One of the great mysteries about online business is why one person makes a fortune and the next spends a fortune and makes nothing. As a student of learning and motivation I’ve given a lot of thought to this issue. In fact I wrote a post on this several years ago – entitled Not Making Any Money Online. (It has a GREAT discussion with it).  Here are my most recent conclusions.

What You’re Passionate About

It depends on what you are passionate about. Those who have a passion for marketing can sell anything. They are not tied to their topic or their target market. They love the thrill of the “getting traffic, converting traffic, making the sale.”

Those who have a passion for their topic are very picky about how it’s sold. In fact, they don’t really care whether it sells or not – they just love the topic.

So which are you – a passionate marketer or a focused expert? (Nothing says you can’t be both – it just means you’re probably making a lot of money and loving everything you do!)

Speed of Action

As someone with a PhD I’ve seen an almost direct inverse correlation of education with action. I believe it’s because the more years we spend in formal education the less likely we are to take action. Our Western educational system teaches us to research, study, think, invent – but not take action.

Those who have an idea or learn a new tactic, then take action in the next 24 hours earn money faster.

On the other hand if you spend a longer period learning, then there is more to be confused about. So the more you learn the less likely you are to take action.

If you could rewind the clock, would you make more by learning one thing then taking action, rather than buying 15 courses and getting confused by varying opinions about how to do it?

Confidence

It appears that those who use technology well are more likely to take an idea and run with it online. They see no hurdles when it comes to the technology behind the business. Instead they know they can conquer that aspect of it and it’s just a matter of doing it.

On the other hand, those who are new to technology see it as THE hurdle in building a business online. But that’s not all. Confidence covers a multitude of issues and it seems that the more things you’ve tried, the less likely you are to be confident that “this thing” will work.

So the longer you put off success the more likely you are to feel that you can’t be successful. The earlier in your online career that you take action and start making money, the more likely you are to build on that success.

In fact, that’s one of the reasons I created the Online Success Incubator – to create a safe learning environment in which you could grow your business rapidly. I believe that the sooner someone joins the Incubator, the more likely they are to be successful online.

Confidence is a spiral. It can be an upward spiral, building on each success. Or it can be a downward spiral, disappearing more each time you try something and don’t succeed.

So where are you on the confidence spiral – going up or going down?

It’s a combination of these three things – passion, action, and confidence – that impact your profits.

Do you agree or disagree with me? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

How often have you heard that expression – you’re sitting on a gold mine?

Actually there’s a good possibility that you are – in the form of domain names you’ve bought and haven’t used.

Now it’s okay to admit it – we all do it. A good friend of mine used to say she gave up buying shoes and started buying domain names. And she has quite a collection!

I have a large collection myself. Over 500 at this point.

But here’s the thing…while each domain name is “only” 8 or 9 dollars per year, it adds up. So my 500 domains cost me about $4500 per year – just to renew.

So why would anyone buy that many domains? Here are just some of the reasons I’ve bought so many…

1. I had a great idea for a product. Of course some of those ideas are now products that I sell daily. But many of those ideas are still ideas. And I’m at the point in my career where I’m willing to admit there are some ideas I’m just not going to do.

2. It was a great domain name that had potential for great traffic. As you know, Google loves domain names that match the keyword phrase you’re trying to rank for. So when you find one of those keyword-rich domain names, you jump on it.

3. It’s a variation of a domain name I already own (and probably use). Rather than lose traffic to a “look alike” I bought that domain to protect myself.

4. I use many of the domains for redirects to affiliate links. It makes it easy to refer people and it makes it easy to change the backend affiliate link, if you want to change where you send traffic.

5. And I’m sure there’s at least one more reason – what’s yours? Let me know in the comments below!

As part of my own journey in Overcoming Information Overload, I have decided to get rid of some of my domains. I’ve just not been renewing those that don’t have any value.

But for those that DO have value, I’ve decided to sell them. I was going to use SEDO, the best-known domain seller. But when I priced their services, they wanted a minimum of a $50 commission for each domain. Since some of my domains aren’t that expensive, I decided to list them myself. After all, it’s not like I’m in a rush to sell – I’ve been sitting on them for YEARS! (grinning)

So you can now find a current list of the domains right here on my blog in the main menu. If it looks like there’s interest, I’ll start adding more to the list.

If you look at the research on vacations in the United States, you’ll see that nearly half the population doesn’t take a vacation. In fact, most entrepreneurs don’t even take the full weekend off. Other countries seem to recognize the value of a vacation and are smarter about taking time off.

So why would you want to take a vacation? After all, it’s time away from your routine. It’s time away from your business. You have to find someone to take care of things while you’re away. It sounds like a hassle.

In actuality vacations offer several benefits, particularly for those who run their own business.

1) Change in scenery changes your habits and your thoughts. When we get up every day and go to the same chair, in the same office, in front of the same computer, we tend to fall into the same thinking patterns.

If we change the scenery, we change our thinking – and we change our level of enthusiasm.

2) Thinking is like breathing. You breath in and out. Your thinking is the same – you are “on” then you are “off”. If you try to be on all the time, you’ll not only find yourself burning out, but you’ll find fewer fresh thoughts.

3) You change your perspective. When you get out and meet new people, encounter new situations, and deal with different challenges, you see that there are different ways of approaching a problem. You talk with people you might not have encountered if you stayed at your desk.

4) You more easily change your habits. Depending on your destination, there is a good chance that you increase the amount of exercise you get while you’re on a vacation. In fact, if you’re trying to change your physical habits, it seems much easier when you’re away from your home environment.

5) You relieve stress. While research shows you should take three weeks off for maximum benefit, even a two or three day mini-vacation can make a difference. You’ll find when you return that things that were very important suddenly seem trivial. And that’s always good for reducing stress!

But what if you can’t take two or three weeks off? Then take some mini-vacations. Here are a couple of ideas:

Change your schedule. Instead of working 8 to 5, work from 8 to 10 am, then take time to leave the office (aka house). Go to the mall, go to the pool. Just change your scenery. Do this for a week and you’ll feel like you’ve been on a vacation!

Change your work location. If it’s not too hot (or cold) move your computer onto the back porch. Or forget the computer and move to a pad of paper at your favorite restaurant or coffee hangout.

The important thing is to change your routine and give yourself (and your brain) a break. You will quickly recognize the value of a vacation – in increased enthusiasm, productivity, and efficiency.