The Triumph of the Stupid
Give me a minute before I explain the title “The Triumph of the Stupid”, to talk about TRAFFIC for a second.
You know already that in the survey I ran, 91% of everyone who responded said that Traffic was their first or second MOST IMPORTANT thing they needed to make their online business a success.
So I got to thinking about why that is. Why is getting Internet TRAFFIC such a PROBLEM for you?
And I started thinking about why some OTHER people never have a problem with traffic. Some are famous (Kern, Filsaime, Mandossian) and some are totally unknown. Either way, this group of people KNOWS EXACTLY how to get hordes of people to their site.
But I’ll tell you something shocking. It’s not because they are so SMART.
No, it’s because they are … STUPID.
And I’ve got PROOF. You’ll find it here:
http://www.TheTriumphofTheStupid.com
And once you see the proof, there’s an ebook waiting for you that will dive deeper into why YOUR OWN INTELLIGENCE and creativity are keeping you from the online SUCCESS YOU DESERVE.
This sounds like a joke — and to be honest, I’m sure you’ll laugh a little at the beginning — but the subject is extremely serious — and important to me.
It should be important to YOU, too, unless your online business is just a hobby.
By the end, you’ll be saying what these other people have said:
“Everything you said is absolutely
relevant and vital for becoming
successful in the world of online
business.”
“Once again you have shown sincere care
for the problems of people. I like your no
nonsense approach!”
“Great work Mark! You are the first
marketer that I truly believe is in
this business to help people succeed. In
fact I think I’m gonna unsubscribe from
all those other self professed gurus
that place my wallet ahead of my
success.”
So go now, see the proof, and read the ebook that is there waiting for you.
http://www.TheTriumphofTheStupid.com
It’s free to you — I’m not asking for a penny — so go get it now.
I truly care what happens next to you.
To Your Success,
–Mark Widawer
p.s. Once you read the book, let me know: did it offend you? Did it help you? Whatever your throughts, leave your comments below.
Mark,
I think this is a great inspirational piece for people who start and stop. I myself could use a Checklist for Creating Traffic. I know Perry Marshall has a checklist for writing AdWords (that is a little outdated, at least my copy) which is very useful.
I wonder if there is a step-by-step checklist you could create for generating Traffic.
I’ve never been able to afford the level of coaching I feel I would need to get the hands-on attention to build a site to extreme profitability. I’ve never followed One System enough. I’ve gotten distracted, hired people who did things a different way, launched things with limited success. This book is inspiring, and yet leaves me wanting details on article marketing, the latest on adwords, a diagram of where to start, what to do next, how to direct someone into basic SEO.
As an overview it is inspiring. As a starving crowd, I want more.
MacEwen
Was the book written for me specificially?!
The problem with Ambition:
This is my one.
I think I am a loser if I only agree to do 10% of what I want to do and am in theory capable of doing if I was as maniacally excited, disciplined, motivated and focused as and slept as little as Tony Robbins.
Its like Quentin Tarantino said: I wont live long enough to complete all the films in my head.
Perry Marshall said: ‘An entrepreneur will never complete all the projects he wants to complete.
I feel like I am a jet fighter trying to make its way around a childs crazy golf course!
No wonder I keep crashing and burning.
And if I block my time into two hour chunks I get so much done its unreal.
Plus I enjoy my life too.
But that’s the rarity of when I am pushing the jet fighter around the crazy golf course.
Perhaps when I get to the 18th hole THEN I will be able to take it for a spin for enjoyment purposes!
Then I will be upgraded to the adult golf course where I can spread my wings a little bit more.
Plus also awareness cures and when I start focusing on block time it brings into focus how far I am away from my goals so I like to retreat and avoid that horrible reality – even if it means I don’t do anything!!!
Strange but true.
As you say I need more clarity on bigger reasons. They are there like diamonds I just have to honour their existence, mine them and wear them.
Mark, you are really adding value with the Triumph Of the Stupid. Unique approach on all this!
You’ve created gold gems and I’m sure others will get the insights they need.
Victor
VERY nice, Mark.
