If you’re anything like me, you want to know everything now. I get sooo frustrated that I can’t be really good at something straight away. I know it’s totally stupid, because of course, learning anything takes time and getting really good at something takes even longer.
Here I should use the usual platitudes; “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, “Good things come to those who wait” (actually that’s not a great example, because if you wait, you could miss the chance altogether, but you get where I’m coming from..)
The point is and I guess the whole point of this particular post is to say that everything we know has to start somewhere. Surely what’s important is that we keep learning, keep striving. The day we think we know everything is the day we stop growing.
“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” — Marcus Aurelius
In the interest of transparency, I want to let you know that I occasionally include affiliate links in my posts. I will only include links to products that I have found interesting and useful in my journey and which I believe will be of interest to you on your journey towards a “passive income” lifestyle. If you purchase an item using my affiliate link, I will receive a commission.
Uber is a great service, period. Yeah I know they’ve been slated in the press for all manner of things, not least for allegedly exploiting their drivers and driving (no pun intended) down fares making it difficult to compete. I’m not here to comment on any of that as I don’t have the facts.
Uber has offered to many of its 2 million drivers (yep, that’s how many there are globally, reportedly) an opportunity to become their own boss and to earn money outside of the conventional 9-5 model. Something you’ll know I’m a big fan of.
Now I am basing the above findings on a very personal experience, a “straw pole” if you like. Let me explain.
In 2016 I had an accident whilst bouldering. I fell and completely ruptured
my achilles tendon, making driving impossible and public transport difficult
for a good 6 months. During this period I was employed full time as a trainer.
The job I was doing didn’t really allow for working at home, so I needed to be
in the office every day.
The only way I could get into my place of work was with Uber (thank you
Uber!). I was getting two Ubers a day in and out of work and dropping the kids
at school on the way in.
The surprising thing was that I always got a different driver, some were more chatty than others, but they were all great. What was interesting was that they all had a unique “story” and many of their stories were inspiring.
I met quite a few entrepreneurs. One guy who was in the middle of opening
his own Indian restaurant, another who was setting up a cyber security
business, a student who was funding his travels around the world and quite a
lot of dad’s who had been working similarly long hours in various manual jobs,
for less money, who now had a great opportunity to become their own boss.
Each day the kids and I would wait for our driver with interest and
anticipation. One morning, quite early on in the proceedings, one of the
drivers I chatted to was starting his own Amazon FBA business. He was quite
surprised when I actually knew what it was. We had a great conversation and I
bid him a good day thinking I would never see him again.
He was driving an Uber to get the money together to launch his first private
label products on Amazon. Whilst I’d been researching “passive
income” I’d been reading about the Amazon FBA opportunity myself and
seriously considering it. In fact that evening I was registered to attend a
free webinar. I’d seen an advert in my Facebook feed a few days earlier and had
signed up.
That evening, inspired by my conversation with my Uber driver (and a few glasses of red wine!) instead of leaving the webinar early, I stayed till the end. Not only that, but I got my credit card out and paid $900 for the training.
I have to tell you that when I woke the next morning I was really worried.
I’d made the decision to purchase the training programme on an impulse and I
was now wishing I hadn’t. Did I have $900 to spare, no!
My feelings of regret were not helped when I spoke to my friends later that day, who all told me to contact the company in question and get my money back as I’d probably been scammed.
The truth is that attitudes like that come from fear. Fear of the unknown. Don’t get me wrong, I too used to feel like that. The internet is full of people making promises and it’s sometimes difficult to filter the information, block out “the noise” and make the right decisions. Of course you should proceed with caution, but I also think that often, we’re actually looking for a reason to “not take action”, as doing what we know seems like a much safer bet.
I say I acted on impulse that day, but up to that point I’d spent hours if not days reading about the Amazon FBA opportunity. I’d watched a ton of free training videos and webinars, but there always seemed to be a bit missing. The truth is that actually paying for that training forced me out of my comfort zone and meant that I had to actually get started. Partly because I needed to earn the money back and partly because I wanted to prove to myself (and the naysayers) that I hadn’t been a complete idiot and wasted my money.
