Though I’m old enough to have college-age grandchildren, I’ve been thinking about my first night as a college freshman a lot.
My family and I said our last goodbyes, and off they went leaving me with a trunk to unpack and a roommate to learn how to coexist with. I felt a little like an orphan, and then it dawned on me that I was – I hadn’t lost my parents in the literal sense, but in the societal one.
No longer was it their “job” to make sure I went to bed early enough so I could wake up early enough to be on the school bus. No one was going to order me to keep my room from looking as though it had been hit by a grand grenade. No one was going to stop me from hanging out with my classmates when I had a test to study for. No one was going to collect and clean my dirty clothes. No one was going to check that I’d finished my homework.
All of that was my responsibility now.
As a practicing online marketer, I realize that I’m a college freshman all over again. I have had to take on the role of being my own boss just as surely as I had to take on the role of being my own parents decades earlier. No is going to tell me how long my coffee breaks should be, when I should quit, what deadlines I must meet. And most important, no one was going to hand me a regular paycheck.
All of that is my responsibility now.
If you want to learn legitimate online marketing, be warned that lack of self-discipline will be your most dangerous enemy – most of us just are too used to carrying out someone else’s orders and executing someone else’s strategies. The volume of information available about how to succeed, most of it noisy, empty promises by self-anointed “gurus,” is just plain intimidating, making it almost inevitable that you get so sidetracked and confused you don’t know what move to make next.
What I did to solve this problem was go back to college, in a way. I joined an online marketing community that offers training, tools, and most important, help with focus, self-discipline, and organization. They call themselves Wealthy Affiliate University, and they now offer something tailor-made for “incoming freshmen”: a FREE orientation program! Here’s how to enroll:
You’ll find a free online course that will take you through the online marketing process step by step at http://www.wealthyaffiliateprep.com. And if you’d like to know more about Wealthy Affiliate University, go to http://wealthyaffiliateprep.com/wealthy-affiliate-review .