What keeps you motivated?

Here's my two cents....

In our line of business, there are high points, and there are low points. There are some days where we just can't do anything wrong - and there are some where we feel like we are doing everything wrong.

There are two solutions, in my opinion, to avoid the ruts:

1. Use the concept of "rinse and recycle". You said you make $1000 a month - that's awesome! Take whatever you are doing and keep doing it. But try to look for ways that you might be able to make your $1000 in less time than before. THAT is how you give yourself a raise. Remember, the goal is to work smarter - not harder. Hard work does in fact pay off, but not if you are spending more time than necessary doing it.

2. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals - find a group, a team, where you can come in and not only tell what is going on in your world, but where you can also see what is happening in other peoples' worlds. And when you see others being successful -you will be too.

PM me if you would like a little more info on the steps above. In particular, I have an answer to the latter question.

Warm Regards,
Brian Schilling

Thank you bigbrain, i totally agree with you, I would love to actually meet in person people who are into this business, but there arnt many around where I live, people especially my relatives dont even believe me when i tell them I earn online :p ... they just think m sitting at home and wasting my life... apart from IM m also a fitness trainer but i dont train people anymore, I just love working out.. maybe il come up with some fitness videos or something, just keep getting new ideas...

Love the creativity part of IM and hate the uncertainties lol ...

I have contacted people near me who are involved in IM so we can meet up regularly to keep each other going. I also have a few offline cleints so I end up in the office some days and in theirs on others!

Try and find other people who you can discuss things with face to face as working on your own all the time can be demoralising when things are not working.

Hearing my friends complain about having to get up in the morning and go to their "regular" jobs is what keeps me motivated to keep doing what I'm doing.

That and the feeling that goes along with helping my customers and my coaching clients achieve success.

My doubters, my prospecting future and...

A MacBook Air, for now.

I don't have trouble with motivation, but I do have problems staying focused and being productive. I'm self-diagnosed with ADD, so I struggle doing anything without taking VERY frequent breaks by opening up a new tab and checking my Facebook or Reddit. A few times a day I'll be on Facebook, type "www.facebook.com" into my address bar, and not realize what I've just done.

Anyway, I'm trying to start a new habit of not going to non-work related websites when I'm trying to stay productive. One thing that has helped me is keeping a list of tasks, so I know exactly what needs to be done. Once I finish an item, I get the very satisfying feeling of crossing it off. It's helped me stay organized and on task very much.

I get those negative feelings too. Although I've never ever had a month where I couldn't pay my rent since I've been working online, for some reason I panic that one month it'll all dry up. That what's working now will stop working.

For the financial side of the worry, I'm making sure to save so I can afford living costs months in advance.

For the motivational, emotional side of things I really can't stop those ups and downs. One day I'm super productive, the next I might be beating myself up about not working enough. Unfortunately it's a HUGE learning curve working for yourself. But one thing that helps is to think every day about what you've done to advance your business. Even if it's small, knowing that you at least did one thing can help you feel better and motivate you for the next day.

I have motivation tools and A4 paper around my desk and walls.

"TAKE ACTION"

"TODAYS ACTION BREEDS TOMORROWS RESULTS"

"SUCCESS COMES EACH AND EVERYDAY"

There are more, but I love when I happen to look around and read these from day to day. It helps keep me fired up and motivated.

Personally I focus much about IM product that i sell. Then I can keep my customers. Because they want a specific requirement from me. So you must add a value to your stuff. Some days we earn much, but in other days "Nothing". But we should keep a stable monthly income. That's enough!

Good luck!

Whoa, guys, stop living in fear

Sure, your niche may dry up, or the whole internet could disappear in a black hole tomorrow morning. But a day-job is much more likely to go poof on you at any rate.

If you ever lost a job before, you know you can always whip out that old resume, update it, gloss it over with the new skill-sets you learned from your previous job, and find a new one.

IM is no different. If you're here, it's safe to assume you've already learned much. Probably more than you ever did at any regular job. You've learned to sell yourself, ideas, and products. And all these new skills have been field-tested. You've seen the results for yourself with every penny that came in through your paypal account.

How's that for building confidence?

Now get back to building a business

What keeps me motivated? The fact I have a better half plus a couple kids to take care of, and they've all become accustomed to living inside and eating.

Progress!

I'm not a big time marketer by any means. I still have a day job, and I will need to keep that job for some time! It's hard work making it in this business. So, progress motivates me, even if it is the tinies amount of progress!

With earnings of about $1000 a month, i wouldn't lose my motivation. The money itself is enough of a motivation for me, plus the prospects of having an actual job make me really anxious. Just thinking of waking up at 5, 6 am to go to work...it is quite an awful picture. So, even if I lose my direction and I stumble upon some obstacles, I know that whatever I do HAS TO Continue, or else...

Travel the world.. Buy the things I want and not have to worry about bills again.

What keeps me motivated:
- this forum,
- other people IM blogs that post quality content, something to get the wheels in my head turning,
- trying out different automation tools, each one is like a new toy to a kid,
- money earned and endless possibilities.

For me it also helps if a make a plan and try to stay organized. Otherwise I loose interest and start jumping from one thing to another not finishing anything.

Count me in...How I cope up with it is having positive mind...

Well, if you do panic at some point. All you need to do is, take a deep breath, clear your mind, and then look at the things over again.

Yeah, there is risk to everything whenever you choose to try something new. Even in our daily lives, there are risks. All you need is to get use to it and earn the necessary experience. And when you do, you can minimize the risks and you can go explore more possible things to grow your business.

Personally, what keeps me motivated is the overwhelming desire to succeed and to provide a comfortable future for my son. I also use a motivation book, containing words and images that I find motivating and emotive.

I want to prove myself that i am one of the most successful guy when i looked at myself in the mirror.This the things that motivate me lots.

I am sure we all have bad days and there are sometimes when I am sitting at my computer and wondering what on earth I am doing especially when the sun is shining like today and the sea is on my back door step (not literally, lol). But the main thing that keeps me motivated is that I can take a day off - it is honestly that simple. I run a lot of projects at once, I am always doing ten things all at once, and my to do list is huge, but when it gets overwhelming and I think I have just had enough I give myself permission to have a day off.

On that day off I will go out for lunch; I will do some art; I will read a proper book not a pdf and I will sit and look at the sea - then by the afternoon more ideas start creeping into my head and I usually end up sitting on the computer again until 4am putting some of them into action, lol

Give yourself permission to have a day off - that is what the internet lifestyle is all about - and hey it will still be here tomorrow (Unless it does get swallowed by a black hole of course, and then...well something else will come up).

Have a great day (off)
Lisa