Ascent to Greatness and Success

[thunder_god]

I meant to create this thread earlier today but I was feeling extremely depressed and also had to work in the evening so I had no time, but what really sparked me and got me really pissed off was me calling a helpline to speak to a counsellor about my depression. I had called this helpline numerous times in the past, and just a few days ago had spoken with someone, but today the lady at the other end was giving me attitude right off the bat. She was like "well what do you want us to do about your situation?" then goes on and tells me because I'm not a post-secondary student (I just dropped out (more like kicked out) officially 3 weeks ago) she can't help me but offered to talk to me for a few minutes and then send me off somewhere else. She made it seem like she was doing me a favour when it's her F*cking job. I told her to just forget about it and hung up. That shit really hit the nail. I was already feeling pretty depressed today and It showed in my lack of motivation to work at my job today. After that encounter with that bitch on the helpline I immediately took out my webcam and recorded my first video diary talking about my circumstances. While re-watching it, I had to restraint myself from not letting tears pour out of my eyes.

Anyways from today onwards, I've decided to make some major changes to my life so that I never ever feel like this again. I feel like a piece of shit right now, a total F*cking loser and disgrace of a human being. I never want to depend on anyone else again so that they can't treat me like this. I'm living in poverty right now with only a few hundred bucks in my bank account and I'm not sure where I'm going to end up living at the end of September. I have a big chunk of student loans due in 6 months from now and I'm about to turn 30 in 3 days. I'm going to do whatever it takes from this point on, even if it means applying to work at some dead end job like Mcdonalds or Bento Sushi just so that I can have a little money in the meantime while I work on developing the skills and experience to become a freelancer with the long term goal of having my own businesses that allow me to be location independent and provides me with financial freedom and independence as well. Each day I'm going to list what actions I took that will bring me closer to my goals. I've been procrastinating and letting my ego and pride control my ability to get out of my financial hole that I'm currently in. I'm going to have to lose my pride and just eat a slice of humble pie and apply to any job that I can get no matter how humiliating and degrading it is.

I want to come back from this and show all of those motherfuckers who looked down on me, and counted me out with all of their negative criticism and bullshit and prove all of them wrong. I'm going to show each and every last one of these people who never believed in me and told me that I was going to become a failure how wrong they were. Mark my words I will be the last one laughing when this is over!

Short Term Goals: Timeline 1 month
1. Get a part-time job that gives me between 16-24 hours of work so that I can afford to pay rent and
living expenses
2. Get my first freelance job from Upworks no matter how small the amount
3. Create my basic copywriting website so that I can start marketing my services
4. Learn about how to copywrite and become better at it so that I can start getting copywriting jobs

Semi-Long Term Goals: 6 months to 2 years
1. Build up a steady clientele on upworks to provide either a full-time salary or close to it (3-5k/month)
2. Get the hell out of Toronto and move to another country that has a much lower cost of living and is
warmer too
3. Work on products that will generate passive income for me in the future
4. Get at least 100 visitors and readers on my blogs monthly
5. Pay off all of my student loans (50K) and be debt free forever

Long Term Goals: 2+ year
1. Become a millionaire and obtain financial independence and freedom
2. Achieve location independence
3. Have multiple streams of passive income allowing me to essentially retire at a younger age (hopefully before I'm 40)
4. Have at least 100000 readers a month on my blogs
5. Travel around the world and not be restricted by finances ever again!


Day 1: It's around 1:30am right now so I will start on these tasks when I wake up in the morning.

Daily Goals :
1. Finish up one blog entry in my personal teaching blog (completed)
2. Add in more information and revamp my profile on upworks (completed)
3. Go write 3 detailed proposals and apply for at least 3 freelance jobs in upworks
4. go apply for 1 job in Toronto
5. Apply for that shitty sushi prep job at Bento Sushi in Toronto (completed)
6. Finish reading at least 2 threads on here detailing how to make money freelancing
7. Read 1 blog post from location180 (completed)
8. Read 5 pages from copywriting101 from copyblogger (completed)
9. Workout at the gym (completed)
10. Eat healthy so that I can get the body that I want to have (completed)
11. Start going to bed no later then 12am (completed)

 

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[Deleted21961]

You are taking massive action, I see. Which will lead to your suicide if you not change the course.
Step back and read what you have written. Can you notice it is all about you? Like you were the center of universe? If you are living with such a perception, you are taking every (inevitable) failure so personally, that when one big enough happens, it crushes and wipes you out of Earth surface for good.
You think other people don't give a shit about you and yet you want them to give you their money while you don't give a shit about them and their problems. Like they existed only to pay you.

