Yisel Guajardo is an entrepreneur who writes about internet marketing, social media, and personal development. She authors the blog Advanced Income. You can also follow her on Twitter.
Several weeks ago we took the kids to a pond that had ducks. My son had a bag of breadcrumbs and began chasing after the ducks to feed them.
I said, “Stop. If you chase them they’ll just run away. You have to hold still. They’ll come to you and then you can throw the bread.”
Sure enough, he did what I told him and in no time, he had more ducks than he could feed.
Sometimes we do the same thing. I know I’ve done my fair share of duck chasing.
When you chase every possible option, every guru, every hot new course and product launch, you’re killing your chance of success because when you chase every possibility you can never stand still and follow through on any possibility. It just becomes a vicious cycle with nothing to show for it in return except a bunch of hungry ducks.
Here’s how to deal it with.
1. Have A Clear Target
You have to know what you want. If you don’t know what you want, and I mean specifically, how in the world do you expect to get it? You can’t. Imagine being in a restaurant and the server asks you what you want and you say “I don’t know.” They either won’t bring you anything or you’ll end up with something you don’t like and never really wanted in the first place.
What you want has to be specific. “I want to have an online business” doesn’t cut it. What type? What business model? Will it be blogging, consulting, affiliate marketing, etc? What niche or niches? How much revenue to you want to generate – long term and short?
This is probably the hardest part. But once the you are crystal clear about what you want, the rest can be put in place.
If you are confused, you wont’ take any action. So be crystal clear and write it out.
2. Follow a Proven Plan
I don’t remember who it is that said, “It doesn’t matter how positive you are, if you run East looking for a sunset you simply will not find it.”
That’s why it’s so important to follow a proven plan. And the fastest way to do that is to follow or model someone who has already achieved or gotten what you want. Do what they do.
There are lots of options and many times lots of great options. This is where the duck chasing usually starts and people get lost and start jumping from opportunity to opportunity. Ask yourself this question, “Which person, system, mastermind, or course is going to best teach me and help me get what I want?” If you were really clear and specific in #1, you’ll be able to simply narrow down your choices to just a few.
Now, lay them all out and make a decision. After you’ve made your decision, murder the other choices. That’s right – murder them! This brings us to the next step.
3. Focus!
In the podcast Manager Tools they call it “Murder The Unchosen Alternative”. Once you’ve made a decision about something, you murder or discard all the other options. Why? So you can focus. This takes commitment. There are lots of distractions. It’s tempting to start chasing those darn ducks again. Now, if you’re decision turns out to be the wrong one. It’s okay. Then, you can revive your other options and/or add new ones. But not until you have completely followed through and are ready to either take things to the next level or try a new alternative.
4. Measure
That which is measured can be improved. If you want to lose weight, what is the first thing you usually do? That’s right. Weigh yourself so you can see where you are at and be able to measure your results. Same applies here, you need to assess where you are at. What you measure will depend on your situation but mostly it will be financial and metrics like traffic, conversion, etc.
I think time is another important measurement. For example, how much time do you spend on certain tasks? What are the things that are distracting you?
5. Take Consistent Action
If you are going to start running for exercise, you don’t run a marathon you’re first day of training. But you do run. You at the very least get up and start walking. You don’t wait to have the perfect shoe, or the perfect weather, or the designer work-out clothes. You get up and go.
Don’t wait for things to be perfect. They never will be. Remember, the ducks don’t have to be all in a row. 
Get going!
Keith Cunningham said, “Ordinary actions, consistently done, create extraordinary results”.
6. Tweak
Continue to measure your results and make adjustments. Things seldom happen in a straight line. Did you know an airplane is off course most of the time? It’s the tiny little adjustments in direction that make it possible for a plane to land on target.
7. Keep On
Once you have momentum, don’t quit. Keep going. Put yourself in an environment that supports you. The fastest way that someone learns a new language is by immersing themselves in an environment where people only speak that language.
Image source: sxc.hu
Making necessary adjustment is key!
Great post!
This reminds me of the S.M.A.R.T. philosophy:
Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely
become the hunted instead of the hunter… well said !!
Well said, I know it is always a cat and mouse game with internet marketing. The serious people will call you. The only initial phone call I will make is just to introduce myself. I find the more that I help people and less I sell someone the better the results. In Corporate America I was a terrible sales person. However, in network marketing I provide great customer service so ironically I make more sales with less of an effort now.
Dave
Its easy for most to have a clear plan but the problem I see is being able to focus and stick to the plan as getting sidetracked is easy to do.