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Dreams Are Made Reality One Step At A Time

August 20, 2010 By 1 Comment

Everyone has a dream. For those of us in the online world…it is to see our little corner of the web grow. For others around the world, it might be professional achievement in corporate, a healthy set of two kids or even that car they drooled over as a kid. Each of these dreams are achievable, but many people run throughout life talking about their dreams only to find out later they were just words hitting air. Time goes on…things come up…and somewhere down the road…action was not taken. Every day of the week you can walk down the street and hear people talking about their dreams and what they want to accomplish, so what separates those that achieve their goals from those who just pay them lip service over time? Is there a secret? Is there something you can do today to change the outcomes of tomorrow?

Dream Lock: The Action Of Doing Nothing

It does not matter what your dream is. It can be a personal goal or a professional achievement. If you focus on the dream solely hoping that one day it will come true, you are going to be constantly waiting. I like to think of this as dream lock. The dreamer has an idea of where they want to head, but by focusing on the last step 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…they forget that there are steps 1 through 285 that need to be carried out before the dream can be realized.

By focusing on the dream and not how to get there…the dream becomes another “I wish I could have” in the life of the dreamer. Why does this happen? It’s simple. It is a lot more fun to talk about the dream ahead than it is to sit in reality about the boring steps it takes to get there. Instant gratification of the thought of a dream can often times be more satisfying to the human psyche than the accomplishment of a small task that adds up to that dream.

Dreams Are Made Reality One Step At A Time

Like most things in life, it is the small steps that matter. The small steps add up over time to bring you to the big reward. When you have a dream, it is important to have that focus to know where you want to end up down the road, but…during that process…the focus on step 1 and then step 2 and then step 3. By focusing on each step and checking them off the list, each step will add up to your dream.

Set the goal but focus on the steps.

By following that simple theory and keeping your focus on action, your dreams become a reality before you know it.

Too Much Future Thinking Is Overwhelming

Right now, my wife and I are going through some issues at home that are hard to deal with. Starting a family is proving to be a little bit more involved than we had hoped for, so there are certain things we are having to do that are outside of the normal way to do things. If we continue to sit back and wonder “what if” or just focus on the end result instead of the action we need to take to get there, we will end up overwhelming ourselves and getting into a situation where we freeze.

This theory of taking it one step at a time holds even more true for toughest situations in our lives. To truly be successful or tackle elements out of our control, we have to focus on each step and not lockup. It’s hard, but no one promised that life would be easy. Who we are is defined by the actions we take and by choosing inaction…you are making the conscious decision to be just another number. By choosing action…you are making the decision to be extraordinary.

Our success as human beings in life is the addition of small steps taken over time. Which step forward are you taking today?

Image by Michelle Brea

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Trust, Credibility and How To Lose It As A Blogger and Marketer

August 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Internet marketing can be a jungle. Everyone is fighting to be the first to release products while at the same time relying on others to help promote them. While everyone is watching out for #1, there is an unwritten truth throughout the industry that you need the help of others to get ahead, so you better not burn too many bridges. Typically, this keeps everyone on their best behavior and everything rolls along smoothly, but…every now and then…something happens that you attach your name to that either isn’t on the up and up or is dancing around that sleezy line that you would rather not be involved with. Before we get specific…let’s talk about credibility, trust and their rolls in your blogging.

Your Online Credibility Is Built One Reader At A Time

Online street cred is not an easy thing to come by. By building up trust with your readers, fellow bloggers and companies that want to deal with your blog over time, you are able to establish a strong, positive credibility online. This takes time and sometimes lots of it. With each action, you are adding to your point total and this happens progressively through consistent effort and results.

This is nothing new to the business world. Just like with brick and mortar businesses, you have to watch who you associate with in blogging because your name and your brand get attached to everything you touch. At the drop of a hat, several wrong decisions (or sometimes even one) can strip you of your positive trust and you are back to square one clawing and scraping for anything you can get.

