Things That Experience Has Taught Me

I have been online for about two years now and over that period of time I have learned some things that work and found many that do not. It seems that the lessons we learn through the school of hard knocks are the ones that mean the most to us - I guess that is why most of us have to experience some disappointments first-hand before some basic messages really sink in. At least that was true for me.

I want to share some of the things that I have found to be essential for online success. Here is my list - I hope it helps someone!

1) Realize that you are the only one that can create your success.

Experts and authorities can share information with you through their products, or by coaching, or even in forum posts but if you do not put that information to work for you it is useless. Working on the Internet is on-the-job training. You can find guides to help you but you will learn more by taking action. Your skills will increase as you put the methods to work.

2) You have heard it said many times over - you have to have the right mindset if you are going to succeed.

Negativity brings about more negativity. Develop a positive attitude about what you are doing and what you will achieve. Accept the fact that people that are not involved with an online business are not likely to really understand what you are doing.

Don't let that affect what you are doing. Do what you have to do to stay motivated - that will probably include interacting with people that are positive. Being a member of a forum of like-minded people can have a tremendous impact on your business as well as your mindset.

3) Build your credibility one day at a time.

When you are new to Internet marketing or even new to any aspect of it, be honest about that fact. Don't try to convince people that you know more than you do - but be willing to share what you do know.

You are more respected when you admit that you want to learn about something than you are when you pretend you already have the facts. Your reputation is essential to your success. Being known for honesty and integrity will go a long way in building your credibility. Strive to under promise and over deliver as often as possible. Give in order to receive.

4) Don't expect overnight success.

It is true that some people reach great success very quickly - but those cases are rare. Most of us work for a long time before we begin seeing the success that we want. Your dedication and patience will bring about success but it will take time.

You will need to learn about specific techniques and master them. Most things build momentum over time and as your skills develop you can achieve the same or better results more quickly. But you cannot master everything at once.

Because I'm hungry right now I will compare this to food; you can start with a great recipe, purchase the ingredients, and prepare a meal yourself. The result would be a fantastic learning experience and a wonderful meal.....but it will take time. However, once you know the recipe and how to use it you can add that meal over and over again to your menu. Over time you can tweak the recipe to make it your own and you will find short-cuts to creating the meal.

Then you can find another recipe and add it. Eventually you will have lots of great meals that you can prepare.

Of course, instead of preparing a meal you can choose to go for a quick snack or fast food. There will be virtually no work involved and the time investment will be minimal. The end result will be that you will have something to eat but it will be less healthy and you will probably not enjoy it as much. Additionally, you will learn little if anything from the experience. It's all a matter of choice but in my mind good things are worth working for.

Being realistic about timeframes will be helpful in a lot of ways.
The point is that you should be prepared from the start to apply yourself in order to get the results that you want. Few of us set a goal of eating a bag of chips!

5) You have to have goals for yourself and a plan that will help you reach those goals.

Most people will say that their goal is to make lots of money - and that is a great goal. But it is important to be specific about your goals. You need to be able to break your goals down into exactly what it is that you want.

I have found that reverse engineering works extremely well when developing a plan for success. Decide what you determine to be a measurement of success and work backwards to find a way to get to that point.

Celebration of each milestone along the way helps to keep me motivated and focused. It is imperative that you protect yourself from information overload. Learn one technique at a time and master it to the point that you are comfortable with it and it is providing results. Then add another method or technique.

You will find that you are successful with some things and not so much with others. That is simply part of life. But the good news is that the only way you can truly fail at this is by quitting.

I hope this helps someone. There is not anything new in this information but it seems that some things just cannot be said enough. We sometimes read the same thing over and over and then finally one day something clicks. We make the connection with what we read and how it can be applied to our own life and business.