I was sitting on my front porch the other night watching my young neighbor's attempts to learn how to ride a bicycle. I had seen her out there on other nights and it seemed she would never get it.
This poor little girl fell time and again, sometimes even driving her to tears. But she always got up, dusted herself off and tried again.
On this night, she was decked out with her helmet, elbow and knee pads and a look of determination on her face.
Would this be the night she'd do it?
Her Dad (a very patient guy) stood next to her, shouting encouragement and was quick to help her up when she would once again fall.
Time and again she tried. I hurt just watching her.
And then….
This determined little girl got onto her bike, started peddling, swayed to her left and then to her right and just as I thought she would fall once again, she took off!
I've never seen such a combined look of exhilaration and terror on someone's face.
SHE DID IT! Her Dad screamed in delight. The whole neighborhood applauded the little girl.
She had conquered her fears and would never look back.
What a great story, right?
Anyone who has ever taught a young one to ride a bike can certainly relate.
But what does this have to do with building your online business?
Everything!
How This Little Girl Can Help You Build Your Online Business
That little girl could have quit a long time ago. No one would have blamed her.
She certainly tried hard enough.
But she didn't and if you're trying to build your online enterprise, you can't either.
People ask me why so many people fail in Network Marketing, and my immediate response is always the same.
There are lots of reasons, but in the end the biggest reason is this:
They Quit.
They are fearful of failure, getting scammed, getting out of their comfort zone, or trying to “sell”.
They are fearful of so much, and they quit.
If you're going to be successful, you can't stop trying, it's as simple as that!
Let's get back to our story.
Building Up Your Momentum
Next, I watched as a young biker was ready to tackle a very steep hill around the corner from our house.
He stopped at the base of it, got off his bike, wiped his brow and I could tell he was unsure if he could do it.
After all, it was SO steep!
But on his bike he hopped and started peddling. The going was slow, but with each pedal he got a little farther up the hill.
I could see his legs shaking under the stress, but he kept going, one pedal at a time.
It seemed impossible, but then he looked up and could see the top, the apex of the hill. 
He was almost there!
A new look of determination came over him, and although his legs were trembling he kept moving forward.
Each time he pedaled he was that much closer to the top, although the distance he went was almost imperceptible.
He wouldn't give up.
And finally, one last push put him on top of that steep hill. He was triumphant!!
With your online business, your success is going to seem a lot like that young bicyclist trying to bike up that hill.
The going will be tough and there will be times when it seems impossible.
But your consistent effort, just like each time he pedaled his bike, is what will push you towards the success you covet.
- Each blog post takes you one step closer.
- Each article you write, each video you create will move you further up you own personal success hill.
- Each conversation you have, each prospecting call you make takes you further up still.
The point is, each effort you make, seemingly small and not worth much on its own will move you that much closer to your goal.
It's these small steps, done consistently over time that will deposit small coins into your success bank account.
Until one day, you look up and find that you are the SUCCESS that you've dreamed about.
You've made it!
Takeaway
Just like learning how to ride a bike, you must try again over and over, despite the inevitable failures when trying to start your online business. You must face your fears, overcome your obstacles and never, ever give up.
Once your business is rolling along, it will be the small, consistent steps taken over time that will ultimately result in the success of your online enterprise.
You can climb the hill of success, if you just keep trying!
Your Turn
What are your favorite success stories? Do they inspire you in your quest to build your online business?
36 replies to "How Riding a Bike Will Help You Build Your Online Business"
Well!! It was really creative idea’s you have shared through this article information. I highly appreciate it. Children’s have several times falling down during bicycle riding and gets more injuries but they don’t stop to try this process. According to me, people should learn from it, It is important for their business aspects. I highly enjoyed your information grabbed important information that is really useful for me. Thanks…
Thanks, Ortiz… try something, fall down, get up and try again until it works = recipe for success.
It all boils down to how much we want it. This is really tricky, because a lot of times, people find things they really want to achieve in life, then discover later on that they didn’t really have the passion for it. Passion is what drives people to achieve things. Passionate people don’t see obstacles. They’re just focused on one thing – achieving the goal. These people don’t stop until they achieve them.
Well said, Audrey…. couldn’t say it any better! Thanks for sharing your insights.
Much appreciated.
