I saw the recent prequel Star Trek movie (again), the other night. You know, the one with the old Spock and our very own Australian Eric Bana as the bad guy.

It’s probably the only Star Trek movie I’ve enjoyed watching (sorry Trekkies) and I think it was about time they brought out a decent movie after the long series of previous disappointments. When asked by someone what I think of the other Star Trek movies, I tell them of the 3 times in my life where I have tried to watch the Star Trek movie where they went back in time to bring back a whale to save the Earth from a huge alien probe.

Every single time I have sat down to watch it, I have always fallen asleep – because it is so damn boring!!

But I digress…whilst I was watching the new movie, there was a scene where Spock did his famous mindmeld on a young Kirk. I wondered to myself – now wouldn’t it be so cool if one of those top producers in network marketing could simply do a mindmeld and transfer all their knowledge and experience into the brain of a newcomer.

Life would be so much simpler! Or would it?

But then, thinking about it for a minute, what a disaster it would be! If things were that simple, there would be no network marketing industry! Everyone would know how to market online as everyone would know all the tips and tricks that everyone else used. There would be no more top producers, prospective newcomers to the industry would already know everything, customers would know where to go to get the best deals on anything they wanted.

It made me realise just how valuable even a small bit of information can be. Just listening and watching a webinar from an experienced network marketer can put you ahead of the vast majority of network marketers, let alone a normal internet user.

The most valuable commodity in the world is INFORMATION. People will go to great lengths to obtain the information they need, in the form of skills and knowledge, to get ahead in life whether it be to get a job or start a business.

There are millions of people joining the internet everyday and the one thing in common that they ALL are looking for is INFORMATION. That is what the Internet is all about. As a network marketer, your primary goal is to obtain and pass on information. That should be your overriding mission, your goal, your sole purpose – to give out information and teach other people what you have learnt.

Your secondary goal, of course, is to generate an income, but it should be definitely number 2 on your list. One thing I have learnt from my time as an Internet entrepreneur is that the vast majority of successful network marketers have tuned themselves into the mindset that producing and providing valuable and useful content is the key driver. They discovered in their own way that by focussing on the true purpose of internet marketing, producing and providing valuable INFORMATION, financial independence naturally followed, and was simply a by-product of being a very good INFORMATION provider.

For a lot of newcomers to the industry, their all-consuming  focus is to do whatever is required to generate an income. They are focussed too much on CTRs, conversion rates and affiliate commissions. And that is probably why most network marketers don’t succeed. They are too focussed on the bottom line and stop as soon as the money dries up.

But successful entrepreneurs keep on generating and disseminating relevant, valuable, useful information. They are able to let go of the whole money aspect and let themselves become immersed in the role of being an information provider.

And that’s when you become truly empowered and truly free because you are doing something that you enjoy whilst at the same time not wasting your energies worrying about where the next pay cheque is coming from. What a totally different scenario to someone who is doing something they don’t enjoy whilst at the same time constantly worried about where all the money is going.

Do not underestimate the value that you can bring to the network marketing community. All you really need to do is assimilate all the information you receive and then simply pass it on. Your individual uniqueness will naturally become a part of this information and therefore in itself become a unique and valuable piece of information.

That’s why you should never blatantly copy anyone else’s work. You are literally wasting the valuable uniqueness that you could have enhanced that information with had you simply rewritten it in your own words.

So don’t give up thinking that you have no value to add to the Internet community. Just by reading this you have already gone much further than the vast majority of people in this world will ever get. In one sense, you have already completed your journey of discovery to find the source of the information you need to succeed.

You just need to continue on with your journey and onto your success.

I came across a shocking statistic the other day which basically stated that 97% of people who try to get an online business off the ground will fail.

To be honest, I couldn’t quite get my head around that figure but after a while I guess it does make sense.

As both you and I know, there are hundreds of thousands of people being caught up in all the hype surrounding the network marketing industry with promises of financial freedom without little effort or cost. A day doesn’t go by when I don’t receive stacks of emails from self-proclaimed gurus and ‘millionaires’ with their stories of untold riches. It’s no wonder that most people soon give up once they realise that the majority of these guys are just smoke and mirrors. They are disillusioned, frustrated and often several thousand dollars/pounds worse off.

And to me this is a real shame as armed with the correct knowledge and assistance from an experienced mentor, network marketing is becoming of the best way for ordinary people from all walks of life to make extraordinary incomes.

So why is it so many people fail? Surely 97% of people attempting to make a success in this industry are not all incompetent and lazy.

Well, the answer is “Of course not!”

The primary problem is most probably a result of the success of the Internet itself.

Approximately 25% of the world is now online, and because it is so easy for people to get Internet access, there are so many people with so little idea about sales and marketing trying to “teach” other people who are equally clueless about sales and marketing. It is a classic case of “the blind leading the blind”.

This huge proliferation of “marketing experts” has unsurprisingly lead to a lot of disgruntled customers, which in turn has tarnished the reputation of the network marketing industry.

It is because of of this bad publicity that network marketers are seen by a lot of people in the same light as scammers, con-artists and second-hand car salesmen.

However, one of the big mistakes that a lot of these network marketers make is that they haven’t embraced the new technologies. They are still trying to use the same old marketing principles that pre-existed the Internet. A lot of the methods and mindsets employed by these marketers were developed and matured in a world where to get a sale, you had to almost convert or even brainwash your prospect into believing that they had to buy your product or services.

