Time, Money and Freedom. Gold Fever?

Time, Money and Freedom. Gold Fever?

Time, money and freedom (especially financial) are the top 3 reasons that people join in the contemporary 'goldrush' that we see now as people from every demographic search the net to find the holy grail. It used to be 6 figures, but more recently I notice that there are more and more ads suggesting that 7 figures are possible with the latest biz op. I unerstand that only 1-2% of internet marketers are successful, although just how those statsitics can be measured I don't know.

What I do know is that there are some striking similarities between the goldrush at Klondyke and the clamber to the top of Google. During the goldrush, educated men like doctors, lawyers, teachers and writers took to the cruel Canadian terrain and risked everything in order to gain in most cases nothing. They left families behind to cope without them and many of them never returned. The analogy here is obvious, Joe Bloggs turned internet marketer has an acute case of Gold Fever. Last seen in a pair of pyjammas, he was disappearing into the screen of his laptop having maxed out every credit card going. Meanwhile, he becomes more and more desperate as the need to generate huge amounts of money drives him in a relentless persuit of finding the pot of gold. In the same way that the goldrush brought out man's inhumanity to man, so does the internet. He uses ruthless scams, spam, schemes, fraud, complex trickery, hacking and lies and perpetuates the cycle.

On the other hand, we see some people digging deep and thinking laterally. Have you ever noticed that creative inspiration is often concieved in the darkest places inside ourselves? Jack London, whose books include White Fang, The Call of the Wild, and To Build a Fire, a collection of short stories, based his work on his time in The Yukon. My suspicion is that writing is one of the keys to making it online too. Whether it is convincing sales copy, quality content, hilariously funny blogs or how to articles, writing is key. I know that many very wealthy people have been bankrupt, on the streets or have had to figure out how to get out of the gutter. Many writers have discovered themselves by accident, or out of necessity.

So what is it that makes the difference between success and failure? I think it is about a shift in approach, mindset and flexibility. It is about thinking positively, noticing opportunities, taking risks, becoming ok with failure and plodding along with focus. It may also be about having the right mentor, and by that I mean someone who is a good teacher but also encourages individuality in his students. The other attributes of successful people are self esteem, resourcefulness and self respect. If these things are part of daily life we stand much more of a chance to collect the coins along the way and actually enjoy the journey at the same time. If you are chasing pots of gold, please think carefully about what it is costing you and whether a bit of lateral thinking might help you get there faster.