19 Comments on What do you do when something you love becomes a chore?

Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach on Wed, 2nd Sep 2009 3:41 pm


Oh John, can I REALLY relate to what you write. It’s a true hero’s journey in more ways than one. The good news is the pain and anger and sadness and everything through which you are going will end up being very healing to your soul…AFTER you’ve processed all those emotions.

The bad news is, it’s hell to experience. But that which is most precious to us in the future often comes in the form of extremely painful lessons.

I have very strong opinions about MLM (think – scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being superb, I’m at a negative googleplex); I’ve seen a lot of awakenings like yours in the past. But remember, truly good people never wake up in the morning and say, hey! I think I’ll deliberately do wrong! We are all true to ourselves, and from what I’ve read of you, you write from the heart.

That’s precious indeed.

Lots of empathy for your hero’s journey – I bet it will turn out well.

I
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog ..Magnificently Brilliant Headline – What do you think?

Ravi Kuwadia on Wed, 2nd Sep 2009 4:34 pm


John, I can understand your mixed feeling with promoting affiliate products these days.

I started out promoting affiliate products via review and presell sites. But I don’t like to anymore. In a way I feel I am cheating by talking about something in a pen name I may not have used.

But good thing is I know a lot about marketing in the process. I am now focused on building real business online with the same strategies.

Lets see how it shapes up. I still do a few affiliate promotions but I stick to promtoing products I use myself and can talk about it from my own experience.
Ravi Kuwadia´s last blog ..Backlinking Strategies that Work

Apparel UK on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 12:49 am


It such a big dilemma for you but i would like to say that don’t take any step before thinking a lot about that.

Mitch on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 1:28 am


Hey John,

As you know, I haven’t been successful with affiliate marketing at all. However, I can’t say I’m disenchanted with it because I don’t think I’ve ever done it properly.

Here’s the thing, if I may. It’s been about a year since you’ve gone through a big transition in your personal life. You’re now coming upon an anniversary you’d rather not deal with. You probably are starting to feel like you want to abandon anything that inherently reminds you of the past, with an eye on something new. Man, can I understand that one.

Thing is, you’ve also decided to branch out and start interacting with the real world more by promoting Murray; that’s something you probably really hadn’t done in the past. So, maybe you’re moving into new territory. If it’s successful, then that’s a good thing.

However, one last little point. In my mind, the idea behind a lot of affiliate marketing is to create content that people might like, populate it with some affiliate products, then hope people will come to the site. Your previous way was a bit more active, and you being you, a guy who truly wants to believe in every single thing you do, wholeheartedly worked on recruiting people in because you loved the stuff yourself.

For me, that’s a bit too personal for the most part. I don’t like MLM because I’ll never recruit in that fashion. Maybe you’ve gotten to that point also. After all, in a weird way, you’ve spent a lot of time by yourself, and MLM was your way out. Maybe now that you’re actually “out”, MLM types of affiliate marketing isn’t as appealing.

Hey my man, whichever way you decide to go, I’ll be happy for you. However, I’d like to say that if you decide to make some affiliate marketing more passive, you might not feel so bad about it. Nothing wrong with just raking in some cash without thinking about it; ask Lynn.
Mitch´s last blog ..Time Magazine’s 50 Best Websites Of 2009

MY Special Education on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 10:36 am


I have worked in sales and advertising previously and I loved it. I am now looking to move from Georgia to Rhode Island. (Need to raise kids in a blue state).Me and my wife are Medical Assistants but I would like to make most of my income online so I can spend more time with kids. I am looking to learn more about affiliate marketing and I strongly believe in On-the-job training. SO what is the best item I can start with that is easy, I can make some money and I can learn? Thanks

Solomon Huey on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 11:48 am


Hey John, totally know what you mean. You have to remember though that it truly IS a numbers game and sometimes you can’t just “teach” hard work and dedication.

