New Year Resolutions - Some Practical Guidelines for Internet Entrepreneurs - By Svend Nelson

Why would one write about New Year resolutions when the New Year has already passed?

1.) Because for most people New Year resolutions have already faded by the middle of January, which makes it a good time to reflect on why this might be the case.

2.) Because any day of the year is a good day for New Year resolutions. While the turn of the year only makes us more susceptible for life changing resolutions, we may in fact start over any given day of our existence.

Let us assume that the major goal in life is to achieve happiness in its multitude of facets. Whatever the individual semantics of happiness may be, money will be one of the necessary means to achieve it. Money is not an end but “only” an indispensable facilitator for personal freedom and growth, and hence, happiness.

Here are some suggestions to draw up goals and plans and to sustain the necessary motivation to realize them:

A. Take a blank A4 paper and write down “Patience and Focus” as the headline. Whatever it is you desire, patience and focus will be major ingredients on the way. A Muslim saying stipulates that “patience is half-way to heaven’ and this is only all too true. Focus is required to keep you on track in this world of noise and distractions.

B. Stay away from your computer for a while: It is magic to produce a handwritten document. Some of us may have almost forgotten what our handwriting looks like. When I started to handwrite again I felt a very interesting effect after the first awkward moves - my creativity seemed enhanced. I am definitely not a technophobe nor would I consider myself a romantic essentialist, but, handwriting rocks! I believe this is because of a better synchronization between the speed at which we are thinking and the speed at which we can note down our thoughts when handwriting.

C. Recognize your desires. I have read quite a few "how-to-get-rich-books" and most of them seem to have a common shortcoming: They will mention (if they don't they would be missing the point anyway...) something like "know thyself" or "find out what you like doing, then just do it and become rich" but not mention in any way how to know yourself. It is probably not an exaggeration to say that this is one of the main tasks in life to know ourselves and I won't be able to resolve this issue here, but this is what I can say: You will need detachment and relaxation to awaken your desires, which is the exact reason why to seek a retreat. You will need your imagination to translate your desires into something tangible, and this is when you start smiling and write on the blank paper in front of you.

D. Formulate definite goals. Write down exactly how much money you want to make, imagine precisely what kind of person you want to be and how you wish to spend your time. Use your imagination, feel the money in your hands, smell the seats of your new car (I am actually not into cars at all...), see the smile on the face of your partner; make it as tangible as possible which will enhance your desires even further and prepare you to be persistent.

E. Establish a definite date when you will have achieved the definite goals you desire. Every sensible goal has to be time-based in order to be motivating. Keep in mind: we have a tendency to over-estimate the short term (e.g. 1 year) and to under-estimate the medium and long term, so your resolutions may as well cover the following years.

F. Formulate a concise plan to achieve your goals. This plan has to be detailed and realistic. I always write down all the activities I would like to do and then try to fit all these activities into my calendar. You will need to clarify your priorities on the way. Your plan needs to clearly state what you intend to give in return for achieving your goals. There is no "free lunch" and there are no shortcuts, so be prepared to put in the effort. And then start right away with carrying out your plan. There is no such thing as "being ready", just go for it. Somebody once said "Knowing and not doing is not-yet-knowing".

There is more than this to being happy and making it to riches, but this is a good start. I spent four complete days on the process I have described above, but what seems like a luxury is actually strategically well-spent time which, I am certain, will pay off manifold.

Svend Nelson is a university lecturer and Internet entrepreneur. He is an online marketing specialist active in various online industries; among his online presences in the real estate and home loan industry are Hawaii rentals and Hawaii Home Loan. Svend also just started a blog sharing his experience about how to make money online. Svend lived and worked in various countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia before settling in Thailand.

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