The secret to achieving success online is contained within this thread

by Steven Carl Kelly

Posted: 15 years ago 32 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Two magic words: hard work.

I don't know the backstory on every successful internet entrepreneur out there, but if I had to wager, I'd guess that most of them put in a lot of that particular two-word ingredient to get where they are. Are there shortcuts out there? Can you become wealthy through online marketing by luck? Oh, I have no doubt there's a number of people who have lucked into making a nice living online -- but I'd also be willing to bet that count is dwarfed by the number of those who tried to earn a substantial living online without putting in the hard work and subsequently failed.

Thomas Edison said:
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work".

Be prepared to work hard at building your online business. And never, ever stop working at it.

Consider the mindset: if you check the Google Keyword Tool for "hard work" you'll find that on average it gets about 100,000 searches per month. If you check the tool for "free stuff" you'll find that it gets well over 1 million searches per month. That should tell us all something, and it should tell you that if you're willing to put in the hard work, there's probably not a lot of REAL competition out there.

You can rank at the top of the results for hard work, and I'm not talking about the keywords. I'm talking about real life results. I'm talking about your personal effort. Within yourself you can dominate "hard work" and you can dominate your competition with hard work. I'm telling you this: one day you could be among the elite with hard work.

Work hard. Dominate your competition.

Henry Ford said:
"The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time".

That sounds like hard work to me.

Steve

#achieving #contained #online #secret #success #thread

Chris Ramsey 15 years ago

Good post!

I'd like to add one note though. Is the work you are doing just hard work or is it the right hard work? Are you spending time doing things that could be ignored or are you focusing your time on things that actually make a difference. Most people opt for the former because the latter often involved work that is uncomfortable and causes big changes.

Go for the latter. Make your time worth while. Don't just work for works sake.
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Frank Donovan

15 years ago

Originally Posted by faxinator

Henry Ford said:
"The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time".

That sounds like hard work to me.

Steve

Sounds more like clever work to me.

If all it took was hard work, all coal miners would be millionaires.

Frank

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Steven Carl Kelly 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Frank Donovan

If all it took was hard work, all coal miners would be millionaires.

That's not all it takes, but without it your chances for success will decrease.
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Caroline Middlebrook 15 years ago

Work hard, but work smart too

Caroline
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tomw

15 years ago

Originally Posted by faxinator

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work".

No way! I use this quotation in certain presentations to marketing departments that need a lot of process restructuring! I would say "great minds think alike..."

...but actually, it kind of worries me.

Thomas

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Steven Carl Kelly 15 years ago

Originally Posted by tomw

No way! I use this quotation in certain presentations to marketing departments that need a lot of process restructuring! I would say "great minds think alike..."

I use it in my live seminars as well.
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ExRat

15 years ago

Hi,

OP - 1) The secret to achieving success online is contained within this thread. Two magic words: hard work.

Frank points out -

2) If all it took was hard work, all coal miners would be millionaires.

OP - 3) That's not all it takes, but without it your chances for success will decrease.

Interesting. Big difference.

As it happens, I was just reading this -

'How To Get Rich' by Felix Dennis. Answering the question, "What kind of people get to become rich?" he summarizes with -

What is key -

Confidence and an unshakeable belief it can be done and that you are the one to do it.

What is crucial -

1) Stamina
2) The capacity to work so hard that...[snip] blah blah - basically, hard work.

What helps -

1) Tunnel vision
2) Being a bit of a shit
3) A thick skin

Also -

4) Luck helps - but only if you don't seek it

Conclusion -

Not those who want to and not those who need to, but those who are utterly determined to - whatever the cost.

Personally, I don't believe that hard work is 'the secret to achieving success online.' I believe that it's just one of the many important ingredients.

I do believe that falling for this line and considering it the secret, or shall we say 'the key ingredient', has caused many a hard worker to have to continue using that secret every day of their life just to manage a meagre existence.

Yet, the ability to use other peoples' hard work to drive your profits is an ability (note - not a secret) that often proves to be a much wiser approach.

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Frank Donovan 15 years ago

Originally Posted by ExRat

Yet, the ability to use other peoples' hard work to drive your profits is an ability (note - not a secret) that often proves to be a much wiser approach.

