My First Post On WA
Last Update: June 16, 2010

Wow... I don't know what to say. There is so much information to wade through here it is crazy. I know I should have posted something sooner, but in all honesty I didn't know where to start, been too busy looking around the site. At least I have the comfort of knowing that everyone has to start somewhere right?

It was only a few months ago that I didn't even know that internet marketing existed. I really am not quite sure how I found out about it, but I think it had to do with being fed up with my job. I was probably surfing the internet, trying to figure out how I can quit and work from home, and somehow stumbled upon this site.

I just want to add that there are SOOOO many get rich schemes on the internet, it is amazing. It really makes me wonder what the percentage of legitimate opportunities really exist. Somehow 3% comes to mind. No idea if that is true or not though.

I am going to digress here for a minute. Hah, more so than I already have, so I apologize ahead of time. I tend to do that more than I would like to admit.

What really gets me is how we as people have been conditioned to believe that our one goal in life is to graduate from high school, and then spend thousands of dollars on an education that we may or may not use. Then we are supposed to pick a career and work at that for 30+ years. After that we are supposed to retire and enjoy life. That is the idea anyway.

Only a few small problems I see with that. Who knows how things are going to play out in the next ten years or so. I am still young, (28 years old) am I even going to have a retirement to look forward to? Or is it more of an empty dream? I really don't have much faith in the economy, and I am not going to depend on social security being around when I can actually utilize it.

Please don't get me wrong, I think learning is a great thing. I love learning new things myself. It seems to me though that it is a grand scheme. Making people spend money on general college courses that have nothing to do at all with what your final goal is.

Again, I am sorry if I offended anyone.

I have just seen too many people working a job that has nothing to do with what kind of degree they may or may not have received, and struggling to pay back the student loans they owe.

Ok, I have completely gotten off track to what I was originally going to post about. 

Oh well, at least now I got that out of my system lol. Plenty of time to post other things.

Next post hopefully will be relevant to what I have learned, and also how much more I have to learn.

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Carrie Premium
Hi, Duly, I agree with what Maureen said, but I'd like to offer you another observation from someone who has devoted her life toward college and teaching. For older generations, getting an education meant diplomas and degrees. People who didn't have them thought there was magic in them. There isn't. But for those in education, the word means 'learning and thinking and gathering knowledge, thinking and applying it."

The new literacy is not, knowing how to read, but in knowing how to learn. That's huge. Knowing how to learn. Knowledge itself is increasing geometrically. It's knowing what to do with that knowledge, and how to do it in an exponentially ever-changing world, that is the new literacy.

So, as I see it, this website is precisely what you might need. The knowledge, for the time being, is here. The site is dynamic, so it adapts to the changing world, and it is relatively inexpensive.

But knowing how to learn, how to put it to use, how to apply what you learn, how to focus, how to think -- is something that you do by doing.

I once asked Stephen King (yep!) how one learned to write so well His answer was: "You write."

Best advice I've ever heard.

How do you learn to do all the stuff here? And I'm speaking to myself right now. "You do it." Whether it be writing an article, putting up a website, selling a membership. You just do it.

So pick a small area and do it. Do it, and you will become better at it, maybe even great at it. Then do another. Competency happens over time. You, being young, have so much time.

Little bits add up.

Best of luck to you.

Oh! I just retired from teaching and loved, loved, loved it. However, I have always wanted to do something like this, too, so now is my time to try to learn at WA.

Don't rely on Social Security. Start saving now. A minimum of 10%. I'm not going to tell you how much I've saved over time, but it definitely adds up.

I've written enough for now. Just do it, fella! And best of wishes.
D.A.P. Premium
Hi Duley, I agree totally mate. Good luck with your endeavors, I'm looking forward to side stepping the rat race and doing things my way too. I think IM could well be the/a way to go. Although I am nearing 40 and have certainly not lived a mainstream lifestyle and I am becoming aware that I ain't young anymore, I am not going to become a drone for "the man". Geez, my turn for a sideways walk with the convo.

Hey I better wrap up, good luck and drop me a message if you want to talk IM or if I can help with anything. I don't really know what the protocol is around here, but I guess I will learn.

All the best
jatdebeaune Premium
Hi, The questions you pose are serious ones that all young people are facing today. The world has changed, but some things have not changed. In a way, there is opportunity in this change. My advice is to focus on lifetime work that is the work you feel you were born to do. Think from the end to the beginning. If you see yourself as having achieved ultimate status in any line of work, work from a position of having arrived at your goal, and do what your gut tells you to do to get there. Education is wonderful, and I'm grateful for mine, but education just to get a sheepskin is a thing of the past. Don't worry. Every age, every condition is full of opportunity. This one is also full of opportunity. All the best to you.
maureenhannan Premium
I think this is very relevant to what we're doing here. I love learning and wouldn't change a thing about my liberal arts education...EXCEPT that I would have made sure to take Accounting. I think the main question is, are you learning so as to invest in yourself--or are you learning because you heard it was what you were supposed to do? As you say, life is too unpredictable to make major career decisions based on social or family expectations. The result will most often be either boredom or misery. I agree with OneProsperity: Rich Dad, Poor Dad comes to mind. The education Kiyosaki valued came through mentorship and DOING. And that's kind of what this training at WA is about too. Thanks for your thoughtful post! ~ Maureen
OneProsperity Premium
What a great post ! :) Looking forward to reading some more. The "Rich Dad Poor Dad" book by Robert Kiyosaki comes to mind for you, if you haven't already read it. Follow your gut feelings, learn and stay focused. I am finding that is the hardest, to not be distracted by the next big thing, find something that works for you and repeat it - over and over. All the best.
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