Ever stumbled upon one of those 'success stories' on the internet?

You know the one I am talking about. You are browsing for tips on how to make some money on the internet and maybe start a home based business with the intention of making this a full time living in the future.

You are browsing, and browsing, nodding and reading as you go along.

And suddenly you find that forum with the post header: Success Stories. You click it open and boy, that's a freaking volcano of motivation erupting in that forum. You read about dudes that have had less education than you, less starting capital than you and they are making excess of 1000$ after spending a month on the net.

You get all psyched up and you take the plunge.

A week goes by, no money.

Week #2, goes by...no money.

Week # 3 goes by, and you make your first income.2 cents.

Week #4, a full damn month is over, and your income after putting in hours and hours of sweat is 2 cents.

You go back to the forum and now the same success story hits like a harpoon in the chest.

Using these techniques, I made 1000$ per month. I had no background in computers. I was an internet virgin and English is my 3rd language.

I don't care who you are, how much your salary is or how much hair you have on your head (I don't have much) that success story can get your heart broken into a million pieces.

Your shoulders drop and you conclude Maybe this is not for me. I am not cut out for this.

Stop right there!

Wake up! Put some water on your face.

I will be waiting while you do that.

Back?

Ok...now listen carefully because I won't repeat.

Reading a success story and taking every word for granted is like seeing just the shiny side of the coin.

I am not even going into the debate of how many internet success stories are legit true ones, but let's say they are.

You know what, still they can be misrepresented. The guy that made the 1000$...damn who knows, he might not be English or net savvy, but he might have had 25 years of sales experience under his belt which he 'forgot' to mention on the forum. You as a newly retired school teacher or stay home mom will obviously need some time to learn those kind of marketing skills.

So there goes the first cure. Never take a success story word for word and try to fit it into your situation.

Here goes cure #2:

Cultivate the practice of following in on the struggles and hardships people encounter on their journeys before they taste success.

See, these types of stories that talk about the sweat and the grind are not hyped about in the forums and media because people don't want to post such stuff (makes them look like failures) .They want to look like they pull off miracles all the time. You and I both know what that is called :marketing gimmick. Come on, we do it too.

But with some effort, you can find such anecdotes. This archive of posts that say How I struggled will help you kick yourself out of your rut. Because realizing that others have the same problem itself does wonders most of the time.

So get up, get going, and make it a point to regularly scour the net for stories of how people overcame their hardships to reach victory.And you will overcome yours too!

Learn more about this author, Kaushik Guha.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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