I need to take an emotional breath, step back and remind myself who's actually in charge of my life. ~ Judith Knowlton

A part of you can't wait to dive into your new career − but you're also smart enough to know that you can expect a few bumps along the road to success. By far, the biggest roadblocks exist between your own two ears!

Let's take a look at three common mental roadblocks and learn how to overcome them.

ROADBLOCK No. 1: Wishful Thinking

How many times have you wished you'd hit the lottery? Now, how many times have you actually won the lottery? Far too many people spend far too much time wishing when they should be dreaming.

So, what's the difference between wishing and dreaming?

Wishing is passive. We wish for things over which we have little or no control. We wish we were taller or thinner. We wish the waiter would hurry up. We wish our boss wasn't so [you fill in the blank].

The other thing about wishes is that they are often tinged with regrets about past decisions − both big and small. We wish we'd ordered the fish instead of the chicken. We wish we'd taken the other job. We wish we hadn't let the love of our life get away.

Dreaming is different. For one, a dream is active. Unlike wishes, we can actually do something about a dream. After all, you don't "wish up" a plan, you dream one up!

You may not get everything you dream of getting, but two things are certain:

1. It doesn't take a single extra ounce of energy to dream big than it does to settle.

2. You've got a lot more to gain by shooting high than by shooting low.

ROADBLOCK No. 2: What If Everyone Thinks You're Crazy?

You've probably already thought about the people you can count on to support your plan to create a more meaningful work/life. But have you also taken stock of those you should make a point NOT to turn to?

Unless you come either from money or from a long line of pioneers, you may not get the support you want from your family. With the best of intentions, you may find your dream of quitting your job to pursue your dream career met with advice to "play it safe," reminders that "you're lucky to have a good job," or a lecture on the seemingly insurmountable odds standing between you and success.

No matter how old you are, or how much you deny it, family approval does matter. This fact, of course, makes it all the more painful when the people we love fail to give us the emotional green light we so desperately seek.

Other people's fear, skepticism, and negativity can be as contagious as the flu. And unless you've built up your immune system, these dream stompers can knock you for a loop − especially when they are right in your own family.

You have a choice. You can either continue to turn to these naysayers in hopes that they'll respond differently, or you can choose the saner path of acceptance.

Don't look for support from people whose life experiences have not prepared them to know how to support your dreams. Instead, take advantage of the support that really is available.

ROADBLOCK No. 3: Fear of Change

The closer you come to leaving the security of your 9-to-5 job (no matter how much you want out) the greater your level of excitement and trepidation (see "Word to the Wise," below).

Anyone who has ever ventured out of their safe little world will tell you they had doubts. But when it comes to making a major life change, not only is a certain amount of fear perfectly normal, it's actually helpful. There is a reason the web site is called ChangingCourse.com and not Jump-off-a-Cliff.com. The healthy part of fear is what will keep you from quitting your in a huff before you’ve put some other things in place. And the great thing about fear is that there are ways to deal with it.

So, try laughing in the face of fear. Am I kidding? No. Ridiculing your fears is actually a very effective technique for banishing them − because the mind rejects that which it considers absurd.

The trick is to turn your fears into a ridiculous event in your mind. That way, you allow your natural human reaction to absurdity to take over and dismiss them.

Try it yourself. Take your biggest fear and take it to extremes. Really exaggerate it. Let's say you're paralyzed by the fear of failure. Try picturing your entire family, all of your friends, your neighbors, everyone you went to high school with, even your boss, standing outside your cardboard-box home holding up signs that read: "We Told You So!"

Pretty ridiculous, right? When you realize that your worst-case fantasy is just that − a fantasy − what felt overwhelming will now feel much more manageable.

Another way to manage the fear of venturing out on your own is to start small. If the thought of just up and quitting your day job frightens you, start building your client base on the side. Begin with low-risk steps and gradually work your way up to the harder stuff.

Remember, courage is not a matter of losing your fear so you can take action; courage comes from taking action. And that, in turn, helps you overcome your fear. When you can act despite your fears, you will be rewarded many times over.

Using the Internet and Information Products to Make More… and Work Less

By Valerie Young

I have a confession to make. When I signed up to attend Alexandria (Ali) Brown’s (a.k.a. the Ezine Queen’s) Online Success Blueprint Workshop last November, I had fairly modest expectations.

After all, I’m not exactly new to marketing. In fact when I started the original (pre-website) Changing Course Newsletter back in 1995, I had seven years experience in corporate marketing to draw from. That background definitely came in handy three years later when I launched the online version of Changing Course.

On the other hand, marketing online meant I also had to learn a whole other set of skills and strategies. It was steep learning curve. And most of my success was the result of trial and error… lots of trials and even more errors. Slowly but surely, though, things began to happen.

Since going online in 1998 I’ve managed to attract over 23,000 newsletter subscribers, set up an affiliate program, create and sell a number of different eBooks, CDs, and other information products, run dozens of Tele-classes, develop profitable joint partnerships with people like Barbara Sher, Barbara Winter, and others, and establish a profitable consulting business doing what I love best – helping people turn their interests into income.

If I’m already so successful you may be wondering why I would bother to shell out thousands of dollars to fly out to Los Angeles to attend a workshop called Online Success Blueprint.

Well for one, over the years I’d hear about all these big time Internet marketing gurus who make big promises. But I’d never actually been to any one of their seminars. Since I know money is an issue for a lot of my readers, I was curious to see first-hand whether these high-priced Internet marketing seminars delivered enough content to justify the cost.

