The path was supposed to take me from A to Z, first a degree, then a career, then a family, and I would find myself happy and successful, Right???. Well I have always loved learning, and I received 2 degrees instead of one just for safe measure. 

One in Electrical Engineering, and another in Computer Science. I got my job as a programmer, and got hitched. But instead of leading to happily ever after, I found myself getting more and more unhappy. I was working 50 or more hours a week. I never had time for my family or myself. 

Everything I was so sure of just seemed to be making my life worse and worse. I was constantly struggling to get by, but was reluctant and stubborn to make changes. I constantly thought if I just worked harder and put in more hours eventually I would find this elusive happiness I was after. 

My Father has this awful joke(sorry dad if your reading this but its bad hehe) that he likes to say, "You can always tell an Engineer(dramatic pause).. you just can't tell him much!!" 

Well as much as I would like to say my dad's joke is a joke, it was unfortunately very true for me for quite a while.  I wanted change very badly, but I kept looking for it outside myself only, a new job maybe, or a new position.. Maybe I would get my MBA and go into management. Everything I tried did little to change my life and I was miserable.

 

Change didn't come for me over night but I learned about residual income from my parents(who would have thought that they would still be my mentors even as an adult), and started my transition from "corporate Hell to Successful Entrepreneur".  3 months into the transition I was making enough with my new business's(albeit sporadicly) to cover my living expenses, so I gathered up my savings, plugged my nose, shut my eyes and dove.. aka I quit. 

It has not been without some bumps, certainly. But I knew I NEVER wanted to return to the corporate world - I loved my new time freedom plus could no longer stomach the corporate politics - but I also knew I would have to do something to replace my Six Figure corporate salary.

So, I turned to the internet - determined to learn Internet Marketing(After all it was on a computer which has always been one of my passions so it would be easy right?).

I first got into the top-tier direct sales form of network marketing, and did welll with it. In fact, I helped my family became top earners in our company.

Only problem was, VERY few people were able to duplicate my success.  And I have learned the key to making a truly residual income is duplication.

Now, one HUGE lesson I learned from my experiences though is the importance of marketing.

That's why it's VITALLY important that, no matter WHAT your product is... YOUR GOAL must be to become a master marketer.  And, I'm here to tell you straight away --- this is going to take time, dedication and money!

I have personally spent thousands of dollars on marketing training, and have become something of a web 2.0 specialist. But I STILL continually take training... because the internet is constantly changing. So, if you stop learning, you'll get left in the dust!

Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY! I now have the assurance that, no matter WHAT the economy does, I'll still be secure because I know how to market.   So unlike many of my friends who are struggling or losing their jobs in this economy, I have become financially secure.

Some of the most amazing things about my job now is the freedom I have.  I have a HUGE passion for traveling and my family and I have got to literally travel the world.  I can work from anywhere with a internet connection and my paychecks get deposited without me having to do anything.