But I think it is worth signing up all those people if it means changing just a few peoples’ lives.

I realize you may not endorse TE’s anymore, but I’m one of the few who actually made them work for me and eventually built a real income through free advertising sites. I know the guys I follow from the TE world have taught SO many people, and only a few ever make it out with some success.

But I know they’re happy helping whoever they can, and it’s that extra push that has helped me immensely towards my own success.

Solomon

John Dilbeck on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 4:59 pm


Good afternoon, Barbara.

I appreciate your comment. I didn’t reply sooner, because I just had to get away from the topic for some time to let some more things sink in.

You said, “The bad news is, it’s hell to experience. But that which is most precious to us in the future often comes in the form of extremely painful lessons.”

I know from past experience that you’re right about this and I’m hoping that I’m learning something important about myself and affiliate marketing, and not just burning out on something I really loved at one time.

Act on your dream!

JD

John Dilbeck on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 5:22 pm


Good afternoon, Ravi.

You said, “I started out promoting affiliate products via review and presell sites. But I don’t like to anymore. In a way I feel I am cheating by talking about something in a pen name I may not have used.”

I think that is a sign of growth and awareness on your part and applaud you for it.

Over the last few months, I’ve come to believe ever more strongly that anything I promote through an affiliate marketing link is a personal recommendation and not just an advertisement. I try to be honest and transparent in what I do and I just don’t feel comfortable recommending something that I’ve never used with my own personal success as a result.

You also said, “But good thing is I know a lot about marketing in the process. I am now focused on building real business online with the same strategies.”

And that’s the good part about learning and improving. I agree with you. I know a lot more about marketing than I did a few years ago and now I feel strongly about building a real, sustainable business.

That’s one reason I’m putting so much thought and energy into building my Murphy Gold site for promoting a few select brick and mortar businesses in my adopted home town. I’m using the same tools and some of the same techniques, but I feel much more comfortable in promoting real people who offer real value in the “real world.”

I’m not saying that that isn’t true in affiliate marketing, it’s just that I’m feeling much more comfortable promoting someone I actually know and see in real life.

You continued with, “…I stick to promoting products I use myself and can talk about it from my own experience.”

I applaud you for that.

There are too many people who will link to anything and I think that’s wrong.

For example, I used to link to lots of products sold on ClickBank that I never even saw. One day, that just felt icky. So, I stopped. In fact, it felt so icky that I don’t even want to use my affiliate link to promote a few quality products that are available through ClickBank. Maybe I’ve gone too far. I don’t want to paint everything on their site with the same brush, but, at this point, when I find a quality product there, I’d prefer to send someone to the author’s site and not earn anything from it than to link to anything using my ClickBank affiliate link.

That’s not a good model for a profitable affiliate marketing business!

I feel that I’m implicitly endorsing everything on ClickBank when I explicitly endorse one particular product. I know that doesn’t make sense intellectually, but it is something I feel and I’m having to come to terms with it.

I’m not just picking on ClickBank. Every site that handles transactions and downloads has its share of very high quality products and lots of junk, too. I’m just using them as an example, because they’re so well-known and widely-used.

Still trying to think through all of this.

Act on your dream!

JD

John Dilbeck on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 5:53 pm


Good afternoon, Mitch.

I always appreciate your thoughtful comments.

You said, “Here’s the thing, if I may. It’s been about a year since you’ve gone through a big transition in your personal life. You’re now coming upon an anniversary you’d rather not deal with. You probably are starting to feel like you want to abandon anything that inherently reminds you of the past, with an eye on something new. Man, can I understand that one.”

Yes, Mitch, I think that’s a big part of all of this, but I don’t think it’s the main part.

This last year has been a time of major turmoil in my life. That’s true. I’m still coming to terms with several things that seemed to happen all at once.

And, while I’m looking for new things to help build my business, I don’t want to abandon everything I’ve been doing, just select parts of it that I no longer feel comfortable doing.

