You can’t wait to get up in the morning
to get on the computer. You devour ezines. You can’t learn enough
in a day. When you’re not on the computer, your mind is composing
headlines and ad copy; material for articles. Each evening you reluctantly
turn off the computer or maybe you’re still happily at it until
the wee hours of the morning.
Then one day it happens...you get out of bed and the thought of
getting near the computer makes your stomach queasy. You begin thinking
maybe you should get that root canal your dentist has been bugging
you about for the last six months. Gee, wasn’t my carpet beige at
one time, not gray? Maybe I should clean house; mow the yard; do
my 2000 taxes. Anything...anything...but get on the computer.
My friend, you’ve fallen into the "Black Hole" of Internet marketing.
It’s a place where you are totally apathetic about online promotion;
you just don’t want to have anything to do with it.
The first time it happened to me, I had just returned from a tranquil
week in the mountains of Tennessee. I thought I would return to
my computer with a huge appetite for marketing. To my surprise and
dismay, I just didn’t want to get back on the computer and my routine
of spending 10-12 hours a day doing all the things we do.
I came out of that period realizing that I needed to moderate my
time on the computer and to do that; I would need to start working
smarter, not harder. So the "Black Hole" episode wasn’t a bad thing.
I learned from it.
I think anyone who is passionate (obsessive?) about Net marketing
goes through this in varying degrees. And everyone deals with it
differently. Some are able to "bully" their way through these episodes.
That doesn’t work for me because then marketing becomes something
I HAVE to do instead of something I WANT to do.
I have fallen into the "Black Hole" a few more times and have no
doubt I will again in the future. This is how I have learned to
get through it:
1. I subscribe to 125+ ezines. I receive the majority of them in
several different HotMail accounts so I don’t overload my main email
account. I will set my HotMail accounts up not to receive and
automatically delete any incoming mail. This prevents bouncebacks
and I won’t lose my subscriptions. I know I’m going through a temporary
phase and when I get through it, I can open my accounts back up.
2. I go to the library and check out a bunch of books. For me, the
more Stephen King and John Grisham, the better. I spend my afternoons
with my butt firmly planted on the couch
(one cat on my chest and one on my legs) with a bag of potato chips
within easy reach.
3. I give my house what I call a "5-star" cleaning. Now you have
to understand I HATE housework. Hated it when I was a kid and woke
up every Saturday to my mother yelling, "Jo Ann, time to get up.
We have a lot of cleaning to do." Please, just shoot me now! As
I get older, my distaste for housework only increases. But it’s
one of those things I need to do just so I can shut up that "nag
voice" in my head.
4. And speaking of "nag voices," I take care of all those trivial
things that I have been putting off doing. I find this is important
because it seems to clear my head. Shutting up the "nag voices"
is like taking out mental garbage.
Basically, I’m telling myself it’s okay to feel the way I’m feeling...apathetic,
disinterested, turned-off, tuned-out.
After a while, I start feeling there’s a void in my life. I miss
writing; my brain starts to hunger for knowledge again; I’m feeling
aimless and bored.
Then I know it’s time to ease back into Internet marketing.
I start by opening up a few of my HotMail accounts. Not all of them
because I don’t want to feel overwhelmed. I allow myself one hour
a day to read ezines and study ads. After a while, I’ll allow myself
one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon to read and
study. Gradually, I open all my accounts back up.
Before I know it, I’m getting excited again. Words are flowing;
ideas are bumping around in my head.
She’s B-A-C-K!!!
For me, I think the "Black Hole" periods are good. I return to Internet
marketing refreshed and energized. I’m grateful once again for the
return of passion. No longer stale, I can clearly see flaws previously
overlooked and come up with fresh ideas.
Sometimes we are so deeply involved with our life within the computer;
we lose our sense of perspective. We think we are learning, but
we’re just reading words. Our brain is overloaded and nothing is
sticking. We just do the "same old, same old" and wonder why we’re
not getting anywhere.
I think the "Black Hole" is our mind’s way of saying, "Hey, ease
up! Ya know, there’s a whole nother world outside of that monitor.
I’m going on strike until you give me a break!"
I have come to understand that for me, I live in two worlds; one
is CyperSpace and the other is the physical world. I have friends
and loved ones in both worlds; I make money in both worlds; I am
passionate about both worlds.
I think the key is to try to find the right formula so that the
two worlds can co-exist in harmony.
Every time I come out of a "Black Hole," I get a bit closer to finding
that formula.
So don’t panic when you fall in the "Black Hole." Just listen to
that quiet, still voice inside. It will guide you through it. And
when you come out to the other side, I think you’ll be smarter
for the experience. Certainly you’ll appreciate the return of renewed
passion and excitement.
"This, indeed, is one of the eternal paradoxes of both life and
literature--that without passion little gets done; yet, without
control of that passion, its effects are largely ill or null." F.L.
Lucas
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Author: Jo McNamara
http://www.what-works-online.net
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