When I made the decision to come online and start a business at the end of 2005, my goal was to replace the income I was currently earning by working as a classroom teacher and real estate appraiser. Was I thinking too small? No, because at that time I could not envision ever making more money than I already made. When I actually started doing business in 2006 I played at the level that was comfortable for me. I struggled that first year because I believed that was a necessary part of the process.

By 2007 I saw the possibilities of taking this business to a much higher level, and that’s when I became aware that I was definitely playing too small. I decided to change the way I was doing business by surrounding myself with the right people, the right training, and the right mindset for where I was and where I wanted to go. This led to my search for the right person or group to connect with. I’m still a part of one group that consists of people doing business online, either exclusively or as a part of their offline business.

I also meet with a small group of business people on a regular basis in what is called a Mastermind. We have met informally for about two years now, and many of the ideas I have for new products and other aspects of my business have originated in these meetings. If you do not have a Mastermind group already I would encourage you to form one.

I no longer ‘play small’. I have a mission and a vision for my business that is definitely way out of my comfort zone. Each time I fear what may be ahead I find the courage to do it anyway. This is what we are referring to when we speak of mastering your ‘Inner Game‘. Pushing through my fears has been a way for me to grow as a person, apart from my business. Everything is easier and more joyous these days.

What about you? Are you playing the game of life too small? What do you need that will make it all come together for you?

A man who has been on my list for almost a year emailed me yesterday. He told me that he was still not making any money online and wanted to know what I would recommend. I receive emails like this one on a regular basis, so I answered him the same way I answer everyone.

I asked him what his niche was and where I could take a look at his blog.

Most of the time I never hear back from the people who write to me. I’m not exactly sure why that is, but that is how my business goes. In this case, the man did respond back to me rather quickly.

He told me that he is a perfectionist and couldn’t possibly choose a niche or start a blog until he had done considerably more research.

I wrote back and told him this:

You must be working on something in order to have something to perfect! Perfectionism is a huge problem for many people, and even was for me when I was just starting an Internet business, but you can break yourself of it if this is something you truly want to do.

Start somewhere. Anywhere. Choose a niche that interests you and start blogging about it. Give it about thirty days to see if you can ‘find your voice’ in this niche. Then start doing your research. That’s right. Wait until you know that you will be interested enough in this topic to work in it every day. If this is not the case, it will not make any difference whether it is a lucrative niche or not. It will not matter if there are many great affiliate products or not. It will not matter if there are tens of thousands of hungry prospects ready to buy products.

If you do not have at least a modicum of interest in this niche, it will seem like a chore to get started and become profitable. Entrepreneurship is a choice, so choose wisely. And, as for being a perfectionist, get something started so you’ll have something to perfect.

If you aren’t already familiar with this phrase, it’s from a John Lennon song called ‘Beautiful Boy’. It’s the story of how we all make plans to do things in our lives, and that our real life is made up of the ocurrences that happen to us on a daily basis. Lennon wrote this for his youngest son, Sean, when Sean was just a toddler. I feel that it applies to our lives as online entrepreneurs in that we all make plans for new products we wish to create, articles and short reports we want to write, and new clients we hope to attract.

It all comes down to being productive each and every day, and laying the foundation for the Internet lifestyle we wish to attain. For me, it was the idea that I could make my own hours, be accountable to no one but myself, and have the opportunity to earn an unlimited amount of income. By working towards these goals each day, my life has become one of joy, abundance, and gratitude. I work harder than I ever have in my life, but because I love it so much it feels like I haven’t worked a day in almost five years.

What can you do to lay a foundation and create the lifestyle you are dreaming of? Take a serious look at where your online business is right now. Google yourself and see what the world sees when they search for information about you. Remember that you have control over what you make available online, so be sure to blog and write articles that will represent you well. Do this every day for the month and you will be pleasantly surprised at what you see.

If you need help getting started, take a look at my Productivity Challenge. This is my complimentary gift to you, and has helped many people to move forward quickly. The basic premise is that you need a place for your target audience to find you – typically your blog or optin page – a free gift to encourage them to opt in to your list, and something to sell them once they are on your list.

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans, so make sure those plans all lead to financial independence from doing what you love.

My life has consisted of a series of events, some very wonderful and others downright terrible, that have brought me to where I am today. We can all probably say this, but my life experience completely changed in 2005, when I decided to make a few changes that turned my world upside down – in an excellent way.

For the first time in my life, I started taking responsibility for what was going on. I stopped making excuses, no matter what situation arose. This may sound like a simple thing, and you may already feel like you do take responsibility for
what’s happening in your life, but it’s possible you could make some serious changes that would affect your life in a major way.

These are just a few areas that I was able to change during the past 6 years:

1) my physical health
2) my personal relationships
3) my degree of happiness
4) my self-confidence
5) my income

Even though I may have inferior genes, my health issues are predominantly a direct result of the life choices I have made during my life. For the most part, we have control over our health. I used to think of things as happening ‘to me’. Now I think of myself as having an active role in whatever occurs. My income continues to grow as a result of the actions I take and the choices I make on a daily basis.

I did not do this all by myself. When I woke up one morning in April of 2005 with the idea that if I did not make some serious changes in my life I might remain right where I was forever, I looked for someone to help me.

That search led me to Raymond Aaron, whom I speak of often and discuss in greater detail in my most recent
book. (More on that in the coming days). Raymond led me to Bob Proctor, and that’s when things began to shift for me in a big way, so much so that I resigned from my job and moved to a new city, all within a year.

Take a look at the last in a series of videos Bob Proctor created, in order to get a better idea of what I mean. Bob explains this concept better in 8 minutes than I could in an hour. You deserve to have this breakthrough in your life. I believe this is of utmost importance to your life and your business.

What do you think about the video and the ideas that are shared?