You also said, “Thing is, you’ve also decided to branch out and start interacting with the real world more by promoting [Murphy]; that’s something you probably really hadn’t done in the past. So, maybe you’re moving into new territory. If it’s successful, then that’s a good thing.”

Actually, I’ve been promoting local businesses, events, and things to do in Murphy for several years, but not to the extent that I’ve been doing this year. Truthfully, I enjoy doing it, but it has taken some real thought and effort to find a way to earn from it. I like the business model I’m currently using and I’m tweaking it as I encounter obstacles and new opportunities.

Now that I can get out of the house and interact with people in our shared 3-D world, I find it much more interesting and stimulating than only connecting with the world via a computer and slow dial-up connection.

It’s not something that I’ve never done in the past, but it something that I was mostly restricted from doing for over five years as my real world shrank and my virtual world expanded while I was caring for Mom.

There’s no doubt that this is playing a big part in my feelings and thought processes as I continue to re-evaluate what I’ve been doing, what I’m doing now, and what I want to accomplish in the future.

However, some of the same issues pertain to that part of my business, too. For example, I’ve turned down two business owners who wanted me to promote their businesses. If I were a newspaper, I’d take their money, put up their ad, and go about my merry way.

But, that’s not what I’m doing. Just as with affiliate marketing, I only want to promote the people and products that I have experience with and with which I’ve had some success.

Perhaps it’s a matter of focus as much as personal preference? I really don’t know.

You continued with, “However, one last little point. In my mind, the idea behind a lot of affiliate marketing is to create content that people might like, populate it with some affiliate products, then hope people will come to the site. Your previous way was a bit more active, and you being you, a guy who truly wants to believe in every single thing you do, wholeheartedly worked on recruiting people in because you loved the stuff yourself.”

Yes. That is an important part of this.

I feel strongly that I need to stand behind what I say and promote. If it isn’t working for me, why should I profit from selling it to someone else?

I didn’t always feel that way, but it has become more important over the last couple of years.

You continued with, “For me, that’s a bit too personal for the most part. I don’t like MLM because I’ll never recruit in that fashion. Maybe you’ve gotten to that point also. After all, in a weird way, you’ve spent a lot of time by yourself, and MLM was your way out. Maybe now that you’re actually ‘out’, MLM types of affiliate marketing isn’t as appealing.”

I understand that I see affiliate marketing differently from many others’ perspectives.

Actually, MLM was a small part of my marketing efforts, but is one that I just have to step completely away from, now.

Well, now that I think about it, perhaps MLM and downline building were a bigger part of my efforts than I’ve wanted to admit. I’m going to have to think about this a lot more.

Without a doubt, trying to build downlines and doing what I could to help others was an important relief from spending so much time here at home. That’s an important insight and I thank you for it.

That may be a bigger part in what I’m going through now than I realized.

Mitch, you concluded with, “Hey my man, whichever way you decide to go, I’ll be happy for you. However, I’d like to say that if you decide to make some affiliate marketing more passive, you might not feel so bad about it. Nothing wrong with just raking in some cash without thinking about it; ask Lynn.”

That is an important part of my dilemma. I’m not sure I can approach affiliate marketing in a passive manner. After all these years, I know how to promote a product and make sales. I’m just not sure if I’ll ever be able to promote something I don’t truly endorse, just to earn some (much-needed) money.

Awww…

Being stuck on the horns of a dilemma is never a comfortable position.

But, you do bring up an important point that I must consider more fully. Will I only promote products I really believe in, or is it okay to earn money by linking to something I don’t really stand behind?

Is it enough that the product’s creator guarantees it?

Am I misleading my readers when I link to something that I don’t personally endorse?

There are some important ethical questions here and I’m going to have to come to terms with them before I can proceed, I think.

Thanks for such an insightful and helpful comment, Mitch. It really helps.

Act on your dream!

