A few weeks ago I went to watch the London Marathon. An exciting event as it is inspiring, I found myself staring at the runners for timeless moments, mesmerized. As the thousands of crowds where cheering and whistling their hearts out so as to encourage the runners to literally go the extra few miles, I overheard a conversation which really sparked my interest and could spark yours as well. It went along those lines:
Young lady - "I've got a business idea. But I'm going to say it quietly so no one can hear it. (Try harder next time darling 
). You know when you go to a wedding... (Now obviously being a decent guy I'm not going to repeat the idea here but let's just say it was about a wedding site and it sounded like a good idea to me)". Now the lady went on to the nit and grit of it and told her friends how much she hated her job. "And actually I have many more business ideas". "go on register that domain. See if it's available or else someone has thought of it before" her friend went. Young Lady - "OK so you get 10%". "And I'll get 15%" her other friend said. "So there's 25% right there". Basically the young lady laid out her business plan, got herself JV partners and shared the revenues - all within a 2 minute chat with her mates while watching the marathon runners.
Now I was pretty impressed by the idea and I really hope the girl takes it to the next level and really kicks it to the stratosphere. That being said, I've got this hunch that she won't. Here's why - Because it sounded more like a chat between mates over a pint rather than a serious business strategy. It sounded to me as if she didn't really believe in the idea she had just voiced. Hey - I'd love to be proved wrong here! But there's a moral to all of us marketers in the house: "Take action!!!". I know I might sound like a broken record but it's true. I'm not the ultimate go-getter myself. I never was. Hell no! I used to be a heck of a procrastinator. No joke! I would put off anything with the slight mental inconvenience in it. I would delay phone calls I didn't want to make, forms I didn't want to fill, essays I couldn't be bothered to put together and what have you. But not anymore! I've come to realize that without productive, well thought and planned, inspired action, nothing happens. You can literally tell where you'll be in a year from now by the thoughts and courses of action you're taking right now. And no matter what you want to achieve, on the personal or physical or financial level. Here's an action I've taken in the last few days: I've opened a new email account and have transferred only a select few marketers from whom I want to get news to my new address. So I don't get distracted, side tracked and overloaded with information and sales pitches day in day out. And I encourage all of you to do the same!
Dearest young lady, if you're reading this post, Here are at least 3 free courses of action you can take RIGHT NOW to really sow the seeds of success in your business plan:
1.Go to the Warrior's Forum and look for a thorough course in Internet Marketing if you are a newbie.
2.Start a blog on Blogger so you don't need to mess about with putting together a website.
3.Open a Facebook group about your idea (Once you've gotten the domain sorted) and start interacting with prospects and testing the water.
Obviously there's plenty more things you could do. But the trick is to get started! As cliche as it may sound, it's true. Amazon.com started from a few computers in a garage. IKEA started with a young lad, Ingvar Kamprad, selling matches in the streets on his bike. Virgin empire started by Richard Branson selling records out of his car boot in London. There's no limit to what we can do once we get the right mindset and take inspired action.
When you wish to get inspired, look at the face of that girl in the photo. Isn't that incredible? It's the face of victory, of achievement. It's the well deserved glory which is earned after months of training, of sweating and of working your muscles to aches rather than going out with your mates or watching the telly. when you look at that face, think of yourself. Think of your personal marathon. Of those 26 miles you want to overcome. Forget where you are right now. And just like that lady on the finish line, get that burning idea out of your mind's arsenal, dust it off and put it to action. Just like runner no. 43593 who has committed herself to a training plan, stick to your own marketing plan. And whenever you feel you're stuck, you feel you're in a dead end, hold the image of that sweet girl in your mind. And put yourself instead of her, there, on the finish line.
Heck, you can do that too!
