Falling Off The Fence

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Don’t you just HATE fence sitters??

(No I will not be talking about politics… because I hate politics and frankly don’t really care which made up persona gets to be in charge…)

But what I can’t stand is those people who are chronically afraid of having an opinion because they never want anyone to dislike or be displeased with them.

Now, I’ve gotta admit, I used to be one!!

Yep, I was so terrified of people judging me that I wanted nothing more than to fade into the background.  I wanted everyone to think I was nice and no one to dislike me.

But that’s completely impossible and also complete bullshit.

If there isn’t someone out there who can’t stand you… you’re doing something wrong!

That means that people simply don’t care about you.  You’re so bland and uninteresting that you fade into their background and they just don’t give a crap.

When I first started internet marketing I was TERRIFIED of being judged.  I know exactly what a lot of people think about internet marketing:

-It’s scammy, it’s greedy, it’s never going to work and you are crazy for even trying.

The other day someone I consider to be a friend was teasing me for being an internet marketer.  I was a little surprised when he said, “but you have to actually work at it.”

Ummmm… yeah, why wouldn’t I?

Doesn’t everybody work for what they get??

So I said “Yep, I work…as in, I write and I chat to people online…. I do what I love.  Sometimes it gets boring, and sometimes I don’t feel like it…. and then I don’t do it.  I don’t have a boss telling me I have to, or a paycheck that relies on the hours I work.”

The whole myth that if it’s not at the push of a button it’s not worth doing is INSANE!

I work and my money goes up each and every month, I have fun, and I spend most of my time playing with the kids.

I could feel my irritation rising and then had to stop myself and realize that this friend was simply on the other side of the fence.

He is simply stuck in a world view that says working for a company is acceptable and working online is not a worthy thing to do with your life.

No big deal.

It just means that I was making sales and money was coming into my business at the exact time I was having this conversation (ironic, huh!) and he was laughing at me for believing something different from him!

But the interesting thing is that it took me awhile to achieve success online PRECISELY because I was scared of this exact conversation.  I was so terrified at what my normal, job having friends would think of me that I hid my business.

I didn’t openly talk about it, I acted like someone who was ashamed of what I did.

The day I decided to get off the fence, let the world know that I was an internet marketer was one of the most liberating days of my life….

And it has only led me to more and more success, and actually finding people who shared my world-view.

People who believe jobs are a load of crap and working for yourself is a fantastic way to live.

So yep, people can now judge me all they want, but I always laugh inwardly and think about how my results have proven them wrong.

And how just allowing myself to be…well…myself, has freed me to meet more people, make more money, and have a much more fun and fulfilling life.

I don’t care how “out of the norm” your dreams are.  Just embrace them.  We aren’t in junior high people, there is no more “popular crowd”.

When you break free and do what you love, you will find more people that love it too.

Go for it!

Let yourself FALL OFF THE FENCE!