Yahoo’s headline news today featured a 20-year study on four habits: smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet. Those habits swing your effective age by as much as 12 years.
This study had some very good news:
- Non-smokers and former smokers, and
- People who drink less than 2 drinks/day, and
- Those who get 2 hours of physical activity per week, and
- Those who eat *any* kind of fruit, vegetable or even juice 3X/day?
…are literally 4X less likely to die than people with the opposite behaviors.
The even better news is:
You don’t have to get it perfect all the time. Doing 3 out of 4 most of the time puts you in healthy company.
You can handle a few drinks every now and then and just cuz you have one couch-potato week doesn’t mean you have to make lethargy a life habit. Minor deviations are fine as long as your daily habits are healthy.
So it is in business. If you’re a Guerilla Marketer in 2010, here’s my list of deadly habits:
1. The business equivalent of smoking is: Eating your seed money.
There’s an old proverb that says, “Build your barn before you build your house.” A lot of folks take profits out of their business too early.
Major pitfall: Just as your business starts to flourish, some “Big Opportunity” turns up which usually requires further investment of time & money.
If you just returned from a Mediterranean Cruise and you’re 3 weeks behind on your work and your cash is depleted, it’s kinda hard to embark on a brand new initiative and make that investment.
Sure, everybody needs some down time. But when you’re in a startup mode, you can’t afford to be lavish. Those small, consistent investments will fund many cruises further down the road.
I’ve noticed that people who double up on their business investments just as those profits are starting to kick out experience exponential growth that continues long after that first surge.
2. The business equivalent of drinking too much is: Taking uncalculated risks.
In investing, the best way to make a lot of money is simply to not do anything that causes all your money to disappear!
Before you jump into any swimming pool, please check that there’s water in it first. Most businesses are about 3 risky decisions away from financial ruin.
Most risks can be reasonably assessed, but most of the time when we assess them we’re in a heightened emotional state, not thinking clearly.
My Mastermind group has saved me from many a stupidity spasm!
3. The business equivalent of being a couch potato is: Spending time with losers. This includes hanging on discussion forums with moaners, critics and complainers.
Someone once said, if you look at the average income of your closest friends, that’s what your income is going to be in 5 years.
Who do you consider your business friends to be? Who do you spend your time with?
If you’re to succeed, then you MUST surround yourself with the savviest people who will let you hang around.
4. The business equivalent of poor diet is: starving yourself of education.
Online, the supply of “informational junk food” is incalculably vast. Most of it is the nutritional equivalent of a McDonalds McFlurry.
Most people would be surprised if they knew how little attention I pay to most of the marketers and business gurus out there. (Or… maybe you wouldn’t.)
It’s especially hard for new people to choose the right things from the vast smorgasbord buffet.
The best strategy is to choose ONE mentor who has a cohesive approach and learn everything you can from him or her, so you’re sure all the pieces fit together.
Some teachers are only there for the paycheck. Others are committed to equipping the next generation with centuries of the best accumulated wisdom.
Choose your friends and mentors wisely.
Perry Marshall
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
28 Comments on “Good habits, bad habits, business success & the fountain of youth”
Good article. I never cease to be amazed at the amount of wrong, outdated, or just plain stupid info out there that people pay good money to receive. And most of the ones passing out that info are self proclaimed gurus.
Yet the small of handful of people who actually know what they are talking about and who actually give good value don’t ever put themselves on a pedestal – their happy followers do that for them.
But as you have proven, Perry, if you follow the rules of business, building value and integrity, there is only one outcome – your business will prosper.
And Christian G – I love your analogy. It’s so true! LOL
Todo din?mica y muy positiva! :)
Gracias
Socco
I try to avoid procrastination, but sometimes I just don’t get around to it! ;-)
How about sex addiction? Maybe equal to getting in bed with too many, low quality Joint Ventures ;-)
Christian G
To me, the business equivalent of a couch potato is inconsistency.
That’s not to say “Don’t change a routine that doesn’t work”, but instead to communicate that not having a routine is an invitation for failure.
Consistency and diligence yield results, long term.
