Enter your email to see how I got rich by working part-time, selling none of my own products, and without ever being an obnoxious salesman.
Frank Kern says that every hero has a “fable” that builds their story and their credibility…
Peter Parker was bit by the spider and became a crime fighter.
Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in a season.
John Reese had a million dollar day.
If you’ve followed me for any length, you know that my “fable” is the story of how I went from zero money and zero experience to a steady $100/day in four days with affiliate marketing. I had just graduated high school and was working for a real estate company when I checked my Clickbank account and saw that money had come in. The feeling was indescribable.
That $100/day turned into $10,000/month, and then $100,000/year… from my dorm room.
Once I graduated, profitability stayed about the same, but I began to work with other companies and develop my own products (and yes, the case study of 0 to $100/day that I promised will be released at some point).
Regardless of how profitable my business becomes, nothing… NOTHING has matched the excitement of my first $100/day, because that was the day that I started achieving my “why.”
At that time, I had two goals… two immediate “whys” to starting my internet marketing career. The first was to have $100/day coming in after one year (I did it in four days) and the second was to replace my 1994 Chevy Cavalier that had over 130,000 miles.
Ryan Deiss tells the story about his reason for getting into internet marketing. He met the woman that he wanted to marry, and he was able to finance an engagement ring for $200/month. His “why” was that he wanted to pay for a ring, and he would do anything to get that money.
But my “why” was simple… FREEDOM… and to me that meant making $100/day – enough to not have to hold a real job, and having dependable transportation.
My “why” is not to have material things: I still drive the same 2006 Cobalt that I bought to replace my clunker. I live in a 600 square foot apartment, my best friends live next door, and I’m perfectly happy with it.
My personal friends constantly ask me to teach them how to do internet marketing, and business friends often offer to pay me expensive coaching rates in order to train them, but the truth is that neither of them “need” me… what they need is a “why.”
Last night, I received an email from someone at my alma mater requesting that I teach him how to make money on the internet, because he had heard a professor talking about me. This happens often, and I reluctantly ignored the email, because I have learned that if making extra money is the “why,” then the necessary motivation has not yet kicked in.
What the average aspiring-but-struggling internet marketing needs is not to buy another internet marketing program or join a coaching club. What he needs is a reason why.
Maybe it’ll be when the boss calls him in and says that they are restructuring and no longer need his services.
Maybe it’ll be when he graduates from college and realizes that there are no jobs for his major in this economy.
Maybe it’ll be when he wants to propose.
Your reason why will be different than mine, and if you’re like me, your “why” will evolve and grow as your meet your goals. Today, my goals are to buy a major league baseball team, to learn, educate, and enjoy alternative medicine, and to promote liberty.
But your why might be to live debt free.
Your why might be to go overseas for mission work.
Or, you might be the type that does want the material possessions.
Whatever it is, it must be defined, and it must be clear.
And if you fail to define your why, then your why will define your failures.
So, what’s your why?
Legitimate Work From Home Jobs…
Why Work at all? There are Other ways to Make Money online check this out
Start a Business. Can be Hard and Lame Sort Of… explain later Work from home stuffing envelopes? does that even exist? Find legitimate work from home jobs online…
Ok I know this question is off the topic but it very important to me. How do you pay your taxes? Do you print all your earns from clickbank add them all up?
Because I never paid because I never had job before. And my earrings are starting to increase by $40 a month more than the last.
Anybody can answer my questions that for the help.
EDIT FROM RYAN: Yes, you do need to pay taxes. Get a good accountant, as I’m not equipped to make recommendations for you, but you claim your affiliate commissions just like you would claim other income.
my why is not wanting to be in a cubicle for the rest of my life i would like to be able to travel the world and not have to do it on a tight budget. i don’t care much about material things being with my wife and traveling is all i have ever really worked for.
great posts helped me remember my “why”
As always, great information Ryan.
It’s nice to see you out and about while continuing to build your IM empire.
My why is to have the freedom to spend quality time with my family and friends without having to worry about being tied down to a “normal” 9-5.
I have 4 sons that I don’t want to miss growing up!
