2.5 years job free, but violating many TMF principals.
I’ve been lurking around the self-help space for the better part of 10 years now. I’ve never been able to effect lasting leverage on myself to be a consistent action taker for a sustained period of time.
But I’ve learned that I can execute when my back is up against the wall.
For better or worse, I burned the boats on my corporate life about 2.5 years ago. I walked out of my second post-college job with a few months worth of savings and no guarantee of future income. I just couldn’t take one more day of a corporate culture which I felt was completely toxic and soul crushing.
I don’t think I could get plugged back into that matrix again, if things fail me now. I’m now in my mid 30s with two multi-year employment gaps, and a job history which never got past the entry level. In terms of the ‘Here’s my resume, now give me a rung on your corporate ladder’ paradigm, I’m toast.
In late 2014/early 2015 I began scouring the internet for a way to earn an income. I literally had no clue where to start and no marketable skills to build upon. I stumbled upon a reddit group centered around the flipping and resale of used goods. For a couple weeks, I would search craigslist for playstations, iphones, other electronics, haggle with the seller, and then resell the item for a higher price on ebay or Amazon. It wasn’t much money after shipping and fees, especially considering the time and effort put into it, but I proved to myself that I could generate money without an employer. That might seem like a trivial realization to most of you, but looking back that was a huge breakthrough.
From there, I discovered private labelling via Amazon FBA. I pretty much followed the common guru-formula that is now well known on the internet. The only barrier to entry was a couple grand USD in the bank, but I took the leap and executed. I was in the right place at the right time and pulled the trigger. I didn’t give up (I had no choice), and continued experimenting and throwing my money into the abyss, having faith that the process would work. Not every product launch was a success, but… I hit a few ‘lucky’ singles. (Sorry for US-centric baseball analogy)
I’ve been riding a wave (more like a bubble) for the better part of 2 years now, making $x,xxx monthly income passively through my FBA sales. I keep an eye on inventory (shipped and stored directly at Amazon), respond to a few customer service emails a day, and deal with the occasional shipping or customs pickup
What are the problems here? You guys probably already know them.
Unfortunately the short-term comfort of success has killed my momentum.
I'm not proud of it, in fact I'm deeply ashamed of it, but I've wasted an inordinate amount of time in the past couple of years doing no "real work".
Don't get me wrong, I've gone through many sprinting phases, spending a week or two of every waking hour brainstorming and trying to implement new ideas. Ultimately, nothing has worked other than the original guru roadmap that was laid out for me.
I give up after a couple weeks of trying something new, because no additional fuel seems to have any effect on the already smoldering fire. I slip into avoidance behaviors, and procrastinate to face these problems another day.
I know that my "base-hit" income stream is going to dry up relatively soon. Will I make it through 2017 and pay my living expenses through the next Q4 rush? Maybe... Could I get cut off tomorrow? Maybe. I have skated by for now, and kept my head above water, but I want more security in my future as I get older and look towards supporting a growing family.
I just can't see the opportunities out there. I need to experience the shift in perception that MJ seems to be pointing to in TMF.
There's no roadmap to a successful and sustainable business, my experience has lead to that understanding. I just don't know what actionable steps to take now to proceed without a map.
I want to be productive, I really do. I don't think that deep down I am lazy or useless. I'm just paralyzed by my frustration, and I've been stuck with no progress for so long now.
I think I have one part in the success formula down... belief. I have first hand experience of how fast and easy money can come. I have experienced the power of passive income, and now that I have had a taste of it, I could never go back to trading my time for money.
Although I believe in the possibilities, I'm not so sure that I believe in myself. Do I have with it takes? I don’t know. I could lie to myself and pump myself up with self-affirmations, but in my 10+ years around the self-help space, I haven’t found any of that kind of stuff to work for me. I know that I need to get some kind of leverage on myself to take productive action, and to do so consistently. To date, I have not been able to do so for the significant period of time it takes to create a "Fast Lane" type project.
What I do know is that I have no other choice but to make it work, because I've burned the boats and have no means of retreat. My back will soon be up against the wall again, and I'll be forced to execute. TMF has provided me with some excellent insights as to the criteria required for long-term success, and I hope that I can draw upon some inspiration from all of you to do whatever it takes to forge my own path.
I’ve been lurking around the self-help space for the better part of 10 years now. I’ve never been able to effect lasting leverage on myself to be a consistent action taker for a sustained period of time.
But I’ve learned that I can execute when my back is up against the wall.
For better or worse, I burned the boats on my corporate life about 2.5 years ago. I walked out of my second post-college job with a few months worth of savings and no guarantee of future income. I just couldn’t take one more day of a corporate culture which I felt was completely toxic and soul crushing.
