How to Succeed in 2011

EDIT: Okay before you start, this is a 1060 word post. Kinda long, but it's worth spending 5 minutes on.

Alright so it's not quite "HAPPY NEW YEAR" time as it's about 6:00 PM (central) here but I think this is the best time to post this thread as it will give you some time to plan your first week.

When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me:

"The way you start the first week of the New Year, that's how most of your year will be."

Now I don't know how much truth this actually holds but sub-consciously I always used to start off the first week of the new year doing all kinds of good stuff.

You know like, smiling and being nice to everyone, not playing video games for 5 straight hours and other kid stuff.

Last year though, I spent the first week of 2010 planning about my business and thinking about what I need to do to take my business from where it is today (which wasn't exactly where I wanted ) to where I want it to be.

I planned everything and then for the whole year of 2010 I stuck with that plan.

Result: I was doing close to $2k a month in January of 2010 and in November of 2010 I crossed the $10K a month mark. So now, I am officially running a five figure a month business.

Now is my mom's "myth" true?

I don't know, but what I do know for sure is that coming up with a plan and STICKING to it equals success most of the times.

So this year I will be doing the same but I want you to do it too.

So here's what i will be doing:

1. Figure out my GOAL.
2. LOOK OVER what I am already doing.
3. Come up with a PLAN OF ACTION for next year.
4. Find something that will keep me MOTIVATED through the year.

So let's run through this generally:

1. Figure out my GOAL:

Well, my goal is nothing but to run 6-figure business by 2011. I know it seems outrageous but hey, "It is better to shoot for the stars and miss than aim at the gutter and hit it."

EDIT: My other goal is to get started in the IM niche.

So yeah, now all of my efforts will be focused towards that goal.

2. Look over what I m already doing:

Ok right now my main sources of income are:

Clickbank:
I make money on clickbank by promoting affiliate products to my list.

Amazon Associates:
I make money by creating review type sites and ranking in google (much easier to do)

So I have been having massive success with clickbank for the last year but I will now look for trends and ups and downs and try to figure out why they happened. Maybe I can find many seasonal niche markets and if I will find some seasonal niches I will mark my calendar for that month or week or whatever and try to repeat the "success".

Same goes for Amazon but I will share what my discoveries from last year with you guys:

I saw a surge of traffic for my "gifts for him" site in February. Hmm, why?

Okay, Valentine's day.

So this year, I am ready for it.

I also saw a surge of traffic on my weight loss sites in January last year. Hmm, why?

I know, new year resolutions. Everyone wants to loose right after new year, right?

I also found other seasonal niche markets like, Christmas, graduation gifts, mother's day, father's day etc.

So if you are doing something right now, look for the opportunities you might have for the next year.

Come up with a Plan of Action for the next year:

Okay so the important step. Decide what you want to do for the next year.

Sounds real simple but it isn't.

Here's what a common todo list looks like:

Try:
Clickbank
Blogging
Niche Marketing
Amazon
Forum Marketing
SEO
etc.

That's not a good idea. Here are some important steps:

You need to know EXACTLY what you will be doing and one word doesn't tell you that.

Instead of just putting "Clickbank" on your todo list, put your clear plan of action. For example:

"Try to make money with Clickbank by building a list of subscribers (by giving away small reports related to the product being promoted) and then promoting the product via the follow-up series"

Be as descriptive as possible. Let your brain know exactly what you will be doing.

Finally, Find something that will keep me MOTIVATED through the year.

I can tell you from my almost 3 years of IM experience that it's not going to be easy so you need to find something to keep yourself motivated through the hard times.

Something that will help you get up once you get knocked down hard by the realities of life.

Something that you can hang on to and not give up when your friends "worry" for you and tell you to stop.

Something that you can do ANYTHING for.

For me, it's my family. My brother and my mom are the most important people in my life and I want to make sure they don't have to worry about anything in life.

I want to make sure my brother can go to the college of his choice, have the car of his choice, buy the clothes of his choice. I don't want freedom for me, but I want freedom for him.

I have always loved my family and I know that I can't possibly repay them in any form so the best I can do for them is to do the best I can.

We all think that we want money more than anything and we can do anything for money. Well that's not always true.

Will you be willing to take a bullet to your head for a million dollars?

Probably not.

But will you be willing to take a bullet to your head for you child?

I know many parents who will.

And that is doing ANYTHING and Everything for someone.

So figure out what your motivation is.

Is it your wife, kids, parents, financial freedom what?

Now, this post is longer than what I have typed this whole year but I think it's important and can help you so I don't regret the hour I spent typing it.

That's all, have a Happy and Successful New Year.