Do you take action? I have been blown away by the number of people I have seen that have invested good money on a class, webinar or seminar and did not attend, or fully take advantage of the investment. As I thought about it I realized that it probably happens in other areas of their lives too – gym memberships unused, books never read, technology and tools never fully utilized. Is it possible that these people are attracted to something, but not acting on what that thing is? Are they wanting a certain lifestyle and not doing the work it takes to make it happen?
I once did a video about anything worth having is worth working on. Nobody said it was easy. But so many seem to fall for “the quick fix” the “simple plan”. What they forget is that the fix and the plan require you work on them. The funny thing for me is these are often people that are claiming they are broke- but there goes another $197 on a webinar!
I can’t make you put in the work, actually no one can- but you.
I bet there is one thing you should probably go back and work on huh?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
This topic fascinates me, Ann. I have a few people in my life whose common complaint is “we’re broke.” Really? Then why did you just buy that MASSIVE brand new tv when the old one worked just fine? Why did you buy that new Iphone and yet you are looking for work and your mantra is that you are broke. Amazing. Everything is a choice. You may want to find a job, but putting effort into action to making that happen is a lot more difficult than it is to pull out your credit card and dig your hole a little deeper. I guess it’s like an illness, right?
Debbie — I think we have some of the same friends :-/
Like Louise, I’ve been guilty of the gym membership. Even now I have a month-to-month one so I can attend my favorite zumba classes, but due to the over-crowding and needing to get there over an hour early to secure a spot, I rarely go any more. I can only ask my three year old to tolerate their horrible childcare and the bully children for so long.
Ann, I think you bring up a great point. There are people who hope the training comes with a magic work fairy that will get it all done for them. But I think there are other reasons such as fear or lack of confidence that cause people to sign up as well as cause them to not take full advantage of what they learned. The new knowledge may require them to make changes or face facts about themselves that they are not yet ready to handle. They may not believe they are ready to take those next steps. Or, maybe they are doing as much as they can with what they have and while any of us can think they could do better or do more, they are already doing their best or the most they can at the given time.
I am guilty in the area of gym memberships in the past – I have learned that lesson and only join places that have a month by month membership – and have the odd unread book on my bedside table but I will get to them. But courses and classes? I don’t get it! If I pay for a course or class I like to throw myself into it and try to get the most out of it. All growth takes work and, luckily, I’m a hard worker. I guess if I signed up for a class and found it wasn’t what I expected I could understand but I like to get what I pay for generally and will persevere. Saying that – there are bits of Blogpost engineering I still need to work on lol
Louise Edington
Fearless For Freedom
http://louiseedington.com
This is a very popular “talk” topic when I work on finding speakers for my clients. It’s very motivational to hear someone say the words that you are afraid to say to yourself. We almost need “permission,” to go back and use the tools and materials that we have collected to prolong the actual step of taking action. It may be our first action step!
Ummmmmmmm …. was this written directly to me????? 😉 I’m sure a lot of people are thinking that same thing.
Have done this with Gym membership in the past for sure. Have not missed a paid webinar or class … that I can remember. Reading this and a blog earlier today about the fact that lack of time is really about the choices you make with your time … is bringing up not one but oh about 15 things that come to immediate mind that I need to work on!
Thanks for the “check”
Yvonne Hall
http://www.yvonneelmhall.wordpress.com
Yes and yes. Reality is that just because you bought the book or signed up for the class doesn’t mean your going to gain from it…its not osmosis! I had that gym membership or 2 when I was younger…oh, there are other things I am sure. I’d like to think I’ve grown wiser with age…haven’t paid for a class or webinar that I blew off…that I remember. I am guilty of unread books, that I am working on! Graduating SNCC is something I am determined to do…working on it daily! And, video, video, video…..need to make more of them:) They are fun when I talk about things that move me….like bad haircuts and signing up to be a fosterparent! Your post is a reminder that you can’t just talk the talk and expect results…and only you can walk the walk…for yourself! Action, being proactive, staying on track, making it a priority, and having focus is paramount to reaching your goals….or you risk staying right where you were before you hit “buy”.
Thanks,
Rita Brennan Freay
ritabrennanfreay.com
In the past I did this with a gym membership, so when I joined a gym 2-1/2 years ago, I felt like I had to “do it differently” and not just have one more burnout. I made a different kind of commitment, and I’m still keeping it. I often use that experience to remind myself of what it looks like to carry through with a plan. I’ve previously bought some courses, etc., related to social media and entrepreneurship, and my commitment wavered. When I bought a Lifetime Membership in SNCC, I was determined (like with the gym) to follow through. Although I’ve moved slowly, I’ve not abandoned the process. I find that we get extra benefit from whatever we do by sticking with the commitment–I know I learn about myself, see the points of hesitation, draw upon the part of me that will move me through the rough patches. I end up with double the motivation, the benefits of what I’ve learned, and a sense of personal power. All good things!
