My Simple Guide to a Better Life.

I was talking to a beautiful girl a few days ago and I asked her what she dreamed about. I was surprised when her answer was financial security.

This isn’t something I hear when I asked friend about what they want most in life, but she’s a little unique. Her situation is unique. Her struggles are unique and I loved her answer because I want the same.
I’ve been a photographer and I feel like I do a damn good job at it but over the last few years I’ve seen the industry struggle and my sales fell.

Confusion and frustration from not knowing how to grow a business kept me up at night and I struggled…. I hated my life.
Last summer I sat down one evening. I wanted to punch a wall. I was pissed off and I did a few drastic things. I gave myself a death notice. (I’ll talk about this in a later post.)

Next,
I sat down and thought back to when things were good and this thought crossed my mind..
My business grew fast before Facebook went public and introduced it’s logrithms.

F#$^#$  Facebook! Those a$$$#^#$%’s. F$%#^$ the Mark Guy! The (insert word for Phallic here) screwed my life up!

But!

then I got tired of being pissed off and playing victim to Facebook.. and I started to consider that Facebook wasn’t so bad.

They’re a company with shareholders and they should be able to charge and make money off what they’ve spent years building.
After I spent a month hating on Facebook and silently plotting ways to hack it and shut id down, which I don’t even know how to do, I started to think about the book, “The Secret” and how it suggests that easy to manifest things into your life… I tried it and guess what? Doesn’t work!

I remember growing up and I would hear this phrase all the time…
Wish in one hand and sh$^  in the other and see which one gets filled the fasted…. That’s the secret in a nutshell…

I mean….
I’m not saying it’s bad to think positive thoughts, and I do believe it has some merit, because the idea of scarcity is everywhere today. It’s in our music, the things we look at and even in the way we talk today. We are taught failure and we see it everyday so the secret isn’t so bad but wishing things into existence doesn’t make them exist…. and if it did! Damn! This would be a screwed up world!

So I decided to be strong. I decided to be tough and the only way to make things change was to do something… to take actions.

Action is the key to getting the life I wanted.

 

I started to look at my daily schedule and consider what I was doing. I started to consider the results of what I was doing.  They sucked and that meant they needed to change!
And that lead me to the idea that I could be a photographer if did things right and so I am!

Next I read about how to have a successful life you have to create value in something you do and offer it to others.. and the things you do have to be valuable to others.

And time comes into play here too.

If you are a hard stylist in Clinton Missouri you can charge 30 to 40 for a good hair cut, and if you can get 8 clients a day that means you have a limit of 240 dollars a day that you can make. That’s the maximum you can make.

If you are a photographer and you make 800 per session and you can shoot 4 a week the most you can make is 3200 a week.

But can you find 4 clients a week at 800? Maybe you can and maybe you can’t.

 

For months I asked myself lots of questions. They mostly revolved around what I could learn and do that I would love,  and would be valuable to others.
Things on my list included:
I want to help others have a better life.
I want to be able to live anywhere in the world and not be tied down.
It needs to be something that is creative.
It needs to be something that involved art/photography/design.

 

After a few months of considering I set my mind on two things…

VEGA Magazine-
My magazine would change into a Gentleman’s magazine. I see so many young men lost and struggling and I want to help them have better lives. I called my friend Dion in Texas and we started working on a new concept. The first issue of the new Vega is scheduled to be released in December 2018.

Next…
I would start a social media marketing agency. I already had most of the skills needed and all I had to do was fill in the gaps and start building it.
And the next problem was I didn’t have any money to start these businesses. I had just moved to Idaho to start over and the only people I knew were my family. I started to ask around and I found then someone I could help out here and there. I help a guy do work and I’m a contract employee. It’s not a lot of work but it’s helped me get started!

I’m extremely grateful for everyone who has helped me… I want to make sure that’s known!

I created a budget:

.
10 percent goes into savings for investments.
20 percent goes to paying off debt
70 is what I pay bills and use to live.

By the way, I took this formula from the book “The richest Man in Babylon” by George S Clason.

If you haven’t read it get it today! It’s 2.99 in the Itunes store, or  if you are tight with money you can listen to it for free on Youtube.

So

This is where I find myself. I run by new marketing agency, Digital Mint.

I’m restructuring my magazine, VEGA into a How to be a successful man/gentleman magazine

Most of the time I F-ing love my life.

I work long hard hours and everyday I make a little more.
The best thing is that when I look back and I consider where my old life was taking me a little vomit comes up into my throat.
And when I think about my new life and where I will be in a year and I am excited…. No vomit!

For those of you who are in similar situations , hating your life, wanting more, and not knowing where to start, I’m giving you some simple thoughts below to help you!

 

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Assess your situation. Ask yourself what need to change.
Ask yourself lots of questions.
What does the life I want look like.
Who has the life I want and what did they do to get it?

Can you follow in their footprints?

What actions do you need to take today to get the life I want.

What do you need to change in your life and what can you do today to start that change?

How long will it take me to get where I want to be?
What do I need to know?
If you don’t have the things you need to do what you want to do how do you get those things?
What am you willing to give up to have a better future?
Ask yourself what you can do for others that they will find valuable.

Next start writing down your plan.
Be patient with yourself.

It may take you a year to get going but who cares….. Moving towards your goals is better than moving away from them, right?
See your weaknesses and strengths and build on them.

One last things. I hope you get the life you want. If I can do it so can you.

I believing in you!

Love you my friend!

Facebook or Instagram are the easiest ways to get hold of me right now!

 

Ikon Republik-  I’ve lived in the desert and camped out under the stars for almost half a year! I have a van for traveling and camping.  I moved to Idaho and I’m working on buying a cabin.  I’m a sucker for black and white images. I love what I do! I love meeting new people and noticing how the light hits things differently in cities that are new to me. Travel and adventure will always be a part of my life. I believe in self-sufficiency and integrity. My motto is “If your not living you’re dying” and my ultimate goal is to leave this world a little bit better off than I entered it in!