So What does it take to realize Internet Marketing Success and how do you get it - you may ask. I am going to be blunt and direct in this post and I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. Discomfort is absolutely necessary from time to time in order to facilitate change and forward progress in this fleeting and amazing life...

There are SO many people in life that avoid responsibility tooth and nail and find external reasons to justify their failures and shortcomings - and everyone falls into this trap from time to time (on some level), no exceptions. There are some people that choose this excuse system more often in life though - it's their default, knee-jerk reaction to any struggles and failures that manifest themselves into their lives.

The question. How often do you do this? 

Be honest.

I know that from time to time I do this. 

I usually manage catch myself and re-calibrate or if somebody calls me on it, I will stop and think and will come to terms with the fact that yes, I just tried to pass the buck on some circumstance that negatively affected my life and re-calibrate.

That last sentence was wrong though. It is not the circumstance that affected my life, it is me that either allowed the situation to arrive in the first place from prior decisions that I made or if it was inevitable either I handled the situation wrong or failed to learn the lesson or take the gold nugget from it.

The one thing necessary for succeeding online is that you have to learn to be. Yes, you heard right - BE. 

You have to be.

• BE clear on your goals - detailed goals not relating to money, but rather the possibilities, opportunities and options that money brings into your life. Be results/effects focused.
• BE 100% in. Your belief in what you are doing and offering is critical. Be in 100% with your heart and mind. Be 100% in with your actions and your purpose. Be 100% in with your mission to help others succeed in your team. Be 100% in with your integrity and quality of excellence. Be 100% in with your family and having that work/relationship balance with those most important to you. (My personal note: Be 100% in with God and allow Him to be present with you in your journey an in all that you do.)
• BE the leader that you expect. Be the leader and successful entrepreneur - even if you are the leader of zero - and walk the walk and be the person that you need to be in order to attract the followers that you desire and can help lead to their success. In this, be an easily duplicatable role model - have a system. *** THIS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH ''FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT''... What I am referring to is simply your mental attitude, work ethic, and the habits that you incorporate into your daily routine and life. *** So be the leader that you would want to follow (first) and then you will attract the right people.
• BE consistent and take massive, daily action. And always, always keep revisiting these three points to re-calibrate yourself and to keep your skills and activities relevant and effective.
• Then and only then, if these steps are followed in this order, will you BE compensated for your efforts and work. So... Will you do it? Will you BE?
• BE!!!!!!!!!!

Too simple? Not the magic bullet that you were expecting? Sorry. 


This post is intended for leaders, visionaries, and people of action that want to forge forward and create amazing lives for themselves... I hope something inhere resonates with you - if only the 'call to action'. So what are you waiting for? Go Do it! Forge your future for you and your loved ones!!


To your Success!

Blogging is pretty easy to implement - if you have the patience to dedicate yourself to the process on a regular and prolonged basis. You simply need to decide that creating quality, inspired content is what you are going to do. Decide to do this consistently for a minimum of the next six months - and don't stop. 

Some good news. Even some of the more elusive tactics and strategies that help your blog rank better are not difficult to implement - once you have done and repeated the process several times. 

It's kind-of like riding a bike... I know I know, cliche, but it's the best analogy that I can think of since there are many moving parts and factors that keep you from eating pavement, but once you have your balance and feel how 'riding a bike' works and the physics behind it, you will soon be pulling tricks and maybe will even be mountain-biking down some insane terrain! Maybe. 

Having a voice and being heard requires some skills, but your content is given a louder voice through the effective use of video, social media, and being an active citizen in the blog, forum and basically (the Google, Bing, and Yahoo) content world. 

Just remember that everyone is different and not everyone reaches the same height in anything in life. Just do your best and be your best and you will have reached success. YOUR SUCCESS! :D And with your authentic voice you will have provided the best, most valuable contribution to the digital world - YOU. the real, authentic, imperfect, quirky, and 100% YOU!

So why not just pay for traffic and forget about this tedious blogging thing? Valid question. Creating a balance between the two is actually the best way to go. Consider the analogy of getting healthier. Just go with it. :D Are you simply going to eat healthier or will you also add a workout routine that includes muscle building and cardiovascular exercises in addition to the good fuel that you are giving your body? 

