Are you ready to finally get serious and make some money in your home business? Ok, before you read another word, here is a simple but important exercise that will be explained later. Locate a mirror and look at it for exactly three seconds.

Now, unless you’re a full-blooded vampire, you were just looking at the key to making money in your business: you. There are millions of people just like you who want success, financial security, time freedom and all the other great things that come with having a profitable home business. However, they just don’t take real action. Yes, they can actually complete steps A and B, but they never get to C or D.

By the way, even if you didn’t literally get up and reach a mirror, it’s critical that you possess the ability to be mentored if you really want to succeed as an entrepreneur. It’s not always easy to find someone to take you under their wing, but they do exist. Like everything else in life, it will take a great deal of effort on your part to find someone willing to show you what it takes to finally make it. Note that I didn’t say anything about making it big. You are the person who determines what success means to you and how much money you need to earn to be happy.

Ultimately, whether or not you are successful in your business, it all starts with you, your attitude, and your goals. There’s no time to waste blaming your sponsor, teammates, marketing flyers, or anything else of the sort. Instead, spend your energy expanding your knowledge, honing your skills, and learning from those who have already achieved exactly what you want in life.

Before I became a Marine Drill Instructor at the age of 21, I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I had that vision immediately after realizing its positive impact on other people. I absolutely had to wear the famous campaign cover (hat) and it’s what I was constantly thinking about. Once that goal was solidified, I had to make a plan. How would I get there?

I won’t bore you with the whole story, but I will say that it involved learning from someone who had already been there. A person who had already been on the path that I wanted to travel. The skills he taught me have earned me several meritorious promotions, and as they say, the rest is history. I got back to Parris Island so fast that one of my old drill instructors was still on the island. He even asked me “what are you doing here?”

This is more of a self-help article than a marketing article, but maybe we can combine the two for a few minutes. Can you name two or three of the hottest internet marketing trends right now? I’m only asking about the internet because that’s probably where you’re most likely looking at this article. Obviously, marketing your business is never limited to just the net, but let’s start here. It’s okay, your time is up. Can you name two or three techniques that a lot of top sellers are using in 2006?

If you couldn’t answer that question quickly and safely, you’re probably already behind the times. This is especially true if you are marketing online. There is no single correct answer to the question, but most experts would agree that blogs, articles, and ezines are probably in the top 10. Do you have a blog? Do you write articles? If your answer was “no”, why not?

Many of us can look back on our lives and immediately identify times when we missed the train or fell behind. Sometimes it’s because you’re not in a position to take advantage of the opportunity presented to you, while other times it’s because you simply didn’t take immediate action. It’s important to realize that in business, you can’t afford to fall behind too many times. As one of the top home business experts likes to say… “Don’t you want it in your life?” Life is short and you don’t have forever to achieve the things you want.

Let’s go back to blogs and articles. If you are not aware of these strategies and are not taking advantage of them, it is because you are not spending enough time learning and developing your skills, or perhaps you are not serious about your business. Again, this article isn’t really about blogs, but they are a way to focus on a larger core topic.

Yes, that earlier comment about you not being serious is kind of hard for some of us to take, but it may be true. Maybe you have some very legitimate reasons why you’re not being serious right now, but the key is to be honest with yourself about it. There is nothing worse than trying halfway, failing, and then blaming the entire world for not finding success. Only when you fully commit are you truly able to learn and ultimately win, even if you come up short the first time. On the other hand, if you are 100% serious, you need to get up and look in that mirror again. Determine that you are finally ready to make this work and take full action. It’s just not good enough for half a step.

Since this is one part of the marketing lesson, what about blogging? Well, literally anyone can start a blog on almost any topic. I know people in their late 90s with blogs. That’s amazing when you think about it. In fact, you don’t even have to pay for the service. You can do a free blog search and have you up and running in a matter of minutes. Clearly, you would have to do more than just release it online, like write something to it regularly and find some simple ways to promote it.

But, be careful not to miss the main point. People who are serious about their business will, at the very least, be aware of blogs and keep up with what’s going on in their industry. They will also work to stay ahead and keep their personal skills sharp. These are the people who are reading websites, attending seminars, and learning everything they can, while others are watching TV and complaining that a home-based business just doesn’t work for them. You must realize that success is practically impossible without real effort and the right skills.

This is not to say what people should or should not do with their lives or pass judgment in any way. The sole purpose of mentioning any of this is to make it clear that getting to the top is not easy. It takes great dedication, work, and desire to achieve your financial and personal goals. There are no “get rich quick” answers to quitting your job, supporting your family, or having the time freedom you crave. You just have to make a firm decision to do it and then get to work. More importantly, never give up on your dreams.

Even if you don’t know their full stories, the people you consider successful today made great sacrifices yesterday to get there. Many of these people will share their stories of how they had to sleep in their cars and eat packets of cheap noodles while fighting to make it happen. However, there are others who are more reserved and do not share their stories, but still had to fight through similar difficult times to finally reach their goals.

If you really want to achieve success and eliminate the 45-year plan of working for someone else, be completely honest with yourself and ask yourself “Do I really want this?” If you can answer with an unquestionable “yes,” then it’s time to find a mentor, hone those skills, and get to work.

“So what are you going to do… BBQ or mold?”