Every January, the internet fills with New Year's resolutions and fresh commitments to finally build that online business. And every March, most of those resolutions are forgotten. The difference between people who build successful businesses and people who do not comes down to something Michael Jackson sang about decades ago: it starts with the man in the mirror.
The Story That Started This Thought
Years ago, my daughters became obsessed with Michael Jackson's music. We listened to his albums endlessly during our long drives to school. One morning, “Man in the Mirror” came on, and it hit me that the song's message applies directly to building an online business.
The song is about looking at yourself honestly and recognizing that if you want things to change, you have to be the one to change them. Nobody else is going to do it for you.
You Are Responsible for Your Results
Periodically, I hear from people who are frustrated that some product or course did not meet their expectations. Some internet marketing solution did not make them rich overnight. Things are harder than they expected. Life got in the way.
I get it. Building an online business is genuinely hard, and it takes longer than most sales pages suggest. But here is the uncomfortable truth: the ability to change your situation is within you. Not within the next course you buy. Not within the next guru you follow. Within you.
When you buy a product or course and find that implementing it is harder than the sales page promised, you have two choices. You can blame the person who sold it to you. Or you can figure out what additional skills, knowledge, or help you need to bridge the gap between where you are and where the product assumes you should be.
One of those choices leads to progress. The other leads to a refund request and no forward motion.
Failure Is Part of the Process
I have been building online businesses since 2009. In that time, I have launched products that flopped, created content that nobody read, invested in tools that did not deliver, and made more mistakes than I can count. Every successful online entrepreneur I know has a similar list of failures.
The difference is that they kept going. They treated each failure as data, not as evidence that they were not cut out for this. They looked in the mirror, asked what they could learn, and took the next step.
If you will do the things that nobody else will do for a year, you can spend a lifetime doing the things that nobody else can do. I heard that advice early in my journey, and it has proven true again and again.
What You Can Do Today
Stop waiting for the perfect conditions. There is no perfect time to start. There is no perfect product to buy. There is no guru who will hand you a foolproof plan. Start with what you have, where you are, today.
Take one concrete action. Not a big, dramatic gesture. One small step. Write a blog post. Set up a landing page. Record a short video. Send an email to your list. Action creates momentum, and momentum creates results.
Own your results, good and bad. When something works, understand why so you can repeat it. When something fails, understand why so you can avoid it next time. Either way, the responsibility is yours.
Invest in skills, not shortcuts. The courses and tools that actually pay off are the ones that teach you fundamental skills: writing, marketing, building relationships, understanding your audience. These skills compound over time. Shortcuts do not.
Find your people. Surround yourself with others who are doing the work. Not people who just talk about doing the work, but people who are actually showing up every day and building something. Their energy and example will pull you forward on the days when your own motivation is not enough.
Look in the mirror. The person looking back at you is the only person who can build your business. Start today.
This is a great post Mark, thank you!
I find that a lot of people don’t take responsiblity for themselves and their business, and waste time pointing fingers and complaining instead of doing something to better their situation. It’s sad really, and unfortunately, those types of people will never see success because their too busy hiding behind their complaints to make any real changes.
Melissa
P.S. I spotted your button for Josh’s link building report, so it looks like I’ll be picking up a copy of that š
Awesome connection with MJ’s song and IM.
You can’t complain about your business if your not willing to fix it
Although just hearing the name of that sicko makes my stomach turn, this post has some great advice.
In most cases, failure really is the start of success and succeeding at anything really is so much about confidence and attitude. I’m no smarter than the average person and I definitely don’t have any more education than the average person (no college at all,) but I’m able to provide very well for my family simply because I decided I was going to make my living online and I never gave up even after failing over and over and over. And I still fail at things in my business…
Thanks for the plug and the great tips, Mark.
I can see why you would make the correlation of the man in the mirror to internet marketing. Most people fail in internet marketing because they are afraid of the work or the time it requires and so they look for a quick fix. But they never find it.
I know because I’ve been there. I was too afraid of the HUGE learning curve and the amount of time I expected it would take to overcome it. Instead I kept looking for an easy answer and wasted more time than it would have taken to actually develop the skills I needed.
I had to have a heart to heart with my man in the mirror and finally learn how to make money online for myself. I had to accept responsibility for my own success.
