Visualization - The Key to Achieving Your Goals

There is absolutely no better way of staying focused than by setting goals and there is no better way of achieving goals then by visualization. Visualize exactly where would like to be this time next week, next month, in six months, or in a year. Now find a way to remind yourself of what you’re working for, a way to keep a visual account of what your ultimate goal is. For me it’s becoming completely debt free and I’m doing this so I can afford more for my family.

Once I clearly defined my goals I held a family meeting and had each of my children write down one goal they have for their future and what they will need to accomplish it. One of my children wants to become a photographer, to accomplish this she needs a camera and she would like to take photography lessons. Another wants to become a gymnast, she needs gymnastic classes. I have 10 children so I won’t list all of their goals, but you get the idea.

On the wall in my home office that I face as I’m working, we put together a huge collage. In the center I have a debt chart where I’m keeping track of how much debt I pay off each month and how much closer that brings me to my ultimate goal of becoming debt free. Surrounding my debt chart is a picture of each one of my children, next to them is a picture they chose to represent their goal. This visual presentation not only gives me a constant reminder of what I’m working for, it gives my entire family a reminder of why Mom is working so hard. By doing this they all feel that they are a part of our home business and take their roles as helpers very seriously. I’ve noticed since I implemented my visual presentation my children interrupt me less often during my “business hours,” they have become more self sufficient, and they help around the house more, and I get more accomplished.

Focus - Visualize - Accomplish!

That Day in May...

I got an email this morning from a young woman that not only broke my heart, but also brought back vivid memories of my beginning days in Internet Marketing. She was writing to ask me if I thought she could make enough money on the internet to live on. Her husband recently left, leaving her with two small children to support. My answer to her is a resounding YES. I know this from personal experience, which takes me back several years, to that horrible day in May...

It started out as a lovely Mother's Day. At that time I had 5 children - 2 biological, 2 in guardianship and 1 in foster care who we were in the process of adopting. We went out for a beautiful breakfast, rented a couple of movies, then sat down to play some games with the kids. In the middle of a game my husband got up from the table and asked to speak with me privately in the other room. He announced to me that he was tired of doing "the family thing" and was going upstairs to pack. He also informed me that (although he had just gotten paid) he wouldn't be leaving me any money since he would be needing to buy himself a new bed, night stand, t.v., etc. A half hour later I watched my husband walk out the front door, suitcases in hand. I was completely stunned. Having been a stay at home mom for 15 years I had no idea how I was going to support my children. Thoughts started racing through my head.... since he had just gotten paid I hadn't been able to go grocery shopping yet and the cupboards were bare, the car payment was due, the mortgage was due, and so were all the utilities. I was in the process of adopting my beautiful baby Hope, who had been with us as a foster child since her birth 3 years earlier. Were they going to take her away from me now that I was apparently going to be a single parent? Her termination hearing (to terminate parental rights and release her for adoption) was only 3 weeks away! How was I going to find a job? I hadn't worked in 15 years! I had no experience. How would I pay a sitter to watch all of my children? Especially Joseph! My wonderful little Joseph, Hope's biological brother. Joseph and I have always had a special connection, but not many other people were able to control him. At that point Joseph was almost 6 and had a lot of issues as a result of being born drug exposed and FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome). Later Joseph would also be diagnosed as having aspburger's syndrome (in the autistic spectrum). Panic set in.

I wish I could say that I looked to the internet as a way to save the day, started earning money right away and supporting my family every since has been a cakewalk. The truth is that my electricity was shut off several times, I almost lost my house, I did lose the car. It took me about 6 months to get my act together online and learn how to make it work for me. Back in the day it was a little harder to earn money on the internet than it is now. There are so many wonderful ways to work online now that weren't available then.

The good news is that there are ways to get started earning money right away now. The bad news is that if you want to earn enough money to bring in a good second income or even support your family, it's going to take time to build up. There's a learning curve for everybody, my goal is to help shorten that curve. I love it when I'm able to help someone get started making a living online. I don't have all of the anwers, and I'm always searching for new and better ways to make money online, but my prayer is that you'll be able to learn enough, quickly enough, through knowing my mistakes, not to have to go through what I did starting out.

The question I am asked more than any other is how I earn enough to support my family. The truth is that I was fortunate enough years ago to get involed in a company that has paid me residual income all of these years. I actually took several years off of internet marketing. In the meantime, I did adopt Hope, I never did go outside of my home to work so I never needed to find a sitter for Joseph. Although I did lose my car I was able to buy another one, and a few years later I was able to buy a nicer one. I finished raising the oldest of my 3 children, Joseph and Hope I continue to raise. After taking a few years off from foster care to learn how to support my children and get my head on emotionally I was able to start taking in foster children again. For years I had specialized in hard to place children, especially those with FAS, or drug exposed infants. It was one of the things durring that period of my life that I missed the most. I eventually was able to go on to adopt (finalized on September 4th, YEA!!!) a sibling group of 5 children, giving me a total now of 10 children and (very soon to be) 2 grandchildren.

