Red Lights, Green Orders: How My Wi-Fi Tried To Ruin My Day And Amazon Said “Not Today”

byJohnMaluth

457 followers

15 hrs ago

Yesterday was one of those days where your house turns into a small technology courtroom.

The router is the judge. The blinking red lights are the evidence. And you, the innocent citizen, are standing there trying to explain that all you want is simple internet so you can work like a normal human being. But the router does not care about your feelings. It just keeps flashing like it is auditioning for a Christmas decoration job.

My Wi-Fi was misbehaving again. Properly.

You know the kind of struggle where you start moving closer to the router like you are negotiating peace talks. One step forward. Two steps sideways. You lift it. You turn it. You stare at it. You unplug it and plug it back in like a pastor laying hands. And still, the red lights keep blinding you like a tiny police station inside your living room.

So yes, I was frustrated.

But right in the middle of that drama, something happened that shocked me in the best way.

I got my first 6 Amazon book orders at the same time. First time in 13 years.

Let that sink in.

Thirteen years of writing, publishing, hoping, improving, learning, failing, trying again, and the day my Wi-Fi decided to behave like a stubborn goat is the same day Amazon decided to tap me on the shoulder and say, “By the way, here are 6 orders. Merry Christmas.”

Now, let me be clear. The royalties are not big. They are not the kind of money that makes you call your relatives and announce that you are now funding the entire clan. No. But the meaning is massive.

Because if 6 is possible, then 60 is possible.
If 60 is possible, then 600 is not a fantasy.
It is simply a bigger version of the same thing.

That is what gave me joy.

It is proof that the work can move. That readers can buy. That the system can respond. That a writer from the Sobat River story-path can still reach people across the world one page at a time.

And this is where I made a choice.

I chose to be grateful instead of complaining.

The red lights were still there. The Wi-Fi was still insulting me. But my heart was full of delight because those orders were speaking louder than the router.

Then I checked Wealthy Affiliate, and WA also gave me a lesson in the same direction.

Here is what my dashboard says right now:

788 clicks
1 referral
0 upgrades
$123.00 revenue

Some people will look at that and only see the zero. They will say, “No upgrades. It is not working.”

But I do not see it like that.

Only one space shows zero.
Three spaces already show numbers above zero.

That means something.

Clicks mean movement.
A referral means influence.
Revenue means value is being exchanged.

In other words, the road is not blocked. The road is open. It might be dusty, and it might have potholes, but it is open.

And if the road is open, then upgrades can happen too. The same way six orders happened after thirteen long years. Not because I begged the universe. Not because I complained louder. But because I kept building, kept learning, and kept showing up.

This is what I want to tell anyone here who is tired, especially those of you who are doing the right work but do not yet see the results you want.

Do not let one zero insult you.

If you have clicks, you are doing something right.
If you have a referral, you are doing something right.
If you have revenue, you are doing something right.

Now your job is to keep going until the last box also moves.

Because the numbers are not just numbers. They are signals. And signals are hope in visible form.

So yes, my router was flashing red like it wanted to arrest me.

But Amazon gave me green orders.

And WA is still giving me something better than a blank screen.

Hope.

Today I am grateful. Tomorrow I will still be working.