When it comes to getting information on how to market your business online, there is a crap-ton (that’s like a whole lot) of it available to you – for free – with just a simple Google search. Really. Try it and you’ll see. You can find all the parts you need without spending the first dime.
Google has it all.
The truth is, you can probably find any information you want to find for free using Google because well, Google is just awesome like that. But guess what? “Free” info isn’t the holy grail. In fact, it’s the antithesis of the holy grail. Why might you ask? It’s the antithesis of the holy grail because it gives you a false sense of value and it leads you astray. You think you are getting something valuable for free when the reality is that you’re not. You may be losing value instead, but the seduction of free is so great that it pulls you off the trail of where the holy grail is.
When you go out searching for the golden nuggets of information that you need to accomplish something you desire. You can find all the parts, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll know how to put them together in a way that gives you anything useful.
Having it all doesn’t mean you know how to use it.
Think about it. If someone had all the parts of a brand new car in a big ole truck and came and delivered that to you – for free – by dumping it all out in your front yard, would you be able to put those parts together so you could drive that car? Probably not.
Now, you may be thinking that you could learn how so you will happily take the free parts and figure it out, and then you’ll have a free car. But, do you have any idea how much time that would take you, assuming that you could even accomplish it in the first place? It would take a very long time. And, you would not have a ‘free’ car.
If you were able to put the car together at all, it would still end up costing you more than you’ve ever paid for a car – even though you technically got it for $0.
What’s the real cost?
Free, in this case, means you didn’t exchange money for the parts, but there will still be a price to pay. The price you’ll pay is the amount of your time that it takes to figure out how to make it useful AND the lost value of what you could have done in that time instead.
For parts to be useful, there must be a process for putting them together. The process can only come together when there’s specific knowledge present on how to use the parts. Skill is what makes the process efficient.
This dynamic is why so many of you have collected tons of information in the way of free content – and even some programs or courses that you’ve paid good money for – yet you remain stuck. The truth is that you’ve obtained parts without the knowledge or skill required to create the process, so you still have no vehicle to help you arrive at your desired destination.
Maybe it’s not your fault.
In some cases, this may not be your fault. There are plenty of people out there selling stuff that’s useless. They are great at selling, but not so great at providing the outcome they promise. They give you parts but nothing in the way of the process.
In other cases, it may be your fault. You may have received everything you need but failed to take action.
Either way, it’s important to understand that there’s more to making things work than simply having all the parts or information you need. In many cases, hiring an expert to do the job is less expensive in the long run than collecting all the parts and never getting the process figured out.
If you happen to be someone who wants to try the DIY approach, by all means, go for it! Just make sure you do the work. You’re not going to accomplish anything by just having the parts or info.