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Young student looking for guidance....

by max2daz
8 replies
I want to start this whole thread by thanking each and every one of you for the help and time you have given me or other Warriors. When I started IM, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and after 1 year, I'm starting to get the hang of it. I want you guys to please read the whole thread and give me a piece of guidance here.

I am an 18 year old student who just recently started college. I live in Montreal so college is equivalent to 12th grade in the US. Regardless, I'm having a lot of trouble in school with finding an interest for all of this required material we're suppose to learn. I am in the commerce program and as excited I was to get out of high school and finally "specialise" in something I have an interest in, I come to find out that nothing has changed. This has really had an impact on me and my career. I have learned so much more from cruising the internet and especially this forum then at school.

I see IM as either the best thing that happened to me or the worst. I got into it at around the end of my 16 years going in my 17's and it was simply because all of these "Get Rich Schemes" all over the internet. I remember building my first website as an affiliate selling a beat maker. Little did I know when I started about the work that it was gonna take to actually generate some income. Regardless, I was hooked on it. I loved the idea of waking up in the morning and checking my clickbank account to see if I made a sale. It wasn't necessarily about the money, was more about thinking that I'm doing something I love and getting a sort of reward for it. Time passed and I finally made my first sale (24.97$). Man, was I happy that day!!!!! IM has proved to be one of the best learning experiences in my life and it just seems like every day something new happens. That's the good part of this. The bad part is the fact that I'm not thinking straight at school anymore. Most of the stuff they teach is useless to me and I don't take the time to study for my exams. I come home, open my computer and I start writing all kinds of posts for my blogs, build backlinks, cruise around warriorforum, etc.

At the current time, I have a few websites running. Even though they don't generate the income I'm aiming for (yet ) they still manage to pay for my hosting and some outsourcing which I am very happy about. I am currently developing a business plan with the help of my business teacher that involves offline SEO marketing for local businesses completely redone with my own personal touch. If it proves to be a success, this will easily generate a stable income for myself.

The big problem is.....

I am slowly losing interest for school and I don't know what to do. I don't want you guys reading this and thinking that I am a moron for thinking this way. I can assure you I am not one of those kids who think that life is easy cause I have my parents paying everything for me and bla bla. I have worked since the age of 14 in the restaurant business and NEVER asked my parents for a dime. My parents are both engineers with master degree in programming(mother) and chief engineer(father). I want to be asured I never become like them, and by that I mean workers. Their life revolves around that "9 to 5" bull**** and even though their salary is better then average, I would never be able to live like that. They have always told me to put school as a priority but I don't see the point if it's gonna turn me into a 9 to 5 worker like everyone else. I am young and I want to ensure myself that I make the best decisions possible now so I won't have to make them later when it will be more difficult.

What do you guys think of this? Is internet marketing considered as a career and is there still money to be made? What kind of studies have you guys done in the past and how much of it has been useful in your online marketing career? Any advice you guys can give me so I don't end up doing something that I will regret later in the future?

Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this thread about a teenager's problems Any help and suggestion will gladly be appreciated!
#guidance #student #young
  • Profile picture of the author Always-A-Warrior
    School is not for everyone, just look at Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, two famous multi-billionaires who never finished school too.

    So the dream you make is your to achieve. Find you passion, stay focus and be patient. If you must deversify then take ONE step at a time, don't overload yourself or you will lose interest and end up jumping around from one program to another. Only to find yourself frustrated and helpless.

    Passion, Patience and Persistance.

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    FOR SALE: WebDesignInNewYork.com
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Andrews
      Banned
      Hello Max, I just wrote this in reply to somebody else - you might want to read it...

      http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-everyone.html

      Now, you listen up a minute. Bloody hell, I sound so old lol, Mark wags his finger for emphasis...

      Nobody is going to tell you school isn't important. I know you're young and impatient and you want to get out there and start learning everything there is to life, not tomorrow or the next day but right now, this very instant. However...

      Though you might not appreciate it right now, your schooling / education is so important to you. I know some of it can sound like a right load of crap at times, it bores you stiff but stick with it because often the benefit of this education - it's not apparent immediately, it's only later we realize the gift this education can give us.

      And this education...

      It's the foundation upon which you can build a good, solid foundation for many years to come.

      By all means 'zone out' every now and then if you have to but pay just enough attention so you don't miss out on any vital details which could just prove to be, some of the best and most valuable advice you ever hear.

      The rest of the time, dedicate to your own independent thoughts of success. Making it big in this world. Don't you dare ever EVER let anyone tell you it can't be done.

