Earn $10 A Day From Your Side-Hustle, You Have $10. Invest It, Become A Millionaire.
A lot of people are complainers. They complain of not having a meaningful life, or not being able to buy this thing or that, or that their lives are not fair. They, rightly, feel something is missing out from their life.
What they don’t realize is that the thing they are missing is inside themselves. Little do they realize that the reason they have failed to meet their expectations is that they have an external locus of control. They blame everything and anything but themselves for their unwanted situation.
It gives them an easy excuse, a ‘victim mindset’. Because if the things causing them to have problems in life is not within their control then how can they be blamed for it?
Screw that bullcrap. I am responsible for where I am in life, good or bad – no one else!
I hope you feel the same way too. This is called having an internal locus of control, that you are responsible for what happens in your life. That your decisions have accumulated to you being where you are today.
You know what gives those with an internal locus of control a focus – goals. Set some damn goals and work towards achieving them. But even if you have set a few goals for yourself and haven’t been able to achieve them yet, it could be because those goals aren’t compelling and powerful enough to drive you towards them.
(This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission – at no additional cost to yourself – if you end up buying the product or service offered.)
What are Compelling and Meaningful Goals?
A goal is an objective that you want to achieve. If your objective is to just pay your rent and bills, you will end up doing just that and nothing more.
If your goal is to earn enough to buy 10 new shares of XYZ this month, you will end up fulfilling this goal (and maybe earning some delicious dividends for decades to come).
Whatever your goal is, you’ll somehow convince and force yourself to achieve it. If you don’t want to just scrape by in life and want to do something great, you need to set truly meaningful and compelling goals for yourself.
A meaningful goal is one that adds meaning, value and empowerment to your life- one that transforms your life and makes you feel truly proud of yourself. A compelling goal is a goal that pulls you towards itself. Imagine being near a magnet that is so strong that you have no choice but to be drawn towards it. Naturally, when it draws you towards it, you’ll involuntarily move towards it and it won’t stop until it has completely captured you. That magnet will use all its force to bring you towards it and in the end it will be united with you. That is exactly the power of a compelling goal. It draws you towards itself like a super-strong magnet and it doesn’t let you rest unless you have accomplished it.
If you wish to do something truly brilliant with yourself and transform your life, it is these two ingredients you need to infuse into your goals: to dream and think big. Set meaningful goals and make them compelling enough for you to become drawn towards completion.
How Compelling and Meaningful Goals Help Us Succeed
When you convince your mind that you must achieve something, it becomes completely involved in that goal. Your brain unleashes its potential and works at full power to achieve it.
But if you tell yourself you have to just pay your bills and make sure to have food on the table, your brain will stay asleep, comforted from the warm glow coming from the TV screen.
Similarly, if you fully convince yourself that you must make an extra $5,000 in a month, your mind will find ways to help you achieve that.
Back on his old Personal Power days, Tony Robbins talked about a woman who needed to make $100,000 in 7 weeks. Although Tony Robbins did not, at first, believe that she could achieve that goal, that woman’s unwavering belief in her goal made him believe in her goal too. He asked her to keep visualizing that she had already achieved this goal. She was extremely confident in her belief and had made that goal a must-have. After 7 weeks, she won a lottery and that whopping $100,000 too.
I don’t know if that story is true or not, but if you have read ‘Think and Grow Rich‘ by Napoleon Hill, it’s pretty easy to see where Tony Robbins got a lot of his early stuff from.
I don’t suggest to anyone that they can just THINK themselves into winning the lottery. If that were true, every broke-ass lottery ticket buying person would have won by now.
No, a mindset driven for success is important, but it is just the first step – YOU HAVE TO TAKE ACTION! You cannot just wish for your goal to be achieved, you need to work to make it happen.
Most people never take action. They don’t do the work that it takes, they don’t give forth the effort. That is why they remain where they are.
But you know what I hear when I ask why? Excuses.
Forget Excuses, Do It!
When I write about my side-hustle income, there is not one damn thing on there that is ‘exclusive’. What I mean is that I do what anyone can be doing.
Last month I earned money by driving for uShip, writing for SeekingAlpha and Steemit, taking some merchandise photos for Easyshift and Field Agent, and selling stuff on eBay.
The one that requires just a little bit of special knowledge is writing articles for SeekingAlpha. Everything else is unskilled work that anyone can do right now! So why aren’t you making hundreds of dollars extra each month? What is your excuse?
If I only had time…
If I only knew how…
If I were more confident in myself…
If I had some help…
If I knew the right people…
If I were free to do what I wanted…
And the list goes on.
Punch those thoughts in the face! Do you know what an excuse is? It’s just a box you have to check off before you get to your goal.
If you don’t know how to do something, learn how! Check.
If you need help, get help! Check.
If you need time, find ways to free up more of yours! Check.
Fix your excuses then work towards your goal.
If you stop at your excuse, then you better be content where you are in life. If not, you need to be hustling to get where you desire to be. Just hoping and wishing to be better off, but not actually doing the hard work to make it happen, is not enough.
Don’t come whining to me about how unfair your life is, I have no empathy to give to you.
The $10/Day Side-Hustle Challenge
To kickstart you towards a better life I am putting forth a challenge. You pledge to earn $10 every day, on average, through side-hustles.
