Sacrifices
It's story time again...
Back in the early 2000's I was looking at ways to make money online while doing a few things like....Raising a baby boy! Taking night classes at a community college. Working an offline job that I hated....And trying to juggle it all.
I came across some unique online opportunities but I had absolutely NOTHING extra to put into my new ventures.
I thought if I worked more hours, I'd get more money but while I did everything I could, there was none extra hours to be had.
On top of all this, was the fact my son needed diapers and formula which....Wasn't any cheaper back in 2001!
So I had to look at a few things that I was spending money on foolishly and cut it out...
Heck I even wrote an e-book about it and I published it in 2007 or so...
(Scary to look back on the WayBackMachine to find these awful website designs I used to think were amazing lol)
The truth was...I had to make sacrifices!
And while this seems like a no brainer to most, as a young 20-something my priorities were kind of messed up...
- I smoked, so I NEEDED my cigarettes.
- I worked as a pizza store manager so the BIG discounts on pizza was a daily thing (kind of explained my extra large body lol)
- Weekends with the boys was a priority for a while, and that wasn't cheap
I had a lot of growing up to do...And when I decided that building online businesses was my passion and something I wanted to do for the rest of my life...I made some cuts!
The cigarettes. No more.
Drinking with the boys. Done!
Pizza dinners every night. Not going to happen anymore.
And before I knew it, I magically started having the funds to not only make sure my kid had everything he needed but extra cash to...You guessed it...Invest in my online businesses.
My life seemed to improve when I made the sacrifices I needed to, and it allowed me to focus on what was important.
Why am I talking about this in a blog post today?
Look, I don't know what your situation is. What you may be going through...The hardships you face.
But I do know this....
We can 'find' a few extra things when we start sacrificing the junk that's holding us back.
Need more time to write or create content?
Why not turn off Netflix or the video games you are playing and focus on your craft?
Tired of being out of shape?
Don't stuff your face with a Twinkie tonight, eat something healthy!
Need extra funds for things like....Hive Power Up Day?
Take that $10 pack of cigarettes or the 20 dollars you may spend on pizza tonight, and invest in your self!
This is sacrificing negative things in your life, and adding positives ones!
You'll be blown away at what magically starts to appear to you...
More time!
More opportunity!
More growth!
More success!
Heck...More Hive!!!!!
Again, I know that individual situations are unique, but maybe take a good look at what you spend your time, energy and money on and sacrifice the quick gains for some long term potential!
It works, I'm living proof!
Note: This post's beneficiary is @theroad2freedom Another remarkable member of the CTP community and a passionate entrepreneur that is fired up for his journey on the blockchain! Every post I make, 25% of the author rewards goes to a random member of the CTP Tribe!
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Great motivational message. 💯
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Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for selecting me as the beneficiary for this post.
This particular post rings true for me. However, rather than looking at it as sacrificing (giving up things), I look at it more as trading up. It is just like my current weight transition. I have chosen to trade my former eating patterns for a slimmer body that does not have the same physical limits I had before (trading up). I still eat foods I really like, the portions are just smaller. That's actually a bonus, because I can eat the half I didn't finish for another meal the next day (trading up). You just have to ask yourself, "Which is more important to me?" Unfortunately, most people choose the comfortable, easy option. Thank you for offering an alternative, Jon.
Really good way of looking at it for sure.
I took it more like sacrifice cause my extra large butt, loved the pizza LOL
It was tough to quit the junk food, but yup I agree...Traded up for sure.
It's always a good thing to invest in yourself. I think a lot of people completely misunderstand the old "pay yourself first" truism for the self-employed. "Paying yourself" can also means not spending what I call "empty dollars" on things we have gotten used to having as "nice," but they don't actually add very much to our quality of life.
So so true!
I've made sure to do that my entire career. Hasn't always been the easiest thing to do, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make every day to build my business up!
Love the personal story of success.
It’s cool to see someone who has made it online. Nice work. I’m starting an affiliate business this week on amazon. I’m going to try for a year or so and see how it works out. Wish me luck.
