Money Mindset, Success Mindset

A True Story of What it Took to Build a 7-Figure Online Business and Live the “Laptop Freedom Life” {Part 2: Do This to Guarantee Success}

Last week in Part 1 of this series I spoke about the importance of choosing to BELIEVE that the stories of incredible success are true.

We’ve all had the experience at rolling our eyes at someone flaunting their awesome business or life success on social media and wondered if it’s true or how much of it is true.

If there’s one thing I know for sure about success it’s that regardless of what ANYBODY else is up to if you choose to look down upon markers of success or ‘living the dream’, even if it’s just to question the stories and hype you might see on the internet then you are essentially stating you don’t BELIEVE that stuff is either for real, or okay.

A simple rule: praise that which you want.

Praise it in your own life, as you bring it TO life, and praise it in the lives of others. Be excited when you see others achieving, because it shows what’s possible for YOU! It’s not to your benefit at all to look down or even to question how ‘for real’ something is in the lives of others; your primary focus needs to be on keeping your eye on YOUR prize. Where do YOU want to go; who do you wish to be, how do you wish to live?

This brings me to the thing I mentioned last time as being the ‘key’ or even magic bullet to success. This is the one thing, the secret, the ONLY thing I would at all concern myself with if I were to have it all stripped away and have to start again right now. It’s taken me 8 years online to build my business to 7-figures, but with what I know now and what I’m going to share with you in this series I know I could do it again in under 12 months if I were to go back to square 1 right now, and probably under 6.

And this one thing? Is the simplest thing of all, yet probably one of the simplest to also RESIST and underplay, because all it is? Is belief.

That’s right. Nothing more and nothing less than CHOOSING to believe your dreams are possible.

When all is said and done, how much action you take, how much money and time and energy and emotion you expend, how much you know and how connected you are, all this stuff is cool but it is also POINTLESS if you don’t have absolute belief that your dreams are possible and WILL come true.

If I were to start completely from fresh right now with no business, no brand, no connections, no clue what I was even going to sell, the first thing I would do would be to set my mind in the direction of what I wish to create and make a CHOICE to believe that I WILL do so.

Success is crafted in your mind gorgeous. Your reality will ALWAYS reflect what’s going on upstairs, and whatever you expect? Is precisely what you’ll get.

So as I now share with you the ‘tips and tricks’ and practical realities of what it’s taken me to build a 7-figure business all online, allowing me to live location free and totally do what I LOVE, just remember:

None of it is of any use to you if you don’t believe your dreams are possible.

That being said and accepted as your FOUNDATION for success, all of this is going to absolutely knock your socks off and help you to achieve your own ‘have it all’ biz and life, completely on your terms!

How I Built a 7-Figure Online Business and Now Live the “Laptop Freedom Life”, Traveling the World Long-Term and Getting Paid to Do What I Love!

1. I Had a Dream

None of this would have happened had I not – from as young an age as I can remember – given myself permission to DREAM big and bold about all that is possible for me. I would say this is partly just wired into my DNA and partly a product of actively filling my mind and soul on a daily basis with books and other forms of personal development content. Long story short, I listened to the Godfathers of Personal Development, I believed them, and I set my own ‘you can have it all’ dreams as a result!

Here’s the catch though, or what you might not at first realise:

Your dreams don’t have to be fully defined for you to act on them. There’s no way that back in 2007 when I started a personal blog as a way to promote my personal training business I could EVER have pictured what I’ve created now! But I knew I wanted more than the normal life. I knew I wanted to reach more people with my then business. I knew I wanted to make SERIOUS money, somehow, and have a serious impact, somehow, on the lives of others. I dreamt of a life less ordinary, day in and day out. I didn’t know what it would look like when I got there, but I knew that in order to GET there I was going to have start moving forward from where I was, so I dreamt as big of a dream as I could, and took the actions that came to me and seemed like good ideas at the time, even though they felt scary and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing!

Action: Get in the habit of daydreaming and writing about what you want to create in your business and life. Those corny sayings which are so cliche, like ‘if you can dream it you can do it’? They’re freaking TRUE, so start dreaming!

