Many years ago, I was a young, U.S. Air Force major, working an
office job Hawaii. This "seasoned," gruff-but-fatherly colonel
peered over my shoulder as I worked, and asked what I was doing.
I explained that I was writing a paper to help another major
document a problem for the general. He asked why, and I explained
that I was the expert on the topic.
The lesson that colonel taught me that day changed my life, and
continues to help my online business grow. You see, I had allowed
the other major, who had a big challenge, simply pass it along to
me because it was something I felt very comfortable with. I had
TONS of other things I needed to get done, but I had allowed a
co-worker to get me to do his work.
What that colonel explained to me that day was that all my life I
would have people come to me with "900-pound monkeys on their
backs." He explained that often there's nothing they would like
better than to take the monkey off their back and put it on
someone else's. He went on to explain that it's nice to help
people, but often DUMB to just let them dump their work on you.
As I look around me in the online world everyday, I witness
people allowing others to take 900-pound monkeys that are on
their backs... and place those monkeys on other's backs. I see
this as a PROBLEM many times because in the process of agreeing
to take on someone else's problem, the "volunteer" often puts his
own projects on hold.
I often hear those who've taken on others' problems complaining
about not having the time to finish their own projects. I
sometimes politely point out that it's their fault.
Let's look at a few concrete examples...
Often, I see people on discussion boards ask how to fix an html
problem, modify a graphic, or perhaps improve on a webpage.
Sometimes, those of us who are very comfortable with doing these
things volunteer to take a minute and quickly fix the problem.
This only becomes a "900-pound monkey" when it takes longer to do
the favor than expected, or we get talked into making additional
changes or revisions. Then a favor can quickly turn into a JOB
that you should be charging for!
I often see us volunteering to do these favors for others as a
means of procrastinating. We have a major project that we really
should be working on, but it seems so massive that we look for
other things to do to prevent getting started. Any convenient
excuse will do, and that excuse is often that someone else needs
our help. The fact often is that OUR projects are what need our
attention :-)
I'm NOT saying that you should not do favors for others. However,
you do need to fully define the scope of what you're volunteering
for. You need to confirm that you're not offering to transfer
that 900-pound monkey onto your back so that the other person can
go sit around on the beach.
Examples of things Internet marketers often volunteer for that
turn into 900-pound monkeys...
- Fixing an html or script problem
- Rewriting a salesletter
- Designing a graphic
- Fixing up a PDF file
- Editing some audio
The list could be a lot longer.
Now here's the really strange thing about the things we often
volunteer to do for others. They are often things that we have
personally grown to consider "not the best use of our time." So
we have started outsourcing these things when they need doing in
our own businesses. Yet we often volunteer to do them for others.
As you go through your day, and find yourself feeling overwhelmed
with so many things to do, stop for a second and consider... if
part of the problem might not be that you're simply taking on too
many problems that aren't even yours. If that is the case,
learning to refuse that monkey, from time to time, takes a lot
of weight off your shoulders! (Pun intended)
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