My thinking has changed considerably in the last couple of years about outsourcing and money in general. I used to find it very hard to pay someone to do things that I could do myself. As a matter of fact, I found it hard to spend money at all – even when it was something that I really needed. All my life I’ve been taught to be really tight with my money.

Christmas before last I bought a new house. Spending that much money was hard for me as it is with most people I’m sure. And then having to go buy washer and dryer, refrigerator, furniture etc. was even harder. It wasn’t because I didn’t have the money, I had more than enough. It was just hard to spend money. But, an event changed my life that Christmas and has since changed my whole way of thinking.

I was at a furniture store looking for furniture to go in my new home. My husband and I had just divorced and I was literally starting over – he got the house and everything in it, which was really fine with me, I was ready for a new start. But, that meant I had to buy all new furniture. Again, I had more than enough money for this – a result of the divorce settlement, but it was still hard to let it go. Finally, I decided on several items that the young salesman was trying so hard to sell me. Once I reluctantly signed all the papers and paid the young man, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “THANK you SO much! Now my children will have Christmas presents.” He didn’t tell me this BEFORE the sale to try to get me to buy from him, but only after I had decided on my purchase.

At that point, it really hit me that MY purchases really were helping people and helping this economy in general. Not only were MY children going to be SO excited to be getting this new furniture for Christmas, but now this young man could provide presents for HIS children. His purchases would in turn help someone else have enough money to buy presents for their kids, and so on and so on…

Not long ago, I hired a young man to help me part-time with websites. I wasn’t paying him a lot since he was only working part time. It was totally worth the money to me because I was so far behind on the websites. One night he came online and thanked me for allowing him to work for me part time. He told me that because of the extra money I was paying him, he was finally able to do some basic things that I never think about doing without. Again, a light bulb went off in my head – when I use the money that I have to hire out work that I need done, I am truly helping someone else. If I had offered to give this young man the money to take his wife out or to get new clothes, he would not have taken it. He wasn’t looking for a hand out. Now, I can’t wait to hire people. Which means I must charge people for the services I provide so that I can afford to hire more people.

I must take in money so that I can let it flow through me. And the more I take in, the more that can flow through me. I used to feel guilty about charging for my services. But, now I realize that I am providing quality service to my clients and customers – just like the young man provides me with quality service and help. I WANT to pay him. My clients WANT to pay me because I am providing HELP that they NEED. Hiring other people has really changed my whole perspective about money and looking at things from the other side.

Another thing that I realized the last year or so is how my SPENDING really affects this economy. The economy is bad because people don’t have money to spend. They don’t have money to spend because everyone is afraid to spend. There was a day a couple of years ago when I was at work and someone came running in the office saying, “If you are going to get gas, you better go get it! The gas stations are running out of gas!” This was when the gas prices were so incredibly high a year and a half ago or so. On my way home that day, I noticed several gas stations were truly out of gas and the gas stations that did have gas, had LONG lines of cars waiting to get gas. Some of those people in line were even fighting because they were afraid they wouldn’t get gas.

When I got home and watched the news, I realized that Nashville was the ONLY city in the nation that had run out of gas. Why? Because somehow that rumor got started and since everyone ran out to get gas, they made that rumor come true. If people had just ignored the rumor and not run out to get gas, the rumor would have been false.

I have a feeling that our economy is a lot like the gas rumor. Yes, we are in a bad economy, but mostly because people BELIEVE that we are in a bad economy. We’ve made the rumor come true. The people that have money are afraid to spend it because they believe we are in a bad economy. That keeps the money away from the people that need the money. Businesses that need to hire people are afraid to hire them because they believe that we are in a bad economy and they believe that people won’t spend money for their services. People aren’t spending money for the businesses services because they don’t have money to spend because businesses aren’t hiring. It’s a vicious cycle.

