When I first started, I was looking for a way to make money from home so I could stay home and take care of my elderly grandparents who could no longer care for themselves. I had a lot of time on my hands but very little money. I started searching around for ways to make money online and saw so many promises of making tens of thousands of dollars in 30 days or less. I bought a course and tried to go through it. I didn’t know anything about how to make a website, coding, advertising, adsense, traffic conversion, marketing systems, html, social media marketing, or even how to run a business. I just knew I wanted to make lots of money.

I followed along and put up my first website, which was www.top3workathome.info but I wasn’t getting very much traffic. The course told me all I had to do was buy some traffic from google and watch the money roll in. It didn’t. Then I made www.worldtophost.com and waited for the money to pour in. It didn’t. Then I was told to make a blog for myself, which is how this blog came into existence. Still didn’t make the thousands of dollars a month I was promised. I sold about $80 worth of Clickbank products but if you don’t reach the threshold you don’t get a check… and each month they subtract money. Since the sales weren’t consistent, I never got that $80.

Then I bought a different program and made www.SanDiegosBestAttractions.com. I did everything the program told me to do. I got a good keyword for the domain name, set up everything right, didn’t add any advertisements until the traffic started coming in… completely by the book. After all this, I only get about 200 visitors a month… which isn’t going to make me rich in adsense.

Frustrated but not willing to give up, I kept looking for ways to make money. I found a program that taught me how to make money with Youtube videos. I FINALLY got a check from Clickbank for about $230. I made a copy of the check and out it on my wall. I was so excited! I finally got a check from Clickbank. You know what happened… I only made 3 videos. Even though I had actually made money from the video method, I stopped making them!

I got distracted by the lure of product creation. I took Frank Kern’s course, which is amazing, BUT you have to be an expert in something. I so desperately wanted to be an expert in something but I had NO idea what I wanted to be known for. The obvious thing would to be to sell internet marketing products but I feel like there are SO many people already selling them that are so good at it, why would I try to put out a product and compete with them when I think they should buy the ones already out there.

So I was at a halt. I became frustrated. I searched and meditated and thought and hoped and wished that suddenly I would wake up and KNOW what I wanted to be an expert in. It didn’t really happen. So I kept spreading myself out with more and more projects… the websites I already had plus the websites I would buy and build when a new idea hit me… I have a website for event producers, solar energy, weight loss, celebrities, relationships, basically all of the top niches… I have websites/blogs for them all. It was exhausting and overwhelming trying to keep up and build so many but since I was desperate and didn’t know what to focus on I didn’t focus on any of them. Still wasn’t making a decent income online. I was up to about $40 in adsense revenue but you don’t get an adsense check until you reach $100.

Then I started following Amish Shah, who taught you how to get cheap traffic and to use traffic networks who pay you via paypal instead of stupid Clickbank and Adsense who make you wait. The only trouble with that was you had to promote offers that seemed very spammy and I wasn’t really comfortable trying to trick people into thinking they could get a free $1000 gift card from Walmart, when really that had to fill out and sign up for a bunch of offers that would lead them to endless spam. I got his Magic Bullet system… which is actually really good for building a lot of blogs quickly. The only thing is you have to have some money to be able to buy domain names for each one.

After all of this, I decided that marketing clickbank products that I wasn’t really sure were worth anything wasn’t the way to go and decided to use all the knowledge I had paid so dearly for to help local businesses market online. I am actually good at this and have started to make money this way.Lots of people need help with this and I feel good to know all the years of learning and spending thousands of dollars on products wasn’t a complete waste. I love helping my clients get found. I started my online marketing consulting company, Rich Girls Inc, last year and have been steadily growing my clientele.

As much as I love helping my clients and offline companies, I truly desire to have the passive online income that has been promised to me from the start. I bought Alex Jeffrey’s course and I plan to follow through with it to the end. That is the inspiration for this blog post. He says to tell your story on your blog and update it daily with progress I have made.

For this blog, I had to:

get a web host and a domain (free with webhosting). Check out http://www. WorldTopHost.com to find a list of the top web hosting companies if you need ideas. You probably want to use your name for the domain name so you can start branding yourself.

- install wordpress (which is way easier than you might think). Just look for the W symbol for wordpress. It might be under fantastico or scripts depending on the host

- search for a cool theme under the “appearance” tab once you log in

- write your first post

If you need help with any of this, just do a search on YouTube… help is always there if you look for it.

- I made a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/wwwLoriGirlcom/111953790978) which I never really ended up maintaining.

