In this website I have discussed many things related to making money online. Virtually everything is related to using Affiliate Marketing as your vehicle. A question needs to be asked. What is the pathway to success? It starts with your thoughts.
You select a niche you are passionate about. Create a website around that niche.
Write great content to show your visitors how the products in your niche are exactly what they are looking for and how their needs can be met at a great price.
In other words, you help them make a buying decision, and earn a commission.
You may be wondering again, what is the pathway to YOUR success? At the end of this article I feel confident you will know the answer to this question.
I am passionate not only about Affiliate Marketing, but also how to do it correctly. Helping others succeed is something I enjoy doing every day.
If you have selected Affiliate Marketing as a vehicle to achieve your dreams that is awesome!
Why do people still fail?
Knowing the answer to this question will help to avoid doing the things they do. The answer is profound. It took me a while to figure this out. The right pathway can unlock the key to success! So what is that pathway?
In this article I am going to reveal the answer. It is NOT intuitive. And that is why so many people fail. Stick around and maybe this will help you.
Do you know the difference between those who are successful and those who are not?
It all begins with what they think about. Our minds are like a computer with a huge information storage unit, application programs and a processor. As the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out.
We select what information we load into our memories. And we decide how we process this information. This is a process that happens continuously, whether we are aware of it or not. The processor is the knowledge we possess.
Most of us like to take the path of least resistance. We like staying in our comfort zone. That is where we feel safe. Even if we don’t like what is happening in our lives. Very few of us do the right things often enough to have the results we desire.
Why is that?
It takes developing the right HABITS to do the right things to achieve our goals. The question we must ask ourselves IS NOT
What do I need to do to achieve the goals I want?
We must ask instead:
What are the habits I need to achieve the goals I want?
Habits are actions we take every day instinctively. If we do not do anything to develop the right habits, you can be 100% certain that bad, or inadequate habits will take over by default.
Before we know it, years will have passed and we end up not achieving our goals.
Have you ever got the feeling of being helpless? You feel trapped. That you are the victim of circumstance.
When things do not work out as we want, it is easy to blame others, our circumstances, or come up a whole myriad of excuses why we are in that situation.
Very few of us take full responsibility for our lot in life. We do not like to believe that we were the ones who are where we are because of the decisions we either made, or didn’t make. Not deciding to do something we know is right is also a decision.
How do we break that cycle? No matter at what stage we happen to be in and what age we are, there are actions we can take to change our habits to become successful affiliate marketers.
The next question is how do we learn to change our habits? It may help to know that;
- It is not intuitive, It is not something that we can figure put without help
- It is difficult to change our habits
The easy answer is it takes repetition of good habits in a very methodical, conscious manner, to make that change.
Let’s explore how we can do this shall we?
Focus On Our Thoughts
Nothing of value can be achieved unless it starts with a thought. We got to take a moment out of our time, sit in a quiet place and think deeply about our lives.
Where are we now? How did we get there? Are we happy with our current state? If you truly are, then there is little need to go further. Congratulations in achieving your goals.
What if you are not happy? Will it take having a specific amount of money to fund your goals? This leads to the next step.
Desire
Until you know very clearly what you want in life you cannot achieve it, You got to conceive what you want before you can achieve it. Sounds simple, right?
Sadly there are so many people who go through life and have no concrete goals. For the short term, perhaps. But not for the long term.
What you want has to be something you are so passionate about achieving, you will be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.
Once you accept that idea, then the next step is to find out what is it you need to do to satisfy your desire. It has to be so strong that you truly believe that you will achieve it.
This leads to the next step.
Faith
Yes FAITH! This is a word that is often misunderstood. When the word faith is brought up, we tend to think of religion. I am not referring to that kind of faith. We need to have faith in ourselves. That we WILL learn what we must do to achieve our goals.
At this moment in time, we do not have what we desire. Hence, it is so easy to convince ourselves that we do not have what it takes to succeed. Under these conditions FAITH doesn’t come easily. I totally understand that.
