One unsexy secret to success…

Have you ever seen a forum post that looks like any of these?

“I have been trying to make money for 1 month with zero results. I give up!”

“I wrote three articles and got zero traffic. I’m throwing in the towel.”

“Yeah, I know I should be working on my business but I do it once a week, cuz I don’t have the time”

People are so brainwashed by the “microwave culture.” Pop a ready-made meal in the microwave and 1 minute later – voial : you have atasty meal.

Those who are “in the know”, understand that the secrets to success are much simpler (and they aren’t really “secrets”, as they have been known for ages).

One of the most “unsexy” one is “consistency.”

Here are a few quotes on consistency that I like:

“You are either consistent or non-existent”

“little drops make a mighty ocean”

Doing the small unglamorous stuff consistently is what builds critical mass.

You can write 3 blog posts a week and maybe nobody will notice. But Build a blog with 150 quality posts in a year and I can guarantee you that many people will pay attention. That’s because most people are NOT consistent and they value this trait in others.

Same with creating a product. One product in a month may go unnoticed. But, if in 1 year you have a curriculum of 12 quality products, you will eb a force to be reckoned with.

The secret is to make each one of your little consistent actions be connected to the previous and the next. Have a masterplan and don’t jumb from opportunity to opportunity.

Decide on what is important in your business and focus on it, even if it doesn’t sound “cool.”

Get on your path.

Learn as you go.

Tweak as necessary and improve your systems.

Never stop.

“Keep walking.”

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Get rich quick, or slow?

Previous generations used to believe more in “get rich slow”:

- go to school
- go to college
- find a job
- work for 35 years
- retire and get a golden watch

Today, it seems we like things a little faster:

- forget about education
- find an opportunity
- ride the opportunity
- retire rich in 5 years
- move to the Bahamas

In my opinion, both of these plans are flawed – and here’s why:

- By “getting rich slow”, you actually give away your most precious gift – YOUR LIFE (and time).

Plus, today’s world changes so fats that jobs become redundant and replaced by other systems super fast. Not a good deal.

- By trying to “get rich quick”, many people forget that this will not happen by accident – unless they win the lottery.

Education is STILL necessary – even though this may not be so much the “formal” education – but rather “street smarts.”

Even though it LOOKS as if someone “got rich quickly”, the truth is that they probably spent YEARS working on themselves before that.

Nights locked up in their rooms, working on “stuff” while their friends where partying…

Reading books, while their friends were reading gossip magazines…

Working on themselves and their beliefs, while their friends where thinking “I’m ok as I am.”

I think that today there’s more opportunity around us than ever.

And yes, we can do well for ourselves much faster than our parents did.

But we still need to sharpen our axe – in order for us to be able to “cut more and bigger trees.”

The internet is a huge opportunity.

Don’t let it slip through your fingers, by being apathetic…

Keep in touch,

George

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What to do, when you think that your writing stinks…

Do you ever feel that your writing stinks?

I know I used to feel this way very often (still do now and then).

It’s easy to get “scared” by the “big bad internetz.”

After all, others are way more experienced in writing, they have uni degrees, and they always come up with great ideas – right?

This dragon just looks way too big to slay – eh?

Here are some tips to get you going:

- First of all, lower your standards. As Guy Kawasaki says “don’t worry – be crappy.”

You don’t need to write Shakespeare. Simpler is better. Easier for people to understand too.

Yes, writing great content is a traffic magnet – but you need to start somewhere. Ever heard the phrase “every master was once a disaster”?

Gold.

- Second: You don’t need to write a novel. Start with just 100 words if you have to. 2-3 paragraphs. Share one tip or idea. That’s better than nothing.

- Third: Realize that we tend to be “drama queens.” Our brain doesn’t want us to do anything “silly.” So, every little fear gets magnified by a factor of 10.

What if my writing ain’t a perfect 10 and some people will make fun of me? What if they ostracize me from the community and never accept to do business with me again? What if my mom finds out?”

Take a chill pill, ok? Nobody is out to get you.

- Fourth and final point: Even if people won’t like what you produce initially, they will give you feedback, so you can do better next time.

Negative comments destroy some people. But you can always turn a negative into a positive and just see it as an opportunity to improve.

Basically, people will tell you what you need to do in order to become more successful. I’ll take that deal all day long.

Now, go get ‘em tiger ;-)

George

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A nutcase with bad driving habits…

Quick joke:

- – - -
Dude is driving in his car on the highway.

Suddenly, he hears on the radio: “ATTENTION – there’s a nutcase who is driving in the opposite direction!”

Dude thinks: “Ha! – there ain’t just one looney driving in the wrong direction here – I can see hundreds of them!”
- – - -

I used to “be that guy.”

Not literally, but figuratively.

I thought I was doing the right things, but I wasn’t seeing the results I felt I deserved.

Heck, sometimes it felt like I was going backwards.

For example, a product I would create or an affiliate product I would promote would not sell well at all.

What I didn’t realize is this:

It doesn’t matter how WE see a product – all it matters is how the CUSTOMER sees it.

We often think that, if we see something a certain way, EVERYONE else should see it the same way. Right?

Right. (/sarcasm)

I would feel disappointed, frustrated (and a little angry) , when others would see things differently.

It drove me nuts for years (not just in business, but life in general).

It took me years to “snap out of it.”

So, what should you do?

You need to be able to see everything through the customer’s eyes.

Research the habits of your customers online. Read their forum posts, blog comments etc.

Then, just ACCEPT that this is how they are.

Don’t judge it. Don’t hope it was differently. Just accept it.

Then, create products (or promote affiliate products) that THOSE people would find valuable.

As Sun Tzu had said in “The Art of War”:

“If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles”

George over and out.

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Duplicate content what?

If you have been involved with search engine optimization, you may have also heard about about the “duplicate content penalty.”

People think that, unless they have unique content on their blogs, they will never receive any traffic or that the search engines will squash them with the almighty ban-hammer…

Now, don’t get me wrong – I love unique and engaging content as much as the next guy…

…but how do you explain the fact that many blogs that just aggregate content from other sources rank high on a certain search engine (starts with G and ends with oogle)?

I have written a short report on the subject.

It’s called:

The Duplicate Content Paradox:

“The 1 dirty little secret they don’t want you to know about getting more traffic and offering more value with duplicate, automated content…”

You can download it from here:
http://georgekatsoudas.com/duplicate-content-paradox.zip

Download it and read it.

And let me know what you think (even if you disagree with it)

Take care,

George

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