My Roller Coaster Year-An Introspective Little Post
Filed Under life lessons, blogging, Home Business | Posted on January 1, 2009
Sometimes I absolutely cannot believe that I have come out of this one relatively unscathed and just a few pounds heavier than when I started. Ok…more than a few pounds…and yeah…I’m talking about 2008. Believe me, I know what is happening all around me and even though this year has been a very emotional one for me, I feel blessed given the enormity of the fall out from the financial crisis and then the Bernie Madoff scam. My heart goes out to anyone who was affected by this disaster and one can only hope that people will be able to pick up the scattered pieces.
I want to write about some of the major personal events in 2008 so that I can begin 2009 with a fresh start. So here it goes. I started off the year with a bang because I had been blogging for a very short time and I was named one of the top women bloggers to watch in 2008. That was so exciting because I really didn’t know what I was doing at all and frankly I didn’t even know I could write or even like to write. In terms of my business I was doing pretty well and I was chosen to moderate on a forum by a top internet marketer whose business was booming. Pretty awesome stuff.
I signed up for a program called RIOY (Retire In One Year) and was in profit in just a few weeks….even more awesome. I was really taking to this and enjoying every minute. The reality of my job was sinking in though and thus the roller coaster of emotions from the highs of my home business to the lows of my career.
Normally, I didn’t have major lows regarding my career because I had been lucky enough to work in top schools as a math teacher for most of my career. Then came my job last year. What an absolute mess. I liked the idea of working with underpriviledged kids but this was something else. The incompetence was rampant and the place was being run by the kids. Needless to say, this made me work much harder on my home business in order to get out. A place like that can really drain you of all passion and energy. It is just too difficult to watch kids who have little hope of succeeding in life in the first place have all those chances taken away from them because they are placed in the hands of people who should not be anywhere near an educational institution.
OK, I got through the school year, barely, and started to widen my network of people who are experienced internet marketers. This is always a good thing. I would go up and down on the time I spent learning though but I was still lucky enough to be doing fairly well. I made some mistakes with programs and lost a little bit of money but for the most part I was still ahead. RIOY had its ups and downs and I have written about that in many posts….lots of changes….too many.
The summer was relatively uneventful, but definitely peaceful. Exactly what I needed. I didn’t even want to think of the past school year. In August I received a phone call from a guy exactly a year to the date that I last saw him. There went my peace. He and I had spent the last 4 years together….let’s just say on and off and on and off. Off was better.
It’s funny because I am such a strong woman in so many ways but I didn’t always seem that way when I was with him. What is even more strange was he just was not worth the trouble at all and I didn’t even see it. OK….maybe I didn’t want to. I do now though and I won’t even go into details about all the truths that I found out. Nothing like wearing blinders!
About a week later my mom and my sister came up to visit me which was planned at the last minute. We had a great time and all of us were really happy to have the short time together…you know…just the girls. We didn’t know how lucky we were because this was the last time that would happen.
Literally two weeks later my mom was diagnosed in the final stages of pancreatic cancer and would not be with us much longer…about 3 weeks to be exact. I wrote about her in a post called “A Tribute To A Woman.” It was my way of saying goodbye.
This was pretty life changing and it opened my eyes to what I was doing with my life. What the hell was I doing??? The school year had begun and was run by a new and even more incompetent administration. If I wrote about what I saw in the hallways on a daily basis I promise you would not believe me. Let’s just say you would hope and pray that you would never have a child that you would have to send to a school like this. It was just more than I was able to bear given the circumanstances.
The RIOY business fell through. I never would have believed it but so many things happened to get in the way and Karl Green was not able to sustain the program. The companies we promoted are still there and I will continue to work with them but it was a real shame for those who lost money. They will be paid back but it will be over time. There was nothing I can say to make it better for anyone. My heart was broken.
I quit teaching because I could not do it anymore…that was in December. I will be working from home….starting…..now! I have not even begun to organize and work out a real plan. I do have money coming in from passive income and affiliate programs. Actually I have a lot of money coming in and I will be off to a good start. Am I worried about the future? Believe it or not…..no. I have a really good feeling about being my own boss and starting a new in a second career. In my pajamas of course.
Here’s too a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Until the next time,
Laura
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One Response to “My Roller Coaster Year-An Introspective Little Post”
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Hi Laura,
It’s been awhile since my last visit to your Blog and can see why you were named one of the top women Bloggers. There is more than just words in this article …a lot of emotion and personal thoughts as well…a commitment to succeed both on and offline.
Hey..thanks to you I am watching my grammar and spelling more often since we met…my host’s “spellchecker” helps too…lol
Your an inspiration to me as I build my Biz to keep going and don’t look back
Gord