If you're just starting out in online business, this can happen to you: frustration. It can happen to all of us. "No cash up front!" "Buy your dream home next week!" "Work only 1 hour a day!" Signing up with that so-called "golden" opportunity to make a "fortune" online can definitely lead to frustration.

We've all seen these types of hyped up ads. I mean, the Internet is literally drowning in them. With all those marketing efforts flooding your browser with ads, how do you know which opportunities are legitimate ones - and which just want to scam you for your credit card numbers?

Basically, there are only 2 ways to find the ripe fruit in an orchard virtually overgrown with rotten apples.

1 - Sign up, pay the price. Do the "work" and realize too late that you just flushed your hard-earned cash down the toilet.

2 - Do your due diligence. Search & research; find views, reviews and opinions of those who have already signed up (DO NOT rely exclusively on the onsite testimonials for this as they are just too easy to fake); do a search for information about the designers of the program, AND about the people who provide the testimonials; read EVERY word on the page promoting the opportunity; follow available links to affiliates and check out their credentials too; read every online article you can find relating to the opportunity; to keep spam out of your main inbox, create a unique email account to receive their newsletter if you sign up for it - just in case you can't unsubscribe. Lather, rinse & repeat. Then, if the opportunity still appeals to you, sign up, dive in and STICK TO IT.

As you can see, option #1 is a gamble, whereas option #2 would deliver much more satisfactory results. So why is it that so many of us get lured in by the scams? That's actually quite an easy question to answer: gratification. Taking the route outlined in option #2 requires a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of patience. The gamble illustrated in option #1 does have it's appeal: "Wow, this could be THE solution I've been looking for!".

Any search for solutions that we may undertake (whether for online business opportunities, or for anything else for that matter) is influenced by our desire for gratification - and the sooner, the better. It's that desire for immediate results that gets us into trouble. Unscrupulous marketers know this and are able to capitalize on it; it's called impulse buying. How many times have you purchased that cheap gadget or that totally useless little doohickie at the drug store checkout only to have wind up in the trash within a week?

Frustration is the result of unfulfilled desire.

Signing up for an opportunity with no due diligence is simply an attempt to fulfill a desire for immediate gratification: instant cash. There's the trap: NO legitimate online business opportunity is going to provide you with such immediate income. Legitimate opportunities do require work, research & education. Most of them provide that education based on their years of experience and the research that they have already done for you.

So, how do you deal with the frustration that you may be feeling after having been "suckered"? Simple: you must first understand - and accept - that you were reacting to a very human desire to feel better right now. The key here is then to invest in your feelings before you invest in an online business opportunity.

Invest in my feelings? Huh? Let me explain. Which emotion do you prefer: disappointment or excitement? I think the answer to that is obvious. You can easily generate disappointment and frustration by reacting to your desires. By acting on your desires, you can just as easily generate increasing anticipation and get excited about future fulfillment. Notice the difference? You can choose to react or to act - it's up to you. Either way, it's of the utmost importance to accept responsibility for the consequences - including how you feel.

Take your time to investigate the online business opportunities that interest you. Visit websites that provide information on a variety of affiliate programs. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of signing up with programs that provide one income stream versus those that provide multiple streams of income. Due diligence; with both the online business opportunities you may be considering, and with your own feelings. This is what can make or break your success online.

Stay tuned for my next article: Define What Really Motivates You to Start Your Online Business.