From Being A Complete Loser To Earning My Living Online In 2 Months
About the one thing we all need more of
I was at my lowest.
I had no idea what to do. Nothing seemed to work in my life, and then this COVID-thing happened. Disappointed and ashamed of myself, I moved back from London to Germany and in with my parents again.
Right before I dropped out of a sales career, I mistakingly had chosen before because I was too naive. In the three years prior, I had done nothing to advance either. Not because I didn’t want to but because I didn’t know how to.
Then, in early 2020, I turned my life around.
When failing seems like the only constant
My parents smiled at me, but I felt like crying.
I was happy to be with them but unhappy that I’d failed again. After graduating high school, I failed repeatedly by:
- choosing (and finishing) studies I didn’t like at all
- leaving for Bali and becoming a digital nomad, only to come back broke
- working in a bar, I couldn’t stand
- moving to London to start working in sales, which I hated too
- leaving London because I couldn’t make it work.
My life was a mess.
I felt like a complete loser, unable to make anything work. “What should I do with my life?” I pondered while unpacking my suitcases in the room I grew up in.
Seeing my old furniture and having this distinct smell of home in my nose, I still felt like a stranger. Not only in my room or at my parents’ house but in the world.
“Where do I belong?”
My friends had already grown careers while I sat between two suitcases. And I had no idea what to do.
I didn’t want to go back to working in an office because I hated doing that.
I didn’t want to stock up shelves in an Aldi because my father had a transplanted kidney, endangered to lose it (or even die?!) with a COVID-19 infection.
Days passed, and I had no idea what to do.
Then, I remembered something: I still had this account on Upwork from a couple of years ago.
Hope is closer than you think
I was about to delete this account in London but somehow didn’t.
For once, I listened to this inner intuition telling me this might not be a good idea. Instead, I just left it.
Only to discover it again when I sat at the dinner table with my parents.
Then, this idea grew.
“What if I actually sit down for once?”
“What if I start sending proposals without fearing a “no” like I’ve learned in London?”
I did precisely that.
Within two days, I sent out more than 30 proposals.
I got about five responses. One stuck.
It was repetitive work with shitty pay, but it didn’t matter.
I earned money.
Not because I had the skills (hell no!). Not because I was the best salesman (not even close) but because I sat down for once in my life and tried figuring things out.
I didn’t overthink. I just did.
Life has never been the same for me.
They say:
“Earn your first $ online and you’ll get addicted to the potential.”
This isn’t true. I had earned a couple dollars online here and there before.
But when you earn your first $1000 online, it changes everything.
Because if you live cheaply (or in your parent’s home) it’s all you need to understand that there’s more.
More money, more freedom, more fun.
And particularly: more hope.
Sometimes, that’s all we need.
Thanks for reading.
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