Line BreakAuthor: Steven Aitchison (433 Articles)
I am the owner of this blog and write about personal development with my passions being belief formation, thoughts, perceptions and emotions. You can get my FREE video course to help Change Your Life at www.AlterYourJacket.com
Last year, 2009, I failed spectacularly at making a lot of money with all my internet ventures and little schemes and tricks to make money. At least, it sometimes felt like failing as I didn’t achieve what I set out to achieve. The truth is I didn’t fail at it, I just paid a lot of money for some more education. I now know, without doubt, that the best way to make money is to help other people achieve their goals in life. The best way for me to help people do this is to write, and produce products such as books, cds, and videos and possibly do seminars. The best way to be good at this is to care about people and write and produce really useful content.
I am being totally honest when I say I have followed over 100 ideas to make money on the net in the last 3 years. I didn’t follow through on all of them as I got bored or excited by something else that took my interest, but there were a few that stuck, including writing.
The failing doesn’t bother me. I am an extremely, internally, competitive person: I am my best competition, so it’s the fact that I didn’t give it my best shot that bothers me. Obviously with 100 ideas you can only follow through on so many of them and some of them will fall by the wayside or just fail altogether.
Think about this for a moment: If I didn’t have 100 ideas and wasn’t willing to take action on them would I have found out what I am really good at – Absolutely not! My ideas would have been just that, something that floated around the ether of my mind. Taking action on the ideas is what makes us feel useful, and makes us feel as if we are contributing to the world, at least it does for me.
So for 2010 how many ideas are you going to follow up on, how many ideas are you going to have? Start cultivating the idea field in your mind, the more you have the better, the more you follow up on the more you will fail, but the more successes you will have as well. I would rather have 100 ideas that I take action on, fail at 99 of them, succeed with one of them than have no ideas at all, for fear of failing on all of them.
2010 is going to be a great year for a lot of people and I raise my glass to you and your ideas.
Have a fantastic New Year and I hope I will speak to you in 2010 brimming with new ideas
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi steve,
To recap the contents of my last post, THANK YOU!!!
I look forward to exciting times in 2010.
Thanks for extending your arm of friendship to me. I will always value that.
Happy New Year In Advance!!!
ayo´s last blog ..My Final Word: THANK YOU!!!
Ayo, it’s been great knowing you and I really do wish you well for 2010. you’ve been a great find and I am sure the CYT readers got a lot from all your posts. Thank you for your friendship.
Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..Cultivating Your Idea Field for 2010
Fascinating, Steve. Now that would make riveting reading “The 100 Money Making Ideas I Tried and Failed At”.
Best to you, Robin
Robin Dickinson´s last blog ..My 10 most valuable lessons on-line in 2009
Hi Robin.
that could be the next book.
All the best to you and your family Robin, take care.
Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..Cultivating Your Idea Field for 2010
Hi Steven,
I’ve only known you for a short while! I am thankful for your brutal honesty! To quote Lewis Carroll:
And so you have found out that secret—one of the deep secrets of Life—that all, that is really worth the doing, is what we do for others?
(Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832-1898), British author, mathematician, clergyman. letter, Nov. 13, 1890, to Ellen Terry. The Letters of Lewis Carroll, vol. II, ed. Morton N. Cohen, Oxford University
Press (1979).)
May your 2010 be filled with tenacious purpose! May you always have love to share, health to spare and friends that care.
Daniel K
Daniel K Wentzel´s last blog ..wentzeldk: @pinkchillo From Chinese (Mandarin) 越吃就越肥， 越肥就越吃。。。 this translates to "the more you eat the more fat"
Daniel, thank you for your kind words.
I hope you have a fantastic 2010
Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..Cultivating Your Idea Field for 2010
Hi Steve:
You were my first contact by Twitter I’m sure yo do not have the minimal idea how you have been an inspiration and model to follow for me in my project as a entrepreneur in internet
I love your writing , advise and recomendations.
Thank you very much and succesfully on 2010.
Rosangel´s last blog ..3 Comandos básicos para el 2010
Hi Rosangel, what a wonderful thing to hear, thank you so much.
I wish you everything you wish for yourself in 2010.
Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..Cultivating Your Idea Field for 2010
Thanks for sharing with us Steven! I completely agree that it’s far better than to keep trying and failing until you succeed, than to not go forth at all for fear of failing. Honestly, I’m not sure why people do that, because it’s like dooming yourself to exactly what you fear the most.
Best of luck in 2010! Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us here at CYT
Jonathan Beebe´s last blog ..Learn to Forgive
Hi Jonathan, It’s been good getting to know you a little in 2009 and I hope we can work together in 2010.
Have a brilliant 2010 and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for all of us.
Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..Cultivating Your Idea Field for 2010
I’ve been thinking about unsubscribing from your feed and I thought it would be good to let you know why. The text isn’t formatted at all. I don’t have time to read through every post every time. For me, good content needs headings, bullet points, some bold/italicized text… I’ll stay on board for a little while. I hope to see some changes. If not, you are doing a good thing either way. Keep following your dreams brother.
Jonathan, thank you for your honesty, I really do appreciate it. I will take on board what you have said. Thanks again
Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..Cultivating Your Idea Field for 2010
Hey, Steven! Thanks for posting this. Your first sentence, in particular, really grabbed my attention because it’s exactly how I feel about what I *thought* I would accomplish in 2009. I failed spectacularly at THAT. I succeeded in all sorts of other areas that I never could’ve even dreamed of, though… and I learned an awful lot.
That puts the two of us much closer to where we’d like to be. I’ll raise my glass (or cup of coffee, as it were) to you and your ideas for 2010!
Lisis´s last blog ..Forget Resolutions, Live for Today
Hi Lisis, cup of coffee raised back at you. Big things are going to happen for you this year, I can feel it in ma bones
Your first sentence made me laugh – haven’t most entrepreneurs been there? It’s the realization that it is a journey that is not necessarily measured out neatly in terms of man made years that made me stop beating myself up annually and as you said, realizing what you have gained not just what you initially think you didn’t gain.
I like Jonathan’s comment too didn’t you? Disagreeing but with honesty, useful pointers, encouragement and style.
Hi Rosie, thanks for stopping by. I think all entrepreneurs have been where we are and we owe it to ourselves to follow in their footsteps and keep going, no matter what.
Happy New Year Steven and wish you the best luck with all your ventures in 2010! You are so right about having multiple goals and trying multiple ventures in life without the fear that you will fail. If yo are not 100% sure what you need to do then it is much better to knock on 100 doors and see which one will open up.
I think that every entrepreneur does the same thing that you did (I know I did) and this is just the best way to learn what is best for you. Experience is the best possible teacher and none of the books can teach you that
Have a great and exciting 2010!
Anastasiya´s last blog ..How to Make Resolutions that Work
Happy New year to you too Anastasiya. You’re totally correct about experience being the best teacher, that is whay it is best taking action on ideas instead of just collecting them. Best of wishes for 2010
Well put, Stephen. Sometimes fearing failures is what keeps most from even trying. But anyone and everyone who succeeds has left a trail of 100 failures both small and big.
Happy New Year, Steven,
I just discovered you did one guided meditation and lost the site. Did another and am now hooked. I know this year will be the real turning point in my life because of your wisdom and kindness! Rosay
Hi Steven,
I think it’s difficult to consider any attempt towards pursuing a meaningful passion to be a failure. As long as the pursuit provides fulfillment and mistakes provide learning opportunities, then progress is being made that is worth being proud of. Through your writing, it’s clear to me that you’re doing these things.
I wish you plenty of success in 2010!
Vin – NaturalBias´s last blog ..5 Keys to Successful New Year’s Resolutions
Wow Steven. Thanks for reminding us that we really do have to care. In addition to what you wrote, I believe that when you do write and create from the heart it gives your more pleasure to do it and at the same time you’re helping other people in the process. But yes, you’re advice on helping other people achieve what they want will reciprocate rewards back.
Josue Cano´s last blog ..
For all the ‘failures’ in our lives, we need to have a post like this to read. I am so encouraged by this read, because it tells me I’m on the right track. I, like you, have been through quite a few ideas in the last three years or so, but without them, I would not have ended up where I am now, and where I am going. It has definitely helped me discover my love of writing, teaching, and blogging.
I love your excitement Steven. Personally I feel that discarding ideas that hinder us from moving forward with our goals are really what can help us “get there.” This last year I felt that many notions were hindering me. Many rules that didn’t need to be there were stopping me from truly moving forward.
Recently I stopped and decided to analyse what it was that was impeding me from moving forward. And I could see various notions. These were like walls I had built up around me in my mind and they definitely were stopping me from my full potential. I can honestly say that I am tearing down each wall- one day at a time and I am determined to get to my goals.
The other day I was able to achieve something I thought would be too hard and the feeling I got from that was just awesome. I want to repeat that over and over again.
All the best,
Eren
Eren Mckay´s last blog ..How to stay calm while being more productive
Hi Steven,
Sometimes I feel bombarded by ideas – there’s so much useful info on the web. I get thrown off track because I’m going in too many different directions at once. When I have chosen a direction to follow, then I have to deal with success or failure or lack of understanding or “how did I end up in the wrong place? Where is everyone else?” Everything that happens results in me learning something. The key for me is knowing when to let go – declare something dead or not working for me – and then to allow myself to move on without a backwards glance. Time for me to build up my “let go now” muscle. Something to practice in 2010!
Cheryl from thatgirlisfunny´s last blog ..Reveal Gifts Hidden by Your Personal Point of View – What am I missing?
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