So you’re still with me in this little series? Good attention!
So what do you know now? Every “age” has it’s unique leverage points that offer economic value. And as an entrepreneur, mastering those leverage points will launch you head and shoulders above the competition.
So… now that we’re smack dab in the middle of the attention age, what leverage points do you need to master?
The other day we talked about how six areas of information overload combined into a perfect storm to create The Attention Age… An era in which your prospect’s attention is the most valuable asset you can have.
We also talked about the spillover effects that it’s had on our ability to focus, think critically and get things done.
But all our talk has been about how we’ve been influenced as consumers of information. What about as entrepreneurs? What about as marketers and business owners? How have those roles been impacted?
Let’s dip back into The Attention Age Doctrine and see how you got an economic edge in every age since the dawn of time… Continue…
I just got back from San Diego where I spent the better part of the week at my buddy Ryan Deiss’s Traffic and Conversion summit. It was an incredible event. I’d guess there were probably 3,000 people in attendance. Props to Ryan for a really amazing conference. (You should check it out next year if you’ve never been.)
But one of the things at the conference that struck me was the overarching theme of attention. That’s not exactly a new topic for me.
Way back in 2007 I wrote a pretty ground-breaking free report titled The Attention Age Doctrine. It was downloaded a ton.
And it was different from anything I had written in the past. Because unlike it’s Manifesto predecessors (that explained the mistakes entrepreneurs were making), the Doctrine was a prediction about the future.
In the next couple posts, I want to revisit a couple ideas from that report and take a look at how they’ve evolved since I wrote it. And how they’re impacting what you’re trying to accomplish in your business today.
It all started with a really simple premise… Continue…
Transformation weekend (a huge success) is finally wrapped. A week of private consults complete. Now I really want to get back to where I left off here.
Because there was a response on the blog that I wanted to address in particular.
During the transformation workshop, I shared a couple topics on the blog that we were covering live during the weekend. One post, about “who you are” relative to your business, prompted “Mary” to leave a comment… Continue…
Of course you know that. But do you really know it? I mean to you live it?
I want you to think back and be honest – how many times have you set a goal that, in the end, you just let slide. How many times have you made a promise only to make an excuse later on for not keeping it?
Is it running like a speed skater gliding along on a sheet of freshly smoothed ice? Or do things feel more like you’re dragging a hundred pound weight through knee-deep mud?
Are you making the sales you want? Signing up the customers you’re after? Generating the traffic and leads you need to grow?
Or are you faced with too many objections? Feeling too much resistance (from outside AND inside your business)?
If you’re experiencing friction in any area of your business, I’d like to share an idea about why that may be the case for you.
But before I do, I need you to do something if you’re going to get the most out of this post. I need you to suspend all your beliefs about “business success”. (Just for a minute.) Let go of all your preconceived ideas about what’ll make your business a success.
Because what I’m going to share with you is going to sound a little crazy.
We’re in the home stretch. Today, I’m going to reveal the whole truth about overcoming your fear. But first, let me tell you why I insisted that you share your answers.
If you read through the comments, the first thing you should notice is that your fears are all pretty similar and irrational (if not down right silly!) In other words, you’re not alone in what you fear!
The second thing you should be noticing is that confronting your fears gives you an enormous sense of empowerment. A real momentum that can carry your business forward.
And finally, you should see is that the world didn’t end for anyone even when your worst fears did come to pass. You got on with your life, took whatever next steps were necessary and forged ahead.
All that sharing was meant to give you a boost of confidence. A sense that your fears are largely unfounded. Because it’s a lack of confidence that really holds you back.
And you’re gonna need it for today’s post. Because…
Here’s The Bottom Line About Fear
You can’t escape fear. It’s not possible. It’s wired into our DNA.
The only thing you can do is overcome it. And the only way to overcome fear is to confront it and take action…
Sorry, but that’s it.
As simple as it sounds, your fear isn’t going away. There is no magic pills, no mantras, no meditation practice that will eliminate fear from your life. It’s always going to be sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear, warning you of the dangers lurking around the next corner.
What You Need To Understand To Deal With Fear
Here’s something to keep in mind whenever you feel fear wrap it fingers around your shoulders…
That might sound like nothing more than inspirational fluff coming from a blind, deaf, mute girl. With her disabilities, getting out of bed might have been considered an adventure. But stop for a minute and think about that statement from her perspective.
If Helen never “dared” anything, she would have spent her entire life in darkness and silence. A condition not too far from the kind of “auto-pilot” life you end up living when you give in to your fears!
And because it sounds more inspirational than instructional, we tend to not take that kind of advice to heart. We believe we can just go on living the lives we live everyday and things will be just fine.
They won’t! You have to dare more! The less you dare the less you live. I mean truly live.
So let me give you a little motivation…
YOU’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!
Honestly I can’t think of much that’s a whole lot scarier than thinking about your own mortality. It’s so unnerving we normally avoid thinking about it altogether.
And that’s a problem.
Because it leads you to believe you have forever to accomplish whatever it is you want. There’s always tomorrow.
“I’ll get started. Right after this episode of America’s Got Talent”
Of course one episode leads to the next and the next and the next. And before you know it the season’s done, you’re moving on to another series to binge-watch. And nothing gets done.
I like to regularly remind myself that my days here are numbered. It sounds cliché, but no one lives forever so you have to make every moment count.
You need to have a sense of urgency about your life, about the actions you need to take in your business, about the impact that you want to have in the world.
Understand if you don’t get it done and enjoy the rewards of what you’ve accomplished today, you may not get a chance tomorrow.
Remember, your fears are both irrational and empowering.
How about that for a headline? I thought it might be eye-catching given the topic we’re taking on.
FEAR!
Fear has impacted every one of our lives in one way or another. And every one of us has paid some price in our lives as a result of it. Fear leaves a gigantic emotional footprint everywhere it stomps around.
Let’s face it. Most people would do just about anything to escape their fears.
So to get a handle on fear and how it affects your life and business, I’d like to propose a question.
