1 thing is a MUST if you want to make real money writing online

Lots of people say they want to change their lives and make big money online, and there’s a highly lucrative industry built around telling them how to do it.

There are countless articles and videos out there pitching “hacks” and tutorials promising to turn people’s lives around on a dime.

Some are incredibly scammy.

They’ll tell you that there’s a SECRET way to make $10,000 EVERY DAY with little to no effort.

Others provide actual pragmatic, realistic guidance that doesn’t gloss over the fact that — in any facet of life really — success requires a lot of effort and, more often than not, a lot of time.

I like to think my work falls into the latter camp.

If you come to me, I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that there are 29 GREAT WAYS to make HUGE money NOW.

And that’s because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really have anything to do with “easy hacks” or choosing the best side hustle.

At the end of the day, it’s about you … and whether or not you can do 1 actual simple thing to ensure your success.

Let me tell you about it.

The true formula for success

I think a lot about an example from one of my favorite self-help books of all time, The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy that reveals one of the true formulas for success.

Darren asks the reader to think about when you were getting a merry-go-round going when you were a kid.

It can take a lot of effort from your tiny body to get that rig going, but once it’s spinning, it only takes a kick here and there to keep it spinning at a fast, consistent pace.

Let it slow down by taking too long of a break and the slog begins anew.

In addition to perfectly illustrating the concept of positive momentum, the metaphor also reveals one big reason most people never get their side hustle dreams off the ground.

Building a strong writing habit is the same as building a strong gym habit — you need to do it almost every day. (Licensed by the author under the Unsplash+ License)

Starts and stops

Think about having a regular gym routine.

When you work out all the time, it becomes such an ingrained part of your life that it bothers you not to go.

But take a couple weeks off, and that first session is going to be pain … if you make it back there at all.

You’ve lost all momentum, and because everything worth doing is hardest at the start, you find it difficult to drum up the enthusiasm to start that merry-go-round spinning again.

I did this so many times on my entrepreneurial quest.

I would get all jazzed, kick like crazy at that merry-go-round (by building websites, designing logos, setting up social media accounts, figuring out advertising), and then I would just … quit.

Instead of putting in a consistent effort every day, I’d get discouraged and I’d kick less and less until I came to a dead stop.

The problem always was, I’m beginning to understand, that I never made it a habit.

Making something a habit is the ultimate laziness cure because it takes the decision out of your thinking mind’s hands.

You are simply compelled to do it every day.

This goes both ways, of course — I was compelled for many years to drink alcohol every day, and that did not serve me well at all.

The key is to not only crush your bad habits but foster your good ones too.

One of the purposes of my Publish Every Day project — a plan to publish something every day on various platforms and invest my earnings in hopes of leaving commuter life behind within 1 year — was to entrench my writing habit so deeply that it would feel uncomfortable not to do it.

When I started it exactly 110 days ago, I’ll admit it was a grind.

Now, it’s just part of my day.

And I already have $4,968 to show for it (more on that below).

So if you find you’re having trouble sticking to something you know is important, structure your time and commit to doing it every day for just 60 days.

It doesn’t have to be a year like me — I know that sounds intimidating — but give your brain at least a little bit of time to start digging those neural pathways.

I bet you’ll be really happy with the results!

Publish Every Day project update: Day 110

I’m trying to see if I can make enough money to quit commuter life within 1 year by publishing every single day on various platforms and putting my earnings into passive income investments.

How much I need to retire: $250 CAD per day

What I earned on Day 110: $35.50 (writing) + $6.83 (YouTube) = $42.33 total

Publish Every Day project total earnings, Day 110

Publish Every Day project, earnings by day, Day 110

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