Editor’s note: Another guest post from Brian Schachtner. Today’s post as been moderately edited for style and any mistakes that have crept in should be attributed to me and not to our guest!
[ezcol_2fifth]Rocky’s Eye of the Tiger comes to mind right now. In every movie Rocky was motivated to train, or be the trainer in the fight. Rocky was the underdog in the ring, and knew it. Kind of sounds like a newbie in the Amazon Fba world.[/ezcol_2fifth]
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For every video you watch, every podcast you listen to, and every book that you read, you gain knowledge of Amazon FBA. Knowledge is power, but it’s not motivating by itself. In my experience, fear can be one of the biggest motivation killers out there. Fear of failure? Fear of what will other people think? Fear of not having the time? Fear of what if Amazon fails? Fear of not having enough money to get started? These fears can be paralyzing.
Everyone fails at some point in life. Doesn’t sound motivating does it? I feared getting a promotion at my current job because of the greater responsibility. It was a huge leap for me, and I felt like I didn’t have any clue what I was doing! It took another person to look at me and tell me that I’d be great. That person motivated me into putting in for the interviews for the promotion. After the first two bombed interviews, I really wasn’t up to interviewing again. But, I was tired of giving up and I knew that even if I bombed another interview, other opportunities would eventually open up. I also knew that if I sucked at my job the company would either fire me, or ask me to step down. In either case, I knew that the worst case scenario was that I’d have to find another job and I knew that I’d be able to do this. Once you get over the fear of failure your options become limitless. In the same way that a mentor looking in the eyes gave me the encouragement that I needed, conquer your fears by knowing that others have succeeded at the very thing that you’re trying to do.
What will other people think of me if I do this? I’ve often wondered about that after my many failures in life. From dropping out of college to going back to college. From going into the Army and getting an uncharacterized discharge for blowing my knee in basic training. People are going to think what they want to think. It’s your life. Who cares if you are trying to make extra money to go on a cruise once a year, pay off debt, or set yourself up to help those in need? At some point you need to realize that people in life generally talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of every person in life. Your success will be talked about as well as any failures. Get past the point of caring what others think and your potential will be unlimited.
[ezcol_1half]What if I don’t have time to do this? Don’t let the lack of time be an excuse for you. I know of people that work 52 hours a week, and still have time to do FBA on the side. For some people, taking an hour less of sleep at night may give them the time they need to get started. Several groups have paid lists that pretty much do the arbitrage work for you. There are also prep, pack, and ship services available for a fee. We limit ourselves in time often because we fear the unknown. “I don’t know if I’ll be good at this; I don’t know if this will work.” We make excuses that prevent us from having the time to do Amazon FBA. Setting a schedule for time management will help you with your time issue. Once you figure out where you are actually spending your time, you will know where you can make cuts and soon get motivated into working on your Fba business.[/ezcol_1half]
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I’m here to tell you, number one,
That most of you say you want to be successful, but you don’t want it bad. You just kinda want it. You don’t want it badder than you wanna party. You don’t want it as much as you want to be cool. Most of you don’t want success as much as you want to sleep! –Eric Thomas
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What if Amazon fails? If amazon fails, a meteor probably hit the earth taking out ⅔ of the planet. I only say this because Amazon has it’s fingers in so many pots that it’s revenue stream keeps growing. Amazon is still an infant in the retail world. It will continue to grow, and provide people like you and me with plenty of opportunity to profit. But even if the absurd happens, so what? You adapt. You change. You thrive. Some eBay sellers weren’t happy when Amazon crept in to take market share. The successful ones, though, adapted and used it to make even more money.
What if I don’t have the money to start? This is the biggest motivation killer that I have seen. Many people do not realize what they have available in their own house and garage that they could profit from. Not having money nowadays is logical; not having things to sell is not as logical. I know of sellers that have been selling old nintendo games, game systems, books, toys, and knick knacks they find around the house. If you don’t have anything to sell, what about your friends? Do they have books they’d like to get rid of for a commission? What about grandma’s attic? Does she have some knick knacks people are looking for again? It doesn’t take a lot to get started selling on Amazon. Sure you may have to merchant fulfill at first, but baby steps are the way to build the motivation path.
It’s not up to anyone but you to get motivated in your Amazon FBA Business. Once you get started you will find you need to break through other motivating issues such as really not wanting to pack this shipment tonight. Everyday that you don’t get started is one day less you have to hit your financial goals. Get started, get motivated. Fear, caring about what people think of you, time, Amazon failing, and lack of capital are all excuses that kill motivation. Kill the motivation killers. Start today.
-Brian S.