What does the word success actually mean?
A quick search online gave this explanation:
“Success is the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one’s goals. The attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
A performance or achievement that is marked by success, as by the attainment of honors: The play was an instant success.”
Basically putting it, success is the achievement of a goal and the favorable outcome of a person’s attempts and endeavours.
That can be anything.
I talk a lot about making a lot of money through building an online business publishing information products, but the goal for many people is to attain more freedom from work.
I fully support this and I am happy to say that freedom from work so that you can enjoy more of life is the backbone of all I talk about and teach.
Yes, I talk about making a lot of money, but there is a reason for that… money buys freedom.
I talk a lot about building passive income streams, again, there is a reason for that… passive income funds a life where work is not required.
Well, when I say work isn’t required, I am referring to the kind of work that has you getting up in the cold at silly o’clock in the morning and going to a place of work for the whole day where you work with people you’d rather not, and eventually get paid the same pitiful wage at the end of the month.
Passive income is a great way to fund a freedom focused lifestyle.
Freedom can also be achieved by changing your lifestyle and reducing your living costs to as low as they can go so that you need to earn less money.
Chasing money can sometimes result in the one thing you already had and enjoyed.
I want to highlight this by sharing the story of the fisherman and the businessman.
The Fisherman And The Businessman
A businessman on vacation trying to unwind from the stresses of business was wandering along the beach when he came across a lone fisherman.
The fisherman was laid out on the beach with his hat covering his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the anticipation of catching a fish with his only fishing pole propped up in the sand. His single line cast out into the calm and sparkling blue sea.
“You won’t catch many fish that way,” said the businessman to the fisherman.
Not liking the fact that the fisherman was laid out doing very little, the business man shouted, “You should be out there on the sea in a boat working rather than lying on the beach!”
The fisherman looked at the businessman, smiled and replied, “And why would I want to do that?”
“Well, you can use bigger nets and catch more fish to sell!” was the businessman’s answer.
“And why would I want to do that?” asked the smiling fisherman again.
Getting a little frustrated with the fisherman’s questions, the businessman snapped back with “You could then buy a bigger boat, and pay people to work for you!”
“And why would I want to do that?” asked the smiling fisherman once again.
Frustration turned to irritation. “The more fish you catch, the more you can sell, the more you sell, the more money you can make! You can then buy more boats and hire more employees and build a fleet of fishing boats and have your employees sail across the ocean catching tons more fish for you.”
“And why would I want to do that?” asked the smiling fisherman once again.
Seething with anger, the businessman raged at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand? You could become so rich that you will never have to work for your living!”
The fisherman seeing the businessman getting vexed, smiled and asked, “And why would I want that?”
Nearly blowing a gasket, the businessman shouted, “You’ll be able to spend all of your days relaxing on the beach, catching fish while enjoying the warmth and watching the sunsets. You’ll have no cares in the world. That’s why!”
“Ahhhh,” said the fisherman smiling and nodding his head sagely. Replacing his hat over his eyes he lay back down and asked, “What do you think I am doing?”
I love that story.
I don’t know where it originates from or who was the first person to share it. The version I have shared may differ slightly but you understand what it is saying.
The stressed businessman was angry at the fisherman for doing the one thing he says having money and working hard could give him.
It is true; money can give you that…
But the moral of the story could be that the businessman was chasing money and working hard with the end goal of being able to enjoy the same freedoms the fisherman was enjoying, but instead he was stressed and angry from being overworked… which is probably why he was jealously angry with the fisherman.
A friend of mine is a bit like the fisherman, he is enjoying a new life in Portugal with more freedoms which have come from running a writing business online.
He isn’t constantly looking for a lot of new customer, he isn’t taking on employees to do the writing for him, he is simply writing for a handful of decent clients who pay him well which allows him to enjoy his new life abroad.
He has a few digital products of his own that generate income passively and he is intending on creating more.
He will become wealthier and more successful than he is right now, but the truth is… he already considers himself wealthy and successful because he is doing the one thing he wants to do.
He has created the life he is now living.
He chose this life.
He is a million miles away from the previous jobs he worked previously.
He once worked in a factory as a forklift operator lifting goods and machines on and off trucks in the cold, rain and snow. It was a job he didn’t enjoy much.
He is a success because he has changed his life to one that has given him more money, more freedom, is less physical, and one that he enjoys a lot more than his previous lives where he worked as an employee.
Also he no longer gets wet and cold.
Success to you may not be about having millions in the bank; it could be that it means having more freedom to do more of the things you enjoy.
However…
We shouldn’t lose sight of a very important factor here though….
Unless you sell all of your possessions and go and live in a hut on an island with no amenities and spend your days fishing and foraging for your food, you are going to need money to fund a lifestyle of freedom.
One thing that was not mentioned in the story of the fisherman and the businessman was exactly how the fisherman made the money he needed… believe it or not, I have a theory about this!
I believe that the fisherman is actually an information publisher and affiliate marketer who sells digital products online which earn him an income passively that allows him to spend his days fishing on the beach.
What do you say?
I think I am right, I have him sussed. So, if you would like to be like that fisherman, earning money passively from the sales of digital products while enjoying your days in the sun, why not join me and a very special guest for a live webinar on Thursday 25th May at 2pm EST (7pm UK time) where you can discover how you to could be enjoying a passive online income FASTER than you ever through possible.
