The Wheels Are Finally Starting To Turn
Nov

If you’ve read my last post, Falling Down, then you know that there is a lot of stuff rolling around in my head right now. Emotions are all over the place and life recently got a whole lot more interesting…
I really can’t get too personal with this right now, but suffice it to say (for now), that I am focusing on my relationship with my wife and am spending most of my energy working on our relationship.
With that said, I realize that many of you might be getting a little bored reading about my thoughts, ideas, emotions, and fears, without any actions to back them up. I know that talk can take a person only so far.
So today I want to talk about what I am doing right now. Have I been productive? Have I made good use of the lessons I learned from the “consulting” I received from Penelope Trunk during our interview? Am I moving forward with my life and business?
For those of you who are following me on my journey here, you are probably hoping I’m making great strides to follow through with what I’ve been talking about here. And if you’re new here, you might want to read my last post to gain a better understanding of what I’m talking about.
I also know that many of you are rooting for me and I’m very thankful for that!
The Big Game
I made some pretty bold statements in my last post about choosing to play a bigger game with my life and business and it’s those thoughts that have been consuming most of my time. How am I going to do that? What will it look like? Can I actually do it?
Well, I’ve been able to answer some of these questions and I have some exciting ideas that will have a significant impact on my life and on others lives as well.
It’s still early in the planning stage with my project idea and given all the other stuff I have to do every day, it will take some time to create. My goal is to reveal my idea in December with a launch on January 1.
So, knowing that this will not be something that will provide immediate results or income, I chose to start working on several other small projects as well.
I have come to understand that I need to start creating things, making money, and learning how to become good at marketing if I plan on ever making it as an online entrepreneur. So, as much as I would rather just keep blogging away, I started doing shit instead!
What I’m Up To
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to dominate the blogosphere with what I’m doing here, I’m simply trying to get my feet wet and find my groove. Remember, I’ve been writing here for a year and have done almost no marketing or selling.
Online
1) I created a new eBook for my email newsletter opt in. My current one isn’t great and it’s way off target to my readers. Hence why my email list has grown incredibly slow. I’ve never really cared even though many marketers tell me “the money is in the list”. I just don’t see it that way.
My new eBook is a compilation of 20 of the best cubicle escape stories that have been published on my blog. Many of them have inspired me in different ways and there are some excellent writers in the bunch. My friend John from Hypertransitory is an amazing graphic artist and is working on the cover for me. It should be up this week…
2) I have launched my first niche website and although I have no idea if it’s going to flop, I’m pretty pumped about it.Β It’s in the energy drink niche and as many of you know, I am hopelessly addicted to Red Bull. It made a lot of sense to write articles about something I love for this site.
As far as the system/method I am using for my site, I have become a big fan of Spencer’s site, NichePursuits, and have been devouring his content like crazy. He’s got a very easy to understand approach to writing and I really like his style. I’m following his model and will be using AdSense exclusively for monetization. This is my first attempt with this, so we shall see…
I’m also a fan of Steve Scott, who teaches affiliate marketing on his site and am considering launching an affiliate site within the next few months.
3) I have finished about half of my eBook about surviving your day job. And as I mentioned before, I am actually going to attempt to sell it! It’s shaping up to be a pretty unique piece and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you all. I mean, you are going to buy it, right? π
Launch date is set for December 1.
4) I have created 5 Fiverr gigs so far and although I have only made 1 sale up to this point, I’m still excited about it! I have a copy of Danielle Lynn’s Ultimate Fiverr Marketing Guide (no aff) and actually read the entire thing. It’s full of great information although I haven’t applied what she teaches to my mini business yet…
Here are the links to my gigs. It seems like there is so much stupid shit on Fiverr and a lot of it is making money! I’m actually trying to really help people with mine, so either nobody really cares about my offers or they are just lost in Fiverr limbo. Either way, I would love to hear your thoughts on my services. And it wouldn’t suck if you bought one (or twenty) either π
- Gig 1: Accountability
- Gig 2: Blog critique
- Gig 3: Listening
- Gig 4: Interview Tips
- Gig 5: Workouts
I realize that some of these gigs are worth far more than $5 from a time standpoint alone, but it’s part of my plan. The experience I get from doing these things will lend itself to the type of services I may be offering on my blog(s) in the future (hint hint).