Will doing only one or the other improve your health? Sure. Absolutely. Will doing both - on a regular and consistent basis - super-charge your efforts and get you to your desired health sooner? Absolutely.

The Three Main Tools or Areas of Focus for the Beginning Blogger:

1. Your Site
   • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Is the process, configuration, or method of improving the visibility of your site to the search-engines through a natural/unpaid/organic search result channel. The more "optimized" your content is, the more it will have an improved dialog with the search engines and thus get better rankings in searches based on the "key words" that you have optimized your content for. Later on this.
   • Platform: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Concrete5, among other content management and blogging platforms - including some that are already hosted and free to use (typically with some limitations). These are considered "content management" because you actually don't need to know HTML or any coding skills - all you need to know (or learn) is how to navigate and configure the software platform of your choice. These are highly customizable and reasonably user friendly, however do take a little time and patience to learn their relative configurations and flow... Which is easiest? I would say that WordPress is.
2. Your Content
   • Should be written with inspiration and have real value. Ask yourself, "why would I read this," or "What value does this have for me, the reader?
   • Find your niche, blog regularly, and just flow. Write as often and as much as possible - as well as having some focus on your niche in your writing. A ball-park minimum should be in the neighborhood of about 500 words per blog. Don't forget to add images and video to your blogs as well - both for aesthetic and SEO reasons.
   • Do these things regularly and you will see results! Both in the quality of your blogging as well as in the attention that you attract!
3. Your Connections
   • Who are you linking to and who's linking to you? This is really important to your rankings.
   • What social media sites are you connecting to? Does your blog and do your links flow naturally throughout your site?All of this is important to consider when creating an online, content driven presence.

In summary, all of this here is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. Having laser-focused intention with your decision to start blogging, having patience - realizing that it will take time to see results - and finally the consistent and regular effort in creating valuable content and in polishing your blog are all necessary in order to reach your blogging and online business goals. 

In closing, just remember what the search engines - especially Google - in the business of... Yes, you guessed it. They are in the business of finding relevant content to our searches. If you have relevant blog posts and the right authority associated to your site, you will be ranked favorably...

So what are these secrets?

Well don't get mad because they are really simple, yet not many people have the discipline to implement them on a consistent basis.

1. First, you have to treat your business like a business. This is the most important of all. If you don't make the switch in your mind, you will not get the results that you want and deserve. I like how one person put it, "treat your business like a million dollar business and it will pay you like one!" Yes Sir!
   
2. Work with laser-focused intention. You need to have a target and a reason to hit that target! Choose your target and a reason to hit that bull's eye and you will dramatically improve your results!
3. Create a realistic strategy and STICK TO IT! Don't stop!
4. Keep things simple. Don't over complicate your business!
5. TAKE ACTION!!! NOW!!! NOT TOMORROW... Take laser focused action in the must-do activities as well as your actual income generating activities NOW!!! AND EVERY DAY FROM HERE FORWARD! In 90-days, 180 days, a year from now you will be glad you did!

This is my shorty for now! 

To your success!
Gabriel

Heading to bed but just wanted to provide some content - even if it isn't mine...\

Great info: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4846c9f0-b8b0-11e2-869f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2UcCZA4GT

Enjoy and good night!

Can it be all about the money?

...I guess it can. To a point...

For true and lasting personal and business success it cannot, however.

Why can it not just be all about the money? Well while we can get excited and motivated about making an extra $1k, $5k, or $50k per month, or more! The material gain starts to lose its luster and attraction after a short time.

Like anything in life, if you do something daily, it gets old. Even money! Even in marriage there is a need to revitalize the relationship, change the routine, and give each-other space. There is a difference here though. In marriage there is a foundation and deeper meaning than just being together or enjoying life and common interests together.

It is this foundation that I am referring to when you go out and decide to do a business. It is this foundation that is the bedrock for the business and if it is not solid you will not succeed... or at least have a limited or short-lived success...

You must love your business. 

You must create a vision and mission for your business that excites you, gets your blood moving...

For true, lasting success there is no way around it.