What we do not have is the habits to help us succeed. We must have FAITH that we will get the right habits that will lead us to the promised land. Motivation and ambition are two functions that are super important in this process.
Remember I mentioned earlier on that our brain is like a computer? We need to load the right programs to make the changes we desire. We reprogram our minds using the power of autosuggestion.
Autosuggestion
Individuals with less knowledge have low performing computers. And those with more knowledge have high performing computers.
But having a high performing computer alone is not enough. We need to load it with the right software. The right programs.
It is the kinds of programs we have in our minds that create our habits.
Achieving any worthwhile goal needs a plan. That plan comprises,
- The desire we want. What is it we seek in life? If it is money, be specific.
- The time span that we are willing to give ourselves to achieve what we desire.
- What is the price mainly in terms of effort we are willing to pay to achieve what we desire in the time allocated?
These things need to be written down in three clear and simple statements.
We program our minds by repeating these loudly to ourselves twice daily, with conviction and passion. We must visualize in our minds that we already possess what we desire.
It must be real.
One way to help is to use pictures that represent our goals. Paste that where it is visible every day.
When we do this, out of the blue solutions will flash into our minds. This is proof that the process is working. We must act on these solutions right away, even if we feel we are not prepared.
Along the way we will need to pick up specialized knowledge.
Specialized Knowledge
I mentioned that I am passionate about doing affiliate marketing correctly. No matter if you are a novice just starting out, or an expert making a six figure income, there is always room for improvement.
As well as paying it forward by helping others who need it.
The company that is training me and about two million others is called Wealthy Affiliate. The knowledge they impart is geared towards creating a hugely successful affiliate marketing business.
Not only do they train you, they also provide you with the tools and website hosting services so that you have everything you need in one place.
This saves you time and money. At the end I will be offering you 40% off the regular price on the best training in affiliate marketing bar none.
Let me show you what you get in the following summary:
An Industry Leading Website Platform.
State of the Art Hosting.
Top notch Keyword Research Tools.
Unlimited Training.
Live Classes.
Expert Help.
Community/Networking.
Affiliate Money Making Program.
When you are working within a platform that offers so many features and benefits, this gives you the freedom to let your imagination SOAR.
Imagination
In truth, imagination is like the workshop of the mind. It is through the use of your imagination you will learn how to convert ideas into cash.
Just think about that. When you combine imagination with specialized knowledge, the sky is the limit. This is how companies like Apple and Google have soared.
There is no reason why you cannot soar as well when you are in the environment right for you. When was the last time you felt you were in the right environment where you could use your imagination to help you grow as a person as well as in your financial status?
Once you embark on a journey to a better future, guess what. You will need organized planning.
Organized Planning
You may have heard of the saying, if you FAIL to PLAN, you PLAN to FAIL. There are many reasons why organized planning is crucial.
Success doesn’t happen automatically. It is a journey. And that journey may take some twists and turns.
The goal never changes. But the pathway towards your goals may need tweaking now and then.
If your planning is haphazard, you will end up lost and might never get to your destination. Hence, it takes thought, and willpower to plan correctly.
One of the disciplines to plan well is developing your leadership skills. You may think you have nobody to lead. But you do. Yourself!
Leading oneself can be quite a challenge. This website will help you become a better leader. However, most of the effort will have to come from you.
It takes discipline to plan. Those who become leaders have excellent discipline. Having good discipline is doing the work, even when you do not want to. The best leaders lead by example.
Who knows, one day you may become a mentor to other individuals. The leadership skills you develop as you work towards your goals will come in very useful.
To sum it up as someone else once stated, organized planning is the crystallization of desire into action!
Decision
Taking action requires one to be good at being decisive. You cannot afford to procrastinate. One of the reasons people fail is by putting off taking action when needed. Delaying tactics can derail any journey, no matter how well planned.
How good are you at making decisions? Do you have the skills to evaluate the pros and cons of a situation and decide what is the best way to proceed in a timely manner?
You set a timeline to achieve your goals. If you are not decisive, that timeline will slip. And you may never get to where you desire.
