For those who have been engaged in one business or another, you have a valuable resource you may not have even considered. Your experiences. Both successes and failures are invaluable to others starting out or trying to do a better job. The flip side is to seek out those who have more experience to see what you can learn from their example.

Even when you have completely failed at a business, you should take the time to reevaluate the cause of the demise. This information can be invaluable as you seek a reversal of fortune. Starting your next enterprise or refocusing your efforts on your other revenue streams can then benefit. The idea is to learn from your mistakes or you will be doomed to repeat them.

Just as you can learn from a failure, you can also learn from successes. No success is so great that it cannot be improved upon. Basking in the glory of ones success is fraught with danger. No business is a static entity but a dynamic process that changes with the tides and has to be continuously monitored to maintain forward mobility or be stuck in the mire of complacency. No business is so secure or beyond the grasp of failure that it can be ignored.

Every day brings its own set of challenges. A watchful eye on ones own workings no matter how small or grand the effort will reap the rewards of a rushing waterway rather than the toxic stagnation of a still pool. Darting about dodging the pitfalls of going with the flow will allow you to maneuver the uncharted waters of internet marketing as it were.

For a grand example consider Microsoft or IBM. Both were giants in there day but over time have lost their grip on the populace and now suffer the ignominy of a decaying corporate structure. Their tale is a cautionary tale of how complacency in the marketplace can lead to utter destruction. Although they are in no danger of falling into the bankruptcy courts, their fortunes are not as massive as would have been thought a mere 10 years ago. The scrappy smaller companies who rose to the challenge of the new era have seen significant gains. One hopes that the giants of industry will rise from the ashes as the Phoenix of old and learn from past sins. Complacency can render even the mightiest of the mighty impotent in the face of progress.

Looking over the plight of the fallen as well as those who rose in favor can benefit anyones business. Take the lead by innovation and never settling for your current progress and small victories. When your fortunes fail, look to learn and push forward for as the great poet implores, all things must pass. Keep a watchful eye on the great machinery of your enterprise and never fall into the same ruts or risk utter destruction.