The Magic Pill

As a child you were told the story of a foolish boy named Jack who bought some magic beans. And while the results on that experiment were mixed, so many entrepreneurs never learned the lesson.

Instead, they traipse around the internet following guru after guru, always searching for the newest breakout star to follow and buying, for tens of thousands of dollars, some magic pills.

“Buy this product and you’ll have a 6-figure year!” they proclaim, the small print nowhere to be found.

“Hire me and all your problems will disappear!” they promise, funneling people into a group program which may or may not fit needs but does pad wallets.

There’s nothing wrong with making money or selling products, but let’s leave the magic pills & fairy dust to Disney.

Yes, those buying have this little thing called “personal responsibility” but to a large extent, you have to understand that the online world is a different language.

In the beginning it feels like shopping with foreign currency in an unknown world – how much is this really worth? can I get it elsewhere cheaper? but they seem so nice! maybe I’ll just buy it here so I don’t have to keep looking…

This product really is magic! The seller proclaims, believing the hype they’ve built.

Maybe it does work, maybe you’ve got the “social proof” to say it does. But let’s look at WHY we believe such programs are so valuable.

“I’ll teach you everything I know!“

is a recipe for disaster.

The best analogy I’ve heard for creating content is that your program, any program, is a container and I like to think of these offers like ingredients in a well stocked kitchen.

If you try to make your container as big as possible and fit everything inside then it’s going to be a jumbled mess that’s useless in the real world. Instead, be deliberate about what goes into the container, label it honestly and keep the ingredients fresh.

And please, please, please recognize that your product or service isn’t the only one we need to stock that kitchen so pricing your “essentials” out of budget isn’t going to increase sales.

The way I see it, everyone wants to be white truffles and no one wants to be white flour. To put it in perspective, everyone wants to be Seth Godin, no one wants to be “another VA.”

Do you really need the special fairy magic dust?

Because you could be offered the best deal in the world on webinar software but if your business shouldn’t be using webinars then it’s still a waste of money, effort and time.

This happens every few months when “the gurus” (conveniently the ones selling or affiliates for such services) are the ones telling you that you and every business ever needs teleseminars, webinars, animated videos, apps, video editing suites, or <insert gadget of the month here>.

None of these things are bad, but they are a distraction especially if your business doesn’t need them. And very few people are going to be truthful and say you don’t need their product.

You also need to understand the magic is very rarely within the pill itself…

it’s in the implementation of it. A book doesn’t change your life, applying the concepts from that book might. Owning a great product doesn’t propel your business forward any more than a car that stays in your garage gets you to the grocery store.

Don’t be an information hoarder

Because you’re never going to use everything you collect and it will be a stumbling block to your goals.

Like it or not, there are businesses out there that prey on your need to learn more. If you walk away from a sales page or pitch thinking “I don’t know enough” or “if I just learned a little more…” then they’ve accomplished a goal. Keeping clients stuck in planning mode is a great way to sell more products.

Because there will always be another book to read, another piece of software to learn, another master to study with before you feel ready.

In a world of passive income products there’s a premium on knowledge and under appreciation of implementation.

Knowing isn’t enough.

Information isn’t going to build your business.

Taking action and getting shit done is hard, which is why most people would rather just create some products.

Just like in the fitness world, there is no magic pill for your online business. But there are people who will walk, jog or run with you to keep you motivated, on the right path and focused on your goals.