"My biggest regret?  I knew what to do, but never did it because I never took success seriously.  Otherwise I would be in your shoes today!"

“My biggest regret? I knew what to do, but never did it because I never took success seriously. Otherwise I would be in your shoes today!”

If you’re a regular reader of Breakthrough Marketing Secrets, you probably know Perry Marshall is one of the guys I follow.

I’d actually already been using his stuff for years… When I used his book to run a $30k/month AdWords campaign, I turned it from break even to wildly profitable. More than that, he’s always taught principles and strategies that go far deeper than whatever platform or tactic you’re using.

He’s also from Nebraska. Which automatically gives him an extra point or two in my book. (Sorry if you’re not from Nebraska, but hey, it’s human nature to like folks who have things like “place” in common with us.)

Anyway, I regularly read Perry’s stuff.

It keeps my eyes focused on the prize, AND gives me immediately actionable tips and strategies for increasing my and my clients’ profits.

And I was reading something from Perry a while back…

When I stumbled on this quote…

“Dabblers die broke.”

What does this mean?

Well, I’m going to use my own life as an example.

First, my obsession that’s never really made me any real money…

About 15 years ago, I got into electronic music big. I bought turntables, and within months had a record collection worth at least a grand. I’d spend hours at the local record store digging through the crates of fresh-pressed underground electronic music vinyl…

Dropping the needle in groove after groove…

Waiting in eager anticipation for what would come through those headphones…

Knowing the “feel” of what would make me dance if it were played at a party or in the club…

Listening, just wanting to hear what would capture me. And picking up all I could afford (and some I couldn’t).

It became a very expensive habit!

Then I’d go home and practice hour after hour after hour… Playing the beginning of one record over the end of the last… Finessing the speed of each record until they were in perfect sync… Carefully tweaking (or sometimes wildly twisting) the volume knobs to make each song a perfect transition from the last…

Along the way, I also started making music on my computer.

I got the latest music production software, and played around on it for hours…

Combining sounds… Making beats… Structuring songs… The works…

Getting better and better at making music.

And yet, it was always just a hobby…

Something I did in my spare time…

So when I graduated college, “grew up” and started working full time, moved across the country, and started a family…

It moved to the background.

I still do it.

In fact, it’s my favorite “procrastination.”

There’s even a remix contest for a German techno DJ that I want to enter right now, if I can find the time in the next 30 days or so, before the deadline…

And yet…

I don’t really expect to make any money off of it. At least not any time soon.

Why?

Because I’ve relegated my music to being something I “dabble” with.

I don’t take it seriously. At least, not the “making a career of it” part.

I still LOVE the music…

Love to make it…

Love to DJ…

Love the reaction it gets from people…

Love to see the whole crowd go wild when the peak of one of my songs hit, or when I get that perfect mix of songs to send the whole crowd on an emotional journey together…

And I see DJs out there now being tracked by Forbes magazine, for the millions of dollars they make with this passion and skill I share.

But I don’t “take it seriously.”

Compare that to what’s made me a ton of money since 2005…

Marketing…

I certainly don’t “dabble” in marketing and direct response copywriting. I throw myself into it full-force, and have done so since the very beginning.

I decided I was going to make a living of it. And I did.

I made it my primary focus — developing the skills, connections, know-how, and everything it would take to make it in this biz…

And it paid off.

If I’d made music a priority in my life, I may well have been able to do the same thing there.

The explosion of electronic music into the mainstream since I got heavy into it 15 years ago certainly was a big enough wave that I could probably be earning as much there as here.

It would be a different lifestyle.

It would challenge me in different ways.

But focus would have been rewarded tremendously.

Dabbling is not.

Apply this to yourself…

How much have you taken a passive interest in?

What money making opportunities?

What passions of yours?

What skills development?

And what have you thrown yourself into full-force, knowing you won’t stop until you’re successful?

There will be challenges along the way… Reasons to give in…

Dabbling is mostly painless.

You give up when the going gets tough. After all, you weren’t that serious about it.

Dabbling gives you an out when it’s time to go through the agony that it can take to get to the next level.

Dabbling lets you get out of making investments in yourself — time, energy, and yes, money.

On the other hand, when you take seriously whatever it is you want to succeed at, there will be pain, suffering, and agony.

There will be many moments when you want to give up.

There will be times when the going gets so tough that you know anyone who wasn’t as dedicated as you would give up.

But you’ll keep going.

When you get knocked down, you’ll pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep going…

You’ll work through blood, sweat, and tears.

And sometimes fast, sometimes painfully slowly, you’ll be rewarded more and more for your focus.

If you’re ready to stop dabbling as a copywriter, today is the day to take action…

My Advanced Direct Response Copywriting Workshop here in Lincoln, NE in November is filling fast as we approach midnight tonight — the “Early, Early Bird” deadline.

You save $900 by locking in your spot now.

This is the kind of investment to make in yourself if you’re tired of the results you get from dabbling, and are ready to take yourself and your copywriting career seriously.

Click here to reserve your spot now.

Yours for bigger breakthroughs,

Roy Furr

Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets