Shiny Object Syndrome or Analysis Paralysis?

See if this sounds like you…

You began your journey to make money online with an idea of what you wanted to do. Or so you thought. But reality set in very quickly and you realized that there is much more to it than just putting up a website. And not only that – there are so many products/opportunities out there that you have trouble deciding what you want to do.

You are suffering from either Shiny Object Syndrome or Analysis Paralysis.  Hey – these are very common afflictions so don’t beat yourself up.

In fact, I struggled with both of these for the first year…ok, fine – the first 7 years online.  Yes – it took me 7 years before I finally started to figure it out and earn some income.

And it was awesome too! Watching my Paypal account swell, getting those “You made another sale…” emails…yeah, awesome.  But then I started to overthink things. I figured if I could make money doing THIS, then I should also be able to make money doing THAT.

Ha ha ha – oh boy was I wrong.  I began (again) searching in earnest for the next big thing. The next shiny object. Then I would find something to try and would find myself back in that analysis paralysis mode.

Vicious cycle, let me tell you. And it really hurt the sales I WAS making.

Let’s take a look at these two “afflictions”.

Shiny Object Syndrome:  When you focus all your attention on something new and current – usually at the expense of whatever you are currently doing.

Look, I get it. There are so many opportunities out there where you can make some money. We don’t want to miss a thing. And some of the sales pitches make you salivate.

But if you want to make a sustainable income, you REALLY need to focus on that one thing until you get it humming along. Until you become the expert at it. Then, hire someone to maintain it and find something new to add another stream of income to your portfolio. If you try too much at the same time, you WILL fail.

Analysis Paralysis: an inability to make a decision (or complete a task) due to overthinking the problem.

How often have you decided to try an idea for your business and have been handcuffed by the numerous thoughts running through your head about what to do next, how can I make this work, what do I need to add, how do I add it…and on and on.

This can happen to anyone and at just about any time. In fact, I believe that these two afflictions can at times cause the other one.

Think about it – you choose a shiny object, try to make it work, get analysis paralysis and in frustration, you abandon this project and move to the next shiny object. In fact, my own “digital floor” is littered with abandoned and half-finished projects.

Don’t beat yourself up. It’s probably the biggest cause of people not ever making money online. But with some willpower and focus, you can beat it.

One thing I did to help beat this was to find what I wanted to do for my business, then find a mentor to work with to help get me through those steps that would normally paralyze me.  Let’s take affiliate marketing for example. This is something I have done in my years on the internet. But I never let it grow to its full potential. You know – because of the shiny objects.

But I decided that THIS time, affiliate marketing will be my ONLY focus (at least until I become so good at it that it becomes a passive source of income).  Once I decided that I began searching for the mentor that I wanted.

I looked at quite a few people and programs and have found that this program is exactly what I was looking for. The creator of this program is a well-known affiliate marketer for many years. I actually know a couple of his successful students (and you probably do too), and his price is surprisingly low for what you get.

His program gives you all the tools you need, and his training is in very digestible bite sizes so you do not become overwhelmed – and paralyzed.

As I’ve said – these afflictions can grab hold of anyone in ANY business. But you can overcome them. Having a mentor and the tools you need for success will help keep you on track.

This is a guest post from Mike Ambrosio if you would like to be considered for a guest post please contact me.