Are you going to let that happen?
NO!
If you need to sleep on it to make a wise decision, that is OK. But only sleep on it for ONE night.
Persistence
When we go on a journey, we often come across roadblocks. This is normal. Especially when your objective is essential to your happiness.
When that happens, you need persistence to move ahead. Persistence goes hand in hand with being decisive.
Again, the quality of leadership will play an important role in not giving up. Discipline will have to be used to keep you going even when the going gets tough.
Taking action and moving in the direction you have set for yourself will help you stay focused and not stray from your path.
Sometimes when we are working towards our goals, things do not always go as planned. When that occurs we tend to loose faith. Another way to look at persistence is the sustained effort necessary to induce faith.
The Subconscious Mind
Throughout this whole process it is crucial to continue to utilize the power of autosuggestion. Never forget to read the following you wrote down:
- The desire we want. What is it we seek in life? If it is money, be specific.
- The time span that we are willing to give ourselves to achieve what we desire.
- What is the price mainly in terms of effort we are willing to pay to achieve what we desire in the time allocated?
Affirmations have proven to work. By working on the subconscious mind we connect the links of various parts of our brains to work in harmony with each other rather than in conflict.
These different parts of the brain control and influence our whole behavior that is related to making good decisions.
Teamwork and The Mastermind
It is hard to accomplish anything of value in isolation. There are people around us who can compliment us by providing knowledge and information we may not have.
One of the biggest problems is where do we find people who have the information and knowledge we lack? Or have yet to learn. Where do we go?
We go to the Wealthy Affiliate community that I introduced in the Specialized Knowledge section.
One of the important benefits of being a member is having access to other members who are ready to help us with any problem we have.
When you are new and don’t know who to go to, there are discussion areas below each lesson where you can write down any question you may have.
Within minutes sometimes, another member who has the answer will respond.
Over time, you will get to know people who can help you very well. And as you acquire knowledge and skills, you will be in a position to help others who are new. Together we create a mastermind and benefit from its power.
I am going to unashamedly state another cliche, teamwork makes the dream work!
Where else can you find a community who are willing and able to be so helpful to strangers? In time, we do not feel strangers to each other, but good team players and even friends.
The Brain
The brain is the glue that keeps us together. Consider your brain as the broadcasting and receiving station for thought. Again, much like a computer.
By consciously thinking, planning and taking action, we keep our brains working in the right direction. The Brain has the power to send solutions our way when we least expect it.
The most effective way to use our brains is to exercise it. By going through the affiliate marketing training in Wealthy Affiliate, you keep your brain exercised. And it will deliver for you in droves.
The 6th Sense
Once you mobilize the powers of the functions above, you unleash the power of the 6th Sense. This opens up the doors to the temple of wisdom.
It helps you to not only make decisions, but wise decisions. The 6th Sense once in action, can lead you to your desire faster than you can imagine.
Have there been moments in your life when you had the feeling that everything was going right? That is the 6th Sense in action.
Rather than happening in an haphazard manner, you now have the knowledge to unleash your 6th Sense using your will.
Overcoming Fear
As you progress through your journey, there will be times when fear raises its ugly head. Franklin D Roosevelt once said, “There Is Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself.”
Another saying is, “False Evidence Appearing Real.”
All well and good. But when it happens to us, fear is nothing to laugh about. We have to learn to overcome fear. Manage it. Not let it consume us and derail our activities.
One of the best ways to counter fear is to have others to discuss our fears with. Team members are good for doing that.
The chances are they will show you reasons why your fears are indeed based on false evidence.
Achieving success is also one of the best antidotes to fear. Fear tends to be more prevalent when we are failing.
The objective of this article is to instill in one, habits that will lead to success sooner rather than later. It is by taking positive action towards our goals, our fears will be vanquished.
There are many fears. The one most applicable to us, is the fear of poverty. The actions we go through in Wealthy Affiliate is to develop knowledge and skills to give us the confidence to succeed.