Although I continue to receive residual income monthly it is dwindling down to a very small monthly income, so here I am... back in the saddle again! Now my income comes primarily from 3 sources. Referral income from GPT (get paid to) sites, niche marketing, and writing articles. Over the next few weeks I'll be writing more aobut how I am able get enough referrals to bring in a nice monthly income from GPT sites.

Why Cash Crate is one of the Best GPT Sites in the Industry

 

When I first set out to find new ways of earning money online, Cash Crate was the first GPT (get paid to) program I came across. Assuming it was just another internet scam, I skimmed their website and moved on. But a few days later I couldn't stop wondering about it. If their claims were true this could be a nice extra income stream for me. Not really expecting much, I went ahead and signed up. Now, several months and several hundred dollars later, I can tell you that Cash Crate is definitely NOT a scam. After having a good experience with them, I went on to sign up for several other GPT sites, many of which I have made quite a bit of money at, but Cash Crate remains my favorite for several reasons, which I will address in this review.

What Is Cash Crate?
Cash Crate is a Get Paid To site that allows you to earn money by taking surveys and completing trials and offers. Companies are always looking for consumers to try their products or services. GPT programs, such as Cash Crate are hired by advertising companies to provide these leads. Cash Crate gets paid by these companies; they then pass on up to 75% back to us.

How Are You Paid?
Cash Crate automatically sends you a check each month for the previous month’s earnings. All you need to do is earn a minimum of $10 to each month to qualify for payment. I can't even begin to tell you how easy this is. I was able to do this within the first few hours of working with Cash Crate. Within a few days I was up to over $50.

Do You Need to Refer Anybody to Earn Money?
Absolutely NOT. You can earn quite a bit of money without referring a single person. If you are like me though and enjoy recruiting new members, there is a very good income to be made this way as well.

Cash Crate has one of the best referral programs available in the GPT industry. This is one of the reasons that Cash Crate remains my favorite GPT site. Cash Crate's excellent referral program makes it not only lucrative, but also easy to refer others to. In my experience, once people understand the power behind this referral program they are very eager to join.

Cash Crate pays you 20% of what your referrals earn and 10% of what their referrals earn. Plus once your referral earns enough to cashout for their first time (only $10) they also give you a $3 bonus. Once you have 50 active referrals under you they raise your referral commissions to 25%!

I compared Cash Crate's referral system to other GPT sites and this is what I found: Between the high referral rates offered by Cash Crate, their quick crediting, and consistent payment history, Cash Crate holds the most earning potential. After several months of working with close to 20 different GPT sites, I can tell you that I consistently earn far more money at Cash Crate than any other GPT site.

If you'd like to try Cash Crate for yourself you can get started here: CashCrate

GPT (get paid to) Sites VS. Survey Sites, What's the Difference?

I am asked this question often so I thought I'd take a minute to explain the differences between GPT sites and survey sites. GPT sites act as a middle man between the advertiser and consumer.

The survey's you'll find on GPT sites are typically thinly disguised sales ploys. We've all seen them, most of us have even spent a few minutes filling one out. My email box is often filled with offers like these... "Fill Out a Free Survey to Claim Your Free Apple IPod" or "Win $500 In Groceries" only to finally realize that in order to actually get that Apple IPod you're going to have to sign up for several offers and get your friends to do the same. With all of the changes in the telemarketing industry over the past few years, the "No Call List" being the final blow, advertisers have had to come up with new more innovative advertising techniques, and this is a prime example of one of them. However, with all of the anti-spam regulations the problem then became how to get traffic to these "survey" sites. This is when GPT Sites stepped up to the plate. In exchange for supplying leads to these advertisers, they are given a commission, which they in turn share with us, the lead. Now instead of filling out a survey in hopes of claiming my Apple IPod I am paid by the GPT Site to fill out the survey. Basically I am being paid to be a lead, doing the very same thing I used to do for free. I am also paid to refer others to GPT sites. This works for all of us, the GPT Site owners are paid, my referrals are paid, their referrals are paid, I am paid, we're all happy. GPT sites list all of their offers and tell you what you'll be paid for completing each offer. To get started earning money with GPT Sites check out one of my favorites, Cash Crate. For a full list of GPT sites visit My Website.

Unlike GPT sites which are basically paying you to be a lead, survey sites conduct market research. You are paid to give your opinion about products and services that you have used, or that you may use in the future. Occasionally you'll be asked to become a part of a focus group. Also unlike GPT sites, survey sites don't have a list of surveys for you to choose from. When first signing up at survey sites they'll ask you a series of questions to gather information that will be useful for market research. When they have a survey that fits your demographics they'll email you and ask you to participate in that particular survey Survey's you complete for market research pay anywhere from a few dollars to $50 but aren't as readily available as the offers on GPT sites. This is one of the survey sites that I do well with. It's a good example and they pay you $5 to sign up - Panda Research. If you plan to take surveys to add some extra income each month I highly recommend signing up for several survey sites. In this way you'll get more survey offers. Here's a list of some of the survey sites I belong to:

Synovate
Survey Networks
Neilson Ratings
Survey Team
ECN Research
Survey Payoff
The Net Panel
Panda Research
Surveys4Profit