I don’t think I could get plugged back into that matrix again, if things fail me now. I’m now in my mid 30s with two multi-year employment gaps, and a job history which never got past the entry level. In terms of the ‘Here’s my resume, now give me a rung on your corporate ladder’ paradigm, I’m toast.
In late 2014/early 2015 I began scouring the internet for a way to earn an income. I literally had no clue where to start and no marketable skills to build upon. I stumbled upon a reddit group centered around the flipping and resale of used goods. For a couple weeks, I would search craigslist for playstations, iphones, other electronics, haggle with the seller, and then resell the item for a higher price on ebay or Amazon. It wasn’t much money after shipping and fees, especially considering the time and effort put into it, but I proved to myself that I could generate money without an employer. That might seem like a trivial realization to most of you, but looking back that was a huge breakthrough.
From there, I discovered private labelling via Amazon FBA. I pretty much followed the common guru-formula that is now well known on the internet. The only barrier to entry was a couple grand USD in the bank, but I took the leap and executed. I was in the right place at the right time and pulled the trigger. I didn’t give up (I had no choice), and continued experimenting and throwing my money into the abyss, having faith that the process would work. Not every product launch was a success, but… I hit a few ‘lucky’ singles. (Sorry for US-centric baseball analogy)
I’ve been riding a wave (more like a bubble) for the better part of 2 years now, making $x,xxx monthly income passively through my FBA sales. I keep an eye on inventory (shipped and stored directly at Amazon), respond to a few customer service emails a day, and deal with the occasional shipping or customs pickup
What are the problems here? You guys probably already know them.
- Low barrier to entry. Requires some start up capital, but anyone can get approved to sell on Amazon and can easily source and buy from a Chinese supplier.
- No product differentiation. I spent a lot of time tweaking branding and sales copy, sure… but it’s a total commodity type item. It’s a pig with lipstick on it, combined with buyers’ trust in Amazon, it sells... Believe me, I racked my brain for days and weeks, trying to think of something unique, but in the end settled for an established and competitive niche.
- No control… of anything. Amazon could ban me tomorrow, cutting my income to $0. They change the algorithm constantly, and I have very little insight as to how their black box works. Nearly all my traffic is internal to the Amazon platform. I have tried other PPC, social media, etc… campaigns but nothing matches the volume and buyer intent required to profitably sell such a commodity item off-platform. I’m still experimenting with external traffic sources, desperately trying to get some semblance of control.
Unfortunately the short-term comfort of success has killed my momentum.
I'm not proud of it, in fact I'm deeply ashamed of it, but I've wasted an inordinate amount of time in the past couple of years doing no "real work".
Don't get me wrong, I've gone through many sprinting phases, spending a week or two of every waking hour brainstorming and trying to implement new ideas. Ultimately, nothing has worked other than the original guru roadmap that was laid out for me.
I give up after a couple weeks of trying something new, because no additional fuel seems to have any effect on the already smoldering fire. I slip into avoidance behaviors, and procrastinate to face these problems another day.
I know that my "base-hit" income stream is going to dry up relatively soon. Will I make it through 2017 and pay my living expenses through the next Q4 rush? Maybe... Could I get cut off tomorrow? Maybe. I have skated by for now, and kept my head above water, but I want more security in my future as I get older and look towards supporting a growing family.
I just can't see the opportunities out there. I need to experience the shift in perception that MJ seems to be pointing to in TMF.
There's no roadmap to a successful and sustainable business, my experience has lead to that understanding. I just don't know what actionable steps to take now to proceed without a map.
I want to be productive, I really do. I don't think that deep down I am lazy or useless. I'm just paralyzed by my frustration, and I've been stuck with no progress for so long now.
I think I have one part in the success formula down... belief. I have first hand experience of how fast and easy money can come. I have experienced the power of passive income, and now that I have had a taste of it, I could never go back to trading my time for money.
Although I believe in the possibilities, I'm not so sure that I believe in myself. Do I have with it takes? I don’t know. I could lie to myself and pump myself up with self-affirmations, but in my 10+ years around the self-help space, I haven’t found any of that kind of stuff to work for me. I know that I need to get some kind of leverage on myself to take productive action, and to do so consistently. To date, I have not been able to do so for the significant period of time it takes to create a "Fast Lane" type project.
What I do know is that I have no other choice but to make it work, because I've burned the boats and have no means of retreat. My back will soon be up against the wall again, and I'll be forced to execute. TMF has provided me with some excellent insights as to the criteria required for long-term success, and I hope that I can draw upon some inspiration from all of you to do whatever it takes to forge my own path.
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