Also, if you have any suggestions on a service or product you feel I would be successful selling, please let me know!
Offline
5) I have begun offering my personal training services again. I stopped taking on new clients over a year ago because of lack of time. I also hated getting up at 5 or 6 am (especially in the winter) to go train someone, but I realize that I have to make some sacrifices now if I plan on ever getting out of my job.
The good news is that I still really enjoy training clients in a one on one setting and I know I can help people reach their fitness goals.
6) I have been teaching fitness boot camps for almost a year and a half now and it’s been bringing in some good extra money. I have between 8 and 20 clients per class, depending on the month and it’s a great workout for my clients and is very inexpensive.
I have only been teaching it twice per week during the evenings after work, but it’s time to ramp it up and start with a morning class. I’m advertising in Craigslist but am thinking of running a deal on Groupon. My goal is to start the new a.m. class in January (think New Years resolutions!)
So with any new clients I take on and another boot camp class, I will be maxed out on time (and sleep).
So yes, I’ve been busy for sure. With all of this going on including the 8 books I’ve recently read, my time with my family, and that damn job of mine, I think I’m doing pretty well…
Discoveries…
In the course of reading a number of books in the last few weeks, I came across one particularly helpful one. At the suggestion of a reader, I read The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Destiny, which turned out to be very insightful.
As I read through the book and did the exercises, I found the answers to some very important questions.
One of the most powerful exercises was discovering my what my ideal life would look like. The exercise started as a several broad topic questions and through a process of elimination, found the top 5 passions that would be included in my ideal life.
Mine are as follows (in no particular order):
When my life is ideal, I am:
- In total control of my time and my life
- Excited to be alive and feel like I can accomplish anything
- In a close, loving relationship with my wife
- Financially secure
- In the service of others
Why not take a few minutes to ask yourself what would constitute your ideal life? As you can imagine, a lot can be done with your answers. We can build an entire business around these findings and that’s what I plan to do.
This got me thinking (there it is again) about what I want my business to look like. What do I ideally want to do every day? How do I want to earn money? What would inspire me to become great?
Here is my list so far:
- I want to inspire and teach
- I want to provide hope to others
- I want to lead by example
- I want to be a strong and positive role model
- I want to help people make significant positive changes in their lives and I want to see it happen for them
- I want people to care about what I am doing
And this is about so much more than just quitting a shitty job. It’s about living a life worth living.
Another book I really loved was The Millionaire Messengerby Brendon Burchard. This book especially hitΒ home with me because it’s all about building a business around what you already know. I’ve always felt that I was destined to do something great and that all my life’s experiences are valuable.
This book details how to turn these experiences into a very successful business and Brendon has done just that. He turned his near death experience as a young man into a extremely successful personal development career. Definitely worth reading!
What’s Next?
My plan is to keep focusing on the important things in my life while I gradually build my business. Balancing work/blog/life is a constant struggle, but is something I need to get better at.
Things are getting better for me, I am moving forward, and although I don’t have a crystal clear vision of my future, I know there are great things ahead…

Mark
Your story and mine are so close it’s not even funny. Your last post on Falling Down hit close to home. Specifically about feeling entitled to having a great life but not putting anything into action to achieve it.
Dave Ramsey says Live life like nobody else (get up at 5 or 6) so you can live like nobody else (so you can get out of your job)
Keep up the good fight
Mark
Steve
Mark,
I hear that a lot. Too much actually. I love that quote about sacrifice and I truly think it does take enormous sacrifices to become a success-but it will be sooo worth it!
Ruth - The Freelance Writing Blog
Gotta love progress! I can’t wait for the ebook, the new download and all the rest. Sounds so wonderful Steve (though I do agree that $5 for 20 minutes of ‘listening’ is too much of a steal! – I may have to purchase that one :-))
Steve
Ruth,
Love your support! I agree that my time is worth far more than $5, but I’m doing it for 2 reasons:
1. Sometimes people really need an objective person to talk to or just need to get something off their chest.
2. It will give me experience in the fine art of listening (not so great-ask my wife). I feel like I will end up in the coaching space at some point and need all the experience I can get.
Thanks once again π
Steve@Earn Money Online
Steve,
Thanks for the mention here. I like that you seem to be trying a lot of things and seeing what works.
