Fly on the E-Commerce Cyberwall

The "What If?" Trap
Another thing occurred to me today that fits in with my old Biggest Traps series of entries: the "What If?" Trap. A successful real estate investor once told me that friends have frequently wished they could duplicate his success in buying and renting out homes. So he encourages them to do it for themselves and even offers his advice in getting started.

Invariably, though, they turn him down for the same reason. They say, "But what if somebody's toilet backed up in the middle of the night? I don't want to get called out of bed to go fix somebody else's toilet."

This investor expresses amazement at that often-heard objection. "I've never," he exclaims, "in all my years of renting houses, ever had to get out of bed to fix someone's toilet."

It's not only would-be real estate investors that "what if?" objections stop, though. I know people who are so fearful that their reciprocal link partners might try to cheat them, that they spend a ridiculous number of hours every week checking incoming links to make sure that no one has removed them. They divert huge chunks of time they could spend promoting their site trying to instead protect themselves from experiencing even a week of linking to a unethical webmaster.

I know one talented craftsperson who resists any suggestion to sell her product on the Web, fearing "what if so many people want to buy that I can't keep up?" Honestly! She doesn't want to sell her goods because she's afraid too many people will want it.

Constructing a hypothetical "what if?" is a safe way of excusing yourself from venturing into the unknown and growing. But most "what ifs?" never happen. And those that do are usually easily solved. How does that real estate investor deal with the "what if?" that paralyzes most people who long to experience his success? "I call the plumber," he says.

In other words, all those "what ifs?" that hold you back can usually be solved with a little common sense.
Jeff