So your job as the blogger is to protect that credibility by watching who you associate with, how you treat your readers, the quality of the products you release and controlling the quality of the products you promote. It is a constant balancing act all with the same goal…to build our business.

A Recent Situation: Fake Scarcity

Recently, I was caught in a situation that I had attached my name to that made me uneasy. Fake scarcity was attached to a product I was promoting but I didn’t know it was happening. Let me preface by saying a couple of things off the bat…

Scarcity When Followed Through With Is Not A Bad Thing

Yes, especially in the blogging/mmo niche, we deal with scarcity on digital products. Many of you might say…”there is no way you can only have 150 eBooks…that is dumb and sleazy.” However, scarcity with digital products can serve two functions.

  1. It Can Control The Amount Of Work – If you are releasing a product that is going to require a lot of follow up time and support, only releasing a certain amount of copies, spots, etc. can keep your work level manageable on the backend. Can you imagine trying to converse and support thousands of people? I can’t…so sometimes putting a limit on things is a good idea from a quality standpoint.
  2. Scarcity Gets The Tire Kickers Off The Couch – By only allowing purchase of the product for a specific period of time or raising the price after a prelaunch, you are able to get people to take action. The key…follow through with whatever you are planning on doing after the allotted time period or quantity.
Where Scarcity Goes Wrong

When scarcity goes wrong, it is usually an attempt to scare visitors into taking action when the scare tactic is not ever going to be followed through on. So what happens? The potential client/customer takes the action thinking they only have a little bit of time left. Then, at a later date, hits the same sales page only to find that nothing has changed.

At this point…the product means nothing as the customer feels cheated.

To make matters worse, if you were the one promoting that product…your name is attached to it just as much (sometimes more) as the marketer who released it. Except…you have zero control or ability to change it.

The Personal Experience: Lessons In Affiliate Marketing

The recent experience involved a marketer I have dealt with in the past and a product that I actually use and believe in. I promoted the product. I was told the product was going to go up in price…so I promoted under that premiss…and the product didn’t go up when the time hit. At that point, was was emailed by readers who were pissed. I can’t blame them because I was too.

To make matters worse…emails and attempts at rectifying small bugs and the situation went ignored. On the outside…it seemed like this kind of attitude was taking place…

You made me my money…now I’m done with it.

Ego blogging at its finest. Use it up and move on to the next…

One of the hard parts about affilate marketing is attaching your credibility to a product and marketer that you have zero control over. Like this circumstance, there are even situations when you think you can trust what is hitting the screen only to be blindsided when things go wrong. It is dissappointing to say the least and I do take those situations personally.

On the flip side…when you create products and services and you need another bloggers help to keep the ball rolling, keep this story in mind as I will never promote for this blogger/marketer again because of the anger that came out of my readers and my personal views on using those kinds of marketing tactics (I hate them if you can’t already tell). You will need the help of others during your blogging career and burning bridges like this is not a good idea.

If you take anything from my situation, let it be these two things…

  1. Your credibility and the ability to be trusted as a blogger is everything. Do not waste that in an attempt to make a couple of bucks…you will lose a lot more in the long run.
  2. You are never bigger than one of your readers. If anything…you are a servent to you subscribers…not the other way around.

Image by ShivF1

Filed Under: Blogging, Lifestyle Design, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , , , , ,

EGO: Drop It or Get Dropped

August 4, 2010 By 17 Comments

If there is one consistent character trait that I can honestly say I see in all of my successful friends from big corporate CEO’s to one man show entrepreneurs (in life and business)…it is a simple one.

They are humble.

I see a common occurrence among bloggers. They start up a blog, get a little bit of press, start to grow a following and then all of the sudden…out of the blue…said blogger thinks their shit doesn’t stink! Their writing starts to change. Their interaction with other bloggers turns into “only talking to the elite” and forget that they used to be the small guy on the block (and in some cases…they still are!)

