The Self Employment Challenge - 12 months to financial freedom

How's this for a challenge...

I'm a working guy who hates working for others. I want to get out of it, and have decided to do so, starting today. I have't got much to do it with, yet, but will.

So, who the hell am I and why would you care?

I'm a business man, writer, artist, and teacher (I teach swordsmanship) who is probably one of the more interesting and diverse people in the world. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm one of the most successful, but I'm working on that. I've finally gotten my head out of the so-called "secure" mindset of working for others and set my priorities to be more for me and my kids than anything else. So, to that end I plan on making a lot of money in the next five years, and having the freedom to give my kids more than what they need in life. I want them to have a better life and a better start than I had.

How am I going to do this?

...I'm going to live my dream.

And just what does that mean?

I've always wanted to write and do artwork. There's has been no other real dream for me. Writing and art. I just never knew how. Nobody was ever willing to teach me. And it seemed that nobody knew how.

All High School taught me was socializing and some very basic math and writing skills

Teachers didn't know what to do with me, because I was smart and didn't buy their stories - I knew they didn't know anything about success

University only taught the technical aspects of writing and art

My family either didn't know anything about success or couldn't teach it...

One family member claims to know a lot about business, investments and how to make money, but I've never seen any true evidence of that. If he knows so much, why can't or doesn't he teach it to the rest of the family? Is he just a bad teacher? Or does he not know what he implies that he does?

And so the first time I attempted to live my dream career I practically starved.
Thank goodness I had the emotional and financial support of my first wife. But that failed dream failed, and I ended up going to business school. i've been working in accounting and management ever since... And as soon as my first wife was completed her doctorate studies, she left. Yes, my business degree helped a little there...
No, I'm not suspicious about that at all...

Business school wasn't very useful - it is all aimed to working for the big corporations. Even the small business stuff was pretty useless (maybe it's improved in the last 10 years).

And now I'm on my own, learned more about sales in marketing in the last year than in the entirety of my business schooling, career, or from other people. And same goes for money management and investing.

It's time to apply that knowledge!
And this is my first step.
Wish me luck!

So, what I'm inviting people to do is to stay here and watch my progress.

I'll keep you posted in my progress in my blog, as well as a few little notes here and there through out this site. As I progress, so will this site!

So what's the challenge?

That within twelve months I will have the option of quitting my full-time job and be able to work for myself, following my dream!

To make it even more challenging, I think that I shouldn't just be able to quit my day job, but also be making more money than I am there. That will be the tough part!

Why?

Because I have to learn it all and start with nothing.

I have no financial backing

I'm close to bankruptcy because of my divorce

I live from cheque to cheque

I have two little kids (born in 2004 and 2006) that I have 50% custody of

The debts from my divorce and marriage are astounding (not including my car and mortgage - over $100,000)

I currently work full-time, from 8 am until 5pm all week, and have to work two other part-time jobs, just to make ends meet

Honestly - I have to do this, because if I don't I will probably lose my house.
- at the very least -

Even if I have to keep my day job, I MUST clear at least $1000 per month by June 2009 and $1500 per month by August 2009 in order to keep my house.

So, if that isnt' enough to convince you that I have an uphill battle, consider that my family thinks I'm crazy, that I'm doing this alone, and that I will not compromise on my relationship with my kids, so I spend the three-and-a-half days a week that I have with them focusing solely on them.
And I refuse to be a monk...

I can do this! And I will, just watch. :-)

Today's date: August 21, 2008

And I'm off to try!

I've decided to put up my whole log here as to my quest for financial freedom. I'm not selling any internet marketing books or programs right now... This is just the loq to see how I'm doing. Maybe someone will learn from this and maybe not. Honestly, it's more for me than anything else...

You can reach me directly at my email below, but I'd prefer it if you responded on my blog.