"Net Marketing: A Passion Or An Obsession?"
by Jo McNamara
"Net Marketing: A Passion Or An Obsession?"
© By Jo McNamara 2001
It had been a long day. I'd started at 4 a.m. reading and sifting through a mountain of emails; placing ads in ezines; researching new ezines to place more ads; writing an article; editing two other articles and just trying to learn a few things along the way. I promised myself I would take some time to relax and lay in the pool. By 8 p.m., I was still on the computer...tired, grouchy and hungry. I never did spend any time in the pool.
Desperately needing a break, I went outside to sit on the patio. As I was sitting there, I asked myself, "Why am I doing this? Why am I spending 10-12 hours in front of the computer?"
Asking myself those questions caused other ones to flood into my mind. First they were:
- When was the last time I sat outside and just listened to the summer night sounds? - When was the last time I read a book for pleasure and not to learn something? - When was the last time I called my best friend just to chat? - When was the last time I REALLY listened to what my husband was saying...when my mind was not working on headlines/ad copy? - When was the last time I went to dinner and a movie with my husband? - Do I really need to get up at 4 a.m.?
Then those questions led to THESE questions:
- Why did I get into Internet marketing in the first place? - Are the elements that attracted me in the beginning still there? - Where do I see myself three years from today...five years from today? - Where does Net marketing fit in my life...and do I still have a life? - Do I really need to get up at 4 a.m.?
And those questions led to THESE questions:
- Why do I feel so driven to get so much done in one day? - How much time each day do I want to devote to marketing? - What am I trying to accomplish each day (in Net marketing)? - Do I really need to get up at 4 a.m.?
And FINALLY:
- Has Internet marketing gone from a passion to an OBSESSION? - Am I still having fun? - Do I really need to get up at 4 a.m.?
I suspect these are questions we ask ourselves frequently. I think we ask these questions when we are tired, burnt-out and frustrated...those times when we feel like failures and think we're never going to "get it."
I know that's how I felt that evening.
I was able to answer some of the questions. Some I still need to think about. In particular, trying to understand where that thin line between a passion and an obsession is.
I think we HAVE to step away from the computer every once and a while. We NEED to ask ourselves these questions and explore the answers we come up with. And here are perhaps the two most important questions of all:
- Am I ignoring the special people who enhance my life? - Am I forgetting that I only have today?
"It is not the length of life, but the depth of life." Emerson
P.S. I threw my alarm clock in the garbage.
Jo McNamara lives in Orlando, FL, with 8 cats and 1 husband. Find out how an "Average Jo" was able to say, "Good-bye" to alarm clocks (it's in the garbage); rush-hour traffic; time clocks and..."Hello" to earning a comfortable living in Internet marketing. Go to: http://www.what-works-online.net Or mailto:what_works_online@sendfree.com
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