You know what is the most missing quality between freelancers in every niche? Caring about their clients and their customers. Build on this one and you will position yourself in the winning corner from the beginning. Keep not giving a shit and the world will keep throwing more shit on you.

 

[thunder_god]

Today when I was trying to tackle daily goal #3 which was applying to freelance gigs on upworks, I developed a severe case of anxiety and fear. I don't know why but there was one job that I wanted to apply for that involved copying a website into google drive. I'm a somewhat tek-savvy guy and I'm pretty sure I could have pulled it off but I was afraid that I wouldn't know how to do it and the client would have left me a bad rating for my first job. Same thing with some of these blog writing jobs. I don't feel confident in my ability to write a good article.

I'm going to have to figure out how to face my fear and overcome this. How else am I suppose to start making some money to survive out here?

 

[Deleted21961]

Today when I was trying to tackle daily goal #3 which was applying to freelance gigs on upworks, I developed a severe case of anxiety and fear. I don't know why but there was one job that I wanted to apply for that involved copying a website into google drive. I'm a somewhat tek-savvy guy and I'm pretty sure I could have pulled it off but I was afraid that I wouldn't know how to do it and the client would have left me a bad rating for my first job. Same thing with some of these blog writing jobs. I don't feel confident in my ability to write a good article.

I'm going to have to figure out how to face my fear and overcome this. How else am I suppose to start making some money to survive out here?

You care about your rating, not if you can help your client. Figured it out.

 

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[theag]

Its "Ascent", not "Descent", if you want to move up.

 

[thunder_god]

Day 2

Daily goals:

1. Write 1 blog post on my personal blog (completed)
2. Call the employment centre and try to make an appointment for next week (completed)
3. Read 1 blog post from location 180 (completed)
4. Read 5-10 pages from copywriting101 from copyblogger (completed)
5. Apply for 1 job in Toronto (wasted a few hours because I found out the position was unpaid)
6. Put up transcription gig on fiverr (completed)
7. Apply for 1 job on upworks
8. Revise my resume and send it off to be reviewed 1 last time and then send it off the university in China (completed)
9. Sleep no later than 12:00am

I'm not going to bother listing exercise and eating healthy because I pretty much try to do that everyday anyways.

 

[thunder_god]

Created my fourth gig on fiverr today transcribing audio/video. I'm going to create one more gig later today offering to write articles/blogs just so I can get some work experience and have some samples to add to my portfolio.

 

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[The-J]

This forum seems to be a popular place for people who are depressed. It's as if this place is where depressed people come when have the first spark they've felt in years, finally feeling motivated and feeling like they can take on the world.

A common thread, though, is that they tend to disappear without a second thought. Some hang around but never do anything at all.

I need to warn you, though: we can't help you with your depression. You'll need to see a professional and go past the helpline.

A little piece of advice: toss out your video games, cancel your Netflix, and get into a habit of DOING. Motivational videos, blogs and blog posting, and books are 'hobby stuff and should not be put on your to-do list. Instead, they should be for your downtime.

Good luck.

 

[thunder_god]

This forum seems to be a popular place for people who are depressed. It's as if this place is where depressed people come when have the first spark they've felt in years, finally feeling motivated and feeling like they can take on the world.

A common thread, though, is that they tend to disappear without a second thought. Some hang around but never do anything at all.

I need to warn you, though: we can't help you with your depression. You'll need to see a professional and go past the helpline.

A little piece of advice: toss out your video games, cancel your Netflix, and get into a habit of DOING. Motivational videos, blogs and blog posting, and books are 'hobby stuff and should not be put on your to-do list. Instead, they should be for your downtime.

Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestions. I already have a medical professional that I see a few times a month for help with treating the depression, I suppose its just as of late Its gotten worse due to my lack of results with landing a job and I wanted to just talk with someone that night. Anyways screw the helpline I've made a decision from this point onwards to just do something about my situation instead of wallowing in self pity. I've pretty much stopped watching any movies and tv shows since about a few weeks ago. I also haven't touched a video game system in years. I've cut off all of the negative people in my life and my only focus right now is trying to get myself out of this situation I'm in at the moment. The blog posting thing I started doing was based on a suggestion that Sean Ogle made from location 180. I see it more of as a training ground to let me practice my writing skills and get better at it.

 

[Member]

I have the same fear right now with applying to upwork jobs, but you just have to do it.

Sometimes you can't wait for a perfect opportunity and you just have to pick the best option that you have available, even if there might be downsides.

Typing this for me as much as for you.

 

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[thunder_god]

I have the same fear right now with applying to upwork jobs, but you just have to do it.

Sometimes you can't wait for a perfect opportunity and you just have to pick the best option that you have available, even if there might be downsides.

Typing this for me as much as for you.

Ya I decided to embrace my fear this morning with my fiverr gig. I have no experience with transcribing things but I figured what the hell, what do I got to lose?

I'm going to start applying for jobs later today once I'm finish revising my ersume for teaching jobs over in China.

 

[The-J]

I'm going to start applying for jobs later today once I'm finish revising my ersume for teaching jobs over in China.

China?!

You're inspired, but you lack focus.

Don't be tempted to throw a bunch of shit at the wall in hopes something will stick.

Choose one thing that is the most necessary for you right now, and go hard.

Do you need to pay your rent because you're 3 months behind? You best be hammering away for a menial job. The Sushi shop sounds good, but you're broke, so McDonalds sounds just as good.

Then, when you get it, use your downtime to hammer away at ONE THING.

Copy? Eat, breathe, and shit copy. Apply to Upwork jobs until your fingers are blue.

Wanna code apps? Eat, breathe, and shit coding. Then build an app and learn how to sell the shit out of it.

Wanna start running traffic? Eat, breathe, and shit internet marketing. You'll need to use your money, but you'll learn the game even if it takes thousands of dollars and several months.

These aren't your only options, but you have to make a CHOICE and STICK TO IT. It's hard for most of us. But nobody said it would be easy.

 

[thunder_god]

China?!

You're inspired, but you lack focus.

Don't be tempted to throw a bunch of shit at the wall in hopes something will stick.

Choose one thing that is the most necessary for you right now, and go hard.

Do you need to pay your rent because you're 3 months behind? You best be hammering away for a menial job. The Sushi shop sounds good, but you're broke, so McDonalds sounds just as good.

Then, when you get it, use your downtime to hammer away at ONE THING.

Copy? Eat, breathe, and shit copy. Apply to Upwork jobs until your fingers are blue.

Wanna code apps? Eat, breathe, and shit coding. Then build an app and learn how to sell the shit out of it.

Wanna start running traffic? Eat, breathe, and shit internet marketing. You'll need to use your money, but you'll learn the game even if it takes thousands of dollars and several months.

These aren't your only options, but you have to make a CHOICE and STICK TO IT. It's hard for most of us. But nobody said it would be easy.

Your right I'm spread out too thin right now. I think it must be due to the desperation or something. The reason why I decided to apply to go be an English teacher in China is because I would only be working 16-20 hours a week which would give me a lot of time to focus on building my skill sets and doing freelance work on the side. I would also be able to learn Mandarin which would be invaluable in the future. Also I thought it would be a good idea to have a big change of scenery after all that's happened as of late. They also provide a fully furnished apartment free and some school's even pay for all of your utilities and even serve you 3 meals a day. My living expenses essentially would be covered and I would then be able to focus 100% on whatever I needed to focus on.

I think I'm going to scratch off looking for a fulltime job related to my field of studies. It was never my intention to even apply for these jobs but I was persuaded by the caseworker at the employment centre. It's just taking too much time away from other things I could be focusing on like freelance work and looking for a part-time job. As for the teaching job in China, I'm going to compile a list of all the universities in cities I'm interested in teaching in and then spend 1 day sending out all of my CV's to each of the school's, then once that's done I can scratch that off of my list and focus on upworks and part-time jobs.

