This one is unique. Some friends and I have developed a “one of a kind” site that is both fun and rewarding.

The short version…most of you know what a gift exchange is, right? You contribute a gift and you get one in return. Sometimes anonymously sometimes not. Well, we’ve done the same thing here for digital gifts!

And there’s a special twist. When you participate, 20% of the proceeds will go towards Dr. Mani’s charity for children with congenital heart defects.

Take a few moments and go to the site:

http://www.randomgiftexchange.com/

Read what it’s all about. If you decide you’d like to help Dr Mani’s kids and have some fun in the process, then go ahead and sign up. The only “rule” is that the product you contribute MUST be yours. No affiliate links, no RR or MRR. If you contribute something Private Label, then it must be unique (re-written/changed/etc.)

There’s a link to a video on the home page that describes how it works. But if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

While all things may eventually come to him who waits, success most often comes to those who fill their waiting period with action. However, there probably WILL be a waiting period.

He that can quietly endure overcomes. –English ProverbThere are all sorts of factors which contribute to success, but there is one that is often more important than all the others…perseverance.

I have begun and ended this article with a proverb which points out the value of being able to persevere, but for most of us, one old saying comes to mind, “All things come to him who waits.”

The problem with that particular version is that it implies that simply waiting for success to happen is all that is required. While the occasional miracle does happen, most successes are the result of action. For most of us, success, when it comes with will be a reward for our effort, faith, and perseverance.

The world is replete with stories of those who “succeeded” only after years of trial and effort. Thomas Alva Edison, one of the foremost inventors of the 20th century is famous for his invention of the electric light bulb, among many other things. However, even Mr. Edison never hesitated to point out that the thing that made him famous occurred after years of not being successful (which IS different from failing). He even stated that he found the way to make the light bulb work only after learning several ways to NOT make them work.

Very few “successful” entrepreneurs, salespeople, network marketers, and today’s internet marketers can say that they achieved success without trial and error…lots of error. IN fact, many will be more than happy to admit that their success came about after long periods of time in which they managed to do some pretty foolish things and waste a lot of time and money.

However, two major points also come out of these stories…they learned from their mistakes and accepted the setbacks as part of the tuition they had to pay to learn their craft, and they did not give up.

Even in my own life, there was a ten year period between my first half-hearted attempts at creating my own business, and my first real income. There was another five year period in which I grew my business in spare moments until I began to make enough income that I could quit my job and actually live comfortably off the income I was able to generate.

Of course, I’m hard headed and insisted on re-inventing the wheel. Two close friends of mine reached the viable income level in three years, and both became millionaires in five years, simply by sticking with the basics of their individual businesses and the simplest tenets of network marketing. They were friends with everyone, and handed out a pamphlet to everybody they met.

It’s easy to look at that paragraph and either be discouraged that it can take so long, or to become excited that it can happen that fast. To put things in perspective as far as perseverance is concerned; one of the gentlemen I spoke of was in his mid 40’s when he began to pursue this particular quest. He was nearing 50 when he began receiving monthly checks in excess of $100,000 a month. It would have been easy in the first year or two of this enterprise for him to have quit and just chalk it up to another program that wasn’t any good…or accuse himself of being a failure. However, he realized the value and potential of the program he was involved in and knew that if he could just put brochures in the hands of enough people, he would be able to find many like himself.

As I said, it took him three years to find those people, and two more years of growing this group until the point where he was being repaid to the tune of $100,000+ each month. It wasn’t his skills that landed him there, but neither did he achieve all this by waiting for people to ring his doorbell and hand him money. To him, every day was a chance to open new doors to the future for himself and those who felt as he did.

Don’t ever give up.

For every door that shuts, ten will open. — Philippine Proverb

A lot has been said lately about focus and how many projects you
should take on at once. What is said, mostly by the experts, is
that you should only focus on one at a time for maximum returns.

Well, I’ve done a lot of thinking about that. In fact, WAY too
much thinking about that. Let me tell you what I think…

I worked in a customer service job that serviced the pharmaceutical
industry for many years. And the very nature of this job was
such that if you DIDN’T focus on multiple projects at the same
time, it meant losing contracts, customers and dollars.

At times, I had as many as four major projects running all at
once and had tight timelines to go with them. And you know what?

They always got completed. Usually on time and within budget.

What does that mean? To me, that means the CORRECT thing to say
would be more like “Only work on the number of projects that you
can effectively move forward and complete on schedule”. Stay
within your own capabilities.

For me, that can be four. For you, maybe 2. Or maybe 7. That’s
something only you can answer.

I was recently talking to a very successful marketer who told me
that I should be focusing on one project at a time. He was the
second or third one that told me that.

But the funny thing here is, NO successful marketer that I know
works on just ONE project at a time. Including the marketers
that told me to focus on one at a time.

The major difference here is resources. When you hit a certain
level of success, you have more resources at your disposal. Money,
people, tools, etc.

So, what if you are NOT one of those who have those resources
at your disposal? What can you do?

Tha answer is really very simple and when I tell you, you’re
going to smack yourself on the forehead and say, “DOH! I knew
that!”

The answer: Strategic Partner(s)

Look, you don’t need to be a wildly successful marketer to have
your own team around you. In fact, when you get the right
partners, you will see your own productivity, ideas, and success
really start to flourish.

Why do I call them Strategic Partners?

Your partners should have the skills or components that you lack.
And conversely, you need to have the skills or components that
THEY lack. You need to compliment each other. This also means
tht you need to “take an inventory” of your skills. You need to
know what you can bring to the table.

One of my strategic partners is a programmer. Another writes
ebooks and other content. Still another partner brings a level
of creativity that I don’t posess. He’s an idea factory!

And I have certain skills that THEY lack, such as the “back end”
knowledge of setting up and running websites, marketing, networking
and customer service skills. We compliment each other greatly.

You can do the very same thing. It’s not that hard. But the
FIRST thing you need to realize is that it will take an effort
from you to make contact with people. OFF the computer.

My first partner I met at a lunch. My second at a seminar. They
both started from a simple conversation. We quickly determined
that we each had something to bring to the table that would
fill the gaps.

Now, working on multiple projects at once is not so daunting a
task as doing them by yourself.

The process is really very simple. Look for or organize a lunch
in your local area for people who work on line. Start by going
to a few of the marketing forums and simply ask who lives in
your area. (Heck, it’s how I met Mike Filsaime…)

Meeting face to face is recommended because this enables you to
“size each other up” to determine if you have similar goals and
value systems. That’s very important. That’s where the trust
begins.

Once you understand the power of strategic partnerships, you will
not look at your on line business the same ever again. The days
of “Lone Wolf” marketing are largely over. Time to roll with
the changes.

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Michael Ambrosio - Developer and Internet Entreprenuer
If you would like to reprint this article, please feel free
to do so, just as long as this resource box remains with it.
Copyright 2006 Michael Ambrosio http://www.mikeambrosio.com
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