January 27, 2010

Without This One Thing, We Would All Fail

Louise&Josh I am currently sat here in a hotel in Vegas and even though I have a huge amount of work I need to be doing I just had to write this blog post and share this with you.

Just under two weeks ago I flew out to San Diego and then on to Vegas shortly after celebrating a successful six figure launch (blog post about that later)

Over the last few days I have got to rub shoulders with some of the top names in my industry, talk to people I have respected for years, spend time in VIP areas in the best places in Vegas and even enjoy the feeling of people coming up to me congratulating me on my product and hearing how it has helped their businesses already.

Its a new feeling having people knowing who I am and sometimes asking for pictures with me when I turn up at a conference, but I cant lie, it does feel cool. Mostly because of the great feedback people have given me about my product.

I have also got to spend alot of time with two very cool fellow marketers and great friends of mine, Matt Wolfe and Joe Fier (and their very cool wives) over the last few weeks. I have to say, its been great fun and being able to brainstorm business ideas together and create content for future projects at the same time is just awesome.

But, whilst all of this great stuff is happening, I cant shake a feeling that actually, none of this is fair.

Let me explain..

As marketers, entreprenuers and business owners, we get to reap the rewards of all of our hard work and efforts in creating products and services that sell. We get our users thanking us, people wanting to contact us and of course, we get the financial rewards too!

But, there is one thing that never gets mentioned..

Whilst we may put in the hard work, formulate ideas and take action to achieve our goals that give us financial rewards and recognition, we should always remember one important factor that makes all the difference.

Without this one thing, I never would of been able to achieve ANY of the successes in business that I have had so far and it is most likely the same for you.

Even though it is that powerful, I hardly EVER hear it talked about.

I am talking about our partners, wives and husbands who support us and sit behind the scenes, carry us forward, pick us up when we are down and provide the voice of reason to our many crazy ideas.

I know, without my wife, I never would of been able to have the six figure launch I had recently. But, she gets no praise, nobody comes to her and congratulates her on the product we ended up creating.

In the eyes of others, it ends up being my achievement. In realtiy, its our achievement.

That is what this blog post is about.

Sitting here in Vegas, a place where possibly this kind of sentiment is felt less than anywhere else in the world makes it hit home all the more powerfully for me.

To sum it up simply, I CANT do this without my wife and even more importantly, I probably wouldnt want to.

Someone said to me recently the “why” is more important than the “when” in business. The reason behind why you are trying to reach that next level is way more important than when you will. If you focus on the “why” and make it a powerful one then the “when” will happen alot sooner.

My personal “why” is my wife. I want to create a lifestyle for her and our future family that they deserve. I want her to get paid back for all those hard times, late nights, tears and upsets we have had to go through to reach where we are now.

She has picked me up when I stumbled more times than I can remember. If it wasnt for that support I would have given up long ago.

I dont feel that this is focused on enough by people. Without your loved ones and close partners, you couldnt have achieved any of what you have so far.

We should always remember this, take time to thank these people and remind ourselves, however urgent that email is, making sure they know we love and appreciate them is so much more important.

My friends Matt and Joe who I mentioned earlier are both also married and we have all talked about this over the past few days.

The emotional, financial and spiritual support that our wives give us have been THE reason we have been able to do ANYTHING in this business. I guess spending time without them reminds us of how much we value them.

So, thank you Louise. I love you, appreciate you and couldnt do any of this without you. Thank you for putting up with my long hours, sleepless nights, the times when I stress out for no reason and all the ups and downs over the years.

This post may seem corny to some of you but to be honest, I dont care.. Sometimes we need to say it like it is.

Some of you will also wonder why I am writing this post before I write an update about my recent successful launch. Surely, straight after such a successful launch I need to get the details out there, further my brand and thank all my customers. While thats very true, I felt this should be said first.

Take time to thank your loved ones who make this possible for you. Whatever level you are currently at, without their support and understanding, it would of taken you much longer to arrive where you are now, and to get where you are going.

Josh

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14 Comments to “Without This One Thing, We Would All Fail”

January 27, 2010 at 2:16 PM
Heather says:

Josh, you are very wise. I can completely relate to the fact that loved ones keep you grounded and motivated to push through the challenges when running your own company. I am happy to hear that you are blessed with such a wonderful partner and are aware of this blessing. Keep up the great work, Josh and Louise!

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January 27, 2010 at 7:43 PM
Sean Beardmore says:

Hey Josh,

Can’t wait to hear the stories from Vegas.

Anyway, you have hit the nail on the head, having a strong enough reason why, without a strong enough reason why, you wouldn’t do anything.

Mix that with passion and a determination you will have success.

My reason why is my daughter, say no more.

Cheers

Sean

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January 27, 2010 at 9:02 PM
Brad Lohnes says:

Well said, mate. We miss you both. Glad to hear about the most recent success and happy for you that you know from where it came and with whom to share it. Cheers!

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January 31, 2010 at 4:35 AM
Jean says:

Hi Josh,

Looking forward to interviewing you even more now I’ve read this post.

You’ve highlighted an very important but much overlooked aspect of
internet marketing. It is so often the person whose name is on the
product/website who gets all the glory BUT without the support of family
and partners in the background, success would not be possible.

I felt when I chatted briefly to you in Las Vegas, you were a genuine
young man whose ethics I admired, and I’m even more convinced now.

I’ll be in touch.

