Earlier in the week I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine, Alex Fraiser. We were discussing the pro’s of the Internet lifestyle, but we also discussed how misconceived the Internet lifestyle is. When people talk to me about living the Internet lifestyle, they assume it’s a walk in the park. The truth is living the Internet lifestyle is NOT less work than working the 9-5, it’s more work. I work over 60 hours a week sometimes and I have to balance a full-time college schedule as well. What pushes the people who live the Internet lifestyle to work so hard is the fact that you are doing something you love. I wake up everyday more than eager to start working, but what seems like work to you, is not work to me. It’s enjoyment.
The truth behind living the Internet lifestyle
Work when you want
When you are your own boss you can work when you want, however long you want and whenever you want. Their have been weeks I’ve worked less than 5 hours and their have been weeks that I’ve worked 100 hours. You are not constrained to work a 9-5, Monday thru Friday. Where this blurs people’s image of the Internet lifestyle they think they will not have to work at all. That’s NOT true. Depending on your business model you will need to determine how much you need to work.
You are your own boss
Who doesn’t love to be their own boss? Nobody yelling at you anymore and nobody telling you what to do, it’s wonderful. Everyone is not cut out to be their own boss. Why? Being your own boss requires lots of responsibility and not everyone has the responsibility is needed to be their own boss. You don’t have anyone telling what you can and cannot do, you have to be able to determine what decisions you are going to make. Their have been days I’ve been to lazy to work, but I knew I had to because I had stuff I needed to get done. The same applies for you, if you want to be your own boss, you are the only person who is going to tell yourself to get up and work.
Financial freedom
The luxury of working online is you are not constrained to a $50,000/year salary. You can make as much money as you want, but don’t forget you have to work for it. Making money online is not easy, so don’t be fooled. When you live the Internet lifestyle you do not have to worry about working overtime just to make some extra cash, or work twice as hard to hope to get a raise in your salary. Heck, in today’s society you have to do all that just to keep your job.
The Internet lifestyle is not a walk in the park
So many people think that the Internet lifestyle is a walk in the park. I constantly receive emails and listen to people tell me “You have it easy” because I don’t know what it means to “work.” Statements like that are pure ignorant. The Internet lifestyle is enjoying what you love and earning a income from it. People enjoy doing what they love so it does not seem like you are working the 9-5. People aren’t fortunate to live the Internet lifestyle, just like anyone else, they worked to get where they are at.
Group Discussion
I’ve shared with you the truth about living the Internet lifestyle, it’s not a walk in the park. Before you read this post, what did you think the Internet lifestyle was? Did it seem like a walk in the park? Share what your thoughts about the Internet lifestyle, you don’t have to live it to share your opinion.
Ready to make money online?
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Devesh (3)
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
I also love having the responsibility of knowing that I control my income. Someone isn’t telling me how much I can earn. Instead it comes down to how much I want to work!
Tom | Build That List´s last blog . . .The Aweber Code….And Why You Need To Promote It!
That’s a wonderful feeling when you know you are the only one in control of your income.
As well as the scariest, you don’t work, you don’t get paid…untrue with a JOB; well, some jobs. lol
Dennis Edell´s last blog . . .Do You Know The REAL Difference Between Bloggers and Internet Marketers?
Except these days that “real JOB” could vanish overnight.
James´s last blog . . .Senior Citizens Free Blog Setup
I agree totally!
I’m a musician, which means alot of my work is offline too. I still get to be my own boss and I get annoyed when people try to tell me that I “have it easy” and don’t know what “real work” is.
These are the same people that wonder why I can’t meet up in the pub “after work”- it’s because, for me, there is no “after work”. If I have things that I need to do, I can’t always just stop because it’s past about 6pm! If I set myself to only work from, say 8:30am to 6pm every day I wouldn’t have time for all the things I do…and then there’s the weekends!
Sorry, I’m going to have to stop there before I go on a massive rant. I’m just agreeing that working for yourself isn’t being lazy, it’s hard work! It’s just different from the “9 to 5″ routine.
Exactly Rob. I always have to tell my friends NO sometimes to when they ask me to go out to dinner or the mall. If I’m not ahead of schedule, or I do not have time I can set aside. I will put my work first, it’s serious work.