It’s the most useful ebook I’ve read in ages! ;)
-Nathan
Hi Mark,
About the time I figure something out, you write about it.
Seriously, Mark, just yesterday I came across something I’d discarded before as too simple and here I am, tearing down my CREATIVE version and using yes, the (your definition of) stupid one. The one that’s worked a thousand times before.
I wish I’d read this two years ago.
Just one friendly suggestion. You may want to re-think the clowns.
Sincerely yours in parenting success,
Debra Sale Wendler
http://www.adhdparentingtips.com
Helping You Change Your Child’s Behavior
Mark,
Thank you! I absolutely LOVED it!! I’ve just started to create my website and this is the kind of thing I need to keep me sane … and stupid.
Aloha,
Judy
That seemed like you have been looking over my shoulder. Not that i’m that smart, but seem to be making all the same mistakes. Thanks for the insight and possible solutions.
So, now what?
Mark,
I can see how this title could stir some.
What it did for me is cause a BIG curiosity.
The simplicity of which you broke things down spoke directly to me.
I have never forgotten the true potential of what is possible for an internet business and I seem to complicate it.
You broke it down into simple useable pieces that spoke loudly.
Your ‘stupid’ is what I say bringing myself back to a ‘beginner’s mind’…like it’s the first time I’ve ever heard what is being said…then I can access the brand new and act accordingly.
Thank you for this gift,
Dr. Debbie Thompson
“Igniting your best health & well-being from the inside out.”
http://www.LifeReset123.com
“Be the solution.”
Hi Mark…
I loved your book! And I could relate to so much to what you are saying.
I had no Web experience whatsoever and have a clinical counselling background. The first six months were a huge nightmare — I was so overloaded trying to learn a lot of new stuff. And I did what you suggested in the book — get one thing done and then move on to the next. It’s like you have to tame beast at a time!
Multitasking can only be done reasonably efficiently when you have reasonable knowledge and systems put into place… multitasking on two different topics you have very little knowledge, confidence, and skills in is a surefire way to not succeed.
You hit the nail right on the head — we do try to overcomplicate things… I know I certainly do! Most of it isn’t rocket science but we need to give it and ourselves time to learn it, feel comfortable with it and then apply it.
I get so much from your teachings Mark… thank you muchly!
Warmly
Jeanne May
Thanks again Mark.
PS you helped me REMOVE A LOT of doubt from my internet life in our one to one sessions (I know I know I was lucky to get in!).
This was great and the upshot is that I am now making a profit on my adwords spend, building a nice list, and am really really clear on who i am in my niche and feel TOTALLY confident i can dominate it.
It should be done in six months!
PS I really get distracted by all this “I made $54million last week on a launch in two hours and I only work 17 minutes a week” nonsense that I see everywhere.
Look at Mike Filsaime he was up working for his clients till 7am yesterday….
When I get centred again I get the feeling it is just me against myself and that my little mountain is the most important thing in the world.
Thanks Mark
Love the information contained in the Triumph of the stupid. Everthing you said is absolutely relevant and vital for becoming successful in the world of online business. And surely the message of keeping it simple and staying the course to complete tasks is of utmost importance. However the clown scares me to death :-)
Great work Mark! You are the first marketer that I truely beleive is in this business to help people succeed. In fact I think I’m gonna unsubscribe to all those other self professed gurus that place my wallet ahead of my success. Thanks for the free copy!
Keep it coming Mark
BTW hows your wife doing with twitter and all those other social web things?
Best Regards
Woody
Hi Mark,
Just read your e-book.
To me it’s not offending.
I also don’t think I’m smart to be ignorant.
I found that many things in this script of yours are pointing to my experiences and thoughts.
In fact….. they are the same.
Your guess? or thought, knowledge (if I may call it), that being “smart” witholding people to act…
is really a point of reality and truth.
(to me that is!)
Your book explains it in short sentences the heart of the matter. I think it is great.
Regards,
Maarten
Ciao Mark,
Once again you have shown sincere care for the problems of people.
I like your no non-sense approach!
