Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The Get Rich Quick Mentality


Building any kind of business takes time, money, energy and focus. Obviously some businesses take more or less of each ingredient. Internet businesses are no different than a traditional brick and mortar business, except for the fact that they can cost substantially less to get started. That's why they are so attractive to a lot of people.

For some reason however, the internet is fill with get rich quick schemes and scams and all though many are not schemes or scams, they just don't work. With that said, there is a whole segment of internet entrepreneurs that want to make as much money as they can as fast as they can.

As if you haven't noticed, the get rich quick mentality is rampant on the net, and it's getting worse everyday. There is a vicious cycle that just seems to perpetuate itself and I'm not sure which came first, the hucksters or the prospectors. In other words, the people selling get rich quick or the people searching for it. It seems as though there are opportunity seekers out there who are asking to be scammed.

What has perpetuated this kind of thinking is a lack of vision in the internet businessperson. It doesn't matter what kind of business you are involved in, you have to take the time to do the necessary work to make your business successful. Sure, lots of people are able to make decent sums of money rather quickly on the net, but these kinds of businesses won't last. In a few months, many of the people that are getting rich quick today, will be on to something else because they were only able to make money for a limited amount of time with their latest deal.

Wouldn't you rather have a business that you can build on, that you can make grow and that will last for a long time and produce income for years for you and your family instead of having to rebuild your income every year? This is the most important point I am going to make in this article - You absolutely must take the time to build your business correctly on the net or you will never make a substantial amount of money for the log run.

The opportunities on the net are limitless and more and more people are shopping online every year however, you can't just throw up a few pages of meaningless content and expect to get ranked at the search engines and start making gobs of money, even though there is lots to be made.

Anyone with a brick and mortar business will tell you that they usually don't make any money for the first 2 to 5 years in their business. So how does this timetable translate for an internet business?

Some people think they are going to put up a web site or blog and start making money in a month or a few weeks. I'm sorry to tell you, that just isn't going to happen. Depending on the kind of business you are focusing on expect to put in 6 months to 1 year of seriously hard work before you see any substantial results in your web venture.

Also, you need to become a student of your business and internet marketing in general to make sure your business succeeds. When I was working as a graphic artist, I spent a few thousand dollars a year going to seminars in the graphics industry, I subscribed to magazines and I was always hanging out in the local book store reading the latest books about photography, PhotoShop or graphic arts in general. This was all at my own personal expense because I wanted to be the best graphic artist I could be. You need to treat your net business the same.

There are people who want to be in business for themselves on the net but somewhere they get the idea that all the information they need to get started should be free. They are afraid to spend a dime to learn the correct way to build a web business or they want someone to do all the work for them by giving them unlimited free advice.

You will have a profitable net business only if you invest in it with your time, money for the necessary tools, work and education. There are thousands of get rich quick deals out there clogging up search engines waiting to take people's money. Do yourself and the rest of us a favor, don't add another one to the mix. Start a real business on the net, instead of just trying to get rich quick.


About the Author: Alan LeStourgeon runs the successful web site, Home Based Business Opportunities And Resources where he teaches individuals and work at home moms how to build web businesses and how to be a profitable affiliate.

How to Think and Act Like the Rich


Virtually everyone dreams of being rich some day. The thought of being able to drive the kind of car you desire, wear the clothes you like, and never have to worry about money being an object can look pretty good to us. If you look around in bookstores, you'll see titles like "Think Your Way to Riches." Is this possible? Just how do rich people do it? What makes them tick? Can anyone learn to think and act like rich people, and become rich doing it?

One thing rich people learn to do is to
love work. And as they enjoy their work, they learn to discipline themselves to work when they are working. It may look to the rest of us like the rich don't work much. The fact is, they have been working, and they still do. They just know how to work efficiently, and they like it, so it looks like they are having fun.

Then, when the work is done for the day, rich people - at least happy rich people - know how to lay it down and focus on the less tangible things that make life worth living. This means people and our
relationships with them. What good will that beautiful car do you if you never get to ride around with that person you pledged your love to? To act rich, learn to lay the work aside and enjoy your free time.

You may be thinking, if I do that, I'll forgot where I was! The secret, rich people will tell you, is to have your work and business affairs - and your social life - organized. Don't expect yourself to remember anything. Get it down on paper. Get a great calendar and planner system going for you.

A valuable addition to any household is a large calendar with large squares for writing. Hang it in a prominent place where everyone in the
family can see it. Have everyone's events logged here. Then get into the habit of checking that calendar every night before you go to bed and every morning first thing. If you do this, you can keep up with your business matters without missing that special ball game or your child's graduation!

Finally, don't let guilt keep you from being rich. If you're the type of person who has a deep social conscience, it's possible for you to feel guilty when you do well financially. You see all the people who hurt financially and don't feel like you deserve to do better. If this is you, then by all means use some of your surplus money to help the poor. Work to provide them with better opportunities.

The Good Book doesn't say that money is the root of all evil, but that loving it is. Respect money and what it can do, but don't sell your soul to it. It doesn't buy happiness, but in it's place it can help many people get by better, and can provide your family with everything they need to thrive and enjoy life.

