Take this piece of advice for what it’s worth.

Ive seen this in many forums many times. A member falls from
grace and many people use this occasion to say that
they are ‘better’–always honest with their clients, give
back refunds on time, take care of their customers etc,.

Sometimes a member needs to be called out, but it’s not
a good idea to set yourself as the example to follow instead.

From a psychological standpoint, if I just hate gamblers, it’s
99% likely that I have a gambling problem. Human nature.

As parents we hate the child who is most like us! It can
be uncomfortable looking in the mirror sometimes.

Frank Bettger, in his classic book, How I Raised Myself From
Failure To Success in Selling, wrote how he often won huge
contracts while selling insurance by speaking well of his
competition.

If I were to respond to a post about another business owner
in my own field you should be very suspicious of my motives.

Am I jealous of that other person? Do I want to pull them
down so I could do better?

All I’m saying is that we should be a little more humble in
our assessment of our fellow humans because we are all
flawed and tainted.

I wish I were a better human being. I’m not all there yet
but I want to be more patient with people who are not
as far up on the ladder as I have painfully climbed.

Note: I wrote this article back in 2003.
Gives a glimpse into how I was thinking back then.

——————————————————————

I would like to talk about your most important
marketing asset of all.

Sorry, but it has nothing to do with the Internet. You
cannot buy it for any price either. This is exactly why it
is so expensive, even rare. It ranks above money, marketing
genius and a fantastic product. All successful marketers
must have it without exception. It is called perseverance!
Yes, the ‘don,t give up’ attitude.

The Network Marketing industry is littered with stories of
people who quit too early. You may even see companies that
do what I call ‘negative marketing’ by referring to the fact
that 95% of people fail in this industry.

Wow! This is no welcome mat for someone who is considering
joining a Network Marketing company. But wait a minute. Did
you check the latest stats from the Social Security
department? If you look at the number of people in the US
who are making over $50,000 per year the stats are not very
different. Does this mean that the whole US economic system
is a failure?

There is the so called 20-80 rule which says that 20% of the
people does 80% of the work. This is true of churches, your
work place, schools. It appears to be a law. It is also true
that 20% of the people control 80% of the wealth.

What I am saying here is that the Network Marketing industry
is just a reflection of the society in general. The question
you must ask yourself is “Am I a 20 percenter or an 80
percenter?” I wish you the best of luck trying to change
this rule. The fact is that over the past 40 years in the
US, the Network Marketing industry has made more
millionaires than all other entrepreneurial ventures
combined. Now how does that go for 95% failure?

Those who make the big bucks in Network Marketing are the
ones who persevered! Yes, perseverance is more valuable than
talent. Whatever legitimate home-based business you chose to
do, you will do well if you JUST DON‘T GIVE UP!

Perseverance is closely tied to how big your “why” is. In
other words why do you want a home business? There is a
sowing and reaping principle here. Like the Bible said
‘Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap’. This is a
physical law as well as a spiritual law.

If you have a big ”why“ the ”how“ will come
naturally.

For me I want a financially more secure future for my two
sets of twins. They are 4 and 5 yrs old - yes just a year
apart! Right now my wife works as a supervisor at a
Department store and I am at home with the kids. I want my
business to grow fast so that I may able to ask my wife to
stop working. (As though I would have to suggest this -she
can‘t wait).

We are also planning on home schooling so this becomes even
more urgent. This is why I am at my computer 16 hours per
day -testing ads, writing, researching -as I am doing now -
so that I can have the freedom later on.

The question is what do YOU want and how badly? God made us
in such a way that we normally get what we think we “must”
have not just what we “want”. You may wish for more money,
for the creditors to stop calling, for a nice car, for a
home in the country side - but do you “must” have it?

The reality is that quite ordinary people with extraordinary
“must-have-it attitudes” are making six-figure incomes
online. If you don‘t believe this you have already lost the
battle before you even started. To do well making money
online YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO SO.

Read any success story and without fail they experienced the
same setbacks like every other person, sometimes greater,
but they persevered because their “WHYS” were BIG.

Before you attempt this online business thing take a moment
to review your ‘why’ because if it is not big enough neither
would be your success.

It’s funny how I can find the money and the resources for the things that I ‘have to’ do. The car transmission fails and suddenly my brain goes into overdrive to solve this pressing problem and get my vehicle back on the road.

The rent is due and the thought of being homeless during the winter forms new neuron pathways between my left and right brain. I find myself battling a sickness, and suddenly life’s priorities shuffle themselves into the correct order. Time spent with the family seems more pressing than the business meeting that was so critical. In fact, when I’m sick the only thought that dominates my mind is to regain my health.What motivates you?

On opposite ends of the spectrum of human motivation are inspiration and desperation. The reasons that drive you to act can be found somewhere along that continuum. I know that many noble feats have been accomplished through love for another person, but this can be classed as inspiration. Love for the object inspired the lover to perform acts that would be hard to explain otherwise.

