Skiing or Internet Marketing-Are you Afraid to Take Risks?

March 4, 2010 · Print This Article

Yesterday I severed my connection with my computer and headed up skiing.  It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day and it had snowed a bunch recently.  “Perfect!” I says, so off I went.

I ended up at the resort I always ski at, and had a couple of good runs.  But… I was feeling a little, well… bored.  I mean, the runs were fairly easy and I could ski them very comfortably, but I was getting tired of doing the same old thing and getting the same old results.  I mean, I’ve been skiing at this place off and on for 5 years, the same old runs, and maybe if I tried something new I might get some incredibly exciting results.

So even though it was completely scary for me… I decided it was time to go where I’d never gone before; try some new slopes, try riding up the poma thingie which was necessary if I was going to get to the back bowls.

So I rode the poma thingie up without incident.  Whew!

I looked around.  It was breathtaking – I was on top of the world!  Seriously!

 

 

 

 

But now what?  I didn’t have a map!  Crap, what was I thinking?  The back bowls were on the other side of the mountain, and I’d never even seen this area before let alone tried to ski it.

So now what? Which way do I go?  Do I follow everyone else and do what they do?  Sounds good, but maybe I shouldn’t.  Not all the runs are going to end up where I want to end up.  Some of them might require me to hike or hitchhike back to the lodge.

 

Here were my choices -

#1  Ski (or fall most of the way down) a double black diamond to immediately get back to where I was.  Was = comfortable, yet not having the experience I wanted.

#2  Follow everyone else, do what everyone else is doing, not knowing if it’s going to be a good or bad experience.  The big question is – am I at the same place in my skiing abilities as they are?

#3  Not make any decision at all; keep taking pictures, eat my squished sandwich from my pocket, hang out enjoying the sun, and finally be forced into less-than-optimal emergency action because the lift shuts down at 3:00.

#4  ASK someone to explain my options and map out a plan of action for me, so I can have a kick-a$$ experience and try some new, yet challenging runs.

I won’t lie to you… I seriously considered each one and started in on #3, but after a stern internal lecture I opted for #4.

But I found me a mentor, asked a bunch of questions and formulated a new plan.  I now knew which way was the right way for me (given my abilities, desires, and envisioned outcome) to go.  And I had the BEST time!  Now it was no longer scary, unfamiliar, too steep, too high up, or only for those with more knowledge.  It was a good experience because it allowed me to try something new, challenge myself with some steeper slopes, and I felt good because I did it and it didn’t kill me.

 

All this time… I could have been having fun on the back slopes. 

For 5 years I let myself be comfortable and even a little bored because I was afraid to see what was on the other side of that mountain, what else there was out there.

 

There are similarities between my skiing story from yesterday and being an internet marketer.

Do you finally get up the nerve to try something new only to get freaked out and hurl yourself back to your comfort zone as soon as possible?

Do you follow what everyone else does, despite your level of knowledge and experience, and desired outcome?

Or do you not make any decisions at all and spend your precious internet marketing time surfing the web, playing video games, and watching funny videos until your rent is due and you have to quickly scramble to try to earn some money?

#4, asking for help from a reliable source, someone who knows what they’re talking about can make all the difference.  Do you have a coach or a mentor, someone you can trust to show you the rope-tows, er ropes?

 

Alan Petersen and I are putting the finishing touches on a product which I’ll tell you more about soon, but one thing we are going to offer beyond the product is private coaching.  I just wanted to get you thinking about it now before it’s offered because we’re going to limit it to only a handful of people to keep it real.

Related posts:

  1. Internet Marketing Day Dreaming
  2. Good Internet Marketing Advice Never Gets Old
  3. Personal Goals and Multiple Streams Of Internet Income

Comments

8 Responses to “Skiing or Internet Marketing-Are you Afraid to Take Risks?”

  1. Ron Barrett on March 4th, 2010 7:54 pm

    Wooohoooooo, you opted for #4!

    Way to go!

    I completely understand where you are coming from. Until I kicked myself in the rear end and actually started taking some action (thanks to THREE very helpful people) I now have FIVE more websites up in the past month and they are all making a little cash here and there.

    But you are right, unless you take a risk and start asking for help, you know, get out of that little comfort zone you are sitting in, you aren’t going to challenge yourself and change/improve.

    Great pictures by the way!

  2. admin on March 4th, 2010 9:43 pm

    Hey Ron,
    5 websites in the past month? Boy, you have been busy! And I know you created these websites because of the needs of others. Congrats on getting out of your comfort zone!

    The pictures don’t do the scenery justice. I took them when I was flirting with option #3. ;) See what looks like a line on the left side of the second picture? That’s a 4 lane road.

    Peggy

  3. Alan Petersen on March 9th, 2010 5:31 pm

    Great post Peggy! I couldn’t make it out of the bunny hill in my one attempt at skiing and I had to ask a 12 year old kid for help. So yea even if you have to swallow some pride #4 is the way to go! :-)

    I like how John Donne put it:

    “No man is an Island”.

  4. admin on March 10th, 2010 9:09 am

    Hi Alan,
    Lol. Yeah, #4 does require you swallow your pride, which is not always easy to do.

    Thanks,
    Peggy
    P.S. Sounds like you should stick to tennis! :)

  5. Mandy Allen on March 17th, 2010 10:37 pm

    Love the analogy, Peggy! Loved the description of your skiing escapades – great post all round, thanks for sharing.,

    Enjoy the journey.

    Mandy

  6. admin on March 18th, 2010 8:00 am

    Thanks Mandy!
    I’m glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoyed your visit to the U.S.

    Peggy

  7. Pat Graham on March 18th, 2010 6:27 pm

    I really liked your blog and the analogy. You wrote it so skillfully that I initially thought you were just getting ready for your next ski trip. When your real message was unveiled, I had to smile. Great job!

    Pat

  8. admin on March 18th, 2010 10:07 pm

    Hi Pat,
    It’s always a good day when I can make you smile. :)

    Thanks,
    Peggy

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