Thank you
Giuseppe
Mark,
I’m to smart for this book! It brought out the dust not only from the many programs and ebooks on my hard drive, but from my brain also! I almost sneezed from all the dust that I had accumulated over time.
So many times I’ve started to learn a new program or project only to get distracted to something else. Its back to basics, or the old KISS adage,
“Keep it Simple Stupid”
Great book Mark, and thanks for sharing it with us!
Tom
I’m the kind of person who would see someone calling ME stupid and have to find out WHY!
I thought your book was very good, insightful and pretty much right on the money.
It was kind of a back-handed compliment. I don’t consider myself as all that SMART when it comes to IM, but after reading your description of smart and stupid – I obviously need to be more stupid! I’v heard it before, but it still remains so true!, And something I need to print out in large letters and pin up next to my computer: “KEEP IT SIMPLY, STUPID!”
I liked your book and I also appreciate your diligence to be a valued teacher!
Thanks Mark
Mark, nothing could be more truthful than your statement: “The Triumph of the Stupid – How your intelligence and creativity are keeping you from the online success you deserve.”
I get great ideas, follow through like gangbusters until I get about 75-80% there and then bam! I get another really great idea. It’s so hard to finish and I’m afraid I’ll forget the one great idea that will put me where I really want to be. I can’t ignore the timely opportunities.
I’m good at everything and great at nothing. To gain the kind of success I want, I need to learn to be great at just one something.
Thanks for the wake up call.
Mark,
I think you’re stupid. I mean, look at you, just calmly following a methodical, straightforward plan to create buzz and excitement for your new program. Dragging those of us on your email list here like fish with hooks in our throats.
Brilliant! I mean really stupid.
Yes, I totally agree with your book and can identify with it totally. I’m a professional programmer — been one since 1986 — and one of my biggest hurdles to success on the Internet is getting past doing everything myself. It’s the easiest thing in the world for me to identify a need I have for my web site and immediately start designing the solution — and then jumping into programming it. Of course every hour spent programming is one hour less available for actual marketing.
The problem is that my “smarts” with programming get in the way of my being “stupid” enough to use what someone else has created and keep myself focused on Internet marketing. Programming can bring a person a good wage in certain industries, but rarely does anyone get rich programming. I’m sure you’re well aware of that.
Great angle on a topic that too many suffer from to be successful on the Internet.
Mark you are so wise, it just hit me that I can’t get anything done because I have too many ideas floating around in my head, writing them down and then work on something else, which never gets done! Now I know to take a certain amount of time and work on one thing at a time. Fear is a big part of it too! I want to make sure everything is done right, than to just get it going. Your free little ebook made lots of sense to me Mark, And I am grateful to have you in my life, even if it’s only on the computer. I wish you all the success in the world…
Hey Mark,
You know better than almost anyone how distracted I get by multiple projects and interests.
This book is timely and helps me to once again realize the necessity for me to be the one working on, rather than in, the businesses I’m involved with.
Thanks for once again producing an incredible piece. I hope others will apply it as much as I will.
Warmest,
- Jonathan
Mark,
I did think of one other thing that muddies the water a bit here.
Sometimes when a resource I’ve bought tells me to do something, I’ll come to a step which I believe is morally or ethically wrong. For example, when it’s suggested that I state in my sales page that the price is only available for a limited time, but yet I have nothing in place that even attempts to enforce the restriction (i.e., the statement is a bald-faced lie), I can’t take that step.
In some cases leaving out one of the steps either prevents me from following the rest of the procedure or prevents me from getting help from the gurus, because I’m “unwilling to follow the steps exactly as they’ve set them forth.” So sometimes a person’s view of integrity can get in their way rather than their “smarts”.
Personally, I think it’s not right to expect someone to compromise their integrity. My guess is that you would agree, but I thought I’d raise the issue, because this issue sometimes creates stumbling blocks for some people.
Baptism for Children Rob Faveros last blog post..4 Funny Baptism Videos – These are Classic Video Clips
oh my –
I’m worried I may not be smart enough for this book!
