(This chapter is extracted from my book, the International Player, https://theinternationalplayer.com/, thus it’s a longer read than my usual post. I hope it’ll inspire you to international success in 2021.)
…………………….
I can still remember when I just got started, my Dad sayingโฆ
โ๐๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ด ๐ข ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ฃ?โ
He was referring to me. It was 2003 and I was โself-employedโ โ doing my own stuff which my dad doesn’t have a clue about.
โDo you know what heโs doing?โ Asked my dad to my mum. Mum doesnโt have a clue either, but she believed in me.
You see, I can’t blame Dad for thinking like that at all. Dadโs been driving taxi for over 10 years now. He’s a hard-working blue-collar worker โ Wakes up in the morning, has a good breakfast (literally butter and bread) at home and off he goes driving to bring back the money for the family.
Every single day he worksโฆ 7 days a week.
There’s no such thing as a day off unless the family is having some sort of outing or, if heโs sick.
Driving taxi may look easy to most people.
I mean, how tough could it be to focus on the road with all of the God’s given senses?
But try driving for 8 hours a dayโฆ 365 days — and multiply that by 10 years? And you donโt get to meet nice passengers every day, my friend.
I respect my Dad. I just donโt know how to tell him that I love him.
Guess you can tellโฆ Dadโs income is hard-earned money. For the sacrifices he has made for the family, I donโt think words alone can describe.
Each trip, he earns a few bucks. Heโll have to collect dozens of those each week to reach a few thousand a month so that he can provide a better life for his family. As they say, a shelter over our head, food on the table and clothings to keep us warm.
And Dadโs a frugal person too. Not because he is a cheapskate, but because money is hard to come by. I mean, if you earn a few dollars each time you complete a task, Iโll bet that youโll see money differently. ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ.
Like any parent, I think Dadโs ideal hope is that his children will get a good education and end up with a good job. I mean, career.
I got a good education at school, no doubt about that. But unfortunately, I wasnโt cut to be one of those smart kids.
Smart kids in school give a certain kind of look. You know, the look that says, โLook at that bummer. Wonder what heโs gonna end up doing after school.โ
Yes, they predicted well – I flunked.
I was not accepted to any public University to further my education because of my low grades. Dreams shattered into pieces.
The next choice was private college. But if you were meโฆ would you take your Dadโs hard-earned money gained from driving in the hot sun to pay for the darn college fee?
Thatโs tough. Mum wanted to give me her life savings if I need money to go for college. Sheโs a housewife and doesnโt have an income. Forget it. Thatโs even worse.
So I have to work โ But the problem is, I canโt get a good job because Iโm not qualified academically.
You see, in order for me to be qualified for most of the jobs that I want, I wasnโt even able to pass the first stage because most companies will look at the damn academic paper to evaluate and judge me. No diploma or degree. Not even a certificate. So, better luck next time, bucko.
Getting a job wasnโt easy.
Thus, I ended up as a salesperson. I get paid when I sell. Thatโs it. The harder I sell, the more money I’ll make. I ended up becoming a very HARDWORKING salesperson for money.
Well, thatโs good and bad, depending on which angle youโre looking at. That was my JOB.
To cut the story short, I was in the sales line for almost two years before I stepped out to do my own things. The products Iโve sold ranged from door-to-door greeting cards to electronic components for corporate clients.
…
Then one fine day, I felt like quitting my job. Iโd had it.
In a nutshell, I started out on my own entrepreneurial path, alone. The only thing backing me up that time wasโฆ me.
Donโt laugh when I say this โ I had this strong desire to achieve more in life.
Imagine, being alone and running around like a madman to make money at that time. You know, when youโre over optimistic, it just ainโt โhealthyโ.
Donโt you feel that the environment and community โhelpโ you become normal like everybody else, instead of being the success you were destined to be?
I know itโs strange but try telling your friends that you want to make money from the Internet in 2003. Mum and Dad werenโt at all excited. I mean, how could they be?
My relationship with Dad was strained since the day I quitted my โgoodโ job.
I think, he was disappointed and confused about how stupid I was.
And I can see his point of view NOW, but not at that time. Truth is, I was slightly disappointed with him for not standing on my side.
Most of my friends (except for the super close ones) started to avoid me because they didnโt see any benefit mixing with a โloserโ. I didnโt have much support after that.
And they were RIGHT. I messed up.
Should have stuck with a good job.
And I hadnโt discovered the Internet businesses yet. I tried multi- level marketing, a printing business, marketing seminars, etc. Things were good in the beginning and then they started to fall apart without proper planning.
That is when I turned to the internet to sort out my financial disaster. Kiss goodbye to weekends. My new best pal for the weekends was none other than the computer. Iโd even sneak to do my internet stuff when working in the daytime.
…
And do you think I made money after all of these sacrifices?
Nope. I didnโt. All of the courses that I was reading at that time told me that it was easy.
These marketers had probably never made a single red cent online before, other than selling courses to innocent people like me.
I can still remember buying a โBlasterโ. The membership claimed that Iโd be able to send my advertising message to 100,000 subscribers with a click of a button.
When I went to sleep that night after hitting the โSendโ button, I closed my eyes with a pleasant smile on my faceโฆ expecting to make money by tomorrow morning. That was a nice feeling. The hope. Wow. Ha!
You know what happened, donโt you? NOT EVEN ONE VISITOR from that promotion. Dammit.
Why did they lie to me?????
Iโd paid my $29.95 and the webpage said my promotion would be sent out to 100,000 people.