JD

John Dilbeck on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 6:04 pm


Good afternoon, M.S.E.

You said, “…I would like to make most of my income online so I can spend more time with kids. I am looking to learn more about affiliate marketing and I strongly believe in On-the-job training. SO what is the best item I can start with that is easy, I can make some money and I can learn?”

Now, that’s the $64,000 question, isn’t it. (I’m probably revealing my ancientness with that reference.)

It’s a good question, but is difficult to answer.

Every single person reading your question will have a different take on it, and I hope some of them will do their best to answer it from their perspective.

From my point of view, I don’t think affiliate marketing is all that easy, but it’s not like the jobs I used to do, such as paving roads and pouring concrete.

I know exactly the product I would suggest, and I will, but I’m going to wait and see if anyone else would like to answer your question, first.

So, gentle readers, how would you answer this question?

Feel free to link to your own websites and blogs, if you’ve previously addressed this, but affiliate links should be reserved for your own sites, and not in comments here.

Act on your dream!

JD

John Dilbeck on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 6:42 pm


Good evening, Solomon.

You said, “You have to remember though that it truly IS a numbers game and sometimes you can’t just ‘teach’ hard work and dedication.”

I know what you’re saying, but I don’t really agree that it is a numbers game. I think of people as more than just traffic to a site, and from what you’ve written previously, I think you do, too.

And, you’re right about not being able to teach hard work and dedication. That is something that each individual must have as an indelible part of his or her personality if there is any chance of real success. It is a fundamental requirement that most people don’t have and don’t value.

You continued, “But I think it is worth signing up all those people if it means changing just a few peoples’ lives.”

At one point, a few years ago, I would have agreed with you on this, but not now.

I’m not saying that it is a bad approach, but I’m saying that it is not the right way for me to build my business.

In fact, I think it says much more about my own personality than it does about a particular approach to business. Perhaps I’m tying my own hands behind my back, and it may not even be necessary. I’m still trying to work through it.

I do know that only a small percentage of people possess the drive, personality, skills, and perseverance to succeed at what they want. So, helping even one person do that certainly has value. Helping lots of people has even more value.

I’m just not sure that it’s worth leading all the others down a path that may not be right for any of them, just to help those few.

You said, “I realize you may not endorse TE’s anymore, but I’m one of the few who actually made them work for me and eventually built a real income through free advertising sites. I know the guys I follow from the TE world have taught SO many people, and only a few ever make it out with some success….But I know they’re happy helping whoever they can, and it’s that extra push that has helped me immensely towards my own success.”

I’m not saying that traffic exchanges and free advertising sites are bad, and I hope I’m not giving that impression.

In fact, I’d be a hypocrite to do so. While I’m no longer actively using traffic exchanges and promoting them, I’m still earning commissions from purchases made by people who I referred months or years ago. In fact, I just received a commission payment a couple of days ago from a traffic exchange owner, and I am happy to get it.

I know there are some traffic exchange owners who go out of their way to help people and they’re giving good advice, although only a small minority of their members will heed that advice and put it into practice.

I’ve been using traffic exchanges for a long time, off and on. I started back when the few that existed would show a page for 30 seconds or more and a site owner could actually get someone to read what they wrote, in exchange for reading what someone else wrote. I found some very interesting websites and early blogs that way. I even made a few friends in the process.

Now, however, with the exchanges showing a page for as little as 5 or 6 seconds, everything has changed. In fact, they should change their names from traffic exchanges to lead generators, because I think that more accurately reflects how they currently operate.

Anyone who shows their website or blog on a traffic exchange is wasting their time, money, and energy.

The way to succeed using these services now is to generate lots of leads to a marketing funnel, and this is clearly taught by a number of the best exchange owners and downline builders such as Affiliate Funnel.

The goal is no longer, “you read my website and I’ll read yours,” but I’ll give you a free report, ebook, or something else if you’ll sign up for my mailing list or click this link to join what I’m recommending so I’ll earn something if you buy from that site.

