Being In Control

“Being In Control”

I have totally changed today’s post due to the fact that I have been doing my favourite past time for an hour this afternoon. What may that be?

I call it “Blog Hopping” catching up on other people’s blog postings and in addition the Facebook groups too. So why has my blog posting changed for today?

Well I came across a blog posting that took me back to 10 years ago when I first became interested in this topic called “Make Money Online”, “Work from home” “Internet Marketing” etc.

The posting is by a guy called George Nieves and you can read his writings here (free back-link for you George – I must tell him!)

I immediately associated with what he has written and I am sure that anyone out there has been hit by massive information overload sometime.  They may have even purchased endless products either sitting on the hard-drive or physical goods in the small study, cupboard awaiting resell online or eBay.

I can relate to the digital aspect as only this week as I am in the process of re-organising my hard-drive downloads from the last 10 years and posted about this the other day.

What his post has stimulated this afternoon for me is how I use to work, buy and learn 10 years ago to how I operate now. Yes I am still the same person that likes to be aware of what’s happening online. I still eat, drink and sleep the internet, and that’s why it is my topic of this month in some of my posts.

However what has changed now is, I am more focused and consider more in what I purchase and whom I choose to follow. This has come through trials and experience and only one that you can learn in the same manner.

In my “newbie days” I was simply hungry for knowledge; everything out there online was new to me. It was all fresh information each day, each hour, each minute as I clicked links, and believes me I clicked many. I often ended up miles away from my first click on a website and had lost track as to how the hell I got to the last website looking at me. Thankfully because I saved the history at the time I could see where I had started online browsing and somehow linked my journey and retraced backwards some steps before shooting off on another tangent.

The same aspect applied with products that were being placed in front of me. I saw at the time great information, even if later when I had gained good knowledge and thought the product was then crap. At the time it had great value to me as it was new to me, I knew no different. I was soon buying products from gurus that knew how to manipulate my thoughts and more importantly my wallet in to relieving me of my cash. I had been “brainwashed” I knew no different at the time and that is why my hard-drive now has 1TB of material to wade through. My project for this year to sieve the wheat from the chaff and bring the dormant information into fresh life.

However reading George’s post is so true in every sense of his written word. We all do get overloaded at time and not just from our business aspects.  We can easily get lost from our journey each day when clicking links, we do get enticed to buy, we may need the product, but do we need to buy then, now or can we wait a few days to see if we truly want it?

• We have to draw a line in the sand and say no more, re gain control, often of our finances in many cases.
• We need to de-clutter our ever expanding email boxes.
• We need to set a plan to deal with things in a timely manner.
• We need to value more important things around us like family and friends.

“We may want to lead a business life and make our life better for all.  But a business is for life and we still need to have a life to enjoy the business too”

It cannot be all work and no play so yes one of the biggest factors in life and wanting to run your own business is

• To keep and balance control.
• Build it in manageable chunks.
• Automate what you can.
• Outsource or seek help in areas of struggle.
• Do what you can in time allocated slots
• Take regular breaks and eat and drink properly
• Take time out for yourself away from the business each day.

I love this industry and yes I still declare myself as a “newbie” despite educating myself over the last 10 years. I have always looked at these years as my “second schooling”.

I started 10 years ago (2003) and associate this start like at kindergarten when I was 4 years old, way back in 1969! I have now been learning 10 years experimenting, building a foundation of knowledge. So in theory I am now aged in my teens about 14 years like when at secondary school in my “second schooling” of this internet walk.

These are the years in life when we begin to build our characters, make new friends, build relationships and set solid foundations in education for the rest of our lives. I am at that stage now and this blog is my main foundation at present, with a few side-lines being developed.

Control is now my main factor in doing this. I still sign up for heaven knows endless lists, blogs, gifts, and more. I am just so tempted by all the new stuff going about, and people’s thoughts, actions and product developments. How do I keep control now?

Just like George did – he drew a line in his life and decided no more and de-cluttered. I do this regularly.

• Why do I need the same email from everyone, some people personalise them others add to them, others just re-post it. So guess which one gets un-subscribe? The re-post!
• I wish to build relationships now with people that take action and make it their own, offer something different along the way, and more so make the email interesting to capture my interest and maintain me upon their list.

However the thought that really struck me when reading George’s post was how do we really choose?

I have joined a few Facebook groups recently, introducing me to fellow peers that I would never have associated with if it had not been for these groups. As a result I have been busy “Blog Hopping” as I call it, learning things from others but more so building a rapport with certain people.

I have continued to go back, bookmark their blogs, commented on some, and slowly but surely am now adding them as links on my own blog here.(Even if I have not yet told them so).

• We are all different in every way.
• We all have different interests in life.
• We all have different ways in which we will run our businesses.
• We all have different time factors around us, and some are working 9-5 jobs as well or in my case 8-8 jobs around building our dreams.

But again we do not have the time to do everything so we have to choose whom we can follow, keep updated with posts,emails and broadcasts etc. There just simply isn’t enough time in the day to follow everyone.

So in my early days I followed everyone due to my hunger needing to be fed. Now I have that foundation of information sitting on my plate. I only now look for the extras on top of that basic feed. I have seen the main meal many times over in many sources upon the internet. I now look for that extra dressing, different sauces if you like to make that plate of information different.

We all like different meals in life, my taste is not your taste and that is why there is room for us all.

• We all bring something different to the table.
• We will not all follow the same people.
• We will all not buy the same products.
• We will not all follow the same route.

We do need to follow and align ourselves with some likeable fellow peers in our niches.

• How many is up to you?
• How many can you successfully follow, stay in touch with regularly?
• How much time can you allow for Facebook groups, Blog Hopping and Email Reading?

Only you know and only you will know when the balance is right and only time and experience will bring this to you.

• Regain your life.
• Take control.
• Don’t be afraid to unsubscribe from what you do not need or use.
• Follow the mentors that you respect, and more so can relate to, have a story to follow similar to your own lifestyle.
• Be in control of your business and its growth and not the business being in control of you and your life.

“Become the controller and not become the controlled!!”