At a few different times in my life, I've been pretty isolated on my life journey, and as a man that is always looking for the truth and reality of things, I've found a certain level of solace in some of the content Roosh has put out
So, I wanted to give a little bit back, and remind guys about the realities of life for everyone
What I want to remind you guys of, and the young guys in particular, is not to get caught in the trap of thinking that someone making money online or someone making good money as their own boss 'has it made' or is living a dream life
At the moment, I will make 11k USD online this month (not much compared to some people), and that number is both consistent and increasing every month. I've also got online assets that are worth a good amount of money. I'm yet to turn 30.
The last thing I'm trying to do is brag (I'm far from a perfect person and I in no way view myself as special or gifted) - I'm trying to give you guys an idea of where I'm at and trying to give some honest experience for anyone thinking about doing the same or going through the same.
I never got into this to be rich. I got into it to get to financial freedom so I didn't have to work for an extremely depressing company or a soul crushing 9-5 again. I also wanted to get to financial freedom so I had the time and space to think about what I wanted to do with my life and see if there was a much more meaningful way to be living for myself, and so I could see if there was a way I could help others and the systems we have in society as a whole.
To get to this point I'm at I had to (in the space of 3 or 4 years):
- commit every waking hour to reading, watching and actually putting into action the things I was learning about
- work shitty sales jobs in the beginning to give myself the time freedom to set things up (worked in some truly horrible work environments with some terrible people)
- live very minimally, essentially only paying for food, shelter and utilities
- never go on a holiday, travel, or buy anything that was considered a luxury or anything other than an absolute necessity
- rarely go out and socialise or do things with my friends
- be very strict about my health, sleep and other areas of my life to make sure I was thinking properly and setting myself up to be sustainable in my work habits
- live in precarious rental situations in terms of the areas I lived and the people I lived with
- learn about the realities of how business (lead gen, fulfillment etc), banks, taxes, fees, accountants, lawyers etc. Can be monotonous and depressing as heck to see how this part of the world really works. Once you've seen some of the things that go on, it can be hard to accept.
- try to phase out bad habits like over eating, porn, and negative self talk (just to name a few) that were negatively impacting my work and personal life
- go through mental bouts of thinking I was reaching my breaking point of going insane because I had no one to talk to about what I was going through...crucifying myself for choosing such am isolating lifestyle, and being very very close several times to taking anti depressants to numb some of the worry and mental pain (I never did though thank god)
- plus a lot more
Through all this you deal with big losses like the death of friends and family, personal health problems, and other unexpected things - like any normal person. But, you have to stay productive and control your emotions.
You also have to try to stay vigilant and not let your physical health, dating life and social life completely fall apart.
Another thing is, once you get good money, there's all the legal stuff that can go with it. And, you can be constantly worrying about what to do with it and whether someone is ripping you off or whether someone will come after you for it. You're worrying about your next move.
One set of problems which is being poor, having poor career prospects, and being depressed as heck, can be replaced by another set of problems like the responsibility of maintaining cash flow, dealing with other professionals and consultants, dealing with uncertainty, and living in mental isolation and worrying about what to do with money and assets.
It sounds like such an asshole thing to say to someone with nothing, but it's true and honest.
Some people don't have to do what I did. Some people manage to achieve a better balance with recreation and still find great financial success. But, that's just what it took for me with the strengths and limitations I have as a person.
I definitely don't want to discourage anyone else from pursuing this lifestyle. It can be massively worth it (I think it's the only way to go if you hate being an employee), and it's very do-able for anyone wanting to do it. You just have to be consistent with your effort and make a commitment to never give up. Just do a little bit more tomorrow and get a little bit better tomorrow than you were today.
Things will start getting better too - you start getting more knowledgeable and able to deal with things after a few years once you'v dealt with them already before. You can also set a point like I am where you plan to sell everything and bail out with whatever money you've made, skills you've developed and assets you've created, and sit on your money and figure out what's next.
