© 2000 by Douglas B. Keller

So often in today's busy online world, I have noticed a ever increasing influx of cyber surfers that are quickly becoming discouraged in trying to build an online business. As I have stated in previous articles, and something which is a well- known fact, picking the right opportunity is essential to becoming a successful Internet marketer. By this, I mean the right company, the right products, and also -- very importantly -- the right pay plan.

Once you have confidently tackled these tasks and selected an opportunity that you think is the most appropriate for you, then the real work begins. Assuming that they have complete confidence in the opportunity that they have chosen, don't you wonder why so many entrepreneurs become discouraged and frustrated in their attempts to create their own businesses online? There are many reasons that contribute to the whole picture, but all too often the number one reason is in not maintaining the proper focus on the end result. Do not shrug this off... it is very, VERY important.

A MUST for all entrepreneurs is a clear and determined focus on the goals and achievements they have envisioned for themselves for the short term, as well as for the long term. That being said and accepted, you might ask, "How do I keep the proper focus?"

One of the primary factors in succeeding in business or in most any situation in life, is to maintain the proper ATTITUDE. With an improper attitude, a network marketer finds himself in a pit of discouragement and resentment. Our attitudes are one of the few things that belong solely to us. Only when we learn to properly control our attitudes, can we learn to manage the tasks we need to manage in order to have a successful, fulfilling, and rewarding business. No one can successfully perform the tasks needed to succeed when he is depressed or unhappy, especially in a business in which success results more often from attitude than ability or education.

Many network marketers fail simply because of a poor attitude. Would you expect someone to join in a business with you if it was obvious to them that you were not enthusiastic and satisfied with your business? Of course not. ATTITUDE IS THE KEY!

A MUST for creating a positive attitude is to work from the inside out. Our minds must be continuously programmed to have a positive attitude before we are able to control our attitudes on a daily basis. How is that done? Like anything in life that we seek to master, it takes practice and a mental commitment to achieve the goals that you personally place upon yourself.

For example... this is April 2000, and you want to save $2500 by Christmas. Okay. What do you do now? You sit down and figure EXACTLY what you need to do to achieve that goal. If this is April 2000, you have nine months of 2000 left (counting April). You need to save $277.77 each month. You then need to break that down into smaller goals. You need to save $69.44 per week (average four weeks per month). You can even break it down into daily goals, if needed, to make it easier to realize. That would amount to $2.31 you need to save every day from now until Christmas (averaging 30 days per month for easy calculation).

ABOVE ALL, you have to BELIEVE that you can achieve this goal -- that you WILL save $277.77 each month from now until Christmas and that you WILL save $2500 by December 25. If you don't believe it, your efforts will be absolutely fruitless.

It is essential that you maintain a fierce determination that you will succeed and that you will do it NO MATTER WHAT it takes. This is where maintaining a positive attitude on a daily basis becomes so important.

Programming your mind to believe in a particular outcome is an essential part of reaching your goal. Reinforce these beliefs as often as necessary so that you can continue to focus on the path that you have laid out to achieve your goals. If you lose your attitude, you've lost your goal, it's that simple.

It's like taking a long trip in a car. Before you leave home you decide where you're going. Don't you? (If you don't, then I'll ride with someone else!) Once you decide where you are going, then you decide how you are going to get there. Once you decide how to get there, you then take the necessary roads to get there. But let's say you drive 40 miles and you notice that you are low on gas. Do you keep driving till you run out of gas? Of course you don't, you stop and get gas. Let's say after getting gas you drive 80 more miles and then you have a flat tire.

Do you stop your car on the side of the road and live in your car for the rest of your life? I doubt it. You somehow, someway get the tire fixed. After you finally get to your destination, what have you done? You have done whatever it took to achieve your goal. And I bet you didn't really have to think about it. You did it because you maintained your focus on the end result, thus achieving the goal that you made yourself in the beginning.

Working a business is exactly the same concept. You plan your business "trip" and then you see it through to the end, no matter what it takes.

By maintaining a constant focus, and very importantly, by applying proper attitudes on a daily basis, no endeavor is out of your reach. If you honestly reach for the sky -- the sky can be yours!

Doug Keller is the publisher of Business to Build Ezine, a "Guide for Helping Internet Newbies Make Money Online." Subscribe at http://www.businesstobuild.com or mailto:BusinessToBuild-subscribe@onelist.com