Quite. If the OP had qualified his argument by not stating whose hard work it took, he would have had a stronger point.

As it is, hard work, whilst important, is nowhere near being the key ingredient to success. But it can help to prolong the status quo.*

Frank

*That, and a greatest hits package every other year.
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- ExRat 15 years ago
  
  Hi,
  
  Worth mentioning, props to -
  
  Frank Donovan
  cmiddlebrook
  ArthurRose
  MikeLinley
  
  and possibly scheda,
  
  ...who all said it first
  
  Thanks
  
  Signature
  
  Roger Davis
  
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ArthurRose Banned 15 years ago

[DELETED]

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- Stangracer 15 years ago
  
  Great thread...
  
  It's only hard work if you don't like what you are doing.
  
  Thanks
  
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  Mike Linley 15 years ago
  
  Hard work to start out but then like most are saying in this thread.. OUTSOURCE!
  
  "SMART WORK" will achieve far more success than any "hard work" ever could!
  
  You can only do so much yourself but you have to in the beginning to get the money to outsource but if you continue to work all by yourself when you are making good money then you are shortchanging yourself and losing out on so much success! Good Luck to all!
  
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andyelite 15 years ago

I'm sure we mean the same thing but instead of "hard work", I would say "action" is the essential ingredient to success.
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- ExRat 15 years ago
  
  Hi Andy,
  
  I hope this doesn't sound argumentative, anal, or picky, but wouldn't you say that 'action' is a prerequisite, as opposed to 'the secret to achieving success online'?
  
  Or that 'lack of action' was 'the secret for not achieving success in anything'?
  
  Surely action is only the 'essential ingredient' in the same way that customers, the internet, oxygen, human life etc are also essential ingredients - if you get my drift?
  
  Thanks
  
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  Roger Davis
  
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  OnlineMasterMind 15 years ago
  
  nah... that ain't the secret - not even close - or else construction workers would be rich...
  
  Loving what you do, now *THAT* is the secret.
  
  Thanks
  
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  ArthurRose Banned 15 years ago
  
  [DELETED]
  
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  ShayB 15 years ago
  
  My Dad worked herd for over 40 years. He played it safe (or so he thought).
  
  He followed the "work for 40 years, put money in your 401K and live the good life at 62" line.
  
  He also has lost 40% of his net worth in the past 6 months - from the stock market.
  
  My mom has worked hard for over 40 years. She is going to have to wait to retire at 67 (and that is iffy).
  
  Working hard is not the secret.
  
  Working smart is the secret.
  
  Learning how to use your strengths and the talents of others is the secret.
  
  Helping others is the secret.
  
  Realizing that we live in a global market is the secret.
  
  Thanks
  
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  "Fate protects fools, little children, and ships called Enterprise." ~Commander Riker
  
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patfl 15 years ago

Work hard probably means "Work hard with your brain"

Patrice
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Steven Carl Kelly 15 years ago

Excellent!

Hard work is an important ingredient, but it isn't the secret. Take a closer look at how I titled this thread. I didn't say that "I" was going to give anyone the secret or that "my post" would contain the secret, I said that this THREAD would...

So, with that in mind, read these posts again!

Steve
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- ExRat 15 years ago
  
  Hi Steve,
  
  So, with that in mind, read these posts again!
  
  I did that, and the first thing I saw was this -
  
  Two magic words: hard work.
  
  Thanks
  
  Signature
  
  Roger Davis
  
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Steven Carl Kelly 15 years ago

"Hard work" is a magic two-word phrase, but it isn't the secret ExRat. You're a sharp fellow, I think you see what my little experiment was getting at!
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Steven Carl Kelly 15 years ago

Actually, the whole premise is a tease -- that's why I wrote the thread title the way that I did. There really isn't one single "secret" to online success. Instead, there are a lot of "ingredients" to success. I pointed out one of them: hard work.

Warriors responded as I had hoped, and that was to offer their differing opinions on the subject. Note that some felt strongly that there were other things necessary for success, and that's exactly the reaction I was hoping for and expected.

Some people, particularly some new to the WF, are searching for that one magical secret that will transform their online businesses from underachieving efforts to a million dollar concerns. The fact is, except in possibly very rare cases, there's not simply one single "secret" that will help them to meet their goal.

