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impaul99 · 10-18-2009, 06:48 AM

I'd like to share something strange that happened to me.

Steve's written on this topic before. He's said before to basically just QUIT and do what you love. Forget money, forget your bills, etc. Don't give away your power to those things.

I didn't really feel comfortable with that path of just quitting my 6-figure a year job abruptly like that so instead I began building my Blogging and Affiliate Marketing income while still working. However, things weren't going that well. Then, the company I was working with had a partner of theirs announce the end of their partnership as of Dec 31st, 2008. That basically meant the end of my "secure" income unless I wanted to take a paycut and work three times as hard for way less pay.

The announcement happened in April 08, the day after I wrote in my journal that I wanted to get out of working for someone else by end of 2008. So, I took it as a sign that it was time for me to move on. From Oct-Dec 08 I trained my replacement so that the company I used to manage and the employees I was leaving behind could still have a job if they wanted to, and I quit, officially becoming full time "self-employed" as of Jan 1st, 2009.

My income as of Jan 09 from my Internet Money Making efforts was virtually nothing. Right after that though my income began climbing and now being in my 10th month on my own, I'm almost at the point where I've been able to replace my 6-figure income by doing Internet stuff from home, which I enjoy.

Now, here's the weird part.

During these 10 months I've invested quite a bit of money, savings, and credit card room into keeping myself afloat while building up my business. In the last few months and especially in the last few weeks I've decided to take on a few side-contracts doing some stuff I used to do (which isn't exactly my passion) but which guaranteed a certain income to help me pay down some of my debts.

The weird thing is that when I took a little side job to do something for like $500 or $2,000, I thought it would be *extra* money I would have to pay down bills on top of the money I was already making doing stuff I enjoy and love. Instead what happened is that when I made $500 doing stuff I didn't enjoy, my income doing stuff I do enjoy dropped by like $500 so I'm still not ahead.

Then I took another project last weekend to make about $2k/m more than before, but since that day (1 week ago) my other income (doing what I love) dropped by about $500. So weird.

There's no reason why it should drop. It's mostly passive income I earn from my online websites, so it would be like Steve making $30k/m from AdSense steadily for a few years, and then the minute he takes on a project that promises to pay him an additional $10k/m but doing something he doesn't really want to do (but he does it anyways for the money), and then his AdSense income dropping down to $20k/m at the exact same time.

I guess what I'm starting to realize is this:

(1) Let's say your current job (J) is paying all of your bills (B) right now. So what we try to do is build a side business (SB) that hopefully makes as much money as J so that we can pay B. The fantasy is that we'll wait until income from SB = J so that we can quit J, because now SB will cover B. That's the fantasy. Doesn't work though.

(2) I tried for years and years to build up my SB to be equal to J or to at least cover most of my "fixed" expenses. Not until I quit J did my SB income start growing and start to cover B.

(3) Not only that, but once you build up your SB income to at least partially cover B, if you ever try to take on work similar to what you were doing at J, your SB income will drop in direct proportion to how much J type work you do.

I don't know if this happens to everyone, I'm just reporting what happened to me. If this is in fact the case, then there really isn't any point doing ANYTHING except that which inspires you because it's a waste of time. You'll never be in a position where all your bills will be covered enough so that you can do what you love. You have to take a leap of faith one way or another.

I guess this is what Steve's been saying all along.

I still can't believe my "passive" income from doing the stuff I enjoy dropped the second I took on work mainly just to make some extra money. It's like getting slapped across the face by the Universe as punishment for "going backwards"...

Anyone else experience this?

10-18-2009, 06:48 AM	#75 (permalink)
impaul99 Banned Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 1,935	I'd like to share something strange that happened to me. Steve's written on this topic before. He's said before to basically just QUIT and do what you love. Forget money, forget your bills, etc. Don't give away your power to those things. I didn't really feel comfortable with that path of just quitting my 6-figure a year job abruptly like that so instead I began building my Blogging and Affiliate Marketing income while still working. However, things weren't going that well. Then, the company I was working with had a partner of theirs announce the end of their partnership as of Dec 31st, 2008. That basically meant the end of my "secure" income unless I wanted to take a paycut and work three times as hard for way less pay. The announcement happened in April 08, the day after I wrote in my journal that I wanted to get out of working for someone else by end of 2008. So, I took it as a sign that it was time for me to move on. From Oct-Dec 08 I trained my replacement so that the company I used to manage and the employees I was leaving behind could still have a job if they wanted to, and I quit, officially becoming full time "self-employed" as of Jan 1st, 2009. My income as of Jan 09 from my Internet Money Making efforts was virtually nothing. Right after that though my income began climbing and now being in my 10th month on my own, I'm almost at the point where I've been able to replace my 6-figure income by doing Internet stuff from home, which I enjoy. Now, here's the weird part. During these 10 months I've invested quite a bit of money, savings, and credit card room into keeping myself afloat while building up my business. In the last few months and especially in the last few weeks I've decided to take on a few side-contracts doing some stuff I used to do (which isn't exactly my passion) but which guaranteed a certain income to help me pay down some of my debts. The weird thing is that when I took a little side job to do something for like $500 or $2,000, I thought it would be extra money I would have to pay down bills on top of the money I was already making doing stuff I enjoy and love. Instead what happened is that when I made $500 doing stuff I didn't enjoy, my income doing stuff I do enjoy dropped by like $500 so I'm still not ahead. Then I took another project last weekend to make about $2k/m more than before, but since that day (1 week ago) my other income (doing what I love) dropped by about $500. So weird. There's no reason why it should drop. It's mostly passive income I earn from my online websites, so it would be like Steve making $30k/m from AdSense steadily for a few years, and then the minute he takes on a project that promises to pay him an additional $10k/m but doing something he doesn't really want to do (but he does it anyways for the money), and then his AdSense income dropping down to $20k/m at the exact same time. I guess what I'm starting to realize is this: (1) Let's say your current job (J) is paying all of your bills (B) right now. So what we try to do is build a side business (SB) that hopefully makes as much money as J so that we can pay B. The fantasy is that we'll wait until income from SB = J so that we can quit J, because now SB will cover B. That's the fantasy. Doesn't work though. (2) I tried for years and years to build up my SB to be equal to J or to at least cover most of my "fixed" expenses. Not until I quit J did my SB income start growing and start to cover B. (3) Not only that, but once you build up your SB income to at least partially cover B, if you ever try to take on work similar to what you were doing at J, your SB income will drop in direct proportion to how much J type work you do. I don't know if this happens to everyone, I'm just reporting what happened to me. If this is in fact the case, then there really isn't any point doing ANYTHING except that which inspires you because it's a waste of time. You'll never be in a position where all your bills will be covered enough so that you can do what you love. You have to take a leap of faith one way or another. I guess this is what Steve's been saying all along. I still can't believe my "passive" income from doing the stuff I enjoy dropped the second I took on work mainly just to make some extra money. It's like getting slapped across the face by the Universe as punishment for "going backwards"... Anyone else experience this?