I'm currently doing an online English tutoring job which also eats into my schedule, I spend about 3 hours each night 7 days a week during my shifts tutoring students, however the pay is shit and I only get paid by the minute if I'm actually tutoring a student otherwise I'm not getting anything. I've only made about $265 for about 3 weeks of week which is peanuts, so I'm hoping I can transition from doing this to doing freelance work on upworks instead.

 

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[tafy]

I taught English for 18 months in thailand, I would recommend it but you should cure the depression first. I knew a guy who was depressed and everything he touched was negative, we tried but couldn't cheer the guy up. Alcohol cheered him up so he went drinking every night.

I did 16 hours a week and it was pretty simple, but they expect you to hang in the office all day. I guess you can work on something there.

 

[AndrewNC]

my depression

An article just popped up on my newsfeed today that reminded me of seeing your thread the other day: http://fourhourworkweek.com/2008/01/23/depression-how-you-label-determines-how-you-feel/

I started my journey exactly where you are right now (I joined here four years ago). I had $250 to my name, unemployed, and my student loans were a few months away. Life "sucked"...

Well, it seemed like it sucked at the time, but once you go down this road of improving your life, you will one day look back realizing how different your life is compared to when you made this post. If you read MJs book already, he uses working a job for a limo company in Chicago as a point of reference to where he is in his life now.

Tomorrow, I'm packing up my car, driving to Seattle for the fall to write a personal development book...and the story of where I was then (just like where you are now) is going to be my point of reference for the transition I made over these last four years.

Here are a few things that helped me on my journey:

1- I can't change the events that happen to me...but I can change how it affects me. Do you ever notice how two different people can look at the same situation and have two completely different reactions? Our minds attach the meaning to events. When my business crashed on Christmas day, I was excited...because I interpreted that event as a moment that defines who I am. Will I work hard and push forward? or will I give up? Back four years ago, I used to attach negative meanings to things that happen to us.

Shit still happens..but this mindset gave me a sense of control of my life.

How can you attach a positive meaning to the things that happen to you, that will help you get to where you want to go?

This also applies to what people say to me.

2- Our lives are a series of habits - Think of waking up in the morning. We probably wake up and get out of the same side of the bed, brush the same side of our teeth first, put on the same shoe first, without realizing it.

I have the belief that the emotions we feel are habits too. Once we fall into the pattern of getting addicted to negative emotions, we almost feel a comfort of keeping that pattern. I started listening to the last 10 minutes of the video below twice per day (the guided meditation starts about 20 minutes in). My happiness skyrocketed within the first four days of doing this.

The way I interpret it working is because he guides us through a way to force positive emotions into our life, and then once we start that new habit, we become addicted to the pattern we are accustomed to.

3- Labels - "My Depression".

I live by the motto, 'don't ask if it's right or wrong, ask if it's useful'. I used to think "depression" or "sadness" is a fixed trait. After practicing the meditation in #2, I now view it as a temporary state of being, despite what most of society says.

When you do the meditation a few times, and can start getting those positive emotions - you can realize that you can break free from old patterns very quickly. Right now, think of scratching your nails down a chalkboard, and then licking a carpet. Most people will get the chills just thinking of it. In both of those examples, nothing changed on the outside, just a new way of thinking created a new state of being in your body.

Choosing to get addicted to those new, positive emotions, can happen just as quickly.

I'm not a psychologist, but the above worked for me...Will it work for you? That's for you to decide.

And its very possible, in the next couple of years, you will be looking back...having financial freedom....freedom to travel....being happy....realizing that these emotions you feel now are not "bad" and other emotions are not "good". There are no labels, they are simply emotional triggers pointing you to a new direction int life.

...once again, I'm not a psychologist, but I hope that gives perspective.

Remember how I said I used to be in your exact shoes in 2011? It's true. Tomorrow I am packing my car, driving up the pacific coast highway to Seattle, while making income from my business, and will spend the next three months writing a book to help others get through the same struggles I went through.