I was looking over your fiverr jobs and two jumped out at me as having a lot of potential (not saying the others don’t…just that these ones attracted ME)
Fitness: You said in the post you have, in the past, (and are starting to again) run fitness classes. Do you have any professional certification? You should front load your qualification for that, if so.
IE: “ACE certified personal trainer will provide….”
If you do not have a professional cert. You should front-load it with your qualifications.
“I have been running a workout bootcamp for nearly two years and I have helped (hundreds?) of people achieve greater physical fitness. I will give you a customized workout…”
The other one is the 20 minute Skype “listen”
I would stress the “therapist alternative” here. Something like, “One of the biggest benefits of talking to a therapist is the ability to have a caring person who will actually listen. The Problem is that a therapist can cost hundreds of dollars an hour. For $5 I will listen and provide feedback via Skype. I make no claims at being a licensed professional but I am a very good listener.
Then, of course, both will need a little marketing. Like maybe a guest post on a fitness blog with link to that the first job or a guest post on the value of having someone to talk to on a personal development blog.
Just ideas, but I think both of these have some great potential.
LOL, then again, I make no claims on being a Fiverr expert, just spit-balling ideas.
Good Luck,
Steve
Steve
Hey Steve,
Although I haven’t been commenting on your blog, I’ve been reading all your posts. You seem to be a real genuine and sincere guy as well as knowing your stuff when it comes to internet marketing.
Thanks for the tips on Fiverr, I appreciate you taking the time to look through them. I am certified and have been for 14 years. Not sure why I didn’t mention that in my intro. I’ll change it though as it makes sense and establishes instant credibility.
Another great suggestion about the therapist alternative. I didn’t even think of that, but I like it!
We shall see how it goes and really hope to help people with these gigs (if they can find me of course!)
Steve Rice
So proud of you, Steve. Happy to see you’ve set priorities for working on your marriage first. Really sending you both strong support and wishes for powerful growth and connection as you turn your focus toward your relationship. Many blessings on that front.
I’m also super-stoked about the strides you’re taking to actually change your situation. I’m really grateful for the chat we had on Skype and hope that lent some clarity to you as you have been going through this process. I’m also really glad you’re ramping up all the side gigs before you ditch the day job!
So excited to see all the future holds. Cheering from your corner!
Steve
Steve,
As important as this blog and future business is to me, it pails in comparison to my wife and daughters. I’ve neglected my marriage for a long time and have done a lot of damage. My “tunnel vision” when it comes to my passions (this blog) tends to overtake my thoughts and I seem to only focus on that one thing. Not conducive for a healthy relationship with your spouse…
I loved the chat we had and although I haven’t taken your advice about the worksheets yet, you inspired me in several ways.
Looking forward to chatting again soon..
Chris Wynter
Really-Really good post, Steve! I’ll be keeping a link to it on my desktop. Shame about the Red Bull addicition. π Now to check out the gazillion links: Fiverr first, I think…
~Chris
Steve
Thanks Chris,
Glad you enjoyed the post. I wouldn’t call my addiction a shame because it really makes me happy. We don’t know if there any long-term side effects for habitually drinking the stuff, but I have a feeling it’s not so great for me…
The interesting thing is that the Red Bull I drink each morning is the highlight of my 8 hour work day. Without it, my day would seem like 16 hours instead of 12……
Mars Dorian
Nice Steve,
as hardcore as your interview with the Trunk was, it surely fired you up !
Great to see so many specific goals (and they have a time limit !), I have been guilty of being lazy in the last weeks concerning my blog, but I’m going to follow up as well.
Steve
Mars,
A rare appearance on my blog, I love it! The interview definitely challenged me to start thinking bigger. I wouldn’t have called myself lazy but I was certainly misguided. All my own fault of course..
And yes, it seems that you have been lazy! I want to see a new post from you dammit!!!
Justin | Mazzastick
Cool deal Steve. I will be sending you some positive energy to help you on your new journeys.
Steve
I appreciate that Justin. I will definitely need it! It’s so easy to fall back into being negative and pessimistic.
Benny
It’s 2am here and I should be in bed but wanted to read your latest post!
Glad to get an update on what’s going on. You’re definitely taking action. I like what you’re doing. I’m no expert at Fiverr, but I have seen a lot of stupid stuff being offered there. Hope you get some gigs out of it.
