When my parents grew up there was a great deal of opportunity. As the statement went, you could...

"Work hard, get ahead in life."

That was true, you didn't even need a high school education. Many of the most successful people of that generation started working hard while they were in high school to the point where making an income became more important than finishing off their education.

It wasn't uncommon to "drop out" of school back then (and in particular college/uni). There was a great deal of demand and through the 60s, 70s and even 80s there was plenty of opportunity if you were simply willing to work hard. Then things changed and there were new requirements.

The WAVE of Education.

That is the focus of my generation and to a certain degree, the existing generation.

"Work hard, go to school, get ahead in life."

But this very idea is becoming increasingly incorrect as we as a society evolve in a direction where "most" have a degree in something. It is hardly a competitive advantage these days to have a university degree, and when the government loans people money to educate themselves, and when most jobs require it, there are going to be mass amounts of people doing it.

We now see people with college diplomas and university degrees working at Starbucks and working "McJobs". I have nothing against this and I respect EVERY person that is working for a living, but it shouldn't be that way. You don't spend 4 years on a university education only to get a sub par job and one that has very little to do, if anything to do, with your desired path.

Instead, you have a flood of people out there graduating with a degree only to end up in mediocrity. Hardly "getting ahead" in life like we have been conditioned to believe up to this point.

This formula no longer works. There is a new formula, one that has worked up to this point and that will continue to work as long as humans roam the worth. It is...

Work hard. Create an Internet business. Get ahead in life.

There is a fundamental process to being successful NOW, is fairly straight forward. There is just one new element, that is replacing the "go to school". No longer do we live in a world where we can simply go to school and get great jobs or earn a great income.

And SCHOOL certainly does not lead to self fulfillment, as often times you don't get to dictate your career, you end up choosing one that either pays the best or in most cases, that you get hired for (even though it may not be doing something you love to do).

The formula is different now and it will be different moving forward. It includes "working hard", "creating an internet business" and as a result, you will be able to get ahead in life (and be fulfilled int he process.

Step 1: Work Hard.

It has always required "hard work". It did back during the industrial revolution, it did during the education revolution, and it does now with the Internet revolution.

If you are not willing to work hard, you are not going to "get ahead" in life and you certainly are not going to achieve the success that you are capable of. This goes for anything from relationships, to athletics, to becoming a scholar, to operating a thriving business. Hard work is KEY.

So if you are willing to work hard, read on. If not, then I am afraid you are never going to be able to experience success within the online world, or the offline world. Hard work and success go hand in hand and success cannot exist without the hard work ingredient.

The next element to "getting ahead in life" is starting an internet business. It allows you to qualify for all the aspects that are defined as "getting ahead" which I will be explaining.

Step 2: Create an Internet Business.

Creating an online business has never been more viable, for ANYONE. There was a point in time when it was actually quite a technical process to build a business. There are some very uplifting things that have taken place in recent years and are the REALITY of creating an Internet business. They are as follows.

• Never Been More Efficient. There has never been a time in our lives, or within any generation where you can create a successful and thriving business with such cost efficiency. And there is no other platform in the world that comes close to the thorough, comprehensive and technical "internet business" environment that you have access to here at WA.
  
  You can literally create, run and maintain a business for the price of a membership here at WA and have EVERYTHING you need (for less than $1 per day). This is our new and very exciting reality as entrepreneurs.
  
  
• You Can Follow a Passion, Hobby or Interest. The Internet has afforded us all with the ability to chase our passion or greatest interests in life, and pursue this as our "business".
  
  This is something that has always been much more awkward to achieve, in particular with the high costs of operating a business within the offline world. Although you don't have the head in the direction of a "passion project" as your niche, it certainly can be your direction.
  
  
• Continual Education. The Internet is full of resources and education, and here at Wealthy Affiliate you get an ongoing education that will allow you to continue to advanced your skill set (and ultimately your business) as time goes on. If you are constantly educating yourself, you are growing.
  
  This creates personal and long term fulfillment as well as a great deal of value to your business.
  