Aww love this story of the little determined girl. Yeah I’d like to apply what these bike riders did to everything in my everyday life not just in my business, what inspiring examples, thank you 🙂
Hi Samantha,
I found the process of learning to ride a bike and trying to navigate event he biggest hills to be highly symbolic of what it takes to make it in Network and Internet Marketing, especially when you’ve had no prior experience.
Thanks for the comment!
Great tips. Im looking to start some small internet business so every information like this is much appreciated by me!
Glad you found it useful, Samuel.
Hey Bob, just found your blog and read a couple of articles and have to say that I like your style of writing… great job
You show how to business on one’s hobby and likes. This is a great idea for anyone, we have all a hobby and it could turn it into a business and could earn a money
That’s true, Jhun. If your business is focussed around one of your life’s passions, you will most likely realize success!
Excellent information about Online Business building tips. Really I am proud of you. Because you create most important article for me.
Thanks
Karlos
“Network Marketing Tools”
Hello Bob
Riding a bike is an excellent way to illustrate what we face in building a business. The little girl in your story demonstrated self control.which is not a trait but a skill one develops, In the Laws of Success, Napoleon Hills says “No doubt all people who refuse or neglect to exercise self-control are literally turning opportunity after opportunity away without knowing it.
Thanks
Perry A Davis Jr
Music City
Great insights, Perry. I also believe self control is a skill to be learned, as is self discipline. The good news is this — if it can be learned, anyone can do it!
Thanks for adding to the discussion, Perry… welcome to the blog!
Adorable picture, Bob, and I can totally see the similarities here. I’m still pretty new to online marketing but this made parts of it a lot easier to understand, so thanks! ~Sandy
You’re welcome Sandy…. best of luck in growing your business!
Hey Bob, if you never give up you can never fail. Only once you’ve given up can you ever fail. There is an awful lot of leverage using the internet so I can see how people expect to get rich overnight marketing online. But of course, anything worth having takes work and some time. I think people need to also take into perspective plan A. That plan takes 40 weeks working for 40 years and then what are you left with? Even if it took you 5 years, would it be worth it? I think so!
There is no quick fix or shortcuts to success, right Hans? Those that are successful understand this, but those that covet success seem to believe that their must be a simpler way.
There is no shortcut to learning your craft, putting in the hard work and keeping going no matter what.
Again, your insights are much appreciated here, Hans!
Lol awesome story, very true thing im learning right now, gotta keep on trying and it has been paying off
YES! Keep trying, don’t give up, and learn from your mistakes… recipe for success!
Hey Dr Clarke,
I love the analogy – very true. In order to succeed, you should always remain hopeful and optimistic even if things aren’t turning out exactly the way you had expected.
Thanks for the inspiration.
All the best,
Mavis
You’re welcome, Mavis… glad you found it inspirational!
Great story Bob … and I do have one to share. The last hotel I worked for had a very active employee council and at one point my secretary (painfully shy!) was approached to give a presentation. She didn’t want to do it because it meant talking at the monthly employee luncheon (in front of 300 employees and 20 or so managers). We managed to talk her into it and I worked with her on the presentation. The day of the luncheon she threw up twice before the gathering she was so nervous – but she did it and was a huge hit. Fast forward a year, and my shy secretary had been voted president of the employee council and spoke at meetings on a regular basis … she’d blossomed right in front of us and it was simply awesome!
What an inspirational story, Marty… it reminds me that we are all so talented in different areas….. if only we give ourselves a chance to shine. I’m sure your coaching of the your secretary, helping her prepare was a huge reason for her success. That’s why I find coaching so important in business. It’s difficult to go down this path alone!
Thanks for the great story, Marty!
I also agree, this analogy is perfect for the same things people are “trying” to accomplish online. Yes, I use that word “trying” because the people who quit are the ones who continue to keep that word in their vocabulary.
Personal development should be everyone’s first priority when venturing into this business because like you said, “people are fearful of failure, getting scammed, getting out of their comfort zone, or trying to ‘sell’”. They continue to think this way because they haven’t worked on themselves first. Once you have and know that nothing will stop you, not even 30 people in a row telling you no, then you will definitely make it to the other side. It will be hard, but it’s so worth it.
Thanks Bob, enjoyed this post. But I enjoy them all! 🙂 What can I say.
