Gemini New Moon

Today has been a spectacular day as far as doing some energy healing and great shifts and forgiveness in my body.  I believe this will translate into a lot of things including money.  I feel grounded.

I am still waiting for my next (current) income date in order to have $20 to dedicate to the next step in SFM (buying a domain name); but I still have been doing some things.

I don't think I mentioned that several days ago I outlined or at least brainstormed a bunch of information that will possibly become a lead magnet ebook for me.  I was very happy with what came out, although of course it is in VERY rough draft.  I'm not ready to complete that work, but I did get my brain dumped.

I also have been exploring some other affiliate marketing leaders.  I have been listening to some Pat Flynn (Smart Passive Income) podcasts.  I also starting getting into the Location180 blog and such which is done by Sean Ogle.  I'm trying to strike a balance between continuing to immerse myself in information without getting overwhelmed, ahead of myself, or taking away from focusing on SFM.  Because the focus is what I really need.  So sometimes I am listening to or reading stuff I am not really going to use yet.  Just letting it inspire me and swim around in my brain and when I actually need it, I'll know where to go.

I also did have another live call, only about three minutes, to connect with another business coach, M., in the SFM system.  He works with some of the higher levels.  I'm not ready for that.  Some people invest in a high level up front.   More power to them.  But I'm going to have to earn my way and savor each level I earn step by step.  But of course M. was a very gracious person and I will be connecting with him as well in the future as I continue my lessons and practical preparation.

The most exciting thing that happened was that during the second (or fourth, depending on how you count it because they come in two halves) new member orientation workshop, I was selected to come forward and be on camera and audio to interact with Jay Kubassek.  So I got to introduce myself, and when he asked, to tell him my big dream.  It was odd, because I have never really shared my biggest dream out loud or at least in such detail, but it seemed natural with him like he would get it and he did tell me it was beautiful.  Anyway, he is just a guy dedicated to people, but he's still a guy.  I really appreciated the opportunity and one I will remember as I continue to go forward.

Twenty Dollars

I moved through a whole other section of learning at SFM.  It is getting exciting because now it is time to actually do some action steps to set up my system.  However, I came to a stopping point because I need to purchase a domain name.  It is only $20.00, but I have no money until June.  So I am thinking maybe I will be stalled until then.  I can wait, I've done it before. I'll pick up where I've left off.  My decision is set. But also I'm a little sad.

There is still plenty to do.  I am still working through exercises and reading and listening to things and there are some live calls and webinars I can be at, etc.  So I will continue learning.  But unless $20+ dollars shows up in another way, I will need to wait until my money arrives at the beginning of June to continue the real action steps.

I will also probably start widening my reading and learning to a lot of information; check out Pat Flynn's website (again).  And start planning the email follow up series I will make for when I do get my list started.

Two Weeks

It has been two weeks since I committed to the direction of affiliate marking and SFM in particular.

I have been immersed in reading, listening, attending, doing exercises.  I feel great, not just excited but supported, which has been rare in my life.

This week I attended three live (online) workshops (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) so I am getting to be able to say hello to people.  I also am getting to say hello and tentatively connect with people in the internal social network of SFM.

It feels like only a couple of days, so two weeks gone by seems strange.  But they have been well spent.  Right now I am still in a mindset building and goal-setting stage.

I keep reminding my excitement that I am building something long term.  The million bucks are not going to show up tomorrow.  But it is like planting a quality seed in a quality soil bed and nourishing with quality fertilizer that will at some point bear a bumper crop.  What I feel great about this is that *I* am being responsible for myself and my income.  I actually will be happy to make a few hundred dollars, because that is a few hundred dollars more than I have ever been able to generate on my own before.

Some of the terms and tools that have begun to be referred to (but not working with yet) I don't understand completely, but I actually don't feel hugely overwhelmed.  I know I will learn one thing at a time. Also my previous experience in my own blogging and website and such has given me some intimation with these ideas and tools.  But now I will be able to hone them and master the skills and have a greater reach and more wonderful stuff to teach with the tribe I will build.