Many of the people I’ve hired to do websites lately tell me something like this: “I would work more but I can’t afford internet service right now and I have to work at a coffee shop when it’s open and I don’t have gas money to drive to the coffee shop.” Or, “I would help you with that design but I don’t have the software I need to do it on my computer.” I remember that I used to think the same way. What they don’t realize is that if they spent the money to get internet service or the gas or the software, they would make way more than enough to pay for the gas or internet service or software and still have more than enough left over. Not only that, but then the coffee shop and the internet service or software company can afford to stay open and continue passing the money through the economic system. I think of that often when I need new software or to hire someone that could potentially make me way more money than the cost of the software or the new hire.

I think if we all started talking about how great our economy is doing and started spending the money we have, then the economy would get better. I am realizing that the more money I spend, the more money I seem to make. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to go out and spend just for the sake of spending, but spending when I need to spend and when I have it to spend instead of making myself do without just because I might need it some day or because we are in a bad economy. I trust that God will provide it when I need it.

I am learning to treat money like air. I don’t go around holding my breath so that I won’t use up unnecessary air. And I don’t go around breathing in the air as fast as I can because there is so much available to me. I don’t tell my children to be careful and save up the air for a rainy day. We all use the air as it’s needed – no more and no less. We use it without even thinking about it. Our lives don’t revolve around the air we breathe – actually, our lives DO revolve around the air we breathe, but we don’t plan our days and our lives around the air that we are breathing. We trust that it will always be there in the perfect amount that we need.

I think money should be the same way. Many of us say that we believe God will provide but then we rarely ACT like we believe that God will provide. We think we have to work hard to make that happen. I used to believe that I shouldn’t care about money and that I shouldn’t be focused on making more money because that took it away from someone else. I wanted to believe that money wasn’t important and I shouldn’t be focused so much on money. I shouldn’t want to make a million dollars. But, then I would catch myself spending MORE time and energy worrying about money because I didn’t have any! It caused me more stress and more grief and more arguments than anything else in my life.

If I treated money like I treat air, then the stress and grief and arguments would be gone. I have learned so much about my beliefs about money and how those beliefs were ingrained in my head lately. It has truly changed my life. I now realize that by charging others for my services, I am allowing them the opportunity to spend money which brings them more money. It’s called ‘currency’. I like to think of it as a water current. It has to flow THROUGH me. I can’t expect more to come to me if I’m damming it up on one end and not letting any out.

I used to keep my beliefs about money all to myself so I could avoid the hard looks from others or so I wouldn’t have to hear their disapproval. But, I’m finding that to truly be myself I can’t keep holding back my true thoughts and beliefs. It seems the older I get, the less I worry about what others think. And my main goal is to be happy. I won’t be happy unless I am the complete person that God made me to be. I won’t be happy unless I stay in touch with Jesus who lives inside of me. He made me the way I am and I’ve spent way too much of my life trying to be something I’m not so that others would like me more or not think bad of me. I’m learning to trust that still small voice instead of many of the louder voices I hear externally

I’m not totally ‘there’ yet, but I’m progressing

Anybody else want to make more money?
I’m offering a free webinar to learn HTML (the language used to build websites). You can read all about it and sign up for the free webinar here: http://cullen-web-services.com

Wednesday morning, as I sat in my quiet time deciding what I needed to do for the day, I realized that my list of things to do was looking a little too familiar. I enjoy doing most everything on the list, or I did yesterday, but it’s beginning to get a little too comfortable for my tastes.

I don’t like to get comfortable. Comfortable eventually means boring too me. It can also mean stagnation. I HAVE to be learning and growing and helping people.

Of course, what I do every day helps people. There are many people who benefit greatly by the websites that I develop. I feel good contributing the skills I’ve acquired and helping people with the technical things that they don’t understand and may not ever want to understand. I even learn and grow doing what I’m doing, but I like to be on the fast track, and lately, I don’t feel like I’m learning and growing nearly as much as I could be. I’m not getting any younger and there are still a lot of things left to do on my bucket list.

So, even though what I’m doing was my passion yesterday, I have grown, therefore my passions may change or, maybe a better way to say it is that my passions intensify as I grow. As I become more capable and increase my knowledge, I feel the need to step out of my comfort zone and intensify my search for a more passionate life.

