I had a conversation the other day on Twitter about it being okay to make mistakes. I honestly do not understand the logic in thinking it is okay to screw up. Sure, mistakes will happen but why make mistakes if they are avoidable? You see the person was saying that it was wrong to prevent error and okay to make mistakes.

Yes, mind-blowing. I’m going to talk about why that is complete bull.

Some projects can be exciting. Others can be a complete headache. Is it possible that the problems with some projects are brought on by ourselves? Can they be avoided?

In this article, I take a look at a common problem: starting a project and being unable to finish it because information is missing.

As a writer, I definitely understand the need to vent. It is very therapeutic. Is it worth publishing an article that is based on emotion, not fact, rendering it invalid? Is it worth adding articles to your archives that are not optimal for the goals you have set for your site? If the goal is to be a source for knowledge, then the articles should be as accurate a possible, correct?

Let’s look at an example of an article with a decent premise, but the emotion driving the article steers it in the wrong direction of being inaccurate, lacking foundation and ends up being bad advice.

Have you ever wanted something but, when told the amount of work it would take to achieve it, you decided you did not want it “that bad”? I have. An example, when I was younger I wanted to be a doctor, until I realized how long I would have to go to school, and how I most likely would still worry about my patients even though my shift was over. I enjoy helping people but that was too much of an investment for me, so I left it alone.

Everyday I see people who want to have millions of people reading their site or using their apps, but do not want to put in the work to achieve that success. They think they can spend a couple of hours a day maximum and have a site that everyone wants to read.

Let’s look at what it really takes to have a successful site.

Yesterday I talked about building your foundation by having people with the similar goals and maturity as you. Today, I give an example of how not doing that can cause you to make a mistake that could very well cost your business or hinder your ability to achieve your goals.

It is great to have different people around you, especially if you are learning from them. However, if the people closest to you are lazy when you are ambitious, they are immature while you are mature, or they make bad decisions while you try to make good decisions…they cannot help but drain your focus and deter your from your goals.

Social media makes it very easy to meet people. Networking can be very valuable to entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, the term “friend” is overused and the meaning of “friends” has become diluted.

For people who want a successful career, surrounding yourself with people with similar maturity and experience levels is crucial for success. The people who are serious about obtaining the quality of life they have goals for do this naturally. The people closest to them have similar goals and interests that bond them.

Social media makes it easy to become friends with people who will distract your attention to almost guarantee you will not reach your goals. If you are a parent, it’s like your child hanging around the “wrong” group of kids….can you relate to that?

Guest articles are popular. You know, when someone submits an article to be published on another site. Most I come across I can honestly say add no value to the site at all. They are clearly filler content aimed at the guest writer looking for exposure.

In this article I give an example of an excellent use for guest articles that not only enhance the site but help build the reader audience.

A client asked me to sit in on a meeting to find out why a team, who is normally very prompt and efficient, is missing their deadlines. The problem ended up not being a work force issue. The employees were letting their relationship problems deteriorate work performance (and this was problem prevalent in other areas of their life as well).

What do you do, as an employer, when your employee’s problems become “your” problem?