All My Glasses Are Half Full… And I’m Drowning

August 23, 2010 · Print This Article

Glass-half-full-PeggyBaron

Strange title, but I can explain.

See, I’m an eternally optimistic sort.  I almost always see the glass as half-full.  The only time I’m not optimistic is when I’m looking at myself in a full-length mirror in a department store dressing room, but let’s not go there now. 

I’m also a dreamer and an ideas person.  I can come up with several business ideas every single day – good, mediocre and second-thoughts (second-thoughts are when you think about the idea the next day and say “On second thought… that sucks”).  But many of my ideas are good, and I can grow them in my mind from baby seed to full grown mature tree complete with treehouse.

So those are some of my character strengths and I’m pretty proud of them.
But how is that working out for me with Internet Marketing?  Being optimistic?

So-so.

Everywhere I go in this Internet Marketing world, I see fantastic business opportunities.  It’s like this Walmart of business models. 

“Ooooh, that’s not going to cost me much and I think I’d wear it well, I’ll take that!” 

“That’s my favorite color, even though it doesn’t really fit me, I KNOW I can make it work!”

And I find myself in this IM Walmart constantly, even though I don’t need anything else.  I have what I need – a good idea, a perfect color, the right size.  All I need to do is work it, 200%.

This brings me to the bigger problem… TIME.

Oh sure, I have the same 24 hours everyone else has and I work my rearend off but I’m not putting all my efforts into one big project; I’m adding content for a site, videos for another, emailing my list for a 3rd, SEOing another, creating a new one, and all are unrelated. 

It’s crazy!

I’m afraid I don’t have enough fingers to count all the Internet Marketing projects I’ve got going.  It’s not like I’m trying to have multiple income streams, it’s because I’m curious and want to give new things a try. 

Also in my defense – dabbling has allowed me to figure out what I DON’T want to do and has given me a well-rounded education in Internet Marketing (which also  helps me to write really authentic Internet Marketing PLR).

But this has also made me a jack of all trades, master of none. 

But I now have clarity, blinding clarity.

 I can have a big project with my strategies mapped out beforehand (not just winging it) and really work it til it’s working for me, OR I can continue on with lots of suboptimal projects that don’t “complete me”.

Which leads me to the glass half full thing…

 
All my darlings have such great potential!

“It’s a GREAT topic and a really beautiful blog theme! If only I had time to add more content, I KNOW I’d make more sales.”

“I like article marketing, I bet I could really drive traffic to my other site if I had time to set up an article marketing campaign and submit a lot of articles to Ezine Articles…”

“Someday this site is going to be big!  Well no, it hasn’t made me gobs of money yet, but it’s got lots of potential!”

Until now, I haven’t been able to let go of these subprime projects.  It’s like having a closet stuffed full of clothes two sizes too small and not being able to get rid of them because they’re really cute and might fit me again once I finally lose those 10 pounds I’ve been meaning to lose.

But I’ve seen the light.  The hardest part has been to decide which projects to keep.  I can’t base it totally on how much money each one is currently making me.  I also have to consider my strengths, my passions and desires, and where the project can go.  And by where it can go I mean the backend.  It seems funny to think about where something is headed by what’s at the back, but you know what I mean.
 

So anyone care to join me in cleaning up their Internet Marketing business by starting a big bonfire with all the little pieces of projects they have lying around that don’t fit the bigger picture? 

 

I’m throwing in several blogs at various stages, quite a few services I offer, some partner projects that were started and shelved til later, a bunch of domain names I have plans for, some ebooks I’ve written but not marketed, and anything else I can find that muddies my vision and steals my time without giving back.

Whew, I feel better already.  I will now have only 2 sites I’m working on.  Both are sites I had already spent more of my time on because I enjoy them, I’m knowledgeable and talented regarding the subject, and the backend is wiiiide open!  That means when I want to be creative with a new optimistic idea, it needs to be related and work as an upsell.  :)

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Comments

9 Responses to “All My Glasses Are Half Full… And I’m Drowning”

  1. Pat Graham on August 23rd, 2010 6:13 pm

    Very nice post, Peggy. I am somewhat in the same place…got one site perking, but not up yet (membership site scheduled for September sometime.)