Awesome for sure!!!
Good luck :)
Yeah it's not always rosy and often stressful LOL But I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Good luck with that! Be sure to post your progress on hive in the ctp tribe. I’m sure lots of us would like to read the stories.
ah ah ah ah Stayin' a Hive Stayin' a Hive!
Jon "The Pizza Guy" Olson is another great name as well
Many hats I wear LOL
Thank you for sharing your story. I did love The Pizza Plan though :D
It was pretty epic...I liked version 2 myself lol
Thanks for sharing your story. I believe that it's easier to make sacrifices when we have discovered something that is a passion for us. This passion can have a transformative effect on us and help us to make the necessary sacrifices. A passion is the best motivator...
Great point, Achim! I was trying to remember the name of a guy whose CD I used to listen to back in 2007-2008. He said, work out what you want, then work out what you will have to GIVE UP to achieve it. Then ask if you are willing to pay the price. And if the answer is, "No", that's okay. In short, you aren't passionate enough about it for it to be your #1 priority.
I believe that when we are passionate about something we are willing to do everything necessary for it. When I have a passion I can forget everything else and I get in a flow... I love that state :-)
When we see someone is doing well and successful, that's inspiring. But most of the time, we do not know the background and their hustle, and how they get here today. Thank you @jongolson for sharing your story. By the way, when I read this...
I imagine we might read another story in 2030. It will go like this.
Now I run a couple of gyms. You can guess that seeing me. I look way better than my 20's. lol...
ha ha ha Yeah you never know. I put off my health way too much. Might be time to get serious :)
You said it my friend, I remember you writing posts(emails) like this years ago. I did buy the Pizza Plan and even resold a few. How do I do my online business with next to no time? I have blogged about it. So if anyone reading this wants to know you have to visit my blog! lol
People can and should learn from other peoples experience, mistakes, and successes. And Jon has been there. A great man to learn from.
Here is to our future!
Thanks Bradley. Oh I've failed a lot more than I ever succeeded that's for sure lol
Part of the entrepreneur life.
I actually loved the Pizza Plan series. From the heart, and real world applications.
And look here. It's survived the test of time!
It still works just fine. This is a really good update and a solid plan for getting more Hive, no matter your situation. Nicely done Jon.
We plan on releasing version 3.0 later this year....We'll see, a lot has changed lol
If we sacrifice something that is hurting us, we are really blessing ourselves.
So so true!
It really was a blessing.
I love this! This is so, so true.
As someone who has had to work on an offline job for many years, & deal with life's curveballs (including medical issues), I wanted something more & when my passion for online entrepreneurship was ignited, there was no turning back :)
Of course I made my mistakes as well (we all do) but I started putting my time & energy into things that could help me improve on my business as well as myself. The magic truly does happen when you start realizing what's really important & what can help you in the long run. Instead of seeing the short term, I started seeing the bigger picture.
Then, last month, I was able to walk away from my hotel job for good & dive into this business full time. This was a goal I had for so long & it felt wonderful to finally be able to do it. It will be a bumpy road ahead, for sure, but I am embracing it & enjoying the journey as I go. That's the whole point, isn't it?
Great read, Jon! It is awesome to see you grow as much as you have! :) 💛
Congratulations, Jenn. It must have felt amazing to be able to leave your job.
Thank you Hiro. It really was. I mean, it was really time. I was afraid to leave before but sometimes you need to take that leap of faith. Of course I made sure I was able to do it so it wasn't a rash decision. But so glad I did do it. 🙌💗
Appreciated Jenn!
Oh it'll be bumpy forever LOL I mean, if we get too comfortable, we put it in neutral and well...Bad things happen!
Great story, Jon... I remember when I was a kid (in not that wealthy family), and my father was smoking, drinking, but we couldn't afford to go on summer vacation as a family...
I still have that picture in my head when I want to spend money on something stupid and useless things... It right like you said, turn negative stuff into positive...
Cheers!
Oh man, I have quite the track record of spending money like an idiot...
