Sad Tired Newbie Needs to Find “Right” Direction

[cjwntrsm]

Sad Tired Newbie Needs to Find “Right” Direction

Hi Rosalind, moderators, and everyone,

This is Chris here in Orange County, Southern California. I wish I had found this forum a long time ago. Ros and everyone here seems so caring and supportive of newbies. I apologize to all in advance for the “unloading of baggage / gut spilling” that I hope to limit to this painful intoduction! Now I have been receiving Rosalind’s newsletters for some time now as I purchased an earlier version of SAH.

I really wish I could approach IM in a more positive way. My first introduction to IM was “Google Cash” some years back. You know, back in the days where you could supposedly make money through PPC Adwords ads without even a site, just linking to the merchant. It was a disaster! At that time (just like now for me – déjà vu) I had been laid off from a low paying job I hated while trying to support my family. Well, I took on low end jobs just to stretch things while trying in vain to make Adwords work. How stupid I was, I only handicapped myself by not realizing that I should have been trying to make a little site of my own. Maybe the copy I enjoyed writing could have made a difference, who knows. Anyway, I’m not interested in Adwords now but I bring this up just to say that I walked away from IM in bitterness. I couldn’t afford to keep failing and didn’t have the hours to work on it when I had to feed my family.

I ended up getting an insurance license to try to break out of low-end work here (I had been an English teacher in Japan, worked as a documentary scriptwriter, did editing, proofreading, copywriting, all kinds of fun things in Japan – they even seemed to value my degree, something I have sadly never experienced in my own country). Anyway, it all came crashing down when we moved back, hence my ill fated attempt with Adwords.

So here I am again, laid off from the insurance job, my family suffering – again. I bring a lot of tiredness, and I am gun shy. I also have “analysis paralysis”. I will leave my tale of woe because I am here, somehow, to try fresh to turn things around. I do actually have some ideas for some kind of static niche site, or even blog, with the goal of affiliate income using SEO. I will go into my ideas more in my next post, and I will be grateful for any advice and a “push” in some kind of direction – thank you! Right now I am in a real quandary of not having enough free time to spend on a site, or rather, the perception I don’t have the time. Somehow I must get beyond this state of being my own victim and just get on with something. Please wish me well.

I will likely have one more monster post, hopefully not whiny, and maybe several shorter ones later. I know there are many ways to approach IM – I just need to get some affirmation or advice that there is a way, no, not a magical way to riches, but a simple quick way to see some kind of very modest, yet concrete results. I need to see something so that I can “give myself permission”, gain the confidence, to invest serious time in IM (I’ll go into my ideas in the next post). It’s as if I need permission or approval to move forward – I know, very sad . . . but that’s where things are for me. My prayer is that if I can believe in a “way”, and yes, in myself, that I can make something good happen for my family, then, well, I don’t know a more emotional way to frame this, but it could save me and my family. I don’t know how many other older newbies (I’m 56) come to IM not fresh and enthused, but scarred, sad, beaten down. God, what happened?

It’s funny, I remember doing creative stuff in Japan that, while I wouldn’t call it “professional”, it was fun. Even the silly little Adwords blurbs I did after coming back had great click-throughs in the Google panel. In reality, it was meaningless because not enough customers who clicked through to the merchant websites actually converted to sales / commissions. But – and my point is not to focus on Adwords, I don’t ever want to try that again! – my point is that I need to get something positive back, I need to start feeling good about creating something again. I can’t undo the past or change who I am at this stage. No matter how “positive” I try to be, when it comes to the “world of work”, the writing is on the wall for me. So I need to make something happen here! Wow, sorry for pouring my guts out here! This stuff is painful, but I hope to get into some actual ideas and give-and-take as we move along. Please take care, everyone, and thanks for listening.

Chris

[Griff Grumbein]

Hello Chris, and Welcome to the forum!

Don't give up hope! Frist of all, try to get a regular job that will at least cover your family's immediate expenses because you're obviously gonna need to get yer IM attitude realigned (no offense intended, just paraphrasing your post) before you'll be able to put your best efforts into it (IM). Even if it's a job you don't necessarily like, your family's welfare comes first, and it's a whole lot easier to work on your IM if you're not worrying about the electric bill, etc.

Any way, how long were you in the insurance business? Surely you learned some things about the field that we "commoners" don't know, so why not start blogging about them? You can get started free with Blogger or WordPress, so you won't have to pay anything "out-of-pocket" while you get rolling. Also, re-read your SAH with a clear and open mind. There's a wealth of useful material in it that will help you on your way. Throw all the baggage in the dumpster and don't let the negative thoughts rent space in your head.

Ultimately, it's your choice how you view your situation. Trust me, I'm seeing my own share of adversity, but if I'm not moving forward, I'm going the wrong way! What happened before does not have to happen again, and surely you learned enough from that experience (Google Cash) to have made you a bit more savvy this time around.

Your post shows that you are willing to give it another shot, so just buckle down and go for it. There's plenty of great information here in the forum, and lots of people who share their experiences and knowledge, which benefits all of us in one way or another. Just keep trying and DON'T GIVE UP! You CAN do it if you view adversity appropriately. It's just another one of life's hurdles. . .you can jump over it, knock it down, or go around it (you're not gonna lose any points, heh, heh), but don't let it stop you. Use it to make yourself stronger and you WILL succeed.

Don't hesitate to ask questions and participate, we're all here to help each other.

Best Regards and. . .

Persevere to Prosperity!

Griff

[cjwntrsm]

Chris here again. I just posted a pretty long thing with Q's in Newbie Corner. I really thank you for the encouragement. I'm going to try to find a way to get something done, some kind of site, and move through all this stuff. Thanks so much for the kind words, Griff. Take care,

Chris