- I made a twitter

- I started blogging about anything and everything… you probably want to stick to one topic.

Ok so that is my humble beginning. I am going to be following along with Alex Jeffreys and I promise I will continue to post at least once a week about what I have learned.

Posted via email from Lori Girl Dot Com’s Posterous

Posted via email from Lori Girl Dot Com’s Posterous

Posted via email from Lori Girl Dot Com’s Posterous

Anyway, I digress. So how did I go from having a few friends to knowing tons of people and making lots of friends? Well, I guess the first thing is my attitude changed. I got a new job where my job was to meet people. Any fear I felt had to be overcome because my job was in sales and I had to go out and meet people or I was going to get fired. While this was mandatory for me, it really helped me figure out fast how to make friends. You can’t sell anything to someone who doesn’t like you. You can’t sell anything to someone who thinks you are fake. I had to figure out really fast how to make people like me.

Instead of thinking of others as being judgmental and mean and not really liking very many people, I started to love everyone. I started thinking of everyone as my friend that I just didn’t know yet. Instead of acting aloof because I was shy and intimidated, I started smiling more and asking more questions when I met people. I became more interested in other people than I was in myself. I let that interest in other people overtake the intimidation I felt when meeting someone new for the first time. Luckily, I discovered that it really isn’t difficult to make people like you.

OK, so how did I meet these new friends in the first place? I joined a lot of groups, started volunteering, and started networking. I went on Craigslist and eventually Meetup.com and went to activities I liked to do. At first it was a little awkward to go places where no one knows each other, but everyone there has the same goal to have fun and meet new people. After a few times, you start seeing the same people and talking to them more and things become more comfortable. Before I knew it, I had made tons of friends. It took me about six months before I could say I had made some real friends from going to all of these activities, but it was totally worth it.

If you want to know how to make friends I would break it into these steps:

1. Join some groups, volunteer, or take a class.
2. Be friendly and outgoing and smile at people.
3. Ask people how they are and be happy to see them.
4. As you start seeing the same people over and over, start asking them more questions about their life.
5. If you meet someone you like, invite them to other activities and events you are doing.
6. Don’t be too forceful or aggressive about being their friend. If someone doesn’t seem interested in hanging out with you, don’t take it personally. There could be a million reasons why.
7. Help people if they need it. Not to the extent that they are walking all over you, but if they mention a problem or trouble with something, volunteer to help them.
8. Don’t judge people. Encourage people in anything they are trying to do. Don’t be negative.

My face to face interview was scheduled for two weeks after the phone interview. I left San Diego for Phoenix at 6:30am and arrived around 9am. The email I received said the interview wasn’t until 11 am so I was a bit surprised to see the shuttle already waiting at the door and about 10 people already on there when I went to where I was supposed to meet it.

Everyone was really friendly and outgoing, so it was fun. We waited together in a room for about 20 minutes until another group of people arrived and then went into a different room where they had coffee and pastries waiting for us. They gave us a few minutes to eat and hang out, and then at 10 am we all had to take turns getting up in front of everyone (about 40 people) and saying our names, where we were from, our best customer service experience that we have given, and why we would be a good match for the airline.

Once that was finished they took each of us to a place to test our height and make sure we fit in the jump seat. Next was the one on one interviews. They gave us lunch and we all waited for our turns. The interviewers were really nice and friendly. They asked us 6 questions such as: tell me about a time when you had a customer from a different background, how you handled it, and what the outcome was; tell me about a time you had a disagreement with a boss or coworker and how you handled it; tell me about a time you had an unreasonable customer and how you handled it; tell me about a time you had a change of procedure, what it was, and how you handled it. They were all scenario questions about a specific time or experience with a customer or someone you worked with.

After all the interviews were done, they called about 10 people and told them to go home. The rest of the people were put in groups and given a scenario to solve as a team. They give you a situation, such as: you’re in Canada, it is freezing, the pilots are dead, you have these 10 items… what do you do? Name the items in order of importance.

Then they send more people home. Not sure exactly what happens after that, as I didn’t make it, but I think they keep the people who they chose to fill out paperwork and do a background check.

All in all, it was a great experience. I had a fun time meeting people and getting to know them. I even went to dinner with the people who left with me. After thinking about it, it is probably better that I didn’t get the job. You don’t make any money, you have to deal with rude, disgruntled people all the time, and I would have had to move away from my family. The lure of being able to travel all over was a strong one, but in the end I think I ended up exactly where I belong.

