So today I want to talk about something you may have probably experienced ever since you decided that you wanted to leap in to the wonderful world of working at home. To most people when you mention work from home, 2 prevailing thoughts come to mind about this industry depending on the individual.
1. Scams.
Let's face it, shady schemes are a reality of this industry. Scams out number legitimate opportunities 84 to 1 last time I checked. The odds are obviously stacked against you. For my loyal subscribers that actually READ my material, that isn't the case. Chances are these folks have watched my scam video, read the scams and comments listed on my scam page. Scams are rarely a concern for folks like us because we know to do our research and trust our instincts. But for people that just venture into this industry without this knowledge, the odds are in the favor of the con artist. So I can't really hate on people that think of scams when they hear the concept of work at home. It's totally justified.
2. Myth.
To a lot of folks the reality of working at home is often likened to big foot or free national health care here in America. It just doesn't exist. There is a large portion of the population that feels that if working at home was a viable option then everyone would do it. Or they also assume that since they weren't successful at it or don't know anyone that has been, it can't be a reality. I can understand how folks feel that way. After all we're all shaped by our experiences. As such it may limit our perspective about the world at large. So this is an understandable presumption.
Mother knows best?
Unfortunately most of these feelings regarding work at home are present in the people we love the most which are our family members or close friends. I remember the first day I made a couple of cents reading emails. Me being the bigger thinker that I am, had already seen the possibility of magnifying these few cents into the thousands of dollars I now earn. So I told my mom, I'm going to work at home and make some big money.
My mom being the hard working caribbean immigrant that she was, basically told me that I was crazy. I needed to do what all hard working Americans that are successful in this country do. Go to school and get a "good ass" job with benefits. Well if I were a different person, that conversation with "moms" would have ended my dreams of working at home. But alas along with a good value systems and advice, my mother passed down the trait of stubbornness. I've always been the type that wanted to prove people wrong. It probably had to do with some of my self esteem issues growing up. If someone told me I couldn't do something or couldn't have a certain girl, Lord was I determined to prove them wrong. The thing is I had strong resolution when it came to this mission. I didn't care if it would take me years to achieve my goal of proving you wrong. If I felt strongly about it, oh you were going to eat those words.
So when my mom told me that my dream was impossible, it might as well have been Medieval France when gentlemen ran around smacking each other with a glove to challenge one another to a duel. Oh it was on popping, Mom!
The reason I'm telling you this story is that many of you may not have the stubborn genes I have. 99.9% of you probably have family members and friends looking at you cock eyed when you talk about your ventures in the work at home industry. They snickered when you told them that you earned a few cents at ClixSense or InstantCashSweepstakes.com. They tell you you're crazy for getting your swag on on Swagbucks to earn that "funny money". They think your opinions are worth nada and can't even imagine that MySurvey would want to pay you for them. They're telling you Eddy can't be making that type of money he's talking about and is probably a drug dealer or one of those work at home scammers out there. I'm sure you've heard variations of all these things.
No disrespect intended, but….
Your family is like Willis from the 80's TV show "Different Strokes". They don't know what the hell "they talkin bout" when it comes to this industry. Look I'm not here to bad mouth your family or friends. If they're anything like my "moms", they probably think you walk on water and your farts smell like roses. Our family members truly do love us. But when it comes to work at home, I hate to say this but you need to treat them like most people do books. Ignore them.I know it sounds harsh but that's just real talk. Let me give you an analogy to bring this point home.
Ladies, if you're having problems dating men, are you going to get advice from:
A. That bitter girlfriend who's been a professional serial dater for most of her life and has never had a serious relationship that lasted longer than 6 months and thinks "men ain't sh@t"! Coincidentally this same girl friend has also come to the brilliant conclusion that the 50+ men she dated in her long miserable lifetime were always the ones to blame for the break up.
or
B. Your happily married girlfriend who has been in a few successful monogamous relationships and never had any problems finding a good man.