Now I just buy crypto LOLOL
Congrats post's beneficiary @theroad2freedom
I always wonder why you called Pizza that site....now i know.lol
But as you say...i smoke me self too i cant even calculate how much i spend on that...
And definitly invest in my self and future is best plan and when i read post like that it gives me thinking...but just thinking.lol
you'd be blown away...
when I quit smoking, a pack was $12...And I was smoking at least a pack a day.
84 bucks a week on smoking....
Once I stopped it, I took a big chunk of that and put it into my business.
Things started to really take off!
Yeah i beleive only strong will needed...
Thanks, Elizabeta.
Like your change into a better way to use your time
Oh it's a must...No more Netflix for me!!! lol
It was nice to read some of your backstory.
I remember seeing the pizza plan back then.
I agree that by doing small positive changes in your life can have compounding positive results.
Congrats on being featured by @russellstockley.
Russell is awesome! So cool to be mentioned on his post!
Small wins, added up makes for big changes!
Talking about giving up. I like to say what I given up. which is why I have a place to live. I do admire you for being a good father. my boys didn't have one.
I didn't meet my birth father until I was mid-20's...But it's the cards you are dealt. You don't get to pick it, but you do get to pick how you play your hand :)
That for sure. I had adopted girl from me we did get to talk on phone. she passed. I have picture of different ages of her on my wall.
Well done and thanks for sharing. Have made some changes or sacrifices through the years myself. Doesnt always take the very big changes to make a big difference.
so true...it's the little ones, over time that start to add up for sure!
The Pizza Plan brings back some memories for sure @jongolson, and nice that you shared your journey and real world experince in sacrificing bad stuff and adding good stuff, keep up your great work, it's awesome.
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Thanks man, blast from the past for sure...Will be doing a reboot of it down the road too!
Such a wonderful post about your road to bliss, true entrepreneurship! As you, I am excited to see where I will be a year from now after doing this full-time online business thing. ;) I am so happy you made this choice & you were able to inspire so many others along the way! Thanks for sharing & remember, You Are Awesome. (Oh yeah & the Raptors RULE!) 👍🙂💚
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The goal of this project is to "highlight Awesome Content, and growing the Hive ecosystem by rewarding it".
What a wonderful story and I for one am glad you made it through!
Every time I hear your stories of the hustle and sacrifices and commitments you made it inspires me to get back to where I was about 5 years ago and grow further then I can imagine.
Five years ago I had returned to affiliate marketing with a dedication to make money online. I started investing in my self and even had a couple of mentors as it was said I should do. However, the people I was following was growing and it seemed to get to a point that they got bigger while I was going nowhere. I realized this and stepped back for a few. so when you relaunched CTP I knew I had to get in from the start. I may not be making $1000 a month like I would like to, but I see myself and money growing everyday. I recently took on an outside job so that I could invest more money in my business but now I find that I don't have enough time to invest. So once again I'm limited and the only thing I have to sacrifice right now is sleep which I can't do because I take care of a baby during the day.
I will however review my daily activities again so I can see what I can cut to have more time.
Awesome to hear those goals Charletta, and they sound VERY similar to mine when I was getting back into this stuff....
The company I worked for first in affiliate marketing was based in Australia. So for the first few years of working at this stuff, I slept maybe 4 hours a night if I was lucky LOL
I was juggling that, my son being born and then the pizza job all at once..lol But it helped me because I had these small little goals in front that kept inspiring me...Firs was to learn how to make 5 bucks a day online, then 10, then 20 etc....The small wins added up
Believe me, 1000 a month is VERY achievable and I know you can reach it!!
Best thing I ever did was quit smoking, it's like taking a hand full of money and lighting it on fire.
Great story Jon, I have been around a long time so I have heard some of this before, but that doesn't change how motivational of a story you have.
Appreciated man!
yeah it's amazing the money I suddenly had at my disposal LOL
I love this post! It does remind me that some sacrifices are worth making indeed! Keep on inspiring, Jon! You're awesome!!!
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