Change is possible. What you described in your first post is great...because it is what pushed you onto this new path in life. Keep pushing forward through the failures, and you will make it.

 

[thunder_god]

I got sidetracked this weekend due to a doctor's appointment and family obligations. Also looking for and applying to school's in China took a lot longer then I anticipated but I managed to complete that so now I have more time to focus on specific things.

Day 4:
Daily goals:
1. Apply for 1 part-time job in the city (completed, did 3 actually)
2. Read 5-10 pages from copywriting101 from copyblogger (completed)
3. Start applying for jobs on upworks
4. Finish reading one of the threads on this forum (completed)
5. Read 1 blog post from location180 (completed)
6. Write 1 blog post on my blog
7. Put up writing article/blog gig on Fiverr (completed)

 

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[thunder_god]

Day 5
Daily Goals:
1. Write 1 blog post on my blog (completed)
2. Finish reading copywriting thread on the fastlaneforum
3. Read 5-10 pages from copywriting101 from copyblogger
4. Read 1 blog post from location180 (completed)
5. Start applying for work on upworks (completed)

 

[DomtheDominator]

You''re excited. You've finally ignited the spark to be proactive. You feel more alive than you've felt in a while. You're awestruck by how the world seems limitless and you're inspired to begin your "real" life mission.

But you also have periods of depression.

There will be times when you feel like shit once again. You'll doubt your capabilities. You'll question your prior decisions and fear the future.

But...DON'T GIVE UP.

I'm still figuring out my own path and am certainly no financial or life guru. But this is advise i want to give because, to an extent, i empathize with your position.

Keep moving forward. What you are doing now is more than you've done in a years (perhaps ever). You are the pilot of your own life. You will encounter turbulence and want to turn back, or maybe blame yourself for F*cking up yet again. But keep going forward. Relish the struggle. Embrace Failure. Then you will succeed.

Get out of your comfort zone. Do not limit yourself because you fear failure. Failure is inevitable. Apply and accept those blogging/web jobs you want to do on Upwork in spite of your fear. The experience you acquire is worth a hell of a lot more than a nice review on a shitty job.

Start --> practice --> Fail/improve --> Practice --> Fail/improve --> Practice --> Until you Succeed.

Good luck!

PS. I'm still doing a shitton of practice and failing. But just 3-4 months ago i was doing nothing. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[sija1]

This forum seems to be a popular place for people who are depressed. It's as if this place is where depressed people come when have the first spark they've felt in years, finally feeling motivated and feeling like they can take on the world.

I think the biggest push you can have in life is when your back's against the wall. Those are actually the real moments when people start to really think and ask themselves: What the hell am I doing? If everyone made 100k a year with a college degree, then there would be a lot less entrepreneurs.

 

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[thunder_god]

I had someone inquire about my article/blog writing gig on fiverr today. This was what he wrote:

"I need article written such that people buy SEO service from this link. The article is mainly aimed to attract business owners who are interested to p-ay for SEO services. Who have the budget to spend for SEO. Write an article to motivate and convert them to get SEO services from this. This article is one among several which I may order later. For 1 gig order let me know what is the maximum word length you can write. If I place a gig order now when you may deliver this. Do you have all inputs you need from above info to complete this task. Please reply in detail and confirm so I can place order. I am ordering from different writers so request you to reply soon . Also checkout the weblink to get an idea on what I am asking you to write for. Also please show/attach or give link of atleast 3 of your original article writing for reference/sample ."

I sounded more like he was looking for a copywriter or something, so I told him this wasn't what my service was offering but instead offered to write him an article for free in exchange that he let me use it on my portfolio if he was satisfied with it. I felt really uncomfortable taking this job as I don't have any copywriting experience and that website was very vague on company details.

Do you guys think I should have just accepted the gig regardless? I didn't really have any samples to show him though. I think tonight I'm going to go write up some articles on random topics and paste it all into a word document and use that as part of my portfolio in the future.