Hopefully if you have any good sense you will have taken the advice of girlfriend B. If not, you have a lot more issues to work out that are more important than landing a little ol' work at home job. But I ain't one to judge. lol (P.S. if you are girlfriend B, my bad…)
In any event, this is obviously an exaggerated example but it is very similar in regards to looking towards family members and/or friends who have never succeeded at working at home for advice or encouragement. The concept is foreign to them so you can't very well expect that they will be supportive. Bless my mom, I knew she had the right intentions for me. After all she was just trying to guide me towards a proven blue print that she and others around her had followed. But I just knew in my heart there was money to be made online and earning the few cents I did from reading emails was proof to me. So I had enough strength to push forward and obviously ya'll seen how that played out for me.
I'm man enough to admit it…
Were people right about the scams? Yes of course they were. If you know my story, you know the reason I created my websites was because I was scammed. But I turned that lemon into some pretty profitable lemonade and was determined to help as many people avoid that experience. It just happen that this passion was also a great way to make money. However imagine, if I would've listened to my dear mom. I would still be working for the man instead of being here sharing this gem of knowledge with you.
Great minds think alike….
Ultimately our loved ones tend to have our best interest at heart. But when it comes to this industry it may be the one time you may want to look elsewhere for guidance and support. Maybe it's visiting forums where other like minded people congregate. Or maybe it's a matter of hanging out on a work at home related blog that provides you with education while making you pee in your pants. (Hint, hint). It doesn't really matter what it is, but you need to surround yourself with like minded folks that understand your situation. This is especially the case for you brave souls that have decided to get into the affiliate marketing business like yours truly. For all Wealthy Affiliate University's imperfections, the one thing I absolutely love about their site is their member forum. It's always great to read from people that understand your day to day struggles or can appreciate your minor victories. When the rest of the world thinks you're speaking Greek, it's great to be in a place you can call home. It's sort of like that bar Cheers where everyone knows your name. Except in this instance everyone knows your joy and pain.
Hopefully this all makes sense and none of you want to beat me up because you think I was disrespecting your momma or any other loved ones. I just want you to know that I was where you may be right now with your family.
Fairy tale ending?
Let me tell you how the story may end if you follow my advice and push forward through the pain. One day you may be in the Bahamas at the world famous Atlantis Hotel with your family members. You're in a nice suite overlooking the water and your mother is an adjacent room with the same view. You head over to your momma's room which you paid for with that pipe dream she said you were on. You both look at the balcony and you tell your mom, you see mom. I told you I would be able to do this and I'm happy that I could prove you wrong and take you here. Your mom turns and hugs you and says she loves you. Then she tries to cop pleas about she always believed in you but just wanted you to be safe, blah blah. You then reply stop fronting mom! But I love you anyway.
Now your story may end differently but you get the point. Don't give up on your dreams because it seems like everyone else around you doesn't believe in it. Believe in yourself and be a stubborn ass and make it happen. I don't care what you use for fuel, but take action and make your dreams a reality. Because if I can do it, there is absolutely no reason you can't. You don't need to neccessarily find my path. You have options, it can be a work at home job, or some home based business. It doesn't really matter. Just do you and don't look to people who haven't achieved the success you want for approval or praise. Follow and surround yourself with people that have what you want and try to mimic and listen to them. After all they're where you want to be.
Well enough of my yammering on. Was this helpful to any of you? Have you been going through this problem? If this speaks to your experience, let me hear about it below…
I was feeling down today and this made me feel better. I want to do what makes me happy but others sometimes bring you down and it may be hard when others don’t believe in you. Thanks for sharing your experiences and feelings!
Karla,
I’m glad it resonated with you. Don’t let anyone dissuade you from your dreams even if it’s people that love you the most. They may have your best interest at heart but a lot of times their disapproval is based on their personal experiences and/or failures. It doesn’t mean you’re bound to repeat them. As long as you’re able to accept the consequences of your actions for better or worst, then it’s worth a shot. It’s better than wondering what if or being bitter that you never gave your dream a shot.
Yo’ “E.”,
What more can I say(?), besides thanks for that dose of inspiration. You most certainly hit the (proverbial) nail on the head. Woke me UP (again)! – lol Been awhile since I have chimed in; trying to get with the program………MY program.
Hey, continue to “keep hope alive!” 😉
Blessings,
– -> “d.”
