EP82: United We Stand...

“United we stand, divided we fall.”

The phrase "United we stand, divided we fall" has been traced back to the Greek storyteller Aesop, who lived during the 6th century B.C.

Most people know him for the fables that have been handed down through time in his name.

One such fable is The Four Oxen and the Lion.

The last line of the fable The Four Oxen and the Lion is the phrase "united we stand, divided we fall."

It reads…

"A lion used to prowl about a field in which four oxen used to dwell. Many a time he tried to attack them; but whenever he came near they turned their tails to warn another so that whichever way he approached them he was met by the horns of one of them. At last, however, they fell a-quarrelling among themselves, and each went off to pasture alone in the separate corner of the field. Then the Lion attacked them one by one and soon made an end of all four.

United we stand, divided we fall."

The first attributed use in modern times is by one of our nation's Founding Fathers, John Dickinson, in a song he wrote, "The Liberty Song."

Most often, united we stand, divided we fall is used when someone is looking to inspire unity and collaboration.

Its premise is that together we can achieve greater success than we can alone.

If you have ever been part of any group or club you understand how it feels to be a part of something greater than you alone.

When you are taught how to do anything in group training, it is easier to learn, and you can retain the knowledge longer than by studying it alone.

Collaboration is key.

“We cannot be what we cannot see” - Ann Kim, the winner of a James Beard award.

Help through mindful examples also make anything worth doing, better.

Learning to market online.

Learning to be an entrepreneur.

Takes a village.

As many things do.

But…

As marketers…

Or those with the heartfelt desire to become marketers…

Heed this!

The knowledge we all need to become successful online should come from truthful business practices, taught by truthful business leaders.

Learning requires someone or something to teach the truth.

Sadly, much of what we find, by way of online knowledge, is far from “Truth”.

Yes, there is a kernel of truth there. But it never develops into anything that serves those seeking understanding.

And when I say “seeking understanding”, I mean: For me – I believe the training should make the students' “boat go faster”. The training should have been the next logical step in their transformational learning experience.

But it usually isn’t.

Most people hear about a promotion for training, and get sucked into it before they even grasp the skill that should have been learned first.

FB Ads training has been a “HOT” topic for a while.

I would think that someone “should” know a little bit about writing copy before they attempt FB Ads. And, I hope they already have their “Product” ready. Their Email sequence is written. Their Landing page, Sales Page, and checkout page are ready.

Another thing.

Those that have decided to earn a living online need to know how to do their best, by being their best.

That only comes from the application of certain skill.

Those that want to help others by way of sharing their journey through struggles, also need to understand how to be an online marketer.

There are millions upon millions of websites online, composed of people and organizations desiring to guide people online.

That is what makes learning how to market online so difficult for the majority of “new” marketers.

The problem is that there are so many voices out there online. So many different ways to share their understanding.

However, not all training online is reliable. Many times it is NOT because they wish to mislead students.

Instead, it is because the online environment is ever-changing.

But don't misunderstand me, there are still some online gurus who do not care if their students succeed. They have many courses that do nothing but pull people from course to course, like a dog chasing its tail, only to end up more confused.

Understanding the enormity of what must be learned is also another stumbling block for students.

We see the message that marketing online is “easy” so much that one may begin to believe it istrue.

However, nothing is further from the truth.

Online marketing is nothing more than an online version of any successful business.

So really, what is a business?

By definition, it is “any activity or enterprise entered into for profit.”

Should it take a long time to learn how to become a business?

No!

Does it?

Quite frankly, yes…

Many people have been “studying” how to be successful online for many many months, and sometimes for years.

Why?

Confusion.

Plain and simple, online marketing, is confusing.

There are a lot of pieces that need to be in place.

And, it is very easy to concentrate on all the wrong things.

And with that said…

Next week we will talk about what I believe is the minimal knowledge needed to market online. Granted I’ll be talking about selling digital products because that is the most profitable thing to sell online.

Looking forward to it.

See you there.

Talk to you all, next week.

James "Standing United" Brown

P.S. - In the event, you DO find that once an episode has been produced and posted, that YOU really would like more information, just let me know. Use the Podcast Questions link, click on the link here. Or you can just leave a voice message here.