CDarklock

This is my life in recent months.

On April 30, I was laid off from my position as a contract developer at Microsoft. As you might expect, it was a good job, an exciting job, and one where I greatly enjoyed my work and the people working with me.

I decided to make a full-time go at this internet marketing thing. I've been looking at various work-from-home systems since 1986. I've been looking for a way to make serious money on the internet since about 1998. Throughout all of that, I was either working a day job or running my own business.

During the month of May, I accomplished exactly nothing. I was stuck in analysis paralysis with what I already knew, and buying things left and right in the vain hope that something would break through the wall and get me to actually do something that worked. I decided not to buy anything more, unless I could finance it from the proceeds of my new business. I came to the Warrior Forum during this time.

In June, specifically on June 22, I made my first affiliate sale through ClickBank for a grand total of $17.98 in my account. This is also the day that my landlord's property management company filed eviction papers with the court. We wouldn't receive them for a few days yet, because the management company has no actual respect for the law.

On June 26, I got my eviction notice ($1,502 owed), and took my first freelance article writing job here on the WF. Things went well, I had a good feeling about it, and I pursued it. I spent a little money here and there as it came in... joined the War Room, signed up for Jenn Dize's ghostwriting course, that sort of thing... and took the jobs as they came in.

By July 2, I had brought in $1,850 through freelance writing. We paid the required rent, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief that we had beaten the July 7th deadline.

On July 8, we noticed that the rent we had paid was mysteriously back in our account. The rental company had refused the payment on the afternoon of the 7th - hours before we were required to respond to the legal filing. It would have been impossible to respond, even if we'd known about it the second it happened.

On July 10, a notice was posted on the side of our house that we were required to vacate the premises by the 15th. We spoke to the rental company, but they were completely unwilling to discuss the matter. We packed furiously that weekend, reserved a storage unit and a truck, and attempted to obtain temporary housing. The children were packed off to grandma's house, the cats boarded, and all we had left to do was find ourselves somewhere to sleep.

On the 13th, we discovered that sometime after business hours on July 10, someone had obtained our bank account information and made a fraudulent charge of close to $700. We cancelled the card, secured the account, and began the (reasonably simple and well-handled) process of obtaining the money back.

That night, we headed to the storage locker we rented - a load of stuff in the back of our truck - to find that it had been locked by the owners. It was after hours. We couldn't contact anyone. We called my parents, and arranged to leave all of our belongings in their back yard - outdoors, exposed to the elements - until we could resolve the problem. It wasn't supposed to rain for the next couple days, but this IS Washington state.

On the 14th, our internet service was terminated. Some of the $700 taken from our account was already reserved as a payment to the cable company, and when they couldn't process the payment... we lost our internet access. With no ability to deliver the writing work I had already accepted, I was unable to service my clients as well as I'd hoped.

Apologies have been made, but the damage is done. Every client relationship survives on trust. That trust has been broken. It will take time and effort to repair. It may never be repaired at all.

On the 15th, our Mazda blew a head gasket. It's our second car, so it's not a particularly huge problem, and our roadside assistance got it to a safe location... but we simply cannot afford to put it back in working order right now.

On the 16th, while bringing a load of stuff to the storage unit at about 1:00 in the afternoon, we were told that the truck needed to be returned by 2:30, because someone else had reserved it and it was the only truck they had in that size. We needed to unload an entire 17' truck in an hour and a half, during the hottest part of the day, with temperatures in the high nineties.

We managed to reserve another truck at another location for the next two days, and unloaded the last of our belongings into the storage unit on the morning of the 19th at just 7:30.

Whereupon we returned the truck, and went out to see the new Harry Potter movie.

It was pretty good.

And here I am today - on a hideously spotty wireless connection from a hotel room, which is the most we can afford right now, trying to figure out WTF we are going to do for a place to live. I miss my children. I miss my cats. Almost everything we own is in a storage locker. We have pretty much the clothes on our backs and our computers. That's it.

Many of you are in less than ideal situations, as well. I hope none of you are sitting in quite as bad a situation as we are. If you are, I hope you make your way out of it quickly and without too much hardship.

But what I really came here to say is this: if I can get out of bed and face the day with a smile, looking forward to a bright future with unshakable confidence, assured of my inevitable success - so can you.

There is no adversity you cannot overcome. No obstacle you cannot surmount. No goal you cannot achieve.

All you have to do is get up one more time than you get knocked down.

emofree

wow that's a nice read but I feel for you bro sorry on what happened in your life back there ... I know that life is hard, life has its darkest hour but light will shine upon you. Just pray and be safe always never look down always look up with high hopes.

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Versus

Chin up mate, you have the right attitude, now to just put a plan into action! Hvae you thought about starting a blog detailing your rise to success?

redfc

yep, its a rough ride but you are one tough guy with admirable attitude. I believe you'll make it through.

Kay King

Thank you for posting that line. After years of doing fairly well, this year I feel like I fell off a cliff. Things that worked stopped working - things that should have worked, didn't.

