What's
the best way to avoid making mistakes? Do nothing! Sit down,
turn on the TV, and zone out. That's safe.
Fueled by fear of failure,
many take the path above to avoid mistakes. While you'll
never earn a huge wad of money from an internet business
using that method, you won't lose your shirt either.
On the other side of the spectrum,
some barrel ahead like bulls in a china shop and make mistakes
that harm or destroy their businesses.
Is there a happy medium? Is
it possible to go forward and avoid mistakes at the same
time?
Well, back in what seems like
another lifetime, I used to work as an air traffic controller.
That's a line of work where mistakes make the front page
of newspapers, perpetrators can go to jail and victims suffer
more deadly fates.
Fortunately, such errors occur
very infrequently.
How is it possible to avoid
mistakes, when 'to err is human'? Although some of my old
colleagues appear to believe they are above mere human status,
the truth is more mundane.
Rigid rules, standards and
procedures are followed to the letter. In the split-second
before instructions are given, maneuvers are planned and
followed mentally to their conclusion. Knowledge and ability
is tested continuously to ensure rigorous safety standards
are maintained. Planning and perfect performance results
in beautifully choreographed aerial ballets time after time.
Planning aside, mistakes are
made. The objective is to avoid repetition of the error.
To accomplish this, even the most minor infractions are meticulously
logged. Each is reviewed, dissected and studied to determine
the best method to prevent a recurrence. Both the incident
and its resulting procedures are taught and discussed at
training sessions.
The best advice I ever heard
about this method of learning came in one of the pilots'
magazines I used to read. The accident reports were preceded
each month by the same tag line: 'Learn from the mistakes
of others, for you'll not live long enough to make them all
yourself'.
The good news for those
just starting an Internet is that the barnstorming, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants
days of eBusiness are over. True, many businesses
crashed and burned. Many more worked to perfect the process
and survived to fly circles around the smoking reckless.
Best of all, the mistakes made
by those barnstorming eBusiness pioneers have been well-documented
and made available through forums, ebooks and courses.
Save yourself time,
money and heartache. Learn from them and watch your Internet
business soar.
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