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- Dec 12, 2014
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Ten years ago, I joined this forum from Newcastle, Australia, got into action, and started building businesses. I'm back because I'm trapped trading time for money again - and I'm determined to start the journey to break free before my first child arrives in November.
Here's my story and what I've learned.
The Early Wins and Failures
My first successful business was ranking "locksmith Sydney" at #1 with an exact match domain. Hit all the suburb rankings too. Made about $2,000 a month, but learned locksmiths have no money and chasing unpaid bills sucked.
I tried the same formula with family lawyers. Bad move. I was newly married, writing divorce content all day. It drained my soul, so I quit.
Bounced through SEO agency work. Hated being at the beck and call of clients, and scaling was frustrating too. Closed that down.
The Big Break
Then I got into affiliate marketing and started collaborating with Matt Diggity. The strategic thinking energized me - I was managing marketing for Diggity Marketing, built the team pumping out content, and helped grow Matt's YouTube channel while building my own affiliate sites. This was different. I was building systems that scaled without my constant input, making good money.
The Crash
Until 2022 happened...
Lost my grandad (my second grandparent within three years). My wife and I had a miscarriage. Had a big health scare. I was overworked and burnt out, working on things I had no real energy for and didn't engage me. The personal losses were devastating, but the combination had me re-evaluate everything I was doing.
I was stuck at my computer all day with no human interaction, just chasing Google rankings that felt meaningless. My body shut down. I questioned everything.
Even though my affiliate site was making enough money to quit working with Matt, I was so exhausted that two hours a week to maintain the growth of the website felt impossible (even with a team of editors, writers, a part-time dev and graphic designer). When Google's updates tanked my traffic and income, I had zero passion to adapt. I was done.
The Pivot
I spent months exploring different things and reconnecting to what was important to me. That's when I realized what actually energizes me: working with ambitious people, solving problems together, teaching and mentoring others. I reached out to Ali Abdaal, whose work I admired.
Now I'm Head Coach for his LifeOS course and community. I love the strategic thinking and helping people, but I'm back in the time-for-money trap. When I build systems that save everyone time, I just get fewer hours to bill.
Where I Am Now
Current income: Part-time role with Ali plus about $1,500 monthly from old affiliate sites (zero work required). It covers the bills and gives me time to build, but it's still trading hours for dollars.
I'm actively building my way out. I've had deep conversations with 22 people so far asking "What's your biggest challenge you'd pay to solve?" Found interesting problems around AI, hiring, and lead generation, but nothing has grabbed me yet.
I'm rereading The Millionaire Fastlane and MJ DeMarco's other books to get back in the game and sharpen my thinking.
I'm being careful this time. I need something I can build for five years without burning out. It's a good question I ask myself as a filtering tool: Could I happily work on solving this problem for people for the next 5 years? Something that aligns with my values and combines what energizes me: collaborative problem-solving, strategic thinking with clear purpose, building teams, creating systems that scale, and teaching and mentoring others.
What I Bring to the Community
I want to connect with entrepreneurs who've experienced serious burnout and made changes to avoid repeating old patterns. Also anyone a few steps ahead of me who can share insights about finding the right vehicle.
I'm here because I know the Fastlane works. I'm committed to making better choices this time - finding a business I can build sustainably without burning out.
Happy to share anything I've learned about SEO (though likely out of date), affiliate marketing, team management, personal productivity systems, or recovering from burnout. Always willing to help where I can.
What would you do in my shoes? Have you ever had to completely pivot after burning out? Any thoughts on finding that sweet spot between meaningful work and profit?
Here's my story and what I've learned.
The Early Wins and Failures
My first successful business was ranking "locksmith Sydney" at #1 with an exact match domain. Hit all the suburb rankings too. Made about $2,000 a month, but learned locksmiths have no money and chasing unpaid bills sucked.
I tried the same formula with family lawyers. Bad move. I was newly married, writing divorce content all day. It drained my soul, so I quit.
Bounced through SEO agency work. Hated being at the beck and call of clients, and scaling was frustrating too. Closed that down.
The Big Break
Then I got into affiliate marketing and started collaborating with Matt Diggity. The strategic thinking energized me - I was managing marketing for Diggity Marketing, built the team pumping out content, and helped grow Matt's YouTube channel while building my own affiliate sites. This was different. I was building systems that scaled without my constant input, making good money.
The Crash
Until 2022 happened...
Lost my grandad (my second grandparent within three years). My wife and I had a miscarriage. Had a big health scare. I was overworked and burnt out, working on things I had no real energy for and didn't engage me. The personal losses were devastating, but the combination had me re-evaluate everything I was doing.
I was stuck at my computer all day with no human interaction, just chasing Google rankings that felt meaningless. My body shut down. I questioned everything.
Even though my affiliate site was making enough money to quit working with Matt, I was so exhausted that two hours a week to maintain the growth of the website felt impossible (even with a team of editors, writers, a part-time dev and graphic designer). When Google's updates tanked my traffic and income, I had zero passion to adapt. I was done.
The Pivot
I spent months exploring different things and reconnecting to what was important to me. That's when I realized what actually energizes me: working with ambitious people, solving problems together, teaching and mentoring others. I reached out to Ali Abdaal, whose work I admired.
Now I'm Head Coach for his LifeOS course and community. I love the strategic thinking and helping people, but I'm back in the time-for-money trap. When I build systems that save everyone time, I just get fewer hours to bill.
Where I Am Now
Current income: Part-time role with Ali plus about $1,500 monthly from old affiliate sites (zero work required). It covers the bills and gives me time to build, but it's still trading hours for dollars.
I'm actively building my way out. I've had deep conversations with 22 people so far asking "What's your biggest challenge you'd pay to solve?" Found interesting problems around AI, hiring, and lead generation, but nothing has grabbed me yet.
I'm rereading The Millionaire Fastlane and MJ DeMarco's other books to get back in the game and sharpen my thinking.
I'm being careful this time. I need something I can build for five years without burning out. It's a good question I ask myself as a filtering tool: Could I happily work on solving this problem for people for the next 5 years? Something that aligns with my values and combines what energizes me: collaborative problem-solving, strategic thinking with clear purpose, building teams, creating systems that scale, and teaching and mentoring others.
What I Bring to the Community
- 12+ years of digital marketing experience (SEO, affiliate marketing, YouTube, copywriting, hiring, team management)
- Experience building and scaling systems from $0 to multiple thousands monthly
- Deep knowledge of personal productivity systems and community building
- Strong networking skills: Good at connecting people who should know each other and building relationships that lead to opportunities
- Hard-earned wisdom about avoiding burnout
- Currently learning AI applications for business
I want to connect with entrepreneurs who've experienced serious burnout and made changes to avoid repeating old patterns. Also anyone a few steps ahead of me who can share insights about finding the right vehicle.
I'm here because I know the Fastlane works. I'm committed to making better choices this time - finding a business I can build sustainably without burning out.
Happy to share anything I've learned about SEO (though likely out of date), affiliate marketing, team management, personal productivity systems, or recovering from burnout. Always willing to help where I can.
What would you do in my shoes? Have you ever had to completely pivot after burning out? Any thoughts on finding that sweet spot between meaningful work and profit?
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