One thing that has recently shaken my confidence in making money online is that my second largest affiliate network account terminated my account. This has significantly reduced my monthly income. So while you can be your own boss, you can still be at the mercy of others.
TheDebtHawk.com´s last blog . . .It’s Not About Me – It’s About God – The Purpose Driven Life Day 1
Right, and one thing to make sure your safe of is never to rely on one source of income. Make sure if one income stream is cut off, you will be able to rely on other ones.
Not only financial freedom but also creative freedom. You can choose your own design, choose how you want to advertise, when to do it and who to do it with. I guess you can put that in the “You Are Your Own Boss” category but still – I like to be able to test marketing ideas or whatever and not worrying that my company will bankrupt because of it. So what if I loose some money, at least I tried and I didn’t hurt anyones business but my own.
Nice post, I hope we all get to reach the point where we can live that kind of life.
Gordon´s last blog . . .Getting Rid Of Twitter DMs
Exactly, I think creative freedom is a great thing. Being able to design your space and office to how you want it, I’m happily awaiting the set up of my new in-home office
Your right, when you work from home sometimes its hard to quit working. I will be working on one project only to realize I need to finish another. All the while thinking of what I can do next to get more done.
Sounds like a horrible working existence but actually it is more preferable than working the 9-5 everyday. Atleast I love what I’m doing even as I pour a lot of hours into doing it. If your lazy, than the internet lifestyle is most assuredly not for you.
Like you said Rob, you have to love what your doing because this is a self motivating career and if you don’t want to do it, your not going to be successful.
-Social Media Guy
Paul Roberson´s last blog . . .What is Social Entrepreneurship?
Right, it”s all about doing what you love. And here is the thing, if you enjoy doing what you love it doesn’t feel like work, and it never will
well, except when tax season hits the corner haha.
I used to keep this on my wall in my office. Also, I recently saw it put in a comment on another post. I just feel like it applies here and want to put it in.
“A person who is a master in the art of living makes little distinction between their work and their play, their labor and their leisure, their mind and their body, their education and their recreation, their love an their religion. They hardly know which is which and simply pursue their vision of excellence and grace, whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing. To them they are always doing both.”
I think people just see that in you Rob, and have no idea that you are working at all. We who see and here you, know you put in the time. You’re an inspiration.
Debra´s last blog . . .San Antonio – Where’s the Alamo?
Thanks Debra, I appreciate the words.
It’s glad to see all my hard work is paying off hehe.
I don’t blog full time, but I know that maintaining and writing for my blogs is hard work – but the wonderful thing about it, is that I love it. I’m motivated even when I’m tired and I love the feeling of being inspired – that rush I get when new ideas for content flood my brain. I haven’t made the plunge into full time, but it definitely is a goal I’m shooting for. Let’s see where I land…
Kiesha @ WeBlogBetter´s last blog . . .Original blog content vs. original ideas
Right Keisha, keep doing what you love and eventually it will turn into your “work” if you work hard at what you do and continue to strive. I saw you’re a writer at weblogbetter, great step up. Congratulations
I would just really love to know… where you got your post image from? haha
I get them from Flickr
I know for a fact that many people think working an Internet Business is easy. I knew better from the start of my business. I love working online. It does not feel like work to me I enjoy it so much. I tell people all the time if you are desperate for money the Internet is not the place to go. I work about 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I guess I would make more money if I worked 60 hours a week, but IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN! I love the people I am meeting online, and am thankful every day that I have the freedom to do what I like.
Melva´s last blog . . .Home Business Ideas Resources to Help You Get Your Business Up and Running
One of the biggest problems for newbies is coming in listening to all the scams and supposed “guru’s” ( a fine line between the two) talking about all the “passive income” nonsense, sorry, NO SUCH THING. At least not in the long run.
Dennis Edell´s last blog . . .Do You Know The REAL Difference Between Bloggers and Internet Marketers?
I have to agree Rob. I partly think that working on my blog is not really work. Of course it is work but its fun for me to do. Another great advantage is that you can work whenever you want as you’ve said.
But then there is always the risk that you will not take blogging seriously.
Julius Kuhn-Regnier´s last blog . . .How to Make a Great First Impression Through Guest Posts
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