Answer these questions honestly.

Are you earning what you are worth? Can you meet all of your bills on time? Can you afford those little luxuries that make life worthwhile? Is your pension secure? Are you working yourself to death trying to make a living? Can you honestly say that you are happy with your lifestyle? Will you still be doing the same things in ten years time? Have I made you feel depressed? What are you going to do about

There are more enjoyable ways of making a living. This is the point where I am supposed to tell you that if you will only listen to me, all you have to do is to stay in bed till noon. Sit down at your computer with a steaming cup of coffee, (Still in your pyjamas) You then click a few keys to see how much money you have made during the night then spend the rest of the day on the golf course. IF ONLY! If only It were that simple.

When you think of work, What comes to mind? Sitting in your posh office directing the activities of a global empire, or, sitting at a desk all day shuffling stacks of paper, waiting for four O'clock then get stuck in the rush hour traffic in an effort to put it all behind you until tomorrow when it starts all over again.

On the other hand you may be thinking of being the owner of a factory, making consumer goods for export all around the world. Or, standing at a workbench for eight hours a day assembling the same section of some nameless item to be passed on to another worker to connect to the part that he assembled. The same tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day for ever and ever, amen.

Is that living? Are you happy, contented? There is a lot of money to be made on the internet utilising the World Wide Web. It's true, but nothing is for nothing. In other words, If you do nothing, nothing will happen. To attain a high standard of living on the 'net' requires work. A different kind of work ethic will be required. One that requires self motivation. You will not have a boss standing over you with the threat of sanctions if you don't work hard enough. When you work for yourself, You are the boss you must motivate yourself.

You will need the will to succeed. Look to the future. Make a list of the things that you intend to achieve, each item with a date against it. Arrange for the list to popup in your screen every morning when you switch your computer on. Hold a picture in your mind of what success will mean to you. What you don't know, can hurt you. You must have an eagerness to learn. The more you learn, the more skills you will have, the more money you will be able to make. The more free time you will have with your family and friends.

WHERE DO YOU START? Walk, don't run. Don't give up your day job yet. You will need to learn before you can earn. Take things in easy stages. THINK. The accepted way of starting a business is to purchase items that you know you can sell at a higher price and keep the profit. SOUNDS EASY, until you try it. That's what the high street shopkeeper does. The problem is that if he doesn't sell enough of the items that he purchased, he can't pay his rent and staff. It's a constant worry.

On the other hand. On the internet it is quite legal to sell something that you don't own and get paid for selling it. It's called 'Affiliate marketing.' You don't purchase any stock, so you never have old stock on the shelf that won't sell. You work from a computer in the corner of the room, or a laptop in the garden soaking up the sunshine. So you pay no rent or other overheads. You will not need staff, you can manage it all on your own. That's all the big worries off your mind.

The money that you make will depend upon the effort that you put into it. There are hundreds of ways of selling goods and services on the internet. There is no need to learn all of them. A couple of the most popular ones and their variants is all that will be required. I recommend ezine advertising and writing articles for publication in ezines. That way you are only targeting readers who have an interest in what you are selling. This works for me and I have no intention of making things more complicated for myself by branching out into the unknown. Someone once said that the longest journey starts with just one small step. Take that step now and don't look back. Homer.

Copyright 2006 Homer Farey