It's A Great Life ... If You Work For It

Originally Posted by Dr Mani comment on blog

Very nice point in your message. Many should read and heed it in 2011.

Originally Posted by From my blog post of today

After 2 1/2 months of writing - and many, many more months of planning for it - The Clockwork Manifesto's manuscript has finally gone to the publisher. A few minor adjustments were called for this morning, and now all I can do is sit and wait to get the proof copy. So, today was a reward for months of work. Rieko and I grabbed a train for Sakurai in Nara prefecture and hiked the twisting Yamanobe No Michi to Tenri.




This trail (more like a cobbled together batch of trails, paths through orchards, steps up to temples, and roads) winds for about 14-15 km along the foothills of the mountains that separate Nara prefecture from neighbouring Mie. There's a bunch of temples, shrines, kaki (persimmon) trees, and mikan (Japanese oranges) orchards along the way. It makes for a great day out on the trail.




The air was crisp, but the sunshine and the climbs kept us warm. Being a Wednesday, the trail was mainly ours - with only the occasional pair of fellow hikers. This is one of the perks we enjoy since I started making our income from the Internet - taking off mid-week and avoiding the crowds. Which brings me to a VERY IMPORTANT point:


It's A Great Life ... If You Work For It

I see far too many who want to go the easy route. Far too many who just want to push a button and start making money. Far too many who want to put in the bare minimum of work, yet reap the rewards. Reality check! Nothing in life comes for free. I did not wake up one morning with money pouring into my account off the Internet like it was some kind of faucet that I simply had to open. I worked for it. I still work for it. And, some days, I work damned hard for it.


As I said earlier, I just finished putting in 2 1/2 months to write a book. Not because I'm a slow writer. Not because I only spent an hour or two a day writing. No, it was full days, writing and re-writing. Full days, taking screenshots, drawing illustrations, and editing them in Photoshop. Full days, assembling pictures, text, and page elements into a proper book. Full days, researching and finding the best examples to include in the book. Nothing good comes easy.


If you want to succeed in 2011, get ready to fully commit yourself to some hard work. It takes hard work to build a good venture that will make you a good income - long term and not just a spurt. But, once you've done that work ... there's the rewards. And those rewards are sweet!