Here's my answer to all three of these questions that will cover them, as there is an element in them that are common to all.

Those who ask these type of questions are looking for something to compare the situation or themselves to. The fallacy in this is, there is no way you can measure yourself to the person you're asking these questions to.

I personally have handicaps that I must deal with and work around. This has slowed me down and therefore, my success rate may not reflect what your own rate may be. You are doing a disservice to yourself by posing these questions and then making assumptions based on them. You may measure yourself by them which will cause undue disappointment.

I don't represent Wealthy Affiliate in this way.

I can't.

The following pages will cover the affective ways in which I can represent Wealthy Affiliate. Else, please let Wealthy Affiliate represent herself by doing the following things...

Here's the crux of this page...

How much I make, or how long I've been here, or how long it took for me to make money at Wealthy Affiliate, using the resources here, have nothing to do with the quality and effectiveness of the resources found on here.

They work. They work very well. They have effectively changed many, many lives of those who have been fortunate to find this community. They have seriously changed my life, though at a slower rate than many who has enjoyed success enough to quit their day jobs in the first six months being here.

For others, this takes longer, but the quality and effectiveness of the resources are exactly the same for you, me and the other person. It's just like the fact that we all have 24 hours in a day. Some people are going to use every minute and second, and others are going to squander most of them! Time is time. The resources here are the resources here. It is what it is.

The bottom line in one simple phrase...

"It's All Up to You!"

The resources here are top quality and at the time of this writing, nothing I've come across compares to it. Some programs or entities may have some of the qualities, but it's extremely rare to find other programs or entities that have developed and evolved quite like Wealthy Affiliate has!

My advice to you...

Take the ball and run with it! The only obstacles you will encounter is YOU!

I myself have been in some of the worst conditions almost all of my time on here, with personal handicaps, but I've chosen to keep going in spite of it all. If something didn't work and was inhibiting me, I kept at it. Sometimes I had to stop and change the circumstances. I have at this point.

I will never be out of the woods with this, and neither will you. Accept it. All athletes deal with this exact same problem. Some days the sun shines and other days it rains. Nothin' you can do about it. What you do have control over, that you change.

It's the song and dance of the entrepreneur!



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lauracb Premium
Hi Daniel,

What you say it's true. But it's too harsh, and somehow goes around the straight answer. Those questions are natural and logical. We have all come here to earn money.
I think it would have been more honest just to say: "People, if you don't have any kind of financial backup, don't rely on the business you opened through WA. Here is simply a school, that you have to pay for, for at least one or two years, till you can actually earn enough to sustain yourselves from your websites."

OK, you can elaborate a lot starting from here, but what would be the point? This is true. Any senior here knows it.

There are people here, who mention how much they earn. No secret at all. Ivetriedthat says in his site, he earns like $6000 a month and his site is from 2007 (I'm not exactly sure) and Nathaniel says he has MANY websites (by many I understand like 20) running for good years, and that there are months with almost no money and months with $11000.
And I think this kind of honesty is enough for everybody to get an idea.

Laura
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I am one who has not been able to get any other income and you are right, it is imperative to have income to support yourself whilst learning and implementing what we learn on here.

I didn't want it to be harsh and tried to write it in such a way that it wouldn't be. The harsh part about it is more directed to folks who sometimes come on here and, in spite of folks answering their questions, keep on asking the same thing over and over. You don't see this often, but it does happen.

Else, I've reiterated the answers that most people do get when they ask these questions, not that I should regurgitate them, but that they make good sense.

Not mentioning the need to be here in lieu of a source of income and relying on getting one going online is an oversight on my part.

I just thought that went without saying.

I know of others who are making big bucks on here, but it took time for all of us. I'm not there yet. It is true that some will disclose what they make. I was unaware of both of the examples you included in your response. Most people won't disclose what they earn and it's from this standpoint I wrote the resource. In most circumstances, asking what others make outside of looking into general trends or statistics that do not involve individuals, is not ethical. Yes, in a setting like this, it is natural to wonder what the potential is.

My point was, "Don't measure yourself up to others because you might be disappointed to learn what they make, or you may not be able to come close to perform like they do. I don't see myself ever making $6000/ month from my website, and if I disclosed what I make from here, that might discourage people. My set of circumstances are different than theirs, but they don't know what mine are, and perhaps why I'm not making a decent income, might discourage them from taking the opportunity. This is very important! I can't represent WA, or any other entity by what I earn if I have circumstances that thwart or hinder my efforts.

