Free Internet Marketing Lessons

by Ron Knowlton

Try this little quiz. See if any of the following names ring a bell.

McDonald's. Coca Cola. Microsoft. e-bay. Yahoo.

What comes to mind? Hamburgers. Soft Drink. Computer Operating System. Online Auction House. Premier Search Engine.

Yet just a few years back, if someone had mentioned e- bay or Yahoo, you probably would have replied "Ya what?"

Today they are "branded". Almost everyone knows about them. 

Ask someone this: "A search engine, starts with Ya" You already know how they will answer.

Or try this one: "An online auction house, starts with e". 

It's no longer a game. It's a fact. Say those words and strong images come to mind. You know immediately what the other person is talking about.

Could this ever possibly happen with your product, website, or service?

Well, let's see . . .

Neither e-bay or Yahoo started at the top. For that matter, neither did Microsoft.

It all started with a dream.

Everybody has to start somewhere. It's rarely, if ever, just handed to them on a silver platter.

Then comes a tireless obsession to make the dream a reality. 

At some point the dream suddenly takes off and gains momentum. 

It's like going up a steep hill. The initial climb is the most strenuous.

Some quit right at the start. They see the hill and think it's impossible to get to the top. It's too steep to climb, they'll tell you.

Others quit halfway up. They've put in so much time and exhausted so much effort . . . and yet they're still only halfway up the hill! 

They give up thinking it can't be done.

And yet others get almost to the top of the hill and then stop--thinking that maybe there's another hill beyond the first one to climb--one that may be even more difficult to climb. 

They never realize how close they came.

And then there are those few who seem to be stuck in fast forward.

They climb and climb and climb no matter what anybody says. People think they're crazy, that they're obsessed, and yet they still climb.

Nothing seems to be able to stop them. Obstacles are mere dips in the road.

They eat, drink, sleep, and dream about making it over the top.

And then they do!

Is anyone surprised? 

Why yes! All the critics wonder how they did it. Luck? Good fortune? Amazing talent?

No, it's tenacity, more than anything else.

So where are you now in your quest to reach the top?

What is slowing you down. Do you really believe you can climb up and over that hill?

Do you believe it's possible or impossible? 

If you believe the latter, then better go back and find something else. You've quit before you've even begun!

But if you think it's possible, then you're on your way. 

Because that's what Bill Gates thought when he founded Microsoft. That's what Jeff Bezos thought when he founded Amazon.com.

And where are they today?

At the top of the hill.

Could this be you in a few years?

Maybe.

Just don't give up!

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Ron Knowlton is a former journalist and the founding editor at <http://www.soaringprofits.c om/> "Articles To Boost Your Success Online!" Subscribe to the Soaring Profits Success Ezine! Like a free  monthly internet marketing course by email! Eight great lessons each month! Subscribe: <http://www.soaringprofits.com/spsubscribe. htm>!< br>