You Have the Knowledge!
Hey everyone,
Firstly I’d like to apologise for my lack of updates this week. I’ve been unwell with a chest infection so this has held me back somewhat. Unfortunately my momentum has virtually ground to a halt, although I have been trying to drive traffic as much as possible and have been getting involved in forum threads and blog posts when able.
To be honest, I’ve actually found it very difficult to comment on anything these last few days. Apart from being unwell, as I mentioned, the times when I have been able to sit down and do some work I just haven’t found very much that I have been able to comment on. Now, I know that there are some marketers who will ‘fake it’ to a degree by reading up on a given subject in order to be able to comment on it, but I just don’t feel that I can do that. If someone needs helps and I happen to be able to find something to help them that they haven’t been able to find, then that’s one thing. But to give the impression that I have knowledge of a certain subject when all I’ve done is Google the answer 2 minutes before is just not me. I’d rather not comment than give a false impression of being an expert. But I am looking into other ways to drive traffic at the moment so that when I find that there’s a bit of a ‘dry’ period then I can still do some work towards driving that all too valuable traffic.
So on to the subject of today’s post. I recently found myself in a particular situation and I want you to think about whether you have experienced this also at some point. Imagine the scenario: you’re trying to come up with ways to get your online business off the ground and to start making an impact through product creation, e-mail marketing, traffic generation or whatever the particular avenue may be. I’m sure that you know what this is like, right? So what’s one of the most common things to do? Well, if you are totally lacking in a particular skill then it would make sense to obtain a course, perhaps a WSO, that helps you to learn about the given subject. You get to the point where you have a few WSOs under your belt, you’ve tried a few different things online, you’ve been at this for a while and yet you’re still trying to get more info, learn more things. The one day you have a realisation: you’re going through a purchased product, say an ebook, that’s all about something you feel that you need help with. As you’re going through it you find yourself saying, “I know this…”, “I know that…”, “I understand this point….”, “This is something I’m doing already….” and other such things. Yes, you realise that you actually know pretty much everything in the product that you’ve bought that was supposed to teach you something that it turns out you already know!
So what is the point I’m making? Well, how often have you said to yourself or to others, “I don’t know enough”, or “I need to learn how to do such-and-such”? These thoughts end up being obstacles that you feel you want to get over, but at the moment they’re blocking your way. But are they genuine obstacles? If you have no products of your own to give away or to sell, yet you realise that you already know everything that’s in someone else’s product, then what’s stopping you creating a product of your own? Now, of course I’m not suggestion plagiarism, but simply that this shows that, evidently, you actually DO know enough to create your own product! If you and many, many others have bought a highly successful ebook or course on a particular subject, a subject that you realise you know all about, then wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume that there is a market for such information? Therefore, if you have experience with that information then you too could provide information to that market.
What’s Stopping You?
So, what is it that’s stopping you? Likely it is a lack of something, but it’s not a lack of knowledge as you may have first thought. No, it’s more likely to be a lack of CONFIDENCE. “Why would anyone listen to me?” is one of the common objections that people make. Well I ask you: why wouldn’t they? Indeed, why shouldn’t they? If you have more knowledge than they do about a particular subject then, to them, you are an authority. It’s likely that the only person who doesn’t see you as being that authority is yourself. Sure, there are people who know more than you do, but those aren’t your target audience. Your target audience is those who don’t know as much as you do.
Get Going!
So what are you waiting for? There’s always going to be someone who knows less than you do about a particular subject and you could help them, even it’s by means of a free 3-page report. Just take action, and get something going. It doesn’t have to be perfect or a masterpiece, it just needs to fill a need. And just like anything, the more you do it, the better at it you will become and the more confidence you will gain. Just try it! You have nothing to lose by giving it a go. If you don’t do anything then you can be sure of one thing – you won’t see any results. Just have a go – think about something you know about and how you can present this to someone who knows less than you do.
I don’t consider myself an expert in this stuff by any means, but I’ve realised that there’s actually a load of stuff that I do know and that I can put together to help other people, hence why I’m working on my first video course for beginners. Hopefully it will prove useful, popular and will help a lot of people. Maybe it won’t, but I’ll never know unless I try!
Challenge Updates – Day 38
As I said at the beginning, due to my being unwell I lost a lot of my momentum, unfortunately. However I am making sales, getting subscribers and getting traffic, so things are still ticking over. Over the next day or so I’m going to try a couple of experiments with other free traffic methods and see what happens. Additionally I’m considering running a solo ad, so I’ll keep you updated as to how all that turns out.
Overall with the 60 day challenge, what are my thoughts? Well, at this stage, I’m thinking that the target of making $2000 pretty much from scratch might have been a bit ambitious. There’s still just under a month left, so things could yet take off, but $2000 currently seems a long way away, I have to say! If I don’t reach the target, does that mean that the challenge has been a failure? Not at all! Apart from the illness setbacks, it’s kept me consistent, has received attention, has helped to generate sales and subscribers, so the methods have clearly worked. I know that by keeping going with these methods I’ll continue to build upon what I’ve already achieved and to carry on growing. Perhaps it will take a little more time, but I believe that the foundations have been laid and I have certainly been achieving more with the methods I’ve been implementing than I could have thought possible just a few months back.