I’m going to download and try it anyway – will you help me with the big words?
Thanks! 8-)
Rick Butts
Rick Buttss last blog post..Selling All My Shizzle on Craigslist
Mark … you found me out
‘Stupid’ people are the ones actually DOING SOMETHING with their plan every day, relentlessly, right?
OK, check out this piece of STUPIDITY:
After reading your book yesterday, I talked for an hour with one of my marketer contacts.
I was shocked. He does more than $9,000 in sales every day, seven days a week, and does it very, very easily. All affiliate stuff, none of his own products, and virtually none of it Internet Marketing material.
His processes are almost unbelievably basic. Yet, he does over $9000 a day
Stupid? I’m trying to dumb down Mark. Really, I’m trying.
Jonathan
Mark, I stopped one of my two ‘main’ projects to read this – and ended up getting insulted. THANKS!!! I needed that. Funny though, yesterday I read where successful people are good at juggling many projects. I’m confused!! I’d be interested to hear your take on that.
Thanks for the book. I’m inspired, Glenn
Mark,
Outstanding ebook!!!!!!!
I saw myself in every aspect of that book, being way to smart to get traffic to my website.
Thank you so much for writing something like this, sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in how hard things are and we forget the little things. And it’s those little things that make you successful.
You made me remember a time when I was listening to Tellman Knudson and he stated that the one way he got his business successful was to act dumb and stupid, even tho he thought differently, he had to act stupid and follow what he was being told in order to be successful.
And you are right all those gurus and successful folks are Stupid!!! I am going to be really stupid from now on!!!
Laura
Lauras last blog post..Where does your website live?
Mark,
Ah-Haw moment.. About 35 years ago, an employer told me that I had an over-active mind. Finally, I understand what he meant!
Great little book – Thanks for the awakening!!
Give us more… The world needs simplifying.
Cheers, Dean
http://www.GetGreenbax.com
“Helping Ourselves By Helping Others”
Mark
The world is amazing sometimes.
I got home this afternoon, kissed my wife, sat down on our deck with a glass of wine, and pondered why I wasn’t getting anywhere.
My *first* thought, just sitting there, was to finish one project at a time!
Then, my wife went to get changed out of her work clothes, so I decided to go read my email. I received your email about The Triumph of the Stupid, and went and signed up with a bodgy email address just to see the ebook. (The video was quite funny by the way – seeing all those big names….)
So then I read your ebook. Clicked right away, and it was exactly what I had been thinking not 10 minutes earlier.
So I won’t be signing up for your most generous offer – I have an off-line project, and I am going to “get it done”.
Thanks for backing up my own original thought.
Mark, this book has a great angle, really makes you think about how things are being over complicated.
The plan of breaking down each task or area and mastering that before moving on to another is obviously a plan for success.
What I think happens with a lot of people though is they expect results fast, maybe even they’ve put additional pressure on by quitting the day job and thinking their online business can make $1000s in the first month or two, and explode exponentially form there.
If you take the time to master each element, well, it does take time! And if there are income pressures, people don’t feel they have the luxury of taking a week to learn how to set up Adwords, or starting a regular blog, or optimising their website, or starting an ezine and autoresponder or a hundred other things.
What I’d be curious to know is how many elements you think there are to an thriving online business, and how long you can expect to spend mastering each area, taking them in your suggested approach of one at a time?
Thanks,
Dan
Dan Goodwins last blog post..Goals?! But I’m an ARTIST!
Oh man. Do I feel stupid knowing I’m too smart for my own good.
Mark – you just made the most sense I’ve heard in ages.
Being simple isn’t being stupid – it’s being really smart.
Thanks
Great little read Mark. Yes, it made me stop and think as I know I get tempted to go off and start something new when I don’t get results as quickly as I’d like, or expect.
There’s great satisfaction in seeing a project right through to fruition though, and having an income from it, rather than several half-baked websites with little or no traffic and sales.