These are lead generation systems, now, and they work well in that regard for the people who learn how to use them effectively.

You can’t show a website or blog in 5 or 6 seconds, but you can put up a splash page with a bold headline and a simple link.

The problem, as I see it, is that the successful people spend a lot of time and quite a bit of money in having their splash pages shown all out of proportion to the people who try to get views to their sites and offers based on spending time earning credits by surfing the exchanges.

Once I realized that, I spent much less time surfing and much more money upgrading in the exchanges and buying credits. I had success with this, even though I never really spent the time to do the most important thing, which was to build my list.

I was spending several hundred dollars per month in upgrade fees and buying credits and I earned a nice profit as a result, but I don’t think that compares to someone who is just starting out and trying to earn a few hundred credits per month by spending hours looking at others’ offers.

How many of those people ever earn any money as a result? Few or none.

That’s one of the questions that started bothering me.

So, as long as people know that they’re wasting their time trying to show their blogs and websites on a traffic exchange, and they are aware that the current purpose is to generate leads to other things, then I have no problem with them.

They do that function very well, and are good at generating leads for some kinds of programs.

However, I was not able to generate any real, sustainable business that way.

I freely acknowledge that it may be largely due to my own personality.

So, I’m not saying that you, the traffic exchange owners, or their members are bad people doing bad things, but I am saying that the techniques that lead to success will not work for everyone.

The other reason I quit promoting them was to get off the “new release treadmill.”

With thousands of people promoting thousands of products, services, other traffic exchanges, and affiliate marketing merchants, it became a never-ending battle to try to keep up.

People are breathlessly endorsing brand new programs with no track-record and are hyping their success with nothing to back them up. I was seeing more and more of that, and I grew tired of it.

Now, again, I’m not saying that you are doing that, but many hundreds of people are.

I just don’t want to be a part of it, any more.

What do you think, Solomon. Am I being overly critical and unfair in what I say?

Act on your dream!

JD

Mitch on Thu, 3rd Sep 2009 10:06 pm


Hi John,

I want to touch on this point about promoting products you don’t fully believe in. You’ve seen some of the affiliate stuff I promote. It prompts two questions from visitors. One, do I buy stuff from all those people? Two, do I say that all of this stuff is great?

I’ll easily answer the first one; nope. But I can say that, in some fashion, I have some history with a lot of them, and have bought from some of them. I’ve never bought a Brian Tracy product, yet I’ve listened to three of his books on tape. Same with Anthony Robbings. I’ve never purchased anything from eHealthInsurance, but I have insurance, many people don’t, and it’s a legitimate company that helps people get insurance, so why wouldn’t I support that?

Next, do I say everything is great? Certainly not. However, there are things that I know people like and want, and some of these things fit with things I’m trying to market elsewise. For instance, I’ve never bought anything from Ultra Diamonds, but I’ve been to one of their stores and their stuff looks good. Also, I have a gift items page on my Services and Stuff site, so it works great being there. I market four different hosting companies, but I only have experience with two of them. The ratings for all four are very good, so does the fact that I have no experience with two of them negate my marketing them?

And three, I will admit that I do take a little bit of liberty in figuring that either Commission Junction or Google Affiliate Networks has done some checking into the companies whom they’re hooking up with for these programs. I’m not interested in all of them, as there are thousands, but I believe it’s legitimate enough to think that these companies would have a lot more to worry about as far as reputations go than I would as an affiliate marketer. And, if those programs or their products are something I can offer that aligns well with something I’m writing about, and my assumption about CJ & GAN is legit, then isn’t it a good thing that I help provide an option that might help someone else, while also making myself a bit of passive income?

As to the other things I talked about, they’re a bit more personal, but if I’m you, I wouldn’t spend a lot of time working it all out. Sometimes, the truth might freak you out; been there also.
Mitch´s last blog ..August Income Report – Two Steps Backward

John Dilbeck on Fri, 4th Sep 2009 1:22 pm


Good afternoon, Mitch.