 

[thunder_god]

Just applied for my first transcription job on upworks. We'll see if they accept my proposal or not. I also found a few online companies offering what appears to be regular transcription jobs. This sure beats the crappy online tutoring job where I only made $126 USD for 2 weeks worth of work. If this transcription field pays more and offers more work I'm jumping ship and then I can stop wasting my time job hunting for part-time gigs in the city too.

 

[thunder_god]

I contacted a few ads on kijiji looking for bloggers to write for them. Its an unpaid position but I'm hoping I can use the blog posts to build up my portfolio and also to get some experience blogging/writing. I think it will be mutually beneficial for both of us. We'll see what happens.

 

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[thunder_god]

Day 6
Daily Goals:

1. Read 1 blog post from location180 (completed)
2. Finish reading copywriting thread on the fastlaneforum
3. Read 5-10 pages from copywriting101 from copyblogger (completed)
4. Apply for work on upworks
5. Try to complete one transcription job from castingwords to get some transcription work experience
6. Appointment with career counsellor (completed, as expected waste of time)
7. Paid test subject for research study (completed)

 

[thunder_god]

Day 7
Daily Goals:

1. Read 1 blog post from location180 (completed)
2. Apply for work on upworks (completed)
3. Try to complete one transcription job from castingwords to get some transcription work experience
4. Read 5-10 pages from copywriting101 from copyblogger (finished the book today)
5. Finish reading copywriting thread on the fastlaneforum

I managed to snag a blog commenting gig through kijiji. It only pays $30 a month to post 1 comment a day, but its better then nothing.

 

[thunder_god]

Just had my tutoring account temporarily disabled because they said my internet is not sufficient enough at the moment. WTF! My only source of income has been cut off.

 

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[Christiano]

Maybe a couple quotes to help you along:

1) Suffering is a catalyst for change, but it doesn't have to be the only one.
2) Growth begins beyond the comfort zone.

As someone who get his leads almost exclusively from freelance platforms, I would encourage you to work on your LinkedIn profile and make it look professional. Then when you apply to any job, you can start with --> LinkedIn profile here: [your URL]
The great thing about this is that even when platforms change or you evolve your lead gen, LinkedIn will stay with you wherever you go. You can also accrue recommendations on it as well.

I paid to have mine professionally done, and then had someone with 30 years sales experience critique the crap out of mine to get where it is.
If you want, take a look, and feel free to use the format as a template for your own profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianoferraro

 

[thunder_god]

Day 8
Daily Goals:

1. Read 1 blog post from location180 (completed)
2. Apply for work on upworks
3. Try to complete one transcription job from castingwords to get some transcription work experience
4. Finish reading copywriting thread on the fastlaneforum
5. Write one blog comment to get paid (completed)
6. Apply for 1 fulltime job related to my field
7. Complete one blog post on my blog (completed)

 

[thunder_god]

Day 9
Daily Goals:

1. Write one blog comment to get paid (completed)
2. Read 1 blog post from location180 (completed)
3. Apply for work on upworks (completed)
4. Apply for 1 full time job
5. Apply for 1 part-time job
6. Buy webdomain and web hosting (completed)
7. Finish reading copywriting thread on the fastlaneforum
8. Try to complete one transcription job from castingwords to get some transcription work experience
9. Work on website

 

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[thunder_god]

I just had a potential client reply back to one of my proposals for an article asking me to apply for the job again. The guy decided to double the length of the assignment while still paying a measly $5 usd. I feel like I'm being taken advantage of but I need some sample pieces for my portfolio so I just decided to reapply again for the assignment.

 

[Mattie]

What type of depression do you have? Bi-polar with mania, mild depression, Major depression. I mean there are various types, and how severe is it? It's important you address this matter, because of course they are different and high's and low's. And how long have you had it? What have you already tried and done?

It's great you're taking these steps, and being active. Fortunately, the depression needs to be addressed with a professional and know what type and how severe. If it's severe you will crash and sabotage projects. Self-guided meditations are a great place to start.

It's important to take things one day at a time. You're stating you talked to the Help-line. I'm sorry they didn't address your situation the way they should have. The longer you wait the more this can spiral out of control. If you're in that place again feel free to message me, and I can try to walk you through it, and help you navigate with more clarity.