Very soon, I'll be traveling to Washington, DC to speak at a conference (JV Alert).

While I'm there, I'll get to do one of my favorite things: spend time with new online entrepreneurs. Newbies. Many of them will have never operated an Internet business before, and they'll be full of questions.

I truly enjoy visiting with these folks, because they're full of optimism and fresh hope for their own future. I believe they are the future of our country.

One thing, though, I find disheartening: they so often think too small.

At one of the most recent conferences where I was speaking, someone asked me, “Is it possible for me to make an extra $500 a month on the Internet?”

This makes me sad.

Why limit yourself in this way?

I think it's harder, in fact, for the person who asks this kind of question to make their goal of $500, than it would be for them to shoot for something bigger. Like, say, $5,000. Or even $50,000.

It all comes down to this: our beliefs and expectations are in absolute control of our actions. More often than not, we get exactly what we expect because what we expect is ultimately the only thing we will act on.

The person who asks if they can “make $500 a month” is really, in my opinion, expressing their unbelief that they will in fact make any money at all.

And if that is what you believe, chances are that is what you will receive.

Stop thinking so small! Small expectations and small goals do not have the power to give you energy. You will only take the required action for great success, when you're spurred by a great goal.