What they don’t fully comprehend is that the Internet has irrevocably changed the old ways of doing business and that includes sales and marketing. For the first time in history, people have access to limitless knowledge. Anyone with Internet access can simply use Google to find what they want, at a price they want, whenever they want, 24/7 365 days a year. It is becoming almost impossible now to pressure someone into buying your product without them wanting to get another opinion or carry out some research.

Annoy someone with those sort of pressure tactics and with one click of the mouse button they are off looking at someone else’s product.

People are becoming a lot more cogniscent of what’s going on in this Information Age. It is vitally important that you fully understand and implement the new tactics and methods of doing business if you want to succeed.

So what do you need to do to be successful on the Internet?

Simple. Forget the hard sell tactics of a door-to-door salesman. Think more like a real bricks-and-morter business. Get the customer to come to you first by using an effective system of lead generation and attraction marketing. Use this system to filter out the customers who are actively seeking what you have to offer as these are the only customers you really want.

Why spend your time and money trying to convince someone that what you have is worth buying. If you market yourself correctly, you will find customers that are attracted to you and will purchase products from you time and time again.

Focus on what makes you special and unique, develop yourself and your presence online and you will see the results of your efforts.

I’m not saying it’s easy but everyone in the world, whether you believe it or not, is a unique individual. Leverage your individuality and bring it out with whatever you do online. Given enough time and exposure, you will connect with people who relate to you in someway and will come back to you and your products.

The important thing to remember is that you WILL make a success of this BUT only if you just keep on going. The Internet by it’s very nature, is very much like an organic, dynamic entity. You can’t rush the Internet, but if you put a bit of effort in on a daily basis, you will see results. Most, if not all, successful Internet entrepreneurs have taken several years to reach the success they currently enjoy. They all put the hard work in by creating and disseminating information that has had their own unique individuality stamped all over it.

There is an inherent inertia in place on the Internet. It takes time and a lot of work to differentiate yourself from the vast amount of information out there.

But the most important thing to remember is that this is meant to be fun, so enjoy yourself.

Image by Vix Richardson

Over the few days between Xmas and New Year, I had an opportunity to join the ‘non-Internet’ world again as my parents-in-law live on a farm without broadband and wifi.

Whilst enjoying the views of the ocean and rainforest around me, I happened to read an article in the Australian Financial Review titled “The Prince Charles Syndrome”.

The basic premise of the piece was that whilst the Baby Boomer generation are starting to reach retirement age and leave the corporate environment, Gen X (born 65-79) are starting to be overtaken by the current tech-savvy upstarts, Gen Y. This phenomenon has been compared to a similar situation (dubbed the Prince Charles Syndrome) with the current heir to the English throne as speculation rises that Charles could possibly either die or get overtaken to the throne by Prince William and thus never fulfil his ambition to being crowned King of England.

It got me thinking – with the speed at which technology changes, is there a danger that normal people will be left behind? And to be more specific, will entrepreneurs need to embrace technology or will they survive without it?

Seeing we’ve just started a new decade, I did some research and came up with some interesting facts based on how technology has progressed in the last 10 years since 2000.

At the start of 2000:

* There were NO major social networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace)
* There was no online video sharing to speak of (YouTube was founded in 2005!)
* Only .03% of US households had broadband (current penetration is 67%)
* Only 15% of US households had a mobile phone (current figure around 90%)
* MP3 players were almost unknown (today around 75% ownership)
* There was no paypal or similar 3rd party payment system

And my favourite statistic – No-one really used Google (it was founded in 1999).

There is an ever-increasing Digital Divide between people who have the skills and knowledge to use the Internet in their daily lives and those that don’t. The developments of the last 10 years will also pale into comparison when compared with the advancements in techology predicted over the next 10 years. If the effects of the Internet over the past decade have been so amazing now, what sort of effects will the Internet have on our lives in this new decade!

The Digital Divide between those empowered with Internet knowledge, skills and availability and those that don’t will be immense.

I feel relieved that I have the last 20 years of IT industry experience to help me ease into whatever technologies may arise, and I take great comfort in the fact that my children have access to my knowledge on a one-to-one level.

But my overriding concern is for those people not only in the Western world, but those less fortunate who don’t have the opportunity to experience and participate in the online world. Only a very small percentage of people actually actively participate on forums, blogs and other social networks. These people, this miniscule minority, will become the future leaders and visionaries as they will have the knowledge to utilise these new Internet technologies that will pervade every aspect of our lives.

The famous saying by Sir Francis Bacon “Knowledge is Power” is going to be the ultimate truth in the years to come, and I for one will make sure that I’m on the side that has the power.

You are one of the lucky ones; you have been blessed with the myriad of opportunities that eventually allowed you to get access to the Internet and read blog posts like this one. You are aware of the unlimited potential benefits and opportunities that are afforded you simply because you now how to harness the ‘Net.

But don’t be complacent – keep up with the latest technologies as they arise and learn how to implement and incorporate them into everything possible, for it is the knowledge of how to use these technologies that will effect your future in more ways than you ever thought possible.

I’ve leave you with one last statistic for you. At the moment, only 25% of the world has access to the Internet in some form or another. What sort of effect do you think another several billion people in the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) will have on your potential market base when they come online? Are you going to be there to welcome them?