Preparation

There hasn't been much to report.  I am continuing every day to read, watch, listen to, go through all the learning materials I have been given by SFM.  I did read that their stuff has to be confidential, so I'm not going to be too detailed here even.  I have contacted their support with a couple of questions and have been very gratified with their service and cheerfulness.  My biggest feeling is just chomping on the bit.  I appreciate the opportunity to learn and let it soak into my brain and build up my mindset.  I know from previous business ventures how important that is.  But I am just too excited, I want to start the hammer and nail stuff.

Tomorrow is my live (online) workshop with Jay Kubassek.  Not just myself, of course, several will be on the call.  So that is another big step.

See you after that.

May Rain

Which is what it has been for a few days.  Simply gorgeous clouds which alternately release water and rays of sun.

The biggest thing to report in my brand new affiliate marketing journey is that I had a 3 minute live call (Skype) with A., who is my company support.  I basically told him what I had been doing so far, asked him one specific question I had (which he answered to my satisfaction), and he gave me encouragement and said I was where I was supposed to be at this point.  Encouraged me to reach out any time I had a question or was struggling.  So basically he is on my Skype contacts now.

I also had a call from I., the main customer support lady, on my home phone, but it went to message, so I got her nice message.

Meanwhile, I am continuing to do my homework as far as reading things, listening to things, watching things, doing work sheets, thinking about my dream day and dream life and my values. There is a certain amount of this preparation (checklisted) that must be done before signing up for an orientation SFM seminar.

I am also finding myself already trying to adjust my day as I had been grooving to try to put in what time commitment is needed here.  I have some creative projects that are important to me that I am in progress in.  But I have to constantly ask myself what the priority of my time is and when I do that, I am sometimes surprised at what falls away.

I do want to say too that I saw a seminar about WorldVentures and DreamTrips which is great because to me this means my life is shifting and the things I desire are coming close to me.  I am presently using the manifestation methods as presented by Boni Lonnsbury in her book The Map.  My life will be a travel life, so I love that this came to surround me today with possibility.

More tomorrow!

Taking Risks

Today felt both good and a little off-keel.  But I'm always off-keel when trying to adjust my life schedule to accommodate new needs.

I titled this post off of a video sent to me by the 'guys'.  It was actually Miss M.W. doing the video and I felt that everything she said about risks was spot on.  Risk failure? Yes.  But you also risk success.  And more.  It was a perfect video to watch first thing in the morning to match the work I am doing today in SFM (Six Figure Mentors).  I also want to say that I have a mindset now that I don't fail.  Failure simply does not describe anything in my life.  Not past, not present, not future.  I've learned a lot of lessons, yes.  I've had to regroup a lot.  But none of it is failure.  Now with this new opportunity, I intend to follow through with everything I am learning and apply it.  If for some reason I don't continue with this particular system (I can't imagine that, I'm pretty excited), it will be because of a decision I make about what is best for me.  I'm not just going to stop and give up.  I will figure out what I need to figure out and persist in it.

So today was beginning and getting a lot of the way through what is called Module 2 and Blueprint in SFM.  So it's a lot of work in mindset and understanding my goals.  It's the right place to start, but I'll be honest because it just makes me impatient because I feel like I've already done this work which is why I encountered SFM in the first place because my goals and mindset were ready.  But it's nothing that can't be improved with review and tweaking and seeing how Stuart Ross and Jay Kubassek think about things.

At night I attended a live webinar with Stuart.  Nothing huge to report on that but it was nice to see a lot of other seekers there (about 100) and also to see Stuart go into some more the dashboard and capabilities of the system that I have yet to explore.

I was on the phone with my mom today too and telling her a little about it.  My mom is a steadfastly encouraging person.  She would never tell me I can't or shouldn't do anything.  She trusts me with my own judgment and plus she thinks I'm rockstar and the twinkle in her eye.  Yes, I have that kind of mom.  But I still find myself with a certain down-playing tone in my voice when I talk about this--I hold back from full excitement and make it sound like "well here Jenn goes again" so that I guess if I don't do so well that it was just an experiment.  Instead of meaning as much as it does to me.  I even knew ahead of time I might sound like that, and I wished not to, but still it came out with that tone.  So I don't know.  I'm always a little afraid of certainty, at least out loud to other people.

See you tomorrow.

The Upgrade

Today, as always, I listen to a lot of audios and videos throughout the day (through the internet on my PC) interspersed with doing the things of life such as I got the boys harnessed to work on cleaning their room.  We worked together.

