Whether you're an old timer or a newbie to the Internet, one thing stands out. There are an awful lot of people appearing to make money with it and on it. The first question one has to ask when viewing this flurry of activity and the overwhelming number of offers that come our way on the world-wide-web is whether or not this is real.

It's real but beware. Illusions of opportunity and tricksters abound. What separates this from other seemingly universal opportunities is that this one, unlike the gold rushes of the 19th century and the oil boom of the 20th century is that this boom is universal and all at the same time, every where at once. I won't go into the global ramifications of this politically or socially but we are as likely to be spun, diced and served by someone from Uganda and Singapore and all points in between as we are from someone from Cloudcroft, New Mexico.

No boundaries exist. There are no limitations. In a nutshell the Internet, if you haven't quite caught on yet is the biggest opportunity frontier we have ever explored and the thought of that is absolutely mind-boggling. Anyone, and I do mean anyone, with a computer and a way to plug into the Internet has created for them an unlimited opportunity, plain and simple.

Let's look at the stats. In 2002 there were 500 million plugged in from all over the world. Today, just four years later, that number has doubled. There are now one billion users. Bottom line is the speed of the market expansion is accelerating and it will double again in just a couple of years. Can you even begin to imagine it?

Now how easy is it to break in? I always like saying, "In about a New York minute". It pretty well sums up how long it takes. There are those who have a head start, no question about it. Some have been soaking and/or serving folks from the late 90's and some even brag they have been doing it from the mid 90's as though they somehow know all there is to know. Actually, all you need to know is that you can learn this in what, "a New York minute"? If you can turn the computer on and off, you can do this. This is not rocket science. And, by golly, you too can call yourself an "Internet Guru".

The "guru" description when used in connection with the Internet, I must admit, has always tweaked my disgust button. I always thought of "guru's as rare birds indeed, individuals that came along infrequently that can be counted on to be the sages of the time. They possess a vast reservoir of expertise. But, on the Internet, we have exploiters by the dozens who fancy themselves as such. Do not be swayed. In two days, you can make yourself an expert and in two months, you can, if you wish to join their ranks, call yourself an Internet "guru". All it takes is a little homework and a couple of other self-proclaimed "gurus" to back you up. First check out the good guys and the bad guys.

Click on "internet gurus" on Google and you will find over 7 million references. Can you believe it?

Your first lesson is complete. You already surmised these listings are a lot of hype and the biggest purveyor of them all is none other than Google itself. Easily, they are the biggest seller of the shovels to all these "gold miners". Now who do you think are the billionaires?

The moral to all this is that staring at you from your computer screen is the biggest opportunity you may ever face in your life. When testifying before Congress during their attempt to breakup Microsoft, Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, was asked what would he do if he were suddenly to lose it all. He reportedly said that all he would need is one of those, pointing to a staffers computer, and in a month, he would have made at least a million dollars.

What you do with your computer, how you do it, where you do it and whom you do it for will determine whether or not you can call yourself a "guru". The opportunity has never been greater. Good hunting and good luck.