"You can make a lot of money on the Internet doing nothing!" That's the number one Internet marketing myth.

It's an urban legend, of course. But yet, that ideaology is still pervasive on the Internet.

So, I'm here to give it to you straight. Yes, you can make a lot of money on the Internet. But you first have to take the time necessary to educate yourself on Internet marketing. And after you do that, you have to work your butt off!

Now I'm sure many of you reading this article don't want to hear that. And those guilty of helping to perpetuate the myth point to the success of the current "flavor of the month," Brad Fallon.

However, what they don't tell you is while Brad is doing exceptionally well right now, initially him and his wife Jennifer busted their butts, working day and night fulfilling their many orders.

All of the successful people I know work hard like that. In fact, some of the most successful people I know work the longest hours.

Take me for instance. Most mornings I get up at five or six o'clock, because I can't wait to get started. And most nights, I don't get offline until around 10 or 11:00.

Now by my calculations, those are 17 or 18 hour work days. But it doesn't seem like work to me at all, because I'm doing what I love. And that's the whole point! I'm not putting in those hours because I have to, I'm doing it because I want to.

Why? Because I live by a certain philosophy which is:

"Any success you achieve will be in direct proportion to your hard work, desire and determination. The harder you work and the more desire and determination you have, the greater will be your success."

The above philosophy (which I coined, by the way) keeps me focused, hungry and working hard. Oh sure, I could work an hour or two on my computer every day and goof off the rest of the time. And do you know what would happen to my earnings? They would plummet--as would the earnings of most of my collegues, if they started playing more than working.

In conclusion, short of winning the lottery, robbing a bank or inheriting a fortune, with very few exceptions, I know of no legitimate way to make a lot of money without working hard for it!