Goal Setting Archives - Page 2 of 4

Attracting the Laws of Attraction

law of attraction

Post Internet drama, Elijah and I have been struggling a bit with thinking positively about our current financial situation. We do have work coming in, but trying to catch up with all the bill payments we have missed is a daunting task. Focusing on a plan of action is hard, because we’re trying to do so many things at once. The chaos is terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. Elijah came to me the other night with a potential movie to watch for the evening, “Beyond the Secret“, a motivational film outlining the steps to benefiting from the Laws of Attraction.

The movie itself was kind of corny, but the concept intrigues me. I’ve heard about the Laws of Attraction before, but never really delved too deeply into the topic. Eli and I are very big believers in the mind/body/spirit connection, so we’ve decided to make a conscious effort to employ the Laws of Attraction. We’ve starting meditating twice a day and focusing on positive outcomes. It hasn’t been easy for me, since I have a tendency to worry and fret. But I must say that I have been pretty good for the past couple of days.

For anyone else (I’m probably the last.) unaware of the theory, it is that the Laws of Attraction are Universal Laws that are based on the energy of the earth and of us as human beings. Basically, by focusing your energy on your desires or dreams, you are manifesting them into reality. But it goes both ways; focusing your energy on negative outcomes or scenarios can attract those as well. By simply knowing what you want, asking the universe for it, visualizing your self with it and allowing change, we can achieve any goal or dream. In terms of science, there are those who don’t believe it is possible for one to transmit their energies, yet others argue the laws of Quantum Physics, which teaches that nothing is fixed, we and everything on this planet are vibrating balls of energy have limitless possibilities.

(This is my basic understanding of Quantum Physics and the Laws of Attraction.)

I figure that because we have a lot to turn around, it is easier to focus on smaller, more attainable goals. Obviously I want to get caught up with our payments, so I envision myself paying the bills and having money left over. Simple and yet such a happy thought . . . sigh. We haven’t noticed any dramatic change so far, but that can be expected since we only started talking about this a couple days ago. (Although Eli did receive a random $25 out of the blue tonight.)

I’m really excited to get my mind and body on the same page, they’ve been at odds with each other for a while now.

There really can’t be any negative outcomes . . .

because I won’t be thinking about them.

Stay Classy,

Veronica

At Home Freedom: Stop Thinking And Start Doing

Ahhhh… At home freedom. Sounds great, doesn’t it? The truth of the matter is that now more than ever people are desperate for a lifestyle change, especially one that allows them to have freedom of time, finance and location. I mean, who doesn’t want more time to do what they want? Who doesn’t have dreams of one day being free of debt or being able to travel this (still beautiful) planet without worrying about financial or career restraints? I do.

Every fu**ing day.

But here’s the problem: 80% of people who have these desires for change and prosperity spend most of their time thinking about an ideal lifestyle, but if you’re constantly thinking and reading about it – when will you actually have time to do it? Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

Everyday after work, for the last 2 years, Joe Blow comes home and turns on his computer. He goes to the money making forums to check the action on his favorite threads. He’s always the first to order the latest “cash cow” hard copy from some guru-schmuck on Amazon.

He spends at least 3 hours a night absorbing methods and reading what other people have done/are doing. He hates his job. He can’t sleep at night and for the last 2 years he’s been waiting for his time to come.

The at home freedom. It’s gotta be out there, somewhere…

I don’t want to pull your pants down, but I’m sure some of you reading this fall into Joe’s scenario quite comfortably. You’re so caught up in the “idea” of the dream that you’ve accomplished very little towards actually making it a reality.

I get emails all the time from people asking me how they should get started with this, or if I have any suggestions for that. To be honest, most of the questions I receive can and have been answered 3743 times elsewhere online, but for some reason they assume I might reveal an untold truth – which is fair enough. And almost everytime I end with the same thing, “The best advice I can give you is to just write down your goals, the steps required to achieive them, and start doing the necessary actions to complete these steps little by little. Stick with it, and before you know it you’ll be where you want to be.”

I can’t stress this enough.

You have to start DOING. Once you start DOING you have to KEEP DOING. If it isn’t working, figure out why and DO IT DIFFERENTLY. Stop thinking, start DOING and fucking stick with it! Success is inevitable.

Let’s take me for example… Back in October I was not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I had been out of work and struggling to make ends online for over 4 months. My bills were past due, we were eating like shit and though I made a few bucks flipping websites, it was not coming together.

I was about to sell this blog, cash out and call it a day.

9 months later, in April to be exact, I cleared almost $4000 in profit, which enabled me to pay for a nice 1 week vacation to Vancouver – in cash – with enough money in the pocket to live like royalty for a week and get drunk with the SuiteJ clan.

Still waiting for the video footage.

Back in October I was spending way too much time thinking about how I should be doing things, instead of actually doing them, making mistakes, and doing them better. I was caught up with the success of those around me, instead of enjoying my own small victories.

