Not Having Enough Money Is an Excuse to Stay a Beginner
Everything we need to know to go from “I don’t know where to start” to “I got this!” is already out there for free
As a beginner, I crave results that tell me, “I’m not wasting my time”.
Like most beginners, we all want to be “efficient”. However, a lot of times, we don’t get the results we want to see. This sometimes brings up the thought of giving up. Then an optimistic voice comes up to tell you, “Don’t quit! At least not yet. There are others out there who’s already done it. Ask for help.”
And almost all the time, as convenient as the market makes it, there’s always that one program that might just turn things around.
Out of my desperate need to see results, I bought one of these programs — only to end up staying at the same beginner level.
A $2000 program does not guarantee success
I’m one of those course students who like to scan and fly through online programs.
That right there is a red flag. The idea was to speed up the process so that I can reap the benefits ASAP and get my return on investment. However, after going through a few online programs, almost all the time, I don’t feel like I’ve grown much.
This makes me wonder if the programs I tend to purchase suck? Or perhaps, I suck?
But if I’m being super honest about it, the courses I bought are actually good — they’re just a little too good for my current skill level. It’s true how most beginners are overwhelmed with the number of things they need to do to get to the next level. But I find that it’s not the to-do list that’s causing this — it’s the lack of discipline and a fixed mindset.
I’m talking about the inability to let go of unproductive behaviours, questioning your current values, and having a deep understanding of why you even want to get better. These are things that are very hard to fix because we’ve been conditioned to believe that they are the norm. You cannot dismiss the internal work because it could come to bite you later.
The good news is only you can fix it.
This realization took me a few incomplete online courses to fully understand.
Since then, I decided to “fix myself” first before buying another program to accelerate my growth. And when I say “fix myself”, I don’t say that as if I’m a broken being who is incapable of achieving success. I’m talking about building discipline and developing a growth mindset.
These things could take years to develop — much longer than the timeline given by most online programs.
This gave me a good reason why I need to learn to delay purchasing the next time I see a shiny program that promises to get me to the next level.
Free content should be good enough because you may not be as “advanced” as you think
I’m not immune to the shiny object syndrome.
There are still a lot of courses out there that I’ve been meaning to purchase — even after realizing that I have some internal issues I need to fix. But I found a way to keep my urge to buy at bay. Instead of buying, I spend time “window shopping” to get a better understanding of what’s new in the market…until the urge to buy wears off.
That trick allowed me to keep delaying (my decision to buy that program I’d been eyeing for months), which not only saved me money but also opened more time to work on myself.
There is a lot of free content out there that is so valuable you’d think you should be paying for it. I use them as a prompt to help me build the discipline to take action. Because if I can’t make the free content work for me, then buying another course may not work either. Why?
Paid content is much more “advanced” than free content.
The blueprint to go from level 0 to level 1 is right in front of you
Most of us (beginners) are wired for convenience — we crave ease or efficiency.
This makes it so easy to get suckered into buying an info product only to realize that we still have to work to get the results. Justin Welsh made me realize how some paid info products out there contain information that has been previously published for free. But the information provided seems “new” simply because you’re not familiar with the works of the creator, or maybe you haven’t spent enough time in the niche you’re trying to pursue.
And because it seems “new”, you’re more likely to buy it.
Buying makes sense because it gives you more time to create instead of combing through the internet for the free (but valuable) info. The more you create, the more you learn. So if you suck at creating (or taking action), it seems pointless to buy an info product that should “save you time to allow you to create more”.
One free valuable info (if applied intentionally) should be enough to get you to the next level.
However, as beginners, we tend to want to see results without putting in the work.
This drives us to ask super basic questions we already know the answer to. The hope is that if we know the “secret formula”, we will see more positive results from our efforts. We all know that we need to “work hard” to see our desired results. But the problem is we don’t fully understand what “hard work” even means. That could be commitment, obsession, scratching your itch, etc.
The definition doesn’t really matter; all you need to remember is that if you care enough, you’ll achieve the success you’re looking for.
Application of what you learn from free content can get you the budget you need to go beyond the beginner level
We all understand how free content is designed to hook you into the product or service or build a relationship with the program creator.
And because it seems like the relationship is transactional (e-mails for free knowledge), it’s easy to dismiss its value. However, being a freeloader of the internet for a long time, I realized that that is an inaccurate assessment. I find that almost everyone is trying to give free high-value content.
This makes sense because most creators out there want to make a name for themselves.
The route they take to get there is to provide free but super valuable content. It’s one of the most effective ways to attract their “1000 true fans”. If you take their free advice and go all in on it, I’m sure it will provide you with tons of value. Because the truth is:
Success really boils down to the amount of effort and commitment you want to put into it.
