Whisper's dreams of freedom and the open ocean (7)
I usually keep my biggest dreams to myself. Since often they can become a distraction and I believe 99% of your time is better spent focused on the here and now, and doing the work rather than dreaming about Lamborghinis.
However, it is important to have a space to play and imagine. To paint a target for ourselves, so we know in what direction to aim. So I present to STM forum, my vision:
Freedom
This means freedom to get up and go anywhere I like tomorrow. It also means freedom to say what I really think.
I currently work a 9-5 job as a programmer which pays very well and is comfortable. Many people would kill to have this job but for me I feel like an eagle with it's wings clipped. I want to take to the skies and fly and instead I am chained to a desk in one city.
There is too much bullshit in this modern world. Men are afraid to express themselves clearly and with power. Strong men are told that their natural masculinity is "toxic" and they should adjust themselves to suit a feminised world. Fat people are told they are really beautiful just the way they are. Loose women are celebrated as "empowered". Weak men are browbeaten in marriages without love. Many men see rightly this as insanity, but are scared they will lose their jobs if they speak the truth.
I want to pull back this curtain of lies and speak plain truth, like a man. And, yet, even I cannot express my true opinions freely right now in case it affects my position at work, so my freedom of speech is also robbed from me.
This is an intolerable situation and I will work until I am free. Nobody shall control my speech, and no man shall have the power over my livelihood.
Freedom is found when you can join the birds and soar free over the open ocean.
Wealth
I did not grow up in a wealthy family. My mum did the best she could but I remember we used to wear a lot of ill-fitting clothes that were handed down to us from other families. My younger brother often had clothes that had been handed down four times! From my friend, to his brother, to me, to my little brother. They were pretty worn out by the time he got them.
We were never given any pocket money so from an early age I had to get creative. I remember one of my ideas to make money was to clean aquariums. It wasn't a very good idea (not a lot of people have aquariums, and those that do usually clean it themselves). But anyways, my brother and I spent two weekends in the hot sun walking around the entire town posting a little flyer I made through letterboxes. We must have posted about 2,000 flyers. And we didn't get a single reply. I suppose this was my first ever marketing effort.
Another idea I had which was more successful was to sell sweets at school. I saw some other kids doing it but they were moving very small volume and eating all their profits. With a bit of discipline and systematization I knew I could do better. So I started out with a small investment and quickly grew it into a profitable little business. I'd buy in bulk from the shop, since I bought every day I got a volume discount and then I'd sell throughout the day at a 100% markup. I was making bank money for a kid which made me a target - one time a much older boy stole some money from me. After that I hired "security" - one of the biggest boys in my year - who I paid in product. This was a great earner for me and I could finally buy a lot of things I always wanted. All my friends had a Playstation, and I remember the day I could finally afford one of my own I cried because I was so happy. The sweet selling went on until I got in trouble with the school administration, had all my stash confiscated and was threatened with expulsion if I did it again. That put a stop to it unfortunately.
But I learned from this one very important lesson which is that you can't sell people what you would like to give them, you have to sell them what they want.
Over the years I have tried a lot of different things to make money with varying degrees of success. I've run an ecommerce store, tried three different startups, worked as a software engineer, worked in the iron ore mines in western Australia, promoted events for a night club and taught English overseas.
Many of these were fun jobs. But none got me to where I really want to be. And this is what has led me to affiliate marketing.
My ultimate goal is to make enough money to pay off the student loans of my brother and sister, and to repay the love my mum gave to me by raising me, by making sure she is set for life and never has to work again. If I have to give a number, it's £1.5M.
Only once all that is done maybe can I treat myself with some fun toys.
Now I have found affiliate marketing I feel like I have finally come across what I was looking for this whole time. I know there is potential for someone with determination, smarts and grit to make it big here. I will put everything I have into it until it works, and that will take as long as it takes and cost as much as it costs.
I am glad I found STM forum to guide me and save me a lot of wasted time and heartache.
It is comforting to remember that even in the open ocean, you are never alone.
