Great article. John hit the nail on the head. FEAR is a killer in all aspects of business and life. Everyone who is working a dead end job 9-5 is being held back by something…usually Fear. Lack of self confidence also comes into play, Can I really do this correctly? What happens if I mess up? … and it goes on.

Testing is key to any hope of success online. Sure, there are some that may get it right the first time and make some good money, but then again, that could be part of the problem. They make some money and figure why touch it if it ain't broke right? But what they don't realize is one little tweak in their header could double their results, but they will never know that.

I'm a prime example of this. I had (and still do) a hard time letting go. Over coming that fear that it won't work or I'll mess something up. If I have a #5 listing on Google I won't want to change anything in FEAR that I'll drop to #10 or worse, the 2nd page! But how else do you get to #1? Something has to change.

I tell my clients now that testing is a must. Without it they are throwing away money and time. I've written a few articles on this subject and cover a lot of similar items as you do in this article, which proves to me that this is really important.

Thanks David (and John!), maybe one day we will cross paths and say hello.

Till then, keep up the good work.

Jared

It is all data for you to evaluate and *then* make a decision. Not *before* you have the data and feedback from the marketplace. If we can hold the idea that it is only data and feedback. Then I think that stress levels will go down and people will start to do the one thing that helps everything. Ask questions. Get answers and do something with the data.

BTW: Nice Rant. You are inspiring me to do something different today. Thanks for the comment.

- David B.

We live in a world that uses fear as a motivational method. We use it to encourage us to buy, not to buy, to eat, not to eat, to love and not to love etc.

Fear is used in just about every marketing message there is. From Erection Aids to pet food. Now I have to worry that if I don't take the magic pill I won't be able to get it up and if I do – what do I do in 5 hours when it's still up!

If I don't feed Fido the special "magic" kibble, he may get sick, if I do, is it tainted food that might make him sick!

So we are encouraged by Madison ave and every crappy Internet marketer out in this ether on every level to be scared.

And what is Fears Ugly wife – Denial.

I have a friend that was a huge record producer in the 70's and 80's. Next time you're at a ball game and you hear them sing the song " Na Na Na Na… Na Na Na Na… Hey Hey … Goodbye" you can feel privileged to be able to add a couple of cents to his bank account because he wrote that inane lyric. (Truth be told, that was just filler gibberish… but it stuck. Question…Would you be afraid to leave gibberish in?)

Well we were in a bar that we frequented after recording sessions, and there was a waitress that he was smitten with. Night after night I encouraged him to ask her out, but he wouldn't. One night I walked into the Studio and saw him at the piano, He had written a song about her. The lyrics in the hook were "I'd rather live in my fantasy than to find out she doesn't love me."

Now, sound thinking tells ya that that's just a BS way to think – BUT most of us think the same way.

Who hasn't shied away from talking to someone because they were afraid they weren't good enough, or handsome or pretty enough. I know you haven't Dave, because… well.. you're the most beautiful black man on the planet, but the rest of us have.

Now sing a long with me…"Id rather live in my fantasy than to find out that I'm spending 3 dollars a click to make a diollar! " or the old favorite "I'd rather live in my fantasy than to pay 3 dollars a click and turn people off by my new "tested" crappy title, headline, graphic or copy and maybe loose a sale."

Fear and Denial dude,they are one big old married couple, walking most of us down the aisle of mediocrity and a very possible slow painful death.

How do we overcome it. The same way you overcome your fear of jumping off a bridge. You strap on the bungy cords, you find a talented, experienced, understanding mentor that has "Been there… done that", you say a couple of Hail Mary's and an Our Father just to seal the deal and you jump like an idiot!

That first step is a real bitch.

It's the unknown we are afraid of. I almost freaked myself out on a deal this weak until my good friend and Sales Mentor John Paul Mendocha smacked me hard on the head and said – Dude, you are making up this stupid negative scenario in your head, Go in, talk to the Customer, find out what they need amd THEN react – STOP REACTING BEFORE YOU HAVE THE FACTS!

God bless him, he changed my head before the meeting and I knocked the deal out of the park and likely added a zero to my bank account balance.

But it could have easily gone the other way.

I just got a new tattoo on my wrist of the Kanji symbol for courage and the words "You Make The Rules" . It means so much to me. I'll have to discuss that thinking with ya at another time. But, it's really been the way I roll for the last 35 years. The funnt thing was I was programmed to think that I was breaking the rules. Now I see the rules that are already in in place and I ask "Why?" Then I make my own rules

Dave, teach us all how to overcome the fear. Teach us how you overcame and overcome fear today. You know you're one of my heroes and a Dude I am so happy to call a good friend, but we never discussed fear.

Talk to me goose!

Thanks for letting me rant

I gotta go take that Bitch Step!

John Jaworski