I sat thinking about my passions and asked myself the question, “If I could do ANYTHING, what would I do?” I know it has to involve computers and programming to an extent. I also know it has to be helping people. I will never be satisfied if I’m not helping someone. And it would have to involve teaching. I really have a passion for teaching, as I’ve explained before, because I feel that that’s the way I learn the most.

It hit me that I could start a community where I helped people start living their dreams. I believe that many people don’t feel that they can live their dreams because something is holding them back. Usually, that’s money. In my line of work, I’ve watched many people make LOTS of money online. I’ve even helped them do it. I KNOW it can be done. And I know HOW it’s done. I’ve been studying this stuff for a long time and I KNOW how it all works.

I truly believe that to live our dreams, we must help others live their dreams. I started thinking of ways that I could help. I could teach web building classes, which I’m already doing. That is going well and I hope to continue to do that, but the way I’m doing it now, it’s hard to tell how everyone is doing. There are so many people in the group, that if they were to all respond, it would be chaos. I have to make a better way. Right now, I can’t make that personal connection that I want to have.

Another way I could help is to educate people on internet marketing and ways to bring more traffic to their sites and convert that traffic to paying customers. I could help people find their passions and then figure out how to make a profit from that so that they could spend more time on their passions and less time worrying about money or stressing in a job that they don’t enjoy.

I truly believe that we have entered the information age and that most jobs will be online and mobile before long. Jobs are already heading in that direction. I also believe that many more of us will be working for ourselves instead of working for someone else. And I believe that’s the way it should be! We NEED to be online and the sooner we are using our passions online and converting those to money, the better off we will be.

It takes many online tools to convert those passions into dreams. I can provide those tools. I know which tools are needed and I have either built them myself, will build them or know where to find the most valuable services. I CAN help people turn their dreams into a reality. I know where to find the information, tools and services that are needed to make an online business work. I enjoy studying online marketing and cutting edge technology so that I can help others keep up with the constant changes.

So, since I KNOW all this stuff and I have a passionate desire to help others, I am going to start this community so that I can help them to live their dreams. A place where everyone helps each other too. This community will have access to me, my tools, my knowledge, my expertise, my services, etc. I want a thriving community that is on the cutting edge of technology, information, and web services. I want a community that I can help thrive online. I will be offering discounts for all my courses, services, tools, videos, etc. to the members of this community.

Those of you that want to join this community will need to make an investment. I’ve been offering a lot of things for free such as the html classes and websites for training. What I’ve found is that when people get it for free, many of them don’t value it as much. They don’t take it as seriously. Since they have little to nothing invested, they don’t push themselves to actually take advantage of the knowledge, service, or tool. Or worse yet, they feel guilty for taking my time and won’t ask the questions that they need to ask. So, you have to pay something.

Here’s the good news. I want to reward those that sign up early and help me build this community. There will be little information at first as I get this started. Eventually, there will be MUCH information and much benefit from being a part of this community, but for now, I want to work with individuals to find out what’s needed most and how I can best be of service first. So, to reward those that sign up early and help me get this going, I am only going to charge the first 10 members only $1 per month for as long as they stay active in the community. The price to join will steadily go up after that, so the sooner you join, the less you will have to pay each month, regardless of how big the community gets or how much information is included or how many tools or services become available. Your price will never change unless you cancel your membership and then rejoin.

Keep in mind that the sooner you join, the more of my attention you will get. Eventually, as the community becomes larger, I will be spread thinner and won’t be able to help each member as much. I will come up with alternative plans as the need arises, but I want you to see the opportunity in joining early. My goal is to make this THE best online community to help and support those that want to have their own online business. I want to provide the best value for tools, services, and support. I truly believe that the more people I help become abundant, then the more abundant I will become as well.

