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  • Can I do this episode like this?

  • I think my feet are fantastic. Hey, it’s Marie Forleo and you are watching

  • MarieTV, the place to be to create a business and life you love. Now, if you ever wonder:

  • should you quit a project because youre still not seeing results or should you push

  • on through because you are this close to hitting it big, today’s episode is for you. This

  • question comes from Michelle and she writes:

  • Hi, Marie. I’m learning a lot from B-School, which is always high praise from a fellow

  • training professional. Here’s my Q: how can you tell the difference between spending

  • too much time on a marketing strategy versus being on the edge of breaking through? In

  • B-School you mentioned that it took almost a year of hosting and posting MarieTV before

  • you started to get traction. I find myself oscillating between two schools of thought.

  • Number one, don't cling to a mistake because youve spent so much time creating it and,

  • two, being the diamond seeker who quits just when they're about to strike it big. Would

  • love to hear your thoughts on when to quit and when to commit. Thanks so much, Michelle.”

  • Thank you for your question, Michelle, and thank you for being a B-Schooler. Now, before

  • we tackle your Q I want you to know that we have another awesome episode on this very

  • same topic that you should watch after this one. Now, if you Google my name, Marie Forleo

  • Should You Quit Or Commit,” the Google will serve it up to you. Were also going

  • to link to it below on the blog.

  • Now, since you asked specifically about spending too much time on a marketing strategy and

  • you mentioned MarieTV, I’m going to answer your question in that context. There are three

  • questions that you should ask yourself that will help you come up with the best answer

  • for you.

  • Question number one is, when it comes to any marketing strategy the first thing you want

  • to be clear on is what metric are you measuring? So what exactly are you working to increase

  • or improve? For instance, maybe youre trying to increase email subscribers or youre

  • trying to drive up your sales. Now, obviously, and I know that you know this, having a clear,

  • quantifiable metric to measure is the fastest and easiest way to tell whether a particular

  • marketing strategy is working. So you just look at your numbers and if your numbers are

  • going in the direction that you want them to go, you keep going. And if theyre not

  • and you see no other benefits to continuing, then it’s probably time to change your strategy.

  • Now, as for your question about whether or not you could be this close to striking it

  • big, I can’t get too into the weeds here because, honestly, there are so many different

  • strategies and variables. For example, if you're spending money on Facebook ads and

  • youre not seeing any leads or any sales conversions, then yes.  You probably do need

  • to quit or adjust your strategy. Conversely though, if your marketing strategy is to guest

  • post on popular blogs and youve reached out to a bunch of people and so far everyone

  • has said no, I say, you know what? Don't give up too soon, because success in business is

  • often a game of numbers and dogged persistence. So I want you to use metrics and your common

  • sense to help you decide.

  • Now, with all that said, what I think is an even more important question to ask yourself

  • is this: and it’s question number two. Why are you really doing it? So you mentioned

  • MarieTV and the fact that I had shared I was making videos for probably well over a year

  • before anyone seemed like they even cared. But here’s what most people don't know,

  • I had been publishing content on a regular basis since the year 2000, and MarieTV didn't

  • start until the year 2010. So I had a full decade’s worth of experience writing content

  • consistently before I started making videos on my webcam in my kitchen. So MarieTV was

  • less of a marketing tactic. It was actually something fun that I really wanted to experiment

  • with. It was a way for me to express myself and do something completely new.

  • Now, over time MarieTV definitely took on a life of its own, but all of this grew very

  • organically. It was never some big vision that I had, it was just me following this

  • creative impulse about something I wanted to do.

  • So let’s take this back to you. If you enjoy creating something or working on something,

  • there is enormous ROI in that. It’s called creative fulfilment and joy and mental stimulation.

  • So my challenge to you is to investigate your motivation. What I want you to do is really

  • peel back the layers and get super honest with yourself. Keep asking, why are you pursuing

  • this goal or doing this activity or creating this work in the first place, and why is that

  • important to you?

  • So no matter what answer you initially come up with, I want you to keep asking yourself

  • why until you get down to the real deal, that true reason that youre doing what you're

  • doing. And once you really understand why youre doing anything, youre going to

  • have the clarity to really make that call about whether you should quit or commit.

  • And finally I want to cover question number three: what’s the opportunity cost of staying

  • the course? So in other words, what projects or strategies are you not getting to because

  • your time, your energy, and your resources are invested in your current strategy?

  • You know, opportunity cost is a real thing and not something enough people consider when

  • saying yes to a strategy or a project or goal. Youve gotta remember this: every single

  • thing that you say yes to means youre saying no to something else.

  • Look, we only get one shot at this beautiful adventure called life, so if staying the course

  • is keeping you from spending your time and your energy on something way more valuable,

  • don't feel bad about quitting. Quitting doesn't make you weak. In fact, it can often make

  • you a winner. You know, sometimes when we quit a strategy or a project or a goal, it’s

  • because were choosing to focus our attention on something even more important.

  • So the bottom line is, if you answer these three questions, youre going to know for

  • yourself whether you should quit or commit. Or as Kenny Rogers says, youre gonna know

  • when to hold them and when to fold them.

  • And that, Michelle, was my A to your Q and I really do hope it helps. Now I would love

  • to hear from you. So when it comes to a marketing strategy or any long-term creative project,

  • have you ever felt that tension between whether you should quit or commit? And what helped

  • you decide? Leave a comment below and let me know.

  • Now, as always, the best, richest conversations happen at the magical land of MarieForleo.com,

  • so head on over there and leave a comment now. Once youre there, be sure to subscribe

  • to our email list and become an MF insider. Youll get instant access to a powerful

  • audio training called How To Get Anything You Want and youll get some exclusive content

  • and special giveaways and personal updates from me that I just don't share anywhere else.

  • Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams, because the world needs that special

  • gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching and I’ll catch you next time

  • on MarieTV.

  • Have you been thinking about starting your own business? Is fear, confusion, or overwhelm

  • slowing you down? We can fast track your growth and save you years of expensive trial and

  • error. Get the guidance you need to make your dream business come to life, guaranteed. Learn

  • more at StartTheRightBusiness.com.

  • All bets are off. When you start shooting late in the afternoon, it’s just cutthroat

  • here at Marieyou think were all nice and sweet. Were vicious.

  • My hootie hoo!

  • Do you feel a kick coming?

  • It’s chaos on the set of MarieTV.

  • Forget about walking on fire. Just catch a t-shirt in your mouth with an air cannon.

Can I do this episode like this?

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