Source: Free Articles

Monday, September 10, 2007

12 Ways Leaders Tell Their People They Are Important

Leaders know the old saying "How you act shouts so loudly I can't hear what you're saying" is the truth. They use it to their advantage. Leaders know the greatest sense of accomplishment and importance often comes from non – monetary rewards, and from positive recognition from the person who is the boss. And they know they can do it without "breaking the rules" or incurring big expenses.

Many managers feel constrained by the rules and regulations of their organizations. They feel that their hands are tied when it comes to rewarding their people – that their actions are controlled by others, and there is little of any real value they can do to motivate their people.

Here are 12 Ways leaders let their people know how important they are:

Way #1 – Leaders truly believe the work performed by their people is important. This may sound pretty basic, but that is an absolutely essential belief. Without it there is simply no way people can be convinced that what they do is important.. How often have your heard – or been guilty of saying – or thinking – "Oh, she's just the receptionist" or, "He's just the janitor" or "They're just trainees" or "They're just a staff weenie?"

Way #2 – Leaders expect the best from everyone, and settle for nothing less. Nothing makes people feel more important than high expectations for their performance. Leaders make sure their people share in setting the expectations.

Way #3 – Leaders create goals that are shared and that show the tie in of individual work with the success of the organization.

Way #4 – Leaders select the best – in every opening they have. Every tool is used to ensure that the best possible decision is made on who is selected. People watch very carefully to see who is picked – they need to be involved in the selection process whenever possible. Leaders know that actions taken in selection communicate how important the open position is. Who is selected is seen as a direct reflection on the quality of the people in the organization.

Way #5 – Leaders are their people's institutional champion! What's that mean? When their pay is wrong, leaders get it right. When their reviews are scheduled, leaders ensure they are done accurately and on time. When their raises are due, leaders make sure they are handled properly and on time. Leaders jealously guard their relationship as the go to person for their people. Institutional support people can help, but leaders know they are the key contact for their people.

Way #6– Leaders are absolutely intolerant of unsafe, disruptive or other negative behaviors. They act on them quickly and decisively, and never let their people see them knowingly ignore a bad situation. Leaders know these situations will not go away, regardless how much "wish'in and hop'in and pray'in" might be done.

Way #7 – Leaders know that trust and respect are not the same thing as being liked. It is nice to be liked, it is absolutely essential that people trust and respect their leader. As a comedian said: "If you want to be liked, get a dog."

Way #8 – Leaders cultivate a climate of civility for their people. In their relationships with their people, they make sure their actions reflect a fundamental respect for others.

Way #9 –Leaders get every one of their people some form of self development activity on a regular basis. It may be a seminar, it may be tuition refund, it may be a book, it may be a CD set, it may be reimbursement for a Webinar or a podcast, it may be a Community College course – it does not have to be expensive and time consuming, but the act of creating added value through the investment of personal effort supported by organizational resources is a powerful way to express importance.

Way #10 – Leaders respect their people's time – it's their most valuable asset. Leaders start meetings on time, end them on time, keep meeting commitments. They do what they have to do to ensure their people have the use of as much of their work time as possible.

Way #11– Leaders keep the rules and policies to an absolute minimum. If there is workable set of cultural and organizational "Way's Of Doing Things" then the basis for treating people with individual regard exists. If they don't exist, leaders set them in their own area of responsibility.

Way #12– Leaders celebrate the successes – they create the opportunity for group recognition to happen all over the place – if Safety is an issue, they create a Safety Award process that celebrates progress. They make the celebration events frequent, the rewards modest – but they do it all the time. Leaders know the frequency of awards and the opportunity for celebration are as important, actually more important, than the annual lunch or dinner or whatever.

Did you notice one thing about all 12 Ways? Not one of them deals with lots of money, or more capital, or new policies or procedures. All do require beliefs and behaviors – and they are the most challenging, most high leverage efforts that can be made to improve an organization. It's always tempting to do a feel good seminar, or buy something, or take some action that shows a high level of commitment to the people.. But the truth is that the way to greater success is through a focused, day to day effort to improve the level of commitment of the people in an organization, and that takes hard work, leadership and the acceptance of change.

If you can see Ways that can help you organization or your work group or yourself in this article, take them and run with them – they are the basis for successful managers becoming successful leaders.

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How Much Debt is Too Much?

People have a certain threshold or tolerance for debt. Most of us can tolerate a little bit of debt. How much debt is all right? And when are you in over your head?

Most of the time, the decision that you have "too much debt" is made emotionally. That is, you have too much debt when you feel you have too much debt.

So why do some people panic over small debts but others sleep like babies even when they owe tens of thousands?

The answer is that people have an emotional sense of how much debt is acceptable. The danger is that this personal gauge is highly unreliable. You may have gotten it from your family situation, past experiences, or what you saw on TV or in the movies. Your debt style also involves your own maturity level and self control.

