by David Lim
Don't worry, I'm not trying to sell you anything. This isn't an ebook or report that you absolutely must buy in order to learn how to make some sort of income online. Nor is it a piece of software that no self-respecting Internet marketer would be caught dead without.
Rather, it is a simple piece of advice. It's something which I'm sure you already know but somehow, like the human that you are, it must be drummed into your consciousness before it will take.
So, without further ceremony, the very first step to Internet riches is the realization that:
"There is no such thing as a free lunch."
Don't look at me with those incredulous eyes. I know that you know there is no such thing as a free lunch. And I am sure that you apply that very well in your everyday life.
When that husband of yours comes home bearing flowers and chocolate and tells you that nothing's wrong and that he just wants to appreciate you, you will have none of that. You will push, and cajole, and probe, and threaten until he says, "Honey, you are right. There's something that I need to discuss with you and I hope you won't get too upset ...."
But, how about online? Do you apply the same skepticism?
I'm sure you have heard of the Nigerian scam. You get an email from a stranger that asks to "borrow" your bank account to transfer a couple of million dollars and offers you a cut of 20% - 30% of the amount transferred.
How about those sites that promises you practically instant riches for a ridiculously small amount of work or money? You plunk down your $9.95 per month and they will do all the recruiting and selling for you. You just sit back, relax and wait for the money to roll. Just don't forget the $9.95 each and every month.
Or the self-styled Internet marketing guru that tells you how difficult it is on the net, and how, after many years and very many dollars later, he has come up with a system that can automatically generate thousands of dollars a week, even for a total klutz like you. And, out of the goodness of his heart, he is willing to sell it to you for $29.95.
There are many other sites or schemes with similar ridiculous offers that are thriving on the web. Seems that when we come online, we suspend our healthy skepticism.
Admit it, you have been tempted, haven't you? I know I have. Probably lost a couple of dollars, right? I did.
The worst things about these sites is not so much the small amount of money you might be tempted to spend but the loss in time and focus when you stumble across such sites. You will spend time browsing the sites since, invariably, they will all claim to be different from other similar sites. And, before you know it, you have wasted that Saturday afternoon that you were going to research the article on Internet marketing.
And such sites are all over the Internet.
Wise up.
The next time you come across such a site, tell yourself that there is no such thing as a free lunch, click the "Back" button on your browser and continue with what you were doing. An Internet business is the way to Internet riches, providing you don't get sidetracked by offers that are too good to be true.
David Lim is the webmaster of http://QuittingYourJob.com, a business resource for the entrepreneur looking to start, or grow an online home-based business.
This article may be reprinted freely, provided no changes are made, and provided the resource box above follows the article.