How to Beat Perfectionism and Procrastination

Posted on May 16, 2012 by lesa

9am.

That’s my favorite time of day.

At that point, I’m just returning home from the gym and about to kickback with some breakfast and some Facebook action.

But not “random scrolling around and stalking people” Facebook action…that’s a waste of time.

Instead, I do rapid-fire QnA sessions on the Early to Rise Facebook page.

Each day our thousands of readers post their business, time management, and motivation questions for me. It’s really cool, because I learn a LOT about the obstacles people have to overcome to succeed.

Check out this recent session…

Q: hi craig! how do you personally keep track of all your daily goals and your weekly schedule? do you prefer pen and or prefer pen and paper, white boards etc, or do you prefer electronically (eg google calendar).

Which methods work best for you with personal productivity?

Answer:
I use a word document. Keep it as simple as possible. Too many people turn planning into procrastination.

Q: Hi Craig. Is it true that you should stick to big markets when building a product/affiliate business (i.e. health, business, dating), or is there room for small niches? I’ve kind of heard both ways, I guess depending on your goals for your business. Thanks.

Answer:
There’s room for everything. If you want to make $10 million a year, obviously you’ll need a larger audience, or a small one with a lot of money. If you want to make $100K per year, you probably only need 1000 customers. What you should really focus on is identifying where you can best provide value to the world and the BIG idea that you can use to  communicate your message. Once you do that, $100K is simple, and $1Million is possible (within a few years).

Q: I am hoping to move my business to online. What sorts of  resources can you suggest for website build and development. I currently have been using E-lance.com. Would you also suggest some school courses in SEO and web design etc, or would you just outsource?

Answer:
Outsource everything. Focus on making sales and get others to do the rest. Elance, Odesk.com, Guru.com, and even some stuff from Fiverr.com will help you get started. We cover a lot of this in Financial Independence Monthly.

Q: What’s a good way for creative types (writers) to clear their head between projects, especially when juggling two or three things per day that require a “clean slate” mind to be mosuot; mind to be most productive?

Answer:
Rituals. For example, when its time to finish working on one project and move to another, do a brain dump (write down everything in your head), then take a 5-10 minute break, and come back to your desk as if you were just starting the day again. Perhaps there is something you could read related to the new topic as soon as you sit down.

Q: What is the best way to deal with the issues of perfectionism and procrastination?

Answer:
The only thing that beats procrastination is action. It’s really that simple. In order to get something done, you must first get started. That’s it. It’s painful and dreadful, but there is no easy-button solution. But those are small issues compared to real problems. You can and will overcome those and they will NOT hold you back from success.

Q: I get overwhelmed by everything I wish to accomplish in a day, and then I am angry and discouraged with myself for not being as productive as I should (and can) be. It’s really, really frustrating. I am capable of so much more than I am accomplishing right now.

Answer:
Start your day by doing 90 minutes of focused work on the ONE major project that will have the greatest impact on your life. Celebrate that success. Listen, you have to stop trying to do a million things and understand that you just can’t go on with that approach. Prioritize and attack your top priorities. Let the minor things slide. Every day try to get better and better at this approach. You MUST move towards prioritization. We all must. We are all running out of time to make an impact. Focus, focus, focus.

Q: I’m looking for perfection with the stuff that I do, and that paralyzes the starting process. Any advice to get over the fact that starting something  won’t be perfect?

NOTHING is perfect. God created the world and look at all the problems down here. You’re not going to do better. The sooner you get over it, the better. Sorry if you find this harsh, but you need to let it go. You will never, ever, ever, ever, ever get to where you want to go if you demand perfection.  Just get out there and get something done and make it better as you go along.

Hope that helps.

Join me on my next session (right now) on Facebook here.

Looking forward to your questions,

Craig Ballantyne

Be proud of yourself for taking action, getting out of your comfort zones, and getting closer to the business and life of your dreams. It’s your life and doing the right thing is more important than what other people think or say about you. Stay strong. Get stronger.

 

 

 

Join me on my next session (right now) on Facebook here.

