What does the
internet owe me for all
my hard work? What am I
entitled to in return
for the money I spend
advertising my business
every month? What, in
the grand scheme of
things, do I rightly
deserve for giving 100%
of myself to the success
of my networking
ventures? Not a single
thing.
Don't misunderstand
me here. The question is
not "What would I like
to see in the way of
profits from my
efforts?" Clearly, I
hope and work for the
best possible results.
However, my
projections and
anticipations are an
entirely seperate issue
for the moment. The
matter at hand is the
ideal the we deserve
success because, after
all, the internet
"levels the playing
field".
I read a lot of forum
posts made by people who
"just don't know what to
do" or "are almost out
of money (sob)". I can
almost hear the whine in
their voice as I read
their little pity rant.
I'm sorry to see
people struggling with
money issues, and I know
it can be very
frustrating to work so
hard at a venture and
make zilch after months
of perseverance. I've
been there before, and
I'll probably be there
again because that's
life for everyone but
the Rockefellars.
Business is risk, and
there is no guarantee. I
chose to write about
this because it's
something I need to
continually remind
myself of.
This past week, I was
throwing my own pity
party, and I invited a
friend via IM. After a
brief exchange of "How's
it going?" type stuff, I
let fly with the moaning
and groaning.
"I don't understand
it. I'm spending hours a
day on this thing, and
I've dumped $400 into
advertising within the
last four weeks. Why am
I not seeing the results
I want?"
The victim of my
energy sapping whimper
fest casually told me he
had spent $6,000 on one
of his ventures in 2004,
and that things were
starting to go pretty
well for that project.
There was a brief pause
in the conversation as I
realized I was being
cordially told to quit
with the whining.
It was a nice reality
check for me. What had I
been thinking? Did I
honestly expect to make
a fortune in a month's
time just because I had
been working really hard
and spending a decent
amount of money on
advertising?
After all, my online
business is a long term
commitment. Sometimes
it's easy to get caught
up in the excitement of
a new endeavor. A
tremendous amount of
hard work and the wise
use of one's resources
will usually pay off,
but it may take a while
for this to manifest.
To borrow a few of
the words used by Clint
Eastwood in his film
Unforgiven: "Deserve's
got nothin' to do with
it..."
