Reality Check!

Good morning and may this day find you filled with hope for a
bright future. In my last newsletter, I talked about that little
voice you hear in your head from time to time -- you know the
voice, the one that calls you l-o-s-e-r? I received many emails
from long-term subscribers thanking me for that newsletter and
some asking me for additional advice about how to get out of the
rut they now find themselves in.

Let me tell you, I know a thing or two about ruts.

I've been through them financially twice in the past decade, and
emotionally and spiritually every day of my adult life! Let's
face it, living ain't easy, and neither is being a parent, a
spouse, a grandparent, a friend, an employee or an entrepreneur.

But here's the thing -- you can either let that little voice
talk you into believing you're a loser or you can tell it to get
behind you and then get on with your life. And you need to do
this every single darn day. It's the only way to survive.

Now I receive many emails from subscribers asking for advice
about how to make money online. They've heard the promises from
the online marketing gurus or from their friends in network
marketing that there's gold in them thar hills, and they want
their fair share.

Many of you have purchased the various ebooks and software tools
and services that claim to explain the formula for creating your
own successful money printing machine. And then you get
disappointed when it doesn't work.

Here's the thing you need to remember:

Not everyone has the same skill sets or gifts and talents to be
successful online.

That doesn't mean you should quit dreaming. By all means, dream.

But you do need to be realistic.

What do I mean? Most people don't know how to sell if their
lives depended upon it. So what makes you think you can sell an
ebook, or software tool, or membership site? If you have no
experience doing it before, why do you think you can be
successful doing it now.

True, believing in yourself goes a long, long way. But then
there's reality.

I think the biggest problem is balancing wish and reality. Most
of us wish we could be millionaires but the reality is most of us
will never be millionaires. Hate to burst that bubble :)

I get calls from retirees in their 70's and 80's who want help
publishing an ebook they think is going to be the next best
seller and allow them to buy an island to fish on the rest of
their lives. Not gonna happen.

I get calls from people who have new web sites they want to
monetize so they can live in splendor and put their kids through
college. Noble goals. But reality?

I know people who have been insanely successful but they are in the
minority.

So what's my message today? I'm not trying to talk you out of
pursuing a living online. No. But I am asking you to be
realistic. Maybe your energies would be better focused elsewhere.

Think about it. How many ebooks, courses, software tools,
memberships, etc. have you purchased over the past few years and
how much money have you generated from your investment and
efforts? If it ain't paying the bills, may I suggest that you
stop buying stuff and put a real plan together?

If you've been hopping from one network marketing company to
another, switching products every few few months as they cool
off, and gradually exhausting your immediate circle of friends
and family with your latest pitch, maybe, just maybe, it's time
to think harder about your long-term goals.

Last night at church, a sweet older man was telling a small
group of us about how he was carefully looking over his business
opportunities -- where he was going to make his investments and
how he hoped this was finally going to help him make some of his
dreams a reality.

This man is not a salesman. And products, no matter what they
claim, do not sell themselves. People sell products.

He is about to waste time and money and his efforts would be
better served elsewhere. Where, I don't rightly know, but he's
definitely setting himself up for failure and disappointment.

Stop.

Think about what you want to achieve.

Contrast what you want vs. what you need. Be realistic. Set a
definitive and achievable goal within X months you will generate
Y dollars.

Then carefully examine your strengths and gifts and talents and
start formulating a plan to monetize them -- rather than go out
and spend more money on the latest guru's ebooks, courses, tools
and memberships.

Life lessons are tough to swallow. I'm here to help.

Until next time,

Steven

P.S.: Do a friend a favor and forward this newsletter to them.

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