On Hustling, Conquering analysis paralysis, and finally taking control

[Amon]

A few months ago I made my introduction on this amazing forum that has a little more background of me, which you can check out here ----- Introduction - Getting on a plane - Young, Penniless and inexperienced

With this post, I hope to inspire others that have already begun or are looking to begin. I'm not the most qualified by any means. I have quite a long time to go. I think there are many silver linings to find in the work of other beginners with nothing.

It's a little frightening to post as a newbie on this website because it feels as though I'm too young/inexperienced to be contributing among individuals I respect so much, but as I'm learning more and more, the hardest part is just that: starting.

Before I begin telling my story, I wanted to thank you again MJ for changing my perspective and the course of my life. I was suffocated until I found your book and this forum. Now I can breathe. Things are finally starting to look up and I'm ever so grateful.

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At the time of my last post I was still currently enrolled in college, sitting through mind-numbing classes. As soon as I got out of class I'd find myself consumed with an alternate success. Every day I found myself spending many hours reading, learning and analyzing books as well as this forum. As I browsed, I quickly found myself what is referred to as analysis paralysis. I found inspiration in too many things at once. I decided it was time to narrow it down.

If you are having trouble, this post by Andy really helped me triple down on my strengths and take action - Finding your focus

The mistake I used to make was starting with what I didn't want to do, instead of what I wanted to do. I started translating my jumbled "what if" business ideas into clear and concise thoughts.

I set a goal to have my first profitable venture by January 1st, 2017.

I took a practical route to doing this, as I was balancing school and being home for the family at the same time. I looked for guidance in the posts/people that inspired me most.
I quickly fell in love with @SinisterLex and his delivery and starting reading every post by Lex and copywriting books such as

• The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert
• Ca$hvertising by Drew Eric Whitman

During my 10 day period of no responses on Upwork, I was going on Google/Instagram to find local businesses looking to scale and offering to design websites for a flat fee of $500 and a $25 maintenence fee/month to keep things fresh and updated. (inspired by @Fox)

I was doing this on the premise that if I had no clue how to design a website, others would also be experiencing the same issue. (side note: almost none of the plumbers in my local area had a website?? targeted them first)

Using only Squarespace, I turned 5 hours of cold calling and about 20 hours of designing/work into $1600. I currently have 3 more deals lined up but with unmotivated buyers.

Right now I'm on my way to Thailand - If you're in Bangkok/CM, I'm all about the hustle, if you want to connect feel free to send me a PM.



To be continued ----

 

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[Amon]

I'm currently sitting in my hostel in Bangkok, been focusing as much as possible on learning and providing value. Just finished reading the 4HWW again as well as brushing up on some of the keys from TMF . I wanted to share a quote that was really profound to me from the latter:

“Stop thinking about business in terms of your selfish desires, whether it’s money, dreams or “do what you love.” Instead, chase needs, problems, pain points, service deficiencies, and emotions.”

Anyway, good news. I've shifted my focus from making money or a quick buck on small business owners to providing value. I am currently in email contact with a few struggling people from my hometown. I have offered to build their website and facebook pages for free in hopes to grow their business while at the same time growing my portfolio and contact list. I haven't seen results yet but I already feel much better knowing that I am genuinely providing help to people.

I'm discovering that when you learn to generally give to those people without expecting them to do something in return, you win. You’ll perceive the world differently, and be a better person because of it.

I'll update within the next week. Thank you for reading.

side note: I was sitting in a Starbucks on Sukvumvit, trying to focus on where people's attention was. As I spend more time in Asia, I've notice that more people spend most of their attention looking at their cell phone. I wonder how this will progress into the future with the introduction of virtual reality.