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BlackSmith Liberty and Entrepreneurship Video Application Deadline

Posted on May 14, 2012 by lesa

I admit it. Some days I get a little worried about this “Millenial Generation”.

But then there are the days like this…

My friend, Simon Black, just sent me an email with an update on our summer camp, the BlackSmith Liberty and Entrepreneurship event we hold in Lithuania each summer for aspiring business owners between the ages of 18-25.

Here’s what mystery man Simon said:

“With the camp application deadline looming tomorrow, just a quick update… we have interest thus far from over 50 countries, including some new ones like Afghanistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Israel, South Korea, Venezuela, Albania, Japan, and Macedonia.

“The applications are rolling in, and Viktorija, our conference organizer, tells me that every one of them so far is a strong candidate.”

So listen…if you’re one of the youth of today and you want to blow me away with your ambition, we’d love to see a video application from you.

Submit your video here: camp@sovereignman.com

And learn more about the camp (and see sample videos) here

NOTE – If you’re like me and no longer (chronologically) between the ages of 18-25, please share this with any ambitious youths in your life who fit that age range.

You know, my friend Matt Smith has always said that I’m, “up with people”, because I believe in their potential so much.

And it’s true. I am.

In fact, I believe that Whitney (RIP) said it best:

“I believe the children are our future Teach them well and let them lead the way”

And I’m ‘up’ with the youth of today, and look forward to meeting the biggest and brightest business stars of tomorrow at our camp this summer in Lithuania.

It’s gonna be a helluva time. I might even sing that Whitney song at the evening Karaoke/Hot Tub sessions.

But HURRY…the deadline, my friend, is the end, and that’s at midnight on Tuesday, May 15th.

Submit your video here at camp@sovereignman.com

And learn more about the camp here:

See you at the camp,

Craig Ballantyne

Time to change the world.

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Uncensored Info About Your Enemies

Posted on May 14, 2012 by lesa

What a weekend.

Just had a blast in San Diego with Bedros Keuilian and his fitness info mastermind. Over 35 personal trainers coming together to help each other out, brainstorm, make deals, solve problems, and build lifelong relationships.

What a great group of people.

Here’s Rick Kaselj, Mike Whitfield, Travis Stoetzel, and some fool getting fueled up at Starbucks before our morning meeting (after a late night out in San Diego’s Gaslamp district).
538727 368534946540384 148585445202003 970473 1567649945 n 300x200 Uncensored Info About Your Enemies

 

 

 

 

Even ETR publisher Matt Smith stopped by for a day of hot seats…that dude is wicked smart. The group loved it.

But along the way we discovered a few enemies. They go by the name by the names of ‘procrastination’, ‘complacency’, and ‘resistance’.

They are ugly weasels stealing success from right out under our noses. Happens to all of us.

So we must conquer these demons.

Here’s a note I wrote to three of my publishing partners. I have no doubt you’ll get a lot of what I said to them. This is completely uncensored info…no holding back.

First, I praise them for their success in a recent promotion, and then we get crack the whip to help them identify the obstacles in their way of success.

These words will help you whip those weasels.

***********
Dear Team,

Congratulations to everyone on their performance with Joel’s launch. As you can see, it’s not rocket science to make money with Joel’s launches.

Just follow these instructions:

1) Create your own bonus.
2) Copy and paste Joel’s emails.
3) If anything, tweak them to promote your bonus which should tie-in to the product Joel is creating.

It’s no surprise to me that Mike Whitfield had the most affiliate sales because he most closely followed the formula above. This formula was no mystery.

It is not acceptable to be ‘your own worst enemy’ and to be too busy to be prepared for Joel’s launches. He gives ample warning, and you MUST all be on his regular customer email list. If you aren’t, buy something from Joel today.

He hasn’t announced his next launch, but there’s no reason you can’t do better with the next one. All you have to do is follow the formula.

Listen…(insert whip-cracking sound)

If you are struggling with productivity and creativity, I’ve described the solution several times.

Identify your magic time. Foster it and ruthlessly protect it. Create an environment that lends to creativity and productivity.

It’s true that you might only have 90 minutes of pure creative work in you each day, BUT that is more than enough to create all the content you need and more.