Last month I was panicked by a deadline to keep my own home and somehow I managed to pull it off. It's the first time I've faced anything like that and it's amazing what it does to you and how the stress weighs you down.

This month I have one more big hurdle, one more deadline to meet and today for the first time I thought of just giving up and walking away. I knew it wasn't a logical way to think but I was tired and scared and there's no guarantee I can pull it off again this one last time.

But you're right - I only have to pick me up, dust me off and go the distance one more time. Good luck to you - I think I'll see you on the other side of the damned mountain.

kay

EDIT: By the way, your sales page is looking good - love the bananas!

whoismarktaylor

Dude!, Im hurting for you. It's easy to be positive when things are going great, it's quite a bit harder when things are in the toilet. I do beleive in the law of attraction though so take some time out to 'attract' what you want towards you. Reflecting on your horrible month only sends out more negative vibrations. Why not write out a page or so about your best month and focus an how that makes you feel.....

Mark

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Derek Allen

I had a terrible time getting my start in i.m. I didn't see a dime for the first year, but I kept my head up and I got there. You have a great mindset and you will get there. It's not as easy as it looks.

competitive

"In the eyes of adversity lie the seeds of a better benefit" Prove to everyone that you are not going to lay down and fall over.

"never give up" winston chrchill

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igorhelpsyousucceed

Hey Caliban,

wow, head no idea. I belive you will get through those obstacles.
Hope your wife, kids and grandma are fine.

If you need anyhelp, just buzz me over at gmail.

Igor

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Bart Loos

Well maybe it's just the time to start building more relationships.. and if ya explain .. people will understand.. those who won't are probably not even worth your time, just move on.

Hope you guys are gonna do great.

Keep gettin up with that smile and ... focus, be realistic it might be a hard time for a while or it might be not, and get things going.

Bart

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luckystepho

Wow that's rough, I know how you must miss your cats as I have had to move into my friend's spare room and foster mine out as my friend's allergic.

Sounds as though you are pretty determined and will soon be back on top! good vibes heading your way...

dotslash

Great post and a great attitude.
Good luck to you - hope things improve for you soon !

Neil

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Besides save money and play online roulette it's a better way to waste money.

derekwong28

Thanks for posting this. I am having a really horrible time with my business as well. Last month was the worse month in my internet business. In fact, I have been having trouble since August last year when Google started banning my sites in waves after waves. I thought this culiminated with the banning of my Adsense account in April this year. By that time, Adsense was an insigficant source of income and things were beginning to look up in May. However, I was just not prepared for what happen in June.

It started with a bogus telephone offer for a domain I owned. Because of that telephone call, I left my house late to pick up my daughter. A truck then crashed into the back of my car. A few hours later, I crashed my car in the same place as I was reversing in car park. I got rattled and started making mistakes as well, one was that I accidentally won an domain at an auction with the name microsoft in it. Then, Google came after me again in 3 waves. The last one was particularly horrible as I felt that I was lured into a trap. I bought a number of domains at auction and found that they have been devalued the very next morning. What I thought was certain profit turned into a big loss. It was as I was offered last minute tickets on Air France flight 447 at a very cheap price and decided to take it. Air France was one of the safest airlines around.

Anyway, my wife had never seen me swore so much that morning. I told my wife that I could deal with and improve on my mistakes but I just could not deal with very bad luck like this. This time I was really scared and started thinking of all sorts of horrible things that may happen to me and my family. I had to take a few tablets of tranquilizers and I more or less took the next 2 weeks off.
Actually my net income will increase a bit this month as I have not made much investment. Since August last year, I ploughed over $40000 into my business but I could not revive it, even though all the money had been recouped. But I am really quite exhausted now.

Anyway, I hope now that things have calmed down a bit, I will have time to re-evaluate and re-orientate my business strategy. I wish you a speedy recovery in your financial affairs.

Derek

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AnneE

Impressed by both your attitude and your wonderful writing, I clicked on your signature about your article writing services. Are there any particular topics that you either specialize in or conversely ones that you avoid?

I'm not to the point of hiring a writer yet. Hope to get there soon. WHEN I get there (I almost typed IF... then thought better of it) you will be the first person I contact.

Glad you are still standing! And if your hotel internet is too bad, do you guys have free Wifi coffee shops nearby?

Thanks for the pep talk to take on the rest of my day.

Emily Meeks

Damn. What a sucky position to be in..

I gotta say though, you're in the right place. The WF environment is filled with ambitious, success-oriented people who'll support you along the way. The War Room really IS all it's cracked up to be - I've had some revolutionary ideas from it.

Do you have any specific plans? Are you going to continue article-writing? If you wanna bounce off ideas, PM any time. I've got tons

In all that you do, know your True INTENT...

Loren Woirhaye

I know you are starting a business freelancing under financial
stress. It's always awkward to start a new business without
capital and breathing room to figure things out.

