I was reading and article by a guest writer at Entrepreneur's Journey.

 It reminded me of something that I just learned last year and have not been really putting to use. Here is the article if you want to read it. Make sure you come back because I think the article is very close, but just misses the mark. In fact, although I really like Yaro's blog's, have learned much from his articles, will always read his articles and forum, I think he is missing one of the true keys to making a good living online.

How To Become A Successful Entrepreneur » Entrepreneur’s Journey - by Yaro Starak How To Become A Successful Entrepreneur July 14, 2006 on 11:00 am | In Marketing, Business & Entrepreneurship | By Adnan from Blogtrepreneur When Yaro asked for readers’ contributions for July, I decided that I should really dig deep into my entrepreneurial spirit to ask myself How Do You Become A Successful Entrepreneur?

What does it take to make money online?

I honesty really know the answer to this question.

Yet, I have not followed through myself. Maybe that is why I am not making what I should be. At least, what I think I would like to be.

I believe there are two keys that are usually missing that prevent people from making a great living.

No, this is not original with me and they (at least my first one) are not new ideas. I do think that if you see someone who is making money online or anywhere and being successful, you will see these key points. I think if you are not making what you want, you will see you are missing one of them.

The First Key To Making Money Online - An Organized Plan

In Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill states that hard work and persistence are not enough.

This is very true. Trust me, you can work real hard (like 80 hours a week) and not be successful. It has nothing to do with luck. It has nothing to do with weather a niche is good or not. If you do not have an organized plan, you severely reduce your chances of being successful. Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich after interviewing many, many of the rich and successful of his day. Think and Grow Rich is the result of those interviews and what he saw in common with all those people. One of the keys, and I think most important keys he points out is an organized plan.

Look at those (if you can find them - they are not always very open) who are making great incomes with online businesses.

You will find that while some started almost haphazardly, almost all had a plan to create the product and get it out. At some point a plan comes into play even if not present at the start. An organized plan is essential. You can make some money throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. You will be much more successful if you have a plan to check what sticks and take it to a higher level.

This is something that works online or offline in the "real world."

I have seen those who have been successful in businesses I have not. Probably the biggest differences between my failure and their success is they have a plan. They know who to call, how many calls it will take, what they need to do, what they can have someone else do, what the percentages involved are, and how long it will take them to reach a certain point of success. This is an organized plan.

Does your online business have a plan?

 Do you honestly think that making one website with a new tool is going to make you rich or even a good living? Not very likely. Do you know the numbers involved? Not the hits for the keywords in your niche but what each page is likely to produce in profit. How many pages or sites will it take you to make the income you want? Do you have a plan to move up from there?

I suggest for anyone wanting to make a real income online of offline to read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

No, it will not make you rich overnight. I admit some ideas seem weird or the terminology he uses seems weird to me, but the theories are just as valid today in an online business as they were back when Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich. I had the advantage of having Think and Grow Rich forced into me as my father always listened to the book on tape.

The Second Key To Making Real Money Online - The Success Mindset

I had a chance to listen to Marshall Perry with Tactic 7.

This was a series of interviews on generating a successful business. I will steal a little from them and tell you tactic number seven of a successful business person online or offline (they promote the idea that the two are not mutually exclusive) is the success mindset.

I have seen this success mindset evidenced in many business people that I see as successful.

Do you want to make a lot of money doing what you do, or do you just want to be comfortable? This can be a major hindrance to really making anything at all. Is it because you feel guilty at being successful? Do you not believe what you do is worth making as much as any other millionaire does?

At the Tactic 7 call they talked about one person that followed the system (there's that plan thing again) and made an amount of money that surprised everyone.

The person felt guilty about making so much so quickly and decided to give most of the money to charity. The point of this was not that giving the money to charity was bad, but that he allowed himself to be bullied into thinking his success was bad. It's ok to be successful and give the money to charity, but do it on your own terms. Do not get led down the road to believing being successful means you are greedy and not worthy of the income you work for.

The success mindset is something that I have to work on myself.

It involves faith that what you are doing will lead to success. Maybe the plan will need tweaking, but you know in your heart that you will be successful.

The success mindset also means not just wanting to make enough to be comfortable.

I think there is an implied guilt in just wanting to be comfortable instead of making a lot that keeps you from really making much at all. I think that we are unjustly taught that money is the root of all evil and the rich are evil also. This is not true. Not only that, but we still worship the rich and famous, even while telling ourselves we do not want to be rich ourselves. There is nothing wrong with a desire to be more than comfortable. Imagine if Warren Buffet had decided that after he was "comfortable" he would not want to make any more money. Yet, he is a good example of giving to charity on your own terms.

These are two keys to making money online that I have seen used by others.

I have seen them used by those successful in offline businesses as well. The final step is to just do it. You can develop a great plan and keep developing that plan instead of using it. I have a tendency to want to learn more so I can do it all right the first time. It can be easy to think yourself successful and not move forward with the plan that really will create the success. I know this is my problem.

I hope I have made some sense in all this. Leet me know if you think I am on the right track.

Good Luck and Great Success !