    I have 3 more waiting in line when I get my membership site online and looking respectable. My business partner wishes I would slow down, but my ability for seeing possibilities is not controlled by me. It just happens.

    Like you, I can see possibilities everywhere and in almost any situation. Drives me crazy sometimes. I’ve learned to just put them on a list and check them out later. Usually I lose the list after a few days.

    I am trying to clear the decks of stuff I can postpone and to unsubscribe from almost all email marketing.

    But, you know what? Just this morning, I had a thought about…

    Pat

  2. admin
    Twitter:
    on August 25th, 2010 5:00 pm

    Hi Pat,
    Lol – I can see you scribbling like mad, only to lose the scrap of paper later. Maybe it’s for the best?

    Clearing the decks – that’s a good way to think of it. When the decks are cleared, you have so much more room to do that thing you want to do.

    Thanks,
    Peggy

  3. Mandy Allen
    Twitter:
    on September 2nd, 2010 6:46 am

    Hi Peggy, I am totally with you on this one! I have several projects with big potential, several waiting in the wings, and there are so many opportunities I can’t count them! I get asked to work with people on things all the time and hate to pass those opportunities up…and ideas, well yes, every day, loads of ideas. We could always outsource….

    Enjoy the journey.

    Mandy
    .-= Mandy Allen´s last blog ..How do you relax =-.

  4. admin
    Twitter:
    on September 3rd, 2010 7:57 am

    Hi Mandy,
    I am enjoying the journey – most of the time. ;)
    You hit a nerve with me when you mentioned getting asked to work with other people on things. I do have a hard time saying no, especially when it’s a great idea and I know they’ll be doing half the work. But still… there will be work involved on my part and it is going to take me away from my main income-producing project.

    Cheers,
    Peggy

  5. Raj @ outlaw costumes on September 18th, 2010 3:12 am

    Hi Peggy,

    This was a wonderful post. It good to read a post that teaches and suggest the right thing to do as well. online business have lots of potentials. It need to be careful of project to start and the possible outcome to the desire project. of course with a bit of passion every will be alright. It’s important that we pay attention to the things necessary to succeed.

  6. Ron Barrett
    Twitter:
    on September 18th, 2010 9:40 am

    WOW Peggy! You hit the nail right square on the head with this one.

    I think most everyone who HAS been in the online biz for a while suffers from this. You could probably call in S.O.S. (Shiny Object Syndrome) or adult ADD or really anything. Mostly though it’s probably just lack of focus.

    I know I have several sites that I am working on and I get constructive ideas at the weirdest times…then have to go check if there is a domain available for that idea and then I lose track of what I was doing in the first place. Ugh.

    Focus, focus, focus…. glad you have clarity now. I am still working on that.

  7. admin
    Twitter:
    on September 22nd, 2010 9:42 pm

    Howdy Ron,
    I agree that SOS can be crippling, especially when getting started online. But it’s time to buckle down and really work what we’ve got going rather than start something new. How else do we become that stand-out above the crowd brand that is really really successful?

    BTW, I’m impressed with your ability to stay on track sending emails to your list. You must be pretty focused and organized with that!

    Peggy

  8. admin
    Twitter:
    on September 22nd, 2010 9:45 pm

    Hi Raj,
    I try to share my insights, frustrations and successes on my blog because I know I’m not the only one having them. :)

    You’re right, it’s so important to pay attention to the things necessary to succeed.

    Thanks,
    Peggy

  9. Lynda on June 18th, 2011 3:47 pm

    Peggy,
    This is a great post. I constantly bite off more than I can chew so to speak. Continuously working on several projects. My husband tells me all the time (and I don’t like it) to finish one project at a time. This is a big reason why a lot of my projects don’t get completed. Thank you for sharing :)
    Lynda recently posted ..Print Place Coupon Code

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