I thought I’d take a moment to pass on some Thanksgiving cheer. We get so caught up in the rat race of marketing that sometimes we forget about the important things in life, like our loved ones. Well, Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful. Sometimes I wonder how many of us really are.

Running a business online is a funny thing. When you first start, you just hope to make some money…any money at all. I remember my first 5 months almost 6 years ago. It was a total disaster. I made all of $28. Today, I wear that figure like a red badge of courage.

Then we begin to have some success. We start to make a few hundred or even a couple of thousand a month. My next 5 months I was averaging about $1,500 to $2,000 monthly. I was thrilled…at first.

And then I started to want more. I wasn’t satisfied with just making some money. So I worked harder. I learned more. I did everything I could to improve my business.

By my 3rd year, I was making over $40,000 a year. It was almost as much as my last job when I was a QA manager and making 50K. I should have been thrilled…and I was. But the thrill didn’t last long. After a couple of years around the 50K mark, I wanted yet more. My goal was to hit $100,000 by my 5th year online.

I made it, banking a little over $122,000. I couldn’t believe it. I never thought I’d make it. And now, as I am ending my 6th year, I have already earned over $135,000 with one whole month to go. And I’m…

Not satisfied. I admit it. My goal for my 7th year online is to earn over 200K. And I will. I’ll be launching my first physical product in 2009 that will almost certainly earn me 200K alone in a matter of hours.

Seems like I have everything I want, doesn’t it.

But then how long until even that’s not enough? What’s the next goal going to be? Will it be $250,000, or will I just shoot for the million dollar mark right out of the gate in 2010?

And then, when I have more money than I know what to do with, what next? What will I have to shoot for then?

Do you see where this is going?

Sure, we want to run a successful business. We do have families to take care of and other obligations. The world makes it so that we need money to live. Nobody is just going to hand us things.

But how much money do we really need?

The truth is, I live a very modest existence, even with all my success. My hobbies (music) are relatively cheap. My recording studio only cost me about $5,000 complete, so how much do I really need?

We need to sit down and think about what’s really important. It’s not the money. It’s the quality of our lives. And that quality involves many things…not the least of which is helping others. There are so many out there who have so little. They can certainly use our help…whatever it is.

Today, at 8:30 this morning, with the day just barely started, I had already made $100 for the day. I am truly blessed. But I also worked very hard to get here. It didn’t happen overnight. Remember those first 5 months and the $28 I earned? I have more than paid my dues for my success.

Point is, we can do anything that we want if we put our minds to it. Be thankful that we live in a free society and can do anything we want. The startup costs for businesses on the Internet are close to nothing. There is no reason for anybody not to have some degree of success online. It may not happen overnight (just look at me) but with dedication and perseverance, it WILL happen.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim
Looking for a solid 4 step plan to building your own business…FREE? Pick up my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/4steps.html and get started TODAY!