The Internet’s Gateway Drug — Passive Income (#Money)
Ever since the birth of the internet and eCommerce, there’s been the rise of a new drug. It’s called passive income, otherwise known as making money online.
First off, there’s nothing wrong with money. The point of this article is that making passive income online has done two things:
- Made people sacrifice the meaning of their life
- Made people become addicted to the internet and making money online
Once you fall for this addiction, it can lead to other addictions.
Digital addictions such as endless online dating, porn, online computer games, online gambling and a routine of being away from real humans in the real world.
The mirage of having to make passive income online.
You don’t have an online course?
You didn’t sell an eBook?
You’re not monetizing your email list?
You didn’t place an affiliate link in your last blog post?
Holly shit! How do you sleep at night?
That’s what people say to me all the time. It’s not that I don’t intend on making passive income, it’s more that it’s not the focus.
See numbers digitally appearing in your internet banking is bloody boring.
The mirage is that we must make money online. It’s like some new culture that everyone feels they must jump on.
Following the masses never works. You’ll get lost in the noise.
The beautiful thing is everyone is playing the passive income game, so if you do the opposite, you’ll stand out and have the opportunity to inspire more people with your talent.
Payment walls are freaking annoying when as a consumer you’ve had little exposure to a company or individual.
In the beginning, you’ll suck.
That’s why focusing on money at the start is a bad idea.
Why? Because if what you do at the start sucks, then charging people money for crap will turn everyone off you.
Selling people crap makes them pissed off and they’ll likely tell other people about their bad experience.
Imagine becoming a digital slave.
That’s what many people have become.
I coined that term about 2.5 minutes ago after seeing a train full of people do nothing more than look at their phone. Many of you are becoming slaves to the internet by spending every waking moment trying to do the following:
- Increase web traffic
- Create engagement
- Make new content
- Check notifications
- Respond to instant messages (It could be Will Smith messaging you after all!)
Life is about more than being a slave to your device.
You can go a day without building anything or making a single dollar of passive income. After all, how did anyone live through the 80’s and party like a rockstar when there was no internet to take up all your free time?
“The older generations probably partied harder and had more fun because they didn’t the equivalent of modern slavery being the need to make passive income or build a following”
Let’s end digital slavery.
Meaning feels so much better.
Not everything you do in your life has to make money.
Doing something you love that helps you feel like your life has a meaning is much more satisfying. It’s like a lifelong orgasm that never stops!
Chasing shallow goals like money doesn’t lead you anywhere. So many people forget the meaning part of what they do and then find themselves quitting only twelve months after starting their online endeavor.
The only reason I’m still blogging four years on is because I’m seeing the impact I’m able to have. Seeing people smash their goals, come out of the closet, overcome fears and deal with tragedies like a boss is the best feeling in the world.
I would have given up years ago if blogging was all about the illusion of passive income, selfies, luxury cars and girls in bikinis.
Fuck all that.
Please, please, please focus on meaning above everything else.
Let me tell you a secret: The long game.
“If you sacrifice a bit of passive income in the short-term, you’ll make a killing in the long-term”
If money truly is your aim, then trying to monetize the way you currently are is actually having the opposite effect. When everything you do is free, you attract a lot more people. Naturally, charging people money to access your talents will limit your audience.
Once you find your sweet spot in life and doing one thing that makes you incredibly happy, the money finds a way in allowing you to increase your impact. Chasing money alone though will only leave you feeling empty.
Chasing money too early increases your chance of failure.
Slow down.
Don’t feel the need to release an eBook five days after you launched your site.
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