I must confess that I am closer to the ‘desperation’ end of the spectrum than the ‘inspiration’ end. I am a deadline type of guy. While in school, I always procrastinated until I just had to write that term paper, study for that test or-you may smile-pay for the tuition. It seemed the idea that there was no way out placed my brains on steroids. I happen to know many colleagues who operate on a similar principle. At the same time, there were many students who just had to get the paper completed a long time before the deadline.

Inspiration would appear to be a much nobler motivator than desperation. Yet, it has always been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Necessity is closer akin to desperation than inspiration. It is often true that desperation can lead to inspiration but seldom the other way around. There are countless inventions which came about to solve a pressing problem compared to those made for just a luxurious use.

Those who study direct response marketing tell us that buyers respond more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. In other words, Mr. Jones is more likely to buy the central air cooling system because it saves him money, than for the reason that it keeps him cool in the summer. Statistics also shows that the vast majority of those who inherit large sums of money, either through family or the lottery, end up losing their wealth or in some instances their minds.

This reminds me of the old adage: ‘Easy come, easy go’. There are many parents who have passed on a legacy of wealth, and hence laziness, to their posterity.

The critical point for the home business owner is motivation. You can no longer lose your job because you are late, tardy; hate the boss, disliked by fellow-workers and a myriad of other reasons. Now you are the boss and have less to fear outside of failing yourself! Your motivation must now be intrinsic, and you have less people to blame for all your failures.

Although many tout the superior benefits of owning a home business, the harsh reality of finding that motivation to get out of bed when there are no traffic jams to beat leaves countless paralyzed.

My advice? ‘Know thyself’! Know what makes you tick and ‘trick’ yourself into that frame of mind. There are many motivational speakers who teach that you should write out your goals and even place a picture of your dream home next to your workplace. Even though this may work for some-and it doesn’t for me-, I think that contemplating the results for failure can awake many giant ideas.

If you are on the inspiration end of the spectrum then listening to motivational tapes and reading the stories of those who overcame great odds, may just be the medicine for your soul.

Do you love being healthy or hate being sick? Do you love having money or hate being broke? Do you love being with your spouse or hate being away? Do you love being independent or hate being bossed around? Do you love happiness or hate being sad? These questions may all seem to be two faces of the same coin but very different faces.

You may be like George Bernard Shaw who said, “You see things; and you say ‘Why?’; But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’ Or, you may identify closer with Dwight D. Eisenhower who said, “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it’s the size of the fight in the dog”.

You may be the dreamer or the dog engaged in mortal combat. What counts most is to know who you are, and light the appropriate burner on your motivational stove.

Everyone knows that the weight-loss industry is a billion dollar a year industry. It seems that there is no end to the weigh-loss books that line the shelves at bookstores.

So the big question is “Why are Americans still so overweight?” It cannot be for a lack of knowledge because there is a ton of books out there. The answer has to be that people read the books but never implement the advice.

There can be a lot of debate about which diet is the better one and being a vegetarian myself I have my bias. Still whatever diet is followed requires discipline to carry them out and to stick with the plan. There can be a BIG gap between ‘what I know’ and ‘what I do’.

Think about the number of ebooks you have read and the number of training materials that you’ve been through. Have you implemented at least 10% of the advice given there? I’ve found that there is a lot of good information that you can get online without spending a dime but you must be a DO-er and not just a READ-er.

Ironically the programs online that sells the best are those that promise you no work. People will always be duped into thinking that they can just sit back and make money. At the same time the people online who are making a steady income are the hard workers – the Do-ers. Are you a READ-er or a DO-er. What about that last article that was so inspiring to you. Did you follow through on all the ideas you got from it?

I’ve found that the harder I work the luckier I get.

The Golden Key to your online business success is called “work.” It’s a four-letter word that many people are afraid of but there is no other way. Anyone who will tell you otherwise is only trying to steal your money. There are many tools that will speed up this process but you still have to use the tools!

So how much work have you invested in promoting your online business? Have you submitted your website to the Search Engines? What about trading links with other webmasters? Have you tried writing an article? What about asking for joint ventures? Have you been promoting your affiliate programs? Learn to use the Google Adwords and Pay-Per-Click search engines? The list goes on but they all involve time and effort. It doesn’t happen overnight but it CAN HAPPEN!

It takes effort to TEST your advertisement campaigns, fine-tuning your webcopy and improving your conversion rate. Most people just throw up a website and hope that it does well. The successful marketer tests, test and then test again. There is no magic here just plain work. Show me a successful businessperson who got there without hard work. Point taken.

Stop looking for the latest “secret to success” product and use what you already have. You will be surprised to know the number of people who have bought courses worth hundreds of dollars and never implemented one idea from the course if they bothered to read it that is.

The door of success demands that it is opened by the Golden Key of ‘hard work’. Those who try to go through the windows soon find that the house mysteriously disappears.