You can do more, you can do better. We all can. And without massive sacrifices, too. It just takes better self-knowledge.

Study yourself. Eliminate the weaknesses (time sucks) and focus on your strengths (working during your magic time).

You can do it. I believe in you. That’s why you’re in the position that you’re in. I don’t give these opportunities to just anyone.

Let’s all get more organized. You’ve seen my spreadsheet/calendar. You know how it works. Model it or create your own.

Take an hour this week to fill it in for the next 3 months.

It can change. Spreadsheets aren’t stone.

But it’s better to have something than nothing.

One might even believe that at least having something attracts more things. Action attracts attention. Motion beats meditation.

I encourage you to focus on hard-core customer acquisition for the next three months. The more customers you have, the better you’ll perform in all areas (such as generating affiliate revenue and recurring revenue – when you get to that point).

A business lives and dies on new customer acquisition.

You are doing great with affiliate connections. Keep that up.

But keep looking for new ways to turn prospects into clients.

If you change sales copy, make sure you test it. Do not change anything without testing it.

Listen, at the end of the day, you all know what to do.

There’s no question that not only are you intelligent, but you’re wise in the ways of making money online.

That’s why I pushed you to bump up your goals.

Don’t set artificial limince.

Identify what works.

Implement what works into a system so that you can get more out of what you have.

All the while focusing on new customer acquisition to keep building the back-end of the business.

Those steps mean taking all of this a bit more seriously.

Get more structure into your business and you’ll have more freedom.

More time spent designing systems that work = more results from less work in the future.

More results and less work in the future = more freedom.

That’s the path you want – and need – to be on.

And you can do it.

I know you can.

I believe in you,

Craig Ballantyne

The best way to get started is to get started. Life rewards action…not reaction. Wait for nothing. Attack life. Don’t plan to death or ask for permission…but act now…and apologize later. – Kekich Credo #81

…Don’t wait till New Year’s to change. Don’t wait until tomorrow.  Just do it. It’s less painful to do it than it is to sit around and think about it or feel guilty that you haven’t started yet. Once you get started, things will get done.

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How to Be Different on the Internet

Posted on May 11, 2012 by lesa

Today’s the big day at our Mastermind group. First, we have our Transformation Contest presentations, where one member will be crowned “Champion of Mastermind” and will win their flight and hotel paid for at the next meeting (September in Vegas).

Plus, we have Matt Smith on hand to do several life-changing hot seats this afternoon.

And then Bedros and I will be teaching our latest “what works” findings from our businesses. My session is on “Politically Incorrect XXX Customer Acquisition“.

Legendary day coming up for legendary people.

All the folks in the Mastermind Group are stand-outs. They do things differently from folks who struggle.

They take action rather than procrastinate, they test the market rather than getting hung up on perfing hung up on perfectionism.

They are pioneers, smart risk-takers, and focused creators.

It’s incredibly energizing to be around a great group of producers…these are the people needed more than ever in the world today. We need more folks, like you, to follow their lead and share their talents and wisdom with the world.

You must stand out to succeed, and that’s what this QnA is about today.

Q from me: Are you having a Mother’s Day promotion?

Answer from you: Probably not.

Reply from me: Well, you should be, if it fits your business.

Here’s a great Mother’s Day promotion by a company, YouBars.com, that understands the benefit of using a holiday as a good reason to have a sale and contact prospects.

youbars 284x300 How to Be Different on the Internet

Every event that is of interest to your audience is an incredible opportunity for you to promote your products to your audience.

I’ve even manufactured events – like Ballantyne’s Day – to use as a good reason to contact my prospects with extra bonuses in a sale for them.

Every day is a great day for selling, but holidays like Mother’s Day makes it even easier for you to stand out, especially when few businesses make the effort to take advantage of the opportunity.

Q: “CBJr., any advice on creating products? I’m always worried my books will look too much like yours! But I suppose they’ll have to in a way. Am I wrong to think that? – From CBSr., one of my best friends in high school who is now building his own online business

Answer: Don’t worry brother, I didn’t invent exercise, nor was I the first to think of selling workouts to the world.

