New Hope
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I am making very slow, but steady progress on my Internet project (BizGenius.biz). In searching for a subject to write an article about, I came across a very cool video – a conversation between Tony Robins, Frank Kern, and John Reese. I think most people probably know who Tony Robbins is. Frank Kern and John Reese are well known in the Internet marketing arena, and are also men I admire – both are quite young I might add, but that’s typical for the industry.
The comments left by visitors to the web page were also very interesting.
As a rule, I don’t find the world of Internet marketing very inspiring at all – it’s full of people who seem to be oblivious to the principles of honesty and moral responsibility – also known as scammers. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Frank Kern and John Reese are a whole lot better than the others, but I did gain a new appreciation for them after watching the video.
I’ve had a dream for a long time of making a living doing something Internet-related. The ideal situation, in my mind, is to be able to work from home (although ideally you should be able to work from anywhere in the world), during hours that are convenient for me, and having an income that is more dependent upon my own creativity and level of interest than on the hours put in – not that I mind long hours. If it’s on a subject I love, I can and have put many hours into a project. One more thing – I don’t want to have to deal with employees or vendors, if possible. I would like to be as autonomous as possible.
Blogging and Internet marketing in general are occupations that match the above description pretty well. But I’ve struggled with a couple things. One is having the knowledge and skills required – I guess I’m lumping more than one thing together in that statement. My skill level is probably adequate, but I don’t feel I have enough knowledge to impart. The latter problem can be fixed, or at least mitigated through research and study, as long as it’s a subject that interests me. My other concern has to do with what I mentioned in the previous paragraph. I don’t just want to be known as an Internet marketer or even one that made a lot of money. I would like to known as someone that truly offers something of value – something I can be proud of.
Virtually every business needs be doing some sort of Internet marketing, but the methods used are often questionable. Everyone knows about the evils of spam email, but did you know that many of the articles that appear on blogs and websites are created by software, rather than human beings? And there’s an awful lot of content that’s stolen from websites and repackaged. What do you think about an article that’s “spun” by software into a thousand slightly different variations and published all over the Internet – for the sole purpose of fooling the search engines? I might have to explain that one better. How about fake “testimonials” designed to pre-sell you on a product? There are a lot of tricks used by many of the most successful marketers – things I’d rather not have to do.
Even if you’re able to have some success in your marketing efforts without resorting to questionable methods, there’s the larger question concerning the value of the product you’re trying to sell. Many products being marketed on the Internet are designed to deceive in one way or the other. Others simply don’t work as well as advertised. Of course, this is not exactly a new problem, and didn’t start with the Internet, but the Internet cannot be controlled or patrolled in the same manner that other forms of advertising are.
In my case, I’m working on a website that’s all about entrepreneurship, and the plan is to earn money primarily by selling products as an affiliate, meaning I receive a commission for selling other people’s products. There’s plenty of opportunity for me practice somewhat questionable sales tactics, and plenty of questionable products I could be promoting.
I’ve been giving some thought to the legacy I will leave someday. I would like my children to be proud of their father. Would they be proud to say he was an Internet marketer? Somehow that just doesn’t feel right. Okay so should I give up on the whole idea or can I offer something of real value? That’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.
Here’s what I’ve come up with – entrepreneurship is needed in the world. No one would have a job without it. So it’s an important subject.
The problem is that a lot (it would probably be accurate to say the vast majority) of business opportunities presented on the Internet are bogus in one way or the other. This should be the subject of another post. Nevertheless, there are still a lot of legitimate businesses and business opportunities out there.
My mission, therefore, will be to search out the legitimate opportunities, and report on them. I also feel it’s valuable to tell the true stories of successful entrepreneurs. It seems to me that this could be just as valuable – perhaps more valuable – than a college course on any subject, which few people would ever question the worth of.
So with that understanding, I’m feeling better about my potential legacy. Now I just need to produce the product. Earning some money in the process would be a nice side-benefit.
Now, back to the video with Tony Robbins et al. As I said, I found it inspiring. Tony talks about something I would describe as a success cycle. It starts with a belief, followed by action. He also talked about visualizing the outcome that you want. You have to see it in your head first or you’ll never achieve it.
Frankly, I’ve been feeling pretty low lately. This is nothing new. I’ve been feeling low for a number of years now. I’ve felt like it’s too late for me – I’ve blown it – I’m too old – there’s not enough time left to achieve my dreams. Well maybe that’s wrong thinking. Maybe, with the right attitude, I can still achieve my goals – at least many of them.
All these thoughts about achieving my goals then lead inevitably to thoughts of my faith. I’ve been wondering recently if God has also given up on me. My Patriarchal Blessing, which I received almost exactly 30 years ago, contains some wonderful promises. It says I “did not come to earth by chance, but in fulfillment of the wishes of the Almighty to accomplish a great work.”. My “mission will become clear {as I] grow and develop in years and in knowledge”. I am to be blessed with a home into which many of the Lord’s true servants will come. This promise seems particularly foreign in light of the fact that I’m living in my mother’s home – and no one ever visits me.
Is my life over, or is it possible the promises in my Patriarchal Blessing can yet be fulfilled? I have to believe there is still hope.
Not feeling right about allowing Tony Robbins to be my sole source of inspiration, I decided next to search the gospel library on my church’s website – lds.org. I found the following talks: “Do Not Despair” By President Ezra Taft Benson and “Life’s Lessons Learned” by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. Both gave excellent examples of goal setting. Pres. Benson’s article lists 12 specific things we should do to avoid despair, which are certainly applicable to me.
Then I decide I needed to make a list of my goals. I must confess that I had completely given up hope of ever achieving some of these, but with faith and God’s help, all things are possible, aren’t they? So here they are.
- Know that Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for my life
- Be happily married
- Support myself
- Support my family
- Work because I want to work
- Be grateful
- Be generous
- Be respected and admired
- Inspire and motivate others
- Live in a comfortable home
- Travel and appreciate the wonders of the world
I could get a lot more specific, although I don’t really think that’s necessary or a good idea at this time. And I may modify the list as time goes on.
