What is success worth to you? Would you do anything to achieve success? Do you have self-imposed boundaries that keep you from achieving your goals?
Many people are willing to do absolutely anything to get what they want, including lying and cheating. Some people will try to talk others into doing the dirty work for them.
Recently, I received an email from the Owner of a company who decided to fire his affiliate management company. They weren't producing the results he wanted and so he states, he's taken over the program himself. He lays out exactly what he's willing to do, and what he wants his affiliates to do, and it's not good.
This guy suggests that affiliates do whatever it takes to sell his products, including cheating and gaming the search engines, even if it means getting banned for a while. He justifies this saying, he would do it himself, but he can't afford to take the risk because of the inventory he has on hand, and concern for his employees.
I have to hand it to this guy, he does have some big balls to suggest this, but he's also very stupid. Turns out, the network canned him. Obviously, the guy didn't think this through. Others aren't as greedy as he is and won't tolerate playing a game like his.
What is success to me is to avoid self-imposed barriers, to do what others would never think of doing, but doing it inside the rules of the game. That is to be the best I can be inside the rules that will keep me from trouble. The best way is to learn what those rules are and push it to the limit without offending or breaking the rules.
What is success to me is long-lasting, not short-term. It's building upon a foundation, actually spreading my risk across multiple channels, not counting on a single source which could leave me vulnerable. There are many opportunities to discover what is success and I intend to capitalize on them, how about you?