I love internet marketing because it gives me the freedom to do what I please and come and go as I wish.
yeah…it’s ALL about freedom. thanks for the reminder. ;o
You may be young (my son is your age in college) but you are quite wise to understand that having a “why” is the most important psychological factor in achieving anything in life. Humans don’t want to do what they have to or should…we are motivated by fables (as Kern says) and our underlying desires and dreams. This is the key to pretty much everything. Thanks for the blog and I hope lots of people read this and take it to heart! You have some a long way since I first say you on the Warrior Forum describing your $100 a day plan. It does work. I know, I learned it from you! xoxo, Tara
My Why is Why not! Seriously, if your not expressing all that you can be then your misserable. That’s my take.
Right now I got a student loan to pay off, and I want to upgrade my ride to a Mitsubishi eclipse.
I need to get enough funds to snow board on the weekends.
I also want to help out my family financialy to ..
It’s what drives me..
Great post..
My why was always to spend more time with my family and give them the things they deserve. Thanks to Ryan getting me into IM in a big way I did exactly that about 2 weeks ago and now do it full time. No more being yelled at by a boss, apart from the wife , and no more 2hr round trip to the office.
Now my why is to buy my house so I can build the home I have always wanted for my family…. and to have a Lotus on the drive but that’s just my guilty pleasure! lol!
Ultimately my why is the freedom to do with my time and money what I want, to enjoy life and the company my family and friends give me and I am very fortunate to be doing that to some degree already.
Anyone else who is looking for their why just think what it is that makes you happy, or leave whatever gets you down behind.
All the best Ryan, great post and speak soon I hope.
My why is to become financial free and to be to work from the comfort of any place that I want to and to able to travel the world and enjoying the great comfort of being my own boss and not having to work on some crazy schedule . Great Article Ryan
My “why”
is so I can actually enjoy life and do everything I can while I’m here. To get rid of debt buy a nice car finally go on a long, very enjoyable vacation move back home to see family continue with education at my school of choice do amazing things with alternative energy and medicine buy/build a nice house being able to have time to make friends find the amazing girl I have been looking for and being able to afford to have a relationship
To do everything I can. That’s why IM is important to me.
Very cool of you to share this article with everyone Ryan.
Hey Ryan,
This is such an important piece of the puzzle because it’s the engine that drives the intellect into action that experiences the results. The question is what happens when you find out getting traffic isn’t so easy or what if your optin page doesn’t convert they way you thought it would?
This is when your why will keep you from throwing up your hands and walking away from an opportunity that could change everything for you.
As for me, my why is to be able to put my kid on the bus in the morning and be there in the afternoon when he comes home. It’s about taking my wife of over 20yrs. on a vacation where we don’t have to worry about how much things cost.
My why is about not having to go back into the automotive field and work for pennies while they try to suck the life out of me because they don’t think I have a choice.
So no matter what happens, if I have to stay up later to write more articles, if I have to build more squeeze pages and create my own brand online it is far easier than living in quiet desperation waiting for it to be over some day.
Take care and keep rocking, Nando
I want to help people whilst helping myself. I hate making money for the fat cat sitting in the office counting the 100 dollar bills, i want to feel i am making my own money and helping people at the same time!
My why is to prove I can do it. It’s well known that goals can be pounced on if your not committed to the why of business and family.
My problem is not staying with a program until it’s finished. There’s always something else that comes down the pike and looks interesting. but then I don’t get anything accomplished.
So my why is pick one program, do nothing else until its earning money. I really want to have a business going before my husband retires.
Your story is inspiring Ryan I think you can do anything you set out to I respect the fact that you want to help others on your journey, that is a great foundation to run your business from.
Bioniclily
Hi Ryan,
I do enjoy your blog. The whole “why” thing takes me back to the first Tony Robbins Seminar I ever attended.
Think one of the reasons we created FingerBiz.Com was to make it affordable for the novice to make money online. And to prove it didn’t have to be difficult.
Sharon FingerBiz.Com
This is a very good advice that is not only true for Internet Marketing ut for life in general. You must know what is the purpose of your life. Is it just go to work for 40 years (if you’re lucky) and make money? That would be sad.
On top of having a why, I think people also need defined, quantified goals otherwise the why will only be a dream.
