 |
Hi! Mallory (my 11 year old daughter) and I watched the movie, "Pay It Forward", the other night. I've seen it several times before but she hadn't and I thought it would be a great movie for us to watch together while I'm on vacation. She enjoyed the movie even though I had to wake her up a couple of times. She didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought she would. And she didn't come away with a burning desire to change the world like I had fantasized that she would. Ah, the joys of parenthood - never a dull moment and NEVER, EVER predictable. |
Although Mallory didn't come away from the movie dying to change the world like the young hero, Trevor, I woke up inspired to make a difference. Before I explain just how I plan to make this difference, maybe I need to give you a little background history so that you know where I'm coming from...
I am on vacation this week. I had originally planned to be in Florida for our biennial family reunion, but when the Florida trip was cancelled, I decided to go ahead and take my vacation time anyway. So, the kids and I have been sitting on our back deck in the sun pretending that we smell the chlorine pool water of our imaginary pool :) It's almost as good as being there. Actually, it's been perfect weather for sitting on the deck which is really unusual in late May & early June in Tennessee.
I was SO ready for a vacation. I just finished a really heavy deadline at work. I was working 60 & 70 hour weeks for the last month and as my supervisor agreed, I had just about reached my limit. They were as ready to get rid of me for a week and a half as I was to be away from them. I was extremely burned out from programming websites night and day - especially under that kind of pressure.
Sitting in the Sun, I realized that I would love to sit in the sun all day every day. Just sit and think. Not necessarily in the sun, but anywhere that I wanted to be - whether it was at the beach, in the mountains, or in my backyard. I have reached the age where sitting and thinking just about any place sounds like a great plan. No deadlines. No pressures. No getting up at 4 or 5 in the morning. No sitting in front of the computer unless I'm doing what I want to be doing.
Let me explain one thing before I go any further. I absolutely love what I do. I am passionate about computers and web sites and programming. But, the 'HAVING' to do it sometimes takes the fun out of it. And doing it day in and day out, from sun-up to sun-down, can really burn you out. Especially when you are doing it to make somebody else rich. Day in and Day out, I build websites along with 2 other guys. I am the programmer and deal with the servers and hosting and scripts that make the site work. The other guys are the designers and make the site look AWESOME! They are very talented guys and we make a GREAT team. Companies pay us tens of thousands (sometimes even hundreds of thousands or millions) of dollars to build their websites. And then, they turn around and make even more money from the websites that we've built. I keep thinking that I should build my OWN websites and make that kind of money for myself instead of building websites for others to make them richer!
So, as I sat in the sun, dreaming about building my own websites and thinking about the movie I had just watched, I realized that we, as adults, forget to dream like we did when we were kids. Actually, I think we still dream, we just don't really believe it can or will happen to us. And so, we keep the dreams from happening by dismissing them before they ever become a reality. I am living proof that ANYTHING is possible. I certainly didn't start out making million-dollar websites. As a matter of fact, just a little over a year ago, I was excited to get $500 for a website and those were few and far between. Years ago, I dreamed of having a house in a certain neighborhood and now I own THAT house! I'm learning to dream again! Now, I KNOW that anything is possible and nothing can stop me from achieving anything I can possibly dream about.
The main thing I've learned is that it's not really about how much you know, or who you know, or how much you have - it's all about attitude, how you feel and what you think about. It's about what you believe and how much you love and give.
I certainly don't claim to know it all. I have SO much more to learn. And most of you know a whole lot more than I do and have learned these lessons long ago. I would love to learn more from all of you.
But, one thing I DO know is how to make websites and how to make money online. I've made hundreds of websites now and watched many of my customers make thousands of dollars from those websites. I've studied online marketing, sales, search engine optimization, statistics, and much more about earning money online. And I know that I still have much, much more to learn. That's why I love computers - there's always more to learn. Technology is changing every day and the more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn.
Many of the people I know have either lost their jobs or are worried about it happening to them or someone in their family. Big, major corporations are closing their doors all around us. Family vacations are being cancelled. Disease seems to be every which way I turn. Fear seems to be one of the most prevalent emotions everywhere I go. I know that this is NOT the world that God intended for us to be living within. He wants us to be over-comers! Not fearful. One of the things that Jesus said the most was 'Fear Not!' And yet, I see more fear around me today than ever before.
I think that much of the problems with our economy is based on a major shift that's happening in our society. I believe that we are seeing the effects of our world shifting from the industrial age to the informational age. More and more business is done online every day. More and more families are having to go into business for themselves. The days of depending on an employer to keep you on for life and provide for your retirement are history. And I'm not counting on Social Security being around when I'm ready to retire. I certainly can't pass that hope onto my children as I'm almost certain that it will be long gone by the time they are ready for retirement. We must take responsibility for our future and not depend on someone else.
