The answer to this is very simple, but it can also be very painful to contemplate. Because the answer is, quite simply, that YOU are the difference - and not because of what you have or who you are, but because of how you approach your goals.

Everybody experiences some kind of conflict around the things they want. It might be that you want to buy new clothes, but you know the money should go on your credit card. Or you might want to spend the weekend at home, but you know your family haven't seen you in a while. These kinds of conflicts we deal with all the time, probably without even thinking about it too much. But what if one of your big goals is to be closer with your family, and you have a conflict that you want to stay at home that weekend? You have to decide which is more important.

So what has this got to do with the business world? Well - most people start their own business because they have seen someone else having success in that area, and it is something that they feel they could do. In the internet world, that often means joining a system of some sort, usually with a mentor. So what makes the difference between the person who joins that system and changes their life and the person who does not? The system is the same, the abilities are the same, even the amount of money and time to invest are the same, yet one person becomes a millionaire while the other proclaims that same opportunity as yet another scam.

The difference between these two people is how they handle conflicts. Being totally focused on the success of your business is the key first step - with absolutely everything else taking a back seat. When it comes to Saturday night and you would normally spend time with your family - what happens to your business? If you are half dead from a long day at work - what happens to your advertising plan for that night? If you have to make the decision between putting money into advertising or buying new clothes - will your clothes last another month?

Failure does not occur as a single, massive event - it occurs as a result of many small, bad decisions each day. In the same way, success is not accompanied by a loud fanfare and fireworks - it appears as you make good decisions each day. If you want to gain weight - all you need to do is decide to choose pizza and chocolate instead of salad and lean chicken. And making the right decisions for your business at each step is all that you need for success. That's sometimes easier said that done, but here's how I have come to approach this:

First off - pick your top 3 goals. You can go for just one, but most of us like a few things - maybe your business, a new car and a bigger house, for example. But you have to have a small target to focus on - so don't pick goals that will immediately conflict - like building a new business and playing golf every day, for example.

Next - get very clear on those goals - really use all the visualisation techniques and get into that role. This is an exercise that you will want to do daily as you start this process, but the main thing is that you get into the skin of the person that you will become when you achieve those goals.

Finally, start being that person each and every day. So each time you have to make a decision, whether it's a major one or just deciding to go to lunch, you are making that decision as your new persona. The more of your decisions that come from that place, the faster you will get to your goal - then your life will become exactly as you pictured it!

It's safe to say that this approach will involve sacrifices. But you have a choice here - you can live with the pain of discipline and focus for a short time in order to have the life of your dreams, or you can live with the pain of regret and "what if" for the rest of your life! Master this skill and you can be living the kind of life most do not even dare to dream of - keep drifting from decision to decision and you will never see your full potential.