Come in a little closer. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. It’s a bit of a doozy, so are you ready? Okay, here it goes. I’m not perfect. Whew! That was a big load off my chest! And did you know that John isn’t perfect either? And neither are Elon Musk, Gary Vaynerchuk, Richard Branson or Bill Gates. We all have our flaws, just as much as we all have our strengths.
And while so many people are ashamed of their flaws and view these weaknesses as character defects that need to be eliminated, you can leverage who you truly are and use these “defects” to your advantage. You just need to re-frame your mindset and adjust your actions accordingly.
“I Have a Habit of Daydreaming”
Were you the type of student who would longingly stare out the window while your chemistry teacher droned on about covalent bonds and valence electrons? If you have a habit of falling into fits of daydreaming, letting your mind wander into what could be, that’s actually a great quality to have as an Internet marketer.
You just have to channel that “dreamer” mentality into something more concrete. Just like the intrinsic joy that accompanies planning a dream vacation, channel that same of enthusiasm toward making your dream a reality. Solidify it with actual actionable steps you can take. Ambition is a great quality is have, so long as you find the way to realize that potential.
“I’m Not a Very Good Writer”
Let’s say that you want to be a successful blogger, either as a goal unto itself or as a means toward something else (like fame or fortune). It’s only natural to think that you have to be an exceptional writer to be a great blogger, but that’s not actually true. You just need to have great ideas.
In addition to options like hiring someone to help edit your work, you can also explore any multitude of other content creation possibilities. Maybe you’re not a very good writer, but you could be excellent at running a podcast or perhaps you prefer expressing your thoughts in video form on YouTube. You have options.
“I Get Distracted or Procrastinate Too Easily”
Particularly when you work from home, running your own online business, you will be faced with infinite opportunities for distractions and procrastination. It’s so easy to get lost on Buzzfeed, Facebook or Netflix, because they’re always available and they can always deliver on some instant gratification.
A system that I find works very well for me is to allow myself to procrastinate. We are always tempted by “the other thing,” so the catch here is that you define ahead of time what “the other thing” can be and it can only be that. You might be working on a blog post, but you feel tempted to distract yourself. Thankfully, you decided ahead of time that the only thing you can do to procrastinate with is to read the Internet marketing book you have on your desk. That’s still productive use of time.
“I’m No Good With Technical Things”
A common assumption is that if you want to make money on the Internet, you need to know the ins and outs of everything you do on the Internet. You need to know how to adapt your WordPress theme, you need to know how to split-test an affiliate marketing campaign, you need to know how to upload files via FTP, and so on.
The truth is that you don’t need to know everything, because you can outsource most of it. Do you think John knows how to develop a WordPress theme from scratch? Do you think Shoemoney knows how to create his own e-commerce store from scratch? The key is not necessarily know *how* something is done. It’s knowing what *can* and *should* be done in order to be successful.
“I Get Lost in the Details”
I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person who can get really enthusiastic at the beginning of a project, completely losing myself in it for hours on end (life responsibilities permitting, of course). I’ll really deep dive into it, because I really want to learn more. This was the case when I was looking into writing my own book, just as much as it is when I considered possibilities for influencer marketing.
That’s not a character defect. It’s a strength. No matter how project it is that you choose to pursue, it’s great to pursue it with that level of passion. Use that positive energy for as long as you have it; just make sure you don’t burn through the entirety of your fuel tank in just the first go at it. You want to maintain that momentum.
“I Hate Dealing with Details”
On the flip side, maybe you’re the kind of person who doesn’t care for the nitty-gritty and you’re far more interested in big picture thinking. That’s not a character fault either. That is also a strength. It just means you should be approaching your projects from a slightly different perspective and with a slightly different strategy.
As I said about in relation to technical expertise, you don’t need to know everything. If you’ve got a great idea and you’re more concerned about the grander scheme, outsource the details to the professionals who can probably do it better than you anyhow.
“I’m Never Satisfied”
You ever get the feeling like no matter what you do, no matter what you accomplish or how much you earn, that it’s just not good enough. It’s easy to fall into a depressive stupor as a result and this insatiable desire for more and better may seem like a defect to some. But it’s not. It’s a strength.
It just means you’re hungry and you’ll always work that much harder for the next big thing. When there is no such thing as “enough” for you, it means that you’ll never fall into a mediocre state of complacency. Do the things you love to lift your spirits and keep moving forward. With the strength of conviction that you will succeed.