Entrepreneurship Is An Ever Learning Process

When you hit that point in your brain function where you start to think you are better than others, you are forgoing the ability to be teachable. Entrepreneurship is not a race to who knows the most. It is an ever changing, learning process that can flip at the drop of a hat. If you are not teachable, you are going to be left in the dust…and quickly.

Here are a couple of things to remember when dealing in a highly social environment like the blogging world.

  • That blogger you put off as small potatoes and not worth your time…might end up passing you one day. How do you want them to remember you?
  • If you already know everything, do you have any room to grow? I would hate to think that I am so awesome that I am already at the peak of my game.
  • When you were just starting out, how did you feel about those “ego bloggers”? Is that how you want to be remembered?
  • To REALLY GROW YOUR BLOG…you will need the help of others.

There Is A Difference Between EGO and Confidence

As a business owner and blogger, you are going to have to be confident in yourself and your abilities. If you spend your entire career doubting your ideas and processes, you are never going to get anything accomplished and you will never go out on a limb and take some risks. However, this confidence can not translate into an inflated ego.

The moment you cross that line from confidence to ego, you are making the willing decision to not grow your blog any farther than it already has.

An over-inflated ego can be spotted a mile away. When it starts to become transparent in your business activities…you will start to see a decline in traffic and earnings because no one likes to hear someone pat themselves on the back all day long. Of course, the ego driven blogger will put it off and think the rest of the world just doesn’t get it, but the profit producing audience will know and leave.

As I continue with my blogs and business practices, I try to keep one moto true throughout the process.

The day I think I know everything will be the dumbest day of my life.

Stay teachable and continue to help out those around you. By staying humble, planted in the real world and forever teachable…you will be able to grow your corner of the web farther than you would have ever dreamed. If you want to be #1 and awesome…be prepared for disappointment.

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Performance Anxiety and How to Beat It

August 2, 2010 By 8 Comments

In this guest post by Andrew Rondeau of WeBuildYourBlog.com, Andrew takes a look at how to beat performance anxiety which is a common occurrence among new and experienced bloggers. At some point in time, we all need a kickstart.

So. You have a great blog up and running, you’ve had lots of visits and a number of comments.

Now, you’re starting to worry. How can you keep people interested in what you have to say?  Is someone going to leave a comment telling you that you’re completely wrong? Everyone who visits your blog is judging you on what you write, right?

It’s performance anxiety rearing its ugly head

Performance anxiety is the feeling you get when you start to worry you won’t meet your readers’ expectations, just like an actor about to go on stage or a businessman waiting to give a big presentation for a new contract. We all suffer from it at some point in our lives; it’s normal.

Don’t panic. You can use this natural fear as a source of motivation. Everyone, from Hollywood actors right through to best-selling novelists and rock stars suffer with performance anxiety. It’s a great way of keeping an eye on what you’re writing, and keeping you on your toes. If you always feel some level of nervousness as a blogger, then you are more likely to take care over what you write, and do the best job you can.

Keeping abreast of what your customers are looking for

How do you know what your visitors are expecting, anyway? People keep dropping in to your blog to read what you have to say because they are interested. They like the way you write. Relax, and don’t start comparing what you have just written to something you wrote last month, that got you loads of comments. That was another day and another blog post. Have faith in yourself and in what you have to say.

One of the best ideas I have heard is to inform your reader of what you are saying, rather than trying to persuade them. You are your own expert, so have the confidence in your own abilities to complete the job you set out to do.

If you are running a business blog concentrating on an aspect of your working life then make sure you use the most up to date information you can. Have a browse around to identify what other great bloggers are doing. You know your industry inside out, so have faith in your ability to write with authority. If your blog is a personal one, then don’t be afraid to write up your opinions.

Going forward after researching your niche

Now you’ve done some research, have the courage of your convictions. You know what you have to say and you are the best person to say it your way. Whether you’re writing on a business subject or offering up insights in to your personal life, be confident with what you want to say.