Why $10?
Because $10 invested every day will make you a millionaire. It will take 40 years at 8% interest, but you will get there.
The thing is I don’t think it would take you that long if you start hustling. See, this $10 is just the start. It will get you going, which is the hardest part. I know that once you start a hustling lifestyle you will start to find out you can earn much more than just $10 per day. And that’s good because in 40 years $1 mil will probably have the buying power that $250K does today.
Every dollar brings you closer to financial freedom. You want money so that you can be financially free? Go and get it!
Most people want to be well-off. Most people won’t ever be.
Did you know that the poorest households, those that make less than $13K/yr, spend 9% of their annual income on lottery tickets? That’s about $1,000 each and every year, give or take. That would turn into $300K in 40 years if it earned 8%.
The lottery is a fools game. It isn’t going to be handed to you, you have to go out there and get it.
What if those households saved up that money for a year and used it as seed money for their own side-hustle instead? Might they come out ahead compared to playing the lottery? I think so. They might fail a few times, but eventually some idea of theirs will succeed.
Most won’t ever know because they have excuses instead.
I won’t hear any excuses from you guys. Just by reading about personal finance and personal development you show you are way above the average person.
If you already make $10/day or more from side-hustles, pledge to increase it by another $10. If you are reading this and not earning $10/day in extra money I hope you are content where you are. Otherwise, what’s your excuse?
Go forth and hustle.
Anyone have the compelling and meaningful desire to take me up on this side-hustle challenge? Leave a comment below and tell me what you do to make extra money. Also, be sure to check back here towards the beginning of every month to see how much I hustled.
13 comments
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Cato @thedollarbuild
September 30, 2017 at 9:28 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I’m all about the side hustle game right now. Sometimes earning extra cash comes easy, and sometimes it takes some seriously hard work and sacrifice. I don’t want to have to hustle as hard as I am right now for the rest of my life; that’s why I’m working hard now so I can scale things back and have more time and financial security when I get married someday and start having kids. Right now, I’m working full-time at my big-boy attorney job, bartending on the weekends, and doing occasional legal work on the side when possible. On top of all that, I’m always looking for creative ways to pick up odds jobs here and there to make a quick buck. It can be a grind but it won’t be long before I’ll be able to sit back and enjoy the benefits!
MrDD
October 1, 2017 at 9:17 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Right on, love to hear about all the hustlin’ you are doing. The more you do now, the more time you have that money working FOR you with compounding interest. Think you can squeeze out just another $10 a day?
Mr. Robot
September 30, 2017 at 11:34 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
That is some real tough love here, great stuff!
I won’t join the challenge right now (to busy is my excuse at the moment), but looking forward to follow you along!
Mr. Robot recently posted…This is my buy for September 2017
MrDD
October 1, 2017 at 9:18 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Excuses!Gabe A. @ The Shiny Dollar
October 1, 2017 at 6:15 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I love the power of compounding interest, and love that you don’t have to invest a ton of money to end up with a ton of money. Time is your friend when investing!
Gabe A. @ The Shiny Dollar recently posted…My Credit Card Epiphany
MrDD
October 1, 2017 at 9:19 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
That’s why the earlier you hustle, the better it is for you. It doesn’t get any earlier than RIGHT NOW! Your future self will thank you.
Graham @ Reverse the Crush
October 1, 2017 at 12:56 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Great post, Mr DD! I really liked how you mentioned taking responsibility for where you stand in life. It’s 100% true and I have been thinking the same thing lately.I also agree about the importance of meaningful goals. As far as your side hustle challenge, it’s an interesting challenge to consider. I’m already saving more than that per month now. I could either challenge myself to save an extra $10 per day, or try to earn $10 per day worth of income from blogging. I will think about this challenge as I’m writing my goals for October. Thanks for sharing!
Graham @ Reverse the Crush recently posted…That’s what the f—k you do!—To become a Successful Blogger
MrDD
October 1, 2017 at 9:48 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Graham, you know how a little bit of hustle now will pay off in the future. So why fight it? Just give in to the hustle. Go and hunt down that sonufabitch Hamilton and put him to work for you – forever!
Mr Defined Sight
October 2, 2017 at 7:15 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I am happy to report that we did sell a couple of no longer needed items locally to make a few bucks recently! You have provided excellent motivation and examples. I’ve been meaning to ask, did your Ebay fiasco get settled?
Mr Defined Sight recently posted…The Benefits Of Standing
MrDD
October 2, 2017 at 12:59 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Good work, keep up the hustle!
The eBay thing wasn’t much of a fiasco, more of a normal thing that occasionally happens, and the buyer and I were able to come to an agreement that left the transaction as-is. He kept the item and withdrew the return request.
David Loughnan
October 8, 2017 at 3:51 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thanks for the good work, looks like i have some reading to do. One of my personal favorites is life hack.
timeinthemarket
October 8, 2017 at 4:53 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I should totally get back to writing. I started to do so when I started my blog again but burned out pretty quickly so maybe I need to take it less aggressively. Even though I haven’t done any work in months on it, I’m still getting $30-$40/month and that’s far from $10/day but I can probably get through with more work every year.
MrDD
October 8, 2017 at 9:28 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Hey, that’s pretty good actually! From what sources are you getting that blog income from?