I really didn’t sleep well last night. It was a warm summer night here in Valencia, but there was a pleasant breeze wafting through the open windows. Unfortunately, along with the pleasant breeze came some discordant sounds from our normally tranquil neighbourhood. Firstly, at 2 am, I was disturbed by a very loud motorbike, which sounded like it was being powered by an out-of-control sowing machine used by a hive of bees. It cacophonously did several circuits of our quiet streets. Then at 5 am, or as my family used to call it, stupid o’clock, a dog took it upon himself to inform the entire area that there was a squirrel up a tree and would someone urgently come over and help him rid the world of this menace. So, needless to say, I needed an extra cup of coffee this morning just to give me enough energy to get through to the kitchen to get my first cup of coffee.
It’s a Friday, and I am tired, and I certainly have enough of an excuse to take it easy today. But while I don’t live by the ‘hustle and grind’ philosophy of some entrepreneurs, as I have chosen to live a simple and relaxed life, I know how easy it is to miss our business goals because, you know, daily life.
There are three types of people in this world.
Ten percent of people are overachievers who rise early, meditate, exercise and then have enough enthusiasm and energy to power through ten hours of focussed work before doing a language class or learning to fly helicopters. I do not like these people. They make me look bad.
Ten percent of people never seem to get things done. They always miss deadlines and never do what they promise they will do. It is never their fault. It is always someone else’s fault, or the universe is against them – you don’t understand! I do not like these people either because they cannot be relied on in most situations.
The third type of person, the majority of us, are human beings who just try our best. We sometimes achieve what we set out to achieve, and sometimes we don’t. We have a certain amount of willpower, and it gets used up, and we then run out of motivation. I personally have days of mad motivation and creativity and get tonnes of stuff done, but I also have entire days of total apathy and just can’t-be-assedness.
So what does this all have to do with marketing or making money online? Well, here is the stuff that the gurus out there don’t tell you. This life of relaxed comfort and working for yourself takes effort. Consistent effort. I am not talking about 18-hour days of hustle, I am talking about steadily working towards your goals every day. It takes willpower, and motivation. But willpower and motivation are a fickle beasts and can’t always be relied on. So, for me, the real key to success is discipline.
Being disciplined and writing an average daily email or blog post trumps writing the most inspired, amazing email or blog post only every six months. Writing a bit of your run-of-the-mill ebook every day and getting it published trumps the most incredible ebook that will change lives but is never published.
The Unch@ined Mindset philosophy is to work on small projects and products and release them often rather than working on huge projects and products that take months or years to deliver. But you have to be disciplined to get these products and projects done. You have to find a way to keep that discipline going. For me, today, though I am tired, I know that at least once a working day, no matter what, I will write this email. Even if I feel tired or the weather outside is too nice. Even if I don’t feel inspired or know exactly what I am going to write. I find that when I start writing, invariably, like today, the motivation kicks in, and after writing this email, I find some mojo to do the things that can take my business forward.
Find a way, even if it is to set aside just thirty minutes every day, no matter what, to do something that will take your business forward, and you will get there. No matter what out-of-control sowing machines being used by hives of bees are doing at stupid o’clock.
Keep at it.