The most common question we have received over the last month has confirmed that there is literally no competition to get to the top. None. The most common question is as follows:
“Isn’t it better to earn a smaller sum but be free to do what you want?!?!”
This is the most hilarious question we receive and we’re addressing it now. Excuse us for two seconds as we answer in a very immature fashion.
“ROFL LMAO at the guy with low standards!!!”
That is the initial reaction to this preposterous argument/question. But lets go ahead and see how this works out.
1) Run the Math: Lets assume you have a normal IQ. This means you know how to click “purchase” on securities. You know how leverage works and you understand how to do basic math. Now lets play a game.
Option 1: Decide to make $100K or so working for “yourself” after 3-4 years of building a location independent business. This means you’re working 24/7 just like any other business. You give up high income for freedom.
Option 2: Take an extremely high paying career and stack $200K+ per year. In Cold. Hard. Cash. You also have the optionality to start a business because you get bored relatively easily.
Back to the original point. Can you do basic math?
In 5 years, you’re going to get 7% returns on average… Year1… $200K… Year 2 $414K… Year 3… $642K… Year 4 $888K… Year 5 $1.15M.
So by year 5 you’re making 7% on $1.15M for literally doing nothing. $80K per year for zero hours of activity.
There you go, the financial answer is right in front of your eyes. In roughly 5 years, you’ve already created “location independent income” or *real passive income* and not a phony stream that requires actual time. Your zero hours of work is now equal to a decent online income.
For the worry warts… Maybe you get laid off in a downturn and your portfolio takes a 20% hit. Big whoop. You simply take a vacation, spend a few hundred bucks less and re-enter or move on.
By the way? Practically every business will take a hit during a recession anyway.
2) Online Income is Freedom: This is the main draw to the mediocre person. He or She wants to make money online so he can “travel the world and be free of the work shackles”. As if making money online suddenly means the business does not require work!
Hilarious at best, embarrassing at worst.
Make no mistake, if you want to make money online… you should. Go ahead and put in the long hours and create a second income stream, but don’t write to us explaining that zero hours are being put in. This is simply a lie. Overall, we put in about 2 hours of work per week into this hobby and we can already see the emails escalate to 10+/day. The amount of maintenance on a popular blog like Danger and Play is going to be significantly higher than that. As always, as your readership grows, so do your hours.
So there you have it on the online income piece “not being work”. No matter how you slice it, it will require time.
3) What They Are Really Saying: When you run across these mediocre types who want nothing but online income, what they are really saying is clear as day.
“I am not happy with my current life”
Lets stop and think. You’re trying to find a way to make money… to leave your current environment. By definition you simply hate where you are at present moment. Correct? Correct.
How exactly are you going to fix this without putting in large amounts of effort? You won’t fix anything.
To the people who wrote in with the counter argument, stated at the beginning of this post, here is your answer.
Quit your job/career and get a new one doing something you like.
If your life is so miserable that you assume the only good profession is one where you’re making money on the internet. You’re in a bad spot. It is time to move.
4) What They Are Really Saying Part 2: The second part of what they are really saying is that they were unable to make it in their current environment. That is without a doubt true. No one sees success in any country/city and is able to hate it. You won’t see Danger and Play complaining about the USA. You won’t see Financial Samurai writing about how hard it is.
Why? They already made it so what is there to B*tch about?
Tying points 3 and 4 together you see the question in itself is passive aggressive and backed with disbelief.
“Someone is happy in their current profession OMG impossible!”
“No way man he must hate his career and be a miserable person to hang out with!”
“The USA sucks man its impossible to make it to the top without losing your mind and health!”
We’ve heard them all. You *must* be 1) unhealthy, 2) unhappy, 3) looking for a way out, 4) jealous or 5) a liar. Of course none of this is true but that is what happens when you actually succeed. No one believes you.
5) No Competition: Lets close with the original premise. There is no competition based on the question. Everyone around you is looking for a way to leave because they believe their situation is hopeless. If everyone believes their situation is hopeless they will be stuck in a downward spiral… negative feedback loop hell.
More opportunity for you. As soon as you hear someone make *that* counter argument you should see blood in the water. Here is what will go through your mind.
……
(Smirk on the inside)
You know the person will quit.
You know the person is unhappy.
You know the person will settle for $100K a year.
You know the person hates putting in the time.
You know the person has low standards and will take advice from mediocre people.
You know the person won’t even be worth $1M by thirty.
He’s done before he even stepped up to the plate.