Anyways – I really hope you guys get what I’m saying here. Anyone can do anything. I don’t care if you have a mortgage, 7 kids, 3 husbands and a midget housecleaner who you pay in peanuts and paint chips; the real at home freedom is there for the taking. Spend less time fucking around on Twitter and more time working on your goals. If you aren’t sweating then you’re doing something wrong.

I’m not kidding!

Assess your scenario. Write shit down. Develop the steps needed to accomplish them and DO IT. Whether it’s making $100 a day passively through a network of Adsense blogs – do it! If you want to flip websites for cash and be a pyjama pimp like me – do it! There is nothing stopping you but you.

I know I’m ranting, but so what. It’s the truth and you know it.

Cheers,

Elijah

Update from Veronica

Hey guys! I know it’s been kind of a long hiatus, but here I am! I’m back and ready to roll full steam ahead. I’d like to thank everyone who commented on Eli”s last post. Seeing all that encouragement is so reassuring. It makes the actual “moment” feel a little less final.

The first little while is going to be a little shocking . . . I know that, but I know that Eli and I will find a groove. We always do. I’m excited for all the things I will be able to accomplish. I’m looking forward to working hard and enjoying life on my terms.

I can’t wait to be a bigger part of this great community!

Taking The Work At Home Plunge

I’m really feeling the writing bug biting me on the ass right now, so I decided to capitalize on this moment and stop being a stranger around my own blog. Here’s what’s on my mind and what’s happening right now in the world of Elijah and Veronica…

Over the last month or so it has been apparent that Veronica is getting antsy about joining me and taking the work at home plunge, as I like to call it. This is awesome – but it is also presenting some challenges.

When we originally started this blog back in July of 2008 (just got the GoDaddy renewal notice) our plan was that I would quit my job, put into action everything I had been teaching myself for the 7 months prior to that and set up a network and foundation so that hopefully, within a year or so, she would leave her job and we can begin living the coprenuer life we’ve dreamed of since we first met.

Well, reality (opportunity) is definitely starting to knock…

Not only have I surpassed anything that I could have imagined – but I’ve also managed to learn an insane amount of information and techniques in this short amount of time (with a little blood, sweat and insomnia of course). This means that we are now in a position to complete the last step of phase one and begin putting into place the milestones that will ultimately give us the freedom and space to live and build a family without corporate chains attached. The dream of every modern day, twenty-something hippie child…

More closer to thirty-something, but that’s besides the point!

It seems that now that things are pretty much where we planned for them to be, taking the initial plunge is not as easy as it once appeared to be – for Veronica that is. You see, by nature she has always been concerned with being “liked” or civil with her employer and fellow employees. This tends to involve treating people well and not stepping on any feet during her course of 9 to 5 existence.

Myself on the other hand have never been close with co-workers, or integrated too far into any company for that matter – because I always had the attitude that it was a job – and it was temporary. If me leaving screwed somebody over, that was the companies problem – not mine.

She is now faced with a challenge in the form of trying to identify the right “time” to break the news, and the right “way” to part – in the most humane fashion.

When taking the work at home plunge, here are some questions to ask yourself before hand:

Do I really care about the people I work with?
Am I financially ready to work from home?
How much money will I save from working at home?
If all hell breaks lose, do I have a backup plan?
Is my at home environment equipped to ensure maximum productivity?
What sort of day-to-day challenges will I face when working at home?
What benefits will I gain from working at home?
How can I leave my company while maintaining credible references?
If I hate my boss, how much will I get charged if I piss in his/her coffee?

All in all, I really believe that we are in a position to take plunges and make mistakes – after all, we don’t have any children (yet), mortgages, car payments or anything else restrictive. If our business fails (which it won’t) we can always get some bull shit jobs to pay the bills. If we go completely broke (which we won’t) we can always get celebrity makeovers and stage a sex tape which we’ll sell to TMZ.com for a quick 10 g’s…

The ultimate question is: Will you ever be 100% ready to do anything in your life?

The answer is no.

So I say do it. Don’t ask for permission, learn from your mistakes and pay the consequences when they arise. Of course if you have kids, a car, a house and a family then don’t be stupid. But if you don’t – be stupid, work hard and make it happen. There really is no reason why it shouldn’t work out in the end!

Cheers,

Elijah

Crazy Super Flip-tastic Follow Up

For those of you who can recall April started off with me setting an obscene goal for myself: to flip 20 websites in 30 days. Almost all of you crazy people responded with genuine encouragement and rooted me on via emails and comments on my Sitepoint auctions – and it was much appreciated! All in all, April proved to be many things, and a overall success is definitely one of them!

So without further delay, let’s get right into the stats, the screen shots and the challenges I faced throughout the month – as well as the many lessons I learned. You guys and gals know I’m not a fan of bullshit people with bullshit screen shots and claims, so be assured that all earnings and screen shots are legit and no figures have been tampered with in any way shape or form.

Total Earnings Minus Paypal Fees

As you can see in the screen shot to the left, I had a total of $3566.79 in earnings, minus the Paypal fees. Note**this total does not include a few Hostgator sign ups I had via my site flips. This total is also in US dollars, which is irrelevant to me.