Once we transform our habits from being destructive to being constructive, our perspective on life will change to a feeling of well-being and success.
Every small success we accumulate will build our confidence to a level that will immunize us from the scourge of failure.
Think and Grow Rich
While you were reading this article you may have realized that the lessons I have summarized here were inspired from the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
He wrote this book about 100 years ago where he learned from the most successful entrepreneurs of the day. They were giants in industry and they had one thing in common. The unshakable will to succeed. Not only did they succeed, they left a legacy for generations to come.
Some of the names were Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt, Charles Schwab, Wilbur Wright, John D. Rockefeller and many others.
Napoleon Hill interviewed these titans over a period of 25 years and bottled their wisdom in this book. If you haven’t read it yet, get a copy and do so. You can get this book to download online for free as well as in paperback from Amazon for a few dollars.
If you have read Think and Grow Rich, you may have noticed that some of the phrases I have peppered this article with, came directly from this book. I am currently doing a 16 week book study, where one chapter is analysed each week and members have the opportunity to share their thoughts on the lessons.
I add a link to each chapter each Monday. When this project will end, there will be a convenient record of this work in just one post. The title and link is below:
Think and Grow Rich – Could Be Worth A Million Dollars To You!
My Final Act
I owe it to you to provide you the link where you can develop the specialized knowledge to succeed in Affiliate Marketing.
When I found out that a place actually exists where you have access to everything necessary to build an online affiliate marketing business I didn’t believe it. Only after joining Wealthy Affiliate, and using the platform my eyes were opened.
Can you imagine getting everything you need for a huge fraction of what other companies charge?
Let me introduce you to Wealthy Affiliate. They have been in business for over 15 years and have 2.2 million members. Here are just a few of these members who share what their experience has been:
Tim
“Hi, I’m Tim, a 30 something guy from Australia who went from working in construction to earning 6 figures per year with affiliate marketing. I’m not a guru though. I am just someone who believes you can achieve anything you set your mind to, as long as you believe in yourself and commit 100%. And this isn’t just motivational speak,”
Catherine
“
I have been with Wealthy Affiliate’s for 13 years now. It has allowed me to earn a full-time Living I have spent seven of those years traveling. I have houses and properties on three continents, southern Spain, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.
Today I teach live workshops in London about WordPress security and Internet Marketing. I have branched out into product creation and writing health-related PLR.”
Eddy
“I’ve been in the make money industry since the early 90s. But I was never able to make a full time living with it until about 2008. Around that time is when I did the math. I was finally making more money part-time running my affiliate marketing business than I was full time in Corporate America. So I made the choice to leave.”
Nathaniel
“I started internet marketing while living in China. The idea was that I could make American money while in China, and live like a King. I could make money in different time zones and, and essentially have cash flow 24/7. I didn’t realize then how well it would work.
There’s still a lot I don’t know about internet marketing, but I can say that I’ve achieved all the goals I set, and have surpassed them way beyond what I thought possible.
I of course have new goals now. I am now living in the US and doing internet marketing full time.”
These are all real people who are members of Wealthy Affiliate. Tim by the way was the member who found me looking for investment opportunities online and introduced me to Wealthy Affiliate.
When you join, you will be able to communicate directly with these members privately to get firsthand information yourself.
The comments made by these members indicate that Wealthy Affiliate provides real education in Affiliate Marketing.that has helped them achieve major success.
They all have a few things in common. All of them treated this like a real business which it is, worked hard, did the right things right, and stuck with the program until they achieved their goals.
Are you willing to do that if you feel confident that success will be yours?
A Glimpse Into The Workings Of Wealthy Affiliate
I wrote an article with loads of screenshots from within the platform that opens the curtain wide open for you to take a peek inside. Click the link below to check it out.
The Best Training In Affiliate Marketing That Turns Beginners Into Pros
There is no other company that provides you with everything Wealthy Affiliate does in one place. You would have to join several companies to get what you get here. And pay hundreds, or even thousands of dollars more.
