{"id":3970,"date":"2014-02-19T15:59:47","date_gmt":"2014-02-19T15:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spontaneousdevelopment.com\/sdnuggets\/?p=3970"},"modified":"2014-02-19T15:59:47","modified_gmt":"2014-02-19T15:59:47","slug":"to-succeed-stop-waiting-for-a-perfect-moment-or-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/to-succeed-stop-waiting-for-a-perfect-moment-or-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"To Succeed, Stop Waiting For a Perfect Moment or Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo enterprise worthy of accomplishment would ever begin, if all obstacles were first to be overcome\u201d \u2013 Napoleon Hill.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This article narrates a true story about how the foregoing words of wisdom helped me get my books published - and sold - in print as well as digitally, even when I had NO MONEY!<\/p>\n

It All Began in Late 2002, My Start-up Year<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I\u2019d been delivering my 1 hour flagship talk<\/a> in different organisations and their branches. And it was very well received everywhere I went. I got back lots of filled feed back forms with rave testimonials.<\/p>\n

One day it occurred to me that I needed to find a way to use the web to promote my speaking service and message to more people. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I did not however have the funds I could commit, to paying for web design and hosting (at this time I\u2019d not learnt web design).<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet I Knew the Web Could Enable Me Get Word Out About My Talks at LOW to Zero Cost<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So I began searching online in a caf\u00e9. A few later I discovered \u201cscheduled auto responders\u201d \u2013 and www.getresponse.com<\/a> stood out with a FREE version packed with great features for beginners.<\/p>\n

That was when the idea struck me: I could offer a weekly auto responder course without a website!<\/em><\/p>\n

And it was perfect for my talk which was titled \u201cTen Ways You Can Use Self-Development to Create the Future You Want<\/a><\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Since it had 10 parts, I could make each part go out on a particular week. In effect, I ended up conceiving a 10 week auto responder email course!<\/p>\n

Excited, I Quickly Sat Down and Wrote Out The Text of the Talk<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I\u2019d up till then delivered it using ONLY<\/strong> a 5 page (2 parts to a page) outline.<\/p>\n

So, to write it out, I basically thought back to my outings and recalled the key points I discussed and wrote them down. Within 2 weeks I had written over 100 pages, comprising an introduction, all 10 chapters (or parts) and a conclusion\/summary.<\/p>\n

Next, I created a FREE account on www.getresponse.com<\/a> (not sure if they still offer it today though) and setup the course using the content I\u2019d written up.<\/p>\n

Each \u201cpart\u201d was to be delivered to a subscriber\u2019s inbox weekly. After the 10th week, each person would get a final message thanking him\/her. There was a short \u201cblurb\u201d announcing that I was available to speak etc. My phone number, email etc were appended.<\/p>\n

I Had Something to Say, & Was Determined to Be Heard!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Looking back I believe I was able to succeed like I did because I focussed on using my experiences.<\/em><\/p>\n

I drew inspiration by reflecting on the successes I\u2019d achieved both in formal schooling (where I almost got a first class degree despite heavy extracurricular activities<\/a>), and in paid employment (where rapid career success came via multiple self-taught skills I had<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I wanted my listeners\/readers to know they could do what I\u2019d done. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And I also intended to prove my ideas worked, by applying them in my new career as an entrepreneur (my successes since then confirm they do<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, my message resonated greatly with the audiences.<\/p>\n

But I did not expect it would catch on as quickly as it when I put it online\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Within a week, over 20 people had signed up for the 10 week auto-responder e-course!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

And I noticed about 40% of them were non-Nigerian, from the UK and one from the US. All of those \u201cforeigners\u201d indicated they were \u201creferred by a friend\u201d.<\/p>\n

As you can imagine, by this time I\u2019d tasted blood. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I began testing offers of different kinds, including training courses, talks, e-book writing services etc.<\/p>\n

Guess what? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Some subscribers to the e-course wrote back asking if I could help them create digital versions of books they wanted to write, or already had on paper.<\/h3>\n

One such person travelled all the way down from Makurdi, Benue State, in the north of Nigeria, to meet with me in Lagos.<\/p>\n

He brought with him a beautiful book manuscript which he wanted made into an e-book.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been friends on Facebook for years now.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But it all clicked for me when three different subscribers, at different times, after reading the latest \u201cpart\u201d delivered to them, wrote to me asking:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIs it possible to get the complete book, instead of having to wait a full week to read the next part?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was stunned.<\/p>\n

Not once had the thought of writing a book occurred to me!<\/em><\/p>\n

Then as I read those requests, it occurred to me that I\u2019d ALREADY written THE complete book!<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Parts 1 to 10 made up the different chapters.<\/p>\n

All I needed was introduction\/forewords and possibly a \u201csummary\u201d to end with.<\/p>\n

So, once again, I settled down and did just that.<\/p>\n

Like I always did when speaking, I made sure I wrote from my heart<\/a>. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

When it came to getting my \"book\" in print however, I soon discovered traditional publishing could cost an arm and a leg!<\/p>\n

As usual, my stubborn attitude made me think there had to be another way. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Persistent searching eventually led me to discover Zero Cost Print On Demand publishing<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

To cut the long story short, that book has been selling as a 113 page physical manual that I call the \u201cSelf-Development Bible\u201d<\/a> online since 2005.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019ve since added other books, in digital form \u2013 including my popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook<\/a> \u2013 which just 2 days ago, recorded yet another sale from my online store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Final Words: My Advice to You<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Stop waiting for a perfect moment, or for everything to fall in place, or for your manuscript or idea to be perfect.<\/p>\n

Start with what you have, where you are.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be surprised that whatever you need to dot your I\u2019s and cross your T\u2019s will spontaneously appear as, and when, you need it. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The key is to GET STARTED first!<\/em><\/p>\n

PS: <\/strong>In 2004 I taught myself to build websites using Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash and Photoshop (with the aid of some international professional web design magazines - and CDROM tutorials that came with them).<\/h3>\n

Apart from building websites for clients, I've since built and maintained this multi-disciplinary website - www.spontaneousdevelopment.com<\/a> - which I launched in June 2005.<\/p>\n

Today, I focus my efforts on using Content Management Systems like Joomla! and WordPress, to build and maintain websites, while employing intelligent Web Marketing Systems<\/a> to create and propagate their content for business promotion.<\/p>\n

All of that continues to boost my search engine visibility - leading to more sales of my books and other products (like my Ration Formulator Software<\/a>)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo enterprise worthy of accomplishment would ever begin, if all obstacles were first to be overcome\u201d \u2013 Napoleon Hill. This article narrates a true story about how the foregoing words of wisdom helped me get my books published - and sold - in print as well as digitally, even when I had NO MONEY! It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,10,103],"tags":[1012,973],"class_list":["post-3970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-dn-travel-news","category-self-development","category-writingblogging","tag-stop-waiting-for-a-perfect-moment-or-idea","tag-to-succeed"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":1326,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3971,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions\/3971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}