Almost 4,000 Reasons to Feel a Bit Sad
I was thinking about another member here at WA recently and realised that while I used to see rather frequent posts from him, I hadn't seen any for some time. I wanted to send a quick message to see how he is doing, but couldn't quite remember his screen name, so I sat down with my list of people I am following (a little under 3,900) and started looking through the pictures....
As I scrolled through, I was looking at all these bright, smiling faces.Almost 4,000 people, just like you and me, who came to WA in the hopes of improving their lives, gaining financial independence, or just making a little extra money. It occurred to me that there is a small group of regulars that I see/ read about/ interact with fairly frequently (and all of whom I am very fond of), but the majority-- the vast majority-- of the people in my list, I see no activity from.
I'm sure this is the case for virtually everyone here, but for some reason it made me kind of sad, because I can just imagine the hopes and expectations that these people had when they first came here, and now they may be gone, or may only be making half-hearted attempts at progressing through the lessons.
I clicked on a couple of profiles just to see what I could see and most of them have little to no activity, despite a number of them being premium members. So that means they had enough hope and faith to sign up... and then just gave up, quit, or left or some other reason. I left messages for a couple of them, to see if I would get a response and to offer some encouragement.
I'm not sure why this bothered me as much as it did, but I imagine it's because I can understand wanting something badly, but then somehow, in some way, losing faith that it can work out. I have had that experience here myself more than one time, but I am determined to keep going until I succeed.
I want everyone else to succeed, too.
I know that not everyone will. Some people won't take it seriously. Some will get discouraged and quit. Some will feel it's a scam for some reason and leave. But I hope that even one person will read this and say "I was ready to quit, but I'll try one more time."
I know that each and every one of you has the ability to succeed if you want it enough and pursue it hard enough. Don't let yourself be reduced to just a smiling picture on an inactive account. You came here with hopes and dreams. Don't give up on them.
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It's hard for everyone to have the mindset to succeed and willing to have the patience to do that when life continuously throws things at you especially the things you don't want or have to deal with.
I remember how I felt when I first gave Wealthy Affiliate a try. I felt so ecstatic, that I could do this and it would be just a matter of time before I made the money I've always dreamed of and then I can do the kind of traveling I have always wanted to do in life.
At some point though that feeling fades and reality comes back in and then you find out what you're really made of. Do you keep going especially if you don't reach the success by a certain time that you had set out for yourself?
This is where you have to find other motivating factors to keep on going and trust me, it certainly has been a struggle to do that in the 3 and a half years that I've been with Wealthy Affiliate, but I'm still here and I'm still moving forward even though it's not always constant.
I am earning money from my website, though it is not a lot and certainly not enough to replace my full time job, but it is happening and I first started earning revenue last year and it happened just around the time I was starting to think that this was going nowhere.
Perseverance, patience, determination, and motivation are the things you need to move forward. It is difficult for others to do when they don't see what they wanted by a certain time and just can't seem to push on.
I've invested time and money here, though thankfully you don't have to spend 2 arms and a leg here at Wealthy Affiliate, and I'm not just going to throw all of that away by giving up. I'm going to push on and move forward.
Thanks for sharing that.
I think that setting a time limit-- especially at the very beginning before you know what is involved-- can be a big source of discouragement. I did that myself, too. Back in November I told myself that I needed to see results within 6 months.
Six months later, I have made $1.42 and that is only because another member here said they needed to buy something offered to do so through my link to give me a sale. I appreciate that immensely, but don't consider it a "real" sale.
So now, at the 6-month mark, I am telling myself that I have paid for a year and that leaves me 6 more months to get things rolling, but what happens when I get there if I haven't progressed? Well, hopefully I will have the fortitude required to keep going. I'm pretty sure I will, but I don't like to speak in absolutes.
I love seeing members that say they are willing to spend "as long as it takes" to be successful. I think that is the right attitude. When I see people comment that they will try it for a month, I understand why, but also know that they are unlikely to have long-term success.
