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First thing’s first, I’ve always HATED having a so-called “real job”. For me personally, it’s nothing more than a prison sentence. Of course, I am fiercely independent, but the fact is I knew right from the start that living paycheck to paycheck, working 9 to 5 at a job I hated, was NOT the life for me.
And the day I walked into the office, handed in my resignation, and walked out knowing I was finally free and financially independent, was the best in my life. I had no regrets then and I’ve certainly never looked back since. For the first time in my life, my future was looking brighter than ever, and I was finally happy, excited and free. I still remember the drive home being one of the best and most enjoyable of my life.
In this short post, I’d like to outline the exact steps I took to make it happen. And secondly, I’d like to give everyone reading this who’s struggling or failing to “make it” in the world of internet marketing a word of encouragement. If you can’t see light at the end of the tunnel, take heart, because you’re a lot closer to success than you realize.
The truth is, I’m not that smart. I’m not a very good copywriter, and I definitely don’t consider myself talented. Over the years, I’ve made tons of terrible mistakes and decisions that have cost me dearly. So not only do I believe that each and every person reading this has what it takes to succeed, I believe you can do it a lot quicker than I did, with far less struggles and failure.
Before we go any further, I’d like to make it clear that becoming successful was a process. There was no “magic bullet” or “one thing” that changed my life overnight. If you’re looking for a shortcut, you won’t find one. But if you’re prepared to work hard and never give up, nothing will stop you from succeeding.
Now, without further ado, here are the exact steps I took to become a full time internet marketer:
*I wrote down exactly what I wanted out of life*.
During my first few years online, I failed miserably. And all I ever did was complain about the results. I moaned about how much I hated my job, having no money, driving a bomb and living in a run down house. But then it finally dawned on me that complaining solves nothing.
So, I decided to do something different. I saw down and wrote out exactly what I wanted out of life in as much detail as possible. I wrote down exactly how much I wanted to earn, the exact kind of house I wanted to live in, the exact make and model of the car I wanted, where I wanted to go on vacation, all the different hobbies and sports I wanted to try and so on. And THAT was when huge changes started to happen in my life.
*I wrote down my ideal daily schedule*.
Since I hated my routine, I wrote down how I would spend each day if money wasn’t an obstacle. I wrote down how many hours I’d work, how many hours I’d exercise and have fun, where I’d go during the day, who I’d visit, how long I’d spend with them, where I’d have lunch, where I’d shop and so on. As a result, I started to visualize my ideal life, and that’s when things really started to take off.
*I created a very detailed budget*.
It’s easy to know what you want, but it takes work to figure out exactly how much it’s going to cost. So this was the next step. And while it wasn’t easy, I’m glad I did it, because it put me on the right path.
My advice for anyone looking to create their own budget is to take your time and make sure you include every possible expense. The last thing you want when you’re starting a new business is to have an unexpected expenses come back to bite you. Also, make sure to overestimate everything. It’s better to have more and not need it, than underestimate and come up short.
Once I had a budget to work with, I knew exactly how much I needed to make each day to live my life and run my business. And surprisingly, it was nowhere near as much as I thought.
*I wrote down S.M.A.R.T. goals*.
As many of you probably know, this stands for “Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time sensitive”. Once I knew how much I needed to make each day, I set very specific goals to make it happen. And that’s when everything really started to gather momentum.
I started with a very simple goal of $10/day. I then gave myself about 60 days to make it happen. When I achieved that goal, I then set a slightly bigger goal of $20/day. And again, I gave myself 60 days to make it happen. And I simply repeated that whole process over and over again until I got to where I needed to be. And what I discovered was, when you know exactly what you want, and you’ve got very specific goals written down, you can make things happen a lot quicker than you think.
Another thing I discovered was that less than 1% of the population write down and review their goals regularly. And funnily enough, 1% of American’s have 37.1% of America’s wealth. I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s not a coincidence.
*I worked out my core reasons “why”*.
Deep down, I guarantee that you have at least one or two core reasons “why” that can and will motivate you to achieve your goals. But you have to figure them out first. To do that, I simply asked myself “why” five times. I started with my goal to work as a full time internet marketer. I asked myself “why”. When I had the answer, I continued asking “why” until I got to the root motivation. And as it turns out, I have four different core reasons “why”. So now, any time the going gets tough, I simply remember these reasons “why”, and they motivate me to keep pushing forward.
*Through sheer hard work, determination, persistence and A LOT of trial and error, I finally learned what works*.
Without a doubt, this was the hardest part of my online journey. Over the years, I tested dozens of different “methods” and “systems” before I finally figured out how to make money online. But because I hung in there and never gave up, I got there in the end.
The method that’s given me the best success is selling information products (ebooks and video courses) to people who want to buy them. I’ve created products in the make money online, weight loss and SEO niches over the years that have all done well. I also upsell either personal coaching or affiliate offers (or both) on the back end to increase sales and profits.
Now, maybe you already know about this method and you know that it works. Well, my question to you is, why aren’t you doing it? In my opinion, the main reason people struggle or fail online is because they’re screwing around looking for a shortcut. If that’s you, my advice is simple. Get your act together and do what works! This was the hardest thing for me to do, but it completely changed my life.
Before I sign off, there’s one last thing I’d like to say to those who are seriously struggling. If you’ve come down to your last straw, and you feel like there’s no hope, I’d like to encourage you to keep going. Like I previously mentioned earlier in this article, you’re much closer to succeeding than you realized, but the key is, you have to hang in there. You can never ever give up. I’ve been EXACTLY where you are right now, and if I gave up, I don’t even want to think about where I’d be today.
If you’ve read “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, remember the lesson about R. U. Darby. You’re just three feet away from gold, so don’t stop digging, or you’ll never find it. And unfortunately, just before you reach your tipping point, things are going to get much more difficult. But the harder things get, the closer you are to success. So be encouraged, keep moving forward and never, ever give up.
*Author resource box*:
Marcus Maclean is the founder & CEO of The Million Dollar Case Study, a live, step by step video case study of how a brand new million dollar membership website is built from scratch. To watch the case study unfold, click here.
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