For the first time, when I decided to be an internet marketer, I woke up and didn't roll over for another 15-minutes of sleep. I woke up and thought, "what new strategy am I going to try in my business today?" 

For those of us who like games, puzzles, or to tinker with things, or see how they work, internet marketing is an especially rewarding vehicle on so many levels. We learn to grow in ways that maybe we only appreciated before, but never actually made an effort to improve on. Such as:

• Of course all of the business and marketing technical skills that accompany this journey, however the following are especially powerful to not only business, but life.
• Human psychology in general.
• Sales and business psychology.
• The power of mindset and positive thinking.  (not The Secret) :)
• Building and nourishing lasting and rewarding relationships.
• Going beyond happiness and finding the JOY in life.
• Building people and dreams
• And the list goes on and on...

Without a focused intention and an unwavering vision you are wasting your time. No matter what you do - even if you are making some progress - without this basic ingredient you are producing 10-times less than you could be otherwise.

Think of your WHY and create a vision for your life. This is not really goal-setting, but rather the all-encompassing vision/goal that will inspire your goals and daily routine to be created. Start here. Sit down and dream. 

Dream big. If your dream is to be a youth football coach in order to live your passion and help inspire young minds - all the while driving onto the campus parking lot in your dream car... that's a worthy dream!!!

Dream. 

Create that focused intention and BELIEVE in yourself! Use inspirational, educational, and empowering books, audios, and videos in order to keep you on track to reaching this dream.

Don't wake up to the depressing and negative news every day. You can watch that later. 

Start off positive. Start off empowering yourself. Start off with your dream at the forefront!

Make this a habit and before you realize it you will start to emulate and integrate the information that you are feeding your mind with! This is inevitable if you do it constantly!

Start today and don't stop!


“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

As a wise friend once said to me - in so many words - you are not hungry enough yet; you don't feel the financial pressure enough to work your business (in this case it was a network marketing business) as an actual business... I saw her point, basically agreed, but still no change or shift happened. 

I had build my "why" list (of the most important things in my life) to try to motivate myself, read motivational books, listened to motivational and productivity focused audios, I had even used positive imagery - imagining myself in the life that I could have doing all of the things that I love, but still no dice... I was stuck.

It was until I actually felt the financial pressure to take action, to sink or swim, that motivated me to take my business(es) seriously. I really had to hit rock-bottom for me to WAKE UP!

So that it doesn't come to this for you, I highly suggest some simple tips to help you in your motivation and business development.

First, after making your list of "why's", make a second, all-star, top-10 list and print it out and pin it up in a place where you will see it daily and even have a second copy by your computer so that when you're goofing off online you could refocus and do the money-making activities that will keep building your business.

Second, get a Franklin-Covey 7-Habits planner. It is awesome and will even help you in developing your why list and direct you in creating a life's mission statement. Indispensable!

Third, as cliche as it sounds, just do it! Find some way to organize and prioritize your activities (one great one mentioned above and another two offered in my free tools that I give away on my product review page) and just do one money generating activity per day. Start small, but start and your habit will grow incrementally!

That's it for now! 

Writing you from the ''Corner Dali Cafe" in Brazil!

To your success,
Gabriel

The Personal bits:
While on my jog yesterday I found myself in the zone. I left my cell phone behind and decided to have a personal moment with no interruptions - no pictures to be taken of the beautiful scenery, no music, no audio books, or fitness trackers to track my progress... I only listened to one faith audio and just jogged. It was just God and I. It was great.

There was this positive energy radiating from my solar-plexus (gut) area as I listened to my breath, the gravel below my feet and the wonderful words streaming into my brain through my snug little ear-buds. I also reflected on my current situation and life goals. I recognized the imbalance that I currently have in my life - I think that was what drove me to go basic and connect with my faith and feed my spirit and attempt to get centered.

The Take-Away:
This jog prompted me to remember to always feed the four different aspects of my life. To always try to mainntain balance in these four parts:

• Mind - through good books, audios, and videos
• Body - through a good diet and exercise
• Spirit - also through books, audios, and videos, but also actively living my faith
• Relationships - by making time and cultivating those relationships most important to me

This is common sense for most, but in practice - at least for me - can be challenging to keep up consistently.