We often need reminding though, and your report does that, and more, very well. Thanks. :-)
Warm regards,
Richard Beale
I need help – starting with constructing an effective website with opt-in, auto-responder, squeeze page, newsletter, blog, shopping cart, etc. The copy writing I feel more confident about – it’s the technical that got me overwhelmed – learning the necessary bits, putting them together effectively, and being able to manage the website and the business. Oh, and learning enough html to make it all fit and work together properly.
Driving huge traffic to my sites is great – having a site designed to effectively serve that traffic is essential.
Do you provide this level of mentoring and coaching also?
In the meantime, I work on developing my product(s).
Best regards,
Tony
It appears you’ve written this ebook just for Rick Butts. You may as well have put “Rick” everywhere the word “you” appeared because it hit me right between the eyes.
Though I’ve had my fair share of success in online marketing – your book made it undeniably clear how much I’ve left on the table – and how much stress I’ve induced by not following your “stupid” ideas.
This book hit me smack between the eyes – and I am beyond grateful Mark. Oh, I downloaded it and read it all in the same brief sitting – devoured it was more like it!
I plan to let everyone I can know about this fantastic resource!
Amped and Energized – - – -
Rick Butts
My dear Mark, where do I begin. I have to say this is the third time in my life I have heard this very concept of focus and do one thing at a time. The first time I heard it was from Napoleon Hill in his classic, “Think And Grow Rich.” The second time was from Joshua Shafran’s “Don’t Shoot The Guru Yet.” But of course it had to take the smelling salt of your ebook to wake me up.
Thanks for the rude awakening and reminding me what my problem is. I’ll be working on being the Forest Gump of the internet from here on out.
Thanks Again!
Len
http://www.MaverickWholesaleDeals.com
The problem with hiring an expert is this: “Who can I trust to help make my business a success?”
For instance, it’s wise to pay someone a fee if you actually end up earning way more than his or her fee.
But the reality is this. Few experts can do what they promise, but most are quick to blame the client for their poor results. See?
Finding the right person to guide me has been harder than I thought it would be. Every one has their hand out and they want a lot of money, but I really don’t know who I can trust to help me.
Mark, how much would you charge me to make my online business a success? Or if you can’t help me, would you tell me so that you don’t waste my money and my time in meetings with you?
Hi Mark
THANKS: In you ebook “The Triumph of the Stupid” you often state the obvious but the obvious is not always the obvious, especially when you are to smart to make money online. Over the years I have multi-tasked myself out of a fortune. My previous mentors have bombarded me with so many alternatives for making money online that I have been swamped and distracted with too many alternatives and too much information.
Thanks for dumbing me down so that I can concentrate on ONE JOB AT A TIME.
Kindest Regards
David (Your 67 year old pupil)
PS. I was a training Manager and should know better.
Ouch…you’re stepping on my toes. I can relate to most of what you said in your report. It always seems that if you can
1.master the basics than you’ll do much better than the people who are always seeking the next big thing.
2. Be consistent with what you do.
3. Do something now to get started. Once you do something, regardless of how small you start to break your inertia.
Great report!
http://www.helicopterpilotcareers.com
http://www.airplanepilotcareers.com
Mark,
I enjoyed your brief rant. If you ever come out with a TRUE “step by step” program (i.e. for online success), please let me know. Just be sure to have it proof read (and tested out) by a complete neophyte, before you roll it out. I’ve grown tired of all the “step by step” promises that are currently gathering dust on my virtual shelf, from all those who have “forgotten” what it’s like to be the student, as you mentioned so insightfully in your book. I hope YOU won’t make the same mistake.
Thanks!
I gotta say “Awesome” book Mark. You explain exactly who I am.
I didn’t even know I was too smart. I want to thank you for the great information and the inspiration to actually “Do” what I already feel I know.
I spent so much time learning and not enough time doing. Just like the book, I have mulitple projects and ideas that I cannot focus on any “one” given project.
I could only hope to be as “Stupid” as you someday and thanks for the specific niche targeting idea.
I always thought I had to create something for everyone to make the most amount of money. Boy was I wrong.
Thanks again for the great book.