Looking back now, apart from buying my house, that $900 was THE best money I ever spent. Paying for that training is what kick started me into action and onto a new path; a path I could never have imagined would lead me to where I am today.
If like me you’re still on the fence about taking the leap, choosing the
laptop lifestyle you so desire, starting that new venture of yours, committing
to something, whatever it is, however impossible a dream it seems, in the words
of Nike “just do it”.
Yes it’s scary, yes you will be overwhelmed at times, yes your head will
hurt with all the new information you’re taking in, and no, it won’t be easy,
but you CAN do it.
Russel Brunson, one of my mentors today, has a great saying; “there
comes a time, in every entreprenuers journey, when they have to get their
wallet out and buy something”.
As an affiliate marketer these days that’s something I’m now pretty used to,
as I only recommend products and services that I’ve used and been really happy
with.
Well I’m so thankful that I did spend that money $900 and that I had that
inspiring conversation with that Uber driver that day. It’s like everything
just lined up to put me on this path and I couldn’t be happier.
If you’ve found my blog because you’re looking for a laptop lifestyle then
at some point in your journey to being your own boss, you’ll need to get your
wallet out. Investing in training is investing in your brand, YOU. Also having
to actually spend money will definitely make you work harder to earn it back.
I’ve earned that initial investment back many times since starting selling on
Amazon and I’d never have done it without that training.
About 8 weeks after starting the training, I had launched my first private label product on Amazon. I had also wanted to go freelance in my coaching business for a long time and getting involved in the Amazon FBA opportunity gave me the extra confidence I needed to finally go for it and leave my job.
The morning I was going in to hand in my notice, which Uber driver do you
think picked me up? Yep, you guessed it. I’m not a particularly superstitious
person, but I do believe in Karma and seeing that driver again, who had
inspired me that morning gave me the final bit of courage I needed.
Since going self employed there have been scary times, but it’s the best
decision I ever made.
If you’re interested in earning an income online and you haven’t read
DotComSecrets or heard of Russell Brunson then you absolutely HAVE TO get it.
You can get your FREE copy here. DotComSecrets ~ The
Underground Playbook For Growing Your Company Online You’ll just need
to pay for the shipping.
I cannot stress enough how much this book has helped me. There is so much
good stuff in it that will change your whole outlook and approach to your
online business journey.
Russell Brunson has built a following of over a million entrepreneurs, sold hundreds of thousands of his books and co-founded a software company called ClickFunnels, which helps tens of thousands of entrepreneurs quickly get their message out to the marketplace.
In the interest of transparency, I want to let you know that I occasionally include affiliate links in my posts. I will only include links to products that I have found interesting and useful in my journey and which I believe will be of interest to you on your journey towards a “passive income” lifestyle. If you purchase an item using my affiliate link, I will receive a commission
I have been thinking about starting my blog for a while now (well over a year!). So what has been stopping me? Wanting things to be perfect, just right, everything in order, in place, all connected…
I was on my way to the bouldering centre today (something I’ll probably reference a lot, sorry). I was at the lights, behind a van. On the van was printed this quote (which I’ve now stolen ~ the quote, not the van!) “Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present”.
There’s a lot of talk about taking imperfect action (Jason McKim). Don’t wait until you’re ready to start, or you’ll never be ready. This quote really sums that up for me. Today is a gift…
So here it is, my first blog post. Is it perfect? no. Does that matter?, no (well probably nobody is going to read it anyway, thanks Russell Brunson for that honest insight)
Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present. Simple, yet I think, very powerful.
If you’re waiting for the perfect time, why not just take imperfect action today.
“Perfection is the enemy of progress ” ~ Winston Churchill.
In the interest of transparency, I want to let you know that I occasionally include affiliate links in my posts. I will only include links to products that I have found interesting and useful in my journey and which I believe will be of interest to you on your journey towards a “passive income” lifestyle. If you purchase an item using my affiliate link, I will receive a commission.