I then realized that I was not alone.
Thousands of people paid for a โhopeโ that could never be achieved.
Until today, I still donโt get it why people still sell this kind of โsoftwareโ when they know itโs not working?
Yes, they are still around, they have just been relabeled differently to adapt to todayโs stuff. Today, the same blaster may be some tools to auto-post comments in social media and promise you โautomated free trafficโ.
I guess money is a good reason to do almost anything online for some marketers โฆ but for everyoneโs sake, sell something that works!
Failure after failure, but I would not give up.
I was so close that I could โtasteโ it, but only in my dreams.
It took me at least 6 months to get my first sale. It was tiring but I just kept on striving.
Call it whatever you want โ an ambition, a goal, etc.
During that time, no one knew the deep s#@t I was in except for my mum.
She was always there for me, morally or financially. Sometimes, she was worried about me because she was afraid that I didnโt know what to do with my life. I tried to explain to her but how in the world could I expect her to know what internet marketing is.
Until today, Dad still doesnโt know what I do but heโs cool* now because Iโve brought in results that he can see. House. Car. Watch. Holidays. You know. The struggle Iโve been through was not easy, but I can tell you this โ itโs ๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ ๐๐ง.
* ๐๐ฆ ๐ท๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ฆ ๐คโ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ 2๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐ต๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ฆ, ๐ผโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐กโ๐๐ก โ๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ โ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐.
…
Am I successful?
Compared to more than 15 years ago when I first started, yeah.
Every day, I can go to sleep with my eyes close with a smile on my face for a better tomorrow. But other than that, I think Iโm just scratching the surface.
There are many messages I want to pass to you in this chapter but one thing for sure is this – itโs going to require you to SACRIFICE to achieve your goal. What are the sacrifices?
I donโt know! It could be turning off your TV or playing less with your kids.
I hate it when I throw cold water on you like this.
It doesnโt make you to like me. But if I want to help you, I have no choice but to tell you the truth. Iโm sorry, I donโt want to sell you a hope that cannot be achieved but a hope that can come true.
If a marketer tells you to buy his course and without doing anything, youโll make money online, I think heโs likely a liar.
Lucky for him, heโll probably get away with it because thatโs what all people want to hear. Just like the โBlasterโ I bought. So this leads me to the million-dollar questionโฆ
โ๐โ๐๐ก ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ?โ
A purpose.
Iโve taught thousands of students to make money online and build online businesses.
A student attended my internet marketing workshop with a passion, his name is Soo Cheng Guan*.
So I asked him, โWhatโs your purpose in learning how to make money online?โ
He told me thatโฆ His mum is getting older every day. He loves her a lot.
I could see this in his eyes when he was sharing it with me. But with his current job, there was no way he could be at home with her.
He wanted to build an internet business because of a very powerful purpose โ To stay at home with his mum and have the ability to decide his own hours. With that drive, he has built his information product business and make money online full-time and he quitted his job. Is that strong enough? Itโs MOVING.
* ๐๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ 2016 ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก. ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก โ๐ก๐ก๐๐ ://๐ค๐ค๐ค.๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.๐๐๐/๐๐๐ ๐๐. ๐ป๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ โ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ โ๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ผโ๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ป๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐ผ ๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐ ๐๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐ผโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ก ๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐๐๐โ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก ๐กโ๐๐๐.
For me, I have a purpose too. A desire to go all out and create my own wealth.
I want to be rich, yada, yada, yada.
You know, the normal reasons why everyone in the world strives to achieve what they want. But I think, what really DROVE me was โrevengeโ.
Ok, perhaps revenge is too harsh a word.
It was a desire to prove to those who looked down on me and assumed that I wasnโt capable of becoming successfully. I know, it sounds โevilโ. But I donโt think it was that, if youโre seeing it from my point of view.
You see, even during my schooling days, I just hated the feeling I can feel from the teachers and the other students that Iโd be a loser when I grow up. Itโs hurtful.
Heck, I can still remember one of the schoolteachers who didnโt want to answer my question. She thought it was useless, wasting her breath to answer me because I would never catch it anyway.
And all I wanted was to catch up with the smarter kids. Hey, I wanted to be smart too.
Then, I wanted to show my other friends who had rich parents that I could be as good as they were. Or should I say, that I would enjoy the same good life that they were experiencing. ๐๐ณ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป’๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐, ๐โ๐ฑ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต. Iโd go on vacation at places they went, with my own money.
How about Dad?
I want to prove to my Dad that I was doing the right thing all the while. There were so many other people that I want to proveโฆ
But I think, the most important person that I want to prove to wasโฆ ME.
I want to prove to myself that despite my background, I CAN still do it. I think that purpose was strong enough to move me to quit my job and go for it.
โSo, whatโs your purpose?โ
Ask yourself why youโre doing this โ trying to start and build a highly profitable online business.
Trust me, without a good motivator like a purpose, you canโt go far. Each time you get dirt kicked in your face, just remember your purpose. Then, youโll โfightโ back to overcome whatever obstacles come your way.
I think a stronger message I want to pass to you is this:
โYOU NEED TO HAVE A COMPELLING REASON TO BE SUCCESSFUL ONLINE.โ
…
There. You have it.
Also, remember that the internet is not biased.
It doesnโt care how old you are, where you from, whatโs your academic education level, who you mix with, whatโs your race, etc. Anyone can make money online when they build their business well. ANYONE, which includes you.
Share with your friends who you think this will inspire them for 2021.
(Extracted from the International Player, https://theinternationalplayer.com/)
