- Joined
- May 1, 2011
- Messages
- 9,209
Rep Bank
$8,512
$8,512
User Power: 444%
I'm stuck and hopelessly lost.
I started self-publishing in 2014. It was my only business that was truly successful, allowing me to retire my parents and myself and live a life of travel and adventure. But business-wise, I've been stuck and lost since 2020 when I published my last book and realized that the self-publishing wave was over.
My book sales, as of every other author, have been steadily dropping in the last 2-3 years. I've never made any stupid financial decisions and saved most of what I've earned, so I'm safe financially. But I don't want to look at my decreasing business income and rely on investment income only. I want to be productive again and run a business that actually makes money and sells something valuable.
Yet, I have no idea what it can be.
Over the years, I launched many projects but they were all some silly passion-based ideas that made no business sense. I know I need to start something that generates income from the start (not some "audience-building" play that never brings any income in the end). I had some other businesses in the past that made some money but most of them are irrelevant in today's AI world.
2.5 years ago I admitted my struggles here on the forum. Unfortunately, as embarrassing and depressing as it it to admit it, nothing has changed since then. I gave myself time. I traveled the world. I learned new things (including two new languages).
And yet, I don't know what to do.
I feel like all my past experience has zero value today. Books and publishing are dying industries so I don't want to engage with it. Few people read, so writing is also useless. And that's pretty much the extent of my business skills.
I'm not a technical person and I'm too stupid to learn it, plus there's no way I can compete with nerds who live online 24/7 and understand coding and all tech stuff. I tried to learn coding a few times, and it was like trying to teach a cat how to bark.
At the same time, I'm not a people person so I can't compete with extroverts who have loud personalities and thus can naturally build personal brands easily and like the attention.
I know I need to learn something new but I'm not sure what's left for me. Mindset-wise, I'm completely down, worse than ever in my life, with a cynical view that making money is impossible in today's world where everything seems to be taken by tech/AI or personal brands.
I feel like the only viable path left is some boring B2B services. But the problem is that I have zero experience working in any business and consequently, zero understanding and zero relationships that would give me any edge. So I'm not sure if it's the best path forward.
I'll use this thread to journal my progress, observations, thoughts, etc.
I started self-publishing in 2014. It was my only business that was truly successful, allowing me to retire my parents and myself and live a life of travel and adventure. But business-wise, I've been stuck and lost since 2020 when I published my last book and realized that the self-publishing wave was over.
My book sales, as of every other author, have been steadily dropping in the last 2-3 years. I've never made any stupid financial decisions and saved most of what I've earned, so I'm safe financially. But I don't want to look at my decreasing business income and rely on investment income only. I want to be productive again and run a business that actually makes money and sells something valuable.
Yet, I have no idea what it can be.
Over the years, I launched many projects but they were all some silly passion-based ideas that made no business sense. I know I need to start something that generates income from the start (not some "audience-building" play that never brings any income in the end). I had some other businesses in the past that made some money but most of them are irrelevant in today's AI world.
2.5 years ago I admitted my struggles here on the forum. Unfortunately, as embarrassing and depressing as it it to admit it, nothing has changed since then. I gave myself time. I traveled the world. I learned new things (including two new languages).
And yet, I don't know what to do.
I feel like all my past experience has zero value today. Books and publishing are dying industries so I don't want to engage with it. Few people read, so writing is also useless. And that's pretty much the extent of my business skills.
I'm not a technical person and I'm too stupid to learn it, plus there's no way I can compete with nerds who live online 24/7 and understand coding and all tech stuff. I tried to learn coding a few times, and it was like trying to teach a cat how to bark.
At the same time, I'm not a people person so I can't compete with extroverts who have loud personalities and thus can naturally build personal brands easily and like the attention.
I know I need to learn something new but I'm not sure what's left for me. Mindset-wise, I'm completely down, worse than ever in my life, with a cynical view that making money is impossible in today's world where everything seems to be taken by tech/AI or personal brands.
I feel like the only viable path left is some boring B2B services. But the problem is that I have zero experience working in any business and consequently, zero understanding and zero relationships that would give me any edge. So I'm not sure if it's the best path forward.
I'll use this thread to journal my progress, observations, thoughts, etc.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
