Now, I realize that $10 million dollars may sound “too big to think about.” For me, $10 million dollars is a completely realistic goal. I understand completely that my journey to reaching $10 mill’ may include some tough work, but I know that I can make it happen and learn a lot in the process. When setting up your site’s monetary goals, it’s definitely important to live up to your potential and not be afraid to think big! I set the bar fairly high at $10 million dollars: most people would say: “Wow, Andrew Pavelski sure isn’t afraid to think big!” When setting your online goals, are they determined by what “other’s will think” about your goal? Or are you going to use the excuse of “just being realistic.” The real question you should ask yourself after setting your goal is: “Am I afraid to think big?” Quite frankly, it seems that many people are afraid to think big, or do think big, but cannot back up their “big thoughts” with the necessary actions.

Don’t let others determine your goals

It’s unfortunate that many people let others and society to influence their goal-making process instead of setting the bar higher. In my opinion, setting the bar higher forces you to have a good game-plan when going on your money-making mission, or any type of mission for that matter. No matter if you have the bar set high or low at the moment, you shouldn’t have allowed others to influence your goal-setting decision. In the end, goals should be important to you, not others. I am not running this website because my parents wanted me to or because my friends encouraged me to do it. I’m running this website because I really (really) want to make money online! It’s a topic that I’m passionate in learning more about because I, like many others, hope that this experience will allow me to quit my day job, allow me to spend less time working, and build up a source of passive income.

Keep setting the bar low = lower results

When you keep setting the bar low, you will naturally get lowered results. Why would you even set the bar low, when you know that you can achieve so much more? When you realize the benefits of setting the bar high, or even higher than you are capable of, you begin to formulate a specific plan to make your dream become a reality. Another great thing about setting the bar high is the fact that even if you don’t reach your target goal, you probably covered a lot more ground than if you worked for a lower goal. In the end, it is most important to allow yourself to think big, keeping in mind what you are capable of. You know what the best decision is for yourself — never let others determine what you can or can’t do!

Know what you’re capable of

Every person is unique and everyone has a different potential. Just because society, friends, or family think or acts a certain way, doesn’t mean you need to follow their trend. Know what you as an individual are capable of when looking to make money online. If your a complete n00b to the industry, you’ll be more likely to set the bar lower and not really know what your capable of. Every experience is part of the overall learning process and even if you are a complete n00b to the biz, you have potential to become an expert if you want to learn. No one starts out life having all the best blogging knowledge, the best way to build up more knowledge is to participate. Start your own blog, always try to learn, and participate in new opportunities as they arise. I always try to keep learning new things on my journey to wealth. In just over 1 month, I’ve learned a lot about what it will take to succeed in the make money online industry. I’ve learned through forums, other blogs, e-books, and the learning process is still happening… Knowledge online = power online. Know what you are capable of, but never be afraid to dive right in and begin participating. The best way to learn is from experience!

Take full responsibility — Back up your “big” thoughts with “big” actions

Whatever goal amount you set, take full responsibility for what you say you’ll accomplish. People like to see others set a time-limit on their goals, and follow through with achieving them. The moment you don’t follow through with what you say you’ll accomplish, is the moment you lose credibility and readership. If you follow through and fail, while shooting for your goal, no big deal — at least you can say that you put up your best possible effort. If you cannot accomplish your “big” dreams immediately, that’s fine and all part of the learning process. Admit your mistakes when you make them, learn from them, and move on to the next phase. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t learning and you may not be pushing yourself hard enough. Failure is natural when thinking big. As long as you put forth your best effort to back up your “big” thoughts with “big” actions, good things will happen.

Don’t be afraid, have some fun

Don’t be afraid of what others will think of your goal or of you for setting your goal. Being passionate about your goal is what will help you to succeed in the long-run and help you have fun. When I first began blogging, I didn’t know that it’d be something I’d actually have fun doing. Now that I’ve been doing it, I couldn’t see myself going without it. It is a hobby, business, and something that I personally enjoy doing each day. I am not afraid of what others think about my goal and have fun with working towards a big goal. I realize that there are smaller steps that I must take in order to reach my final destination, but I can work things out.

When setting your goals: stay SMART

• Specific — When setting your goal, it is important to be specific. Specify the dollar amount, or RSS subscriber count you hope to have.
• Measurable — It’s important to create criteria to measure your progress towards achieving the online goal that you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track and reach your target dates, you stay motivated, focused, and come closer to reaching your goal.
• Attainable — Ask yourself if you think your goal is attainable. Chances are if you don’t have faith in your ability to achieve your goals, it’s not attainable. You can attain pretty much any goal when you plan your steps wisely and know what it takes to attain your goal.
• Realistic — A goal can be “big,” but you must be willing to work towards achieving it. When you are both willing and able to take the proper steps towards accomplishment, your “big” goal becomes realistic.
• Time — In what period of time do you hope to accomplish your goals? Without a time limit set, you don’t have as much motivation behind your plan. If you don’t set a time limit, you allow yourself to procrastinate — ahh, I’ll wait until tomorrow before doing that. Procrastination sets yourself up for failure. When you have a realistic, yet specific time limit set on your goal, you will be much more likely to work hard towards it.

My Final 2 Cents

Have a good time with your goals and never be afraid to think BIG. Having a good plan of action and staying SMART with your goals are to key attributes to reaching success. Follow your dreams, follow your passion, and good things will naturally happen. When you find yourself thinking big, just realize that you must back it up with the necessary actions in order to succeed. Never let anyone tell you what you can or cannot accomplish — your dreams and goals are completely up to you. I’ve been thinking big for awhile, how ’bout you?

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