Sorry, But Online Business Ain’t All Unicorns And Rainbows
Aug

This is a guest submission from Alden from Alden-Tan.com
Quit your shitty job. Tell your crappy boss you’re done and leave.
You decided to do what you love instead. You plan to create a business out of your passion instead and also make the world a better place.
There will be no more nine to five, because you always felt that made you feel like a cog in the machine; part of the system; a piece of data in the matrix.
Life is all living! You need to travel the world, meet people, absorb different cultures and feeling alive!
That’s what most people think about when it comes to ending the grind.
It Ain’t All Unicorns and Rainbows
Sorry to burst your bubble buddy, but it’s ENTIRELY not what you think it is, especially if it is as contrived and naive as the above.
Heck man, it’s also not about simply not giving up, trying your best and then overcoming your challenges. That’s the gist of it yes, but it is always easier said than done.
Take it from me.
I’m Alden Tan, and I started my real grind in 2011. I started my “quit my job to follow a dream” thing back then and I’ve never looked back since.
Not So Typical Lessons
And of course, there are lessons. But I like to think mine aren’t as easy and normal as any rag-to-riches story tell.
I’ve been scammed before. I’ve made and lost friendships. I’ve made money online and I’ve even inspired people to not kill themselves with my writing.
Read on. Be inspired and absorb the realness.
Passion is a cliché. You still need to work it
Look…
EVERYBODY seems to have passion today. Everybody in business also likes to emphasize that you need passion in order to run your business.
It’s a cliché.
Sorry, but passion isn’t going to solve all your problems. Just because you do what you love or have an inspiring message to tell doesn’t mean the universe is going to cosmically serve you whatever it is you want.
You still need to work it! You have to put in the effort, sacrifice and work your ass off. Add to that, because it’s a cliché? Nobody really cares that you have passion.
You still need to be different. You need to show how you’re unique. From a business standpoint, you need to have a strong positioning and also brand yourself well.
It’s easy to be swayed by people
During your journey, you’d no doubt connect with a lot of other people in whatever field or niche you’re in. Some of them are super successful and you’d probably look up to them. Some of them may just be starting out.
And all of them would have different opinions on how to run things. Some of them would be very aggressive too. So, the crucial thing is, are you going to listen? Or go your own way?
It’s extremely easy to be swayed by others, especially the successful ones. But not everything others say, as well-meaning as they are, may apply to you. You need to make your own decisions. Be firm. Stand your ground and don’t be swayed.
More often than not, it’s best to do things your own way first so you can learn from it fully. There’s no point doing things that makes you half-hearted. You’ll just be unauthentic.
Some “good” people are not good at all
This is how it mostly is when you connect with new people:
You’ll add each other on Skype. You guys hop on a call and chat for 30 minutes. Your new friend would end the call with “Let me know how I can help you out bro.” That line has turned into a fake formality because it’s the textbook answer to Networking 101.
Sorry, but not all good people are truly good people. They’re all talk.
More often than not, they’re just being nice so they can get you to buy their product or service. Or, like in my experience, they’d willingly do you a solid favor first, then come back later to ask back for a favor which is totally out of proportion.
A lot of “good” people work through “I’ve scratched your back, now you’ve to scratch mine” mentality. It’s just how it is. Talk is cheap. Be very wary of such people. Connect as much as you want, but follow your gut if you smell bullshit.
You’ll fail. Be thankful for the struggle
Let’s get the F word out of the way.
You’re going to meet a lot of challenges and try out a lot of new things. Your hopes will be very high too. But disappointment will come. Not everything you try will give you the results you want.
Don’t let that get you down. Failure is actually a good thing. That’s how you learn the best. Be thankful for the struggle and don’t be afraid to fail. You don’t have to be perfect, like what others say in their how-to articles and whatever.
Just keep forging your own path and fail as fast as you can. You’ll get better.
You need to break rules
Most people, when learning how to create a business will have to start somewhere. We have our webinars, articles, coaching etc. But as mentioned, not everything you learn will apply to you.
Eventually, you’re going to have to break some rules and start calling the shots on your own. This is going to make you extremely uncomfortable.
And it must be done.
Look at it this way: If doing what you love is enough, then everybody with passion would be in business. If business was as easy going through some coaching program, then everybody can draw a month’s pay from some shitty job, get the program and be in business.
Nope. Doesn’t work that way. You need to learn, apply the knowledge and eventually top it off by calling the shots on your own. And some of these shots are going to piss some people off.
Money is indeed important so make sure you’re covered
I personally think that inspirational rag-to-riches stories of successful people going from broke to super stardom are overrated. What’s more, it becomes dangerous when they preach, “Money is not everything.”
Money isn’t everything, but it is very important. You need it to survive! I honestly count a day to be good when I managed to kill it with sales whereas a day of killing it with the best article I wrote in a burst of inspiration isn’t.
That’s how I went broke for an entire year because I thought passion was all I needed.
So make sure you’re covered. Quit your job only when it makes sense. Get your sales funnel and business model set up and ready from the get go.
There will be no more journey if you don’t have money.
It can take a long time and that doesn’t feel good at all
It’s an ongoing process and an everlasting journey. And truly, a couple of years (of failing and not getting what you want) is really short. It’s just a tiny ripple in the whole river.
Stop thinking about overnight success or how some others seem to have it “lucky” just because they’re making more money than you or whatever. Concentrate on your own journey. If you want to shorten the time to real success, keep grinding and working hard.
That day will come.
About Alden
Alden Tan is a passionate Bboy and writer. He writes honest and real stories to inspire people, so you know there’s no bullshit with him. Check out his free book, 12 Things Happy People Don’t Give a Fuck About.

Sebastian Aiden Daniels
I really like your writing style Alden. I read a blog posts of yours a few weeks back and really enjoyed it. I tried to leave a comment but your comment system was frustrating so I just left and didn’t return.
I see that you changed the commenting on your site. I’ve now added you to my regular blogs bookmark that I visit. I’m excited to start reading the articles over at your site.
Now to this gem. First off Steve, that picture of the Rules and glass breaking is fucking awesome. You are absolutely right that online business is tough work. It isn’t easy for the majority of people especially starting out. It’s why most people quit within the first few months.
You will definitely fail or try new things that don’t work out. It is constant tinkering. About 10 days ago I was swamped with intense depression because of a perceived “failure.” I kept being myself up. It was mainly ego based because it was that I would be a failure in others eyes. I wanted to quit and my mom talked to me and reminded me that I wasn’t. That I didn’t needed to be patient and calm and that I shouldn’t set my expectations so high. I just need to go with the flow. Since that talk I have been happy, content, and not focusing on anything stats related.
I agree that money is important. Anyone telling you otherwise is dumb. Yeah don’t be greedy, but you do need to make a certain amount of money to lead a decent life.
Passion is cliche. You won’t be passionate 24/7 at least I am not. You just keep moving forward and then when passion comes it makes it all the better, but when it isn’t there you still have to keep going.
Thanks for the post. I’ll pin this for you! Go UnicornS!
Alden
I think people who claim to be passionate 24/7 are nothing but a bunch of potheads who get high all the time, call that high passion and then refuse to do any real work after that.
Toni - Reclaiming Your Future
I find this post both comforting and depressing; I’m not sure which frustrates me the most lol.
Good work Alden!