Self-Help

Many people accumulate a lot of information through books and notes but don’t implement it into daily life…

This is common in people studying marketing techniques where lots of articles are read, books purchased and forums browsed. We are an information culture and this can create a paralysis for action. 

Taking in information without implementing it can be compared to eating non-stop without being able to digest any of it! It isn’t just a problem for those pursuing internet marketing but is a pattern many students have at colleges studying class materials always gathering more and more research.

Sometimes we feel we have to get a perfect understanding before acting. Yet we learn through our trials, assimilate through our own synthesis of the materials and focus by the design we put on the materials we’ve absorbed.

If you are the type of person who has trouble making decisions, this can also factor in when you are trying to put a focus on the information you’ve been accumulating and reading.

Did you ever find yourself at the supermarket with a cold reading the many bottles of medication? Seinfeld jokes about the problem by saying, “Should I get what’s long-lasting or fast action? Do I want to feel good now or later?” He muses about staring at all the various formulas and descriptions in indecision. 

There can be endless comparisons but at a certain point you need to have a focus and make a decision. In terms of a paper, this means to have a theme and an underlying idea everything else falls under. In a marketing context, it can mean to have a plan to focus on pay per click, article marketing , search engine optimization or press releases. This doesn’t have to be an ultimate decision, but it is useful to not be juggling 10 balls at once or trying to put your finger into every pie.

An example that I think many of us can understand would be growing a garden. A good way to start is to go to a nursery, ask some questions read a few books, find the area in your yard to grow the flowers and plants and then make your decisions on the specific plants based on the sunlight, condition of soil and climate you are in.

Down the road you may want to build a greenhouse, branch into vegetable gardening or even start a flower business, but it’s through the experience of the garden that you’ll have a base to then expand upon.

If you postpone your first garden because you want to visit many botanical gardens, read about Japanese gardening etc etc you will stay abstract rather than get concrete . 

Here are some inspiring quotes on action:

“Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.” Anais Nin

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply!” Goethe

“A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.” Kahil Gibran

Don’t be a perfection before you act, but do study enough to develop a direction that you can implement and test.

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