Eddy,
Great post as usual! I look forward to all of your posts and your outlook on life in general. I don’t see your thoughts of pursuing your dreams as disrespectful, instead a DESIRE (the starting point of all achievements) to be successful. I have learned that persistence and desire gives you WILL POWER. The part of your mother not seeing eye to eye of your internet dreams takes me back to a very powerful book I read several years ago, Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill and a phrase where he states “In the planning to aquire your share of the riches, let no one influence you to scorn the dreamer.” We all are dreamers of some kind, and should have tolerance and an open mind. You are a great mentor and share your knowledge to help others succeed or learn from your own experiences. It is nice to know that there are decent people still living in this world today. I too, have the desire to be successful online, but will never blame anything or anyone for my failure. To many people this day in time are quick to produce excuses for their mistakes. I have instilled the thought that every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage. Learning from our failures will allow us to overcome the excuses and hopefully give us the chance to succeed. My excuse use to be fear of trying new things, and quickly realized that being afraid of new ideas dooms us from the start. Our thoughts are very powerful and can be destructive when allowed, on the other hand, our thoughts can produce great achievements. “Both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought” (Napoleon Hill). Sorry to babble on and on, but I think of YOU when I look back on this book Hill wrote. Like Hill, you are a great mentor and inspiration to me. I was looking over some older post last night and seen some disturbing comments that were said about you only promoting things for the money and not really trying them out. That pissed me off!
I have been trying to figure the internet game out for a while now, finding your site has made things a lot easier for me. I think it’s about time for me to take the plunge into WA. I have been researching them for a few months now and think it could be the tool I need to overcome some obsticles in my journey. Thank you for all of the advice and knowledge you give. That being said, it is up to us to take action with this knowledge. Much appreciated and can’t wait until your next post.
Thank you
James
Thanks James!
Apparently you and I read the same books! I guess great minds think a like. I totally agree with everything you’ve said and there isn’t much more for me to add that you haven’t already covered in your great comment. I’m happy that I’ve been able to guide you along this process. You have the right mindset to succeed at anything so hopefully affiliate marketing is it for you. If not I’m sure you will push forward until you do find the right path. Good luck!
I didn’t know you were Caribbean, and you lived in the Bronx too? My family is St. Lucian and Antiguan. Uh-oh how many degrees are we separated? lol Anyway, my Caribbean mom is also getting into internet marketing, unfortunately she just fell for a somewhat scammy affiliate program. Time to get her into the Wealthy Affiliate!
Jeff,
You’ve definitely made some good points here. I’ve definitely noticed the same thing in this country. There are too many people stuck on how things use to be where companies would rescue you. But those times are long gone. People need to start realizing they’re in control of their destiny and take ownership of it. That means doing what you need to do to achieve your dreams. Even if that means starting with a penny and working your way up. But some people just can’t make the adjustments. In nature animals that don’t adapt become extinct. It’s called natural selection. The same applies to this industry and world. So it’s great you understand this and continuously make the adjustments even as you’re trying to build this affiliate business of yours. Thanks for chiming in as usual and being the type of person that takes action and ownership! You’re a rare bread in this society.
Judy,
Thanks. Obviously I hear your pain. The complainers are the worst because they can actually use some of this money. But it’s hard to get people out a certain mindset. I don’t waste my breath anymore. I just focus on the people that want to help themselves and can see the value of this stuff. I just let me actions and lifestyle speak for me. Then some people come around. But there is always going to be a group that won’t and that’s okay. Like you said, it doesn’t mean they’re bad people. It’s just this stuff isn’t in the cards for them. I’m super impressed that your daughter who is engineer has taken action on something like clixsense. She obviously understands the concept that every penny counts. If you asks me it shows you did a great job teaching her about finances. lol Thanks for chiming in.
Tech9iner,
Apparently you and I are connected in more ways then you know buddy. I was a recruiter for a year or two with a staffing company before I moved on to my internet marketing gig in corporate america. So reading your story made every bit of sense to me. I must say your accomplishment was super impressive based on the little experience I had in the field. It goes to show that you’re just as stubborn as me and it paid off like it did for me. You obviously have the proper mindset and I imagine you’ll continue to see success for it. I loved that quote in the image you posted. That’s my job, pushing people off the edge so they can realize they are able to fly and not believe the lies people told them. So thanks for sharing your story with me. I’ll see you at the top!
