What does it take to be a successful Internet marketer? This is a very powerful question. Right now there are millions of people grappling with the opportunity of the Internet. Baby boomers, now reaching retirement, many decimated by the financial collapse of 2008, are looking for a way to maintain their lifestyle without going to work as a greeter at Wal-Mart. The job market is tough out there. 50 and 60 year olds have a challenging time competing against 20 and 30 year olds. An investment of time and effort on an employer’s part will pay bigger dividends with a younger protégé who has a working life of 30 or 40 years, rather than 5 to 10 years.

It is not only boomers that are seizing the opportunity of the Internet. Whiz kids, as they are called, breeze onto the scene, figure out this or that, put something together, and on pure guts and some braggadocio, manage to create multi million dollar enterprises. Single moms, people fed up with the rat race, the commute, the parking, the office politics, the belligerent boss, everyone is getting in on the action, working at home, face in front of a blank computer screen, trying to figure this Internet thing out.

Why do some make it, and some don’t? We are back to our original inquiry. Let’s look at the key components: financial backing, experience, work ethic, talent, and mindset. I have been prospecting, interviewing, hiring and training individuals for the past 20 years. I am currently working as an Internet marketing coach working with over 100 individuals at a time. (Click here if you would like to work directly with me, only $49 to get started). What I am about to share is based on my experience, and the shared experience of those who have also spent many years evaluating potential.

Financial Backing. Many people come into Internet Marketing with no money what so every. That is to say, they begin working with me as their coach with the first words out of their mouth being, “I don’t have any money, thank you for this opportunity!” I have other clients who state in their application that they have in excess of $10,000 to invest in their business opportunity. It is misleading to say that the wealthier client is the better client simply because they have money to spend. The truth is that the wealthier client has demonstrated a disciplined life in which saving a percentage of funds has been practiced. This is an important aspect of mindset which we’ll cover later. Still, I am here to report that either one of my clients, broke as a joke and well funded, both of them have a nearly equal shot at being an internet marketing success. For once an individual has a clear picture of what is possible and available with the Internet marketing lifestyle, raising the money becomes just another task to complete on the road to success.

Experience. I have some clients that have been involved in Internet marketing for years. They have a list, they know about Facebook advertising, pay per click, solo ads, and squeeze pages. Others come to me with absolutely no experience. None. Sure they know how to check emails, search the Internet, and listen to music on Pandora, but they know nothing about split tests, the industry, nor the true potential of the Internet marketing lifestyle. Truly, I don’t have a preference. On the one hand, the experienced marketer will clearly see the strength of a given opportunity. They may have a large list, and are simply looking for a powerful product with a strong profit margin to share with their list. However, many experienced marketers know a bit too much for their own good. They over analyze, and before you know it, they have discarded an amazing opportunity because of an earlier bad experience. Contrast that to a “newbie” who only sees the potential, the opportunity, the glass half full. The newbie will ask a few questions, questions designed to promulgate progress. They see a bright and shining light in the future, and move toward it unfettered by past experiences.

Work Ethic. This is very important. I need someone who will work. I don’t care if you read the 4 Hour Work Week. I am a huge fan of Tim Ferris, but when you are getting started at anything, it requires massive action to achieve some level of momentum to get the whole project started. When a man is pushing a huge boulder up a hill, first there is a bit of a time when the boulder actually rolls backwards while we are adjusting to its weight. Then we must marshal all of our strength, and with consistent pressure, push hard and strong to get that boulder rolling uphill. As we continue to push, the incline of the hill seems to mellow. Some will then stop, or slow down, and that is the time when someone with a disciplined work ethic will truly seize the day. I can’t work with lazy. It doesn’t work.

Talent. I will take someone with a strong work ethic over someone with talent each and everyday of the week. I see so much wasted talent in the world. There are talented people who have “issues”, are lazy, feel entitled, are used to getting much for little work in school and in life. When I find talent coupled with a good work ethic, there is tantalizing potential. Still, there is something far more important than anything we have covered thus far.

Mindset. They key to Internet marketing success, and some would say for any kind of success, is your mindset. Mindset may be defined as the way you think about and experience or perceive the world around you. Merriam Webster defines mindset as: a particular way of thinking, a person’s attitude or set of opinions about something. A person may have talent, a strong work ethic, impressive past experiences, and still, if that person has a lousy mindset, he is destined to fail. Some see the glass half empty, while others see it as half full. But mindset is much more than have a positive outlook on life.

Mindset determines how one address challenges, setbacks, rejection and failure. My old teacher, Stuart Wilde, use to tell me often that people live in a prison of their own mind. The prison door is not locked. All it takes is the intention, or the will, to push the door open and walk out into the light. We have all met people who have a poor mindset. For these people, everything is a problem. Mired in frustration and self doubt, life is dark, and possibilities for the future evaporate into thin air.

