Clickincome Secret - Challenge the Status Quo
When dealing with my clients at Clickincome, I often run into the problem of a presumed “status quo” for websites. Sure, there are guidelines and such for building websites, whether you’re a customer with Clickincome or not. Many of them assume that there are rules for building sites. Certainly there are laws that govern the way businesses are run in our country. You need to follow those rules or you pay inordinate amounts of money in fines or, worse, you go to jail.
When it comes to building websites, though, the rules are more flexible. To quote Captain Barbosa in Pirates of the Caribbean, “They’re more like guidelines.”
Yes, there are certain practices that work better than others, and I try to teach my Clickincome clients about best practices. Knowing what the “rules” are, though, means learning when to break them. That what “being different” means and being different can get your site noticed.
I don’t want you to get stupid for the sake of being different, mind you. Just because everyone else wears their shoes on their feet doesn’t mean I want to start tying them to my ears. Wearing shoes on my feet instead of tied to my ears has worked for me pretty well so far. Why change that around if it’s working for me? Being smart is definitely better than being stupid. Then again, a lot of people I’ve met are pretty stupid so, instead of falling in with that lot I think I’ll stay over her in smart land, thank you very much.
Being different is great, as long as it also means you’re more effective, and having more fun.
Let me give you an example of challenging the status quo. For years and years cooking eggs “over easy” has meant firing up a skillet on medium heat, melting butter in the pan, adding the egg and cooking on one side for a couple of minutes, and then gently turning the egg over to cook the other side. The trick, of course, is to not cook it so long on the other side that the yolk cooks solid. With eggs over easy, you want nice runny yolks.
When I do it this way, according to the “rules,” I’m lucky if the eggs turn out right. Usually I get a broken or overcooked yolk. You might have the same problem. Instead of doing it that way, the way “everyone else” does it, what if you turned off the heat after you added the egg, and then put a lid over the skillet? Then you could let the steam cook the top of the egg for a couple of minutes, just until the whites were done. Hey, this just might work (trust me, it does). Not only does it work but it works every time. Not only do you get better results but you avoid the problems inherent in flipping the egg over. Better results, less work.
When looking at successful web entrepreneurs the world over, the basic rule are pretty well uniform. Surprisingly so, and yet they are different from what the rest of the world is doing, or thinks it should do.
1. Retirement is not the goal.
Retirement planning is like life insurance. It’s preparation for a worst case scenario and is built on the idea that you hate what you’re doing. Retirement means being bored for the rest of your life.
2. Alternate periods of activity with periods of rest.
You can’t be “turned on” 100% of the time. Doing the same thing, day in and day out, for eight or more hours a day until you break or have enough cash to stop isn’t sustainable. Taking time for breaks and vacation isn’t being lazy, it’s survival.
3.Being busy is not the same as being productive.
Doing meaningless work is the same as not working at all. Acting on less important activities means you’re dedicating time to more important, and effective, ones. Don’t invent things to do just to keep busy. It just means you’re avoiding the important things.
4. The perfect time never comes.
It’s never the right time to have get married, or have children, or start a business. Never. Waiting until “someday” is a disease. If you want to do something, do it now or you never will.
5. It’s better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
As long as it won’t hurt someone around you, try it, and then justify it. Most obstacles in life try to stop you before you get started, not after you start moving.
6. Leverage your strengths.
If something is working for you, do it more and do it better. Focus more on the things you do well than trying to fix all the things you don’t do well.
7. Taken to excess, endeavors become their opposites.
Having too much of what you want often becomes what you don’t want. We are not interested in creating and excess of idle time. We are interested in increasing free time to do what you want to do, instead of what you have to do.
8. More money isn’t always the answer.
Money can be powerful, but it’s not the only answer to a problem. Using money as an excuse for everything distracts you from important self-examination and decision making.
9. Income is relative.
Having enough money to do what you want is not the same as having a lot of money. Making money always costs time, but time is more valuable.
10. Not all stress is bad.
There are two kinds of stress, that which harms you, and that which strengthens you. Jumping off your roof may kill you. Exercising may feel likes it’s killing you, but it’s actually strengthening you. If you avoid all stress, by staying on the couch in front of the TV instead of exercising, for example, it still weakens you. Doing the important, even if it’s uncomfortable, makes it easier for you to do it again.