Michael Ottman
Mark,
I really enjoyed your report, I couldn’t stop reading until I finished. (Finishing what I start is one of my new habits.) This is good advice for more than just internet marketing. I’ve listened to the Emyth Seminar several times and I have been systemitizing quite a bit of my offline business as well. It is so true what you said about having experience to go along with knowledge.
Thanks for the insights.
Jack Q
Was reading “Triumph of the Stupid” with interest when it ended at chapter 3. Further downloads produced the same result. Suggestions?
Simplicity…some of the worlds greatest books, movies, plays, marketers, offline businesses and websites are based on simplicity. I am “Stoopid” enough to know you are right!
Paul
Mike,
Your video lead-in to The Triumph of Stupidity was one of the best uses of video I’ve ever seen.
Keeping in mind that all people relate to faces and that Americans as a culture have an unquenchable thirst for novelty, your video was so effective on so many levels it is impossible to praise any one element more than another.
I hope you will make the link to that video and your PDF, of course, to others as a starting point for a discussion in what constitutes effective video marketing.
I would like to reply to McEwan Patterson’s comments that he wishes he could have “….. details on article marketing, the latest on adwords, a diagram of where to start, what to do next, how to direct someone into basic SEO.”
I would like to invite him to e-mail me for a free download of my book “Notes from the Gurus” in which I have set out in note form (just for stupid people like us…!!!) all the strategies that the Gurus use.
It should give the fundamental bones of how to go about all these disparate functions in order to bring your internet marketing experience together.
Hi Mark,
Guess what…yours is the first E-Book I actually started and finished…I got one done!
Feels Good…
Yea! I’m Cured!
Thanks for all the great information.
Take Care
Scott
Can I tweet it?
You e-book was exactly what we novices in the cyber marketing field NEEDED – to get us off our collective duffs and thinking properly, in order to really promote our businesses.
Thanks, Mark!
Thank you, Mark!
That was so inspirational that I’m going to “Get My First One Done” right away.
Guess what it is! Mark Widawer’s “Landing Page Cash Machine” that I purchased 18 months ago and filed away.
I’ve saved all your emails to me also.
I’ll let you know what happens when I’ve completed it.
Thank you for the eye-opening kick in the teeth!
Gratefully,
Brennan “I Thought I Was So Smart” Kingsland
Brennan Kingslands last blog post..Chicago School Boycott Troubles!
Hiya Mark, I guess I am just too smart. Thank you pointing out that that is what has been wrong with me all these years because I sure have been trying and spinning my wheels in the mud on the Internet. What a blinking curse, to be too smart when there are so many stupid people in the world who are obviously doing something right while I am barking up all these redwoods around me. Criminey, to think it is all so simple. I’ll just try and remember the KISS principle from now on and try to keep my brains out of the way. Thank you for pointing all this stuff out to me. By the way, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and your picture of the marketplaces (or where to find a starving crowd) was a perfect illustration of that. Great Job. Julie
Mark my brother… Now you’ve gone and done it… You didn’t call ME stupid.
Haha I love it!
When you first showed me the video and the book I must admit; I felt like you should have been a little MEANER, that you should have carried MORE of scandal.
But then I read the book.
By the eighth page you had me completely hooked.
Every concept you laid out is nothing if not STUPIDLY simple, HOPELESSLY direct, and BEAUTIFULLY thought out.
If your readers, customers and friends can do themselves ONE favor this year, I highly recommend that they read “The Triumph of the Stupid” and then put it into ACTION.
If they do?
They simply cannot fail.
Well done my friend!
Eric Farewells last blog post..Epic Tales…
Great content thanks Mark – made me laugh – cause most people think it;s hard to do this stuff.
It took me AGES telling myself that I need to do “this” before i could do “that”
or
Needed to buy “this” before I could do “that” etc etc
Then I found your landing pages course thanks to Perry Marshall…
The funny thing is – the EASIEST part is the traffic generation.
Insane easy. It blows me away.
Thanks again – You’re a good egg.
Dave
Busted my chops man! Guilty as charged. I got more projects goin’ than even a smart person should have.
How dumb do you gotta be?
Great read!
Jim