Brainstorming other income streams

[CroMagna]

Hi family,

In honor of Steve's "10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job", I'm using this thread as a opportunity for everyone to brainstorm other income streams.

Here are mine:

-Independent Contracting such as LEGAL sex work
-Teaching piano, tennis, etc.
-Ignite energy deregulation (only in certain states for now)

Now is time to put on your thinking caps and brainstorm other income streams besides the 9-5 life, which none of us here was meant to live.

[lycan]

Can you play piano? How well?

[CroMagna]

I have onver 16 years of classical piano training. My teacher, who has played at the Kennedy Center and is currently working on a Broadway musical, said that of his 25 years of teaching, I am by far his best student. I have also composed three songs, one of which was published with a school literary magazine.

[lycan]

I'm assuming you like it?

[CroMagna]

I like it enough to not have to risk getting a 9-5 job for it.

[sk8joyful]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

I have over 16 years of classical piano training. My teacher,
who has played at the Kennedy Center and is currently working on a Broadway musical, said that of his 25 years of teaching, I am by far his best student. I have also composed three songs, one of which was published with a school literary magazine.

Congratulations!

I was talking with a colleague last year, who mentioned that he had started his Teaching-career, by helping out in Special-ed. classrooms as an Aide, while working his way thru college to support his family. He got his BS mostly online, and is working on his MS now.

With ALL this fantastic Music-experience you already have, you could become a Music-teacher in the schools. MUSIC is another of our soul's Language-expressions, so you could help the next generation live more healthy & happy... just another great suggestion, mind you

[CroMagna]

Thank you

Any other ideas guys? Without concrete, realistic ideas of how to earn money without a job, most of us better resign ourselves to wage slavery.

[CroMagna]

So I gather that there are no concrete ways of not getting a job other than sponging off of someone. That means all those "don't get a job articles" on the internet are just getting people's hopes up and are blowing hot air.

[MagicalRealist]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

So I gather that there are no concrete ways of not getting a job other than sponging off of someone.

Is that really the only alternative you've managed to figure out? Seriously?

You want to know the alternative to getting a job? It's being self-employed. Which means you have to identify the work you are going to do, and the people you are going to sell your products or services to. It means doing all the necessary research before starting up your business, coming up with a viable business plan, and securing the financing you need. It means getting up every day and doing what has to be done, even if that day's tasks don't particularly appeal to you, because you know it needs to be done and the payoff will be worth it.

It involves a lot of work, and accepting a lot of risk, and maintaining a very high level of commitment. And if you're incapable of doing those things, or unwilling to put yourself out there like that--well, I guess sponging off other people really is your only option.

That means all those "don't get a job articles" on the internet are just getting people's hopes up and are blowing hot air.

Only if those people don't want to work, and are looking for any excuse not to.

[CroMagna]

90% of business fail within the first two years. Read "How to Ruin Your Life by Starting Your Own Business", available on the web.

I asked for specific, *gasp* realistic, viable alternatives to getting a job and received no responses. So that's what I gather. The alternative is to get off your carcass and look for a job.

[MagicalRealist]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

90% of business fail within the first two years. Read "How to Ruin Your Life by Starting Your Own Business", available on the web.

I don't need to read it. I've started several businesses of my own (and know plenty of other entrepreneurs). I just started another one in July, in preparation for launching yet another next summer. I've been continuously self-employed since 1998. Believe me, I'm fully aware of the reasons why some businesses succeed and most don't.

And yes, I've had one early business "failure." And that didn't ruin my life. Quite the opposite--I learned from my mistakes, and came out of the experience with a renewed sense of purpose and greater clarity about what I should be doing with my life. That "failure" was a valuable experience.

The 90% statistic you like to throw around as an excuse for not doing anything is meaningless. Why did those businesses fail? Look at the real reasons for that; business failures don't just occur randomly.

And here's another thing: many businesses close within two years of startup because they were meant to from the start. I had two successful, profitable businesses that would be included in the 90%/2yr "failure" statistics because I shut them down within two years of starting them. They fulfilled the purpose I set for them, and there was no reason for them to keep existing, so I closed them. I'm by no means the only entrepreneur who has ever done that.

And I even listed some of the reasons why businesses fail in a reply to you on a previous thread, but since they don't lend credence to one of your favorite excuses for not doing anything, I'm not surprised they didn't make an impression.

