“When you label me, you negate me.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard

For the full effect here replace the taunting words “Nah, Nah, Naaah, Nah, Naaaaaah” with the word “Newbie” and say (or sing) them out loud.

Go ahead. No one is listening and even if they are, think of the conversation you’ll have after.

When you insert the word “Newbie”, the taunt should sound a little something like this…

“Newbie, Newbie, Neeeeeeeewbie”

Maybe you recall hearing those words ring in your ears and knowing someone was being teased, taunted or “put in their place”.

Possibly that “someone” was you.

And if it was you, likely there was a little sting inside because you were being singled out for something that may turn out to be a simple opinion belonging to someone else or even an out and out lie.

When I hear any Internet Marketer casually drop the label “Newbie” on an unsuspecting person who just happens to be new to Internet Marketing, the sound makes me cringe.

Even more painful is hearing someone who’s new to the landscape use the word to describe themselves. Sadly one does not have to listen long to hear the word uttered.

Okay. It’s break time. As in give yourself a break.

Take in a deep breath and try this on…

Everyone of us from the newest and least experienced to the veterans in our midst face things each day in business that we don’t have a clue how to handle. Doesn’t matter who we are or what we bring to the marketing table.

There’s always something we don’t even know that we don’t know yet.

And if there’s not, then we may want to take a long look at the activities we’re involved in when we work on our businesses.   

If you’re not consistently uncomfortable you are likely not growing your business (there’s a beautiful paradox in there somewhere).

For certain you’re not giving yourself credit for the talent, skills and unique attributes you already possess.

Hey. All the things you need to know, be and do are out there ready to be learned, applied and acted upon.

Does it make sense if the word “Newbie” is the label you give yourself or someone gives you (and you accept) that you’re going to think, be and do a ”Newbie”?

Of course it does. Or you would not have read his far.

Next time you hear “Newbie” or even read the word in an e-mail, article or blog, let it go. Make up your mind that you’re not going to wrap yourself up in a silly label someone you may love, respect or admire puts on you.

Now comes the hard part… turn away from the so called expert and seek good advice elsewhere. If  that expert is willing to publicly put a label on folks, you really don’t want to hear what’s being said about you in private.

And when you catch yourself calling the Internet Marketer inside of you a ”Newbie”, take a mental step back and realize what you hear may be only an opinion. Then pat yourself on the back and remember all the wondrous attributes that brought you here in the first place.

As far as skills go (lack of experience usually accounts for the discomfort in the skill department) figure out one thing you want to learn right now – and go learn, apply and act on it. Only one thing. Not twenty. Okay?

Perhaps the Kierkegaard quote at the start of this post should have read; “When I label me, I negate me”. 

Let me know in the comments what your thoughts and ideas are. Always appreciated.