It Doesn’t Have To Take Five Years (Part 1)
Normally when I start working with someone or just talk to people about their dreams, I hear a common phrase when I ask them how long they think it will take before they’re fully supported by their dream.
It’s a cool Sunday afternoon and I’m icing my legs after my run today, how have you spent the weekend? Why don’t you pull 
up a chair and let’s talk about making your dream of freedom happen sooner.
The phrase I usually hear is “I think/plan on having my dream support me in the next three to five years.” When I hear this my mind normally says it doesn’t have to take that long.
Now, I’m not living in a fairy tale, so I do know it won’t happen overnight but there’s a danger in over thinking this. If you read this blog, you probably want to start an online business and you probably have a family.
The hard part is you don’t want to do anything that would put your family in jeopardy but there’s good news. Right now there are about 2.5 billion (you read that right) people online everyday and they say in five years that number will triple.
If you’re looking for an audience/customer base, there has never been a better place. If your goal is to be location independent, think of all the possibilities. This is why I truly believe it doesn’t have to take as long as you think.
So practically, how can you make this dream a reality sooner? Well, let’s talk about some common sense stuff. Just so I’m not rambling, I’ll split this up into two parts. At the end of the second part, I’m going to put my money where my mouth is.
Change your mindset
This is huge and the key to even get started. If you don’t believe in yourself, if you don’t believe in what you’re doing, no one else will. You won’t move forward with confidence and that will show in what you do and write, people can sense those doubts and fears.
If you can’t see it, see yourself as what you’re shooting for, you never will get there, you have to believe. Once you make that shift in your mind, everything you do related to your dream will be different.
You will get focused, you’ll get really serious, you will work on what’s important right now and all these things will accelerate how long it will take before you reach freedom.
Create/pad your emergency fund
If you have an emergency fund, you’re ahead of most. If you don’t, it’s time to get one started. Having an emergency fund is just plain smart regardless of what you do in life.
There’s always going to be a rainy day, the best way to beat the weather is having a rainy day fund as your umbrella.
When you work for yourself, income can be sporadic, having an emergency fund, preferably a large one, will help during those times. Plus, if things just don’t work out, it would be good to have something to rely on while you get your house in order.
I don’t know what your fund should look like but my philosophy is the bigger the better. I know this can be hard when money is tight and you’ve got responsibilities but it can happen.
You may have to work more or create something on the side that generates income, you might have to cut back on things you can do without. It may take you a little bit longer but if you can find a way to put aside a little bit of money every week, it will add up.
Research the heck out of your dream
If you want your dream to become a reality, you have to know everything you can know about it. The cool thing is all the information available to us these days, Google can pretty much tell you anything.
Your goal in doing the research is separating what you need to know versus the noise. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed online, stick to what you need to know to accomplish the next step.
Since your dream is probably something online, there are many podcasts, blogs and even social media groups that can help. A few that I really like are:
Smart passive Income
Social Triggers
Chris Brogan
Think Traffic
In the research process you should get really clear about who you’re talking to, this will separate you from everyone else. Get real specific, the more specific the better. I don’t know where you’re at right now but you can get there and sooner than you think, start here, start today.
How long will it take for your dream to support you and why?