I have a couple of websites that I need to finish up so I won’t be able to get this community together for a week or so, but I wanted to get the word out there so that you can keep watching for the launch date. I hope that I have time to get it up and running in the next week or so, but my schedule at work has been pretty demanding lately. I hope it will slow down a bit, but I just never know. So, stay tuned!

In the meantime, I would love to hear your feedback!! Please leave me a comment below or send me an email and let me know what you think. I’m anxious to see if any of you think this would be a valuable service to you or not. I WANT your suggestions! I want to make this YOUR community! To do that, YOU have to be involved

I homeschool my three kids.

My oldest son, Matthew, is 16 and has started to drive. That reminds me that it won’t be long until he will be out on his own.

As they get older I wonder if I’ve taught them all they need to know to make it on their own. This, of course, is NOT the first time I’ve thought about this.

When Matthew was 5, I thought that homeschooling was just bringing school home, complete with school desk, set hours and a set curriculum.

He was a good student and loved to read – taught himself when he was 4 – loved most anything I could offer him in a book.

And then 2 years later, when it was time for Mason to start kindergarten, I realized that my whole world was about to change. He didn’t want to have anything to do with a book. We fought every day. I finally gave up and decided to send him to public school when he turned 6.

Just before he turned 6, to keep from going to public school, he seemed to learn to read overnight on his own. He still didn’t want to do anything from a book, but I was beginning to see that even though he was not totally infatuated with books (which is totally foreign to me since I am an avid book reader), he was learning everything he needed to learn in his own way and in his own time.

I relaxed my teaching methods just a bit and I found out that even with Matthew, who enjoyed the books but hated ‘homework’, they learned more when they did it their own way. They learned more when they could feel ‘in control’ of their learning. And as long as I encouraged their learning of anything they seemed interested in and bought them the necessary tools and educational materials (even though these may not be traditional educational tools and materials) they learned it much faster than they did when I was standing over them forcing them to ‘get it done’.

And then, along came Mallory. Not only did she not want anything to do with a book, she didn’t want anything to do with anything unless it was singing, dancing or bouncing around from one thing to another. I thought she would never learn to read and the more I tried to force her to, the harder it seemed to get for her.

By this time I began to realize that they learn what they need to learn when they want to learn it. The key word is WANT here. Until they see a real need for it, I can’t beat it into their heads. The more I try to force it in, the harder they resist it. So, I tried to find ways to manipulate them into wanting to learn it.

I was exhausted. And so were they. So, each year, I seemed to give up just a little bit earlier. And each year, they seemed to learn even more than they had learned the year before, WITHOUT me standing over them to beat in into their stubborn little heads.

Yes, they were spending too much time in front of the computer according to most of the world’s standards, but I really couldn’t say anything about that since I spend all my time in front of the computer too. I understand that fascination and ‘addiction’ (at least thats how much of the world explains it) to computers since I make my living in front of the computer and then continue sitting in front of my computer on into the night. But, I’m here to tell you that it’s a PASSION for me instead of an addiction! I totally LOVE my work – so much so that it’s really not work at all. It’s play. And I would do it even if I didn’t get paid to do it.

Yes, they play a lot of games, but Google is their best friend. They have the WORLD at their fingertips. And they know that when they have a question about anything, they can find the answer online. Whether it’s which tv show a tv star has been in before or how far it is to the moon, they know how to find the answer in a matter of seconds.

Computer games have helped them learn to drive, learn to cook, learn to budget their time, learn social skills, learn physics, and much, much more than I could have taught them by myself. I dare to say that each one of my kids is much smarter than I am on many, many different subjects. The only subjects where I might beat them are the subjects where my passions lie.

Why? Because when we are passionate about something, we LEARN it! It isn’t work, it’s play. It isn’t hard, it’s easy.

Do I worry about my kids not being able to ‘cut it in the real world’? THIS IS the real world!

And I know that their passions can support them and bring them financial security – now more than ever – BECAUSE of the internet.