Colleagues that I respect
This is something I do have in my day job, and it can't be overstated how important it is to work with like-minded people who you can build something great with.
If the end result of all this affiliate marketing is that me stuck in isolation in front of a computer with nobody to challenge me or to share my success, then this has been a failure. This is why meeting people who are on the same journey as me is so important, and also why I am going to AWE this year.
Health, physique and sports
I was a smart cookie in my early twenties and took my health extremely seriously, eating correctly and training hard on a consistent basis. I am reaping the benefits now when I look around, I see that I am in better shape than almost all of my peers who took the easy path of beer, pizza and too little exercise.
Physical health == mental health. The reason I am able to get good at AM faster than almost everybody else is because I eat the right foods (fuel) and I train in the correct way to forge a strong, quick body and strong, quick mind. Too many people do not understand this, that the day that you stop improving yourself physically is the day you start dying.
My true love is for freediving. There is peace under the ocean that a privileged few have found, and the further down you go the more peaceful it is. Right now I do not have the spare time nor freedom to pursue this to the level I would like. I aim to reach a level in AM where I can again have the time to focus obsessively on what I love.
Finding peace with my friend under the ocean waves.
Other and personal goals
That is almost everything for my life vision. I have a couple of other small goals I didn't share that are more private and will remain that way until such time as I achieve them.
Suffice to say I will be swooping beaut girls and living as a king in my village in the mountains.
Final words
Roman included a poem by Rudyard Kipling which I liked very much. My favourite poem is called Invictus, which means undefeated.
Out of the night that covers me
black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
for my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
my head is bloody but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
looms but the horror of the shade
and yet the menace of the years
finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate
how charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.
Thanks whisper - wow you're on a roll! Your post gives me goosebumps (the good kind!)
This is why falling in love with what one is selling is seldom a good idea!
Only once all that is done maybe can I treat myself with some fun toys.
And you don't need to wait until everyone's taken care of before treating yourself with fun toys! Lots of things are fun and not all of them are expensive. Start treating yourself whenever possible - keeping yourself happy can do wonders to your work performance! I guarantee it!
black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
for my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
my head is bloody but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
looms but the horror of the shade
and yet the menace of the years
finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate
how charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.
Success and living the good life does not have to come with struggle - wrath, tears, blood, sweat, fear. It usually does, but it doesn't need to. It all depends on our approach to life and our perspective. If we focus on fun and eagerness and try to see the positive, things can go so much more smoothly than if we focus on difficulty and struggle and fear.
Again - thanks for sharing your visions. I enjoyed reading your post.
Amy
I think mental health has very little to do with physical health. It's only a trend now people think they can become mentally stable by eating bird seeds and doing push ups everyday. Feeling all great and healthy fuck yeah! Ignorant people they are. Becoming mentally stable needs a deeper sense of experiencing life as it is.
Sorry, I can't explain how to get there, it's a thing you master or you don't (not saying you don't ofcourse). Most will chase their whole life to become someone they want to be, and not exploit who they already are and accept it.
Originally Posted by stickupkid
Just one small thing, for me being healthy does not mean eating bird seeds and doing pushups every day. In fact, those don't sound healthy at all.
I like to eat steaks, sausages, bacon, fruits, eggs, cheese and even ice cream sometimes. And my current sport is powerlifting/bodybuilding. I do very strongly believe that the state of your mind is a reflection of the state of your body - this does not mean going to extremes and punishing yourself in your diet and workouts! But it does mean taking care of what you put into your body, sleeping properly, making sure you get the best and most nutritious food, exerting integrated effort in the gym and that you are on the correct training plan that leads to a strong long-term foundation for your body.
Of course, it's also a fun bonus to have the girls say wow and grab your biceps when you take off your shirt
.
Great stuff, OP!
Damn sir you have a serious talent for writing. Just wow.
Sent from my iPhone using STM Forums mobile app
Great write up. Moving to London soon again. Would be cool to meet.
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