I am in business for Cindy Cullen and my current employer is my biggest client at the moment. But, I certainly don't count on being there forever. Even if I did, they are not keeping Cindy Cullen's best interests at heart - no employer does. They are in it for themselves - not for me. They must do what's best for them and paying me more money and funding my retirement is not going to increase their bottom line. That's the way it SHOULD be. They have to make a profit and although I think they are one of the best employers around, their bottom line IS their number one priority - not me. Unfortunately, the world - nor my job - revolves around me. :( I must take responsibility for my own well-being and keep my interests at the top of my list, because I am the ONLY one that can or will do that.
As our society continues to turn to the internet for business and commerce, those of us that understand it best will tend to benefit the most. Regardless of what you do - whether you are a business owner, mechanic, nurse, or plumber - you will need to use computers and the internet to conduct your business. If you aren't already using it, then don't worry... I'm convinced that you will be.
Most of you, since you know me, know that I have always home schooled my three children. Since I don't follow a specific curriculum, I've spent a great deal of time considering exactly what I want them to learn - what I think they will need to know to be happy as adults. I think the definition to success is happiness. If they are happy as adults, then I've succeeded at teaching them what they need to know. Of course, I also believe that they won't be happy without certain knowledge and skills. They won't be happy if they don't know where their source of strength, talents, abilities, knowledge and everything else comes from. They won't be happy if they can't function in society. They won't be happy if they are constantly broke. And on and on. So, teaching them to be happy entails a lot of different things.
I want them to learn how to create something from what they currently have. I want them to learn to create happiness from their current circumstances. I want them to learn to create peace when there is turmoil all around. I want them to learn to create friends in the midst of enemies. I want them to learn to create money when all they have is what God has given them at this very moment. And, in my opinion, nothing can be created and sustained without love and giving.
So, here I am thinking 'fun in the sun', happiness, dreaming again, 'Pay it Forward', love, and living my dreams. I truly believe that to live my dreams, I must give. It doesn't have to be money, but I have to give to truly be happy. What can I give? What do I have to give? It isn't money - my teen boys eat it up quicker than I can make it. :) But, what I can give is my time and my knowledge. I can help others by giving them a little hope in this crazy, mixed-up world and economy. I can help others by sharing what I've learned about making money online and by helping them to learn the same things I'm trying to teach my children. How to be happy when things around me seem to be falling apart. And in the process, I will benefit the most. Why? Because the best thing about being a teacher is that you learn much more from your students than they learn from you. If I want to learn about love, I must share love. If I want to learn about computers, I must share my knowledge about computers. If I want to learn about happiness, I must share happiness. If I want to learn about hope, I must share hope. If I want to make more money, I must share my money. It's really as simple as that. To be happy, I must give. Whatever I have. Right now.
In an effort to share what I do have right now, I've created an email list for those of you that may enjoy something like this. I hope to share more hope and love and knowledge about making money from home - abundance. I have a heart for Moms that want to be home with their children. I could NEVER replace those precious moments that I shared with my own children for 13 years. It would have been much harder to do that had I not known enough to make a little extra money online while I was at home with them. I want to help other Moms do that. My heart also goes out to those that have lost their jobs, or are worried about losing them, and are having trouble getting back on their feet. I've been there and I know how it feels to be completely broke. I'm thankful for the people that gave and helped me in those hard times. There is NO way I can pay back what those dear people have done for me except to Pay it Forward to those that may need what I have to share.
If you are looking for hope in a dark place, love in a sometimes hateful world, laughter in a sad time, or more income from home when things are a little tough, then you might enjoy joining my email list. I'll try to brighten your day, give you something positive to think about, and help you as much as I can through whatever you may be going through. We already have enough bad, sad, gloomy media to bring us down, I want to share things that will bring us UP! Of course, there is that thing called work that I must do, so I'm not sure how often I'll get to write, but I am remembering that the more I give, the happier I will be. I hope to not get caught up in my work as much as I've been in the past. I need more time in the sun to dream again! |
|
I would love to hear from you too! If you have something good that you would like to share with me or with others, please send it my way! The more we share, the happier we are. And everyone needs to be happy!
Finally, if you aren't interested in listening to me on a regular basis, I can't say that I blame you :) Just delete this email. Or pass it on to a friend that you think might enjoy something I have to share. I am EXCITED about the future! It's NEVER been brighter!!
Vacations are WONDERFUL things! :)
Share the love!
Cindy