Look, why are you even on a personal development forum at all? You are so doggedly determined to avoid taking any steps that might help you develop. You've been here a long time, and if anything you've grown even more stagnant, more entrenched in your excuse-making, and more determined to avoid anything that might demand risk or change. I honestly think you're just here because you're horribly lonely and desperate for people to be be nice, take you seriously, and pay attention to you.

What I believe you want--and this is based on your posts--is a magic bullet that will give you money, social status, respectability, and freedom from any demands made upon you. You want to be in a position where people perceive you as an intelligent expert to be deferred to and respected. But you don't want to have to do anything for it. You don't want to take any risks. You don't want to face anyone else's contrary opinions, or incur any obligations, or face any challenges. You don't want to work for it. You just want it.

And there is nothing wrong with that wanting; we all have some impossible fantasy or other. But when you keep trying to get your impossible fantasy delivered for free, entirely on your terms, with absolutely no risk or obligation? That keeps you trapped, going nowhere, achieving nothing.

I asked for specific, *gasp* realistic, viable alternatives to getting a job and received no responses. So that's what I gather. The alternative is to get off your carcass and look for a job.

For someone who has said repeatedly that she loves doing research, you can't actually seem to do any. Why is that?

Again, you want everything handed to you, without any effort on your part. But why should anyone do that? Chances are, you're just going to shoot down whatever is suggested with the same old excuses you always use.

I gave you a specific suggestion, once--start a blog. I suggested it because you said you thought it was the "perfect career" for you (and you've said that more than once). Blogging is something you can start with no money; the only investment you need to make is in time, effort, and commitment. But you dismissed that with the same old lame, self-defeating excuses you always use--the same excuses that are keeping you stuck where you are, and will continue to keep you stuck.

Look, I don't believe for a minute that you actually want to work, be it for yourself or anyone else. It simply scares you too much, and you're determined to remain in your comfort zone (even though there is obviously scant comfort to be found there). So there's really no point in suggesting career or job options to you. You're absolutely risk-averse, you're terrified of other people, you're consumed with self-loathing and resentment, and you refuse to do anything that will actually help you change that state of affairs.

Oh, sure, you'll play with the fantasy of being a therapist/sex surrogate/social worker for a while, but by now it's a given that you won't actually do it. You'll just find another fear-based excuse to reject that option, just as you reject blogging. You've done that over and over again for years now, and nothing has changed (if anything it's worse). Given that, why should anyone rack their brains to offer you job or career suggestions?

So yes, maybe sponging off other people is a good career option for you. If you're extraordinarily lucky, you'll find someone to sponge off who makes minimal demands and gives you the ego-boosts you want. But if you genuinely want your life to stop sucking as badly as it obviously does, and to feel a genuine sense of competence and achievement, then you will have to start doing things you insist you don't want to do. You'll have to do things that terrify you. You'll have to take risks, do the work, and stick with it.

But first and foremost, you'll have to engage in your own personal development. Because if you don't, you'll still be here two years (or more) down the road, hashing out the same old life and career dilemmas to a crowd of sympathetic newcomers who haven't heard all your excuses before.

What's it going to be, CroMagna? Growth, or continued stagnation? Because that--not what to do for a living--is the real choice you must make.

[janicelou]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

90% of business fail within the first two years. Read "How to Ruin Your Life by Starting Your Own Business", available on the web.

I asked for specific, *gasp* realistic, viable alternatives to getting a job and received no responses. So that's what I gather. The alternative is to get off your carcass and look for a job.

I think you are reading the wrong "stuff".

Try reading information like.... 21 Great Ways to start and build a profitable business by Brian Tracy (its also on audio if you don't like to read)

[AlexzandraLove]

Originally Posted by CroMagna

Hi family,

In honor of Steve's "10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job", I'm using this thread as a opportunity for everyone to brainstorm other income streams.

Here are mine:

-Independent Contracting such as LEGAL sex work
-Teaching piano, tennis, etc.
-Ignite energy deregulation (only in certain states for now)

Now is time to put on your thinking caps and brainstorm other income streams besides the 9-5 life, which none of us here was meant to live.

I've been wondering if I could make an income stream off of writing resumes for other people. I figure I'm quite articulate enough to be able to do that for those who might not be. I could start by selling myself on websites like Craigslist, maybe.