Dance Dance Revolution and One Big Reason Why Businesses Prosper Online

Dance Dance Revolution and One Big Reason Why Businesses Prosper Online

Reader Comments (38)

  1. “That higher level is clearly impossible, so of course I’m working on it now.”

    Johnny, that line resonates and can be applied to both business and your DDR skills. While it can be hard to keep going at it again and again while seeing little progress, articles like these do serve as reminders that it does pay off in time.

    Great way to start the work day today! Thanks.

  2. I love these analogy posts and this one is written really nicely. Maybe all you need to do for success is make your fingers ‘dance’ across the keyboard and write those awesome posts :). Also you do need to practise at this. I doubt there is any blogger who knows exactly what they are doing when they start out.

  3. You’re so right, Johhny. Everyone’s mom (or dad) was right. Practice does make perfect. My daughter, who is 8 is taking violin. She’s not practicing much. I try to remind her what it takes to be good at anything. She tried to play me Jingle Bells last night. Not too great. But I smiled and told her those very words. I told her if she practiced for 30 minutes every day she would be awesome by Christmas. She liked that. I told her I had been playing guitar now for 35 years now so yeah, I make it look easy. I sucked once too.

    Now I’m combining that passion for music with blogging because I love writing and telling a great story too. You never saw my lousy blog posts over the last couple years that nobody read. But I stayed with it, took courses (yours included) and listened to my very few followers.

    Last week I had my first ever Copyblogger post published. Seems to have been well received. I got a nice chunk of new subscribers. I was ecstatic. A major goal achieved. And now there are so many more to get to my desired destination. But the lights are green ahead. And it all comes down to doing the work.

    Great way to start a Friday.

    By the way. Congrats on your DDR victory. If I could say something here. If you don’t make it to Dancing With The Stars it seems like you were moving more like an agile boxer. Maybe boxing’s in your future?

    Rock on!

  4. Yep, just like learning any new skill it just takes practice and doing it the best you can every day, re-evaluate how you did yesterday and adjust. I heard best selling author Harvey MacKay say when I met him recently that “Practice doesn’t make perfect….but, perfect practice makes perfect.”
    Practicing the right things every day to the best you can.

  5. Nice dance moves! and thank you for sharing this today. I’ve been a bit on the low about my business as it’s not bringing in what I want at this point and really needed a reminder that I just need to keep practicing and never give up. This article gave me new hope and reminded me that I have put a lot of work into what I’ve accomplished so far. Thanks for the awesome blog!

  6. Hey, in the 5th para, it should be “Pace would BE the one” instead of “Pace would the one”. Just a minor typo error, I thought you should know about 🙂 (no offense intended)

  7. Morning Johnny.

    As a tennis teaching professional for the past 40+ years, your quote from the great Vic Braden obviously hit home with me as it relates to becoming a better online business owner.

    Trying to get my students to practice a few “same old boring” shots that have proven to be winners since the game was first played has been the only way they can improve.

    I believe that tennis players and online business owners intellectually understand that concept, but the boredom of the practice eventually steers them to look for quick fixes.

    I’ve been guilty of that with my online business.

    Thanks for this post and especially for the Vic Braden quote which is yet another affirmation that mastering the fundamentals of anything is the key to improvement and success.

    Brent

    • What kills me is that it’s a message nobody wants to hear. You can sell a course teaching one specific “super secret!!!” trick, but trying to teach the fundamentals is never an easy sell… even though that IS what makes the difference. I’ll bet that if more people would be willing to embrace the occasional bout of boredom, more people would have success.

  8. I think EVERY Copyblogger post should have a video of Johnny dancing 🙂 Next time – Salsa! Or Zumba!
    Seriously great post and love the reminder that we all need to keep practicing and keep our eye on the prize. Thanks!