Oh I agree with you, a month is not enough time to see success. I got my first 2 sales this year, the first of which was similar to yours where another member offered to purchase a product through my amazon link (not the actual product I was promoting though).
I did however try PPC back in the very beginning of March and it did produce one sale from an actual product I was promoting so that did make me happy in that regard. So now I'm still moving on, but I am making more revenue right now from Google AdSense than I have from the 2 affiliate sales I've had this year.
Success is not necessarily a straight forward thing like that. I am certain some who have passed through here will not necessarily make it as affiliates marketers, but there are other lines of business that can flag up, to which most will succeed, like becoming an author for instance. We are being led I am sure to that greater height.
Craig, you have a beautiful and sincere heart for people. It comes out in everything you post. You are so transparent with your struggles here which always inspires me...it has been a battle for me as I've had very little income for the past 8 months. (I've only been here since the end of January though).
However, this is something that I really want to do and will continue to do - I think I'll really believe in magic when I get my first sale, and then nothing will stop me!
In the meantime, needing an income in order to pay my WA fees so I can stay here, I've accepted an outside job starting in July. It gives me an opportunity to use my skills and help people at the same time for a reasonable pay, and best of all, it is a 6-hour workday to start with! I'm excited as it will allow me to continue with this which I've come to really love...this is what I want to do long-term! I'll just need to manage my time very well!
Thank you for your inspiring presence here, and I wish you amazing success to go with your big heart!
Natalie
Thank you very much for your kind post. I appreciate it.
I always try to be honest about things.I see no point in obfuscating anything. It's tempting to write nothing but upbeat, positive posts, but I think it's important to acknowledge that sometimes things can be tough. Ultimately, I do consider things I post to be generally positive, though, because I refuse to give up. I know that great things are coming. I believe in the power of positivity. I believe that persistence pays off.
What I would love is to have someone look back on some of my older posts where i was struggling and then look at new ones and read about the successes I have that I would have never known had I given up.
The people who go straight to success are awesome, but the people who face adversity on the way there are inspiring.
Craig, There are a couple of people who I really liked but they have had major health issues. I haven't heard from them in a long time and I worry for them. I hope they are on the mend. I have prayed for them.
There are a few others who have stated that they were leaving for bigger and better things. I cheer them onward but miss them.
We do become family.
Barbara
Definitely.
There are people that I look forward to "seeing" each day when I log in. I love to learn about their progress and see things take shape for them.
I have been here with WA and all of you a very short time. I have set aside time to be active here and tried to learn as much as I can and make as much headway as I can during that time. I have found so much support from this community! I can see that with some folks that a slow down in progress or a shift in prioritize that it can seem overwhelming to achieve success through affiliate marketing efforts. Its not for everyone. I am hoping that I can see it through the ups and downs and be helpful to people and maybe even make a little profit along the way. Sure wouldn't hurt my feelings. That's my two cents anyway. Carson 1
I know it can be overwhelming, especially at the beginning. I remember looking at the lessons, reading the chat, looking at posts and thinking "there's no way I can learn all that..."
Months later, I'm still here, and while I definitely haven't "learned all that," I am making some progress. I'm sure that there are people who come in with all kinds of unrealistic expectations. Look at the "what kind of money would you like to make" thread and you'll see people who want to make $25,000 a month working 2 hours per day, and they are willing to invest one month's effort to get there...
For people who are checking WA out just out of curiosity, or those who aren't serious about success, that's fine. But for the people who truly want to change their lives, I just want to see them succeed.
Craig, I feel the same way and am sad, but I don't understand why it would happen here at WA as much as on other platforms.
For instance, I got turned off from Facebook personal for all the non-sensical negative posting I was receiving and decided to become inactive altogether. Now I only use Facebook pages to post for business.
However, WA is an is overall encouraging community.
Very true. There are a number of places (Facebook can be one, but not always) that are pretty toxic an full of negative people, but WA is so upbeat and supportive, I don't know why anyone would leave.
This does feel kinda sad Craig. I can relate to it though. We all have doubts creep in and I am always doubting myself.
