Summary: <br> <a href="http://feeds.feedblitz.com/-/57849073/0/ibmaudioblogs.mp3">http://feeds.feedblitz.com/-/57849073/0/ibmaudioblogs.mp3</a><br> Have you ever been overwhelmed by all the information you face on a daily basis?<br> Have you ever felt pulled in a hundred directions by all the "expert" voices vying for your attention?<br> Have you ever frozen at the site of all the newsletters in your inbox, blog posts in your reader or books stacked on your night stand?<br> It all seems so important and exciting. I know. I've been there.<br> <br> * "Facebook ads are hot right now? I'd better get on that!"<br> * "101 news ways to grow my Twitter following? Oh goodie. I can't wait to read them all!"<br> * "Seth Godin's got a new book! I'll just slide that on top of the ten others on my bedstand."<br> <br> The most common source of overwhelm is...<br> information overload.<br> <br> * Information can save you time or waste what few moments you have to build a business<br> * Information can empower you or sap all your energy<br> * Information can guide you or paralyze you for days<br> <br> In the last post on learning, we discussed <a href="http://www.internetbusinessmastery.com/discovery-learning/" target="_blank">Discovery Learning</a> which shows you the path to take toward a high-level goal.<br> The challenge is to know when to turn off the information firehose and focus on action.<br> This post will give you the solution for turning learning into action.<br> When you do this right, your results will accelerate greatly. Your energy will soar. Overwhelm will take a vacation.<br> We've been told by both beginning and advanced students that this one simple concept impacted their progress more than anything we've taught.<br> First, we need to understand the source of information overload.<br> Bathing in Secret Sauce<br> Why do we allow information overload? There are a few reasons.<br> 1. We don't want to miss out<br> Nobody likes to miss out on something important.<br> That's why promotions based on a limited-time or limited-quantity work so well.<br> The problem is that we forget that saying yes to one thing means saying no to others.<br> Like driving a performance car, shifting gears too often wears out the transmission and ruins the ability to move forward.<br> THE TRUTH<br> When you give into the voice that says "I might miss out," you are in actuality missing out on the focus and progress that you already had. You reinforce the message to your mind that your past decisions are invalid. This erodes your confidence and <a href="http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/self_efficacy.htm" target="_blank">self-efficacy</a>.<br> 2. Learning is Safe<br> Learning feels good. We get the reward of feeling productive, without the risk of taking action.<br> THE TRUTH<br> This is an excuse. It's a form of procrastination. Inaction is the biggest risk of all. It leads to an endless spiral of learning, overwhelm, avoidance, learning, overwhelm, avoidance, and so on. It ensures we never get results.<br> 3. We hope to find the secret sauce<br> Every marketer's mission is to make us feel like they have the "secret sauce."<br> "This ONE secret is what finally brought me success," they say. "And it will bring you success, too. But only if you act now."<br> This kind of marketing plugs into our belief that we're just one blog post, book, email, podcast or course away from finally finding the ultimate secret to success.<br> What the marketer is selling might work well. However, that doesn't mean that it is the best thing for you right now.<br> You have to know the difference. I've told people NOT to buy from us if it wasn't in the interest of their forward momentum.<br> THE TRUTH<br> The secret sauce is taking action.There is no substitute. Progress only comes as a result of action and forward momentum.<br> The Solution to Information Overload<br>