Let me address your last point first. You’re right, it might freak me out, but considering and coming to terms with these issues is the only way I’ll be able to move forward. Perhaps I’m weird that way. I don’t know.

(And, as one of my old t-shirts said, I’d rather be freaked out than grossed out.)



As to your other points, I’m not criticizing what you’re doing and I know that you’re much closer to the “average” or “traditional” affiliate marketer than I am. (I put those words in quotes only because I wasn’t sure if they were the right words to express what I’m trying to say here.)

I don’t have any problem with people who advertise products they’ve never used, as long as they’re not doing it via reviews and breathless hype about it being the best thing since sliced bread.

I know you’re not doing that, but some people are, and I’ve grown very sensitive to that.

As long as we’re honest about what we’re doing, each of us gets to decide what we’re going to advertise and how we’re going to play in the affiliate marketing sandbox.

As far as promoting/advertising products we don’t own or use, all I can say is based on my own experiences.

For years, I built websites and blogs with links to things that other people want and buy all the time, even if they weren’t something that interested me.

Through CJ and other aggregators, I promoted insurance, credit reports, credit cards (for a very short time), car quotes, jewelry, shoes, cell phones, and linked to name brand merchants that are tops in their field.

The only one of those that I had a problem in promoting was the credit cards, and I quickly stopped promoting them, because I went through credit card hell a couple of decades ago and don’t want to entice anyone else into that trap.

As far as the other things were concerned, I promoted them heavily and had pretty good visitor stats to many of those pages, yet I earned practically nothing as a result of all my hard work.

Even offers that would pay a nice commission of $40 or $50 for filling out a lead-generation form, not even making a purchase, never brought me much income.

One day, a few years ago, I realized that just writing a page about a topic and putting related links on it – which seems like a good way to approach affiliate marketing – only resulted in wasted time and effort, for me. I’d get visitors to the page, and some would click the links, but almost none of them would result in a commissionable action or sale.

When I realized I was sending tens of thousands of people to Commission Junction merchants in a year and was earning only $20 or $30 for my efforts, I stopped doing it.

On the other hand, when I wrote about my personal experiences with products I purchased, used, and loved, people would click the links and a much better percentage of them would purchase.

The same thing happened when my brother reviewed books on his drag racing website. People in that niche knew him and many of them knew that if he recommended a book, they would probably like it too. Whenever he wrote a positive review of a book, he sold quite a few through Amazon.com, as a result. He also earned other money when those people bought things in addition to the book he’d just reviewed.

I could only conclude that it was because I was giving a personal recommendation based on my own experience that was making the difference.

Instead of sending tens of thousands of visitors to merchants and getting a paltry return, I was sending a few hundred targeted visitors that I had presold based on my own experiences, and I was earning hundreds of dollars per month in commissions as a result.

It wasn’t only an ethical question, it was a business decision.

I found that I was much more effective when I wrote about things I really knew about and which I used regularly. I earned much more money with less effort.

That’s why I continue to promote products I know, use, and personally recommend, but they are few and far between.

I’m not a consumer. I don’t fit the average profiles. I don’t spend much money other than paying bills and utilities. I may upgrade a computer now and then, but my days of profligate purchasing have been over for a long time. There’s just not very much that I want to buy, these days.

So, there isn’t a lot that I want to help sell, either, whether I personally endorse it, or not.

But, and this is a big BUT, I’m not saying that everyone else should do what I did or that they will have the same experiences that I have had.

There are affiliate marketers who earn much more than I do that use much different promotional methods. Most of them are earning their revenue from promoting consumer electronics, games, and other things that are much more in demand by the general public.

I know they don’t have the time and resources to test everything they recommend, and that’s okay, as long as they’re not being intentionally misleading.

