I have been online and working toward a vague and general goal for almost five years, if we look at all my history. I have had some successes, and a lot of failures, but have never really reached my goal. On one hand, this pretty much sucks for me. On the other hand, I feel I have a lot to share with others. I have tried a lot of things, failed a lot of times, and learned just as much. The good news for you, is that you don’t have to fail that many times. You can have more successes by learning from those that came before you. I really wish I had done more of this and less trial and error of my own, but at the same time I can share with you what is important.
Define a Purpose.
You can have some success without a purpose. I know. I have done it. I make between 2 and $300 a month every month and have for a couple of years now. For most that would be great success, but it isn’t really enough and in order to get further I need more of a purpose. Your purpose needs to be related to your goals, but it should also define who you are online, what you are working toward, and a direction you want to take each thing you do.
Defining My Purpose.
My online purpose was originally to make enough that my husband can quit his job and make money online with me. However, this broad purpose doesn’t really show what I am after and most days thinking about it is really frustrating because it doesn’t seem that I can get there.
My purpose is an active life with me and my husband raising our kids together and working together. We desire to homeschool our children and give them the best education possible. We want to work, but do so in a way that we work less and earn more. For now that means a lot of work, but with the right direction we can work less to maintain the hard work that was put into it before. We would love to travel and find the perfect home for us that isn’t here in Texas.
This purpose has lead me to a lot of things online and by figuring out what each purpose is I will have better results. I started this blog a short while ago with the purpose of having a “hub”. I do so much online that it can get a little confusing even for me. Here I will talk about all that I do, share with you my writing, and give you some help and some other resources if you are looking at being successful through writing as well. The actual purpose of this website isn’t really to help you make money too, but there will be a lot of things that will help you in that direction.
The first thing you need to do is figure out your purpose. Then take that purpose and set a lot of goals. The last few months have made me realize that my life is short on goals and that is hurting me more than a lot of other things. A clear and firm direction is very important.
Set Goals.
It is important that you set goals. I am not very good at this. I have a fear of failure and by setting goals I feel that I am more likely to fail. However, this then makes it so that I am floating out on the sea and doing a little of this and a little of that, but without a whole lot of direction. It is important that you do a great job setting goals. I have been reading a bit about this lately and will delve into the topic next months, but for now a great place to find more on goal setting is found at the Renegade Writer. Andrew’s article is geared toward the New Year’s resolutions with them right around the corner, but the article doesn’t need to be applied to your life only once a year. You can make resolutions, set goals, and work toward a better life and a better you any time.
What you can take from my experience is that you don’t have to wander around the Internet searching for a way to make money for five years. By defining your purpose and setting your goals you will have a clear direction. This doesn’t mean that you won’t have to adjust your direction. You will. It is almost guaranteed. It does however mean that you will have a direction to go, goals to meet, and a driving force that will keep you working even when the going gets tough (and it will).
What About You?
So you have heard a bit about my purpose, but what is your purpose online?