Here are some examples of purpose:

To make a difference in other people’s lives
To contribute to society or the community
To discover new things
Save the planet
To teach or coach
To find new cures for disease or sickness
To be happy

You can also look at the people you admire the most. What do you admire about them? Would you like to do what they do? What was/is their purpose?

If you were old and on your death bed, what would you want to look back on your life and said you did? Do you have a “bucket-list” of things to do before you die? If not, make one.

If you could do one thing to change the world, what would you do? How do you start? Do you need special tools or training? Why haven’t you started?

Your purpose in life doesn’t have to be something amazing unless you want it to be. My purpose is to help others, teach, and be happy. If I am doing those things, I am fulfilled.

It’s not about the money, the fast cars, or the toys… although they are fun to have. What is really going to make you happy is knowing that you have a choice in life. You can decide what you want to do and do it. It might not happen tomorrow but if you do one thing each day, someday it will be done. If you don’t start, however, you will never be happy because you will always have that feeling inside you that you aren’t fulfilling your purpose in life.

Every once in awhile I find myself not knowing what I want to do. I enjoy a wide variety of activities and take joy in the simple pleasures in life so it doesn’t take long to figure out something to do. However, there are those rare occasions when I need some ideas. Do you ever have that challenge?

Next time you find yourself thinking, “I’m bored, what should I do”, here is a list:

Attend a sporting event
Ask someone to tell you a story about themself
Audition for a play or tv show
Bake something for yourself or for a gift
Build something- a birdhouse, a greenhouse, a playhouse, a deck, a boat, etc.
Babysit for a friend or relative
Create something- a recipe, a cartoon, a business plan, a romantic evening, a new game, a photo album
Clean
Cook a fancy/ healthy/ special meal
Climb a mountain
Drive somewhere new
Dance- either at home, take a lesson, or go out to a club
Design something- a house, a garden, a restaurant
Do a crossword, jigsaw, rebus, or sudoku puzzle
Daydream
Fish
Find out what was happening the day you were born
Fly a kite
Fly a plane
Go somewhere new
Go hiking
Go camping
Go to the library
Go to the movies
Go to the bookstore
Go to church
Gaze at the stars
Go back to school
Go sailing
Go live in another country
Go to a garage sale/ flea market
Go to an event in your city
Go to a museum
Golf
Have a garage sale
Have a candlelight dinner
Have sex
Help a cause/non-profit/someone in need
Invite friends over
Invent something
Join a new group/club
Learn something new- an instrument,a song,a skill,a game,a hobby,car repair, plumbing, health tips, computing
Listen to the radio
Meditate
Make something- a movie, a cd, a candle, a gift, a card, a dress, a quilt, a website
Memorize something- a poem, a song, the state capitols, the presidents
Meet new friends/ people
Offer something to a friend or neighbor
Play an instrument
Paint something- art, ceramics, your house, old furniture
Play with children
Play a sport- volleyball, tennis, swim, surf, dive, water polo, soccer, football, lacrosse, hockey
Pick some flowers
Play cards
Pick fruit at a local orchard
Pretend you’re a tourist in your own city and visit the landmarks and sites
Pan for gold
People watch
Run
Ride a bike, motorcycle, the trolley, the bus, the train, a horse
Roller skate or blade
Read
Renovate a house or building
Sleep
Search for your family history
Start a collection- stamps, shells, fairies, tea cups, antiques
Sunbathe – use sunscreen
Scuba dive
Snorkel
Start a new club or group
See how many strangers say hello back to you
Shop
Start a newsletter
Start a new business- a bed and breakfast, a coffee cart
Sell something on ebay or amazon.com
Take a survey
Travel
Visit old friends/relatives
Volunteer
Walk- in your neighborhood, around the lake, barefoot through a stream
Write- a letter, a book, a movie script, a computer program

Eben’s videos are good information for anyone who is not financially where they want to be. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything and he tells it like it is. He talks about how people with money who don’t go out and buy a bunch of stuff are considered “cheap”. Well the thing is, the reason they have money in the first place is because they are cheap. They save their money to buy things that will make them more money. This is great advice for anyone.

Eben always has great stuff but that quote really made me think, I suppose because sometimes I go down the wrong path. Sometimes it feels like maybe I should keep going because it probably won’t do any good to fix things. Of course, this doesn’t happen to me very often because I always try to do the right thing, but everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

There once was a man who decided to change careers and become a lawyer. He did some research and was able to find a program and finish it in two years. He was over 40, married, and had 2 children. There are no excuses. Stop making them. If there is something you want to do, then do it. If you are going the wrong way, then turn around.