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| Fear of Falling (Photo credit: epSos.de) |
So you've got your dreams in focus, your business house is in order, you're psyched up for marketing, and you've been initiating contact. You are ready for action. Then opportunity knocks on your front door. It's time to jump on it.
Is it calling you out of your comfort zone? Deal with it and just do it. Marketing and promoting is one of the most difficult things many of us can conceive doing. Don't let your fears defeat your potential to succeed. Sometimes we have to push ourselves to do things we don't want to do.
Success can be a tough road that is often uncomfortable. Be brave. Put your goals into perspective. Is what you want to attain worth the effort that is necessary to reach it.
There are always opportunities that will be available to you. Some will be opportunities that you have to dig up on your own. Others will fall right in your lap. Don't miss any good opportunities. Jump on them when they are available.
What good opportunities have you missed? What is your greatest fear when it comes to marketing? Are you willing to do something that makes you uncomfortable if it can lead to success?
Good issue to write about Lee, many are( including myself)fear jumping to grab certain opportunities .
ReplyDeleteI have let many go by the wayside but others have faced my fear and grabbed it with both hands. Whether you fail or succeed it is always worth the try.
Yvonne..
I think some of the best stuff has just fallen into my lap, like being featured in Southern Writers Magazine. I can trace that and others back to being an active blogger. Guess that's a hint not to quit!
ReplyDeleteSometimes jumping in is the final step. And also recognizing the opportunity for what it is, is quite important.
ReplyDeleteLittleCely from LittleCely's Blog
Oh and my Join this Site button is finally working again!
I've been threatening to open an online shop for awhile now but I'm so afraid of failure that I haven't done it yet.
ReplyDeleteAny sort of marketing or promotion of myself makes me uncomfortable. I feel bad about putting my fb and twitter links at the end of my a to z posts everyday!
ReplyDeleteRhi
scruffy-duck.net // Welsh Bloggers
The person who risks nothing gains... nothing.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I missed opportunities or not. I don't think much about it. I do try, from time to time to promote one of my blogs, but I don't keep at it; think I'm ok with that when I balance my real work, my charity, my family etc.
ReplyDeleteTraveling Suitcase A-Z
Yvonne -- When we don't at least try then the opportunities are soon gone.
ReplyDeleteAlex -- If we remain visible then others know we're still there.
Cely - I think many times we talk ourselves out of pursuing a good opportunity. It's probably better to fail at something than to regret not having tried it.
JoJo -- Do it! What's the worst that could happen?
Rhi -- You and many others.
Robin -- Nicely said.
Sandy -- If you feel good about what you've been doing then something must be going right.
Lee
I think I'm scared all the time these days, and that's primarily because I jumped head first into this book bushiness before I knew anything about it. I'm not usually that precipitous, but it happened, and so here I am, doing things that I'm unsure of, but doing them anyway.
ReplyDeleteHi Lee. It has been awhile. I think your blog today could apply to life and looking ahead. I did have a business idea last year, still working on it. And what I learned is all that I learned by making my idea happen.
ReplyDeleteI have taken some and missed some, trouble is some opportunities only become clear after they have gone.
ReplyDeleteI may be a little too content with my lot these days to grasp them now. . . .
That picture gave me the willies Lee.
ReplyDeleteJumping in like that is a real leap of faith in many ways.
I had once got this opportunity to take part in a regional reality show. I missed it and sometimes I still regret it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Lee. Thank you! And it came at the perfect time, as I've been pondering a new Marketing Strategy. Yup, jumping in! =)~Jamie
ReplyDeleteI have a reading coming up at the library and, since I've been a bit of a hermit lately, I'm scared silly. I can think of 100 excuses to call it off, but I'm going to persevere because I'll hate myself if I do ... plus I ordered all these darned books sitting around my living room...
ReplyDeleteC.Lee -- That you are doing something is the main thing.
ReplyDeleteLover -- Glad to hear you're pursuing your idea.
Rob -- Retrospect is an angle from which we commonly view life.
Jo -- That was the closest image Zemanta offered to what I was looking for. Sometimes they recommend some pretty weird stuff.
The Side-- Don't be slowed down by regrets but stay alert for the next opportunity.
Jamie -- Go for it!
Cathy -- I'm sure once you've gotten to your reading you'll get into the swing of it. I know the feeling though.
Lee
Yeah, I'm terrible at this. Anything I can attribute to "self-promotion" makes me all itchy.... Hate it - but really like how you put it in perspective.
ReplyDeleteThe Road We’ve Shared A to Z
I'm big on going with it. But I've also learned that it's important to know when it's time to cut off certain opportunities and give my focus to others.
ReplyDeleteEven if an opportunity doesn't pan out the way I'd hoped, I learn something from it, and maybe that's why I was sent down that particular path in the first place.
Thanks for this A to Z dream of yours. I'm having lots of fun with it.
Normally, I am a jump in head first, without looking kind of gal, but marketing I tend not to jump on it without thought. I figure since I'll be spending hard earned cash, I need to ensure I'm making the right move.
ReplyDelete~Patricia Lynne~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, YA Author
I don't jump in very much. I could take more advantage of my blogger friends, I think.
ReplyDeleteMom -- And it's all about perspective. Anything gets easier as you do it more.
ReplyDeleteNicki -- Life is all about balance and learning.
Patricia -- Always best to proceed with wisdom.
Susan GK -- Let me know if you ever need blog space. I can always help.
Lee
I'm pretty sure anytime any opportunity comes knocking, it puts me out of my comfort zone. But I am still willing and able to take that very scary step!
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I felt back in 2011when I participated in my first A to Z Challenge! I just started blogging a few months earlier, and had no idea what to expect. Thanks to you, and some of the other co-hosts, I was met with open arms. I guess that was a virtual jump or dive, but it meant the world to me!
ReplyDeleteJulie
Hey dude,
ReplyDeleteWe have to realise that a comfort zone may well be an uncomfortable comfort zone.
I don't have fear of failure. I have fear of success.
Gary
For most people, it's a hard and scary thing to expose yourself to potential failure. There is a lot of personal growth to be had by taking chances. Great post!
ReplyDeleteTrisha -- If you continually question you are likely to get little done. It's probably best to always proceed with some caution, but to proceed.
ReplyDeleteJulie -- I think it's the same in the world of marketing for the most part. Most people will offer a helping hand and few want to see you fail.
Gary -- I can kind of relate to that fear.
Pat -- So true. We only fail because we have tried and likewise the case for succeeding.
Lee