by Mike-the-Pharmacist (Michael J. Ilardo RPh)
Think of how this works. The average person will spend $100 for a dinner out. If you have a family of 6 you will go to the OG (the famous Italian American chain) and drop $150 for $25 worth of pasta. And $10 for a piece of cheese cake. Without batting an eye and just a swipe of the credit card. Yet, offer a $150 e-course and they sit on the fence. “That’s too expensive!”
$300 for a personal growth seminar? Way too expensive! $300 for a Gucci belt or a fancy purse? I had to get it, it was on sale from $399!
60 minutes at the gym? I don’t have the time. 60 minutes to watch Masterchef (that’s me!) or Netflix? I can’t miss an episode!
How about $1000 to start an online business? (Most will cost you $100-$700) No way! Who has that kind of money? $1000 to spend the day at Disney or to buy the latest Apple Iphone? It is a wise investment I need!
My favorite is this – $2997 for a fully comprehensive 30 day Online course that will teach you how to fully start a blog and take action and change your life? Ripoff. Scam. It doesn’t work. I can’t do it. They just want my money! $100,000 for a 5 year degree for a career that likely won’t still be around by the time you graduate? I can’t get a job without this degree! Surely by the time I graduate it will be back in demand.
I get it. It looks confusing out there. But the magic of Facebook and social media is if you start asking questions about how to find what you want online, you will end up with some courses in your newsfeed that coincidentally match what you just asked about. I wanted to learn about Freelance writing, and bam, a course appeared that I jumped in at. I wanted to blog and a blogging course showed up to enroll in. I asked some questions to a group about using Linked In, and my newsfeed had 2 or 3 Linked In course options that very day. I don’t know how all that works, but some of these folks have programs that pick up your searches and key words and tailor their ads to come to those who are looking. It’s genius, and my take is if they have that Superpower, their course likely has some good secrets in it.
It’s not too different than college. Those paying attention and trying to keep up are the ones that rise to the top of the Class. The motivated, the ambitious, the hard working, and the teacher’s pets all were the ones that excelled. The ones who asked questions. The ones who found joy in the mundane. The ones who engaged people and were leaders were the ones they elected Pharmacy Class President and Social Coordinator of the College Pep Band. And to have success online you need to have some of that too.
Online success is not for sissies, complainers, or cry babies. It is real work. And yes, it’s tough out there and yes it can be overwhelming, but the job force is just as crazy. And the job force seems to be more and more unstable every day. I just read that WalMart is planning on getting rid of 40% of their pharmacists. What hope do I have if I am counting on Pharmacy to be my bread-and-butter the next 25 years?
I am finding there are a few keys to success. John Maxwell is a leadership expert and he teaches how people overestimate what they can do in a day but UNDERestimate what they can do over the long term.
First, DO SOMETHING EVERY DAY.
This means find your bread and butter. If you are going to blog, blog every day OR IMPROVE a previous post every day. Add a picture. Expand on a thought. Edit something. Start a draft you can send later. Just do it every day. When John Grisham started writing, he was a full time lawyer. He just wrote every day for about an hour. In a year he had his first novel, A Time To Kill. Then he just jumped into his second novel. How many of us would have said, “Phew, I am glad that goal is done. I can now sit down and go back to Netflix!” John Maxwell has written over 100 books. Just keep writing.
Next, Jump into a course AND DO WHAT THEY TEACH.
Very few are doers of anything. They sign up for a course and never get started and then they enroll in a new course. Others don’t sign up for anything because they believe the voices that they will never amount to anything so why bother. I have 5 kids and 3 electronic devices (unless you count the calculator and Nintendo!) so I am quickly outnumbered. I could give up and keep trying to beat the 2nd Bald Bull in Punch Out. It’s not easy but I am writing my blog post in the basement and as soon as that is done, I will put on the next training while I do the dishes and make some breakfast for the kids. I can listen to a podcast while I walk the dogs.
My goal is to watch some training every day, and do some personal development and do what they teach. In a month I will be further ahead. In 12 months I will be even further. In 36 months I may be the famous Mike-the-Pharmacist-who-changed-the-World.
Find some good support groups – and when you get stuck hire it out.
Find some good online groups. Add value to them. Make new friends. If you are blogging, join some blogging groups. If you are learning to be a Copywriter, join some Copywriter’s groups. If you are a Facebook comedian, join some comedy groups. Jim Rohn said you are the average of the 5 people you hang around. The groups you join, the people you associate with, the books you read – they will all change and challenge you. We don’t have to be the same people we are when we started. Baby steps will still get you there but you have to take them.
Finally, marry the process, and divorce the outcome.
Take some action, and expect adversity. Expect people to not be excited about your dreams. This is biblical. Joseph was the first person who got all excited to share the dreams on his heart and his brothers tried to kill him. Most people won’t believe in your dreams because they won’t even believe in theirs.
Just keep going. And one day when it all works out, they will look at you and be impressed. But you aren’t doing it for them.