I’m doing something these days that a lot of us are doing – trying to get back in shape. Despite the timing, it’s not a New Year’s resolution. It’s just that my husband happened to mention that he’d like to join a gym this year, and the gym closest to us had a great sign up deal for the new year. Fitness 19, for those who care, they have locations in various states, and they’re a lower cost gym. That means decent equipment, but no extras such as saunas or swimming pools. At least at my location. I don’t know about others. Only association I have with them is that I’m paying them for my membership.
Getting fit is a lot like making money at home. Just think about it.
There’s Always Somebody Selling Shortcuts (That Usually Don’t Work)
Think about it. How often have you seen ads about people with massive weight loss – just buy our products! In a short time, you’ll look amazing!
We all know that’s B.S. for the average person, yet these products sell and sell. That’s why they keep making them. It’s not necessarily even a matter of individual determination or effort. Some things just work better for some people than others.
That’s also why the work at home scams keep coming. People always want a shortcut to earning lots of money from home. That’s why so many ads use the image of the big house and fancy cars. And while effort matters, not everyone is going to get the same results even if they follow the plan carefully. Matter of fact, the amazing results in either case are usually extremely atypical.
People Track the Wrong Metrics
When it comes to getting fit, most people track their weight. Weight isn’t necessarily a bad measure of things, but to me it’s not the most important at all. Improving overall fitness, strength and endurance matter more. Weight is simply a number that will probably decrease as those others increase.
For that reason, I plan to weigh myself maybe once a week. I find it far more interesting to see how I can use the equipment longer at more difficult settings. That’s what tells me I’m making progress toward my goals.
People do the same when they have an online business. How many people stress over how much traffic their websites get? Traffic is wonderful, a business needs traffic, but it matters far less than your income, profits and conversion rates. One million visitors to your website means nothing for your business, after all, if you didn’t earn any money. It’s just a number.
An Accountability Partner Can Be Wonderful
Motivation is a huge factor when it comes to getting fit. It’s not easy to stay motivated on your own, however. Having an accountability partner is a big, big help. My husband and I motivate each other, for example. We give each other the nudge to get to the gym several times a week, close to daily (a day off here and there is a good thing). There have been a few times already where one of us has had to remind the other that it’s really time to head out to the gym.
An accountability partner is a big help when you’re earning money from home too. It doesn’t matter whether you have a home based job or your own business. Having someone to give you that nudge to keep working helps. Daily, weekly, whatever suits you for talking to someone else about the progress you’ve made.
It Takes Time to See Results
How well anyone who has ever tried to get into shape should know this one! It takes time to see results. If doing a little exercise and dieting gave quick results to everyone, it would be much easier to stick to it until we got the results we want. But it isn’t quick for most of us. It takes weeks to months to see even small changes, depending on the effort we put into things and our own individual metabolism. You can’t let that get you down.
You should see the results long before anyone else, as you know your own body best. That’s both good and bad, as it feels nice to see the little changes, but it can be frustrating that others don’t recognize how hard you’ve worked.
It takes time to see results with an online business too. It’s not just “build it and they will come” or anything like that. It’s build it, tweak it, market it, keep on working until things start happening, then work on it some more. Lots of people have to wait months for their first sale online.
Most of your results won’t be things other people can see. Certainly, anyone visiting your website can see what you’ve put up there, and they may see any ads you’ve placed, but a casual visitor or even a family member or friend won’t be able to tell when you’re earning good money, that you’re getting better conversions since you changed that bit of text, or even that your website is getting more traffic these days. These are things that are far more apparent to you than to anyone else.
Your Results May Vary
My husband got quite the dirty look from me the other night. He was on the phone with his mother telling her about our new gym membership, and that he has lost six pounds already. We’ve been at this the same amount of time, but I haven’t lost any weight yet. We’re both working really hard in there, but his results show better than mine. Grrr!
Seriously, though, I see my results in other ways, such as being able to work harder and longer on some of the aerobic equipment, but even though I don’t want weight to be my primary metric, it’s hard to hear that he’s getting better results in that area.
If you’re talking to other people who work at home in one way or another, even if they’re in your same industry, you won’t find that you’re getting the same results. Some people get great results much faster than others. You may have to work harder than someone else to get even halfway decent results. Don’t let that get you down. Keep trying.
Beware the Naysayers
Sometimes when you’re trying to get fit, you’ll come across someone who is utterly unsupportive. They’ll tell you that you’ll never keep it up, never reach your goals, and if you do, you’ll probably quit and gain all that weight back anyhow.
Obviously, they aren’t the people to listen to. While it’s true that many people quit, and most regain the weight, you can make the choice to avoid that for yourself as best you can. Even if it happens that way, that doesn’t make them right to tell you to give up at the start. I believe that trying and failing is better than not trying at all.
Naysayers are very common when you want to earn money from home. Job, business, it doesn’t matter. They know it’s all a scam, and you are going to lose big. Some will keep it up even after you’re earning decent money.
The one thing they have right is that you should be careful about scams, because they are out there, and it’s really easy to fall for one. But they’re wrong about it all being a scam. There are legitimate, home based jobs out there. There are legitimate business opportunities to join, and real businesses you can start from your home. You do your due diligence and you’ll probably be fine. Then work your ass off to make it happen. Yes, most businesses do fail, but once again, isn’t trying and failing better than not trying at all? Failure means you’ve learned that something didn’t work for you. Make changes and try again.
It’s a Lifestyle
Whether you’re trying to get fit or want to earn money from home, think of it as a lifestyle change, not a short term thing (unless that’s all you’re after). The longer term you think with either, the more likely you are to succeed. You may have your ups and downs, but if you keep working at it, eventually you’ll know how to make it work for you.
