Where Are You Going? Do You Have a Vision for Your Future?

bySjMelnychuk

46 followers

Updated 1 year ago

Last couple of weeks have been interesting. I joined Wealthy Affiliate and before joining Wealthy Affiliate there were a couple other opportunities that were appearing in front of me. I made my decision to join Wealthy Affiliate but since I am not one to put all my eggs into one basket so to speak I am looking for ways to cultivate multiple streams of income wherever possible. I just have one rule, everything I do with this regards will have to compliment and work well together.

I won’t be going into detail about these opportunities. All people need to know is that they were opportunities.


Not every “Opportunity” is a legitimate opportunity. In fact, there are a lot of scams out there that will actually take your time and attention away from the very things we are trying to achieve and accomplish. They only serve as a distraction but those involved in these distractions obviously don’t view what they are offering as a distraction.

Prior to joining Wealthy Affiliate I was having this conversation with this young woman. She seemed to be excited about her future and with her own dreams and vision for where she wants to take her life. Very ambitious. We got to chatting. The conversation had a natural flow as we talked a little about what we do work wise. She started talking about “connection marketing” The term she used there was already a red flag but I have a habit of not discarding an idea or at least entertaining an idea. You can’t really create any kind of positive change if we’re not open to and actively listening to what is out there. The exchanging of ideas can only benefit when it comes to innovating and creating.

So after the initial introduction we agreed to meet up to have another conversation. I sat and listened to what she had to say. As we would continue in our conversation there was yet another red flag that would arise. What she would speak about all focused on interpersonal growth. I quite enjoyed that conversation. If we’re all about creating positive change in our lives then this is an important conversation. It wasn’t so much the conversation about interpersonal growth where I saw the red flag but rather her reluctance to actually be forthright in what she was getting at. I certainly wanted to know more about the opportunity she was presenting. I haven’t yet determined if that opportunity would be a good fit for what I was trying to accomplish through Affiliate Marketing or if it would actually take me away from Affiliate Marketing. By this time I knew that what my interest was and that interest is in Affiliate Marketing. I’m working 2 jobs plus I am working towards building a business through Wealthy Affiliate so if it was not going to benefit me in the path I have decided to follow then it certainly would not be a good fit for me. The red flag that I saw was in the language she used as it became clear to me she was presenting, in her mind, the only true path towards cultivating a passive and leveraged income and the only true way to make a profit.

I saw these two red flags and yet I still chose to keep going down what I now call this big rabbit hole that essentially leads to nowhere.

It was finally time to go to that big meeting that she was talking about where I would learn more about this “opportunity” and I still have no clue what this opportunity is. This brings me to a third red flag. She began to posture herself as the one with all the knowledge and she was the teacher, the mentor, the one that held the key to success. The tone in her voice being rather condescending. Was she aware of how condescending she came across? Probably not. She was young, excited, and ambitious and REALLY wanted others to come along for the ride with her. The thing is, she placed herself as some kind of “saviour” here with some “good news” and her mission was to gain her own Apostles to join her on this path towards freedom and enlightenment. I can’t really fault her for that. This whole business of hers requires a certain amount of evangelism.


Then came the testimonials of how some in the group started to experience positive change in their life through this opportunity. They found their purpose and their faith. And yes, they used those exact words which brings me to a fourth red flag. They used manipulative tactics to gain the attention of their targeted audience. Who are their targeted audience? Interestingly, their targeted audience had nothing to do with any potential customers to sell products to but rather those who would join their membership and start buying their products. Why would you hustle to make those sales when membership alone will cultivate a nice passive and leveraged income? Those at the top make more money because all their members are buying the products. In fact, the only real way to make a profit is by getting people to join. I’m not talking about earning legitimate sales commission. This opportunity would require selling products to people within your community and getting people within your community to join. And worst part of it, is your home would become storage for your business as you sit with products you couldn’t sell. The red flag here is when people start using religion, and in this case, the Christian gospel to manipulate people into joining. I felt like I was listening to a Pastor preaching from the Bible and worst part is that the guys interest wasn’t actually in caring for the people sitting in that room. He only cared about one thing. Money was the only thing he cared about. If you want to know what’s in the heart of a person look them in the eye. This guy could not look me in the eye. In fact, two minutes into our conversation he was looking away and while he was standing right in front of me, he wasn’t actually present. Somebody with alternative motives will never be able to honestly look in the eyes of those they know they are manipulating or trying to manipulate. I’m by no means trying to speak poorly of Christianity and/or The Church. I respect all faiths and religions and would never use religion in any way shape or form to manipulate people. I think of that young lady who testified as to how she found her faith and purpose through this opportunity and wonder what will happen to her sense of purpose and her faith if this opportunity doesn’t work out for her? Our sense of purpose and our faith should rather be placed on a more firm foundation then on a business opportunity that will probably leave you wanting. Certainly our sense of purpose and faith shouldn’t focus on material things that could be gone tomorrow when our faith and sense of purpose should be placed on what is eternal and never changing. So this brings me to the fifth red flag I saw last night. This opportunity had all the markings of a cult leading people away from their real potential. If they could just m start actually learning how to build and create vs just learning manipulative tactics to get people to sign their life away.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that wealth and money is a bad thing. It’s about stewardship. It’s what we do with our wealth and money that is important and how we get there is equally important. Will we get their through legitimate means or will we manipulate everything and everyone in the process? People will always take the path of least resistance. Every single time. Every time unless we know who we are and where we are going and have our life firmly planted on a solid foundation. All the more reason to have a plan. To have long term and short term goals. Where do you see yourself 5 years or 10 years down the road? Picture it in your mind. Have a target vision for what that is. If you can’t see what you are aiming for and don’t know what you are aiming for you will never experience any real success and likely you will encounter a lot of distractions along the way that will knock you off track.


Be aware of distractions but most importantly, know where you are going and aim for that.