I was doing some website clean-up this morning and came across an oldie but goody — a PDF published some years ago by Ken Evoy titled “Why People Fail.”

In this book, Ken outlines 13 different mentalities/personalities that cause failure.

Even though this book was written years ago, it contains eye-opening, in-your-face points that are still very relevant today.

From the Ready-Aim-Ready-Aim mentality (the person who plans, researches, plans, researches, and never starts) to the Fire-Fire-Fire-Fire-Fire-Fire mentality (the person who jumps from one idea to another and has trouble sticking with one concept because they lose patience if the money doesn’t roll in fast enough).

Ken does a great job of categorizing the various personalities.   In one section he carefully describes one group as “IQ challenged”.

Don’t frown. That may sound insulting, but it was written quite tastefully. He bluntly points out that this business is not for everyone, just like any other line of work.

Unfortunately many people have trouble facing this fact. They believe that wanting to make money should be enough motivation to succeed, but it takes more than that.

Adding My Two Cents

If I were to add a 14th mentality to Ken’s list, it would be “Fear of Failure.”  So many people never make it over the hump because they are afraid to fail.

I cannot tell you how many emails I’ve received from people who are hesitant to start a blog or a website because they worry no one will ever visit… as if it’s some kind of personal rejection.

Let me tell you.  I’ve had more failed sites than profitable ones.  And if it weren’t for those failures, I wouldn’t be earning a living online today.

It’s not about how long it takes you to succeed. It’s about acknowledging the mistakes you make and using those lessons to catapult yourself to the next level.  And if that means trying 3 or 4 different concepts before finding the right one, so be it.

People forget that success is largely mental. If you go through this process plagued with fear of failure, it can stifle your creativity and prevent you from sticking with it when progress is slow.

That’s why so many people get too caught up in the Ready-Aim, Ready-Aim, Ready-Aim mentality Ken mentioned.  They are afraid to step out of their safety net and just do it (as the old Nike campaign instructed.)

So if you haven’t read Ken’s mini book, give it a read (right-click, and “save as” to download).  It’s free.

If you’re having trouble getting your site or blog off the ground, you may see yourself in this book. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It could be the reality check you need.

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