By all means, for the time I've been here, I should be making somewhat near the kind of income Steve makes, but I'm not. Nowhere close! Without the supportive income you've spoken of, that only backfires on me and makes it even harder to move forward with this. This is why I constantly harp about not giving up and to keep moving forward. I had to actually put my business up for nearly five months just recently because things in my personal life has gotten so unmanageable. My recent move released me from a LOT of what I was dealing with, but I'm not yet out of the woods.

Gotta keep going! I was able to resume under new circumstances, even though these are not the best.

Underestimating myself, yes, but for now, to ask Steve what he makes, and he gives that to me, is intimidating. Right now, I find it kind of disturbing learning through you what he makes because I simply don't have the ability, circumstances or stability he has, though I might in time - if I don't give up totally. Asking those questions sets one asking them up to disappointment and measuring up like this is never the best way.

It all depends on each one of us what we do with what we learn and our ability to make the instructions convert into income.

I will say that income like that should show others the sheer potential of what can be done with persistence and willingness to learn and patience.

On the other hand, I have personal issues that keep me from being gainfully employed and have recently been diagnosed with definite issues that make my prognosis for such employment "poor."

I'm doing better with what I've learned from Wealthy Affiliate than being able to hold down a regular job! It's not laziness - it's life-long issues I've had that makes me nearly unemployable. Not my words - the words of those who assessed my situation that Vocational Rehab sent me through.

Doing this has been the only success story in my life in earning income and it is from this light I see things, and write. Social Security will certainly not support me - if I'm even eligible to get it when the time comes. It's not something I'm banking on, nor want that to be my future! However, that's my personal stance.

It is great that you've come here and added those details because, from my own perspective, I don't see employment in the picture. I say employment because though it's one of the worst legal ways to make a living for most people, it's usually the easiest means.

Again here, I'm talking about a percentage here, not those folks that are fortunate to have jobs they enjoy and are indeed, a positive career move for them.

I've gotten more training out of WA than most people even seek from here. My training came from individuals who were able to effectively help me with special needs.

For most people, what you say is true. I too, need a means of support until my own income online improves, but I'm now in vocational rehabilitation in order to do this. I will never be able to get anything in employment besides things that nobody else likes to do.

Albeit, what I've learned here is compatible or much beyond anything I've ever gotten from college! I've been on that road three times and have not been able to make any of it work, and still wind up washing dishes and cleaning toilets.

Albeit, being able to do something with what I've learned here is a success story in my life!

But you are right. Sometimes we have to do things we don't like, in order to get what we want in life. Again, what I wrote was not meant to be harsh. I'm not the first to say that it's not ethical to ask what others are making, even though, in this setting, it's natural - which I was careful to state in my writing.

Thanks for your contribution! It is a big help in this resource.

Daniel
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lauracb Premium
Daniel, I am so sorry.

It was never my intention to make you feel intimidated, or anybody else here, either. I didn't ask Steve and Nathaniel how much they earn, it was public info, I've simply read it on their websites. Here: http://www.ivetriedthat.com/2011/03/04/my-secrets-to-making-money-online-part-one/ and here http://onemorecupof-coffee.com/wealthy-affiliate-review/.
Reading them actually helped me a lot, they offered me the highest level a person can achieve here, so I knew, in time, I can place myself anywhere between $0 and $6k.

Comparing me with others, is pointless. We are coming with different backgrounds, different circumstances, different training, different....actually, everything is different, we cannot possibly expect the same result. It's like being a flower complaining it's not a tree.

I also know those figures were really worked for. We all see here how difficult it is, it takes determination and a lot of well-invested time.
My goal here was 1k per month in a year time. But, have I invested all the time I had for this? No. Have I done everything in my power? No.
Of course, I have my reasons for these "no-s", we all have. And don't even blame myself for them. But since they exist, I cannot expect that much. And also, what others make, don't intimidate me. Only offer a landmark. I can set some models to follow, some good examples. We all need them.

Again, I'm sorry, I didn't want to twist the knife in an old wound. I realize you wrote this for others and yourself as well. It is good to be optimistic, it is good to don't give up easily, but on the other hand, you cannot expect a person to not know objective facts.
You cannot simply say: "Stop asking how much, and in how much time. Just continue working." It's not fair and sounds like scam.
We cannot hide behind the word "ethic". We need money in this world before we need ethics.

So, the fact that those big guys chose to write how much they earn on their websites, shows trust and transparency. And also offer some landmarks we all need. It's simple: "It takes like 4 to 5 years of HARD work to get to maximum 6k per month. The rest is up to you."

I wish everybody to find their way in this market and be successful. Maybe there are people here who managed to get famous through their websites, who found a way of feeding their egos through those blogs and they are not that interested in money. But there are also people who only want a simple income. And here, they pay money to learn. Out of respect for them we should give more than "Don't give up, keep on working, don't ask how much!". This resembles a bossy attitude we all hate.

