Warriors, in order to succeed, you must have 2 things:

[Razer Rage]

1) A Mission Statement. What is a mission statement? It's kind of like your personal motto in life. It is a guide to aid decision makers to stay on task and not get diverted by the latest opportunity if it is not in alignment with your mission.

Read that last sentence again.

If you have a mission statement, then you will have a guide. If you have a guide, then you will never be lost.

You can have a mission statement for just about anything. For life in general, for personal goals, and for internet marketing.

A mission statement is:

• Usually less than 50 words long, i.e. it contains a lot of info in a few words.
• It establishes your purpose and what you do.
• It specifies where you want to go in the future.

In short, a mission statement is very much a guide on how your goals are written.

Here's an article with more info: Mission Statement Examples: Samples and Uses of Effective Statements for Your Organization | Suite101.com

An example mission statement can be specific and short term, like this:

"My mission is to achieve $100 per day by 12/31/09 through article marketing."

Not the best example, but you get the picture. This can help you in several ways:

1) It sets a clearly defined goal.
2) It tells you how you are going to achieve that goal.

Let's look at the second one. This can help you if you're in the habbit of buying an IM product, and then moving on.

What you can now do is take a look at all of your currect article marketing courses and take notes.

If you ever see something to buy at the WSO forum, you can ask "how does this relate to my mission statement? Can it help me reach my goal?" If it's about article marketing, then you can take out your notes (i.e. what you already know), and compare it with the sales letter to see if it looks like you may learn something new.

It could be software to help you write/submit articles, among other things. If it isn't related to your mission statement, don't buy it.

2) An action plan. This is exactly how you are going to achieve your goal. Your plan should have:

1) A list of resources (ebooks, software, etc.) that WILL ACTUALLY HELP YOU to achieve your goal.

2) A step by step plan for you to follow (i.e. a schedule).

That's it.

Here's an example:

"My Resources:

Article Marketing Ebook 1, and 2.
Article Marketing Software 1, 2, and 3.
My Article Marketing Notes.
My Personal Article Marketing Goal.
Webiste 1, and 2.

Step-by-Step Plan:

1) Create a landing page in X niche.
2) Write 10 articles per day using X software, and link to landing page in signatures.
3) Submit them to X article directory.
4) Bookmark articles, and tweet followers.
5) Re-use articles to help build X ebook.

Fin."

The above is somewhat vague, but the point is that like your mission statement, your action plan needs to be precise. It should also be broken into time slots, so you can manage your time wisely.

More info here: Action plan techniques

That's all I have time for, I will update this post later. Let me know what you think.

~RR

[Andyhenry]

That's a matter of opinion - certainly not needed.

It's easy to make 6 figures without either of those.

Most newbie IMers would spend so much time trying to work out number 1 that they could have done enough to start making money.

I agree that they're good things to have and having a clear direction and plan make things easier - but they're not needed to be successful.

I never had either of them until after I'd made my first $100k online.

Andy

[JC-PureProfitsHQ]

While it's not necessary to succeed, I do believe that a mission statement + action plan is very conducive to success. A mission statement doesn't have to be the formal and stuffy one they teach you in business school... Actually, screw a mission statement, a written goal is much better.

Not many people have the ability to focus like you do Andy, and would find themselves getting caught starting the latest fad/gimmick on how to make money online without seeing any particular one to the end. I personally know how phenomenally easy it is to lose focus and get attracted with that new shiny thing.

My .02.

[David Wolfman]

Sorry mate but this looks like a bit more that "2 things" ;-)

This approach worked for me, I can hardly do anything without a system, plan or strategy.

Goal setting certainly shows you your TARGET and as Mark Joyner said:
HIT IT UNTIL YOU HIT IT!

[Steven Carl Kelly]

While good to have, neither is a "must have" for success. Earlier on, I achieved lots of success with neither of them.

[Wiggy0618]

Personally, I think the "schedule" part of the post is one of the most important parts. Figure out what you want to do, and get it freakin' done - even if it's not perfect. You can make it perfect.

Along those lines, develop (or integrate others') *systems*.

That will allow you to not only get more work done, but get different kinds of work done - be it going from creating vids to writing articles to writing ad copy, or be it doing any of those same things in different niches.