I loved the Millionaire Messenger. His story is really amazing! Great book and I should probably re-read it again.
It’s gotta be tough to get up that early to train people! Especially where you live!!
Keep it up Steve!
Steve
Benny,
Thanks for the late night read!!
Fiverr has yet to pan out, but we shall see. I’ve only sold a few gigs so far and will be adding more soon.
The Millionaire Messenger is such a great book! Have you seen his free videos? Really good stuff!
And yes, getting up at 4:45 am (I did it for years) to train sucks badly! Unfortunately, the most popular times are 6am, so it’s part of the business…
Tom Ewer
Awesome progress Steve – great to see! Sometimes long term contentment requires short term sacrifices – that’s how I’ve justified working all hours of the day!
Steve
Tom,
I’ve realized that I’m going to have to sacrifice a lot more than I already have to get where I want! Good for you for doing the same! By the way, we still need to catch up on Skype soon!
Scott Dudley
Sounds like you have been real busy Steve. I think your heading in the right direction mate, and your right in your situation it is definitely time to start monetizing it.
Why don’t you consider trying to use your ebook content as a members only section on your blog and have a one off charge for it. This way you can always update and improve the content. Ebooks are great but once they are sold you can’t really update them.
Just my two cents worth, but it’s great to see you taking action man.
Scott
Steve
Hi Scott,
I’ve been REAL busy! I literally have every minute of my day accounted for. I don’t really like it that way but I feel like I’ll never get ahead if I don’t keep myself in overdrive 24/7.
I’ve got some unique ideas for my blog and new products. As far as my upcoming ebook, I think I’ll just try my hand at selling it straight up to see how it goes.
Thanks for the thoughts man, it always helps to have fresh ideas!
Eugene
Congrats on the new action Steve. I’ve been falling behind on my reading lately and missed your last post. I just read it…and wow! Marcus’ advice was priceless, I feel like I should go thank him after this.
I feel like I need to get me some Red Bull too. I have a niche site that has been sitting around without me doing anything for almost a year now. And it just crossed 100 opt-in subscribers yesterday. Why I haven’t done anything with is beyond me.
But I love coming here and getting motivation. That fact that you put your personal story out there is very commendable.
Thanks for the motivation.
Steve
Eugene,
No kidding, right? Marcus is the man and always seems to have great advice for me. He speaks from the heart and his friendship has been a wonderful asset in my life.
As far as the Red Bull, do it man! I thrive on it (although my internal organs are probably much from years of drinking it)…
So are you going to get moving on that niche site? How many do you have in total?
BethanyBob
I Liked your “talk to me for 20 minutes” and shared it on Facebook. The way I worded it was, “If you’re lacking supportive people to talk to for free, talk to Steve for 20 minutes for $5.”
I also said you were nifty.
Because you are.
Steve
It’s been a long time since I’ve been called nifty!!
Thanks for sharing my gigs, I really appreciate that π
Eugene
I have a couple, but the one is in a really competitive niche and it’s been getting subscribers slowly without me touching it. I feel like I should ramp that up a bit.
Eugene
Woops…replied to the wrong comment…you’ll know what I’m talking about though π
Hector Avellaneda
Steve it’s all a huge balancing act, man! I am really happy to hear that you are starting to get into the mode of production and even happier that you are actively looking to better your relationship with your wife.
That is the most important relationship you need (don’t use that word too often) to work on, in my opinion.
But anyway, I like your idea for the work out class in January and I like the fact that you’re starting to think and plan more long-term.
Although your work out class will take you offline, how about creating some workout DVDs for your clients once you’ve built a goo client base?
Steve
Hector my friend,
Trying to balance my life is HARD! I have an all or none type personality and am terrible at doing multiple things well. Yet knowing this, I am still doing it every day. I have far too much on my plate but feel the constant tick tock of my life so I can’t stop.
As far as the workout DVD’s, I’ve thought of that but have never gotten around to it. It probably because I don’t have the know how and it seems overwhelming to try to package and sell it. I do think it would be good though. I’ll keep it in mind….Thanks for the reminder
Hector Avellaneda
It’s definitely hard Steve and you stressful at times, Steve! But one thing we should definitely never forget is that we should enjoy every single second of every day!
TIME is our most valuable un-renewable resource!
