Three Keys To Succeeding

I was reading through some articles, and I found one that gives common sense advice on succeeding. Although his particular field is internet marketing, the principles he talks about can be applied to just about any area of our lives. May this article help you on your way to building a successful life.

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Three Keys to Succeeding This Year
(c) Charlie Page
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When it comes to succeeding online - whether that means starting your own online business, earning money as an affiliate, or something more, there is a world of confusion.

Create a niche site, some say. But that's easier said than done.

Publish an ezine, say others. But what would you have to say?

Become a super affiliate we often hear. Again .. HOW?

In the years I've been online I have been blessed indeed to be able to learn what I needed to know to succeed. Sometimes I learned from others examples. Sometimes I learned from watching others mistakes. And sometimes I learned from painful (and costly) trial and error.

Based on all of that, I'd like to share with you three keys that I believe can help every one of you succeed this year, and beyond.

---> 1. KNOW YOURSELF

The good thing about the Internet is that there are so many different ways to make money.

And the bad thing about the Internet is that there are so many different ways to make money. ;)

So what's a boy (or girl) to do?

Know yourself. Respond to what feels right, what sounds right to you.

Remember what you learned as a youth -- if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Nowhere is that more true that on the Internet where scams and snake-oil salesmen abound.

So, how *specifically* does 'knowing yourself' help you succeed online?

Here's how.

If you are losing sleep over the ability to pay your bills and need some very fast money you may be much better off getting a second job for a while than 'starting an online business'.

I know -- that's not the advice you are used to hearing. But it's the advice I would give my daughter.

There ARE situations where trading time for money makes *very* good sense - times where the efforts you make MUST bring a return or you will lose everything.

A bird in the hand still beats two in the bush, and making any real money online when you are just starting out is hard. Very hard.

The truth you are not being told is that the "overnight success" "here's a picture of my PayPal account" "look at my shiny new race car" stories are by FAR the exception ... IF they are even telling the truth.

You know that in your gut, so trust yourself when the voice in your head says "better think twice".

Here's another example.

If you are staying up until the wee hours of the morning viewing site after site that sound too good to be true then you are headed for trouble.

Someone is about to pick your pocket.

It might be with the promise of huge commissions or of doing all the work for you (why would they do that?) but one way or the other they are going to take your money. So be careful. Very careful.

---> 2. GET OFF THE OPPORTUNITY TREADMILL

What does that mean? It means stop looking for the next big thing and start looking for the next real thing.

Specifically, if a business you are considering does not make sense to you but is asking you to 'trust them' please don't.

Business online is just like business offline. Those who stick with things succeed. Those who jump around don't.

Nowhere is this more evident that in network marketing. I've read, but not confirmed, that the average person starting out in network marketing stays with the program they choose for less than 90 days.

My friend, no one succeeds at anything new in less than 90 days ... especially if they are doing that business part time.

So, forget the word 'opportunity' for a moment and focus on the word business.

Here are a few clarifying questions that might help.

Is the business you are considering delivering a real product?

Does that product help people achieve meaningful goals?

Do you understand how the business works?

Could you explain the business to your best friend and be comfortable?

WOULD you share the business with your best friend and still be comfortable in the friendship?

If you answered yes to all of these questions you have the beginning of a basis to go into a business.

If not, run.

---> 3. FOCUS

We touched on this above but it is *so* important that I want to hover here for a moment more.

To succeed online (or offline for that matter) you will have to focus on *one* thing at a time.

* Focus your attention
* Focus your resources
* Focus your passion
* Focus your time

If you learn to focus your resources in this way on *one* thing and prove that it is for you (or that it is not for you) you will succeed faster. Period.

How can you focus?

Think of something you want to accomplish. It might be a business you are considering or a new site you want to build or a way to advertise a product.

Now examine that from the outside in and then the inside out and then examine it again.

Ask questions. Be a skeptic. Check out testimonials to be sure they are real. Ask people who have succeeded with the idea you are pursuing.

Now go further and Google something about the idea to see what people are saying and to check the validity of any sites you might be considering.

Once you *know* that you want to move ahead take action and give it your all.

Only then can you know what will work for you!

One last word - the fact that something doesn't work the first time does not mean that it will not work.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of advertising where beginning advertisers wrongly think they can run one ad and have it succeed.

Professional advertisers know that it takes testing - and patience - to make an ad campaign work.

If your first attempt at something fails consider analyzing why and trying again before moving on to something else.

Use your focus to discover how to do better on the next try. The list of people who failed on their first try and then went on to greatness is legion.

I hope that this year is your best year ever.

May it be so for us all.

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Charlie Page helps people succeed online. How can he help you? Find out now at his main site or call his toll free number. http://www.RealWorldTactics.com
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It's a simple article, but quite powerful. I especially appreciate what he said about knowing ourselves and focusing. Seems basic, but many times overlooked. I suggest that we look for ways to apply these tips to our lives.

To greater heights!

Cheers!
primeprojects

Courageous Choices

Going through my readings, I came across an old friend - a poem that was the subject of discussion during my college days. Our professor encouraged us to explore whatever insights we glimpsed through this simple poem. Here's the poem;

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I don't recall exactly all the things we talked about. What I remember was that we were trying hard to impress each other -- And we succeeded! Ha-ha-ha - after all, we were young, brash, and impressionable!

Anyway, looking at this poem again, there are some insights I can appreciate.

When faced with diverging paths, we should not just stand staring at which one to take, we must eventually choose.

Life is filled with major decisions that need to be made.

- What career to take
- Who to marry
- To start a business or to continue with your present job

Choices. Each one has its own pros and cons. And while it's true that we need to evaluate each one carefully, we cannot linger in the valley of indecision indefinitely.

Although we can learn as much as we can about each choice, we cannot know everything about them. While we can try to imagine possible outcomes, we cannot see everything that will happen based on whatever path we decide on.

But this is not a reason to stand still. We must eventually commit to a path so we can finally move forward.

"Think before you act and then act decisively. Fortune favors the brave" - Brian Tracy

In choosing, we should not be afraid to take risks.

In the many options we face, it's natural to pick the safer one. To take the path everyone has taken gives us a measure of comfort and security. I've done it. You've done it. Who hasn't?

But there are times when the well-trodden path isn't always the best one to take. There are times when we need to go against the tide.

If everyone wanted to stay in their comfort zones, we wouldn't have inventors, explorers, visionaries, and adventurers. We'd probably be still living without electricity, medical breakthroughs, modern conveniences, scientific technologies, and other things we've taken for granted. We'd think the world's still flat. America wouldn't have been discovered. It would still be the dark ages for us.

So, when the time comes for you to take that riskier path, don't be afraid to do so!

"Courage is the power to let go of the familiar" - Raymond Lindquist

Cheers!
primeprojects