Dave,
Your post started a few sirens off in my head!
You wrote:
> Here's what successful people do. I mean
> really successful... people who make goobs
> of money online and offline.
> 1. They start with a simple idea to make
> money
> 2. They build a simple prototype of the
> product or service
> 3. They immediately go out and sell the idea
> or product to see if anyone will buy it in
> it's simplest from
Some not-so-successful people probably do the same.
In my (humble) opinion - what sets apart the 'successful' from the 'not-so-successful' is how they THINK about what they do - and not WHAT they do.
Take me for example.
I'm doing your 'Plan A' as I speak! Sure - its a long, complicated way of doing things - but it's doable because I KNOW that its what I want to do - and therefore I am willing to pay the 'price' upfront in return for getting the lifestyle I want in some years time.
For other people - 'Plan B' will work better for them (and certainly does for a lot of people).
Each 'method' works because of how the person feels about himself(herself). If you haven't decided to treat your net 'activities' as you would any other business then whichever way you go - the odds are certainly against you.
Also - I believe that the 'net has thrown up a few fallacies about success recently.
Let's look at Terry Dean for example. he made $30k + over a weekend from his list. But...his list were raving fans that he had built up over 4 or 5 years.
Look at Yanik Silver. It's taken him only 2 years. But...he has a direct marketing and copywriting background (which is essential for net success)
OK. More obscure. Joel Christopher. Master Listbulder. 2+ years. But...he's been to 16 Internet Conferences in that time - so he SHOULD have picked up how to 'do' this sort of business in that time. And...BTW...I'm already doing 8 or 9 of his list building 'strategies' just by keeping my eyes open from what others are doing.
If you read the interviews with 'mom-and-pop' businesses on Corey Rudls 'Secrets to Their Success' website - practically every single one of them have been online for an absolute minimum of 2 years plus (some a lot longer).
So perhaps (after going on a bit) my point is - in order to succeed at anything you need:
Belief in yourself
Act on that belief
Focus on learning from others
Apply what you have learned
Time
Probably in that order. But I'm sure that you would probably need all of those to be successful within a few years - whichever way you decide to do it.
In my opinion - the rest will 'fall into place' if you put in the necessary effort.
To Our Success!
Success...it's all in your mind