Once that second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year is gone, it’s gone and you’re never going to get it back.
Our time on this earth-plane is finite my friend and we should never let the worries or challenges of this world overtake and overpower our own ability to create what we wish to create for ourselves.
Take your business aspirations day by day and enjoy the process. It may be a long one but not as long as being employed for the rest of your life!
Steve
I try to remind myself every change I get that life is short and to embrace the moment. I, like many others, usually end up getting caught up in the day to day stuff and never take the time to truly appreciate what I have.
It’s funny, but I’ve never even thought about the enjoying the process of building a business, I just do it. I’m always so wrapped up in to-do lists that I haven’t really appreciated the process I’m going through. Part of balancing out my life will entail slowing down and trying to just “be” in the moments.
Adrienne
Congratulations Steve…
Sounds like you are finally getting things in order. I’m so happy that you have been spending more time on your marriage. Let’s face it, is all of this worth it if your marriage fails?
I’m happy to see that you have some plans in action now. Good for you. I have a feeling that everything is finally starting to fall into place for you and 2012 is going to be a much more productive year for you. I can’t wait to hear how things are going with your Fiverr gigs and your affiliate sites. Just don’t take on more than you can handle. That’s for sure a huge energy zapper right there.
Steve
Adrienne,
You make a very powerful point. After all, my family is #1 and this is a very distant #2. I’m not sure that has been clear though…
Although I am very serious about this blog and building a business here, it all means much much less if I don’t have my wife to share it with me.
Things are slowly falling into place and I have to make 2012 my year! It can’t be optional, I have to get my stuff together.
And as far as taking on too much, that’s always been a problem for me. I always think I can handle just one more thing…but I really can’t do it all….
Scott
Steve,
Just ordered your Interview Fiverr gig. Can’t wait to get it bud. I am excited to hear about your progress.
I am about to start on my first ebook as well. May it be a great journey for both of us.
I hope we can talk next week on Skype and maybe share some ideas my friend.
Take care and have a great rest of the week!
Scott
Steve
Awesome Scott! Thanks for the business π
What’s your eBook about?
Deeone
Hey Steve,
Great approach and every excellent forward movement. I like yourself, have no idea what the future will hold for me; and though some may think that they have it all planned out its wise to know that they really don’t have a clue.
Sure, we all have a plan that we’d like to carry out, but in all reality things come to knock our plan all out of whack. The only thing we can do is move ever so forward towards the plan, and hope that something doesn’t come along and knock it back to stage 1.
Mind over matter, my friend. Let the mind focus on things that matter, and you’ll continue to be just fine. I for one appreciate that honesty of your post. I wish you and yours the best, and I hope that things improve tremendously. Stay focus man. I’m one of those that are rooting for you. π
Steve
Deeone,
As much as I’d like to know that the future holds great things for me, we never know. A million different things can get in our way and try to stop us. We need to keep our vision clear and stay the course. Of course, it’s a lot easier said than done…
It’s great to have you as a part of my life and I’m lucky to have you as a friend..
Hendrik
Hi Steve! It is good to read about new ventures and I congratulate you and at the same time wish you great success in your online ventures. I left my offline job as there was nothing related to my desires or passions. Internet marketing has offered me space to realize my dreams and passions. Though it took me 2 years to understand the basics of Internet marketing, SEO stuff and affiliate marketing tips, it is worth the wait as I am now able to make a decent income month after month, from the comfort of my home.
Keshav
woah woah woah.. too many things. You lost me there buddy
:-). Love the idea of 20 stories in eBook.
Hey can you give us a form, a questionnaire for us to understand our lives. Something similar to what you did recently. You keep saying I got this answer, now I know I have to fix this – But what were the questions? I would love to see a post on that.
Steve
Keshav,
My new eBook should be up this week! Finally….
You ask a great question here and I DO need to create something like that. I have a big idea for this blog but it won’t be ready for a few months. In the meantime, I need to start writing about the kinds of things you’re talking about…..
Jayne Kopp
Excellent! You will be ‘busy’ as a “one armed paper hanger” but just stay inspired and it will all flow and lift you.
Great work. You definitely haven’t been letting the grass grow under your feet!
Glad to see you moving forward.
Janet Attwood is great BTW. I loved The Passion Test.
Jayne