How to Learn And Earn In Wealthy Affiliate: A Senior's Path To Knowledge And Opportunity

byKBobTeacher

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Updated 4 months ago

The Journey Before And While In WA

Allow me to explain How to Learn And Earn In Wealthy Affiliate: A Senior's Path To Knowledge And Opportunity

I began my journey with Wealthy Affiliate (WA) in March 2015. You’d think that by now, I’d have the world by the tail, that I’d have this online/affiliate marketing thing all figured out, and that I’d be making boatloads of money etc. ad nauseum.

Well, that’s not the case.

On the other hand, I’m right where I’m supposed to be and I’m grateful beyond words.

How can that be?

The Back Story

Before I continue, I must be honest. I’m not sure how much of myself I should reveal. It’s not that I have a problem sharing myself. I have nothing to hide. However, if what I say helps anyone else, and if it helps me, then this will have been worth it.

I don’t want to bore anyone with needless details and I don’t want what I have to say to be or even seem like a rant. I definitely don’t want to blame anyone, including myself, although if there is anyone to blame, I will point the finger directly at the man in the mirror. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that blaming serves no purpose.

My life is and has been a series of contradictions and oddities.

By the time I’d reached WA, depending how we want to qualify things, I was already on at least my third time in life where I was basically starting over, trying to put the pieces together and recover from yet another setback.

I had just turned 61 then, and without going into all the details, the setbacks I’m referring to are: years of drug and alcohol abuse; two divorces; two failed business attempts: a bankruptcy; what I thought was the loss of my chosen career, and a tireless effort to find a way to make money online which involved spending more than $15K with a company I thought would help me reach financial freedom. Instead, I was on the doorstep of destitute-flat broke.

Although I got clean and sober in 1993 and have been clean and sober since then, one of the things I’ve learned is that the drugs and alcohol, which were definitely problems, they weren’t the real problem.

Remember the man in the mirror?

For the sake of clarification, it was in 1993 that my life began. Even by then, I can’t even begin to tell you the wreckage that was/in my wake.

What I’m saying is, at age 39 in 1993, I was like an infant in a world of 39 years of a life that had been twisted and torn by 23 years of substance abuse.

I somehow still looked okay but I was far from okay. It’s not to say I’m all better now. I’m definitely better now than I was in 1993 and 2015 but I’m nowhere near being ALL better. The record speaks for itself.

There have also been some major positives mixed in with all the turmoil. I returned to school at age 48 and, although it took me until I was 55, completed my bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and teaching credential. I completed a marathon (that’s 26.2 miles) at age 54. I don’t think I’d call myself a health freak, for some reason, I’ve been blessed with more health and youth than I deserve. By the way, I defeated cancer in 2023. I met the love of my life in 2020, in the middle of a pandemic. For a variety of reasons, including meeting her, 2020 was the best year of my life.

I got married the first time when I was 19 and was a daddy two weeks before I turned 20. My first child was born in 1974. I was kind of whiz kid/whippersnapper with a lot of promise. I had a good job. I bought my first house when I was 22. I thought of myself and it seemed others also thought of me as smarter than the average bear. I had more opportunities available to me than I realized.

Although, I now realize I basically knew nothing about life or myself for that matter. I actually thought I had the world by the tail back then. I had no idea what lay ahead for me. Life has not gone as planned.

I Found Wealthy Affiliate

When I stumbled upon WA in 2015, I knew I’d found something special. I embraced it fully and dove in head first. I was all in.

I figured it would be the answer to my miserable financial state at the time. I saw no reason why it wouldn’t be.

However, I was not working and had no income. I was living on my credit cards. By the end of 2015, I was not just flat broke, I was swimming in debt. Drowning is more like it.

Meanwhile, up until then, I was trying to appear as if I was making money online. I had a website with the name of make money online no selling.

I was mad at myself, WA, and life in general,

I could not afford to pay the $49 a month to remain with WA so I left.

I started driving for Uber and Lyft to keep from going completely under, just to put food on the table and keep a roof over my head. I turned 62 in 2016 and qualified for early social security, which I took. I had a small pension from the few years of teaching which I also took.

Somehow, it all worked out and I didn’t go homeless. I never missed a meal, and I remained healthy.

Round 2 At Wealthy Affiliate

By sometime in 2017, I had managed to somewhat stabilize my finances by doing a variety of odd jobs and I had returned to teaching as a substitute.

This time, I thought I was ready to make it online and I was determined to not put so much pressure on myself to earn income online.

Again, I dove in, although, that time, I can’t say I went all in. I made sure I had all my bills paid first before spending days and weeks on end writing content etc.

By 2018, I became impatient, discouraged with WA. I decided WA wasn’t for me and I left again. My credit cards were all maxed out. I was more than $150,000 in debt. Creditors were coming after me in full force.

Again, I filed bankruptcy.

Shortly after that, things began to brighten, although I had to learn to live with the shame of declaring BK yet again.

I had found adult education in 2017 and realized that teaching English as a second language (ESL) was/is my calling. I returned to teaching pretty much full time. I had a regular pay check and had good insurance benefits. I had officially unretired and my pension was/is again growing. I was/am saving some money and, except for my student loans, I was debt free. I could breathe.

Let's Try Again

In late 2019, once again, I returned to WA. One thing I failed to mention about my previous encounters with WA. I was never clear about my target market and/or my niche. In 2019, I still wasn’t clear about them.

One thing was always clear to me about why I was a part of WA. I wanted to make money online. I’d heard it said that literally anything could become a niche. I was always inundated with ideas and could never zero in on who my target market was/is nor was I clear about my niche.

Then it hit me. I’m a senior citizen. I was 65 then. I will be a senior citizen for the rest of my life. Aha! That’s my target market.