Jean
Jean ´s last blog ..Jet Lag, Sleep Deprivation, Escalators And Why Today I’m Incredibly Grateful

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February 1, 2010 at 1:56 PM
Walter says:

Most of the time, we take our loved ones for granted. Especially those who support us in their own little way. Thanks for reminding me this. The truth is, all of my hard work was prodded by my desire to give a good life to my family. But oftentimes with too much pressure I forget this purpose.
Walter´s last blog ..Selfishness under the pretense of love

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February 2, 2010 at 10:25 PM
Joe Fier says:

Hey buddy!
I was with you when you wrote this post and for some reason it’s taken me this long to write a comment for it.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I would have been able to quit my job and feel so confident and grounded without the help of Heather. She’s seen some gloomy days, just as Louise has, but with them, there always seems to be that light at the end of the tunnel. It’s crazy how everything seems to work out and fall into place, but I could pretty much give Heather the credit for most of that for me.

This is only the beginning of the fun ride for us, and most importantly, for our wives! Pretty soon we’ll be taking them on some trips and spoiling the hell out of them!!

Have fun on holiday, buddy, it was a blast having you out here in SD!

Joe
Joe Fier´s last blog ..

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February 3, 2010 at 9:34 PM
Marc Milburn says:

Hey Josh,

Great blog post.. I dont think the importance of a loved one will ever occur to most marketers so thanks for making a point about it. All of us experience hardship and difficulty in this, or any other type of business and we need someone there who will support us and help.

Rachel, my other half, is always there with support when I need it and its safe to say that she is part of the reason I didn’t give up a long time ago. It’s hard to get people to “believe in us” in the early days, but at least we have someone.

Thanks for making us reflect over something important.

Thanks,
Marc
Marc Milburn´s last blog ..Internet Customer Service 101

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February 4, 2010 at 9:24 PM
SuccessBob says:

Corny?

Hardly. Reading your post made me all the more happy to be a customer, and from my end, anyway, a friend.

By the way, what happened to that offer to install the Easy Video Player on my hosting site?

I am super new at that part, though I am a computer user supreme.

Whatever THAT is.

I need to get it set up on GVO hosting.

Once again, since I am of a much older generation than you, and in my childhood as a Midwestern/Western raised Irish/American, my Dad pounded respect for ALL women, and the protection of ALL women, as the duty of a “real man”.

I have acted upon that advice in all manner of situations, even when I was in an Asian War, and most of the women who are “around” are considered (and they are) to be prostitutes, I treated them with respect (and Polite “no thank you”), to their everlasting surprise and gratitude.

A real man remembers that all too often, women are forced into such a life, and if I could bring even one spark of gratitude in the eyes of a fellow human being, it is worth any effort.

So yes, post more of such manly efforts, and you will have my lasting attention and respect for your ability to overcome the “macho crap” that so many younger men have developed.

GOD bless you

B

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February 8, 2010 at 10:58 PM
Sean K says:

Wow! What a different and inspiring post, and one which in turn received such heartfelt and honest comments in response.

I was going to rant on here about “How does the single IM get along without all this mushy gooey stuff”? Until it occurred to me that what’s being addressed here is not so much about our wives, girlfriends, partners or whatever, but more about the why we do the things we do.

Having said that, and being a bachelor for 80% of the time is the crux behind my “why”.
You see I live in Australia but my girlfriend of around 5 years lives in Thailand. So my “why” is really because I want to go to live in Thailand with her and make her happy and take care of her family!

While there is nothing she can do to help my business in an academic sort of way, she does many of the things for me that I normally have to do for myself and so giving me a lot more freedom and time to concentrate on building my business……and I love her for it!
Sean K´s last blog ..Avoiding Information Overload for Baby Boomer IM’s

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February 9, 2010 at 4:43 PM
MickFallon says:

Hi josh
sounds as though your happy and its great having your wife as a big support
so glad you are making six figures ,
I too have a very supporting wife ,my story is a bit different to yours but there is no-one in the whole of
internet marketing more happier than me, because after 9 months of making zilch I received on 7/2/2010 which was a sunday a whole five dollars into my paypal account
me and the wife danced around the livingroom
she even put another log on the woodburner,
but the goodnews keeps on coming this evening I got my evp player up and running so another tick in the box.
see you soon you old Bristol boy
Mick

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February 12, 2010 at 6:21 PM
Joe Jablonski says:

Here to the wonderful wives that keep us whole!

Great Post

~ Joe Jablonski

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February 12, 2010 at 10:38 PM
Estani says:

Hi Josh

I’m on my way to send you some questions. I think you have answered partly with your recent post.

My experience is like yours. I couldn’t do what I’m doing now if I hadn’t the support of my partner (is a man ) and my daughter. They are wonderfully patience with me.

The feeling of being loved and to love back is what give me strength. I see that’s your case also.

Have a wonderful time with your life partner – your wife – I guess you have something special for her in this Valentine day

Estani
Estani´s last blog ..May You Be Blessed – SimpleTruths Video

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February 17, 2010 at 9:26 PM
Matt Wolfe says:

This is a great post and it couldn’t be more true to me as well. I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for the support from my wife. She supported me when I decided to quit my day job before I was making a substantial income online and she continues to support me as I pursue building my business bigger and better.

Without her, I would not be where I am today.

Great post and a refreshing change of pace from an internet marketer…

Matt
Matt Wolfe´s last blog ..Where Have I Been?

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February 23, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Rob Bradley says:

Josh,

What an awesome post!!

It’s totally true what you say here. I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if it wasn’t for Sam. She’s my rock and I can’t wait to marry her later this year!!!

Was good to meet you very briefly in Vegas…hope to share a beer sometime soon.

Rob
Rob Bradley´s last blog ..Blog Wars: Wordpress Strikes Back

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WHO IS JOSH BARTLETT?

Josh lives in the beautiful New Zealand and makes a full time living as an Internet Marketer, Software Publisher and Writer.
When he is not working, he loves to chill out with friends, spend time at the beach, travel the world, and sharpen his skills.
More here..