Everyone’s workouts look a little like mine…and like those that came before me.

There are few original ideas in the world, and while there is no excuse for outright copying, all you need to do is bring something unique to the world, and you’re fine.

Focus on finding ONE big reason that makes your products different from all the others in the market.

For example, my friend and Fitness Info Mastermind member, Mike Whitfield, created his WorkoutFinishers.com product with a different angle from all the other fat loss workout
programs on the market.

You need to stand out like that, too.

Your idea might be 7 minute of core training at the start of each training session…or always using 4 exercise circuits, or a specific nutrition routine.

Whatever you choose, make sure you are doing something different.

AND…

Make sure you can back it up with experience, science, and results. That’s > results. That’s how you stand out.

So remember these three rules of being cool:

1) No copying
2) No making stuff up
3) Be different and explain why it matters

That’s all.

Follow-up Q: I was thinking about what you said, and something that I do is “TECHNICAL MUMBO JUMBO” (deleted for all II reader’s sanity). What do you think of that? – CBSr.

Answer: No one, outside of 0.5% of the smartest trainers in the world, knows or cares about the technical mumbo jumbo.

You need to think like your prospect…

What do they want?

Don’t make the mistake of forcing your ideas on them.

Instead, solve their problems.

Sell what they want, and deliver what they need.

Follow-up Q: But isn’t here already a lot of competition out there? – CBSr.

Answer: Of course. There are 7 billion people on the planet…you think you’re the only one with an idea to sell something?

But listen, don’t worry.

Every year new products break into crowded market places because they are based on a big idea, and the message is perfectly matched for the audience.

This isn’t easy, of course, but it IS possible.

It can be done. Many new people do it every year.

You just have to figure out where you can fit in.

Remember my friend, Mike Whitfield? His program can be added on to any existing workout. It’s cool, easy for others to promote, and makes him a few thousand per month.

Here’s another one: Challengeworkouts.com

Shawna shows folks how to fix a common problem – how to do more pushups and pullups.

Again, they are different from everyone else but still serve a crowded mass market.

If you want to breakthrough and stand-out, you need to have an idea like that.

You can do it.

Take your expertise, your passion, and a unique hook, and bring your solution to the world’s problems.

Q: Where does a newbie start?  What would you suggest to read as the first book, or whatever, to get headed in the right direction to make a living on line. – Evelyn

Answer: Hi Evelyn,

If you want to get started making money online, then please read the April issue of Financial Independence Monthly on how to start a website as cheaply as possible.

And then read this article on how to stand out and dominate a marketplace.

Time to stand out and dominate,

Craig Ballantyne

It’s your life and doing the right thing is more important than what other people think or say about you. Stay strong. Get stronger.

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What Really Matters About Selling Online

Posted on May 9, 2012 by lesa

I’m down in beautiful San Diego for 4 days of Masterminding with 35 successful Internet entrepreneurs. It’s going to be an incredible weekend learning from my buddy, Bedros Keuilian.

We even have the legendary Matt Smith stopping by on Friday for some hot seat sessions with lucky group members.

That means I won’t have much time to write…so today we get an excellent guest article from one of our Mastermind members, Robert Phillips.

He explains what you really need to focus on when selling your products online, and how this focus allowed him to not only make his first sale, but a couple thousand bucks when we promoted his product to the ETR readers back in January.

Alright, off to one of the best gyms in America, Fit Athletic, for a pre-Mastermind workout.

Over to Robert…

*****

How I Made My First Sale Online

By Robert Phillips

My first sale online was many years ago…probably around 2004.

It was an information product I sold for $20 or less.  And while I don’t remember specifically what I sold I do remember thinking: “WOW!  I just made money online!  This is fantastic!”

If you can make the first sale online, there’s no reason you can’t make 100 sales or 1,000 sales or more. I can share at least one way to make sales online and maybe more importantly I can tell you what not to do by explaining my past mistakes.

Two major challenges come to mind.

The first is lack of focus. It’s not unusual for entrepreneurial types to get ADD and I’m as guilty as anyone.  The opportunities are so limitless that it can be difficult to focus on one thing.