  9. That was absolutely hilarious! I was thinking the whole time…”there MUST be a video somewhere!” I, too, bought DDR and was horrified that first time out the gate I didn’t look like those kids with swag on the machines! Great point, great lesson. Thanks for sharing 😉

  10. Great post! Both entertaining and informative. It is good to be reminded that the “overnight success” stories we hear about are not the whole story. I particularly like the comment that not that long ago copyblogger had 2 subscribers and they were both named Brian Clark. Very funny. Maybe I need to get DDR for my kids… they would enjoy watching their father fall on his face 🙂

  11. I remember the first time I played a DDR song that had 16th notes in it. I walked off the pad in frustration, shouting, “What the hell?! That’s not even POSSIBLE!”

    Now I dance 16th notes with no problem, and when I played my first song with 32nd notes in it, and caught myself saying, “What the hell?! That’s not even POSSIBLE!” I paused, and opened myself to the possibility that someday, I’ll dance those 32nd notes – with enough practice.

  12. Johnny! You didn’t convince me to play Dance Dance Revolution BUT…you inspire me to become more and achieve more. I see myself in you and I always tell myself ”If Johnny did it, I can too” (in a good way you know). It seems like all I’ve been working on for so many years are starting to pay off…I’m so excited because I KNOW this is the beginning of a new life for me, a life I’ve dreamed about for a long time, a LEGENDARY life! Thanks

  13. So true. I’ve been involved in capoeira (Afro-Brazilian martial arts and dance) for over 10 years, and sometimes when I teach beginners it brings me back to how awkward and seemingly impossible the movements feel in those early days – things that now I do second-nature.

    Now I’m taking my first floundering steps in online business, and although I’ve seen some small-potatoes success, it still feels awkward, fragile, and just plain difficult… but I have faith that I can practice and improve!

  14. I’ve done DDR and you’re right on about practice makes perfect – well, maybe at least better.

    And this was an awesome article!!! I need to be reminded that it takes hard work and steady improvement and it will pay off. Thanks for the encouragement.

  15. OK Johnny B…the first thing I thought of when I saw the video (honestly) is that I need to go out and buy a Wii and DDR immediately. Great job! But, I did read the whole post, and it made a lot of random thoughts pinging around in my brain crystalize and come together into one golden nugget of truth…I need to practice…and not just in my own mind (although that is where it starts). And in order to practice, I need to whittle out the extraneous “stuff” (like reading about all the shortcuts) and get behind my keyboard on a daily basis. Thanks for this!

    • I started with the idea of “you really do have to practice and feel like an idiot for a while in everything” and then the idea that I wanted an excuse to put a DDR video on this blog. The hard part was then making a post fit those two larger goals.

  16. Hey Johnny, Thanks for such a motivational post! I was all smiles throughout reading the entire post. The age old sayings like “Practice makes a man perfect” and “Failures are a pillar of success” are all true when you believe in it.Taking small steps, improving day by day will all build up to make everything better at the end. Whoever is successful will definitely tell you that it took them years of toil to reach where they are. And this policy just does not apply to the business arena, it is true in every aspect if you keep trying, because that is what is going to take you al the way down.

  17. I love this post. I’m building my business but it does take a lot of work and persistence. It’s very motivational to know it will pay off. As they say, “do what you love and the money will follow.” I believe that’s because it’s only when you’re doing what you love, that you persist long enough for it to pay off. By the way, it looks like you’re having a lot of fun with the dancing!

  18. How can I ignore a post that quotes J.S.Bach! 🙂
    That man’s achievements are unreal – try writing a small opera each week for years. And we can look at that and say, well, that’s why he was Bach. But the reality is, apart from talent, of course, he worked his ass off all his life and died at his desk – that’s how we have his great unfinished fugue.
    So, yes, hard work, guided by reading feedback and fueled by a passion, is probably the only path to big success.
    Thanks for an honest post 🙂
    Philip

  19. Nice post every thing seems to be difficult at starts but when comitted to work hard then u ll difinetly get the success taht u want. This post encourage the peoples who want to do some thing but hesitate

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