Don’t get me wrong... I knew I’d learn "something." After all, a workshop being run by a woman who has managed to build a business that generates $100,000 in sales… a MONTH is bound to contain at least a few nuggets of wisdom. Right?

"Online Marketing Made Easy"

Boy was I wrong. There is a reason why Ali subtitled her workshop "Online Marketing Made Easy." This workshop did not contain "a few" nuggets… it contained HUNDREDS of nuggets. There were times during the workshop when I literally couldn’t write fast enough. And I wasn’t the only one. A lot of the people I met in L.A. were in the early stages of launching their consulting, writing, speaking, or coaching businesses.

As my idea list grew to 16 pages long I remember thinking to myself, if someone like me who already has an ezine and who has been selling information products for years is walking away with this many tips, I can only imagine how blown away the other people in the room are. Keep in mind, too, that my personal idea list was on top of all the resources and templates I had at my fingertips in the nearly 297 (that’s double-sided) pages of printed materials that came with the workshop.

Why should you consider buying this program? I don’t throw sales numbers around lightly. But the fact of the matter is that after returning home from this workshop, I generated over $50,000 in sales and added over 1,000 new prospects to my mailing list.

Now let me be very clear about something. My business started undergoing a rapid upward shift before I attended Ali’s seminar. At the same time there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the strategies I learned at the Online Success Blueprint Workshop contributed greatly to that big up tick in earnings between November and January.

And I’m not done applying what I learned by a long shot. One night in my room at the LAX Hilton I woke up with an idea that I am convinced will generate six figures.

So when Ali wrote last week to attendees to share any results they’d seen following the workshop I was all too happy to try share my personal experience. (You can read my testimonial for yourself at ChangingCourse.com/recommends/blueprintworkshop.)

3 Reasons Why I Recommend the Online Success Blueprint Workshop

There is only so much you can say in a short testimonial. So, I’d like to expand on the three reasons why I recommend this product for any of you who either are – or serious about becoming – a coach, consultant, author, speaker, or other solo-entrepreneur.

1) It is geared to the "average" person who wants to promote themselves and their business online.

A lot of these online marketing workshops tend to attract savvy people with a lot of online experience. From what people tell me, a lot of them are trying to make a quick buck using Google ad words or otherwise working the system. In contrast, I know just enough about technology to be dangerous and am looking to build a business, not hop on the latest get-rich-quick train.

Within the first hour of the Online Success Blueprint Workshop, I knew it was designed for "my people" namely… solo-entrepreneurs, some with established businesses but many others who are just starting out on their journey from having a boss to being the boss.

The people I met were not looking to build a big complicated empire or to make a fast buck and then move onto the next thing. The workshop was geared to "regular people" who, like me, want to make good money doing work they love and who want to have more time to enjoy life in the process.

2) It covers literally everything you need to know to market yourself and your business online.

This workshop is jammed-packed with immediately useful information. Let me just point out a few of the many topics that I think someone like you who is either just starting or in the process of growing a business might find especially helpful:

~ Publish a simple ezine that makes you money

~ Secrets of money-making websites

~ How to attract targeted visitors to your website and grow your list

~ Make your website attract traffic, in as little as 15 minutes

~ Create easy-to-sell information products

~ Create sales pages that sell FOR you

3) It is delivered in an easy-to-understand, step-by-step format.

I don’t often talk about the fact that I have doctorate in adult education. That’s because I know there are people out there who will see it as the reason for my success and therefore use it as an excuse not to go after their dream.

I’m telling you this here because in addition to tuning into "what" is being delivered, the workshop designer and leader in me is also paying close attention to "how" the content is being delivered.

In addition to being a polished presenter, I was delighted to discover that Ali is an excellent educator as well. I think you will be thoroughly impressed with how she managed to break down how coaches, speakers, authors, and consultants can use the Internet to generate greater profits (a potentially overwhelming topic) into 7 basic steps.

It’s the simple step-by-step format of this course that truly makes this a "blueprint" for online success. What’s more, it is a process that anyone can learn and use, even if you don’t currently have a website or a product. If you dedicate an hour a week to studying this blueprint I can’t imagine how you could fail to see results.

On a personal note, I feel really good about everything I’ve managed to accomplish before attending this workshop. But the reality is, it took me years before I could rely solely on my online income. I know a lot of you need or want to move a lot faster. Having seen how this course can accelerate your success I’d like you to be aware that this is a way to move a lot faster than I did.

So, if you are – or want to be – an author, speaker, consultant, or coach and you are ready to start seriously marketing your current or future products and services this year, then I urge you to act fast.

According to the email I received Monday, it looks like Ali has already received 148 registrations out of the 200 seats available for the upcoming Blueprint Workshop this November. Her payment plan option ends September 5th, and I'm sure she'll be sold out.

To learn more the Online Success Blueprint in a Box (and meet some of the people I met at the workshop) go to ChangingCourse.com/recommends/blueprintworkshop

Note from Lisa: Ali's offering a free Teleseminar series through October. Our own Valerie Young will be featured in a call on Wednesday, September 5th along with four other students of Ali's who have used email, websites and the internet to make multiple 6-figures (and even 7-figures) in their business. (And more importantly, how YOU can do the same.) You can sign up and listen to previous recordings at ChangingCourse.com/recommends/blueprintcalls