  
• Anyone Can Do It. There is no gap between who can accomplish success online and someone who can't. You see people of all origins, of all shapes and sizes, of all ages, with different personalities and characteristics building amazing business online.
  
  Regardless of who you are, where you are located, your quirks, your current skill set and what "motivates" you, an Internet business can be a vehicle to any level of success you are willing to WORK for.

When I look back to when I started out back in 2002, even things such as building a website or publishing content were very arduous. Something that I can do now in 30 seconds, could have literally taken 30 days when I started out.

That is the beautiful part about innovation and evolution. I am sure the same will be the case as we continue to move forward and as we continue to provide you with an environment here at WA that allows you to operate a business with much more efficiency in your respective online businesses.

Result: Get Ahead in Life.

The ultimate goal for us. Of course, getting ahead means different things to different people and as you evolve as a person, as you experience new things, as you have life events, "getting ahead" will mean something different.

Ultimately, we all want to be comfortable in life. We want freedom of time. We don't want to have to worry about paying our next electricity bill and car payment. We want to be able to travel. We want to be happy. We want to learn new things. We want to spend more time with our family and friends. We want to enjoy life and feel good!

These are some ideas of "getting ahead in life", and you likely share many of these. These are some of mine indeed, but getting ahead requires several things. It's not just money.

Having an Internet business will allow you to check of these boxes.

(1) Earn Money. There are 4 BILLION people online and over 550 MILLION products/services online that you can promote as an affiliate marketer. And that is just one of the many ways in which you can make money online. As you establish an audience, a brand and a reputation within the online world, there are going to be a wide array of "money" business models that you can leverage to scale your business. The sky is truly the limit.

(2) Be Happy. To be happy, you have to enjoy what you are doing. But also a critical component of happiness is solving problems, without this we are not going to be able to have the same sense of "purpose" in life.

Purpose is created out of self education and this is something that comes hand in hand with an internet business. You will be constantly learning, but doing so within a category that you love. And if you ever get sick of your niche or want to do something new, you can shift directions or create multiple businesses at any time.

(3) Flexibility. This is a big one for me and you will hear this as one of the big advantages to running an online business. Not only do you have time flexibility, you have location flexibility. You can work when you want, from wherever you want. All you need is a computer/phone and access to the internet.

To this day I still have to pinch myself that I am able to operate my business from my house, a coffee shop, while on vacation, on a beach, in a coffee shop in Italy, or wherever I chose. It comes with me, it allows me to work during any hours I want for as long as I want, and it gives me the flexibility I need to focus on other things. That leads me to...

(4) Family. Many people operate their lives going to work for 8 hours per day, commuting several hours per day in traffic, and then they are lucky if they see their family for a few hours at night to see their family, wife/husband, and children.

That is the OLD way of living and with an Internet business, you truly can spend more time with your loved ones. Work and family can co-exist and work does not need to impact the time that you get to spend with your family when you work online!

(5) Travel. There is a big world out there and there is a lot of beautiful places to visit, amazing things to see, and delicious food to eat. When you run an Internet business, as mentioned earlier, you can operate it from anywhere in the world that you want. It will also allow you to generate enough income where you can travel more frequently, and generate income while you are on vacation.

The Internet never sleeps, nor does your business. Every day is a work day, and every day is a day in which you can travel. The two will go hand in hand. It's truly one of the most brilliant aspects about running an Internet business.

So I encourage you and welcome you to move forward within the new world. The Internet. It is where we are at and I can't see it going anywhere.

As we move forward through the next 20-30 years, those that work hard and build an Internet business are going to get ahead in life. There has never been a better time and you truly have the KEY to the Internet world here at Wealthy Affiliate with the tools, services, training, live classes, expert coaching, and networking capabilities. As far as I am concerned, if you are not working on the Internet, you are investing your time in the wrong place.

As always, I would love your thoughts and feedback on the Internet business world, the role it is currently playing in your life and where you see the next generational jobs/opportunities headed.