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In September 2007 I quit my day job in order to follow my dreams of becoming an Internet entrepreneur.
This blog is my record of that journey. My aim is to learn how to make a living online and transfer that knowledge
to others through this blog.
One of the benefits of being self employed is that when you’re not well you can just take time off and not have to check in with the boss! Of course the downside is that the work doesn’t get done. I’ve had a very dodgy tummy for about a week and just haven’t felt like working. It was a struggle to do the stats post on Thursday.
Anyway, I still feel pretty crappy so I’ll probably take the rest of the week off too! If I do feel a bit better I’ll probably just do catching up with some of the courses I’m working through. I’ll see how I feel over the next few days…
This is just a quick post to say that I’m having a few of days off work and unfortunately I don’t have any pre-written posts saved up (this is an unexpected break) so the blog will be barren for a day or two :-) Note to self - write up those post ideas that I have jotted down somewhere! I really should try and be more organised!
Lastly, over here in the UK we have a reality singing show called The X-Factor. This year’s winner was Leon Jackson and his single has made Christmas Number #1 in the UK. It’s a lovely song (if you like that sort of thing!) and it just resonates me with at the moment.
I have had a very strange and intense week. Last Sunday I was at a very low point and I felt like I had to unload all of my personal problems on this blog so that I could be true to myself in my writing over the coming weeks and months.
However, I did not expect what followed. As soon as I published the post I felt a kind of release - all those negative emotions of anger, bitterness, jealousy, loss, rejection etc just vanished overnight. Literally the very next morning I felt clear, at peace and like a massive fog had been lifted.
I spent the majority of Monday just reading through all the amazing messages of support that I received in response the post. These have come from everywhere - blog comments, email, Twitter, Facebook etc.
Literally within 24 hours of writing that post, my outlook changed completely. I’ve had a truly wonderful week and I’m feeling happier than I have in a very long time and very positive about my future. I am still unclear about the direction I wish to take my work but I have faith that inspiration will arrive soon, perhaps from one of you :-)
But now I actually feel almost guilty for feeling good because the emails of support are still coming in daily and of course I am doing so much better now that I feel that I am wasting the time of those who are taking the time out to write to me with such kind words.
So I want to once again thank everybody who has sent me their support and all the positive vibes - it certainly worked! One last point - I feel I have gone off-topic enough now so from here on in I intend to get back to business on this blog and focus on Internet Marketing. Thanks for bearing with me over the last week.
When I wrote yesterday’s post I was feeling very angry, bitter and depressed. I was really wallowing in my misery and for some reason I expected that post to result in a ton of abuse. I was very surprised and quite overwhelmed by the response!
I have read all the comments and all I can say is thank-you for taking the time to comment. It’s been really nice to see such supportive comments not just on the blog but also via email and Twitter also. I’ve not responded the comments as I haven’t really known what to say but they have really helped me and I have appreciated them very much.
I said in the post that I didn’t care about anything and that nothing matters anymore. That’s not quite true. When I have a ‘bad day’ that’s how I feel but that’s just depression talking and it’s not a rational perspective on things. When I look at this blog, the projects I have on, and the emails that are sitting in my business inbox there are some things that do still seem very trivial - but not everything.
I do care about this blog. I believe that the Internet presents tremendous opportunity for the everyday person to make money online but I also think that the “make money online” niche has been brainwashed by too many gurus and I too have been brainwashed by some of that stuff. I hate long-form sales letters, I really hate them with a passion. I hate the idea of us marketers worming our way into social networks like Facebook. I hate the idea of selling an email course for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
So what I would like to do is make money online in a non-sleazy way and use this blog to show how I do it so that other people can follow along and do the same. The thing I love about the Internet is that these days it is so accessible. Even somebody on extremely limited means should be able to get online and start making a secondary income in their spare time. To many people, that could make a real difference.
If I can help somebody do that, then I’m doing something worthwhile. Of course I need to make a living too!
So what I need to do now, is re-examine my options. Figure out what’s worthwhile, what’s sleazy, what’s just not interesting and try to work on just those things that don’t make me feel like crawling back under the covers.
In addition to all the lovely comments and emails that I have received, there are two very special people that I would like to thank. The first is Peter Buick, who I met from the 30 Day Challenge and who has become a true friend in recent weeks. Peter has helped me see things in ways I could never have seen them on my own, and has made me question every limiting belief that I had. He has really helped me see how this situation can be a tremendous opportunity. Thank you Peter.
The second person I would like to thank is Dr Mani. I met him recently through this blog when he gave me lots of advice about my Twitter guide and making money in general. Today, in response to yesterday’s post he sent me a copy of a book he has written called “The Emotional Prism - How to be Happy When You’d Rather be Sad”. I’ve read the whole book, and it has been profound, humbling and very helpful. It is not a free book either so thank you very much Dr Mani.