If you don’t know already, the methods that I have been implementing for my 60-day challenge are based on what is taught in Dean Holland’s excellent course, the Quick Start Challenge. Now, the QSC doesn’t claim to make you $2000 in 60 days, that is just an experiment that a few of us in Dean’s License Rights program decided to undertake. But I can testify to the fact that methods taught in the course are absolutely sound, without a doubt. Before implementing these methods I was receiving zero traffic, zero subscribers, had zero readership and had made no sales. It was only after putting into practice what is taught in the Quick Start Challenge that I began to see results.
If you would like to learn more about this then I highly recommend that you click below to check out a free video:
Thanks so much for dropping by and reading my latest post. Don’t forget to show your loooove by rating, commenting and subscribing! 🙂
Talk soon!
Glenn
Incredible points. Great arguments. Keep up the great spirit.
Hi Callum,
Many thanks. Glad you enjoyed the post.
Kind regards,
Glenn
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…2 Keys to Success
Get going and never stop believing in yourself!
Hi Susie,
Yes, this is essential advice and something that everyone can implement. Thanks for visiting.
Kind regards,
Glenn
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Hi Glenn,
I’m so sorry you’ve been under the weather. I know how it is when you don’t feel good it’s hard to even concentrate and let alone on something you feel you really can’t even respond to. I prefer just not commenting on something if I’m just doing to be nice. I have no business giving anyone advice on something I don’t know that much about.
I know what you mean about knowing more then you thought you did. I’ve actually purchased a few products before and have really been disappointed because I didn’t learn anything new. It was their fault but mine because I guess I didn’t realize just how much I did know.
I think that if someone wants something bad enough they’ll fight through all the things they keep telling themselves. I speak from experience because I use to be that person but here I am. If I can do this then anyone can and that’s the truth.
I hope you get to feeling better soon and don’t beat yourself up over not reaching your goal with this challenge. Things happen and that’s part of life but as long as you’re doing what you can then you’re learning and that’s the lesson you need to take away from this.
Thanks for sharing this with us and good luck to you.
~Adrienne
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Hi Adrienne,
Thanks for your well-wishes. I actually made this post almost 3 months ago, but thanks for your thoughts regardless 🙂
The challenge that many of us in Dean Holland’s iPro program undertook didn’t go quite according to plan, but nevertheless I think that we all found it to be a learning experience and was definitely worthwhile doing. There’s a more recent post that gives a rundown of the results.
I think you’re right about if someone wants something bad enough then they’ll fight through the things they keep telling themselves. I think this also applies to what other people may tell them and the circumstances they find themselves in. I came across an interesting quote last night from the poet William Ernest Henley: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” I think that if we take hold of this thought with both hands and don’t let go then we’ll truly make it.
Thanks so much for your visit and your thoughts, they’re very much appreciated.
Regards,
Glenn
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…$2000 in 60 Days Challenge Results
Hi Glenn,
Great sharing! Thank you.
I agree with you that we all have knowledge that we can share. Often, it is the fear or lack of confidence that are keeping us from the doing. The fear of the unknown mentioned by Jerry can hold people back. To tackle that, we need to follow the path paved by others who have had the results that we desire. This is no-brainer. Yet, many people fail to grasp this important point.
Just do it the proven way! No short cut. Success is putting strategic action steps to a plan.
Wishing you great success, Glenn!
Viola Tam – The Business Mum
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Hi Viola,
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment.
You’re right, fear or lack of confidence can be a crippling force. But it’s one that can be overcome, we just need to step forward, even if only a little, and venture into the uncharted territory. Usually things are never as difficult as we imagine and if we put into practice all the stuff we’ve learned already then we’ll likely discover that we have a whole lot more to offer than we perhaps thought and this, in turn, can help to give us the confidence that we need.
Following a proven way is definitely the way to go. This is what I have been doing since the beginning of the year and, by so doing, I’ve achieved far more than ever before and far more than I’d have believed I could.
Thanks for your wishes, I wish the same for you too 🙂
Kind regards,
Glenn
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Hi Glenn,
Sorry to hear you have been laid low with this pesky infection. Hope you will soon be rid of it.
I know what you mean about not being able to find questions to answer in the Forums. Some questions are quite beyand my knowledge but I disagree that you are faking it if you answer a question by searching Google for the answer.
If it’s answered a question that the person has asked then you are just being helpful. You have taken the time to find the answer when the person asking has not bothered.
BTW I agree with IC Daniel. The long blocks of text are quite hard to read and it’s rather offputting to be confronted with a post like that.
I wish you well.
Sandy
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Hiya Sandy,
It makes me feel better to know I’m not the only one finding forum posting a challenge!
I agree entirely with what you say about finding an answer through Google to help out someone who hasn’t bothered to look. Also some people aren’t very good at using search engines themselves so it can definitely be a welcome help to them. I actually did mention that this is something I’m okay with.