However, on the other side of the coin, it’s too bad Michael Jackson didn’t take this same advice and take responsibility for his own life. It’s not surprising though, since these were not his words since he didn’t write the song. He only performed. Sadly his life offstage was not performed as well as his life onstage.
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Itās one thing if people who believe Michael Jacksonās a pedophile did their homework & checked the other side ā MJās an innocent victim of extortion. I bet no one has. ANYONE DECENT will check @ least 1 source below in ea. of the allegations.
Jordie Chandler allegation which was settled:
1. āWas Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story,ā Mary A. Fischer, GQ, October 1994, buttonmonkey(dot)com;
2. āBury the Never Ending Myth of Jackson as Child Molester,ā Earl Ofari Hutchison, July 8, 2009, huffingtonpost;
3. Redemption by Geraldine Hughes, legal secretary for Barry Rothman, Dr. Chandlerās lawyer, who witnessed the set-up.
Gavin Arviso trial, JACKSON ACQUITTED ON ALL COUNTS:
4. Michael Jackson Conspiracy, Aphrodite Jones.
5. Michael Jackson: The Untold Story of Neverland (DVD) by Larry Nimmer (some excerpts on YouTube).
6. On Michael Jackson by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for NY Times Margo Jefferson.
@ Ligaya – I know this isn’t at all a conversation Mark was hoping for with this post, so I’ll just make one comment on that, then I’ll leave it at all as for my opinion. And that is; O.J. got away with murder and he wasn’t nearly as rich and famous as Michael Jackson! And I suppose you would have no problem at all leaving your own children alone with Michael Jackson?
@Josh: Itās not my intention to hijack this discussion. You opened the door by starting your 1st comment with: āAlthough just hearing the name of that sicko makes my stomach turn.ā This is a public forum. When you make a statement ā even if itās an opinion to which you have a right – that others think is offensive/wrong, you might get feedback. My comment was the last Iād intended to make ā youāre only extending the discussion. If youād like we can exchange our different viewpoints in a civilized, respectful manner w/o trying to change ea. otherās minds. Mark can give us ea. otherās email addresses.
Before I end, hereās a few points to consider:
1.The right comparison is between Michael Jackson vs. Roman Polanski, not Michael Jackson vs. O.J. Simpson. MJ was acquitted of all counts in his trial, RP admitted his guilt & compounded his crime by fleeing. Contrast their treatment.
2. Iām a 57 y.o. incest survivor. Over the course of 36 yrs. intermittent therapy in various settings, as patient/health care provider, knowing hundreds of child sexual abuse survivors (incl. non-incest), studying the subject (incl. perpetrators) intensively, studying the Jackson case ā my conclusion is that he was the victim of grifters/extortionists. Many agree with me.
3. Thereās no question that Michael Jackson was one very damaged person, didnāt fit our norms, was much in need of help. IMO, he led an absolutely abnormal life since he was 5 y.o. and what we saw was a ādisabilityā that was a consequence of that abnormal life.
4. No, I wouldnāt have a problem having my children sleep over with MJ because as a responsible parent, Iād be present, as many parents were. āThe Michael Jackson Conspiracyā quotes the TRIAL TRANSCRIPTS OF TESTIMONY VERBATIM. The media didnāt report that whole sets of siblings, girls & boys alike, elementary school age/tweens/teens slept in Michaelās bedroom (more like a hotel suite) at the same time. It *was* the innocent sleepover heād missed out on when he had to work as a child.
5. Youāve heard of multiple personalities. I donāt think MJ had the clinical kind, but he was split between the performer, businessman & child. Read the interview between Macaulay (sp?) Culkin in Ian Halperinās MJ book (which I donāt recommend).
Wow, that’s quite a long comment there, Ligaya. I’m sure it’s very interesting. It’s great to see you have such a passion for standing up for what you believe in. Best of luck with everything you do.
I am in the fail over and over again stage. I guess this is where most people give up.
Hi Mark
I totally agree with that post its a perfect example of who to point the finger at, many successful people have a lot of failures behind them š
You just have to remember the saying “Fail your way to success” after all successful people learn from their mistakes and move on š
So keep your mind on what you want and off the things you don’t want.
Ben was my favorite Michael Jackson song and i kind of miss the King of Pop now that he is forever gone. I still have my collection of michael jackson cassetes in the old days.
there is no doubt that Michael Jackson is the best ever pop music artist of the Centruy;;:
i will really miss the King of Pop. michael jackson is truly the best pop artist in this lifetime.~~*