3 Reasons Why Online Marketers Will Fail Without Self-Discipline

Self-discipline is your personal philosophy and one of the major determining factors in your life. When it comes to succeeding at an online business, your discipline will make or break you.

It is the set of the sail that will either take you to shores laden with treasures or it will crash your ship upon the rocks and bring you to ruin. It’s one or the other. There is no middle ground here. Self-discipline is everything.

Now let’s look at 3 reasons why online marketers especially need self-discipline in their lives.

You are your own boss

With a normal job, you have a routine. You need to report to work at a certain time and you know you have tasks to do. Failure to follow the rules and get the job done will result in negative consequences such as getting an earful from the boss or even getting fired. Your fear of the consequences will motivate you to follow the rules. Your self-discipline is derived from external sources and consequences

When you work for yourself, like most online marketers do, you’re your own boss. There’s no one to tell you what to do and all rules are set by you. While there is immense freedom here, you still need a routine for yourself.

You’ll still have tasks to complete and goals to meet. Failure to do so will mean a loss of earnings and financial stress. You need to plan your work and stick to the plan.

It takes a lot more effort to stay committed when there is no one breathing down your neck and the consequences don’t seem adverse. Yet, make no mistake here. There are negative consequences if you’re not checking your progress and results.

Keeps you focused

To make money online, you need to do more selling than buying. You’ve got to be a producer rather than a consumer. One of the biggest mistakes most beginner online marketers make is that they buy every product that they can get their hands on.

They do more learning and buying rather than taking any action. You must have the discipline to take action on what you buy. If you don’t have it, you’re going to spend money that you do not have on products that you do not need.

Marketers call it ‘shiny object syndrome’ but this is just another term to describe a lack of discipline.
If you decide not to buy anymore products till you’ve used and taken action on the ones that you’ve already bought, you’ll stick to it. No means no… and if you can’t keep your promise to yourself and you get tempted and cave in, it just means you lack discipline and you need to focus and work on it more.

Gives your life focus and balance

The hard truth is that online marketing is a very time-consuming undertaking when you’re getting it off the ground. The experts who are at the top of their game usually have the money and experience to outsource many tasks. They have systems that work smoothly without them having to be there every single day.

To get to this level takes time and most marketers are just not at this level yet. So, they spend hours in front of the computer at the expense of their health, leisure and relationships.

Discipline will ensure that you set aside time to work out and eat right. You’ll also spend quality time with your family and friends because relationships matter. Set aside some time for your hobbies too. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

It’s a common refrain by so many marketers that they never have enough time to complete all their tasks. Yet, if they paid attention to what they were actually doing and figured ways to be more productive, they’d get a lot more done in a lot less time.

Discipline will keep you away from social media and have you focused on your work. When you’re giving your work your full, undivided attention, you’d be amazed at how much more you get done. Discipline will get you there.

Hide your phone, tell your family members not to distract you, block off social media sites, avoid having food close to your workstation, etc. When you work, you work. You don’t eat, talk, surf, sleep or idle around. Discipline is rarely enjoyable but almost always profitable.

By now you’ll realize that self-discipline will take your online business to the next level. More importantly, good discipline will lead to healthy self-esteem. You’ll have pride in yourself and the confidence in knowing that you keep your promises to yourself and that you’re capable of success because you’re worth it. This is priceless and the only currency to buy it is self-discipline.