I've been MIA from the forum for the past few months due to a series of rather unfortunate events that:
1. would take too long to describe, and
2. no one really cares about.
Long story short, I wound up bringing in 2013 broke, laptop-less, cell phone-less and idea-less, with about $750 in debt from a credit card I didn't even know I had until two days ago... And my gerbil died on New Year's Day.
Lovely.
No time to cry, though. Even though my life has swallowed more balls than Ms Pac-Man lately, I've still managed to make progress from nothing.
Here's what I've done in the past month and a half:
Got A Job
While I love working from home, I need a taste of the real working world. I'm 18 and still wet behind the ears. I've never had a real job, and I've never really learned the value of hard work. No time like the present, right?
I know I won't be able to truly appreciate the Fastlane without experiencing just how crappy the Slowlane can be.
When I reach success, I don't ever want to make the mistake of taking it for granted.
I'm currently working for a whopping 8 bucks an hour at Payless and saving every nickel, dime, and penny I get.
Assloads of Volunteer Work
See #1. Lately, if I'm not working, I'm volunteering at a local mom-and-pop business.
While I do enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling I get from helping people in my community, that's not why I'm doing it. I'm really building a network of local business owners that I'll have in my Rolodex when I start my own business.
If working for free and kissing a few butts every now and then will get me where I wanna be, so be it.
Birddogging
I've always wanted to get into real estate, but I don't have the cash or the know-how right now. I figured birdogging would be a good place to start.
I got in contact with a bunch of local real estate investors (those "we buy houses" signs are goldmines) and asked if they were looking for birddogs. Some of them said yes, and I chose the guy with the best reputation and made a deal with him: my birdogging in exchange for mentoring and $500 for every profitable property I find him. He agreed. As long as I don't take up too much of his time, I can come to him with anything real-estate related.
I've been hunting for vacant properties on weekends and sending them to this guy for the past two weeks (I can usually find about 100+ properties on an average weekend). Nothing's paid off yet, but he's already taught me some great stuff. I'm definitely gonna keep at it.
Reading a Ridonkulous Amount of Books
Pretty self-explanatory. Me and the staff at my library are on a first name basis now.
I've got a pretty full plate nowadays, but I'm still restless... Like I'm not doing enough.
Could I be doing more? I'd appreciate any opinions/advice.
1. would take too long to describe, and
2. no one really cares about.
Long story short, I wound up bringing in 2013 broke, laptop-less, cell phone-less and idea-less, with about $750 in debt from a credit card I didn't even know I had until two days ago... And my gerbil died on New Year's Day.
Lovely.
No time to cry, though. Even though my life has swallowed more balls than Ms Pac-Man lately, I've still managed to make progress from nothing.
Here's what I've done in the past month and a half:
Got A Job
While I love working from home, I need a taste of the real working world. I'm 18 and still wet behind the ears. I've never had a real job, and I've never really learned the value of hard work. No time like the present, right?
I know I won't be able to truly appreciate the Fastlane without experiencing just how crappy the Slowlane can be.
When I reach success, I don't ever want to make the mistake of taking it for granted.
I'm currently working for a whopping 8 bucks an hour at Payless and saving every nickel, dime, and penny I get.
Assloads of Volunteer Work
See #1. Lately, if I'm not working, I'm volunteering at a local mom-and-pop business.
While I do enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling I get from helping people in my community, that's not why I'm doing it. I'm really building a network of local business owners that I'll have in my Rolodex when I start my own business.
If working for free and kissing a few butts every now and then will get me where I wanna be, so be it.
Birddogging
I've always wanted to get into real estate, but I don't have the cash or the know-how right now. I figured birdogging would be a good place to start.
I got in contact with a bunch of local real estate investors (those "we buy houses" signs are goldmines) and asked if they were looking for birddogs. Some of them said yes, and I chose the guy with the best reputation and made a deal with him: my birdogging in exchange for mentoring and $500 for every profitable property I find him. He agreed. As long as I don't take up too much of his time, I can come to him with anything real-estate related.
I've been hunting for vacant properties on weekends and sending them to this guy for the past two weeks (I can usually find about 100+ properties on an average weekend). Nothing's paid off yet, but he's already taught me some great stuff. I'm definitely gonna keep at it.
Reading a Ridonkulous Amount of Books
Pretty self-explanatory. Me and the staff at my library are on a first name basis now.
I've got a pretty full plate nowadays, but I'm still restless... Like I'm not doing enough.
Could I be doing more? I'd appreciate any opinions/advice.
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