With all the millions invested in the platform and the new features and benefits going to be launched. Let me show you an extract of the hosting features and benefits below:
State of the Art Hosting
“Speed, security, and reliability are all key focuses with our hosting and the reason why you can be confident that your websites are on the most secure and fastest Managed WordPress Hosting platform in the industry. Comparable hosting to what you get here within the Premium membership runs you at over $250 per month (or $2,000+ per year).
And OUR hosting is faster, on more powerful servers, and has had over 10 years of incremental improvements on the server side development to advance the technologies running your websites. Plain and simple, we are doing things that NO host in the industry is doing.”
Co-Founders Kyle and Carson
Kyle
Carson
The co founders of Wealthy Affiliate started this platform in 2005. At that time they charged an annual membership fee of only $359.00. That was an amazing value for money.
In the last 15 years this platform has evolved to give 100x the value it did in 2005. And the membership fee has not changed.
After May 11th 2020, the new annual membership fee will be going up to $495 a year. Even at that price, the value you get here is unprecedented.
You have the opportunity of becoming a member for only $299 a year that will not change as long as you are a paid member. And there are NO up-sells like so many other companies do.
You get literally EVERYTHING you need to build an online business. With 10 websites hosted for free, having the power of what is described above.
All you need to do is to click on the banner below and sign up. When you become a member, I will be your mentor and guide. I happen to be in the TOP 25 of all 2.2 million members in Wealthy Affiliate. You will be in good hands.
If you have any questions you can ask me in the comments section below. But don’t procrastinate.
This offer expires at midnight May 11th 2020. After that you will have to pay $495. Still, an amazing value. But why not get in at $299? Once in, this price will not change, even when it goes up for new members.
In the long term you will save even more money. So click the banner below:
(When you join Wealthy Affiliate through this link I will earn a small commission. Just like if I helped others make a buying decision for any other product with any other company that has an affiliate program. Wealthy Affiliate has an affiliate program too. This is one example of Affiliate Marketing in action. You will be able to do the same using your own unique affiliate links and banners. Makes sense, right?)
Am glad I got to read your post. You have inspired me . I love all your points and I think I fall shot on these, Focus On Our Thoughts, cause I just rush into things without thinking of a way out. I also love the part were you talked about our faith. and I love the quotes you use. Motivation and ambition are two functions that are super important in this process.
Thanks for your comments. Glad you were inspired by this post. I find it refreshing that others can see that these qualities from Think and Grow Rich are worth developing into our business pursuits. Keep using thought to make good decisions that will instill good habits for success.
I wish you all the best in life.
Edwin
Hello, thank you so much for sharing this. A lot of people need this knowledge, because many are living without a compass in their lives. If I had seen this post seven years ago, I would have been doing much better. The good news is I’m doing well now and I’m not where I used to be.
I only became a member of wealthy affiliate a few months back and I’ve really done so well for myself via the training and application of my learning.
Thank you so much for sharing this once again, I hope it helps others to do well.
I truly appreciate your thoughts about this post. I found it hard to believe myself that in one little book, this post is based on, logical answers are provided not only what we can do to succeed, but also the reasons why we fail.
In my mind it comes down to developing and following good habits that are vitally necessary to succeed in achieving our life’s goals. Having the technical knowledge is not enough. We have to be proactive and do what we know what we need to do every day.
Thanks for your well thought out comments.
Edwin
Hi Edwin,
Our belief can make us or it can break us!
Also, one of the reasons why people fail online is they are looking for quick and easy money. They often forget that success comes before work only in the dictionary. As you mentioned, it’s all in our thoughts. Coming out of our comfort zone is a must because our success lies out of our comfort zone only.
Winning/Succeeding is a habit! You have provided a lot of valuable information. I believe just one read is not going to be enough to grab all the valuable information you are sharing in this informative article. So I am bookmarking it.
I am reading Think and Grow Rich, it’s an awesome book (yet to complete it, just started). Already I got loads of valuable information. And I keep reading the first 2 chapters again and again lol. Thanks for taking the time to write this amazing article.