If you sound like an expert in your field, you’ll encourage people to visit your blog regularly. Ask people to comment on what you have posted, as discussions on a particular subject will give you fresh inspiration and guide you to cover subjects which your readers are interested in.

Being positive and confident works wonders when it comes to writing authoritatively on your chosen field of expertise. By overcoming performance anxiety and being confident, you’ll have the ability to engage your readers, share your knowledge, and ultimately engage and retain a wide readership.

Andrew Rondeau blogs over at WeBuildYourBlog.com on blogging and provides a service to setup your own successful blog. You can check out his free Blogging Guide.

Cropped image by akhater

Filed Under: Blogging, Lifestyle Design, Tutorials/How To Tagged With: , , , , ,

Finding The Off Button: Resting The Blogger Mind

July 6, 2010 By 16 Comments

In this guest post by Andrew Rondeau of WeBuildYourBlog.com, Andrew takes a look at the importance of turning off your blogging brain…something that is vital to blogging success.

If you’re anything like me, as a busy blogger sometimes you find it hard to switch off. We all go through times when we feel overwhelmed by everything we need to do, and teaching ourselves to relax and walk away from work is a tough lesson to learn.

Knowing when to find and use your personal power-down button is as much a critical part of being a small business owner as managing your finances or building relationships. Unless we learn to do this well, we’re at risk of burnout, meaning we stand to lose all the benefits of working for ourselves and wind up wondering where it all went wrong, as we flounder about wondering why our home life is failing and our customers are walking away.

Why it’s important to relax sometimes

Think of people you know who are not that great at switching off. We all know someone, and know the effect they have on people around them. Being in a constant state of stress about what needs to be done, and feeling overwhelmed, rubs off on those around you.

A friend of mine works in a busy environment as an alternative therapist. Instead of exuding calm as these people are supposed to do, she runs about tearing her hair out and periodically bursting in to tears, in between bouts of cursing and freaking out.

She is a great example of how being too stressed and not switching off actively affects other people. Her customers and colleagues walk away from her with a sense of confusion, wondering why she is so stressed all the time. She inspires about as much faith as the e-mails you get promising you a million dollars if you send your bank details to someone in Nigeria.

The trouble is, stressed people make other people stressed.

Whether you work in a predominantly online environment, or meet customers face to face, it’s important to keep calm and relaxed in order to inspire faith in others. If you are calm, you look competent. If you are always frazzled, you come across as being someone who doesn’t know how to manage themselves, and probably their business too.

Keeping calm and carrying on – personal benefits

Not only is learning to switch off actually good for your business, it’s also good for yourself, for a number of reasons. All the basics like getting enough sleep, taking time out to exercise and getting a healthy dose of culture all contribute towards making you a happier, more competent person.

This in turn makes you a better business owner. People who get out and do things away from work tend to make great bloggers, because they have interesting anecdotes and are positive. Holing up in your darkened room fire-fighting your things to do list will sap all your creativity quite quickly and make you a boring blogger.

Happy people attract happy people. It’s a well-known fact that we humans respond well to people who are positive and chilled out, and we warm easily to people who smile and seem confident and relaxed.

If all this hasn’t inspired you to kick back and take some time out, then go back and read it again.

The main message here?

Being lazy sometimes, sleeping too much and having fun will enhance your business. Fact.

Andrew Rondeau blogs over at WeBuildYourBlog.com on blogging and provides a service to setup your own successful blog.

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Sometimes Our Worst and Darkest Times Are Actually Gifts

June 17, 2010 By 21 Comments

Many of you have read my post on “5 Years Ago Today – Things Were Much Different“. Here we sit…6 years past that infamous day that has forever changed my life and presented the path across which I walk now. After another year under my belt and careful recollection during this time of year, I yet have another point to present as we get busy living instead of getting busy dying.

Every year around this time I feel an amazing sense of gratitude for what I have and hope for the future. No…not some stupid logo and tagline to try to get elected for something, but true hope that progress and effort lead you down a path that is positive and life changing. For many people, they can not pin their lives on a single moment where everything changed. I can…and this is what I take away from it.

