A little over 2 years ago I found myself at a very frustrating junction in life. I wasn't happy with my business or my life in general, and I had no idea of how or through what means I was going to turn things around.

I obsessed over this for months, until one day, I figured the best way to change things would be to follow one of the same ideas and principles that got me started in entrepreneurship -- which was to start doing whatever it was I most wanted to do. And from simply doing that, I not only changed my life, I didn't just improve my circumstances, I reinvented my entire self.

From that single decision, I was able to create a world of opportunity for myself. Some of which, has led me to connect and work with people right here on Nairaland, believe it or not. I'm not exactly where I want to do at this stage of my life, but I'm a lot closer than I've ever been. And I created this thread to share some of the story of how I was able to make that transition.

Whenever I think about it, I sit back and smile when I reflect on my life two years ago. I'm amazed by how I was so frustrated with my current circumstances that I couldn't focus enough to see a way out. I'd changed my life many years before, but it was the stress of my current circumstances that was preventing me from seeing that same potential in myself at that time.

Back then, I was struggling to find motivation to continue working in a business I didn't want to be in, all for the sake of paying the bills. Today, I've successfully managed to build a business helping aspiring and current entrepreneurs, bloggers and writers succeed in their ventures and businesses, and run workshops where I help people fulfill their dreams. I sell email courses which provide the back bone for my business; which itself generates a sustainable income and allows me to make an average of $2,000 a week. And, it is from my passions for psychology, spirituality, self-mastery, self-actualization, entrepreneurship and personal development that I've begun building the foundation for my latest venture called, "North of Zero".

I always knew I could change, I just couldn't see how; and I never thought it would change to this degree. Only when I began focusing more on where I wanted to be, as opposed to where I was, did any kind of change begin to manifest.

Perhaps someday I'll write a self-help or inspirational guide of some kind to help others overcome the same hurdles. We can never know how our experiences will benefit others until we share them -- and that's what I'm doing through Nairaland. Sharing as much of my entrepreneur, business and personal experience as possible to give others the encouragement, inspiration and motivation to change their lives the way I have been fortunate enough to change my own.

Perhaps the steps that I will outline in this thread will help you change your own life, and help you discover purpose, meaning and fulfillment in your work.

If you only take away one thing from this thread, I want you to at least see and know that real change is possible, and it doesn't matter what your current circumstances are. The only thing that makes any amount of difference are the steps we take to go from where we are, to where we want to be in life. You may not realize how far you can go, if you just focus on what can be done today or tomorrow. No one can solve all their problems overnight, but by taking the incremental steps to change from within, over time, great things will begin to manifest themselves in your life.

And I say that from personal experience.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this thread, and all that will come of it in the days and weeks to follow. I pray it provides you the answers, guidance, wisdom, insight or inspiration you need to begin taking the steps to change your life, just as I have done in my own.

Take care, and be blessed in your endeavors!

~ Ra

thanks

INTROVERT:
thanks

You are most welcome.

$2,000/week? I bet you wouldn't have had this time to come here and start narrating to us how all this happened.

By the way, I'm interested to know how you made this possible.

Birniwa:
$2,000/week? I bet you wouldn't have had this time to come here and start narrating to us how all this happened.

By the way, I'm interested to know how you made this possible.

The majority of the money I make today is through affiliate products sales, e-commerce, stock investments and coaching fees. Considering everything I am involved in, $2,000 a week is not a lot of money. I know people who make significantly more than I do. But to summarize how I put it all together, it all started with a blog where I shared my personal struggle with depression and alcoholism, as well as a number of my experiences as an entrepreneur -- all told from a reflective and spiritual perspective.

To be honest, I didn't think anybody would ever read it or that it would ever amount to much of anything. And I surely never thought I'd make any money from it.

Yes, the possibility of earning an income from my blog was there, but the reality (my reality) was that it would probably take, at best, a few years and hundreds of highly detailed articles before it ever would. And I didn't feel this way because I doubted my ability to write or perform as a blogger, but because of the fact that I had monetized blogs before, and I knew first-hand that it was not an easy task to accomplish. I felt that if it was difficult then, I should expect the same level of difficulty in the present.