I still wasn’t clear about a niche.

Then, early in 2020, some things happened. My hours were cut at the school district where I worked and I immediately began looking elsewhere and moved to a different district-the district where I graduated from high school in 1972-where I still work as I write this. Also, that’s when the pandemic lockdown began. The lockdown began a few days before I was supposed to start with my new district. The new district told me that my hiring was on hold because of the lockdown. I was crushed. I had already quit my other job.

Oh well, I’ve been in tougher situations. Life goes on.

I decided I would use the free time to finally get my business off the ground at WA. For about three weeks, I worked around the clock writing content, although much of what I was writing was unfocused as I still wasn’t clear about my niche.

Then, out of the blue, the new district where I was hired called and told me I could begin work the following week if I was willing to teach classes online.

I’d never taught online but I accepted and learned about Zoom and other online platforms. I was also paid for the three weeks I didn’t work. Yeah Baby!

Shortly after that, once again, I left WA. I thought to myself, I’ve had enough. I’m never going to make it online. I’m going to focus on my career. Maybe someday, I’ll return to WA.

For the next full year, until March of 2021, I worked from home teaching ESL to adults, which turned out to be the best job I’ve ever had. The best part was/is, I love what I was/am doing. What could be better?

I received a state award for excellence in teaching for 2022. I’m paid better than ever and I have a job and a career I love for life if I want it.

As much as I love what I’m doing etc., that didn’t change the fact that at the time, in 2021, I turned 67. When most of the people I know were retired or about to retire, I was basically just getting started in my newfound career in adult education.

One day in October, 2021, it struck me that I was working in my niche-adult education ESL. DUH!

For The Last Time

It was at that moment, I instantly logged onto WA and became a premium member once again. I’ve been with WA ever since.

I was so involved with adult ed, I couldn’t find time to really focus on WA, although, I was finally clear about my target market and niche. I wrote a few things and made a couple of YouTube videos but I was mostly just piddling around now and then.

In March of 2023, by sheer chance I felt a lump on my neck that I’d swear wasn’t there the day before. I immediately picked up the phone and made a doctor’s appointment to have it checked out. It turned out to be cancer.

July and August of 2023 were two months of intensive successful cancer treatment. I was off work for 5 months.

In July that year, I finally had time to devote to creating an online business as an adult education ESL teacher.

In November of 2023 we went on an 11 day Caribbean cruise, right before I returned to work and to celebrate the success of my cancer treatment.

It was on that cruise that I realized what I really want to do with the rest of my life.

I already knew that I wanted to be able to work wherever I am in the world and not have to drive to a place to teach. I realized I want to be able to work while aboard cruise ships. I want to make money online truly doing what I want to do-cruise, teach, and help other seniors make money online.

A few days after the cruise I created another website, the helpful senior citizen.

The Journey Continues And Final Thoughts

My goal now is to one day retire from the school district but to continue teaching ESL online and make money in affiliate marketing promoting WA and cruises.

How am I doing now?

Well, it’s a good thing I have a good job that I love and that I am paid pretty well. I’m not making any money promoting WA or cruises.

Because of that, I get impatient and frustrated to no end. Things don’t often or not usually happen in the time frame I’ve set up in my mind, but at the end of the day, I am full of gratitude.

I have everything I need, and I mean everything. My bills are paid, I have savings, a stable and steady income, an awesome relationship with the woman I love, my health, a youthful spirit, and a belief that my best days lie are still ahead of me.

What I want and need to achieve to realize my dream/plan is all here at WA. I am now a premium plus member.

I will not give up any of it. I will retire when the time is right.

That time will be the day it costs me more to go to work for the school district than what I can make online by staying home or wherever I am working online.

When will that be?

I don’t know and, It doesn’t matter.

I have goals but pretty much for the first time in my life I have a safety net.

You see, what I’ve learned in life that includes a lot of time with WA, is that I have no control over the results. I have total control of my actions.

I’ve learned that there are basically two parts to life: God’s part and my part. I need to remember to not confuse the two.

Where I am in life is the direct result of my actions and inactions in life. Where I’m going in life will also be a direct result of my actions and inactions.

I’ve learned that time is like money. The difference is, we all have exactly the same amount of time. The only time that is guaranteed to us is NOW! Where I’ve been has not always been pleasant but it’s where I’ve been. I can’t dwell on my past but I can definitely learn from it. I’ve got a lot to draw from

We all have 24 hours a day/156 hours a week. Nobody has one second more or less than anyone else-NO ONE!

Where and how we differ is how and where we spend the time we have.

If I don’t know where I’m going, I will never know when I get there.

I definitely know where I’m going and I will know when I get there.

I will not leave five minutes before the miracle. If the miracle is to happen, it will happen in God’s time, not mine.

I’ve learned that surrender does not mean giving up. It means to admit I’ve been defeated and that I need to change. Boy, have I done a lot of that. I will continue to change. That is one of the few constants in life.

I’ve learned that failing does not mean I’m a failure. It means I need to change. The only true failure in life is quitting. Quitters don’t win and winners don’t quit. Winners know how to fail and accept it as part of being a winner. Failures don’t know how to win.

Enough of the platitudes.

I still highly recommend WA. One of these days, I will finally learn to do everything that is taught with all the tools and resources that are provided here.

I’m here to stay.

Care to join me?

Wealthy Affiliate is here for everyone and anyone who is interested in creating an online business. All the tools and resources you need are here at a very affordable price.

If you haven't yet joined, I encourage you to give it a try. You have nothing to lose.

Create a free account and take advantage of the 7 day free look and the free training. Ask questions. Make an informed decision.

Let me know if I can help.

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