Regardless of the present trends maturity and integrity are complimentary traits so valued in the business world and I find evidence of both in your material. Looking forward to being in your training and educational program.
Re: deadly habit #4
It took my 5 YEARS to discover that you, Perry, are that ONE mentor with a cohesive approach to direct and online marketing that I needed to choose over all others.
Oh well…
…better late than never! :-)
Now I’m on fire and constantly referring back to your articles, emails and courses to review and maintain my forward momentum!
I know the feeling. Long may it last!
I really enjoyed your interpretations of the company success tips. While I think all of these tips are helpful and important, I think number 4:”don’t starve yourself of education” is the one that stuck out the most to me. In order to be successful you must take the time to do research, whether it be on other companies success, or even Idiot Guides in your field. I will definitely utilize your tips in the future..thanks!
Hi Perry
Just printed off your list of deadly habits and they’re now taking pride on place on our notice-board in my office here in the UK.
Great article and an inspiration.
Hi! Perry,
I just want to thank you for the eMail.It,s undoubtedly one of the best I´ve ever read from you and specially for somebody that´s just starting in Internet Marketing(I´ll keep it).For sure I will learn a lot from you and thanks the Lord for guiding me to the right people(after being sucked in MLM).
My best wishes to you!
Blessings!
Orestes
Hi, Perry
Thanks for your email. I love to keep and read your email because you always deliver great contents and advice. Looking forward to hear more from you :)
Lessons learned (good habits and bad habits) are great and identifying them is the first step, the next step is even more powerful…implementing lessons learned with yourself and your team and/or organization.
Thanks Perry!
Right on – say hello to our mutual friends for me :^>
Thanks Perry! Copied, saved and printed. Great reminder.
I also read this article earlier today at Yahoo. When I received your email I was tempted to delete it. As I continued to read, I noticed how you were able to turn a hot news topic and relate it to your readers business interests. This is such a valuable skill and I hope to one day be able to add such great value to my customers. Thanks!
It’s funny, I was just thinking of that article not 5 minutes before receiving this email. I like your comparisons of it to the business world.
Thanks,
Renee’
I got this message sent by Perry Marshal as an e mail. I have to say that it is one of the best letters I have ever received in six years of having ” buy my stuff before it’s too late ” types of marketing efforts thrown at me 50 times a day. If you are new to marketing, get on this man’s list and read his letters. Buy or not, it’s plain by his thoughts that there is much to be learned here. Thank You sir for earning my respect. You are a true professional.
Thanks for the compliments Stan, glad to have you on board!
Great Stuff Perry,
Some of it is lessons we learn and then need to learn again.
Some new good teaching there too.
Always good to hear current, modern-day wisdom.
Thanks,
Nancy N.
Hey Perry! An excellent post! Very inspired and inspiring…you rock!
Perry, I read the same article and it also inspired me to write, but I took a more conventional and less imaginative tack.
Regarding your four interpretations, I’m taking care to not be a social media couch potato. There are so many blogs and forums and Facebooks and Twitters that we can easily fritter away our productive time.
Hi
Ive been following your newsletters for 5 yrs ! And bought adwords book back then just now updated to latest version.
One day i might well open a Adwiords account. :-) A lot i mean a lot of what i learn here applies to buisness in genral seo etc. And ive been busy building an empire
Anyway to the point. With respect to adsense and building niche sites monetise by adwords whos the guru equivalent of Perry marshall to adwords?
Thanks I hope to be on a bobsled one of these days
regards
Steve
Joel Comm’s book “the adsense code” should get you off to a good start.
Thanks for taking your time and i agree full heartly with stans comment. I used to subscribe to 50+ list now just 2 of which ofcourse perrys is one.
regards
Amen to that Perry. Reminds me of reading Proverbs 3.
“…are literally 4X less likely to die than people with the opposite behaviors.”
Really? I thought the likelihood was pretty much 100%.
Then again, perhaps you planted that statement to “out” some of us as the people not to hang around with from your deadly habit number 3.
Rose, I would say you definitely fall in the category of those not to hang around.