…I was a few miles down the trail, coming to a scenic overlook, when I stopped to catch my breath.

As I looked out over the valley of trees and fields below, felt the hot summer breeze sweeping by me, cooling me as every little drop of sweat evaporated off my skin, and the sound of the leaves rustled in the trees overhead, every bit of stress left my body. And in that moment I asked myself…

“What is this all for?”

It was 2006, only 2 years after graduating from college.

I had done what everyone in society had told me to do…

…Get good grades (valedictorian of my H.S. class), go to college and get a degree, get a good job and then someday you’ll be able to retire with a great pension, social security, or retirement investments.

I never was an “employee” kind of person. I had my own lawncare business in high school and a greenhouse where I grew & sold plants year-round. So my intent from the beginning was to have my own landscaping business. But I figured I need a few years under my belt working for someone to learn the “ins and outs” of running the business.

So I landed a landscape designer position at an up & coming landscaping firm.

I enjoyed my role: expressing my creative side in designing landscapes, working with plants that I love, and working with customers. It seemed like a great fit.

However, it didn’t take long for me to realize, getting paid purely on commission from my sales of landscaping jobs, I had to work CRAZY hours to make a decent income. I say decent income, enough to keep my head above water, paying bills…there was no chance of getting ahead, let alone getting rich.

(And admit it, You and I WANT to be RICH, nothing wrong with admitting that!)

Add into the mix the fact that I’m just not the “employee kind of guy”…this answering to a boss thing was really getting to me.

And watching the life of the owner of the company was enough to convince me that owning the business wouldn’t be much better. He was either at the business or thinking & working on the business at home…no free time, and not a life I wanted to have.

So, there I was, on the lookout, staring out into the vastness of the valley below, thinking, “There just has to be a better way!”

It’s funny how God and the universe around us works sometimes…

Renewed Hope & Dreams…

Because it wasn’t very long after that I was presented with the home-based business industry.

It was then that a whole new world of opportunities filled my mind that I had never experienced before.

…The ability to build a business that still gave me time freedom, the ability to work whenever & wherever I wanted, and a business I could run without the hassles of employees, overhead, equipment, and physical inventory!

My dreams that had quickly been squashed by the so-called “Real World” had been brought back to life!

For the next 2 to 3 years I pursued my revived dreams through the vehicle of network marketing.

I had little successes along the way, a few hundred dollars per month, and even a couple thousand bucks in my best months. Not nearly enough to quit my job, but it was so exciting because it felt like I was building up my lifeboat that would eventually get me away from the sinking ship I had gotten on from the advice of the rest of society.

A couple years into it, I hit a ceiling and my business plateaued…It was at that time, about 2008 or 2009 that I ventured onto the Internet to find a way to keep growing my business, and what I found blew my mind.

I discovered I could connect with like-minded people all around the world who had the same interests as me, and were looking for the services and products I provided…no longer was I restricted to selling and building my business with the people around me in my area.

Many struggles and failures lay ahead of me.

There were many times I was just about to quit and throw in the towel…

But the dreams inside me, that I had visualized coming true, were too strong to let me give up on myself.

And now looking back over the last 5 years, getting to the point of success I’m at today, I can say every one of those struggles, difficulties, failures, and all those times I lost money trying something new, were all worth it!

Every bit of it was worth it.

I could look at all of those times negatively, as reasons to quit, proof it wasn’t going to work out.

Instead, I chose to see them all as learning experiences, each failure was teaching me what not to repeat in the future, and it was all getting me closer to my eventual success.

Times Are Changin’…

The long accepted path in life of college, degree, working a job 40 hours per week for 40 hours of your life, to retire with a pension, gold watch, and retirement investments are long gone!

Where many people in generations past worked all their life for 1 or 2 employers, the average person today has over 27 different jobs in their lifetime!

Many people in the Baby Boomer generation are finding they can’t actually retire at 65 like they always thought, with the value of their investments cut as much as half of what they were just a few years ago, and are being forced to keep working long into their 70’s.

We’re now in the age where you can no longer depend on the loyalty of an employer. The idea of getting a “secure” job is a myth that no longer exists. Today the most secure thing is what used to be impossible…working independently, providing value in line with your talents, skills, and passions, and getting paid for it.

The old safe is now risky, and the old risky is now the safest thing you can do.

Start your own business. It’s easier now than ever before, and when you do what you love, you’ll find you never work a day in your life. Everyday can be filled with joy and enthusiasm for what you do.

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. – Alexander Graham Bell

As Bell was alluding to, despite all of the turmoil and chaos in the economy today, there are still more opportunities available to you than ever before…you just have to take your focus off the door that has been closed (your job lost, can’t find a new job, can’t get ahead, credit card debts not going down, etc. etc.) and begin looking for those doors that are open.

More Opportunities Today Than Anybody Ever Before In History

Despite the mainstream media and every “Negative Nancy” around you trying to tell you everything is going to pot, times are tough, the economy sucks, and that you just can’t get ahead anymore…the truth is you have more opportunities at your fingertips than anyone ever before in the history of mankind.

The Internet has opened up a whole new world of possibilities, allowing you to get paid for expressing yourself, capitalizing on your strengths, and selling your knowledge & skills to people all around the world…with a few clicks of the mouse.

Today you can start a business with almost ZERO money, build it with just a few hours per night, and create incomes once reserved only for the elite.

I have friends earning $50,000 per month, $100,000 per month, and one friend who I hung out with in Miami, Florida in June even earns over $1 million per month…all from connecting with and helping people of like-mind on the Internet!

Your dreams, whatever they are, no matter how long ago life squashed them and beat you down, are ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE! You can achieve them, you can live the life of your dreams, and you can impact 1000’s of people’s lives…no matter where you’re at in life.

How You Can Change The Fundemantal Way You Make Money In Your Life Today

First, know that no matter where you’re at in your life – graduating from college but can’t find a job, to retirement age with nothing in the bank to show for your years of hard work – it’s NEVER TOO LATE to completely change your life.

…and with the power of the Internet, and systems that are available for you to use, it’s completely possible for you to dramatically change your life in the next 90 days!

It starts with developing the mindset that you are going to be the most secure in life by marketing yourself based on the skills, traits, talents, and passions you have.  And that you deserve success, you have the skills and drive to earn that success, and you will get there to your dreams if you just keep going forward.

When failures and big life changes come your way – and they will – pay attention to how you are dealing with the situation. Are you dealing in a way that it serves you or in a way that you think it couldn’t ever get worse or you try to place blame on someone? If the way you are dealing with change isn’t serving you, then just ditch that way of thinking…gone.

After you realize you can make it big on your own, without the need of a typical income from a J.O.B. (just over broke), and have more time freedom by being self-employed, then you need to find the right system that will train you on marketing yourself and your business online…AND you need personal development and mindset training to keep you on the right path and get your mind in the right place to allow you to succeed.

…Your mindset is a bigger deal than you think.

Check out my blog post from the other day on mindset for more info: Icebergs, Ants, & Elephants.

So, get your mind right, then find the right system that will guide you, train you, and also allow you to make a great income.

…Then it’s just a matter of going to work and following the leadership and mentorship I can provide you to help you succeed in this new economy. You can fundamentally change the way you perceive money, and the way you earn money, I have faith in you. If I could do it, you certainly can!

Your Second Chance At A Life Of Your Dreams

Life isn’t a dress rehearsal, you’ve only got one shot to make it the best you can make it. Only so many chances and opportunities come along. Today is the day to create an completely change your life.