[DogScout]

When I read the title, I thought I knew the answer...
A web site and an auto-responder.
lol

I do have both described above. I added the time management in my 'mission statement' and it is 11 1-2 sentence paragraphs. I wrote it out on a .JPG and made a desktop background out of it. I read it every day.

It took 15 minutes to write it, 10 minutes to make the background and takes 2-3 minutes to read each day.

Some don't need that, I may or may not, but it does 'crystallize' goals after reading it 30 days in a row. Motivation-wise, it is as good as having someone kicking your ass everyday.

(I still would have the web site and auto-responder though )

[HomeBasedBusinessPLR]

I would agree with most of the other replies that these things are great to have but not so much required for success.

Still good tips none the less.

I'm certainly a planner and it helps me a lot to have a big goal in mind as well as small mini goals along the way. I like to map things out at find a path that will lead me to my goals.

So good advice

[Anonymous Affiliate]

The two things you need in order to succeed online are 1) targeted traffic and 2) on-page conversion. Any other variable in the equation is not really necessary.

[Razer Rage]

I know that success is a term that is defined by opinion. But after having read many newbie questions, I have determined that what I have posted is what is most important for them.

It can be very hard to focus, what with just about every imaginable money making method available on the internet being blasted to you everywhere from your email to your favorite forum. :P

I suppose one could summarize it as such:

1) A clearly defined goal with a deadline.
2) A step-by-step system that you made to achieve that goal (which could be the result of reading many ebooks plus ideas you had on your own).
3) And of course, a schedule for each task.

While they may not be needed for "success", they certainly help make it easier to get it.

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate

The two things you need in order to succeed online are 1) targeted traffic and 2) on-page conversion. Any other variable in the equation is not really necessary.

That's not true either.

You don't need a website or web traffic to make money online using the Internet.

It's easy to generalize and state things like this as though they're commandments, but in reality - there are many ways to make money and everyones version of success is unique to them, so there are no generic statements that fit everyone.

[Michael Mayo]

Truth be told, the only two things you need are:

1. A way to earn money.
2. A way to collect payments.

It's that simple.

Have a Great Day!
Michael

[Mr Money Maker]

Sorry I don;t agree........I came rich out of shear panic when I was broke in 2000....spent my last 200.00 without much of a plan....and rode the wave to the top for 6 years....after that I knew how to make money without ever writing down a plan or a system........What I learned in life is this...I have a talent for knowing what people think and how the react to my sales pitch and I know what they'll buy before they buy it.
The truth is I never knew I had it in me to make the huge volume sales. I never knew this in me untill it was sprung loose and running wild.
It was like a huge monster explosion and I woke up one day and just knew the secrets of making money online.
Heck I made more money online than anyone I ever read about.
This is pure truth....and I know somewhere out there others are doing the same thing.

All I can tell you is it was so wierd to go from zero.....to big time money maker.
I made more money in 1 hour than I could working a day job all week.
The biggest secret I learned...always and I mean

1.)ALWAYS GO WHERE THE MONEY IS !!......if you don't get that point then think it over...because where people spend money the most, is where you'll make money the most.
This is why ebay was so great for many people.

2.)Also be 100% original, never follow others always be 10 steps ahead of the Internet leaders

3.) And to be the best....you have to be better than the best

4.) Become creative with SEO skills..be Inventive, do what has not been done before, create a new system or method....do research and study

5.) Learn to get into the mind of the Buyers....Know what they want....think like they think....then control the ad to make them buy

[mywebwork]

I thought the two things Warriors needed to succeed were :

1 - An Internet Connection

2 - A Computer



Bill

[actionplanbiz]

Im not sure if i comprehend right but if its

1 a Goal
2 and a Plan

i totally agree =D

the goal part i think is very important. its the desire. its the motivation. its why the hell your doing what your doing in the 1st place. so ya cant forget your goals

[Peter Clarke]

If you don't know where you are going you will probably end up somewhere else!

Good luck may get you to the outskirts of Moscow, but it won't get you through the Russian winter!

It is possible to be successful without a plan, but improbable. So write that plan

[crossy]

could'nt agree with you more Andy, the important step is to just start and as you go the way seems to open up for you! least thats my experience. Most people dont start because their fluffing around with working out the whole plan. my advice just start somewhere build relationships with others that are where you want to be and for goodness sake take risk!!! you wont walk on water if you dont get out of the dam boat.