You can ignore this or not: I'm highly intuitive and sometimes
really right about things you wouldn't expect. On a spiritual
dimension you need to examine the attitudes and behaviors
that got you to where you are, because if you continue with
them starting your business and dealing with all these issues
will go on for longer than it needs to. Treading water is
exhausting. It's clear you have some talents but I think maybe
your ability to focus them is diffused or disorganized. In
order to focus your gifts and creative energy there are old
vestigal self-images you carry that won't serve you as you
move from being a young man with rebelliousness carried
like a banner to being a ... um - I don't have the word for
it... but "elder" isn't too far off, even though that makes
it seem like I mean "old" when the way I am really thinking
of it is in context of the balance of vitality and wisdom men
can embrace in the middle period of life which allows them to
accomplish great things between the age of 40 and 60.

Chaos often preceded growth. It feels awful and confusing
when you are in it, yet it is an opportunity to jettison values
and belief-systems which no longer serve you and your
family.


I know this sounds goofy and "woo woo" - I don't often read people
this way but it comes from time to time. There's no astrology behind
it, though if you go for astrology it wouldn't surprise me if you
find confirmation there for what I've just told you, Caleb.

Live and growth moves in cycles - and the cycles are surprisingly
predictable. Indicators like marriage troubles, financial turmoil and
the need to shift careers or even dis-associate from long-term
friends are all messages to be heeded and signals that we will
be forced too grow by circumstances. It is the way we embrace
or fight this process that makes it feel natural (though uncomfortable)
or very difficult and painful.

Jacksprat

Just remember, there'll be good days for all these bad ones. Keep your chin up, spend quality time with your kids and family and keep plugging away.

J Elizabeth Dize

Ugh. I am so sorry to hear that all of this has happened to you! If anyone deserves more, it's you. You're very hardworking and have a clear gift that few have. Anyone who questions that should take a look at your ghostwriting sales page

Keep your chin up -- you have a great attitude and a great talent. I'd bet money that you're going to come out of this just fine!

CDarklock

Thanks to everyone for all the words of encouragement.

As far as what subjects I prefer or avoid in writing, I only avoid subjects when I have political, religious, or ethical objections to them. I can get interested in and excited about pretty much anything, from economics to molecular biology to French pastry.

Plans... well, we're plotting a move to Oregon in late August, targeting a touchdown in Salem on the 20th. I've still got the same plans to launch a product this autumn, and I haven't revised my income goals for the year. Things like this happen, and you just have to power through and meet the deadlines all the same. I never said "I'm going to launch a product unless" or "I'm going to meet this goal except" - and I won't cancel anything just because things got a little tough.

StephenDavies

I feel for you, I really do.

When I started to read your post I could see many similarities between yourself and me. You had been looking at various work from home activites for over 20 years - me too. You've been looking at internet business for the last 10 years - me too. You made you first ClickBank commission - well I'm still to get to that stage, but it's looking promising.

But the rest of your story, well, you are certainly stronger than me that's for sure. I'd like to think I could have picked myself up and carried on like you have, but I'm not sure.

That rental company deserves to go out of business treating people like that, that was really bad news for you. And loosing the internet connection and the payment for work would have been the last straw for me I'm sure.

I wouldn't be too hard on yourself about loosing the trust of your clients, if you explained your situation I'd like to think that they would make allowances for that.

It's very encouraging to see your positive outlook shining through, and I wish you all the very best for the future.

tranquility

Wow ... I really don't know how to respond. While reading your post I just couldn't believe the series of events you were describing ... it almost seemed too much to be true. One thing after another.

But I'm in awe of your attitude. It makes me proud to be a Warrior. I absolutely know without a shadow of a doubt that you are going to come out of this way ahead of the game and better off than you were before. I'm sending lots of positive thoughts and energy your way.

Please make sure to keep us all informed ... I for one would like to know you're okay.

Blessings,
Debbie

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ASM Marketing

That's probably the most incredible example of mental integrity I've ever read. There's always light at the end of the tunnel for people like you. Best of luck with everything.

Alex

PrettyJenny

I really admire your attitude and your calm manner even though it is a real dire situation. All I can say is keeping your chin up, life goes up and down all the time, things will start picking up again and everything will be fine in the end.
Thanks for the post and I wish you all the best luck in the world.

phylma

My heart goes out to you. I know exactly how you are feeling because I seem to have a little black cloud that's been following me around for the last 40-50 years. Things are definitely at a low right now, but reading your story and your positive attitude, I feel a little better about my situation.

I occasionally need some sort of copy written and will make a note of your service.

Best of luck, keep on smilin'

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ejmjs

Wow. We all have our bad days and sometimes bad weeks but man I feel for you!
I Know with the positive attitude you keep after such distain that you will achieve unbelievable levels of success in life!
I hope you head in that direction soon buddy!

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dsanchez

I really really understand what you're going thru because not so long ago I was in a LOT of trouble myself, even though the problem was of a different nature.

Like you say, every day is a NEW day and I'm sure once you get some sort of steadiness in your life, you'll be able to find new clients that will trust you.

Wish you and your family the best.

Dagmar

Shana_Adam

I really admire your fighting spirit. I always say keep your spirit high no matter what!

You have a great inner strength that is driving you and no doubt you will be back on your feet in no time!