If bloggers – in fact, anyone involved in Internet Marketing – change their tactics regularly it is likely that they will not be around after 12 months or if they are it will only be that their determination to persevere outweighs they need to eat. For most however, at some time during the 12 months one or more of the risks will have materialised leaving the person bewildered and wondering what on earth went on. Decide on a path and stick to it I say.
Hey Michael,
How’s it going? Hope all is good. What a powerful message in this post simply put, stop buying and start doing.
A lot of people get caught up in buying the next product that will bring success. Success comes from the treasure you have within.
It makes it so much easier if you start doing with what you already know. Thanks for these good words Michael, very motivational and inspiring.
Terry Conti
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It’s going okay thanks Terry. I am looking for ways to spend more quality time on the most productive parts of my online activities as some of my plans are taking longer to come to fruition. I think I need to develop some patience as well
One thing I have done is stop buying products and concentrate on the things I already do – sort of like taking my own advice LOL.
Thanks for the tweet. Michael
Twitter: barry_wells
says:
Hi Michael, great post and the message is easy to take in. I liked the comparison to the medical history, it kind of drives home the message; as well as making me chuckle.
I see so many people buying the new shiney things, one after the other, in the hope of making a living online and then they end up with nothing but info overload, frustration and an empty pocket.
An online friend of mine, that was fairly new to this, done exactly that and has just wrapped it all up. He is now focusing on an off line career, which is a real shame as he tried the off line work before coming online.
I noticed this fella from the start and would always pay his blog a visit and offer words of encouragement, he was doing really well until he started buying product after product, chasing the money.
He bought from me a couple of times and i was waiting to see what he done with the purchased items, alas that never came. Truth be told he probably didn’t finish one of them completely, shame really, like i said Michael, he was doing well.
I really Hope that people take notice of this blog post as it could really make a difference to their business, their pocket and more often than not their stress levels.
As always Michael,
Respect and Regards, Barry
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Hi Barry, it’s good to see you out and about again. It’s not only a problem with people online. I meet people every now and then who are not realising their own potential but are willing to just drift through life with so much of their lives untapped and unexplored. I just tweeted it again to my list. It is not unique advice but it is solid. Thanks for dropping in and adding to the conversation. Michael
Hey Michael,
Really nice post.I like your tip of first exhausting the what we already have.Knowledge of anything is useless if it is not applied anywhere.
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For sure. Action leads to progress. Knowledge without action = stagnation. Thanks for commenting.
Excellent post, I always find it funny to have my parents say “If you only talk and no action, nothing will ever happen!” ..
They always say “Talk only, no action”! So, I always remember to DO IT! That is the only way to make anything happen. Knowledge is there but you don’t know how to apply it. It’s a waste …
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Twitter: simply1software
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I like this idea Michael. Sometimes when we follow too many paths we end up doing nothing at all. We must follow something and stick to it. Thanks for the inspiration!
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LOL yeah! I have had to take my own advice recently as I had been trying to do too much in a day and was getting less and less done.
Twitter: coreyrab
says:
I agree with you. Some times basic knowledge to you is truly insightful knowledge to someone else. Stick with your core competencies and you should be great!
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Yeah, and your passion will shine through also
Thanks for Your brief history of medicine.It’s very true.Hope to see more interesting post like that
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They’re coming ….
Hello Michael, you are such a good writer.. Your blog is easy to understand. I love your style… Thank you for sharing this interesting topic.
Thanks for your kind words.
Twitter: homeSTRONGcoach
says:
Excellent article. And that history of medicine was spot on.
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