Total Expenses

After subtracting my expenses from my earnings above, my new total of net earnings for April comes in at $2990.15 USD. That equates to a total of $576.54 in expenses. This includes domain name purchases, content outsourcing, listing fees etc…

Total Subscribers Gained

Another contributing factor to my massive success was due to a list building element I’ve incorporated into my niche website business. I gained 26 new subscribers in April, all of which signed up via a link at the end of my auction copy – this brought repeat business. This was pretty sweet!

Here’s a little tidbit of information I thought you guys might like to know: At the beginning of each month, and April in particular, I absolutely freak-the-fuck-out thinking to myself, “what the hell am I doing?” “what if this doesn’t work” “what if people don’t want my websites or services?” “what if it all ends today?” and at the ending of each month I come to realize that I earned more than I did the previously.

I’m sure I can compile several logical reasons as to why I go through this each month, but the reality of it is that I actually do know what I’m doing, and that there is a demand and huge market of webmasters, both experienced and flowering, who find my website packages and services very useful and economical. Will realizing this prevent me from freaking out in the first week of May? Probably not, lol.

Anyways – Here are the totals for the month regarding the actual amount of websites I built and sold:

15 sites developed/sold
5 sites developed privately
10 sites sold on Sitepoint
2 sites re-listed which didn’t sell initially
5 more private site builds for May (sweet!)
$3546.02 in profit (Canadian Dollars)

So all in all, it looks like my site flip madness was a success! Truthfully, I can only see this business model becoming more efficient and cost-effective. Think about it… I sold my first website back in September, when I was broke and we had no money for groceries. Now, 8 months later, I am making more money monthly then I did as an insurance broker, I am working from the comfort of my home – and I have more time for myself and my relationship with Veronica, my friends and family.

So I ask you this: What is holding you back? Is it time? Is it money? Is it your own apprehension?

Whatever it is, I encourage you to sit back and evaluate your situation. I encourage you to really shoot for the stars, stick with one business model and work it until it is a fine-tuned machine. Will I be flipping websites forever? Probably not. Will I continue to kick ass online and take names? Fuck yeah.

Whatever is holding you back, you need to identify it and come up with a sound plan to work around it and start to take the necessary leaps required to work from home and make money online.

Cheers,

Elijah

20 Site Flips In 30 Days

Folks – I have officially lost my mind! Over the last few months my online business has been flourishing from all angles, including Adsense and freelance work, but more importantly my site flipping game has taken off to a whole new level.

I find a lot of times when people reach a certain level of accomplishment in the “make money online” world, they tend to slack off and loose that drive which got them there in the first place – and I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m definitely not one of those people. Sure I’ve taken the plunge, successfully developed a business model that is profitable and have consistently exceeded my earnings on a month to month basis, but I am by no means comfortable with where I am at.

Is it greed? Absolutely not. I was raised with next to nothing and given a foundation based on the premise that you should be appreciative of every opportunity you are given, whether large or small, because it could always be worse. It is this exact mindset that has enabled me to go from $0 in earnings on September 1st, 2008 to over $1600 and climbing in less than 6 months – keep in mind I’m working on average 10-12 hours per day.

Back to my point…

In the spirit of continual self improvement and the annihilation of all things holy, I have set a goal for myself to double my earnings and break the $3500 profit barrier by the end of April. How will I accomplish this? More outsourcing and increased productivity through strict scheduling and communication. Without blasing my ninja tactics to the entire blogsphere, let me break it down a bit more for you crazy kids…

To pull off 20 site flips in 30 days I will need to complete and list 5 sites per week.
Total outsourcing, adding graphics to the equation, will run me around $425/week.
All other expenses (domains, listing fee) will add another $125/week – giving me a total of $550 in expenses.
97% of my auctions sell at the Buy Now price, which averages around $297 per site.
$297 x 5 = $1485/week in earnings, minus expenses, giving me a total of $935/week in profit.
Multiply my weekly profit by 4 and I’m left with a monthly grand total of $3740 in profit.

It all sounds pretty great in theory, right?

Well I’m sure many of you have sat down and developed little mathematical equations to faciliate your money making dreams and schemes – only to hit the gas and crash head first into a brick wall. Once business/creative plans are made tangible by writing them down on paper, in my case on a whiteboard, they take on a life of their own. But in order for me to make this work I have to do one thing – STAY FOCUSED!

All it takes is one “blah” day to fuck up the entire system. 5 flips per week is some serious business – and I’m not talking about crappy “acne prevention” niche sites built on Revolution themes – I’m talking my signature SuiteJ graduate, customized premium niche website packages. Each site will be fully loaded with Adsense, PLR ebook integration, Amazon affiliate store, unique targeted content and gorgeous high resolution stock images arranged in a 100% custom designed Woo Themes environment.

Anyways – at this point all I ask is to wish me luck!

I hope you all had a prosperous March, and are concocting your own insane plans to kick off the warm weather. If you’re feeling stuck, don’t hesitate to drop me an email – I’m always around to bounce Ideas off of!

Cheers,

Elijah

P.S. Veronica says hi, and she promises to write more this month!