Not Just Another Internet Business Success Journey

Self improvement blog

One of the unexpected side effects of writing this blog is to have accomplished a number of self improvement breakthroughs. One of which is to build a self improvement site to help others. Progress was slow at first and now I am beginning to realize how invigorating it is as the pace picks up. But first, a quick disclaimer.

I do not lay rubbish on people who work in a job. I work in a job! Many millions of people have jobs and work at them regularly. Without jobs and people to do them we would have a pretty messed up world. Besides, I have thought about the throw-away line some internet marketing gurus use “What’s stopping you? Throw in your job and make money online!”. Some gurus have not really thought about it too deeply, other than how it can make them money, when they make such silly statements.

I have gained a healthy respect for jobs, having worked full time for over 20 years. Without the workforce all around us who would maintain the web server that hosts this blog? Who would maintain the power stations that keep the Internet working? Who would make the computers we all use to get together online? Who would make and sell and transport and maintain and service and deliver everything we use just to live from day to day?

Okay, you get the picture. There needs to be a healthy balance of people in all walks of life, doing all manner of “work” in order for the world to keep functioning, including, I guess, the web marketing gurus, even if some are a little mis-guided. I am not trying to change your work status. I will not tell you to leave your job or do something else against your will. I am only offering whatever help I can, from my experience, that can help you improve something in your life - see my first post.

So, what does this have to do with self improvement? Writing this blog has helped me put a lot of things into perspective. There are big-picture things that don’t change much with the ebb and flow of daily life. There are little picture things that come and go each day, sometimes in the space of hours or minutes. Life, in the end, is what you make of it. But life is also more than what is visible to our eyes. Today I want to talk about two big pictures.

One of my big pictures, probably the biggest, is that I am a Christian and that there is life after death. The choices we make in this life will impact our life after death. I am not about to preach, but if you want to check it out for yourself, grab a Bible and read the book of Romans. If you are pressed for time, read Romans chapters 2 through to 6. It should only take 30 minutes but it might be the best 30 minutes you have every invested.

… I am convinced that there are often smarter ways to live our lives…

The second of my big pictures that has been slowly coming into focus is that although I have enjoyed working for various organizations over the past 20 years, I am convinced that there are often smarter ways to live our lives and spend our time. We are not all cut out to be this or that. But if we are not satisfied with what we do for a job, where we live or how we spend leisure time, then the time is right to look for alternatives. It may mean a career change, learning a new skill or something totally out of our comfort zone.

My Internet business journey, of which this blog is just one dimension, started because I did not want to be doing the same job when I reached my retirement age. I started looking for smarter ways of earning money, using the talent and skills built up over 20 years.

For many years out of that 20 I have been coaching others. Drawing the positives into focus and demonstrating how with some guidance, anyone can achieve whatever they set the mind on.

What this blog has enabled me to do. In fact, what it has inspired me to do, is learn about opportunities that I had only heard about. You see, if an electronics repairer is very skillful and experienced in all manner of work, she could keep on doing repairs for a long time and continue to make money. If, however she took on another staff member and trained him in all her ways, there would be capacity to expand the business, make more money and satisfy more customers.

This action could be repeated until there was a workshop full of graduates and trainees doing the hands-on work while she interacted with more and more customers and built the business. She could even branch out and take over some competitors shops, placing a graduate and trainee in each.

… sometimes we need a quantum leap in our thinking …

The point? Sometimes it is not a matter of working harder to improve our lives, earn more money or improve job satisfaction. Sometimes it takes a quantum leap in our thinking to see a smarter way to use our existing skill set.

You see, I have a broad background in electronics and more recently, teaching. This does not sound like the type of skill set and experience required to launch an Internet business. However, practically any skill set can be taken and turned into an enterprise, not necessarily an Internet based one, but an enterprise all the same.

What about school children taking boxes of cookies or chocolates door-to-door. What skill set does that require? How much more money do they earn doing that compared to sitting in front of the TV or a games console? It might seem tedious but there is money to be made delivering advertising flyers. The point is that no matter what background you have, it is about how you spend your time! Work smarter, not harder. Turn passive hours into productive hours.

So, back to the title of this post “Self improvement blog”. I do not suggest that you go and start a blog. Nor am I suggesting that you venture into the realm of starting a business online. Rather, do a stock-take of your life’s experiences.

• What skills and experience do you have? (eg. you have spent the last few years caring for bed-ridden elderly parents)
• What problems have you overcome? (eg. recovered from major surgery after an accident)
• How have you helped to solve their problems? (eg. given advice to friends, family and co-workers)

… there are many opportunities are out there, you just need to find them …

Find yourself a mentor or coach. There are many online sites offering self improvement advice which also offer online coaching services. Coaches will help you to discover those opportunities.

You may even go looking for an online or offline community where you can help others by offering advice, answers, suggestions and compassion, but most of all, your time. Go with the flow and see what comes of it. It is something like in the movie Evan Almighty. Do an Act of Random Kindness today (ARK).

After a while you will see that there are other opportunities and ways you can use your time and talents. Opportunities are always out there. For the most part, they do not come and knock on our door. It takes action from within to put ourselves in the path of those opportunities. Coaching is one way to help us uncover those opportunities and I highly recommend getting some coaching if you are just starting out.

I did that when I started this blog. I sought the expertise of others who had gone before me. I now write about what I know and have learned and how it has helped me, with the intention of helping others. If it helps others along their journey in life then I have achieved a goal (or met a promise - see this post).

As a result of working on this blog and extending my knowledge of how the Internet works, I have found an opportunity to market some of my skills and knowledge via the Internet. Had I not taken the step to start this blog and get some coaching I cannot see how that opportunity and I would have crossed paths.

… take action today to improve your tomorrow …

If you are happy with where you are at, that is great. Do yourself, your family and community a big favor and keep on doing what you do. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and take action today to improve your tomorrow. If there is something you want to change about who you are, do not settle for the “same you” tomorrow. Do something today to start the change process.

Brendan.