      Sod em. Tell them to bugger off. You don't need to listen to such claptrap. If you've got the belief to make your life whatever you want it to be, you go for your dreams ya hear me! Don't let anyone or anything stand in your way.

      Reach out, ask questions just like you've done with your opening post in this thread, seek advice, listen, absorb as much as you can and then act on your instinct. Bloody well just go for it!

      Take it from me, this kind of entrepreneurial thinking will always open doors up for you at your age.

      Don't discount your education, it's priceless. But do go with your gut instincts too. It's a finite balancing act you've got going on here.

      And in business, for example SEO and offline marketing? Stick with this one thing, don't be tempted to go off at tangents in a 1001 different directions, keep at it, plug away, think on your feet, find out what specific pain your target market is suffering from right now and then deliver to them...

      ...your perfect solution on a plate and you won't go far wrong. Discipline yourself for success and the very best of luck!

      Kindest regards and best wishes,


      Mark Andrews
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      • Profile picture of the author feliciayapsl
        I'm not too sure about your parents' response to you doing IM stuff. You know, like most other people who do not know about IM, they will often raise eyebrows like my friends. They will say things like "why don't you find a proper job?" You can't blame them as their mentality is can you really earn a living making money online.

        If your parents are like most of the people out there, then I think your basic responsibility will be to finish your school 1st even though you're not interested. This is the basic responsibility you have towards them.

        At the same time, you can work on your IM business during your free time, until the point you earn enough to replace your future day job.

        To answer your questions:

        There is money to be made online. I'm a full-time IM'er. I major in accounts during my school days, and as you'll know, it is totally not related to IM, unless of course if you count collecting chqs from IM as accounting :rolleyes: Just in case, if you're not interested in IM anymore (which I don't think so - it's so much fun) for whatever reason or the whole IM crash, you still have your degree or whatever to fall back on

        Hope you find this helpful.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidmelamed
    Like every other profession in the world, there are those who succeed and those who don't!
    To give you some perspective... There are now 7 billion people in the world... The internet has just over 1 billion users. By my math that means that there is still a ridiculous amount of growth to the internet that we cant even begin to predict or understand.

    To give you a little more perspective, I doubt more than a few hundred thousand people on the planet know SEO, and if you are always thirsty for knowledge and constantly experiment and test new things, you have an edge on about 75% of them... So of the 1 billion or so internet users, you have an edge on 99.99% of them!!!

    personally, I am betting on the long-haul that IM as a career choice is as sure a bet as becoming a doctor or a lawyer... where you can make a good living if you are good at it, and be an entrepreneur and make a lot more than that if you have the stomach for the risk.

    That being said, you really need to focus your efforts on your passions. Maybe read Napolean Hills book Think and Grow Rich, or Dan Kennedy's books for insight on what it takes to succeed.

    A final note... A mentor of mine once said, "a loser is a loser is a loser..." it's usually the same skill set to succeed from one industry to another, and if you find yourself struggling, changing careers will not do much if you don't look at yourself and see what you need to do to be a winner!!!!

    Good Luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author max2daz
      "A loser is a loser is a loser..." I like that davidmelamed. Never thought about it that way...

      -Always-A-Warrior- you bring out some very interesting points!!
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    • Profile picture of the author ExRat
      Hi max2daz,

      Your problem is more common than you think. It's like a 'growing pain' that people go through when they get sick and tired of being 'educated' by the system.

      You sound smart and like someone who will do well in business.

      It's hard to advise on this because you have to forge your own path and make your own decisions.

      Logically, the only sensible advice to give here is for you to try and do both things - finish your education and get those results as a back-up, while trying to build a business in the meantime that will hopefully become successful enough to steer your direction for you.

      I want to ensure myself that I make the best decisions possible now so I won't have to make them later when it will be more difficult.
      Then practice finishing everything that you start, within reason (unless you realise after you've started that it's utterly pointless).

      For many people this is their biggest problem in business. The tedium and disappearance of enthusiasm causes them to get bored and give up, which is a bad habit to develop.

      Hope this helps.
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      Roger Davis
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  • Profile picture of the author JD Nunes
    I dropped out of college and struggled for years before attaining enough success to do Internet marketing full-time; but that's probably because I spent much of those years learning all I could, instead of implementing. There is definitely enormous potential for making money online, even as the world economy crumbles. I sincerely believe that just about anyone can make millions online...it's just that most give up before ever getting close. If you can manage your risks and dedicate yourself, you could very well be making a living with Internet marketing sooner rather than later. Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author max2daz
    Wow, overwhelmed by all of you who actually took the time and read the thread!

    This is all very good advice! Keep it coming
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