If you guys haven't listened to Quintus Curtius' podcast on SoundCloud, he hit the nail on the head. Persistence is the only thing guaranteed to get you through anything you are going through in life. That applies to business, relationships, health, money - whatever.
As a summary, I want to remind you guys:
- Stop beating yourself up for where you are at in life, regardless of where you are at
- There's always another level you can get to
- At the same time, stop looking at social media, the mainstream and your friends and believing the stuff you see and getting sucked in to it all. Real results take real work and there will usually be sacrifices to be made. Someone else you see with something you want is not showing you the whole story if there isn't also a part of their life that you can see that doesn't look great.
- With everything that you could possibly want in life, there is always some type of burden that you have to bear or some type of price you have to pay for it. Don't be afraid of that though - just accept it as part of life and your evolution as a man. Understand too that life can come in waves and you might go through 5-10 bad years to get to that next point in life you want to get to
- Money and freedom is great, but you have to learn to use it the right way and for the right things. Be very aware of when you are becoming another cog in the system. Don't forget why you started doing what you're doing in the first place. Don't let money control you.
That's really it.
For you guys wondering, I made my money out of affiliate marketing, and no I don't have anything to sell or promote to you. My biggest tips to you guys wanting to make money online is that a) all the information is already out there on Google and Youtube (you have to be willing to sift through it all and take out what you think works for you and test it out for yourself - don't make any big money purchases for courses or anything in the first year or two - bootstrap everything until you know who is knowledgeable and who isn't), and b) join a Facebook group or some type of community where you have other people doing what you want to do and they aren't trying to sell you anything scammy so that you have peers to ask questions to when you get stuck.
After that, just make a commitment to persist.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Roosh and other guys like Quintus for putting themselves out there and helping people who are trying to navigate life. With Roosh in particular, there are a few things I don't agree with him about, but there's lots I do agree with and I can see he is trying his best to give guys honest, no B.S. information without making it purely about money or financial gain. That's a very very hard line to walk - so I commend him and will always have a level of respect for him on that.
I also commend all the men out there doing their best and trying to better themselves and help the people around them. Keep going.
So, I wanted to give a little bit back, and remind guys about the realities of life for everyone
What I want to remind you guys of, and the young guys in particular, is not to get caught in the trap of thinking that someone making money online or someone making good money as their own boss 'has it made' or is living a dream life
At the moment, I will make 11k USD online this month (not much compared to some people), and that number is both consistent and increasing every month. I've also got online assets that are worth a good amount of money. I'm yet to turn 30.
The last thing I'm trying to do is brag (I'm far from a perfect person and I in no way view myself as special or gifted) - I'm trying to give you guys an idea of where I'm at and trying to give some honest experience for anyone thinking about doing the same or going through the same.
I never got into this to be rich. I got into it to get to financial freedom so I didn't have to work for an extremely depressing company or a soul crushing 9-5 again. I also wanted to get to financial freedom so I had the time and space to think about what I wanted to do with my life and see if there was a much more meaningful way to be living for myself, and so I could see if there was a way I could help others and the systems we have in society as a whole.
To get to this point I'm at I had to (in the space of 3 or 4 years):
- commit every waking hour to reading, watching and actually putting into action the things I was learning about
- work shitty sales jobs in the beginning to give myself the time freedom to set things up (worked in some truly horrible work environments with some terrible people)
- live very minimally, essentially only paying for food, shelter and utilities
- never go on a holiday, travel, or buy anything that was considered a luxury or anything other than an absolute necessity
- rarely go out and socialise or do things with my friends
- be very strict about my health, sleep and other areas of my life to make sure I was thinking properly and setting myself up to be sustainable in my work habits
- live in precarious rental situations in terms of the areas I lived and the people I lived with
- learn about the realities of how business (lead gen, fulfillment etc), banks, taxes, fees, accountants, lawyers etc. Can be monotonous and depressing as heck to see how this part of the world really works. Once you've seen some of the things that go on, it can be hard to accept.