We also have an emotional response to what is unacceptable, which is sometimes called "hitting rock bottom." For some people, hitting rock bottom is having a car repossessed. For others, the repo man was a familiar character from childhood.

Hitting rock bottom may be the day you cannot make minimum payments, the day you lie to a spouse about an overdue bill, or the threat of impending homelessness. In other words, the emotional response and not the event itself is what defines a "hitting rock bottom" moment. One man's rock bottom is another man's standard of living.

So when is debt too much debt? On a purely emotional level, many people hit "rock bottom" when the first calls from bill collectors start to come.

Getting hounded by a professional bill collector is tough. Some people cope, but others find it embarrassing, humiliating, and shameful. For some people, it may take an intervention of friends or family members to drive home the point that the debt is getting out of control. Others may wait till they are evicted or sued.

So how much is too much debt?

First, it's not a question you should answer emotionally. Most entrepreneurs have nerves of steel when it comes to debt and financial risk taking, but most of them do not carry a lot of personal debt. So the amount of debt you can tolerate emotionally is not the governing factor; in fact, it should not even be taken into account.

Debt is financial and the only way to evaluate financial things is to look at the big financial picture.

Your financial report card is something called your "net worth." You can do a reasonably good snapshot of your own net worth without hiring an accountant or doing a bunch of fancy stuff. Just write down all of the money you owe. If you have credit cards, list all the balances. If you have loans, list all of them. If you have a mortgage, add that. Take all of these debts (the accountants would call these "liabilities") and add them together.

Now take everything you own. This includes the contents of any bank or investment accounts you have, your retirement account, stock portfolios, and so on. If you own a house (even if it's mortgaged), add the fair market value of the house. If you have vehicles (cars, boats) add them in. It is fair to add in the value of your furniture, electronics, and clothing, but be very conservative. It may have cost you thousands to build the wardrobe hanging in your closet, but it's doubtful you could convert it to very much cash. Don't count what you spent, count what you could get if you had to sell it today. Add everything together to get what accountants call your "assets."

Now subtract liabilities (what you owe) from your assets (what you own), and you have your net worth.

I hate to disillusion you, but the number should be positive. And it should be thousands.

There are some reasons for a low net worth. For those who are just starting out or those just starting over, your net worth may be low because you have not had chance to amass any assets. You may have just gone through a major medical disaster or other catastrophe. The other reason your net worth may be low is a lot of debt.

Now look at your income and your monthly bills. Don't worry about total debt here, just look at what you spend each month versus what you bring in. Take some pencil and paper time here. Does your out-go exceed your income? That's a debt-making machine. Until you turn this around, you're going to keep your debt growing which, in turn, will keep your net worth negative.

If you can't make minimum payments, if you are adding to your debt each month, or if you are really unsure of your financial states, you are probably in need of some financial help.

Certified credit counselors can help and there are lots of excellent books and programs on the market aimed at getting you debt-free. There are even free resources. For instance, your local banker can probably help you come up with a financial plan to manage your debt, including things like debt consolidation.

If you're wondering if you have too much debt, you probably do. One of the great financial secrets of the truly wealthy is this: no debt. It's possible for even ordinary people to live debt free.

The bill collector or the repo-man are not the first signs of debt problems; they are really symptoms of a prolonged period of too much debt. When the warning signals come, even if we are not rattled by them, we should take firm steps to dig ourselves out of debt. The difference between too much debt and being destroyed by debt are just a few missteps.

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The Secret to Becoming Rich

Napoleon Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich, believes that a person does not have to be a genius to become rich. Any person can become wealthy if he thinks positively and has a deep desire to achieve his goal.

Positive Thinking: You must see your financial dreams and know that you will be able to attain them. You must already own them.

If you begin making up every rationalization under the sun why you can't succeed, pinch yourself. You have to discipline your body and mind to think positive thoughts. Teach yourself that those kind of thought patterns are unacceptable. You can obtain greatness, even if you are not the smartest, most talented, or best looking person in the world. Success is your if you'll just allow it to come into your life. Don't underestimate the power of your thoughts.

Burning Desire: Hill tells a true tale of a man named Edwin Barnes who desired to become Thomas Edison's partner. Most of us would have scoffed at him had we lived back then. Edwin Barnes was a nobody. Nevertheless, he had a deep desire, a life dream, and he was determined. He went to Thomas Edison and convinced him to hire him. He did not instantly achieve his dream, but he worked hard and ultimately became Thomas Edison's partner. This was a feat everyone thought was impossible.

Edwin Barnes followed these 7 steps to gain this great success:

1. Choose a definite dream.

2. Put all your energy into that dream.

3. Be willing to do menial work at first.

4. Visualize your dream.

5. Form a strategy.

6. Endure through the hard times.

7. Eliminate any way to retreat.

As you focus on obtaining your goals, answer these questions: What is the exact amount of money I want? What am I willing to sacrifice for it? What exact date do I want this money by? What is my strategy?

Don't forget, to successful people, there is no such thing as "defeat." What looks like defeat is no more than a great opportunity. Start creating opportunities out of failures and being successful today!
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