So in addition to Emily Utter's The Adventerous Entrepreneur telesummit, I am also listening to Natalie Hill's Tap Into Money telesummit.  But I find myself really picking and choosing the interviews I give my time to because my brain and other energy is turning to full commitment to the preparation and work involved in Six Figure Mentors.  A lot of the topics that really helped me last year, such as building my mindset, is receding in importance as a new set of topics becomes more relevant.  Not that mindset is ever going to go out of style, that is impossible, but now instead of just building and soaking in it, I want to act on practical bits.  So that's the kind of information I need now.

So, Six Figure Mentors.

I signed up for a live webinar to be given by Stuart Ross.  For Monday.  And I signed up for my first 10 minute phone call with Ash, my consultant with SFM.  For Tuesday.  I'm nervous.  I have spent a lot of time behind my screen.  I want to really reach out and connect with people now, but this will be a stretch for me.  But I am excited to be acting on that stretch. It makes it all very real.

I listened to all the videos of Module 1 at Six Figure Mentors, even though the audio and video was not the best on some of them.  But I figured out what they meant.  A lot of broad, groundwork stuff but that is good.  But at the end of Module 1, that was basically all I could do on my 29.95 application except for a Bonus Course which I started.  I think the Bonus Course is an older course not actively used anymore--except as a Bonus Course!  So I felt kind of hanging.  I felt a lot of momentum I wanted to keep up, and now stalled.  I expected to have a little more to immerse at this point in but, hm okay.

So I looked at my discount of my next level upgrade in the SFM system (Basic, $197).  And I looked at my checking account register.  Moved some things around in my budget that I could live without until later in the month--when I'm a millionaire, you know.  The $197 was doable.  Wouldn't have anything left over really, but I'm used to that anyway, for a lot dumber reasons (lots of cookies and McDs).  And I expect a great return on my investment.

Here's the thing.  Investing in SFM is not an uncertain thing.  It's obvious that they have their shit together.

The decision is about whether to invest in me (one) and whether to invest in this direction in my life (two).  The first decision I already made last year.   Yes.  I am going to create my dream life.  I will learn what I need to learn and do what I need to do.  The time is now.

As for this direction--that is, affiliate marketing--really, I'm jazzed.  And SFM has it laid out so step-by-step.  I just need to act and persist.  It feels like a playground.  And I'm not being pie-in-the-sky.  I know they keep saying I'll have to work at it and invest in marketing etc but I'm actually already used to that with what I've been doing this last year.  Marketing for me is just another word for fun and connecting with people.  My mindset about marketing is completely open and focused.  Not saying I know everything, I know I don't otherwise I'd already have the cash. Looking forward to more skills.

So I upgraded.  Voila, tons of more information opened up on my member SFM dashboard.  So onward to Module 2.  Which included some reading homework including some great training on using empowering language.  And a 28-page (whew!) glossary of terms that relate to online and affiliate marketing.  A lot, but I'm going to apply myself.  I want to prepare and build that foundation.

Onward!

Beltane Beginnings

I live in the White Mountains of Arizona.  The last few days the Spring weather has been exquisitely perfect.  The energy in the air--you know what I mean--moves me.  To what?  Anything.  But today a very special new beginning.  May 1.  A Friday.

Today I put my money behind a decision I made a couple of weeks ago.

But let me back up and do the prologue.

I'm a 44 year old single mother of six kids (and one favorite daughter-in-law).  Three of my kids are still at home.  I've had a tough life.  I know I'm not the only one, but I've had my share of wandering in the wilderness and wrestling with the angel.   I've come through a lot.  I've healed.  I can look back and see how far I've come.

Last year this month I made a very important decision.  I thanked God for all the blessings and healing I had so far and I realized that I was in a newer place in life.  A place where the struggle wasn't so big and where I could maybe think about my dreams again.  And I told God that I needed to learn the money piece in my life.

From childhood up to that point last year, my life was marked by poverty.  I am aware enough now to say that I am 100 percent responsible for my life and what I created.  So last May I realized that I had come to understand and heal so much about my life but now it was time to learn what I needed to learn and do what I needed to do in order to create money. I had a good life I was grateful for, but I'm still alive, young, and kicking and if I want to make my dreams come true, I need the dough. I would need to learn how to be that swimming-in-money person.  Woo hooo!