- try to phase out bad habits like over eating, porn, and negative self talk (just to name a few) that were negatively impacting my work and personal life
- go through mental bouts of thinking I was reaching my breaking point of going insane because I had no one to talk to about what I was going through...crucifying myself for choosing such am isolating lifestyle, and being very very close several times to taking anti depressants to numb some of the worry and mental pain (I never did though thank god)
- plus a lot more
Through all this you deal with big losses like the death of friends and family, personal health problems, and other unexpected things - like any normal person. But, you have to stay productive and control your emotions.
You also have to try to stay vigilant and not let your physical health, dating life and social life completely fall apart.
Another thing is, once you get good money, there's all the legal stuff that can go with it. And, you can be constantly worrying about what to do with it and whether someone is ripping you off or whether someone will come after you for it. You're worrying about your next move.
One set of problems which is being poor, having poor career prospects, and being depressed as heck, can be replaced by another set of problems like the responsibility of maintaining cash flow, dealing with other professionals and consultants, dealing with uncertainty, and living in mental isolation and worrying about what to do with money and assets.
It sounds like such an asshole thing to say to someone with nothing, but it's true and honest.
Some people don't have to do what I did. Some people manage to achieve a better balance with recreation and still find great financial success. But, that's just what it took for me with the strengths and limitations I have as a person.
I definitely don't want to discourage anyone else from pursuing this lifestyle. It can be massively worth it (I think it's the only way to go if you hate being an employee), and it's very do-able for anyone wanting to do it. You just have to be consistent with your effort and make a commitment to never give up. Just do a little bit more tomorrow and get a little bit better tomorrow than you were today.
Things will start getting better too - you start getting more knowledgeable and able to deal with things after a few years once you'v dealt with them already before. You can also set a point like I am where you plan to sell everything and bail out with whatever money you've made, skills you've developed and assets you've created, and sit on your money and figure out what's next.
If you guys haven't listened to Quintus Curtius' podcast on SoundCloud, he hit the nail on the head. Persistence is the only thing guaranteed to get you through anything you are going through in life. That applies to business, relationships, health, money - whatever.
As a summary, I want to remind you guys:
- Stop beating yourself up for where you are at in life, regardless of where you are at
- There's always another level you can get to
- At the same time, stop looking at social media, the mainstream and your friends and believing the stuff you see and getting sucked in to it all. Real results take real work and there will usually be sacrifices to be made. Someone else you see with something you want is not showing you the whole story if there isn't also a part of their life that you can see that doesn't look great.
- With everything that you could possibly want in life, there is always some type of burden that you have to bear or some type of price you have to pay for it. Don't be afraid of that though - just accept it as part of life and your evolution as a man. Understand too that life can come in waves and you might go through 5-10 bad years to get to that next point in life you want to get to
- Money and freedom is great, but you have to learn to use it the right way and for the right things. Be very aware of when you are becoming another cog in the system. Don't forget why you started doing what you're doing in the first place. Don't let money control you.
That's really it.
For you guys wondering, I made my money out of affiliate marketing, and no I don't have anything to sell or promote to you. My biggest tips to you guys wanting to make money online is that a) all the information is already out there on Google and Youtube (you have to be willing to sift through it all and take out what you think works for you and test it out for yourself - don't make any big money purchases for courses or anything in the first year or two - bootstrap everything until you know who is knowledgeable and who isn't), and b) join a Facebook group or some type of community where you have other people doing what you want to do and they aren't trying to sell you anything scammy so that you have peers to ask questions to when you get stuck.
After that, just make a commitment to persist.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Roosh and other guys like Quintus for putting themselves out there and helping people who are trying to navigate life. With Roosh in particular, there are a few things I don't agree with him about, but there's lots I do agree with and I can see he is trying his best to give guys honest, no B.S. information without making it purely about money or financial gain. That's a very very hard line to walk - so I commend him and will always have a level of respect for him on that.
I also commend all the men out there doing their best and trying to better themselves and help the people around them. Keep going.