Your Future Self Will Thank You! [A Stark Reminder]
Some say getting a job is safe, smart and responsible and starting an online business is risky, foolish and naive. Today I had a stark and shocking reminder of just how wrong and misleading this really is.
First, A Bit Of Background
Before Wealthy Affiliate I spent Sunday evenings from 5pm onward dreading the next morning, knowing I'd have to drive 30 minutes to the call centre I worked at, attach the headset and listen to complaints about loft and cavity wall insulation all day.
Co-workers would joke about spending the next 40 years like this and outwardly I'd laugh along, but inwardly I'd shudder with absolute terror.
"Not a chance! I'd rather die quickly now than sit here rotting away slowly!"
That's what I thought and I meant it. So I got off my butt and did something about it.
Then, one year after stumbling across Wealthy Affiliate, I quit that call centre job and booked a one-way ticket to Thailand. Six years after stumbling across Wealthy Affiliate, I still wake up every morning grateful I did.
My life has been changed beyond all recognition, and I'm not just talking about my bank account. I've changed beyond all recognition too. I walk like a man who runs his own business and is in control of his own future.
My wife got in on the act too. She worked as a nursery nurse until I pestered her enough to go through WA's training, and now she's an accomplished, self-made online entrepreneur and I couldn't be more proud! 😊
The Reason I'm Telling You This
I'm still friends with many of my former colleagues on Facebook and a couple of months ago some of them went on strike demanding higher wages...
Then someone complained they were unexpectedly made redundant...
Then someone else and someone else...
In the end, all of my old call centre coworkers were out of a job and looking for work.
Today these pictures were shared online and that call centre I used to work at is no more! It looks like the demolition squad wasted no time tearing the whole place down to the ground... 🤯🤯
"Safe Job" vs. Dream Life
What about my old so-called job security?
There are now big red "DANGER!" signs on the gates.
What if I had made a different split-second decision and clicked away from the Wealthy Affiliate homepage instead of joining?
What if I had let myself get distracted and never made it to the end of the Online Certification Course?
What if I had not been stubborn enough to keep publishing those posts when my website just seemed like a virtual ghost town?
Where would I be right now?
Wherever you're at right now, whether you joined today and are just going through your first few lessons or you're already making great progress, KEEP GOING.
It's worth it and your future self will thank you!
Recent Comments
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You are right Simon no job is safe.
I have been writing for my site for 8 months and I often feel like chucking my laptop out of the window. But the thought of having to get back on the phone and listening to the rude people keeps me writing.
I just wish Google would catch up and send me some traffic.
I guess it will happen eventually if I'm doing it right!
Don't give up Lisa. I can tell you from 14 years experience here that the only people who fail other people are give up and don't push through and you are definitely pushing through
Right? Whether it was car manufacturers, energy companies or banks, I always somehow ended up in complaints resolutions. I think I was quite good at it but listening to people moan and groan all day does affect you after a while. And rude people... yeah, there's just no excuse for bad manners!
I hear you Lisa! Right now I'd say you're working in faith, but you're definitely building on a firm foundation so the fruits of your efforts will surely come! I started a new site recently and it's easier to go through that ghost town phase once you've already done it.
Let me know if I can help in any way. DM your URL if you like and I'll see if I can give any pointers.
Amazing post Simon, thanks for sharing. I remember thinking something similar last year. When the economy was shutting down I was thankful I was safe, working from home, and didn’t have to worry about a job.
But you make a great point. I didn’t think of it in terms of a job being risky and an online business being the smart decision. I just felt lucky, not smart… lol. From now on I’ll pretend I knew what I was doing 🤣
Seriously though, thanks again for sharing brother. You’re an inspiration. 👍
Yeah, my post kinda sounds like I knew exactly what I was doing lol... but make no mistake, I started out clueless as most of us! 😂
But I think the timing of me finding WA was perfect. I had the drive and motivation to follow the training and put in the work.
Appreciate you Jay! 😊
*** Love your Story! ... wonderful title, too! ...
thanks so much for sharing & posting today,
all the very Best to YOU both, cheerio... :)) ***
So true Simon! There really is no such thing as job security. A job working for someone else can be here today and gone tomorrow. And, the sad part is, there is nothing you can do about it since you're not the one in charge.
Like yourself, I'd much rather work for myself. That way I'm the one responsible for my future and don't have to depend on how well someone else runs their business or not. I certainly relate to how you felt about your old job. It's frightening to think of living the majority of our lives that way...dreading each day we have to work. No thanks!
Totally agree... stumbling across the link for Wealthy Affiliate and deciding to join was the best decision ever! It's opened so many new possibilities into my life.
Thanks for sharing! Keep up the awesome work!
Best wishes :) ~Sherry
Oh, I really hated it Sherry, so much so I can't even put it into words. Constantly clockwatching is no way to live.
Not many people know this but I'm also really bad at working for other people... I got fired from so many jobs so many times! 🤣
However you happened to stumbled across Wealthy Affiliate, I'm glad you did too, sounds like it's opened up a whole world of opportunity! 😀
Totally agree! I've never been great at working for other people either...I really loathe being told what to do, lol.
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Hi Simon... Just a few minutes before seeing your post I commented to someone else something like: “most people don’t know how to nake a good decision, in part because they don’t know what they want”.
You decided what you wanted, then had the courage to take action! That’s what it takes to be a leader.
:-)
Richard
You're my new best friend Richard! 😀
I think that's right. I didn't even know what I needed to know, all I knew was there had to be something better than what my life looked like at the time.
There's something powerful isn't there about setting a goal, even if you have no idea how to get there yet. Making that decision will propel you forward. Decide the "what" and the "how" will come.
I’m very happy to be your friend, Simon.
:-).
I think that taking action sometimes takes a lot of courage, especially if others disrespect an aspiration and wiithout some sort of goal, action can be pointless.
:-)
Richard
Right on Richard. I didn't tell people publically I was a full-time blogger until after I qualified for and went to Vegas for this very reason.