This blog is dedicated to those of us who harbor a glimmer of hope, who understand the importance of the space between our ears, who are committed to establishing a powerful mindset, a mindset that frees us of the bonds of this earthly existence, and allows us to achieve those things we most desire in this life. This is what I am calling the dot com mindset. The dot com mindset, once fully developed, allows anyone to have the four freedoms: financial freedom, time freedom, geographical freedom, and most importantly, spiritual freedom.

We all want to have money. We all need to have money in order to survive. You may hate money, think it is the root of all evil, but if you are going to have much of a life here on earth, you have to come to terms with the role of money in your life. The goal of most of the clients I coach is to be debt fee, to have enough money to meet the basic needs of home, food, utilities, and transportation. Most also want a bit more to allow for a few extravagances, perhaps a dream car or a couple of vacations, and a bit left over for some sort of charity. How free are you?

The concept of slavery is abhorrent to most. The idea of being subservient to another is anathema to the soul. Yet most live a life beholden to a job, a church, a government, and a relationship, all of which impact your time. Are you free to get on an airplane today, for example, and fly to Morocco to visit a sick friend? Can you take a month off, kick it on a beach in Spain, and recharge your batteries? For those with time freedom, these situations represent opportunities, and not unfathomable scenarios. How free are you?

Do you live where you want to live? Have you ever even asked yourself the question? I never did until traveling in Europe, walking in Leister Square, and saying to my partner, “We could live here!” 4 months later, we moved to England and lived in the English countryside for a year. It is a big world out there, and most won’t venture far beyond their own shores, missing out on the experiences that far away and distant lands hold for you. How free are you?

How high do you allow your spirit to fly? Have you walked through Zen’s gateless gate? Have you spent any real time getting still, allowing your mind to slow down, and feel the true nature of this earthly existence? Have you awaken to the remarkable task and path that lies in front of each and every one of us? Spiritual freedom is difficult to define and shows up differently in each of us. Most, mired in survival, will not ever step foot on the path to awakening. The dot com mindset allows for this most noble of pursuits. Achieving the three previous freedoms will open some doors that may, if not ignored, lead to the inevitable realizations of life. The dot com mindset’s ultimate state is complete spiritual freedom, the type of freedom that allows you to soar, to feel, to move freely, to unshackle all the chains that have been keeping you held hostage to an imaginary captor. The dot com mindset has the potential to lift the veil so that you finally, once and for all, see clearly. How free are you?

What does it take to be a successful internet marketer? It takes a mature relationship with fear. Very little is accomplished in an environment of comfort. Many are familiar with the concept of the comfort zone. If you are not familiar with the comfort zone analogy, imagine a cloud one lives in called the comfort zone. In the comfort zone, you may feel secure, content, pleased with your past accomplishments, and nestled in with your family. Daily life occurs in the comfort zone, but not much else. Real accomplishment takes place outside of the comfort zone. As you may surmise, life outside of the comfort zone is, well, uncomfortable. It feels like you are doing things that you may not know and may not completely understand, and which may make you feel fearful. But many of us march forward in spite of all these unpleasant feelings, because this is how we learn, this is how we grow, and this is how we accomplish great things in our life.

Author David Deida, who wrote a fabulous book entitled The Way of the Superior Man, speaks about the importance of living just at your edge.

“By leaning just beyond your fear, you challenge your limits compassionately, without trying to escape the feeling of fear itself. You step beyond the solid ground of security with an open heart. You stand in the space of unknowingness, raw and awake.”

The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida

Living just at your edge requires one to live with a healthy dose of fear. Fear is a friend we all must get to know, learn to accept, and in fact, are required to embrace. If you do not know fear, you do not know yourself. If you have never pushed yourself beyond your comfort zone, how can you expect anyone else to do the same? In life, in order to be successful, in order to be in a position of freedom, you will need to lead others. The only way to lead others, is to lead by example. There is no other way. We have all been approached by the faker, the one who claims to know the way, yet we all know, he or she has never been that way.

Be friends with your fear. Learn how to breathe through it. Become so adept at fear management that when you feel it, you are enlivened, and now have access to a powerful energy you may harness to do some good not only in your life, but in the world. Learning to deal with fear, and turning fear into your friend, is a powerful component of your mindset. If you want the dot com lifestyle (and really, who doesn’t?), you are going to have to work hard on the dot com mindset. Let’s get underway. Onward.

About the Author

Jay Cradeur is an author, blogger, internet marketer, world traveler, and coach. Jay has helped thousands to achieve their dreams of financial independence. As an internet marketing coach with a focus on personal development, Jay may be able to assist you in reaching your goals. You can work with Jay for a 100% refundable fee of $49 by clicking on this link and committing to your future. Work with Coach Jay.