Cathy,
I admire that you can push forward even when your Hubby doesn’t believe. I know that’s very difficult for most married people to do. I’m very blessed that my wife is very supportive. But even if she wasn’t because of my stubborn nature I would push on. So I applaud your strength and confidence. Your husband sounds like a good man regardless. Just the fact that he’ll be happy to eat his words is a wonderful thing. I’m sure he will be doing so in the near future and many times over as you rise to the top! lol Thanks for chiming in as always.
Susan,
I feel your pain sister. But what can we do? Just live your life and lead by example. Don’t worry soon enough people that doubted you will be asking you for advice and hopefully you’ll have it in your heart to share it with them. There isn’t much we can do about people that can’t see the benefit in this. It’s okay. Different strokes for different folks. As long as you see the benefit and it’s helping you then that’s all that matters. I just find it funny how some of your family and friends don’t have time to click ads but I bet they have time to play on facebook, watch tv or do some other stuff that is a total waste of their time. But they can carve out hours in the day to do it. lol Go figure. You just keep doing what you’re doing!
Keisha,
You’re probably new here. I posted something months ago when the earthquake hit my mother land of Haiti. But yes I’m a Haitian American. What part of the bronx are you from? I’m actually originally from Brooklyn but spent most of my life in “Da Bronx” !lol
I’m sorry to hear your mom isn’t doing well with her affiliate marketing efforts. Just like anything, there are always bad apples in the bunch. When picking a business opportunity, you always need to do your research and find legitimate companies to work with and train you. Otherwise you’ll be lead on a bad path. Either way it should be a good learning experience. After all I was scammed a few times before I got to where I am now. So hopefully she’ll see it as a learning experience and grow from it!
oh yeah it rings a lot of bells for me. Unfortunately, my mom still thinks of me working on the computer as some scam wild dream. I try to share the wealth with family and friends and can you believe that some of them just don\’t have the time to click on an ad? Strange but true! So great article as always-thank you! ; )
Susan
Hubby does not believe! That makes it hard to continue on this path. But I do continue. I got a huge jump start here. Alas, I am not as smart or organized as you are Eddy, but I have a goal to earn a couple of thousand a month on line-after, taxes, overhead etc. Having all this info in one place has gotten me further than when I was sloshing through it on my own. Luckily I learned at a young age to do what I know and not pay attention to what others say. Also, I’m lucky to have married a man who will just ask to pass the sugar when he eats his words.
hmmm.. assumed the url image would be included with my anecdote LOL…
http://sites.google.com/site/tech9iner/Flying-Child-n-BIRDS.wTXT.xcf.gif
Eddy:
OK now Eddy.. ARE YOU MARRIED? LOL.. Cause if you an I were both on some online dating database matching site AND there was some sex identity mishap in it’s output matches…….
I COULD SWEAR we’d be introduced! LOL
Fast anecdote:
When just a young buck with my daughter Taryn Bryanne [pronounced A N G E L! ;]] was just a toddler, I jumped into the headhunter field apprenticeship with, at the time, worlds largest brand in the field.. MRI [Mgmt Recruiters Intl], at tender young age of 21.
Was assigned a desk adjacent to an 8-yr veteran bit famous nation wide for billing monthly in the top 5% of MRI’s 500+ office org.
On just my 3rd week of training program, during my daily cold calls I got my very first work order from none other than the President, & 2nd generation son of the founder of NE USA’s 71-store Sky City Stores corporation, then owned by huge InterCo holding company. [i.e. Skippy; Beatrice Foods; blah blah. $7 billion org big then ;]]
Executive placement order was for Sky City Stores #2 position, VP of Merchandising, with understanding that President would groom to retire him after turning the brand around to some lackluster performance indices.
THE INSTANT I HUNG UP all excited bout my first placement order, Mike the veteran leader whom had listened [part of my mentoring was via his monitoring my calls], he assured me NOT TOO WASTE MY GREENHORN TRAINGING TIME ON THIS exec level placement order & to pass it off to..
