21st Century Netpreneur

"Whether you're an old timer or a newbie to the Internet, one thing stands out - there are an awful lot of people appearing to make money with it and on it. The first question one has to ask when viewing this flurry of activity and the overwhelming number of offers that come our way on the world-wide-web is whether or not this is real? It's real, but beware. Illusions of opportunity and tricksters abound.

What separates this from other seemingly universal opportunities is that this one, unlike the gold rushes of the 19th century and the oil boom of the 20th is that this boom is universal. It is happening all at the same time, literally everywhere in the world, all at once. I won't go into the global ramifications of this politically or socially but we are as likely to be spun, diced and served by someone from Ghana and Singapore and all points in between as we are from someone in Hatch, New Mexico.

No boundaries exist and there are no limitations. In a nutshell the Internet, if you haven't quite caught on yet, is the biggest opportunity frontier we have ever explored. The thought is absolutely mind-boggling. Anyone, and I do mean anyone, with a computer and a way to plug into the Internet has available to them an unlimited opportunity, plain and simple. Let's look at the stats. In 2002 there were 500 million plugged in to the world-wide-web from all over the globe. Today, just four years later, this number has doubled.

There are now over one billion users and the growth is a straight line to the sky. Bottom line -- the speed of the market expansion is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. The market expansion will double again in just a couple of years.

Can we even begin to imagine the opportunity? Now how easy is it to break in? I always like saying, "In about a New York minute". It pretty well sums up how long it takes. There are those who have a head start, no question about it. Some have been soaking and/or serving folks from the late 90's and some even brag they have been doing it from the mid 90's as though they somehow know all there is to know. Actually, all anyone needs to know is that they can learn this in what, "a New York minute"?

If you can turn the computer on and off, you can do this. This is not rocket science. And, by golly, given enough tries at it, you too, can call yourself an "Internet Guru". The "guru" description when used in connection with the Internet, I must admit, tweaks my disgust button. I think of "gurus" as rare birds indeed, individuals that come along infrequently and who can be counted on to be the sages of the time. They always, it seems, possess a vast reservoir of deep understanding and expertise. But, on the Internet, we have exploiters by the dozens who fancy themselves as such. Do not be swayed.

In two days, you too can make yourself an expert and in two months, you can, if you wish to join their ranks, even call yourself an Internet "guru". All it takes is a little homework plus a couple of other self-proclaimed "gurus" proclaiming you're one of them. Click on "Internet gurus" on Google Search and you will find over 7 million references. Can you believe it? You see it's not hard to be one. Your first lesson is complete.

You already surmised these listings are a lot of hype and the biggest purveyor of them all is none other than Google itself. Easily, they are the biggest seller of the shovels to all these "online gold miners". Now who do you think are the billionaires?

The moral to all this is that looking back at you from your computer screen is opportunity, perhaps the biggest you may ever face in your life. When testifying before Congress and during their attempt to breakup Microsoft a few years back, Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, was asked what would he do if he were suddenly to lose it all. He reportedly said that all he would need is one of those, pointing to a staffers computer, and in a month, he would have made at least a million dollars.

What you do with your computer, how you do it, where you do it, and whom you do it for, will seriously determine whether or not you can ever really call yourself a "guru". You can, however, disdain the title altogether and quietly enjoy and accumulate the fruit of your efforts, day after day after day, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The potential rewards have never been greater.

Good hunting and good luck."

Author's Resource:

Dr. Fred DiUlus is CEO & founder of Global Academy Online, Inc, an e-Education pioneer and the author of several books and articles on entrepreneurship, ethics, and eLearning.