The thing I was getting at, though, is that some people will offer their input under the pretense that they’re actually knowledgeable about the subject themselves and give the false impression that they’re an expert, when in reality they’ve just looked in Wikipedia or some such place. The problem with that is if you try to pass yourself off as being an expert but don’t really know one way or another about the subject, then you’re reliant on the accuracy of your chosen source of information, which is a gamble. Time after time after time I’ve seen these type of comments in forums when the person clearly doesn’t have a clue and has just offered a copy and paste answer under the guise of it being their expertise and the answer they’ve given hasn’t been accurate. This just serves to damage their reputation and, in the end, it isn’t helpful to the person who has the question/problem.
For example, imagine someone posts a question asking for help regarding guitar-playing techniques (I’m using this as an example because it’s something that I do know about!). Now someone could search in Google and find some information, perhaps a course, and let the person know that they’ve found the information for them and say that they hope that it’s what they’re looking for. However this is completely different from the person Googling the subject, finding the information and then going back to the person asking the question and saying, “Well, you need to do such-and-such” and “This is the best way to do it…” and other such things, passing themselves off as knowledgeable when really they’re not qualified at all to make such statements.
So I’m not suggesting that it’s a bad thing to search out information and let the original poster know, rather that it shouldn’t be done under the false pretense of it coming from your own knowledge and experience when it’s really something you’ve found (which might not even be correct!). I referenced this approach because it’s something I’ve come across some gurus suggesting, the same mentality of ‘faking it until you make it’ and I think it’s very bad advice and something that I will not do, hence why I said that I’d rather just not post than do that. It’s much better to do as you say and recognise when something’s out of the realms of your knowledge but if you can find something that may help someone then that’s great.
Thanks for the pointer about the post format. Instead of repeating myself I’ll just direct you to my response to I .C. above. But I do appreciate people giving me these reminders because it’s something I’m really struggling with! 🙂
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…You Have the Knowledge!
Hey Glen,
Man, just wanted to ask why you write so many lines without breaking them a little bit? Looks quite boring so much text even if you have those images.
Keep in mind this is just my opinion. Best regards from I. C. Daniel – Romania
Hey I. C.,
Thanks for stopping by and for your suggestion, all input is welcome.
The format of my posts is something that I am working on. I am someone who comes from a somewhat literary background, so to write in a ‘blog style’ is very alien to me and goes completely ‘against the grain’. Personally, I read very quickly and actually find that having blocks of text broken up into lots of separate lines breaks up the flow and makes it much harder to read for me. However, I do appreciate that I am in a minority so I am trying to get into the habit of making things more ‘blog style’.
I do appreciate it being pointed out because I find myself keeping slipping back to a more narrative approach so when someone gives me a reminder it helps me to bear in mind that I need to try to break things up a bit
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…What is your “Why”?
Excellent post Glenn. I believe the number one thing holding us back other than a lack of courage is FEAR. I think just the fear of the unknown and what people will think of us if we do attempt to MARKET ourselves. Well the only way you’re going to overcome that is just do it.
I heard this saying a long time ago and it rings true today. It was simply this “Do the thing you fear and the death of that fear is certain”. It’s so true. Once you do the thing you were afraid of you will realize it wasn’t such a big deal.
Oh and welcome back. I’m glad you’re feeling better.
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Hey Jerry my man,
I agree, fear can root us to the spot in so many ways. And the imagined fear is usually much worse than the actual reality.
Thanks for the welcome back 🙂
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Glenn,
absolutely right matey, you know enough, – just go for it !
And learn better and quicker by doing rather than learning.
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Hey Paul,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Yep, you learn so much better and faster by doing. When I did a sound engineering course 18 years ago it was explained to us that, in contrast to most of the other similar courses at that time, our course would be focusing primarily on practical work because it’s the practical experience that counts in that industry. There were other courses that were mainly comprised of theory but the students weren’t given much opportunity to try stuff out in a practical environment, whereas we were doing mostly practical stuff in a studio environment and gaining valuable experience and learning from that. The end result was that, we might not have had the knowledge to able to disassemble and rebuild a microphone from scratch as was taught on other courses, but we could actually go into any recording studio or a live situation and knew how to use the equipment and mix the sound
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…What is your “Why”?
Hi Glenn,
You make a huge point here!
It’s almost like discovering how much food you actually have in your freezer that you’d forgotten about!
No point in buying new stuff to teach us ‘new’ knowledge until we had alrerady tried what we know from previous courses!
It comes back to the point of taking action, doesn’t it!
Cheers,
Gordon
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Hey Gordon,
Haha, that point about food made me laugh because I have actually done that before! Twice I went shopping and came back with white pepper, even though I already had one that was almost full. The first time I thought I needed to pick one up and the second time I’d forgotten that I’d already picked one up in error, so I ended up not needing white pepper for a while! The irony is I don’t even use white pepper that much!
So yes, why not use what we already have? The likelihood is that it’s plenty for what we need at the time.
Thanks for your comment, buddy 🙂
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