The best decision I've ever made. Six years at WA!
I started writing this post a few months ago after my 6 year anniversary at Wealthy Affiliate, but life kind of got in the way. The important thing is that it's finished now :)
Six. Years. (Plus!)
That's how long I've been an active, happily paying member here at Wealthy Affiliate.
I'll cover the best decision I've ever made in a minute, but I wanted to spend some time and reflect on some of the things that matter most to me.
Family
Of course, my family is number one.
I'm coming up on three years of marriage to Amanda, my life & now business partner. No kids yet, but two cats who demand almost as much attention as children. Being able to spend my days actually seeing and working with my wife has truly been a blessing.
All too often I hear stories from friends of barely being able to see their significant others or family. They work 10 hour days, are home for dinner, have an hour or two to watch TV before they're back in bed to repeat the very next day.
It's depressing to even hear about; I can't imagine living it.
We don't have any children just yet, but when the first one arrives, I'll be more than thankful to be able to spend as much time with the little one as possible. It's insane how little time father's actually get to spend with their newborns. A friend recently had a baby and the father was "granted" 3 whole days of Paternity leave and that's seen as generous by some!
I started my business as a way to have full control over my life and that's the way I intend to keep it.
Travel
Travel is a big part of our lives and we want to see as much of the world as we possibly can. Especially while we're young, healthy, and able.
In the past 12 months, we'll have traveled from Pittsburgh to Ireland, Michigan, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Las Vegas, San Francisco to Los Angeles via the PCH, 2 weeks on Maui, Niagara Falls & Niagara on the Lake, Deep Creek Maryland, Puerto Rico, 7 Nights around the Caribbean, and a few more that I'm probably forgetting about as well.
We're also leaving in 10 days time to visit Yosemite National Park, Reno & Lake Tahoe with maybe a few more trips planned over the next few months :)
Running my own business full-time grants me that freedom. I'm not anxiously awaiting to accrue 5 days of vacation time to spend throughout the year and I don't have to ask permission from anyone to go.
I get to be in control over my own schedule.
Luxury
OK, well right now the whole 'luxury' part of my life is a little slim seeing as almost all of our money goes into a travel fund or a savings account.
The 'luxury' aspect of my life is that money doesn't play the role of constant stressor or nagging feelings at the back of my mind.
I make good money doing what I do, yes, but the future financial security is the real luxury here. No designer goods, no fancy cars, no private helicopters (Alright, I may be saving up for a Porsche but that's a few years away... Maybe for my mid-life crisis!) just the luxury to focus on the important things in life.
Las Vegas
And of course, the Wealthy Affiliate Super Affiliate conference has got to be mentioned.
I've been in attendance three times already and will be making the trip back out there in January. And the year after that, and the year after that etc. etc. :)
I first made the trip out 8 months after i had joined Wealthy Affiliate. I joined in April and qualified just by the end of December. I was invited back in 2014, 2015, and have my bags packed and ready for 2016 as well!
The trip is motivating beyond belief and I always come away with new directions on where to take my business, how to grow my site & income, and more importantly, great relationships & friendships with other Wealthy Affiliate members. And man do I look forward to meeting you there as well.
So the best decision I've ever made...?
I signed up for Premium.
I didn't know what I was getting into before I joined Wealthy Affiliate, but I had a hunch they were doing something different. I had reviewed dozens of opportunities and lost plenty of money to scams before making the jump here.
It's been six years now and I've been paying for my membership ever since. If they had a lifetime option, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. I have no plans to ever leave WA, especially not after all the opportunities I've been able to afford in life. I'm forever grateful to Kyle, Carson, & the Wealthy Affiliate community as a whole.
If you're already a Premium member, let me know in the comments below some of the things you're grateful for in life & what you like most about Wealthy Affiliate.
If you aren't yet a member, well here's the link to change that now:
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/upgrade
Thanks for taking the time to read!
-Steve
Recent Comments
294
Hey Steve,
Yes it's me Scotty B ♫. I am still at it and my Dj business is much better with my site But I am on to the W.A. site in bootcamp. Struggling though it. I also have other domains I haven't started yet. Very optimistic. But, I may be spreading myself too thin. The most singular thing I need is more time to work on this. I'm slow at it now but moving. Key is moving. Been working on this since 2013. Nothing to show yet except I do get more gigs. Amanda is beautiful. A keeper. Good luck with the future. Maybe kids. Hope all is well..............Scotty B ♫
Steve,
This is such a powerful post. I am still working to live that free lifestyle you are talking about. It' reassuring to hear what you can do living on your own terms.
Thanks a bunch for sharing! It looks like I won't be able to attend Vegas this year. But I'll see you there soon, definitively.
Cheers,
Anh
Very inspiring Steve, I have only been here a couple of weeks and trying hard to build a site around my 70 hour working week! I also very much enjoyed your Amazon article which is the way I would like to start here in the U.K. So if you have any tips I would very much appreciate your help. Thankyou
Hi Steve,
Well you convinced me to join through your site :-)
Since I joined things have been moving very fast for me. I've been busy building my first web site and creating content. Still early days but I just want to thank you for convincing me to sign up.
Cheers,
Craig
Btw - a lifetime membership isn't such a bad idea
We recently got married ourselves and are currently in that very routine you describe (10 hour days, 2 hours for dinner and TV before bed). That is the reason we joined WA. Your post gives us hope that it isn't just a pipe dream to make WA our full time careers and be able to spend more time with each other! Thank you for the encouragement!
This is a great article and very motivating for us premium members as well as those yet to upgrade. I am grateful for many things that Wealthy Affiliate has given me. I'm grateful for the training that we have the ability to add too and interact with. I'm grateful for being able to host websites here and get every other service WA has to offer at about the same price it was costing me to host my sites alone with GoDaddy. I'm grateful for the knowledge of being able to sit at home or work anywhere in the world and earn money! But more than anything, I'm grateful to have been able to meet so many like minded individuals. I'm only on my first year here, but I think I'll be sticking around for a while longer.
Thanks Steve!
Andrew
Hi Steve, pleasure to read your bio and congrats to your marriage and success here at WA! I am still a newbie here and so grateful to have stumble upon this awesome community of great affiliated associates. Some years ago I had stumbled upon this article on WA and was interested in checking this out, I jotted down the address on a piece of paper and I lost it-couldn't even remember the name of it anymore! Around four or five months ago I was having some financial difficulties and I prayed for help, right afterwards while online searching for a legitimate online marketing job-"I found WA again!" I was skeptical at first; with losing some money to scammers, but the more I researched the WA the more I was convinced that God has answered my prayers! I'm so thankful to be a part of something once in my life and WA is definitely the greatest.
Cheers,
David.
Thank you for sharing and you are truly showing that hard work does pay off. I hope to one day travel the world to with my family without the worry of having a job attached to me. Great job to you and may you be blessed with continued success.
-Jaime
Have been through the nightmare of working long hours and having young children, working two jobs allowing my wife to stay home meant that I had one day a week to see the boys. We spent every Sunday together doing things together. You are on the right track, and try to keep it that way.
I am hoping that by going Premium I can do that bit extra and make a future for myself and my new partner especially in our retirement.
Good luck
See more comments
Hi Steve, Yes I am a premier member. You know how to motivate and keep everything on the positive. I'm grateful that I get to meet so many new faces and I'm learning how to start my own online business. Thanks for sharing your success and giving me more motivation to keep on pressing in and striving.