Self Improvement The Ultimate Quest

You worked hard for your money for a decade or two. Maybe three. Suddenly your company downsized, or you were fired, or your health declined. In any case, you found yourself no longer employed, yet still have the same bills. Aside from your ego reduced to the size of a molecule, you feel confused, bitter, and sometimes hopeless.

It’s now time to look at it from “other eyes”. Though it sounds trite, for certain, this ending is your new beginning. Now is the time to do just what you wanted to do in the first place with your life. But wait, you still have the same bills. What about that new German car in the carport? What about the fact that you have gone green and will only ingest organic foods now? What about associating and keeping up with old friends and your comrades that were a major part of your career? That is now history. I am sorry, but it is a reality.

I’m not going to sugar coat it. You suffered a real trauma. I just want you to know what to expect, and that it is very do-able no matter what resources you have or don’t have. A lot of it depends on various factors such as savings, return on your investments, are you a trust-fund baby? Do your friends and family have resources and willing to help?

Only a few friends were helpful to me. One bought me a new computer without having to pay back for it, out of the goodness of his heart. I had saved very little money. I didn’t know the Dow Jones from The Tao Of Zen.

You might be surprised how simple these 7 steps are. They are hard work, a good bit of research and experimentation, but they work:

1. Scale down your lifestyle: If the mortgage notes are too high, sell it. Sell some furniture, and rent or buy a smaller home or rent an apartment. I am single and this will not work for everyone. You may decide to keep your house and find another job to pay the notes. I did not have that luxury as my health turned into an official disability. In any case, one’s level of living may decline. Get it in your mind this is not the end of the world. In fact it is a chance to truly show your true colors, which are success. If I can do it, you can do it.

1. Amend your lifestyle: I made a small office in my apartment and put my computer there. My biggest “luxury” was now cable Internet. I adopted a rescue dog to keep me company and remind me of what was important. I had a living creature for which to care, and I could not take off on a jet any time I had to see someone. Own a boat? do you have to have that boat? Maybe not. Sell it.

3 Research: I studied everything I could about online businesses. Since I happened to be a cartoonist, I found POD (Print On Demand) manufacturers willing to try my images on such products such as t-shirts, mouse pads, buttons, magnets, posters, and other items that people love to purchase on the Internet, mainly because they cannot be found elsewhere and they are considered valuable collectibles by many. I realize not everyone is a cartoonist. Maybe you are a plumber or banker or psychologist. In any case, you now have a skill that can be purveyed as information on the Internet. The Internet is now where people go mostly for information. Long gone are the days of newspaper for their major news source.

4. Research and experiment: Just a little research is not enough. You are embarking on a whole new career journey. Read all the major trade magazines online. Read articles from major online ezines like Ezinearticles.com and Helium.com and others on your topic. Google “how to launch a newsletter on banking or law or whatever field you were in. You are still in it actually, but now you are simply in it in another form. A purveyor of information. Maybe you are now a retailer, perhaps a designer, online consultant, or newsletter editor. You will find your niche if you seek it.

5. Look at POD Printing (Print On Demand) firms. You can sign up free. You may have slogans, art or both that can be sold on various products. Such companies include Printfection, Zazzle, Cafepress and others. Maybe you’ve written some slogans, designed some graphics or both. Great. You’re in business!

6 Study up on blogging, article marketing, pay per click, Google, Ebay and all the sites that offer opportunity for you to promote and sell your product or service. But don’t stop after the studying (as most do). Then it is time to act.

7. Perhaps pen an e-book on what you know. Don’t like to write? Sell someone else’s. There is a huge inventory of ebooks with associate programs ready for the taking. Simply sign up and sell.

In the naked city, there are a million ways to survive, thrive, and stay in the game during this period of time. You may find you never want to go back to “corporate America”. There are now more than 30 million Americans working in home offices according to statistics. And guess what. These people are the ones creating the most jobs, while the large companies continue to downsize. It might be time to re-evaluate what “security” really is. Believing in yourself is important. Being organized can’t hurt. And acting on your new knowledge is mandatory. That’s all there is to it. I did it and so can you.