You know how they say ‘bad luck comes in threes’?

Well, that’s definitely true of technology.

At least for me, anyway…

My electronic devices have an uncanny habit of synching their breakdowns at the same time.

It’s like they are connected on some deep psychic level!

To give you an example, last week my iPhone started to have battery problems (I think it’s an issue with the charging port).

Then on Saturday night, the internet in our house became really slow, so that Netflix kept – stopping – and – starting – and stopping – and starting.

Maddening.

Then, this morning, I sat down at my computer with a big pile of work to get through when…

“COMPUTER SAYS NO!”

For some reason, my trusty old Apple desktop went into a weird shutdown mode.

It seemed that my internal storage had finally hit the red (I should have seen this one coming as it’s 10 years old and filled up with all kinds of garbage!)

Anyway, I was ENRAGED!

In fury, I yelled at the screen, then stomped around the house in search of my laptop, muttering insane gibberish about a conspiracy of gremlins.

You’ve probably had this happen to you.

For example, when your computer crashes halfway through writing a document you haven’t saved….

It’s like the plug gets pulled on you, too, and you cannot get going again, even when the computer comes back on.

Or when your car breaks down before an important journey.

You might have a full tank of petrol, a working sat nav, and a clear destination… but none that matters.

Because you’re not going anywhere!

In these instances, you feel frustrated, even angry…

Because you’ve lost autonomy.

Things outside your control have gone wrong.

Yet you blame it on yourself, or you blame it on a cruel world that’s rallying its hostile forces against you.

This is also true when you’re trying to set up a home business (or ANY important project) for the first time.

You get these points where you feel stuck…

It’s like everything suddenly seems hard…

And everything is working against you.

That could mean personal troubles, work crises, tech headaches, financial problems, lack of time…

You begin to think, “What’s the point? None of this is working! I can’t do this!”

And so your project stalls, like a broken car, or my beleaguered old computer.

But often there’s a hidden cause of your breakdown.

Is This What’s REALLY Slowing You Down?

There’s an idea in psychology known as ‘Self-Determination Theory (SDT). It’s all about what keeps people motivated over the long-term to achieve big goals.

And it comes down to three basic human needs:

1. Autonomy – You need to feel like you’re in charge of your actions.
2. Competence – You need to feel like you’re getting better at something.
3. Relatedness – You need to feel like someone sees you, hears you, or cares.

If just one of those factors is missing in a project, your motivation will start to drain.

If all three are missing, you end up breaking down entirely.

So before you start blaming yourself (or evil gremlins) it might be worth running a diagnostic on your struggling business plans to check if any of these might be the problem.

LACK OF AUTONOMY

Do you feel like you’ve chosen this business idea just because someone said you should, or because you were pressured into it?

Or perhaps you’re following a plan that gives you no freedom to add your own personality or make your own choices?

Maybe you have to sacrifice some of your profits, or give away earnings to somebody else?

If you don’t feel like you are properly in control of your own home business, you will probably lose motivation.

There are some ways to fix this…

• Look for a business plan that’s right for you (not what someone tells you to do)
• Make sure it’s a choice you make because you think you’ll enjoy it (not simply because you need to earn ‘X’ amount of money!)
• Finally, ensure the business is something you own, where you get to choose the personality and direction of the business (and keep all the profits, of course!)

Ultimately, we all want a home business where we decide where, when and how we work!

COMPETENCE

Do you feel like you’re never actually improving?

It might be that you’ve watched loads of training videos but can’t seem to complete any of the tasks.

Or it could be that there’s one element you dread, like tech, marketing or writing content, which doesn’t seem to get any easier.

Perhaps you always feel inadequate, that you’re not doing as well as you assume others are doing?

There are fixes for this too….

• Find a business plan where the ‘dreaded’ elements are done for you, or where you can avoid doing them at all.
• If you cannot get motivated to even start on a project after the training, then question whether this is the right option for you (always try systems that come with a trial period).
• Avoid comparing yourself to other people. Understand that everybody has gaps in their knowledge and skills that they are struggling with too, even if they don’t admit it online.

It’s also worth considering the ‘Kaizen’ strategy of continual improvement.

This is where you carry out small, achievable tasks every day to gradually build your confidence in your abilities.

RELATEDNESS

Do you feel a little isolated and lonely, because nobody knows what you’re working on (or why!)?

It can be hard when you don’t get any feedback, encouragement, or even any recognition at all!

To fix this….

• Find one person to share your goal with. They don’t have to commit to doing anything except listening to your plan and sharing your joy when you hit important milestones.
• Follow an expert or guru who can give you training and guidance – as well as motivate and encourage you.
• Join a community or mastermind group, or online group based around your business, topic or field of interest.

If you can’t do any of the above, you can always email me your intentions and I’ll be your silent partner.

And if you’re looking for something that could potentially hit all THREE of these motivational drivers, then this could be worth checking out.

My NEW Instant Digital Publisher Programme

I don’t know if you saw my previous emails about this but this Thursday I’m going to hand over a done-for-you replica of my own business that you can copy.

And it could tick the ‘Self-Determination Theory’ boxes in the following ways…

• Autonomy – you get a fully-fledged online business over which you have full control, including when you work, how much work you put in, and what kind of personality you inject into it. Not only that, you keep 100% of the profits.
• Competence – you don’t have to worry about skills in marketing, content creation or product development because I’ve created the materials for you. Everything is designed to be plug-and-go with user friendly platforms that don’t require skills or experience.
• Relatedness – I’ll be there every step of the way to observe your progress, offering you support and encouragement.

If you’d like to know how to get access to this when it launches, then please let me know immediately and I’ll make sure you get an invitation.

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