Or, this article could be titled Three Ways Not to Fail Like a Cowbird.
My husband took this picture in our backyard yesterday. {You know, he’s the one who takes all the bird pictures you see on my sites).
Well, if you’ll notice, the tiny little Brown-Headed Sparrow is feeding the huge juvenile Cowbird. It’s a funny sight, for sure, and makes you wonder why.
Unless you know about Cowbirds.
You see, when a mother Cowbird has an egg to lay, she refuses to take responsibility. So she finds another bird nest – with eggs in it, and lays her egg there. Sometimes, she even knocks an egg out of the nest to make room for hers.
But then she’s off – to no telling where. Free from any responsibility.
In the meantime, the surrogate mother sits on this egg, hatches it, and feeds the young bird until it’s ready to fend for itself. The baby Cowbird thinks that this is her mother.
Thus, this amazing photo.
When I look at this, I see an analogy to our online businesses, and I think about the lessons available. Truly we don’t want to live the unfruitful life of a Cowbird, so what can we learn?
Tip #1: Take Responsibility
When we start our online businesses, we usually know very little. We have to learn the tricks. How do we set up our sites, write blog posts, line up our email accounts, and get traffic? And so forth.
There’s a lot to learn, for sure. And it’s easy to stay in that “I just need to learn one more thing” mode.
So we can buy shiny object after shiny object, and listen to webinar after webinar, without ever grabbing the reins of our own business and taking charge.
We somehow are expecting someone else to do it for us.
If we learn enough, it might just happen.
But that’s not how it works.
For us to succeed online – or in any endeavor – we have to take charge of our own business. We own it. We put the training together in our minds as to what will help us fulfill our mission.
We are the captains of our ship. We take responsibility.
When that day comes – the day we take responsibility – things change. We still need to learn and to network, but we have confidence that our own business is going to make it.
And that’s when it begins to happen.
Tip #2 Follow Through
This is a big one.
The Cowbird does come up with the idea of laying the egg, but that’s the end of what she does.
If we want to be successful, we have to follow through with our plans – and not desert them.
Over the time that I have been online, I have seen many deserted plans.
When this first happened, I was shocked. I had just started my business and signed up for a challenge. The leader had lots of promises to us. Well one by one, she dropped the promises. She promised to send her book, and it never came. She promised to participate in a podcast, and didn’t.
The trust element was smashed, and I didn’t do business with that person for a couple of years.
Later I learned that this lady was going through some serious health issues at the time. If only she had explained somewhat, I would have understood. But her actions just led me to believe that she was unreliable.
Since that time, I have encountered many others change plans and redirect their missions. That happens in a growing business.
When those leaders have explained and offered an alternative for what I had expected, their trust level actually increased.
I knew that they were aware of their promises and trying to fulfill them even as they changed directions.
One more importance of following through is that without this practice, you will leave unfinished work. And unfinished work never hits your target.
Unfinished business can never brings results.
So we come to…
Tip #3 Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor
When you look at the little Sparrow feeding the Cowbird, you can’t help but think of how the real mother is missing out.
After building the nest and sitting on the eggs all of that time, the mother must feel some satisfaction in seeing the offspring develop into an adult.
Certainly, when you have developed an online business which helps others, you must feel some satisfaction in what you are doing. And you should.
A successful online business is one facet of a happy, productive life. Even more success will come your way when you find a plan that you enjoy in a niche you love.
As you develop your plans and bring value to your niche, you will be amazed at how your business unfolds. Because of your sincere interest in your people and your niche, doors will open and networks will form. Sometimes almost effortlessly.
As you enjoy what you are doing, greater levels of success are easier to achieve.
You remember the saying
When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life -Steve Jobs
I have to add: honestly,
When you love what you do, it sometimes seems like work, but your satisfaction will far outweigh the negative…
So there you have them. Three tips from a Cowbird.
Take Responsibility, Follow Through, and Enjoy What You Do.
If you take these three guidelines and run with them, you are headed for a successful endeavor.
Let’s do this!
