• have your own unique and valuable product to sell; and/or
• have all the right connections within your particular industry, and/or
• be one of the very first to find out about and implement a new and effective methodology, and/or
• have at least $10,000 to invest upfront with previous and up-to-date experience in marketing, and/or one or more valued information technologies, and/or
• just luck into something.

But not very many of these things tend to be very true for those who are brand new to the game. That's all. That's all I was saying. I wasn't trying to discourage anyone. I was trying to tell those who need to be told that it's a business, like any other — except that it's been rather like the wild, wild west so far — but that's changing some already and likely to change a lot more in the next few years. So if you are in it for the long run, if you are going to stay legal, ethical, honest, and add value for your customers — and there simply are too many out and around who don't act as if they understand that — then it most likely will take work, lots of it. So, yeah, maybe you can figure out a way, as a still-wet-behind-the-ears newbie to make a lot of money fast and easy. What do I know? It might be that very next product launch that will make it happen. But if you compromise on the long-term strategy I've laid out above, as far as I'm concerned, you might be a rich crook or a rich con artist, but you are not a successful marketer, and anything you do that doesn't pass the smell test probably will come back to bite you sooner or later. Well, that's my take on it anyway. Regards, Richard D. Farley

Well… yes and no.

I don't disagree that there is something to this, but it is not always as simple as this implies. This notion, that success is simply a matter of changing one's thoughts, is popular psychology put out by folks like Wayne Dyer and Phil McGraw (Dr. Phil), and as with the many wisdoms in our culture that have widespread popular appeal, it glosses over the complexity of the human experience and characterizes only a tiny fraction of reality as the whole truth.

It is not always possible to simply change what thoughts you are thinking. I'm sure it works for some, but the degree to which it works, or doesn't, depends on the context and how emotionally healthy you are.

It is scientifically proven that human psychology includes an unconscious, and that much of our behavior is caused, or at least influenced, by experiences, attitudes, and inculcation of which we are not always consciously aware.

These unconscious influences can be far too powerful to simply change what thoughts we are thinking. Though true to an extent for us all, it is especially true for those of us who may have been emotionally traumatized and particularly if one or more of those traumas occurred when we were children.

For many, creative visualization can help far more than simply trying to change one's thoughts.

This is, in part, where you vividly imagine behaving in the ways you wish to behave, making an effort to imaginatively activate all your senses, i.e., your sight, smell, hearing, etc., and make the effort to feel the emotions and sense of confidence that that desired behavior would elicit in you.

This approach can help those for whom simply changing thoughts does not come so easily. It gets to the visual and creative part of the brain — the unconscious part, the inner seat of your most powerful emotions.

It has been proven scientifically that your unconscious mind often cannot tell the difference between real and vividly imagined experience. So you not only imagine this experience as creatively and vividly as you can, but as often as you can. Vividly imagining the desired behavior, and doing so repeatedly, will gradually overwhelm and cancel out any past, real experiences that may be affecting your thoughts, emotions and behavior on an unconscious level.

So if you have had trouble just simply changing your thoughts, you might be ahead to move beyond some of the pop psychology and into creative visualization. It can go a long way toward helping you to change the emotions and the behavior that are holding you back.

Many hypnotists use this technique, but it is not usually necessary to go to a hypnotist. You can do it for yourself, or if you find it difficult, there are various guided visualization tools that can help.

Just a few particulars you can find on the internet:

I'm sure there are many other resources available, on the internet and otherwise, but these are resources I have seen work, and so I feel confident in recommending them to you as well as to my associates.

I hope some of you have found this post helpful.

Wishing you success!,
Richard D. Farley