You see the pitches all the time...

"The Greatest Business Opportunity Ever..."

"37 Level Matrix Easy Qualifying"

"We Do It All For You...You Don't Even Have to Get Off Your Butt to Go to the Bank."

"Just Give Me Your Credit Card and I'll Take Care of Everything."

"Make $100,000 or More Without Lifting a Finger"

I could go on and on with more of them, but I'm tired of thinking about them already.

You see these types of pitches all the time. They tell you that you don't have to do any work whatsoever. They tell you that you don't have to do anything.

They even tell you that you don't have to think!

Let me tell you the rule of earning a profit online...

"You Have to Use Your Brain."

The greatest business opportunity you'll ever be offered is sitting inside your head...it's your own brain and your own thoughts.

A lot of people don't want to have to use their brains. Thinking is the hardest work you'll ever do. It wears you out. Spend a day thinking and planning and you'll be more worn out than if you did physical labor all day in many cases.

Most people simply don't have the self-confidence to think for themselves. Yet, it is one of the primary requirements of success online.

If you don't do your own thinking...you won't make money online.

Don't get me wrong. You should buy and learn from training products. You should educate yourself from those who have succeeded before you.

In fact, I spend $10,000+ per year on Internet marketing training information (and I already do pretty well).

But when the rubber meets the road, it's up to me to succeed for myself and my family. You have to remember that.

I've had people who have bought a training tape set from me before who've emailed me later on. They asked, "Hey, I haven't made any money yet. Do you know what the problem is?"

I ask them a few questions such as:

"Can I see your web site?"

"Where have you advertised?"

"Have you written any autoresponder messages?"

The answer to all three questions came back as a "No." They told me that they just bought the product, signed up for my affiliate program, and were waiting for me to send them a check.

They hadn't even LISTENED to the product yet.

And this is not an uncommon occurrence. I hear from people all the time at seminars that they have spent as much as $20,000 on a "business opportunity" online and they're just hoping something might happen with it soon.

Let me settle this once and for all. There is not any magical money machine waiting for you out there. There is nothing out there that just has buttons on it that you push and money comes out (and if there was, it would be called a counterfeiting operation).

To succeed online requires hard work. Oh my, I used a 4 letter word, "Work." Sure, you may be able to automate your business and get it to earn it's income while you sit back and relax AFTERWARDS.

To get it to the point where it is an automated income streams requires a lot of work first.

And not only does it require WORK, but it also requires thinking. And that's the part people most dislike in my experience.

You have to think about what you're going to sell.

You have to think and research what people want to buy.

You have to think about where you're going to advertise.

You have to think about what to say in your ad.

You have to think about the article you're going to write.

YES. There are tools to help you with all the above, but nothing has ever or will ever be invented that takes out all of the thinking process.

If you buy a product on "ebook creation," then you can expect to have to WRITE an ebook. If you sign-up to promote an affiliate program, then you can expect to have to figure out ways to generate low cost traffic (just placing ads is a losing game when promoting other people's affiliate programs).

If you buy a license to someone else's product, then you can expect to have to figure out how to advertise AND build an opt-in email list (so you can earn multiple streams of income from your subscribers).

So, face it. If you want to succeed online, then expect upfront that you're going to have to work and think for yourself. Get tools to help. Buy items to train you. Learn from those who have already done it.

The best products that will do the most for you are those that actually teach you how to think for yourself.

When it is all said and done, success is your responsibility. And don't let anyone tell you differently.