Are You Focused Enough To Become A Success On The Internet? Part 1

Before I write my piece about this topic, let me have a small disclaimer. I’m NOT a granny nag telling you what you should do or should not do to succeed but having generated over US$50,000 revenue in just 5 months since I took my maiden step, allow me to kick your pants.

You see there are a LOT of people jumping into the IM bandwagon and I really welcome that. Because I believe that being able to earn US dollars in your pyjamas is something that has personally made me extremely happy (not to mention grateful). And if more and more people can achieve this same outcome for themselves, that’s really wonderful. Besides we need more happy people in this world anyway!

The problem is that people enter this arena thinking that all they need to do to succeed online is to slap on a webpage, sell an ebook and wah lah(!). They can almost hear the cash registers ringing. Almost.

Let me tell you this and I suspect you’re intelligent to know it yourself already: It’s not so simple! There’s a whole schmuck of stuff that you need to do and learn to do behind that website before it becomes successful. If it really were that simple as to slap on a website and then see the profits roll in, then why do we need IM gurus selling stuff in the first place?

And so when the ebook doesn’t sell, they come across a website telling them that adsense is the best thing to ever happen on the internet and they then jump on to that bandwagon. They create a content site with syndicated articles, stick on some adsense code and they wait. But nothing happens.

So the adsense project didn’t take off but then they spot the opportunity to do affiliate marketing. So they start a review site and write reviews about products on that particulat niche market, stick in the pretty affiliate banners and affiliate links and they wait. Nothing happens.

So now they jump into starting a forum, selling resale rights products, selling on ebay, etc, etc and they jump on to the new fad and the whole process starts all over again.

I know because I’ve jumped through that many hoops before. Maybe not solely in the context of internet marketing, but after I ORDed (or finished my national service to readers not aquainted with local lingo), I was searching for that magic bullet. So I dabbled in options and it didn’t work out, I dabbled in real estate and it didn’t work out, I went to look for a job but I just hated the idea of being a worker drone and the interviewer probably could see that attitude smack on my forehead. I dabbled in MLM and I lost money. (Or my parents’).

You see I was never serious or focused enough before to ever have been successful in any of my previous ventures. Because I didn’t know what it took to become successful in it, because I wasn’t learning every single day of what the industry required of me and because my attitude was that even if I did fail, I could always do something else or go back to school. Which I did. And now lectures are boring me to death!

But besides the point, you get the picture don’t you? I was like a toad jumping from toadstool to toadstool and I never had the focus or desire to ensure that I succeed at what I was doing.

Now I’m not blaming my past folly at all because I’m extremely thankful that I went through all that nonsense. Because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be where I am today where I’ve achieved some relative humble level of success and I’m making decent income doing things I kinda enjoy. Like typing blog posts. But anyway…

I only found my focus and desire to succeed when I had this opportunity to work with Adam Khoo. And the reason is simple: I just couldn’t screw up and let him down, when he so readily believed in me to make things happen even though I was just starting out.

So I really have alot to be thankful for due to my mentor. So let me brown nose a little here… Adam wan sui, wan sui, wan wan sui! (it means ‘Adam, long live, long live, long long live’ for those we are not Mandarin inclined, like I am). anyway..

Let’s get back to the story, so I found my focus (by working with a rich guy) and for two months straight, I did nothing but eat, shit and sleep IM as I crafted the websites, blogs and salespage along with all the electronic infrastruture behind it. I just did that and watched the World Cup. Serious!

And it all paid off. And all the toil that went before was worth it. Well, it wasn’t really toil because I enjoyed playing around creating the websites (I’m not IT savvy if you must know) and I could do all at home on my laptop. That’s one thing I love about this. I can wake up whatever time I want and work is only a flip of the laptop switch away. Compare that to peak hour sardine can MRT rides.

So are you doing all of that? Are you single-mindedly focused on succeeding in internet marketing? Are you focused solely on what you need to do to get your project (be it adsense, ebook, affiliate marketing, etc) up and running? And do you enjoy doing all of it in the first place?

Because if you don’t then you really don’t have to torture yourself. Because there’s a whole lot of other stuff you can do and you enjoy that can make you successful as well. We don’t have to jump into something just because we see our friends successful at it. Like I found out.

Now I don’t want to make it out like I’m a mad dog gnashing away at my laptop 24/7 doing IM the whole time, I have my lazy moments as well but you do get the point. I certainly had to do certain things before I could actually reach where I am now.

And you can do the same too. If I could place down a tip for now, it would be this: Invest in a solid IM course that will equip you with ALL the basics you need to know about starting your onine business, whatevr model that may be. And I’m not talking about $97 ebooks or videos here. I’m talking real solid courses from US$197-US$997. Invest in ONE solid course and focus, focus, focus on taking what you learn from course and then applying it and making it happen.

Get a local coach (like Stuart) if you have the budget because you want someone who can teach you how to fish. You don’t need someone selling you the brand new fishing rod. Learn how to fish and all the fancy stuff can come later.

And I recommend a local coach because it just beats having a coach that’s only accessible via email. You want to talk over the phone and meet up to toss ideas. You want to build a relationship because who knows? You could end up doing JVs and projects with your mentor and that will take you onto another level. It’s just easier and a lot more fun when you can physically shake your coaches hand and say thanks.

I hope that if you’ve been searching round for some answers this small rant has helped you along somewhere because hey! I took about an hour to type it so…

whoaaaa..and wait! This is only Part 1! I can’t reveal everything yet and I have more to bitch about in my upcoming blog soap operas, so you have to watch out for that.

haha.

Out.

Read Part 2 here: Internet Success