Judy Stone-Goldman
The Reflective Writer
“My cat owns me, my clutter stymies me, my writing frees
me. Word maven loves—and learns from—ordinary life.”
http://www.thereflectivewriter.com/blog/
Anything I pay money for is usually motivation to make that investment pay off; but then again, there have been times when I found myself feeling demotivated or with a loss of energy to complete something…I always do finish, just with some breaks along the way! I know I have slowed down with my SNCC course, but am getting back up to speed and becoming re-energized now that some other parts of my life are beginning to shape up. I agree that there are many people who want the quick fix (isn’t it nice when you don’t have to wait??), and unfortunately I think it is something that our society today seems to encourage — get rich quick, get thinner quick, find your true love quick, etc. — so many voices out there enticing people to do things the easy way. I think that it is so important for those of us who have kids to teach them that nothing worth having comes easily and that hard work pays off both monetarily and personally. This is a great post to get us thinking about what we believe about reaching our goals and achieving our dreams… are we willing to pay our dues?
I’ve noticed this too–the tendency to leap toward something that is going to “work” without fully realizing that means “working it” yourself. This isn’t my tendency because I really dislike “wasting money,” but what I do recognize in myself is the “choicepoint” I come to in these enterprises where I must consciously make a decision to invest more than I’d imagined it would take–whether in time, discipline,patience or trust in myself. It’s one of the ways I’ve learned to stretch my capcity for growth.
I actually found this very motivating when I started attending workshops – there’s no way I was going to spend the money and then not put it into action! Of course, it was a much bigger investment…I didn’t want to look back 6 months later and say, “Remember when I spent all that money on those courses…” I wanted to be able to say “My life is different” so I decided to actually DO what I was taught and that has make all the difference! 😉
Brandy
I am guilty of that for sure. For me, it is about over-committing, it sounds so good at the time and I don’t stop and think, ask myself, “Is this something I really want? Is it something I will actually do? Will I be willing to invest the time in?” I did it recently and my intuition told me that I shouldn’t and I didn’t listen. An expensive listen. Maybe I will be better at listening to my intuition and so make the expense a little less expensive. I will have at least learned from it!
Susan Berland
A Picture’s Worth
http://www.susan-berland.com
I was wasting money on my networking gals who sell “preferred” memberships to auto-order products that I don’t need. Every month I would cringe when something else was delivered. The shipments would keep coming and coming every month and the product(s) in my case would just sit there. I finally looked at my credit card bill added up over $100/month I was paying for no good reason other than to help their business. So, I cancelled everything and called each person and was honest – I wanted to support them but I wasn’t using the product enough to justify buying it. And, more importantly, I was not a raving fan, but a mad fan! So, I told myself – never again will I get sucked into doing that. If I like the product I will buy it once, and just reorder if I truly need it, not a monthly thing!
Laurie Hurley
Educating, Not Enabling
http://www.LaurieHurleyOnline.com
Ann – thank you for the inspiration! I do have 1 or 2 books sitting there waiting for me to read and I am going to crack them open now! Sometimes…we need a quick hit in the butt to get going! Otherwise, we will probably never do it.
I think some people like the IDEA of a certain something or lifestyle but do not understand the work behind it…..they think everything will just “happen” for them. Rachel
I never lie (unless it’s a white lie about something that will be revealed – like a surprise party) so I won’t lie here. I’ve been guilty of this at times. I definitely have a book-buying problem – books are our friends and you can never have too many. As for paid trainings/webinars/seminars – isn’t the marketing of the event supposed to be attractive? I won’t go so far as to say some are misrepresented, but I have had the experience that it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I know several “training junkies” – they are always going to yet another training or reading another book, and I have wondered if “self-improvement” was becoming the action for inaction. As for me, I need to get back to SNCC training…
You raise a great point, that seems to touch everyone’s “hot button”. Holy smokes! We ALL sign up for more than we can handle. Are we all lazy morons or feckless dreamers? I hope not. But we all are BUSY people, and ambitious, too. In my case, I deliberately overload my schedule, so I’ll always have the option of choosing to work on whatever is most worthwhile at the time. Sometimes it’s taking time to exercise, sometimes it’s using that time instead to make an important phone call, review an article, attend a webinar, write a letter, talk with my wife, or entertain at a wedding.
I have the discipline to always choose to work on SOMETHING. I guess the point of your article is to highlight that everything worthwhile requires the discipline to WORK AT IT. I agree completely, but I feel that whatever makes something (like a webinar or a training program, for example) worthwhile may or may not reflect the amount of money you paid to sign up. And about those people who sign up for things but don’t choose to work on anything at all, I’m just baffled.
I have definitely been guilty of this! I’ve taken the classes but not followed through on the action steps. There is a reason those of us who need classes like this, need classes like this. I appreciate your no-nonsense style and call to action!
Well the gym’s different right! I’ve joined with all the right intentions but then just did not ‘get’ all the other gym-ers…it just was not in the right place for me.
In the same way I have done ‘diets’ that just don’t work either :))But have done quite a number of courses – even BA/MA courses which take a number of years to dust-off and I have been committed. I guess it’s a matter of ‘wanting’ to reach that goal you have set yourself rather than just ‘liking’ to reach that goal.
Yes, you are right Ann. Many times I was involved in that kind of actions. Wow, You are talking about me Ann. Indeed, I’m novice in many topics about Network Marketing Business, and in that way, I made many mistakes and no good decisions. This your video- “Anything Worth Having is Worth Working On”, indeed, shifted my model for acquiring knowledge. Thanks a bundle.
Thanks Benjamin! Glad it was helpful!