Heard of shiny object syndrome?
Think you have it or don’t know what it is?
Well, by the end of this article, you will work out whether you are plagued with this money-sucking mindset and, perhaps more importantly, how you can deal with it.
What is Shiny Object Syndrome?
Entrepreneurs generally have a fantastic mindset. They want to succeed in absolutely everything that they do. They want to make the most amount of money that they possibly can. The motivation is absolutely through the roof.
The problem? This is something that is also going to be their downfall.
When you have Shiny Object Syndrome, you are often going to be focused on the next 'great' thing.
You are always going to be looking for a new and exciting way to make money. Better than the other projects you have on the go.
Part of this is because you want to be the first to do it and, thus, deny everybody else who put the plan into action after you any income.
If you have Shiny Object Syndrome in the internet marketing world, you will often be purchasing new 'products' as they pop up. Methods that claim they are brand new and can turn you rich pretty quickly. This, of course, means that you are going to be running into a ton of negatives.
The Downsides of Shiny Object Syndrome
The problem with Shiny Object Syndrome is that it can get expensive rather quickly. Internet marketing products are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.
If you are constantly buying new ones without having any success with the previous ones, then there is a good chance that you will be losing money.
This probably isn't the reason you got into this game, is it?
Not only this, but you will have a trail of half-completed projects behind you. Projects that you have likely spent a ton of money on and still not seen to fruition. Once again, this means you are going to be losing money.
You are also going to be losing experience. If you are not seeing something through to completion, you are not going to be able to learn from your mistakes or successes to make future parts of your business even better.
Finally; you will never make the maximum amount of money available to you. If you want to be successful in any form of business, you need to plan for the longterm. Businesses are meant to grow.
If you are abandoning your business or the next shiny thing, then your business will never grow, and that means you are going to be leaving a ton of cash on the table.
So as you can guess - there is no "upside" to Shiny Object Syndrome.
Dealing with Shiny Object Syndrome
So, now you know what shiny object syndrome is, what is the best way to deal with it? Well, I am not going to lie to you. A lot of people will never be able to shake their fascination with 'new' products.
I can't help these people. What I can do, however, is help those who are willing to at least try and stop spending a ton of money on tons of different products. I have a few tips which I genuinely believe can help you out.
Find a Decent Product to Begin With
Honestly, this is probably one of the best routes to dealing with shiny object syndrome.
The vast majority of people who try to find other products do so because they feel that the other products they have purchased are simply not working for them. If you start with a good product right off the bat, then you won't need to search for anything else.
I suggest that you read through a few of the reviews that I have put together. Check out some decent products. Since I have a ton of experience with affiliate marketing and ecommerce, and have also bought and reviewed a lot of these courses, I can tell you the good from the bad.
Be Prepared to Put in the Work
Making money online is not a simple thing to do in the slightest. There are a lot of people out there who are not prepared to put in the amount of work that it involves. They pick up a new product, realize that it takes a ton of work, then search for something completely new because they feel it will be easier to put into action. This is rarely the case.
Once you pick up a new product, I suggest you stick with it for a while. You should actually put in the work that is involved. Follow the plan down to a tee.
Once you see that the methods are working, you will see some cash rolling in. This means that you are not going to want to pick up any other products.
You should only ever be abandoning something if it is 100% necessary. This means that you have genuinely tried and you have genuinely failed. Even the best products are not going to work for everybody, but you still need to try them.
If you don't, then you will forever be buying new products. This is going to put you in a financial hole that is going to be ridiculously difficult to claw yourself back out of later on down the line.
Unsubscribe From Mailing Lists
Honestly, one of the 'biggest causes' of this syndrome is being subscribed to a ton of different mailing lists.
Remember; gurus have you sign up to their mailing lists so they can always push that 'awesome new' product on you.
Don't fall for that. Unsubscribe from mailing lists. I promise you, this is something which is only going to make your life better. You will be surprised at how much money you are going to save like this.
You'll want to stay on mine though because I do provide a ton of value! 😉
Set Yourself Short-Term Goals
Finally. whenever you are about to embark on something new, you should set yourself some short-term goals. Do not just focus on the long-term goal. Focus on the small things along the way.
If you do this then you are less likely to get discouraged when you are following your plan of attack. This means that you are less likely to go out there and search for a new product to purchase.
So there you have it. You now know what shiny object syndrome is, and you know how to deal with it, go forth and set your sights on a single product.
Make it work for you. I believe in you!
Comment below or just send me an email from my contact page. I reply to everyone.
Drew left his corporate job in 2013 and embraced the world of online entrepreneurship. He buys, tests and reviews courses and SAAS tools providing well-informed recommendations for budding entrepreneurs. He's been featured in Yahoo, Empire Flippers and other publications. Read more...
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Its relevant for all areas of life if you your health is bad leave the business aside and focus on your health al in.
Don’t do 2 things at a time because you likely not ti get results of any of them.
I agree Aviel, health should always be our priority.
Great point Drew. I have been guilty of distracting myself with shiny tools and strategies, before putting in a ton of work in writing great content first.
Blogging is a ton of work, but it’s just easy to go after the next new thing. So many bloggers get easily distracted from time to time. This could be the very thing that separates successful affiliate marketers from failures.
Exactly. We all get dopamine hits from watching entertaining videos on Youtube, spending hours on Facebook and the like. We just have to train our brains to get those neurotransmitters firing when doing REAL work that counts!
Great article.
I think most marketers face the “shiny object syndrome” in the beginning of their career.
This post is definitely a great help to overcome it.
Choose one path, put in the work, and be persistent.
That’s the key.