But then I began to wonder why I felt that way. I started questioning why myself and others felt that monetizing a blog was so difficult, and whether or not it was really and truly that complicated and complex of a task to master. And it was because of those questions, that I found myself on journey that would lead me to where I am today.

I began testing and experimenting a number of different ways to make money from my blog, starting with affiliate marketing, advertising, and selling my own products. Later, I began writing my own ebooks, online courses, and premium newsletters, and though my first few attempts never made much money (they were very poor in terms of quality), I eventually was able to turn things around and earn more money for my products.

Fast-forward to just over two years later, and not only had I managed to build a sizable audience for my blog and was able to make a full-time income, but I was also able to spend more time doing the things I am most passionate about. But my biggest opportunity came from teaching people about that success, and showing them how to build, grow and monetize blogs and websites on their own.

There are a number of steps in between all of this, but that is a very loose summary of how I was able to build a business that generates an average of $2,000 a week. And ANYONE can do it, if you're willing to put in the work and commit to your process, though I wouldn't recommend everyone to do it, because entrepreneurship -- particularly online entrepreneurship -- is extremely difficult to do. It's not as easy as many people make it seem. But if you do decide to go down this path, and work for it, the reward in the end is well worth it.

Before starting this latest online business, I spent nearly five years living in a humiliating, mediocre experience. Why?

Because I wanted to.

Before you think I'm nuts, here's what I mean:

The only reason that people don't change their lives is because they don't WANT it bad enough.

No one is lacking in information or instruction. Not today. Not really. And no one is lacking in opportunity. No matter what the situation. And while it's true that some people are genuinely too old or too sick to take care of themselves, they are a minority exception that I'm not talking about.

I was 29 years old....broke.....living a miserable existence, and the truth was that -- as miserable as I was -- I still wasn't miserable enough to actually DO something about it. Until one day when I was. That was the day everything changed.

One day, I said, "No more. Never again. I refuse to go another week of living paycheck to paycheck. I refuse to continue living in an environment of not being able to afford the things I want, or possibly have kids and allow them to grow up and miss out on what they deserve."

And -- SNAP -- just like that.....my life started changing.

It wasn't "law of attraction". It wasn't magic. It was a shift in my own determination to stop being a victim.....to stop going through every day as though my life was happening to me.

I stopped looking for secrets.
I stopped looking for magic dust.
I stopped wasting energy on regret and grudges.
I stopped feeling angry at my bills.

Instead, I focused all my creativity and energy into creating a new life for myself.

And, within 3 months of making this declaration, I managed to launch a new web store, and two months after that, I'd secured my first round of profits. I wasn't making enough to change my circumstances entirely, but enough to get things moving in the right direction.

Real transformation doesn't take months...or weeks....or even days. Real transformation takes place in an INSTANT. And it never takes place in a way that takes longer than an instant. And, to paraphrase Napoleon Hill, once you make that change.....the money and results will flow into your life so quickly that you'll wonder where they were hiding during all the lean years.

So it really boils down to one question.....

.....HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

How bad do you want to stop living the life you DON'T want, and start living the life you DO?

Each of us hold the power to change our lives at any given moment, but because of fear, a lack of confidence, self-doubt, anger, frustration, anxiety, laziness and a number of other things, we fail to take action, and make the changes we need to make in order to live the life we truly desire to live.

That's how I began turning my life around. I stopped focusing on what I DID NOT want and started working towards what I DID.

So what do you most want in life, and what do you feel or believe is keeping you from it? Odds are, when we remove the excuses and lies we tell ourselves we will see that the only one stopping us form having a better life, is ourselves.

a wonderful piece please keep it coming i also need a change

Abcruz:
a wonderful piece please keep it coming i also need a change

Thanks for your compliments, and of course I'll do better at keeping this thread updated in hopes of keeping people motivated and inspired to create change. If I could do that, then it will be a gift and a blessing of its own.