There is, apparently, no big secret to losing weight successfully. (And believe me, I'm no expert. I struggle with it, the same as most of America.) It seems that if you consume fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight —guaranteed. With the exception of people who have illnesses, this is a universally effective strategy. It's usually translated into plain English as "eat less (or smarter) and move more."
The best way to execute this strategy and achieve the results you want is also well-known. What you have to do is to implement certain behaviors consistently over time. Make these changes and then do them for three months, or six months, or a year — and you will achieve your goal. After you have done so, you implement a modified version of these same behaviors and you will stay where you want to be.
But most of us don't want to hear this truth. Instead, we want a magic pill. The one that will lose us 30 pounds in 30 days without diet or exercise — without making any changes, and without having to perform them consistently. We are suckers for the latest diet book, the latest fad, the latest weight-loss guru, the latest TV show, the latest exercise DVD, the latest supplement. Some of the advice in these books and programs is incontrovertible. Some of us follow this advice and get results. Some of us even achieve our goals. Few of us, apparently, stay there.
Welcome to the world of marketing.
I long-ago noticed that most successful marketers were those who are most consistent. They seemed to accept that marketing was a normal and ordinary part of their business model, just like book-keeping, or customer service — not something to be done occasionally or sporadically. I tell my clients, "If your marketing is a little here and a little there, expect your results to be a little here and a little there."
As with the diet industry, the field of marketing is full of gurus, experts, and inspirational figures. I have nothing negative to say about most of these folks. It could be argued that I am one. The problem is that good advice, even good education, is only part of the battle. The real key is implementation. Few of us (and very few attorneys) are true do-it-yourself-ers. (I always imagine handing blueprints for a house to someone, pointing them at Home Depot, and saying "Go for it.")
Unfortunately, not all of the gurus and experts are created equal. Some give advice or coaching. Some give a self-interested strategy. (For example, if I own a newsletter company, then the answer to every marketing problem is "You need a newsletter.") And some are selling the magic pill ("Buy our software and double your income in a month!" or "Join our SEO program and be on page one of Google next week!"). Not to mention all the people promising to reveal "secrets" while giving away "free gift number one" and trying to get you to sign up for their platinum inner-sanctum illuminati program.
If Einstein supposedly (I can find no real attribution) said "Time is money" then in marketing, the truism is "time or money." You can accept the good advice offered by the many knowledgeable marketing experts out there and spend the time and effort that are required to implement that advice — or you can hire someone to help you implement.
Either way, just like with losing weight, it's going to require your commitment and consistent implementation. If you find that discouraging, you shouldn't. Remember, if you do the right things, you can't miss. If that's not exciting enough, I have a magic pill to sell you.
We as a society want things to be done yesterday, and the truth is that building and growing a practice is a long-term strategy. There is a magic pill, and it's called hard work. Those two words are some of the most derided by human beings, but the truth is the truth.
If you want to build a better mousetrap, you've got to set about the work of actually building it. So, too, with one that merely works (though that would qualify as a "better" one).
Thanks for the wisdom, Mark.
Posted by: Jay S. Fleischman | December 14, 2009 at 01:05 PM