If your new on-line business is not yet reaping the rich harvest you expected, it's time to take heart. Sit back for moment and accept that you are merely at the beginning of a wonderful and exciting journey - not the end.

Maybe you were lucky and you hit a winning streak straight off. But if you're like 99% of beginners, you've experienced a few failures.

There's an old saying that goes, "Wise is the man who learns from failure. Wiser still is the man who learns from the failures of others".

Consider the fortunes of a 19th century American who finally succeeded big time after a whole run of failures and setbacks:

1831 He failed in business
1832 He was defeated for legislature
1833 He failed again in business
1835 His sweetheart died
1836 He suffered a nervous breakdown
1838 He was defeated for speaker of legislature
1840 He was defeated for elector
1843 He was defeated for Congress
1848 He was defeated again for Congress
1855 He was defeated for Senate
1856 He was defeated for Vice-President
1858 He was defeated again for Senate

But he had some notable successes too!

1834 He was elected to legislature
1837 He received a license to practice law
1842 He was married
1846 He was elected to Congress
1860 He was elected 16th President of the USA!

Even if you're not a US citizen, you probably realize by now that the man I'm speaking about is Abraham Lincoln. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest Americans ever.

But it wasn't always so.

Read his "failures" list again, then tell yourself that you CAN succeed and go out and prove it. I can almost guarantee that any failures you have along the way will pale into insignificance compared to what Abe went thru.

One thing that the "How To" books usually fail to tell you is that it takes time and hard work to succeed with a business on-line (or offline). I know this is not what you want to hear, but it's generally the truth just the same.

The good news - and there certainly is good news - is that a few failures along the way does not mean complete failure. Discovering you have done something wrong can be a very effective way of learning how to do it right!

One way of minimizing your failures is to learn from the experiences of others.

Go back again and read Abe's "failures" list one more time. Then remind yourself that he went on to become President of the USA. You may not become President, but you CAN build up a great on-line business. All you really need is the will to succeed and the knowledge that it won't happen overnight - but that it WILL happen one day.

Trust in your own ability to succeed. Remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Self-trust is the first secret of success".

And remember too the words of that great British politician, Sir Winston Churchill, famous for his many rousing speeches. On one occasion when invited to address Oxford University he delivered a simple but powerful message to the students: "Never give up!"

He paused several seconds then barked out his message again to conclude the speech: "Never give up!"

I wish you all the success you deserve.

John Coutts runs Write Design, a multi-media and web design company. He is a published writer and freelance journalist. http://www.write-design.co.uk

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