Mark breaks his silence with an honest blog post about losing his momentum, what a motivational funk looks like from the inside, and the three things that brought him back to work on Late Night Internet Marketing.
The Anatomy of a Funk
After returning from Asia and recording Episode 040 on the road, Mark hit a wall. Things had been going well in October 2012. While he had not hit all of his yearly goals, progress was moving in the right direction. Then everything stopped.
It started with procrastination. He kept telling himself he would record the next episode tonight, but when night came he would watch television or go to bed early. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a couple of months. The experience felt like batteries dying in a remote control car: a slow loss of responsiveness that eventually left him stalled.
Day job stress played a role. Major restructuring at his employer affected hundreds of people, and while the company handled things professionally, the chaos was a constant distraction. But Mark is quick to note that distraction was not the whole story. The real issue was breaking his own rule: do something to work on your internet business every day, no matter what.
Once the daily habit broke, frustration with himself made it worse. There are always excuses available: travel fatigue, work stress, computer trouble, holiday chaos. The challenge is figuring out how to push through them.
What Brought Mark Back
Support from fans. Tweets, Facebook messages, and emails from listeners asking if everything was okay reminded Mark why he does this work. He did not like having to tell people he had been a slug, and he could not help anyone if he was not producing content.
An unexpected conversation. A Twitter exchange with Paul Soares Jr. of Minecraft fame and a connection to Pat Flynn created an energizing moment. Paul, a massive YouTube creator, told Mark that he and Pat had influenced Paul to pursue his online work. That validation was a jolt of motivation, and Paul agreed to appear on a future episode.
His wife. She had been encouraging him in a sweet and helpful way to get serious about the business again. She is the reason the whole project started in the first place, so her encouragement carried particular weight.
Looking Forward
Mark commits to returning to weekly podcast production immediately and shares that he has serious goals for the coming year that he plans to track and report publicly. Episode 041 of the podcast drops the next day with the full audio story.
What's Changed Since This Post
Mark published this in December 2012. The experience he describes, losing creative momentum on a side project, has become one of the most discussed topics in the creator economy.
The term “creator burnout” is now mainstream. What Mark described as a funk is widely recognized as a predictable phase in content creation. Research and communities dedicated to sustainable content production have grown significantly since 2012.
Public accountability has become a deliberate strategy. Mark's instinct to share his struggle openly and commit to goals publicly is now a recognized productivity technique. Platforms like Beeminder, Stickk, and public building communities formalize exactly the kind of accountability Mark practiced here.
Key Takeaways
- Breaking the daily work habit on your side business creates a dangerous downward spiral
- Funks are common among part-time entrepreneurs, not a sign of failure
- Your support network, audience, spouse, and peers, is your most powerful recovery tool
- Public accountability creates positive pressure to follow through on commitments
Related Episodes
Listen and Subscribe
Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/.
Glad to have you back, Mark. I am too familiar with that “funk” you speak of. Looking forward to reading your upcoming goals for the new year. I have a few myself. Let’s get together soon.
Welcome back 🙂 Glad to see you pulling out of your funkedness.
Thanks Loretta. Me too. About time, don’t you think. Transcript requests headed your way soon! — Mark
Mark, I totally understand. I lost the funk in some respects and the year was kind of lack lustre overall in regards to my overall efforts…. I hope that will change immensely next year as I am launching a travel blog which really is a passion for me and something I am living day to day! I hope my frugal site and other projects will find a new way to be a part of my work too and also hope to grow some graphic design back to a suitable level again!!! Lot’s to do and I am excited which is great news.
You do awesome stuff online so I can’t wait to see where the site goes.
Thanks man. Really appreciate your support. Would love to help you grow your business. Maybe you should come on the podcast some time.
I feel your pain on just flat out being out of it and how it can snow ball. My white board has 12 things on it from September and 3 are crossed off. The whole EMD/Panda update at the end of Sept started it for me. I had just purchased two adsense sites and hit $100 in a month for the first time. I was ready to spend some of my app earnings on more sites (guess I should be thankful the update happen when it did).
But I finally pulled myself up a little. Shot my first video for my site and that has helped motivate me. Looking forward to the podcast tomorrow.
Thanks Jason. Funny how you can get psyched out by something like Panda. Congrats on getting the video shot. I really like the cool video player configuration you have with the light box. How did you do that? Looks great!
Thanks!
Mark
Mark,
Welcome back!
I definitely missed your updates and podcasts and I can relate. I’m going through a funk now too, a different kind of funk perhaps, but a funk nonetheless. I still work on my businesses daily, but I feel unfocused and that I’m really just going through the motions.
For me it is a lack of planning ahead. I think that is where I have slipped up, I haven’t been taking the time to plan my progress properly. Instead I’m doing everything off the cuff and spur of the moment.
Congrats again on getting back into the swing of things and I look forward to the new episode!
Hey Shawn;
No better time than now to plan for 2013. I’ll be publishing a “goal post” for 2013 this coming week. I challenge you to do the same. Maybe that will help you keep the picture in focus in the coming months (sure can’t hurt).
Thanks!
Mark
Hi Mark,
Glad to see you are back!
I have a suggestion on how you can get rid of your “funk”. You should try listing it for sale on CraigsList. People buy and sell everything there. LOL
Looking forward to seeing what you do in 2013!
Eric — this made me laugh out loud. Thanks!