1. A recruiter that specializing in retail executive placement; we had to choose vertical disciplines to specialize in and I had ignorantly chosen, logistics.. not retail…
2. A seasoned recruiter due fact this was a $20-40,000 fee placement level position paying in excess of $250,000 annual PLUS typical perks etc….
Headhunter apprentices were offered the goal of developing enough activity in our ‘funnels’ of both placements &/or talent recruited monthly at the level of three to six $3-6,000 placement fee closings per month average @ 30% commissions to make our living. We worked for $600 a month ‘advance stipend against future commissions’ training fund. Apprentices had literally 60 days to break first fee placements or shown the door. ;]
Well Eddy, being EXACTLY the kind of ADHD ‘hunter gatherer’ type.. that is highly motivated ONE of TWO distinct ways; either those that show IMPLICIT confidence in my potentials and encourage me thus – OR – challenge me by dismissing my desire to attempt to summit the ‘Everest of the day’! The first way is ultimately the best if you want my skills too excel of course.
So, the more Mike, then my MRI office mgr, Bill, discouraged me, the more determined I became, assuring them my instincts convinced me I had developed some respectful rapport with the President that had given me the order, quite rarely by the way, IN MY ORIGINAL COLD CALL TO HIS corporate offices; both defeating the professional head hunter’s #1 challenge.. getting past the screening PBX then HR dept etc etc etc.. to finally actually speak with the hiring executive that any incoming candidates would report too and having the final say on accepting my candidate.
I promised the Bill that I would not let my efforts at working the order interfere with my daily training and cold calling momentum in my Logistics field chosen, and, in the process actually challenged Bill back with a friendly wager. He had recently spent $200 on a computerized chess board that I’d been admiring and playing during lunch breaks etc. IF I could complete this order, he would buy me that same chess board!
Suffice to say, in my 3rd month there, 6 weeks past that initial order call, this ‘greenhorn’ headhunter closed a $27,000 placement, setting my local MRI owner’s 5-office franchise’s 4TH LARGEST PLACEMENT FEE IN ITS 15 YEAR HISTORY! I was honored with a subsequent Champagne party – AND – since my boss, Bill, had already been in trouble with his wife for spending $200 on that computerized chess game, was forced to sheepishly ask if I would settle for his used one!
At 21 years old with a new family, getting an $8,000+ commission check in the 2nd week of December.. well lets just say it was the single best Christmas in my adult life Eddy.
I’ll see you at the top Eddy; we can wave to the farmers that feed us below! LOL..
**Note the little img url I thru together via GIMP [think free Open Source PhotoShop ;]] couple of years ago based on favorite motivational poem quote I’ve used as a sales leader etc. ;]]
Great article Eddy. I understand what your saying about family. When I first mentioned websites where you could make a few cents here and there my family laughed about it also. These are the same people that complain about monthly bills. Don’t get me wrong, I have a good family and it sounds like you do also but I guess they just didn’t think it was worth their time to sign up for something like this. Now, my immediate family can see how much this money adds up and they are now starting to see things differently. Out of all of my family members I could only get my daughter to sign up for Clixsense but I am thankful for that. She sees it and works successully as an engineer.
The world has changed friends. The world that our folks lived in was a world where America was the dominant force in the world from an economic standpoint and the competition from abroad was sparse.
Product choices were limited and people didn’t have that much information anyway.
Now it is the age of the consumer where you can swipe your iPhone over a barcode and get prices from competitors in a 10 mile radius.
The point is, the world that our forebears grew up in is gone and never coming back.
We can either adapt by learning and growing or wishing that somebody would come to our rescue. The problem is, no one is coming to you except bill collectors.
Eddy teaches self-reliance, action and fortitude. Even if you don’t work at home, this blog contains a ton of common sense lessons that can be applied in your life.
I’m not sure if I will ever get my affiliate dreams off the ground (it won’t be from lack of trying) but I know I’ll never look at the world the same way thanks to this blog!
Another great post Eddy…thanks for keeping us inspired 🙂