2. I Made Space for My Dream and ACTED On It

My life was pretty freaking full when I started my online business. Okay so I didn’t have kids yet, but have you met people without kids? They really do think they’re busy. Maybe you’re one of them. Ha. So cute. Anyway, I was one of them, and I was actively FILLING my every hour with personal training clients, my own workouts, the odd bit of an actual social life, etc etc. I didn’t have TIME to do random dream life shit that wasn’t going to have an immediate or possibly at ALL definite outcome, but I MADE time anyway.

I started spending a few hours late at night figuring out the whole online thing, painstakingly building my online presence and adding to it day by day. It would take me a whole week just to add and fine-tune a webpage, and who knows if it ever had any impact! I was literally growing something that I had no idea what I was going to do with. But I knew that if I was going to get somewhere they key was action, so I made DAILY space for my dream even though there was no real need or urgency to do so, and I took daily action. I sacrificed sleep and social or relaxation activities to do so.

Action: Start putting aside daily time to make space for your dream, even if you’re not sure what your big dream is never mind how to get there!

3. I Kept Dreaming

Something you have to realise – for some reason I’ve always innately done this, so I’m grateful it’s in my DNA! – is that the path of creating your dreams is one that NEVER ENDS. You’re never done. You’re never there. There’s always another level to go to, and besides which even when you get to your previous ‘there’ it looks completely different to what you thought it would! So the only way you can truly evolve and live a DAILY life of awesome is to be committed to the daily practice of seeking. Of dreaming. Of looking within to ask yourself what you want and then of doing the work. This is TOUGH. It’s not for the faint-hearted, the daily practice of showing up and giving it your all. It’s human nature to want to see the end in sight, so the idea of not HAVING an end is just too much for most people, and they lose focus, hope, and eventually their dream.

Action: To help you stay focused but also because it’s the ONLY way to stay in alignment rather than getting stuck in old ideals and ideas, get in the daily habit of dreaming. Ask yourself every day what you want, from life and then from that day. Be a seeker who enjoys the seeking as much of the idea of the outcome.

4. I Showed Up Consistently

There is only one guarantee to success, and it’s very simple – don’t quit, and show up every day. I’m not saying this means success will look like you thought it would mind you! It certainly will NOT. But what is also certain is that if your approach to taking action is haphazard, on again off again, based on motivation or whether you know how you definitely will NOT succeed. Since I’ve been online in 2007 I’ve showed up every single day in some way shape or form. Sometimes it’s just in my journaling, in my thoughts, but 5-6 days out of 7 it’s also on the actual laptop. Doing the work. CONSISTENCY is in my mind the real reason, if a somewhat boring one, for my success!

Action: stop worrying about how or whether or not you feel like it. Start showing up every single day, no matter what. What should you do? Figure that out as you go! Just do SOMETHING. You’ll learn along the way what the best ‘somethings’ to do are, but you won’t learn by waiting to know!

5. I Leapt Before Looking – Often

I’ve made so many risky or dumb choices in my business, but you know what? I don’t care. My approach is that when I want something, when I have even the WHIFF of a way in which my business or life could be better I leap as fully towards it as I can, even though it may, shall we say, land me in a spot of bother at times. I figure out the bother as I go! Taking this approach has meant I’ve taken opportunities instead of losing them, and I’ve been able to achieve many things I would never have had a shot at had I let fear, doing the ‘right’ thing, or common sense guide me.

Action: do you need to commit a little more to leaping towards your dreams rather being governed by the ‘practicalities’ of how you think life has to be?! Refusing to take risks is going to make it really hard to achieve something incredible, just so you know! Never mind the implications of deciding it’s NOT safe to bank on yourself.

6. I Learned to Listen to My Gut

Those foolish choices I mentioned above? Actually they were never so foolish at all, even the ones that didn’t work out, because the truth is they were always a result of me listening to what felt right for ME. I consider my intuition to be the most powerful business tool at my disposal, and I’ve learned time and time again that when I act from that place things DO always work out in the long run.

Action: follow your heart. It’s ok. In fact, it’s essential.

7. I Grew a Thick Skin

The first time I got an online hater type comment I was DEVASTATED. The first time I had a refund request and somebody not like my program it sat with me for MONTHS and I felt awful. I put more focus on that one person who didn’t like me then on the 80 or so others at the time in that program who were raving about it and me! I nearly even CHANGED the program based on feedback from that one person! Since then I’ve had NUMEROUS people not like me, sometimes even hate me and be really nasty, and gradually I’ve come to realise:

It’s NOT me.