Before you know it, you’re working in six projects and not completing any of them.  The best option is to focus on one project and get it done before moving on to the next one.

The other challenge is focusing on what’s important.

My friend Bedros Keuilian recently described this as “screams” and “whispers.”  The important things “scream.”  Everything else “whispers.”  Driving traffic to your website and converting those visitors to customers is important.  That “screams.”

Choosing an autoresponder or picking the colors for your website are not nearly as important.  Those activities are “whispers.”  So focus on what is important.

Always remember, the big screams are Traffic and Conversion.

Now I’ll tell what worked for me.

First of all you need a product that solves a problem.

In my case, I got a product idea by solving a problem I had myself.  When I discovered the solution, I knew it could help other people so I created a product to share the solution.

The original problem I had was finding a job at a time when I needed a paycheck almost as much as I needed oxygen.  To make a long story short, I applied everything I had learned about direct response marketing to a job search.

It worked so well that I had 3 job offers in 72 hours.  That’s when I decided to create the product.  Since then I’ve used the same strategies to land my 6-figure dream job – twice.

The first thing I did was outline the product.  I created several modules to be followed in order like a step-by-step process showing exactly what I did and why I did it.

Then I created screen capture videos with Camtasia (I believe the Mac version is Screenflow). It’s pretty simple to use but it costs several hundred dollars.

There is a free alternative at camstudio.org.  I’ve never used it but I hear it works well enough.

I also created some written reports.  The information is roughly the same as in the videos but some people prefer to read while others prefer to watch videos.  This way I had them both covered.

Then I created some fill-in-the-blanks cover letters and a resume that were generic enough anyone could use them.  These became bonuses.  Bonuses are known to improve conversion.

The bonuses also helped with “speed and implementation.”

In other words, I didn’t just provide information and leave it to the customer to apply the information.  I actually did it for them to make it as simple as possible the implement this solution.

People are naturally lazy (myself included) so if you do the work for them, you’ll probably increase conversion.

When I was done creating the content, I put it on a website as a membership site.  The tools I used were WordPress which is free.

Wishlist member which is a WordPress plug-in that helps you create a membership site ($97 for a single-site license).  I also set up an autoresponder with Aweber.

Then I created a video sales letter using Jon Benson’s formula.

He is the king of video sales letters and his 3XFormula.com course is fantastic. When I was done with my video sales letter, I used PowerPoint to create a slide show.  Then I created the actual video with Camtasia.  I used Easy Video Player for my video sales letter.

You can also use Optimize Press.  Either one of these programs allows you to control when the buy button appears (as explained in Jon Benson’s course). Now I just needed some traffic – so Craig graciously offered to promote it to his Early to Rise list.

I wrote an article for him and a follow-up email.  The end result was 25 sales and a few thousands bucks.

The site is far from perfect.  There is a ton of room for improvement but I got it done and made some sales and now I have something I can improve upon.  Just from the exposure in ETR I have had several other affiliates promote the product.

That never would have happened if I had waited until everything was perfect.

My next steps are to drive traffic to the site and improve conversion.  I will test a video sales letter vs a text sales letter.  I will also test the price.

I need to add an upsell and an exit pop-up.  For traffic, I have created a Facebook Fan Page and there are also plenty of job-related sites to buy traffic from like Linked-In, CareerBuilder, and probably hundreds more.

When I get my earnings per click (EPC) up to $1.00 per click, then I will start approaching affiliates and asking them if we can help each other.

It’s not rocket science.  It’s actually pretty simple.

There are a bunch of small hurdles to jump over and small challenges to overcome along the way but nothing anyone serious about making money online can’t easily overcome.

Just set a goal, give yourself a deadline, and don’t let anything stop you.

Robert Phillips

**************
Thanks Robert.

Proud of your success, and looking forward to your updates tomorrow at the Mastermind Meeting in San Diego.

Stay classy Internet Independence,

Craig Ballantyne

Whatever is in your way, you’re stronger than it, you’re tougher than it, and you’re better than it. You’re going to beat it. I believe in you.

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