So, instead of spending all my time trying to beat things into their head so that they could get into college which would help them get out into the ‘real world’ and get a job working for someone else that really doesn’t have their best interests at heart, I’ve been doing my own learning. While they’ve played their computer games, researched their passions online, and played their way into learning everything they’ve needed to learn, I’ve been learning how to turn those passions into a supportive way of life.

I’ve been learning as much as I possibly can about business so that I can pass that onto them when they are ready. I want them to KNOW how to get whatever they need while depending on no one but themselves and God. They must take responsibility for their own lives and make their own way.

I am a computer programmer. I’ve been doing this for over 26 years now. I’m very good at what I do. I started my own online business 5 years ago. I just knew that since I knew SO much about computers and technical stuff that I would be an overnight success. Boy, was I WRONG!

People that have NO computer skills were passing me up left and right! I realized I had a LOT to learn. And that’s ok because other than my passion for computers, I have an even greater passion for learning. I think that’s where my passion for computers comes from anyway… I know I’ll never get bored with computers because the more I learn, the more I realize I NEED to learn.

So, as I started learning more and more about how to start and run my own business, I fell in love with not only computers and programming but with marketing and sales and the challenge of entrepreneurship! I found adventure and excitement… all the things that really get my heart to pumping.

Since my biggest passion is learning, my next biggest passion is teaching. Why? Because teaching is the best way to learn. I’ve found that when I have to share what I’ve learned, I learn it better. I have to KNOW what I’m talking about and if I don’t know what I’m talking about, either my students are quick to point it out or someone that knows more than I do is kind enough to set me on the right track.

By putting my knowledge out there, those that can learn from me, benefit from my knowledge, and those that can teach me, find the holes in my knowledge and help me fill it. It’s really the best of both worlds!

When I keep that knowledge to myself, others don’t benefit from my knowledge and those that know more than I don’t realize what they know that I don’t. So, teaching and sharing ALWAYS helps me to grow and learn and get better than I was the day before.

I have a GREAT job as a web developer. I get to work from home most of the time. I make more than enough money to support us. I didn’t need to start a business. But, there are many, many reasons why I WANTED to start a business. And there are many reasons why I want to make this business grow as much as it possibly can. There are many reasons why I want to gain as much experience as I can when it comes to starting a business.

The more people I can help start a business, the more experience I get. The more experience I get, the more people I can help and the more I can help my kids when they finally realize that I’m not going to support them forever

I’m going to start sharing everything I know so that those of you that can benefit from what I know, will. Those of you that see where I’m going wrong, will hopefully help me get back on the right track! I’m putting my ego out the door! I want to LEARN!

Now with ALL that said, I am not against making money from this blog or from most anything or anywhere else! I like making money! And if you tell me you don’t, I would really have trouble believing it, but that’s a topic for another post.

It would be my dream to be able to do this all day, every day! To write about what I love to write about. Even start doing some video blogging since that’s where they say things are heading. I know that if I provide good, quality content and never give up, this could turn into a full time job. But, only when I get in the right place with my head and my heart. And only when I’m completely honest and up front with you about my intentions.

I think that by sharing as much as I can with you, it can only help my business. But, if that were my only reason for doing it, it wouldn’t be enough. As a matter of fact, one of the things I’ve learned is that my heart MUST be in the right place before any money will come – at least any money that will last.

If I do this only for my business, it will fail.

If I do this because I care about you and want to help you, it will eventually succeed – in many ways – not only monetarily.

Because I truly want to learn and because I truly enjoy my subject matter, then I can never fail and I won’t be able to keep the abundance – of everything – money, success, fulfillment – away. They will eventually come. But, it will take patience, perseverance and dedication. Things that only passion can bring over the long haul.

These are the things I’ve tried to leave out of my business before. I tried to keep my business and the rest of my life separated. But, I’m learning that they are VERY intertwined. If I don’t have my emotional life in order, then my business will never succeed – at least not for long. If I have stinking thinking, then I can never succeed. I HAVE to have my head and my heart in the right places before I can realize my abundance.

Ok, enough already. I’ll leave the rest for later posts. I’ll try to work up the nerve for a video post

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