Hello Paul,
I knew that this post would resonate with you. This is the first time I am reading Think and Grow Rich on which this post is based on. Going through the lessons with members at Wealthy Affiliate like you in my book study, make this such a memorable experience. It helps me to solidify the information, especially after reading how it touches those who are following this book study.
Thanks for your comments that are right on point.
I hope that you will be able to use these lessons to improve the progress in your affiliate marketing business.
All the best to you.
Edwin
Thanks for this encouraging blog. These ideas are the essence of being successful in building a website. Wherever there is action based on mindset, I think you got it all on point.
I think it is helpful for many people. Not only for those that are well ahead in learning about creating an online business, but also for starter members.
it is a good step up for all. I’ve bookmarked your page and will get back when necessary.
Cheers.
Hi Josh,
Glad you feel that this can help a wide spectrum of those studying the methods for setting up an online business. This also can be helpful for non-business activities too. If you have a goal you want to meet, these lessons can be used just as effectively.
Thanks for your comments.
Edwin
Many people fail because their thoughts were developed from the wrong knowledge obtained from wrong sources of information.
And I agree with you that garbage in, garbage out meaning if the source of knowledge is wrong it will only yield negative products. Bad information, bad output.
Thank you for this amazing awareness on why many people fail in their pathway to success.
I love how you found one of the key lessons from this book. Shows that you are a keen student of self improvement.
Thanks for your comment.
Edwin
What an interesting outlook you have on how to make a success out of an online business. It really does make so much sense. When you say about taking responsibility for what happens to us, we are only going to become successful if we take action.
Becoming a leader means taking charge of your business and making a commitment and by joining wealthy affiliate its making that commitment which will lead to success.
It is definitely all about mindset, I believe if you have the right mindset you can achieve what ever you want, do you agree?
all the best
Amy
Hi Amy,
Firstly, thanks for your great conclusion. This book in essence is about what things we need to do to instill the right mindset for success.
Napoleon Hill was able to find this common denominator from those who were extremely successful in business about 100 years ago. Principles never change, even if the nature of the businesses do. I used this post to compress the book into one article. I strongly suggest reading this book.
Thanks for your spot on comments. Please look out for this book study. I release a new post each Monday on the following chapter from Think and Grow Rich. Here is the link to my original post where I place the links to each of the chapters as I post them.
Think and Grow Rich – It Could Be Worth A Million Dollars To You!
I wish you much success in your business.
Edwin
Wow Edwin, This is such an interseting and thought provoking post. I agree that our thoughts often control how we look at life, and that would include whether we THINK we can be successful. If we set of being doubtful about our success, it is doubtful that you will be successful.
It ties in very much with the power of positive thinking. Yes, I know it is often easier said than done, but if you think you are a victim of your circumstance, rather than get outside of it, you will be trapped. I absolute love this and have earmarked it to come back for more inspiration.
Thank you,
Liné
I am so gratified you liked this post. Thinking things through before jumping into action can help insure us from chaos.
Currently I am running a book review series on Wealthy Affiliate on Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. You may wish to check it out.
Each Monday I release a new post based on one of the chapters. In this post on my website, I compressed the whole book into one article and that cannot do it the justice it deserves.
Here is the link to the first post where I add the links each week to keep it all together.
Think and Grow Rich – Could Be Worth A Million Dollars To You!
In wish you much success in your online business, no matter what it is.
Edwin
Hey nice article you have there, if a man’s zeal for success is stronger than his zeal for failure, he will definitely succeed. Success does not reckon the number of times you have failed, but the ability for you to still look up to that goals and seeing yourself achieving it. The major obstacle of success is fear, yes I said fear, so many are afraid to take up that business idea, that risk ,taking the blame, afraid to fail and even afraid of their own goals. Once you can overcome fear, sucees is definitely sure.
I feel you got the idea on how to use these ideas, including overcoming the fear of failure to set goals and succeed. Thanks for sharing your view on my post.
Cheers.
Edwin