Have you ever been sold the magic pill myth?
I have.
The idea that all of your current challenges (making more money, building a greater following, establishing a bigger presence for your business) could be solved with a “cure all” product or service?
It’s just so tempting.
We live in a time where we are preyed upon and led to believe that for the low cost of $9.99 or $99.99 or $999.99 we can purchase a solution – a magic pill – that will instantly bridge the gap in our entrepreneurial shortcomings and provide us with the success that we believe we deserve.
Let’s be honest. If magic pills existed, we’d all buy them!
I’m not saying that your success can’t be easy – in fact for many of you, ease is the name of the game.
AND.
It’s not magic.
Ever.
Here are a few bold realities that you, and most business owners, don’t hear often enough, and need to understand. That way, you can take concrete action to powerfully create the success you desire.
Ready?
- There is no amount of money that can buy guaranteed success for your business – and anyone that tells you otherwise is LYING.
- It doesn’t matter who you hire or how talented your team is. It’s your job to take 100% personal responsibility to support your team and help them make the right decisions in order to get the results you want.
- Following blind advice (which is often disguised as a magic pill solution) is risky and dangerous. It’s your responsibility to do your own research and take ownership of the outcomes you end up with.
About a year ago, I personally bit right into the magic pill myth while making the decision to redo my website – a mistake that cost me over $45,000.
And today, I want to begin to share the story so you can hopefully see the truths of the 3 statements above. I want you to know that I understand many of the challenges you’re going through, and have fallen victim to. These are the same stories we’ve all been led to believe.
Here it is…
A little over a year ago, I made the decision to redo my website as a way to continue to grow my business, increase revenue and bring in new leads. I wanted it to reflect who I truly was as an entrepreneur – to look like and be like me.
I took blind advice from a person I trusted (not her fault, mine). I should have done my homework to ensure I was working with the right person, but in a moment of blind faith I simply put my trust in someone else’s promises – believing they’d be able to provide me with the end result I wanted: website copy that would make people swoon, transport them to a new land, MY land, and help them know immediately if working with me was a fit or not.
I hired a copywriter ($25,000) to create this website copy. I found out later that no one I knew had – or would – spend that kind of money on website copy. Looking back, I recognize the impulsiveness of that decision – I was willing to pay for the magic solution that would attract the right clients into my business.
In the end, of course, the final product wasn’t the magic pill I had desired.
At the time I felt a bit defeated. How could such a seemingly simple project cost so much time (over a year), energy (12 rewrites), and money ($35,000+ just for the content alone and $10,000 for the website) and cause so much chaos?
Today, I know with certainty that I needed this experience – I needed to make those mistakes.
Making mistakes is how we learn – it’s not only natural, it’s essential for growth.
Sometimes it’s necessary to feel failure… right before we break through.
Sound familiar?
You’re bound to make plenty of your own mistakes… and I don’t want to prevent that! They are your curriculum, as much a part of your destiny as your success. And I hope by sharing this part of my story, you’ll recognize the truth that there’s no such thing as a magic pill – and expedite the learning of this particular lesson.
Meditate on that. What ideas, products, or services have you bought into, believing they would be the magic pill to single-handedly bring you the success, reach, and impact you desire?
Now, take it a step further and reflect on what you’ve learned from the things you’ve tried.
At the end of the day, you have to be willing to put in the work in order to create your own success – no one else can do it for you.
After a year of learning the hard way, I did learn how to fully own the results I desired. I managed to put together a team of people that aligned with my vision, and today we have a website that we are all proud of.