The Lure of the Internet

I jumped on the freeway this morning headed for a small job I was doing in the northwest part of the valley. I noticed, standing in the shadeof the overpass, was a gentleman sitting on his suitcase. His right armextended with his thumb out. In his other hand was a cardboard signwith "SALT LAKE" written in black marker.

Having lived in Las Vegas (Sin City) Nevada now for 22 years this was a sight I'd seen more times than I care to think about.

I'm positive that sitting under a freeway overpass, broke,hungry, in most cases Hungover, dazed and confused, had Not beenthis man's intention. He hadn't even held back a few bucks for Bus fare.

The majority of people that come here really enjoy themselves. It's afun place to vacation. Lots to see and do.

Yet there are those that come here hoping to Hit It Big! Gonna Triple their money! Maybe they've even come here to make enough to catch up on all their bills that somehow have not been paid for a couple of months or even to Buy Groceries.

They have indeed fallen victim to the bright lights of the big city. TheLure of Fast, Easy Money! The Something for Nothing Idea! Pleasureand Excitement! The list goes on.

The Big Corporations spare no expense when it comes to attractingplayers to their House. They will bring you here, feed you, put you up in their hotel. How?

I don't exactly know what the percentages are but they bank on you setting down at the tables and dropping a large sum of your vacation money. If the percentages weren't in their favor you can better believe they wouldn't be doing it. Heck, You can still get a great breakfast for 99 cents. 2 eggs, hashbrowns, and a ham steak so big they serve it to you on a side platter. That same establishment hasbeen doing that for the last 20 years. It must be working!

We have a saying here, "Scared Money Never Wins!" If you've cometo the tables to make the rent, pay the bills or buy groceries. Your goingto leave "Kicking Stones, your head down, your hands jammed into empty pockets."

O.K. O.K. I'll get to the point.

I've found just how very much alike Las Vegas and the Internet are. Ifyou let it, the Internet can become Fantasy Island. You can begin to buyinto the Hype, the false promises, and the idea of something for nothing.You can lose your money, your dignity, your self respect and yes evenyour family. If you get really carried away you could even lose yourfreedom.

There are No Free Lunches here. Your success is gauged on how much time, effort, determination and education you've applied.

Did I say education? I'm not talking about a college degree here. WhatI am saying is that there's a tremendous amount to be learned if we aregoing to successfully market on the Web. We need to wade through the hype. Listen and apply what we learn from those that have already paidtheir dues to become successful Internet Marketers.

Read everything you can. Then step by step apply what you learn. Visitsome Business Discussion Forums and pick the brains of those that havedone what we are trying to do. Here's a Good list.http://www.entrepreneur-web.com/index_1.shtml#generalbusinessDon't go to these expecting to blast your offers all over. It's liable toget you banned from the board or even reported to your ISP as a spammer. Board spamming is a No No!

I never really had a clue about Marketing on the Web until I beganreading the posts on these forums. What a wealth of information. Thereare people that frequent these boards that will bend over backwards tohelp. If you ask.

The way I see it is we are all in this thing together. People! Not faceless,anonymous robots behind our keyboards and monitors. We need to watchout for one another. Help when we can and place the needs of others before our own. When we do, We get what we need.

As long as there are people willing to believe in the Fast buck, somethingfor nothing deal there will be those waiting with anticipation to relievethem of their hard earned cash.

What say we go out there and make some money! Help as many as we can to do the same. Our lives will become richer for it.