I’m overweight – have been for a couple of years now.  When I sold the contracting business several years ago I suddenly went from burning 3500-4000 calories a day from 10-12 hours a day of continuous hard work to burning 1800 calories a day sitting behind a computer.  Unfortunately, I kept eating like that 30 year old construction worker and added 10, 20, 30, 50 pounds and more over the next couple of years.  I love to eat – in fact I love to eat a lot and in my mind I was still tough, strong and somewhat invincible.  Sure, my stomach protrudes a bit more than it used to but I still look pretty good…   NOT!

My parents 50 year anniversary is coming up so several weeks ago I went and pulled all their old 35MM slides and brought them back to my office to scan and create a video for the party.  Looking back through those old photos from 10, 20 and 30 years ago I was faced with the stark realization that I’ve become something I don’t want to be.  I’m FAT, I might as well admit it and also admit that I don’t want to be that way anymore.  Since then, I’ve reduced my calorie intake to well under what I need each day and am beginning to burn away those pounds.

What Does This Have To Do With Online Profits?

 It is so easy for us to convince ourselves that we’re something we’re not.  I see people read and study, visit forums and webinars – all the while thinking they’re putting effort into building their online business when in fact they may only be putting in an hour or 2 a week of actual content creation and traffic building.  When you talk to them they say “I’m putting so many hours and effort into this and don’t see many results”.  The fact is that they are actually looking for some kind of ‘secret sauce’ or shortcut that is going to suddenly make their profits explode.  We all love to ‘eat’ or absorb and collect information.  The real secret to online success (or any success for that matter) is to use that ‘food’ or in this case information that we’ve taken in and implement it consistently to create something worthwhile.

What Is Your Mindset?

Are you running around searching for the next ‘secret loophole’ to online profits or are you setting consistent goals to finish the small steps each and every day that will build your 6 figure plus business?  Are you convincing yourself that you are working hard and paying your dues when in fact you really only spend a couple hours a week producing actual content or building traffic to your web properties?  Have you spent any time at all taking a hard look at yourself, your skillset and talents and then figuring out how to leverage them to make the most progress in the shortest possible time so you’re not just spinning your wheels?

You’ve probably seen the study that says it takes 21 days to form a habit.  This study was actually done in 1960 and had to do with how long it takes to adjust to the loss of a limb.  The truth is that the time varies widely depending on the type of behavior you’re trying to implement.  Easy things take a very short period of time while very difficult things take much longer (hundreds of days).

Do you have the mental toughness to be successful?  Only you can answer that question but I hope the answer is yes.  It really is possible to change your world!

“I want it all and I want it now” – Queen

I belong to a select few internet marketing forums that I check almost daily and also run two of my own.  I usually drop in for a minute or two and click on the ‘new posts’ button to see what’s new and being discussed so that I can keep up with the latest trends.  I see new people come and go continuously as many people who are facing lost jobs or economic struggle see the internet and the myriad of businesses that can be run online as some instant remedy for their financial problems.  Unfortunately, most of them struggle with the steep learning curve and give up after a couple of months.

It’s an interesting paradox – the people who can least afford to spend time struggling and learning everything themselves are the people who stubbornly think they have a unique answer to the problems they face and refuse to ask for help or refuse to follow the guidance they are given.  You’ve heard the joke about the guy that falls off a cliff and grabs on to a small twig on the way down catching his fall.  As he hangs there in mid air he cries out to God for help.  God calls out “Just let go and I’ll catch you”.  The guy thinks about it for a minute or two and then says “Is there anyone else up there?”.  There’s something in our human nature that causes us to ask for help when we can’t figure something out – then when we get an answer from a marketing coach that doesn’t quite agree with our own idea of what should happen we disregard the advice and try to do it our own way.

I think some of this also has to do with our fast paced culture and the “I want it all and I want it now” mentality.  The gurus all play off of this by promising instant, overnight results with no effort.  Unfortunately, this has never been true, nor will it ever be true.  Casinos and state Lotteries know this all too well and publicize the huge jackpots and winner stories but in truth, the house always wins.

Which brings us back to Internet marketing.  Whether you’re building an online only business or using the internet to increase the customer base to your existing or new offline business there are some simple basics that have never changed.  True, a couple of methods are new and there are some shortcuts that most of us have learned over the years but the overall basics are the same.

Find An Internet Marketing Coach

I’m not talking about some overpriced guru charging $2000 for his super course, I’m talking about a mentor or trusted experienced internet marketer that you can turn to for answers – then FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE!  After you’ve built a couple of successful models and have recurring income in place then you can branch out and do some testing of your new theories and innovative methods.

As I mentioned above – the very people who come to the internet looking for a quick fix to replace a lost job, high debt load and resulting stressful relationships are the very ones who need to slow down, follow the basic outline and build a solid business and residual income stream.  After you have that in place, pay down the debts and get rid of the immediate stress, then you can focus on developing the next Facebook, Microsoft or iPad.