Sometimes Our Worst and Darkest Times Are Actually Gifts

There are periods or moments in our lives that feel terrible when you are entrenched in the grasps of darkness. Maybe you lost your job, your relationship fell apart or…like in my case…the wreckage of your life finally caught up to you in a split second moment. During this time, your only thoughts and feelings are negative. How am I going to get out of this? Can it really get any worse? I don’t know if I can handle this…

Somewhere in the bottom of despair, human survival instinct kicks in and we start the good fight. We start the job search, we get back out on the market or we start to assemble the wreckage and make something better of ourselves. With time, this effort does not go unnoticed and one day we turn around to find out all of our dreams have now come true. Everything we thought we had lost is now come back better than before through hard work and dedication to the cause.

None of this would have been possible if we were just floating on in life. It was built out of necessity as we had no choice. It was fight or flight time as that period or moment in our lives defined the coming years without us even knowing it. When we look back with hindsight 20/20, we now become thankful for one of the worst times in our lives as the gifts that were presented later down the time-line are some of the best we have ever received.

I say we in this article because I am not the only one that has experienced this. Whether it be small or drastic, each of us can pinpoint a moment in our lives that altered our path for the better when we thought we were actually at a roadblock.

What Has My Darkest Time Given Me?

Honestly…more than I could even dream of. I am now married to a beautiful, caring woman who is much smarter than I am. We have two dogs that keep us laughing day in and day out. I have an incredible circle of family and friends. I am the owner of a business that is growing by the day that is directly involved in everything I love.

Robb and Jenn in New York

Hemi and Hans

The future is bright for all of us. We just have to be willing to put in the work necessary to make our dreams a reality. We have to continue to fight forward using our past as a learning experience for the future. It doesn’t have to take a drastic event, but if you are in one of those or crawling your way out…know that the light at the end of the tunnel makes it all worth it.

Life is not perfect. There will be bumps in the road. But with a positive outlook and the willingness to put forth the effort…you will find that your wants and dreams were actually short sided as you receive more than you could have ever imagined. This is our one and only life…as such…we should always treat it that way.

To quote a friend of mine that beat Hotchkins Disease last year and is getting married this weekend…

I just breath different air now.

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Remembering Those That Fought For Our Freedoms

May 31, 2010 By 2 Comments

Today is that day in the US that we member those that have given their lives in service or our country to protect our freedoms and the freedoms of others across the world. Because of these brave individuals over history, we are able to enjoy our freedoms on a daily basis.

From every at the Bike198 crew…a huge…

THANK YOU!

…goes out to those men and women in our armed forces and their families. I know we have a lot of friends and family in Iraq and the surrounding areas right now. Thank you for fighting for freedom and get home safely.

Image by Beverly & Pack

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Personal Experience: Overcoming Life's Closed Roads

May 20, 2010 By 11 Comments

Over the course of everyone’s life, we come against closed roads. Somewhere in our carefully laid out plan, something goes wrong and throws a wrench in our entire system. These events can be everything from self inflicted disasters to health problems completely out of our control. Regardless, they derail our once steady track and throw us into a state of disbelief and confusion. The strong overcome these obstacles and find a detour in their path while the weak freeze and let the closed road control their path in life. In my life, I had to find a wide detour…and here is some of the story for inspiration in your own life…

Life Under The Arches

I graduated from the University of Georgia. For those that do not already know, the historic arches on the outer edge of North Campus in between the campus and downtown are historic. With all of that history aside, undergrads at UGA are not supposed to walk under the arches until they graduate. If they do, they are cursed to never graduate and fail out miserably, so thousands of students walk around these arches on a daily basis with the goal of one day walking under them as a graduate.