Again, the Warriors display their experience and intelligence in response to a premise, and those looking for that elusive "secret" won't find just one of them in this thread, but possibly one that will help them build their business for greater success.

Steve
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tomw

15 years ago

The secret of success is so simple that I can't believe that nobody (especially YOU Roger

) has mentioned it yet.

It is so basic, fundamental, essential. It is embodied by one single word, not two.

It has nothing to do with;

the type of work we do
selfishness
altruism
giving value
fairness or unfairness
stamina
determination
luck
being a bit of a sh*t

It has everything to do with;

intelligent
insightful
focused
action

It applies regardless of whether we engage something as a group or on a solus basis.

It requires that work is carried out to a set plan or strategy by employing the appropriate tactics as needed to reach a predetermined goal. It is simply the means of achieving whatever goal is set and in reaching that set goal we achieve success.

We do this through,

"productivity."

Thomas

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tomw

15 years ago

Originally Posted by JJ Manning

Thomas

Its late here, my son is ill so I am off to bed to look after him but..

Productivity - My father did this his whole life, but for someone else...

JJ

Hey JJ,

we can pick this up and discuss semantics any time. Go look after your boy.

Best regards to both of you.

Thomas

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4today 15 years ago

I agree totally with "WORK SMART"! I have found myself spinning my wheels at times. I always have to step back and reorganize my thoughts & actions.
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- andyelite 15 years ago
  
  And assuming that you put into practice all the ingredients mentioned above, working hard, smart and productively, on your own account, there only remains one more ingredient not yet mentioned that will ensure your ongoing success............. preserverance. Don't quit. Assuming you are following a proven business model, the only thing that will cause you to fail is if you give up.
  
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Li Weng 15 years ago

I'd have to respectfully disagree.

Hard work is definitely not the secret to achieving
success in ANY field.

Why?

Because hard work implies struggle, monotony, chore etc.
all negative things that are NOT enjoyable.

Life is too short to waste on doing Hard Work that you
don't find any pleasure in.

Sure, for someone to achieve the great things that Edison
amounted to, a lot of effort and time is involved.

But the important thing is, Edison was PASSIONATE about
what he was doing.

I believe the secret to succeeding in life is having a
genuine desire to succeed in things you actually
ENJOY doing.

And when you enjoy doing something, there's no way
that you'd think it's hard work.
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- ebizman87 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Li Weng
  
  I'd have to respectfully disagree.
  
  But the important thing is, Edison was PASSIONATE about
  what he was doing.
  
  Yes it's true.Passion is the fundamental for your success in anything that you do.
  I failed 3 times in Internet Marketing but I never give up because of my passion.
  
  Thanks
  
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  Is this for real?
  
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borilbogoev 15 years ago

We cannot escape the hard work, I agree. There's no such thing like "hands-off business" or "autopilot profits".

May be if you have a whole team to work for you - it is possible. But first you have to put huge amount of work on daily basis.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
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- ExRat 15 years ago
  
  Hi,
  
  We must first develop the desire to avoid hard work, as endless hard work is the prize of the person who refuses to train and use their mind to do the toil.
  
  Secondly, we must be sure that this desire does not lead to the easy way out - general lethargy, laziness of mind, a diminishing of desire to succeed or a refusal to partake in hard work. Avoiding hard work by doing nothing is always an option.
  
  To successfully avoid hard work whilst still achieving our aims, we must work harder initially, combining the hands and the mind, and before employing others to do the hard work for us, we must lead by example in order to prepare their minds to respect us and understand the minimum requirements we demand.
  
  It's also been advised by many to treat those who do our toil for us as if they are the gifted ones, whereas we are a mere conductor. We cannot expect others to labour for us diligently unless there is two-way respect.
  
  This all changes though, when we dispense with unpredictable humans and employ robots instead. Then we avoid linear income barriers totally, and employ real leverage - a secret known mainly to the real progressives - the type that frequent these forums.
  
  Thanks
  
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  Roger Davis
  
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  Martin Luxton 15 years ago
  
  A couple of other things to throw into the mix.
  
  Knowing where you are going and why.
  
  A good BS filter and questioning what appears to be.
  
  Martin
  
  Thanks
  
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