For me for example, my why would be to be able to go back to my home country with my family. But that’s not enough. I need to say that I want to do so no later that 2 years from now! This is a goal and not only dream.
What’s your take on that?
My short term “why” is to WIN Travis’ contest!
And my long term “why” is to be able to afford to live in these “Luxury Apartments” to start with (only 2k a month), and then maybe to buy a house! I finally told my husband about my “why” the other day because you will never fulfill your “why” if you don’t share it with your loved ones…
I really like ALL of your posts, Ryan, because you are sooo grounded!
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Cindy
My ”Why?”
At first my ”Why?” was about making money. Pure and simple, and guess what, it didn’t work. Two years on, it was about making money, i had joined Wealthy Affiliate, left after a week, because i wasn’t making anything and i felt overwhelmed with the info on there.
But, i went on holiday. Not one of those where you go to enjoy yourselves, i went on holiday in my head. I completely forgot everything i needed to do, looked after my family, etc. Then something twigged. ”Why?”. Why am i trying to make money.
I had lost my job, ”Why?”. Debt is climbing, ”Why?”. Nothing is working for me, ”Why?”. I’ll tell you why – I WAS TOO LAZY TO GET UP OFF MY BACKSIDE TO DO ANYTHING.
I thought all i needed to do was do a blog, squidoo page, or hub page. Then thats it, money should roll in. And how wrong was i? I felt like a idiot.
Why do i have to be so lazy?
If that isn’t enough motivation i don’t know what is. I’m missing Stargate Universe, Flashforward and all those other new brilliant shows. Why? Because that is why i am so lazy, i think about myself, what i don’t really need to do. What i need to do is – Get up, research, do about 5 pages on one keyword, link them, do outside articles to link to them individually (2 for each page)
When i have done that, do some more, and more, and more.
So as for my ”Why?”, i don’t want to be lazy no more, i want to be someone who can provide for my family in these dark times of recession. Who needs a job? Not me. Who needs freedom? I definately do.
Note: Is the recession ending? I don’t think it is.
Hi Ryan
How many times do you pay taxes each year?
Great article once again Ryan. We all have our reasons when striving to achieve a particular goal. For me it was because I HAD to. I HAD to quit my job and become my own boss. I HAD stick to my schedule so I could quit my job as early as possible. The more focus I had, the quicker I could tick off item on my to do list.
It’s a great feeling indeed when those goals are reached. Especially the realization that your dreams are about to come true. Surreal I know!
Anyway, keep up the good work!
hey! you’re giving the numbers wrong! unless you just used a ball-park figure… you’re saying you earned 100/day, ok.. then 10000 a month, ok, that’s about 300 and something per day… but then 100000 a year is 270something a day! did your earnings drop??? xD
Besides that, the article was inspiring… my ‘why?’? well.. I want to travel the world non stop and keep earning money on the way, so that I don’t have to ’save’ for the trip, and I don’t have to stop travelling because the savings are all spent up…
Things really clicked this time, thanks Ryan!
I finally get it, life isn’t about the money, its about a much higher goal….its all about FREEDOM of doing what I WANT.
Ive been trapped in thinking that money is what I want, but I get it now! Its not the money, its FREEDOM! Pursuing the money is a shallow goal that doesn’t fulfill life, freedom and reaching a defined goal is what brings peace and joy… which is ultimately what really fulfills life.
Interesting that when money is the goal we end up spending it fast and feeling unfulfilled. When we have no direction, money will only take us to “NO WARE”. Buy when we define what we want, money can take us there… its a means to and end.
Thanks Ryan- I’m going to be back with WA very soon.
Anyhoo, my ‘why’ is the same as yours; freedom. Without getting too deep, after some financial freedom, I got sucked back into Corporate America. I found that I was drowning in the 9 to 5 world of e-memos and terrible takeout. The scary part was that I lost my belief in anything better.
After I left WA, you still kept sending me marketing material, updates, and general uplifting stories. You never gave me a chance to completely pull away from the scene, and I am really grateful. I’ve put in my 30 day notice at work and other than some parttime IT classes I might be teaching, my goal is to become as knowledgeble in affiliate marketing as I can and start spending more time enjoying life rather than just letting it pass by.
Thanks Again Ryan,
Steve.
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