My story starts at the cocky age of 18 as I entered the university as a freshman. Like any “I know everything about everything” young scholar, I didn’t believe in hoaxes so my cocky ass danced under the arches specifying it would never happen to me. As time went on, I got myself into a lot of trouble taking in the party scene of Athens, GA until I eventually got myself into trouble that was going to be very hard to get out of. The result..I ended up having to leave the university in the pursuit of getting my life back together (I have written previously about it on this post) and the dream of leaving UGA as a graduate looked bleak at best.

After years of working my ass off collecting the wreckage and trying to assemble a life I could finally be proud of…I started taking classes at a local college to get essential hours and eventually returned to UGA with hopes of graduating. After hitting a perfect window of time, I reentered UGA with several more course hours under my belt and a new outlook on my education. I commuted back and forth from Marietta 3 days a week (1.5 hour drive each way) to take classes and get that degree I sought out during my naive, adolescent years.

After hard work and focus, I was sitting in the center of Sanford Stadium graduating with hundreds of other students from UGA still checking the list of names to make sure mine was there and it wasn’t a dream.

Why This Story..and Why Now

UGA Arches - University of GeorgiaYesterday, I had the chance to walk around the campus of UGA and take in some memories. Coming back with a fresh mind and a different outlook on the past, I was able to walk under those arches as a successful graduate from the university. I didn’t end up taking the cocky path that the 18 year old had in mind. Instead, through self inflicted hurt, I took a much different path that made me who I am today and extremely humbled the inner adolescent.

I use this story illustrate to myself and others that we do not always get to pick the events in our life’s path. It is our job to use our free will to make the best we can of the time we have. When we make excuses why we can’t do something or it is just too hard, we jeopardize the incredible things that can happen in our lives. Far too often, I hear people quitting. If you really want to go after the finer things in life, you have to work hard for them.

When you are going through tough situations in your own life, you need to remember one simple fact…

Just when you think you can’t take it anymore…you are just about to make it.

Great things in life do not come without sacrifices and those that consistently look for handouts will always be begging. Happiness in your own life is accomplished by pursuing the good. Everyone has a choice and no one is a victim of circumstances.

When you take ownership of your own life, your own problems and your own successes, you get to enjoy the victories over defeat. You get to walk under the arches and feel that chill go through your body knowing that you have accomplished something for you. You get to prevail over evil and make the life you always dreamed. Leave the complaining and excuses for those that are never happy with their spot in life because you are going to enact change through action.

You are going to detour around the road blocks with a positive outlook because this is your one and only life to live. There will always be someone who has it harder and someone who has it easier…it is up to you how you handle your own life obstacles…

Filed Under: Lifestyle Design, My Life Tagged With: , , , , ,

39 Reasons Why You Suck

May 6, 2010 By 31 Comments

Some of the best information for bloggers is often how not to do something. You read tips on how to be a better blogger on a daily basis (sometimes multiple articles a day), but some of the true value is in mistakes.

Also, motivation is a key factor behind innovation and success, so a constant kick in the ass is the perfect ticket to new ideas and hard work. If you don’t like a little criticism to get the creative juices flowing…you are in the wrong line of work. Without further adieu…let me tell you why you suck.