Best of luck, inspiration, health and joy to everyone here!
Laura
Reply
Hi Laura,

No, no need to be sorry. However, that just proves my point, which you have no problem seeing. It DOES show the potential here at WA and one worth sending new people to this training and thread in order for them to see the spontaneous nature in this thread about that potential.

Again, you hit valid points here. It's what we do with our time, whether we have control over it or not. I came from a horrible situation that endured the entire time I've been here.

I'm going to write a short blog tonight, something that won't take long because my time is limited, and I am using my blog to input the WA-related & online business-related content that goes on my Journal here as well. I'm hoping that doing this will show others who are following, or who will in the future read my story, see what it takes sometimes to move past negative circumstances and in the end, succeed and reach goals!

I would write more here but for now, I'm going to write the blog. It's going to be very concise, and move on from here.

My blog tonight is going to be about assuming things, which is another thing that can really put a damper on moving forward...

Thanks again Laura. Your comments are seriously adding value to this resource :)

Daniel
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johnwnewman Premium
Awesome stuff Daniel! Loved it!!
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I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
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CoachEd Premium
Very well done and said --great job Daniel---many will be helped by this---Your pictures are nice as well---Just a great read and teaching---you have encouraged me tonight !!!

Thanks Coach Ed
croninweb
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Couldn't add the images until later. That does take time trying to make sure they are all legal ones to put up, the creative commons ones. Sometimes just can't find the right ones.

I try to use a little humour when putting them up, for the question, "what kind of money do you make?" I put an image showing bank notes from all over the world. It shows "all kinds of money."
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rwood Premium
Hi Daniel. This is a wonderful lesson and sh8uld be read by eveyine in Wealthy Affiliate. Thanks so much for thus.

Randy
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I've seen folks get on the Chatter and continually ask these questions in spite of people instructing them to go to the 'Get Started Here' link.

I've also seen countless cases of people jumping into programs, not reading the stuff meant for them to read and wonder why their credit card got charged a month later, because they had not read down through the sales page or welcome page!

Then they come back ready to chop the owner's head off! I've rebuked some folks in defense of programs I don't really like, but right is right.

People don't do what they're supposed to do sometimes, and that's the going trend. How many times do you see someone try to assemble something without reading the instructions and wind up doing damage to it, or not get the intended results?

When you go through the Courses here at WA, these questions definitely get answered multiple times. People overlook the simple instruction to begin the lessons. It's that simple.

However, in the consumer-based world we live in, we, as employees are used to being directed and wait for instructions rather than take initiative and delve into it. The purpose of this resource is to invite people to take that action.

It's amongst the first baby steps into entrepreneurship.

Thanks for your comments Randy :)
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rwood Premium
Amen!!!.. Bless it I just read my comment. I can tell I have new glasses on. EDIT lol. Great Tutorial Daniel. Thanks
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Lol, actually, I don't have my glasses on and have to put my face into the screen to see what I'm doing. I have my far sighted glasses, to see this, I had to take them off and not my reading glasses, so you're ahead of me :)
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sarazoldan Premium
Very well said, Daniel!

Like the majority of people who first join WA, I too, was looking for a great way to make legit cash overnight. While I knew logically that it doesn't work that way, I was willing to hope that I might be able to pull it off.

Needless to say, I wasn't. But that hasn't in any way made me think less of WA. It's like you say - there's no such thing as overnight success.

One thing I would like to point out that is not a new concept, but one that we constantly need to remind ourselves of is that what we're doing here is starting a business.

As a retailer myself I know that a brick-and-mortar business starts off with an investment of capital and slowly but surely, as the business takes off, and the money comes in, debts begin to get paid off and only after that does the profit show itself.

It takes time, patience, effort, time, perseverance and, dare I say it?, time, to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves. Embrace the journey!
Reply
As I was careful to mention, these things are actually somewhat human nature. My motive for bringing this is not to down anyone who asks these. I myself probably asked one or more of these questions, or at least thought about it.

By the time I found WA in 2009, or actually introduced to it by Mr. Moran (LOL it's been so long now, I've forgotten his first name, but a high achiever here at WA) I was already well aware of the fact that success didn't happen overnight. I could see the bad programs by that point. I knew what I was into when I finally joined in January 2010.

I came back here to the laundria to get online because I was a little concerned that this unedited document might had some rough edges on it, and I'm here to smoothen things out and perhaps begin adding a few images.

I appreciate your comments on this resource,

Daniel
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