There's only a select few that go on to make their business successful. When I read success posts from a couple of years ago, a lot of the time people are commenting on blogs by people who have since left.
This makes me wonder why. If they were finding success. what forced them to leave? Did they just give up or couldn't earn enough to justify going full-time?
It's okay to say "don't give up" as I have done myself. But you can't go on forever busting a gut and not making any money. I'm lucky that my site is earning so I will be happy to continue. But that doesn't apply to everyone.
I wish everyone success here, there's enough cake out there for all of us.
I know that sometimes you might have to throw in the towel, for financial reasons if nothing else. I have commented myself that I might need to take a break soon due to my financial situation. And it's especially frustrating because it comes at a time when I think I am on the verge of breaking through... Perhaps not to massive monetary gains, but at least in terms of growing traffic and new potential...
But there are definitely also times when people could succeed if they'd only held out a bit longer.
As for successful people leaving... It's possible that those who are not invested in the community leave once they find some success, not wanting to continue to pay a monthly or yearly membership when they feel they have reached a certain level of success.
Yup there's definitely a cut-off point. As Colton said, you have to get to the point where you want to quit. I haven't got there yet but I know it's coming.
I hope not!
I know that you have had a few issues lately, especially with the concern over whether or not you would be able to continue in your niche, but it seems to me that things are starting to come together nicely for you. That's the impression I have, anyway, so I have been pulling for you and hoping to see a major success post at some point.
Thanks Craig, appreciate that and I am also routing for you, especially since you are starting to make inroads. My site could burn at any time due to the uncertainties around IPTV but until that time I shall carry on regardless.
I'm planning an EXIT strategy with another site up and running in a different niche, one that isn't volatile. But that's a couple of months down the line. I've also thought about trying to flip my site and sell it but it would be better if I had another site up and running then and mine was earning more.
You can get 20 to 30 times your monthly income for selling so if I could get it up to 1k per month, I could sell it before it goes pear-shaped, if you get my drift.
That would be pretty awesome....
I am thinking more and more about adding another site as well, given that my current one is mostly low-cost items with very low commission. I would have to sell *a lot* to make any real money, so I am looking at two other potential niches to see if either one could be feasible for me.
That is true brother. 20% of the people will do 100% of the work.. 80% will do nothing.
This is why this environment helps the 80% to be motivated to do something. I remember a time when 500 small businesses fail yearly. I'm sure it is still very high.
However It is up to you to make that difference and the first thing we must do is avoid keying on the negative aspects of anything we do. Hang out with people who have positive attitudes. You will find that the people with the most to say about why you will fail, have never tried anything in their life.
Know that people who did try, and failed, will find reasons to blame everyone and everything else except himself.
Henry Ford filed for bankruptcy 4 times before building an engine that worked.
Work each milestone in the training and complete all your tasks, lean each other, build relationships here... read profiles and connect to other with similar interests, goals.. that we we can all help each other...
Let's Do This!
Thanks for commenting.
For myself, I am (usually) fairly positive and as far as I am concerned, I am going to be here until I succeed. Period. I just feel bad for the people who don't have that determination, or who give up for whatever reason. I know how hard it can be to have faith in oneself. I know what it's like to feel that you can't win. That's why I really want to see others hang in there and fight, because I know that if they can get through that rough patch, they can do anything.
Awww Craig. Hugs.
You have compassion for others as I do. Who knows what happened to all those members. Hopefully they will be fine. We all have to take chances and try things like this. It may not be for everyone.
I never thought I would be doing this myself and it surprises me that I've come so far. I haven't been well lately and haven't even posted anything on my site for a while. I'm working on other things to make it better first before I continue.
I have faith that all will be well for me and that the others are just doing things they need to for whatever reasons.
If it wasn't for your support and all those private messages to each other, helping with our problems I would not have made it this far.
I'm sorry to hear that you haven't been well... You were conspicuous by your absence and I was a bit concerned, but I thought that maybe you were just a bit busy.
As for your other comment, I am sure that you would have made it just as easily on your own. You're pretty tenacious!
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