Here's what it will take to make you a success online:

• realistic expectations
• the know how
• hard work (and possibly long hours)
• patience
• money (uh oh, here's that "m" word)

Realistic Expectations - The belief that a system is out there that will make you thousands of dollars in a few weeks is not only unrealistic, it amounts to hundreds (and even thousands) of dollars being wasted—money that could have been put to legitimate projects to make real money for a person. So, you need to be realistic about what kind of returns you'll receive from any particular endeavor.

The Know How - The more you know, the less you waste in time and money. This is a FACT; unfortunately, it's a fact that many people have yet to realize. Before you go to spending money with various programs that promise you great income with little work, you need to already have a working knowledge of make that system work for you.

The vast majority of online programs require the same exact thing from their members/clients—some form of online and/or offline marketing. If you have no idea how to market online, you're going to wind up wasting whatever money you invest in these systems; and you know what—it's not the system's fault.

Hard Work - Take it from someone who is actually self-employed and works online. It is not going to take one hour a week to build your business. Yes, many systems will tell you that because they want your money. But, this goes back to realistic expectations. Particularly in the beginning stages, you will have to work long and hard to produce the income level you want.

As you build various aspects of your business, you'll surely be able to enjoy more free time, and eventually, you can have a completely auto-pilot income setup, but that's not going to happen overnight. To quadruple my income in six months, you'd better believe that I put in long hours, sometimes upwards of 12-14 hours per day. I have much more free time now, but getting started, it took work!

It's possible to do a trade-off in some instances. When possible, you'll be able to trade work for money. You'll be able to outsource various tasks and keep more of your free time, but if you want to invest as little money as possible, it's going to require more time.

Patience - This is where many people fall off the wagon. While some don't necessarily expect thousands in a few weeks, nor mind taking time to learn how to produce income, and don't even mind putting in some hard work, a whopping number just don't have the patience required to watch their income build. They
want to leave their jobs in one month. Is that possible? —Yes, it is. But, is that a practical expectation? —No,
it isn't. You must be patient and allow your income to gradually build to the level you desire.

NOTE: Something many newbies don't realize is that you'll often experience income surges—brief periods in which your income jumps a substantial amount. This often happens when you first begin with a new program or when you initially launch a new product. But, don't expect that surge to be maintained over a long period. Even the Internet marketing gurus experience this surge, so don't think that your business is crashing down around you when your income level drops again, and eventually stabalizes. As long as it stabalizes at a higher rate than before you started the new endeavor, your still gradually building your business.

Money - Finally, the reality that most people don't seem to want to accept is that it's going to take money to make money. While that doesn't mean you need to be wasteful, you also don't need to be so frugal that you pass up on legitimate opportunties to build your business because of the price tag of a tool that could really help you. As I previously said, it's certainly possible to trade some of the financial investment with an investment of time and work, but the reality is that you'll need to invest both if you're serious about reaching your goals.

If you don't want to fail online, you simply must make sure you don't lack in any of these components. Those who have realistic expectations, the know how, don't mind working hard, are patient, and don't mind investing money into building their business are the ones who build the online empires that eventually take them far beyond what their original goals hoped for. This can be you, but only you get to decide if it is.

borrowed from Web Wealth Ezine