I know that I sold many items through Amazon.com than I never recommended, because people would pass through my link and buy something totally unrelated. I accepted the money I earned and considered it a bonus.

So, again, I’m not criticizing you and your approach to affiliate marketing.

I’m just saying that it didn’t work for me.

And, yes, I’m scrambling a bit to replace my lost income while at the same time I’m dealing with other issues in my life.

But, I don’t want to earn a few dollars here and there, I want to consistently earn hundreds of dollars per month.

I’m competing in a tough market, since most of the things I’m interested in are related to online marketing and I am certainly in the small minority who recommend paying for quality tools rather than using things that are inexpensive or free.

But, both approaches work for different people.

Each of us just has to find what offers the best return on our own investment and what feels comfortable.

I have nothing at all against earning a few hundred dollars if someone bought diamond jewelry or a Rolex watch from one of my links, as long as they were doing what they wanted. But, since I no longer represent any of those merchants, it just ain’t a’gonna happen for me.



Does that make any sense?

Act on your dream!

JD

Mitch on Fri, 4th Sep 2009 9:09 pm


John,

It all makes sense to me. I would say, though, that not having all eggs in one pot doesn’t mean you can’t determine consistency. Sure, every once in awhile something will dip. But over time, you can usually tell what will be consistent and what will not. The law of averages, as you know.

Still, we both will do what we can, and man, we’d both better succeed!
Mitch´s last blog ..My Top 10 Favorite TV Shows

John Dilbeck on Sat, 5th Sep 2009 2:31 pm


Good afternoon, Mitch.

(I don’t know why my blog is holding your comments for moderation, but I’m going to keep trying to find what it is and rectify it.)

I totally agree that having all your eggs in one basket is a very bad idea, but Andrew Carnegie would have disagreed with us. He said that the way to succeed was to put all your eggs in one basket and then keep your attention focused on that basket!

Diversification and testing, I believe, are necessary components of finding success.

One of the maddening things about this business is that what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. That’s why it can be hard to learn from someone who has found success.

I believe we’re both working hard and trying to find what will produce the best results for each of us. I’m also sure that the same thing is true for others who are reading this.

If hard work and perseverance have any value, we’re sure to succeed, eventually.



Act on your dream!

JD

rajagiri on Fri, 11th Sep 2009 8:13 am


hey john
i can understand your mixed feeling. have a success
rajagiri´s last blog ..How to avoid mistakes in keyword strategy for SEO Beginners

Paula Gerat on Fri, 20th Nov 2009 6:30 am


There is always a possibility that you will get enough of what you do. There are good days and bad. Sometimes you could really hate your job or life, and that is the last warning to change it in radical way (not to end something, but to start something!). I think that too many people are not doing what they love to do, but what they must. I hope that in years this will change.

John Dilbeck on Sun, 22nd Nov 2009 11:20 am


Good morning, rajagirl.

I’m sorry I didn’t see your comment a couple of months ago. Thanks for joining our conversation and I appreciate your encouragement.

The same to you.

Act on your dream!

JD

John Dilbeck on Sun, 22nd Nov 2009 11:26 am


Good morning, Paula.

I agree – there are good days and bad ones.

I’m not saying that I hate affiliate marketing. I really enjoy doing this, most days.

However, I see it in a different light than I did a couple of years ago – or even a few months ago.

So, I’m having to come to terms with things that have changed and trying to decide how I’ll change, too.

I’m finding that it’s not the chore that it was a few months ago, but still not the pleasure it used to be.

I guess that means that I’m making progress in deciding what to do.

Even though we may be doing what we love to do, there are always going to be aspects that we don’t enjoy.

I love earning money, but I hate bookkeeping and accounting, for example. Yet, both are part of the same process.

I agree with you about people doing what they love to do as opposed to doing what they must. I hope more people find ways to do something they love, instead of enduring something that just pays the bills.

Act on your dream!

JD