What are you going to do? BBQ or mold

Ready to finally get serious and make some money from your home business? Well, before you read another word, here is a simple but important exercise that will be explained later. Find a mirror and look in that mirror for exactly three seconds.

Now, unless you’re a pureblood vampire, you were just looking for the key to making money in your business: you. There are millions of people just like you who want success, financial security, time freedom, and all the other wonderful things that come with running a profitable home business. However, they just don’t take actual measurements. Yes, they can actually complete steps A and B, but they never get to C or D.

By the way, even if you didn’t literally get up and find a mirror, it is critical that you possess the ability to be trained if you really want to be successful as an entrepreneur. It’s not always easy to find someone to protect you, but they do exist. Like everything else in life, it will take a great deal of effort on your part to find someone willing to show you what it takes to finally pull it off. Note that I did not say anything about doing something great. You are the person who determines what success means to you and how much money you need to earn to be happy.

Ultimately, whether or not you are successful in your business, it all starts with you, your attitude, and your goals. There is no time to waste blaming your sponsor, teammates, marketing brochures, or anything else like that. Instead, spend your energy expanding your knowledge, honing your skills, and learning from those people who have already achieved exactly what you want in life.

Before I became a Marine Exercise Instructor at the age of 21, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I had that vision immediately after realizing its positive impact on other people. I absolutely had to wear the famous campaign cover (hat) and it’s what I was constantly thinking about. Once that goal was solidified, I had to make a plan. How would it get there?

I won’t bore you with the whole story, but I will say that it involved learning from someone who had already been there. A person who had already been on the path he wanted to travel. The skills he taught me earned me several worthy promotions, and as they say, the rest is history. I got back to Parris Island so quickly that one of my old Exercise Instructors was still on the island. He even asked me “what are you doing here?”

This is more of a self-help article than a marketing article, but maybe we can combine the two for a few minutes. Can you name two or three of the most popular marketing trends on the internet right now? I’m only asking about the internet because that’s probably where you’re most likely looking at this article. Obviously, marketing your business is never limited to just the network, but let’s start here. All right, time’s up. Can you name two or three techniques that many of the top marketers are using in 2006?

If you couldn’t answer that question quickly and safely, you’re probably already behind the curve. This is especially true if you are marketing online. There is no single correct answer to the question, but most experts would agree that blogs, articles, and ezines are likely to be in the top 10. Do you have a blog? Do you write articles? If your answer was “no”, why not?

Many of us can look back on our lives and immediately point out times when we missed the boat or were left behind. Sometimes it is because he is unable to seize the opportunity presented to him, while other times it is because he simply did not take immediate action. It is important to realize that, in business, you cannot afford to be left behind too many times. As one of the leading home business experts likes to say … “Don’t you want it in your life?” Life is short and you don’t have to always achieve the things you want.

Let’s go back to the blogs and articles. If you are unfamiliar with these strategies and are not taking advantage of them, it is because you are not spending enough time learning and developing your skills, or maybe you are not taking your business very seriously. Again, this article is not really about blogging, but it is a way to focus on a more important central topic.

Yes, that comment above about you not being serious is a difficult thing for some of us to admit, but it may be true. Maybe you have some very legitimate reasons why you aren’t serious right now, but the key is to be honest with yourself about it. There is nothing worse than trying halfway, failing, and then blaming the whole world for not finding success. Only when you fully commit are you truly capable of learning and ultimately winning, even if you come up short the first time. On the other hand, if you are 100% serious, you should stand up and look in that mirror again. Determine that you are finally ready to make this work and take full action. It’s just not good enough to take half a step.

Since this is a marketing lesson in part, what about blogging? Well, literally anyone can start a blog on almost any topic. I know people in their 90s with blogs. That’s amazing when you think about it. In fact, you don’t even have to pay for the service. You can do a free blog search and get it up and running in minutes. Clearly, you would have to do more than just post it online, like write something in it regularly and find some simple ways to promote it.

But be careful not to miss the main point. People who are serious about their business will, at the very least, know about blogs and stay up-to-date on what’s going on in their industry. They will also work to stay ahead, as well as to keep their personal skills honed. These are the people who read websites, attend seminars, and learn all they can, while others watch TV and complain that a home business just isn’t working well for them. You must realize that success is virtually impossible without real effort and the right skills.

This is not to say what people should or should not do with their life or judge in any way. The sole purpose of mentioning all of this is to make it clear that reaching the top is not easy. It takes great dedication, work, and desire to achieve your financial and personal goals. There are no “get rich quick” answers to quit your job, provide for your family, or get the time off you want. You just have to make a firm decision to do it and then get down to business. More importantly, you never give up your dreams.

Even if you don’t know their full stories, the people you consider successful today made great sacrifices yesterday to get there. Many of these people will share their stories of how they had to sleep in their cars and eat cheap packets of noodles while fighting to make this happen. However, there are others who are more reserved and do not share their stories, but still had to struggle through similar difficult times to finally reach their goals.

If you really want to be successful and eliminate the 45-year plan of working for someone else, be completely honest with yourself and ask “Do I really want this?” If you can answer with an unquestionable “yes,” then it’s time to find a mentor, hone those skills, and get down to business.

“So what are you going to do … barbecue or mold?”