Even though my family are extremely supportive, they are not as motivated about my business as I am which is understandable. Of course they want me to be and depend on me to some extent be successful. And it took me years of basically saying’ you watch I know what to do now to make money online’.

Then there was another learning curve and yet another and another..

And you know what..

It never ends!

If you are inclined to learn and implement..

Learning is a never ending process. You can always learn and apply more. But there comes a time when you have to stop kidding yourself and actually implement what you have learned already and start enjoying the journey.

It’s a known fact that most people who buy books don’t read them all. People who like to read probably buy more books than they have time to read. And others may not always read a full book.

People who do read books and learn something new, probably never take action on what gained from the book. The knowledge is stored but never acted upon and most books are left to gather dust and usually forgotten about.

This is a generalization of course.

But the fact is that to enter ANY market you have to implement. You need to take action and you need to have something unique. Even if you take action and you don’t know if the action you are taking is the right one, taking some action is better than taking no action.

If you do actually take action and follow through you are probably 90% ahead of everyone else, because based on the 80/20 rule, most people simply don’t take action.

Compare this to learning to drive a car. You can read the books, watch videos and be an ‘armchair expert’, but you won’t actually learn to be an expert driver let alone a competent driver unless you actually get behind the wheel and do something.

So whether it’s selling on eBay, Amazon, through ecommerce channels or through other channels and in any market, you need to walk before you can run and actually do start doing something. I’m sure you’ll agree you can learn basics but you can’t become an expert or even proficient unless you start doing something and actually start ‘trying’ stuff.

Here’s something else I hear often..

“If every market is already too competitive then why even bother trying”.

Here’s why..

Take music for example..

I’m kind of eclectic so I tend to like all kinds of different music. But what if every musician out there said..

“I’m not going to write or release a new song because there are already too many musicians in the world and the market is already flooded with music”.

Of course that wouldn’t happen, because in reality there are so many different kinds of music styles and unlimited possibilities for new music to be created and people who like ‘creating’ and ‘adding value’ do it because it’s in their blood.

I have always said that the key to winning is having something different to offer. You don’t have to be radically different, you just need to be at the least fractionally different. Just different enough so that you, your music or your products are unique.

The same can be said for any market you enter on the internet. Be unique and make your products stand out – they only have to be slightly different to existing products to be unique enough to be winning products in their own right. This actually works better in competitive markets.

The good news is that it doesn’t take long to discover new ideas and strategies once you immerse yourself in a market.

What can you do to make your products that little bit different and what actions you will you commit to this week and actually complete..

It would be interesting to know!

I love the winter scenes of snow covered rooftops and trees in the countryside but then again I only see it maybe once each year. The reason I love the picturesque scenes so much is because usually I don’t have to feel the snow or the cold.

As you may or may not know I spend most of my time in tropical climates that pull in 35 degree Celsius heat waves as a norm, but sometimes I like to travel to the UK to visit friends and family and to ‘absorb’ England. Visiting England, especially in winter is kind of like getting a sweet slap in the face.

The cold is bitter but it’s a wake up call to what people experience in winter climates.

The only reason I like it is because the winter scenes are beautiful and I don’t have to fight through the bitter cold mornings to do my work. If I had to travel or work outside in winter I probably wouldn’t like the winter months so much.

But this is my point. When you are in the crowd of people who are all following the blind,  i.e. cuing in traffic to get to work, following a routine your not happy with, seeing everyone else following a similar routine and desperate to spend money rather than make money, it’s difficult to see the other side of the fence.

What I mean is that when you’re in the crowd, it’s more difficult to see the big picture from above.

Why would you want to see the big picture?

It reminds me of a previous post;  Selling more on eBay the 1000 mile high view

Being able to really SEE the big picture helps you realize that you don’t simply have to follow the crowd.

There are benefits to this..

– Being able to truly ‘think outside the box’

– It’s easier to commit to your own needs and your own passions

– It’s easier to see what the crowd really wants

– Overcoming your fear of freedom!

For example;  When I see market stalls and products in shops in England I’m always comparing prices to what’s available in other countries.

Most people might walk into a shop that sell supplements or curtain blinds or anything else a little unusual, to actually buy something. I go in to check what’s on offer or more importantly what’s not on offer.

If you find a product available on the internet that you know people would want that isn’t easily found in the high street shops or market stalls then you might just have a hot idea for a product to sell on eBay.

Experiencing different climates and travelling helps you ‘think outside the box’ – it opens the mind to possibilities and opportunities you would have never even dreamed of before.

Make time to have a look, won’t you?  (From ‘outside the box’ that is), and consider if what you are doing and feeling is where you really want to be right now – or whether you would benefit from watching and thinking from ‘outside the box’ a little more.