39 Reasons Why You Suck

  1. You paraphrase instead of innovate.
  2. You think success comes through osmosis.
  3. You think “internet marketing” is spam.
  4. You already know everything.
  5. You are unteachable.
  6. You see a great idea and copy it instead of coming up with a great idea.
  7. “Hard work” is not one…but 2 four letter words to you.
  8. You talk about how easy others have it without knowing the full story.
  9. You have dozens of great ideas that you never act on.
  10. Everything is always going to be done tomorrow.
  11. You criticize the works of others more than your own.
  12. You think what you like must be what everyone likes.
  13. You rule out options because you do not understand them.
  14. You’ll drop bank on a TV’s but won’t spend a little a month on a newsletter service.
  15. You mock and criticize success and the people that achieve it.
  16. You can’t see that there are 2 sides to every story…and the truth lies in the 3rd…
  17. You are lazy.
  18. You have no plan.
  19. You have no goals.
  20. Your goals are not achievable.
  21. Your negativity rules your life.
  22. You live within a set of unchanging/strict rules that cannot be broken.
  23. You are not open minded.
  24. You are unwilling to try new things.
  25. Fear of failure keeps you from testing new ideas.
  26. You say “I can’t” more than you say “I can”.
  27. Your list of excuses is longer than your list of attempts.
  28. You have too many sentences that start with, “One day…”
  29. You do not live in the moment.
  30. You do not study your stats and trends.
  31. You do not have your own product.
  32. You do not promote the products of others.
  33. You let fear prevent you from reaching out to others for help.
  34. You forget to connect with people through words.
  35. You are bored.
  36. You would rather lie than admit fault.
  37. You lack consistency.
  38. You don’t deliver on promises.
  39. You put yourself above your readers.

Motivated yet?!

Image by gilesclement

Filed Under: Blogging, Lifestyle Design Tagged With: , , , ,

The Internet Lifestyle Is About Freedom, Not Free Time

April 29, 2010 By 30 Comments

I think there is a common misconception out there that making money online and the “internet lifestyle” is all about working 2 hours a day and goofing off doing whatever the hell you want the rest of the time. If you want to be successful in the long run and in life…that couldn’t be any farther from the truth. The Internet Lifestyle is more about freedom than free time and since I started making money online…my free time is no different than during “corporate life”.

What Making Money Online Means To You

Stick with me here for a second as this may change how you feel about your blogging.

Making money online is your key to choices.

I was talking to a fellow blogger/freelancer the other day that had his time cut out at his job in half. Now…if you have ever had that happen to you (I have…it sucks), you feel pretty helpless at the moment as you have to go home to your loved ones and explain that things are going to be tight for awhile. Luckily, this blogger/freelancer is able to lighten the load by doing side projects that come about through his work online.

On top of that…this blogger was hit with a decision. Do I look for another part time job, a new full time job or really make a run at my dream? Now, the answer to this question is a needs based question that is different for everyone so I am not going to sit here and pretend that I have the answer, but…the interesting part about this scenario is that this particular blogger now has more choices than ever before. It is no longer “I am at the mercy of others”. Instead, it is “what can I do for myself to make this situation better?”

The Reality About Blogging And Making Money Online

The reality about making money online is the vast majority of bloggers will never hit the big time and make 6 figures a year writing about what they love. I wish everyone did…but like everything in life there is only so much room at the top and there are only so many people that are capable of the discipline it takes to run a 6 or 7 figure business.

But this should not get you discouraged.

By supplementing your household income by doing something you love online, you can open up a whole new world of choices that would have never even been an option before!

  • You will no longer be tied to that job you hate 100%. You can have the choice to search out a better paying, more enjoyable place of employment while you supplement your income with blogging.
  • You can get the toys (for free if you read Ramped Reviews!) that you used to not be able to afford on your regular salary.
  • You can take your wife/girlfriend/kids out to dinner more often.
  • You can go on better vacations.

The list is limitless and it is all possible through your efforts online. There is a lot of focus on “full-time income” through blogging and that full-time income for many bloggers is completely different. I know a lot of bloggers that make a full-time income online and still have jobs. Why do they still have jobs? Well…2 salaries is a pretty cool thing if you can swing it don’t you think? What if they really like their job (yes…there are actually people out there like that)?!

As you look at your blogging, make your goals for the future big. If you want to make a real run at it and become a full-time blogger, I do not want this article to discourage you from that goal. Hit it full swing and go after it. The point I do want to get across is to try not to focus on the thousands of articles online all focusing on the “Internet Lifestyle” and start looking at how your blogging can start to free up choices in your own life. Who knows…by focusing on choices…you just might end up managing a 6 figure business online…

What has your blogging let your choose?

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Filed Under: Blogging, Lifestyle Design Tagged With: , , , , ,
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