It’s totally them, and I don’t have to concern myself with what other people think of me. Of course I listen to feedback, but what I’m talking about here is NON constructive feedback of people acting out on you, hating on you, or just being assholes because that’s maybe who they are in that moment and you got to bear the brunt of it. These days it doesn’t even raise my heartrate a notch when I get the odd nasty email. I find it funny slash sad slash eye rolly. Mostly I delete. Sometimes I’m a smart arse and respond using all my most clever words 🙂 Either way: I get on doing what I do best.

Action: Make a conscious choice to realise that having people not like you online is not only GOING to happen it’s pretty much essential. Trying to be everybody’s friend is not only impossible it also means you’re not going to really stand for anything and therefore you will NOT stand out. I’d be WORRIED these days if I thought I was liked by all!

8. I Invested Constantly in Myself

This one is a biggie. HUGE. There’s no two ways about it, if you want to get ahead you HAVE to invest in your own development. I don’t just mean financially although I certainly believe you’ve no right to expect other people to pay you if you aren’t comfortable paying a mentor of some kind yourself. The truth is that your success requires more than just you and you need to be paying daily attention to improving your thinking, your knowledge, your beliefs and your actions. I’ve spent over 300k in my time online learning from incredible mentors and online programs and events, and I invest daily in my growth through either ongoing mentoring, buying and reading new books, absorbing free content online as well, putting aside time for not only my business and financial growth but also my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual growth. In all these areas I invest with money, time, energy and emotion. I am committed to my absolute success and I will invest whatever resource necessary in whatever investment necessary, in order to get there!

Action: do you believe in and value yourself enough to invest in you?

9. I Spent More Time Sharpening the Saw then Doing the Work

I’m all for doing the work and taking BUCKETLOADS of action but the reality is that I’ve spent far more time sharpening my mind and intuition than what I’ve spent doing actual ‘work. I spend several hours a DAY in reading, learning, journaling, meditating and thinking. My action, when it then comes, is aligned, focused, fast and effective because I’ve already pointed my mind in the direction of success. I know what I need to do and I’m mentally equipped to do it.

Action: the more you feel as though you don’t have time to journal or pray or just breathe and be the more you need it. Being busy doing ‘stuff’ has no correlation to being effective, it’s like taking a road trip to somewhere you’ve never been before without consulting a map.

10. I Did the Fucking Work

Of course when all is said and done I DID the work. Day in, day out. Often – honestly for years in some way, and still sometimes! – it felt like I was wading through quicksand. One step forward a hundred back, or so it seemed! But yet I kept going. Always looking. Always learning. Always trying. I’ve no doubt I ‘wasted’ thousands of dollars, just as many hours, and certainly shaved a few years off my life in terms of breakdowns and tears and anger. But what I gained in return is everything:

I learned not only what it takes but I learned to be someone who can HANDLE what it takes. And I’d do it all over again, without changing a thing, for who it has made me.

Action: If you’re absolutely committed to your success then make up your mind now to do what it takes, no matter what, for as long as it takes and ultimately to BECOME someone for whom success is guaranteed.

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2 responses to “A True Story of What it Took to Build a 7-Figure Online Business and Live the “Laptop Freedom Life” {Part 2: Do This to Guarantee Success}”

  1. Nina says:

    Hello,

    I always love your content. I am not sure its on the list, but I need to let go of my money blocks. I have seen success and live a location independent lifestyle, but still have not reached my big money goals and it sucks because I know what to do and how to do it, but I do admit I don’t think I am doing enough. I am doing what I can with the resources I have, but I still feel that there is a huge money block or blind spot that I am not seeing.

    I also do have issues with charging high prices. I want to start a program teaching people how to become a social media manager and charge $1,000 per student. However, I keep telling myself ; no one will pay that, you are having challenges selling low entry products, why would someone want to buy high level, etc, etc. I guess the question would be how do you shift your mind knowing that there are people who will pay higher price points for your products?

    • Katrina Ruth says:

      That would be a GREAT rate for a course that essentially will help people get paid. At the end of the day you have to either decide if you’re willing to take the leap of faith … or not x