Adrienne
I agree Adrienne. Personal development and having the proper mindset is responsible for 80% of the success anyone realizes. That’s why blogs such as yours, that focuses on Personal Development and Mindset are so very important. It’s also why I visit so often!
Thanks for your insights, Adrienne!
Bob –
This is a great comparison… And I am ashamed to admit what I’m about to say, but I actually never learned to ride a bike myself as a child! Lately I have been wanting to teach myself, and honestly after this article I see no reason why I shouldn’t! As always, thanks for the motivation. 😉
Natasha
Hey Natasha — absolutely! Get riding! Fall down a few times! Get up! Keep trying!
You can do almost anything is you want it bad enough…. if you have the discipline and motivation to learn and keep trying when at first you fail.
Best of luck…see you in the bike lane!
Bob,
Great analogies to building an online business! You truly have the gift of relating a story to the challenges of building a home business. Great job.
Also, your blog is outstanding! Both in content and design.
Best,
James
Thanks so much for the kind words, James!
Terrific analogy and well said! Those that are not succeeding……..have quit! And those, such as yourselves, who put forth effort each day, are successful. It’s true you CANNOT fail if you keep pushing forward…………and people still disbelieve. And quit.
But I am uplifted by your story, especially the bullet points on how important the smallest effort, over time, will make. You must dig in when the going gets tough, not give up the garden. Hey, did I just say that? Can I hear a hell yezzzzz!!
Hell yes, Deborah! You should pat yourself on the back whenever you take a small step forward, because that’s one step closer to your dreams.
As I just answered to Oliver’s comment, to never fail is to never try! I love this saying.
Thanks for stopping by, Deborah… great to have you here.
Hi Bob,
what an amazing story. I can totally relate to that riding a bike thing. It applies to many endeavours in life. For example, I wonder how we and our kids were able to learn our native language without the help of school teachers.
What happens when we go to school and are supposed to learn a foreign language ? All of a sudden, mistakes are bad, they mare marked in red and we get discouraged and prefer rather not opening our mouth. That’s the help of school teachers.
Also, we all learned walking by falling down and getting on our feet one more time, just like the little girl on her bike.. Nobody blamed us for falling down, on the contrary our parents laughed happily and encouraged us to get up again.
Later on, we are supposed to learn without falling down because we are punished for falling down.
How’s that going to work ?
In addition to that, everybody learns walking at their own speed between 9 months and 2 years. That’s more than 100 % difference, is it not ?
Later on, we are supposed to learn more or less at the same speed.
To me, these two things are completely insane:
1. Punishing people for falling down, making mistakes and thus instilling in them fear of mistakes and eventually fear of learning.
2. Expecting from people (especially children) to learn and grow at the same speed because of “experience” and “averages”
What’s the lesson for business (to get back to your question):
There’s only one reason to fail in network marketing, and this reason is to quit, as you note. We decide to stay flat on the floor instead o fgetting up one more time, that’s quitting. In addition to that, we get discouraged because we compare ourselves with others, with “experience” and averages.
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Take care
Oliver
You’re so right, Oliver. People need to be encouraged to fail and get back up to move forward. To never fail is to never try.
And I like your point about people learning at different speeds. Of course that is also true. Sometimes I watch as new marketers compare themselves to others who are having success before them. My response is always the same — it happens differently for everyone, your time will come.
Appreciate your insights here, as always Oliver!!!
Hi Dr. Bob,
This post is really true. And the examples are very true in online business. A lot of people think that certain things make a business really work when it’s just part of the puzzle. Spending money and taking time from other things you can be doing can be very frustrating. But learning how to make an online business work is not just one system or idea. It’s all the information people learn that creates a new person, someone that people want to do business because what they can do for them, and how you play by the rules. When the small answers that work comes to them it’s awesome and that’s where the next level begins. One small step turns into success for people with the right mindset for sure. Thanks for the examples Bob. Have a successful year!
Rick Salas
Hi Rick,
What most people don’t get is that success is a PROCESS, not a single event. When I hear people touting their new product or service as THE ANSWER, I chuckle. It may be the answer for that one person who, at their stage of the business this will be the thing that makes it all click, but for most it will be just another step in the success process.
Great that you pointed that out, Rick…. appreciate your insights here!