So the last year has been very deliberate and interesting about the choices I have made and the projects I have chosen to pursue.  I've met some amazing people, grown as a person including among other things my ability to focus and persist, and made progress toward some priorities and dreams.  I've been learning social media, marketing, website building, content, coaching, graphics, and tons more.  I've been blogging and making videos.

But there's no cash yet. Ha ha.

A couple of weeks ago I encountered a YouTube ad of a young man on a raft in tropical waters enjoying his life and mentioning how rich he was and could work from anywhere.  I don't want to say it hit me like a bolt of lightening, but I did watch the whole video (without pressing 'Skip Ad') and then I clicked to read more about it on a web page.  Honestly it's a little bit of a blur now because I'm not sure what happened when because at first I was not feeling like I wanted to redirect from my current projects and I felt a little of that distrust that is common over internet transactions especially the 'money promise' ones.  On the other hand, I found myself continuing to come back to the info, listened to every free video they offered.  I gave my email to be on the list and got some more messages and videos from the guys who were fronting the original info (more about 'the guys' later, I'm sure).  These 'guys' actually really helped me make the decision because I could see they were real people and their enthusiasm was infectious.

I tried to think about if this was the right opportunity for me at the right time--if I was ready for it.  I knew I was a different person even from last year.  I have different ways of thinking, making decisions, committing, and executing now.  But I knew if I did it I wanted to go all in and not half-assed.  I wanted to wear that professional identity.

Not just regarding the particular system and company I was investigating (will tell you in a minute).  But whether or not I wanted to become a master at this particular industry.

Which is . . .

Affiliate marketing.

A year ago I would have said No, thanks.  Shaking in my knees of putting myself out there like that.

Five years ago I would have said, huh? wha?

But for some reason right now Affiliate Marketing sounds so. damn. fun!!!

I could see myself teaching, serving, connecting with people all over the world (always a priority for me) plus playing with my family, my friends, and in the true expression of myself.  And the cash potential (once you put the work in)--wow!!

So after the thinking and feeling process and trying it on, I decided.

Holy yes.  I am an affiliate marketer.

So then I knew that I could start learning from anywhere not just this particular system.  So I googled.

And googled.  And googled.  And took notes.  And started making plans that I wasn't sure were doable but sounded cool!  And got overwhelmed quite a bit.  So I took a breather and decided to slow down and first things first.

So I decided for a D-day of beginning which is today.  And I've decided I'm going to take this in steps.  Get plenty of information, yes, but in bits so that I can apply what I learn and get it to work for me.  Then onwards!!

And I decided to start this blog because--well, I can't help myself.  If I know something or am learning something, I always want to share.  And I thought some people might like a start-from-scratch or start-from-zero or affiliate-marketing-for-dummies kind of narrative.  It will help me keep on track, also.

So this is what happened today.

I paid my $29.95 "application" fee for Six Figure Mentors.  That is Stuart Ross and Jay Kubassek.  Let me just say for any whom it might matter that the $29.95 doesn't bother me at all.  Totally do-able and it makes sense to me to pay that much even to get a peek into the minds of gentlemen that are making millions.  Not to mention generous and integrity-minded.  I knew I wasn't going to get the whole package--they never said I would--but I knew this was just enough (tons, really) of information that I would need to start preparing at least.  It would be more than enough to digest at this stage for me.  I know there are successive stages of membership at increasing cost and increasing benefit, but soon enough.  I also said hi to the chat box and got a nice hi back from a live customer service lady.  (I told her how excited I was and she was appropriately welcoming.)  I also shot a thank you email to the affiliate 'guys' who were how I learned about Six Figure Mentors (SFM).

And I started learning.  It's a lot of video watching.  Right now I am listening to things with titles like Module 1, etc.

I have also been listening earlier this week and today to a (free) telesummit called The Adventurous Entrepreneur run by a young lady named Emily Utter.  She is interviewing affiliate marketers and similar folk who know what they are doing online and who are living a travel everywhere lifestyle--exactly what I am shooting for.  (NOT a homebody!)  Sometimes when I listen to things like this, I can't use all the information immediately, but even when I just let it wash over me and feel the energy and hear the excitement in people's voices, it just raises my mindset as well.  So very worth it.

So that was Day 1.  See you tomorrow!