There are 2 ways to define “work.”
One is what you do for money.
The other is whatever you want to do less of.
That is an awesome definition right there and that is what Tim Ferris of 4 Hour Work Week fame came up with. I definitely think this is an important definition because it will allow you to focus on automation and on high-yield work activities. In other words, if you want to quit your day job, and you start a side business, then you work like a dog to grow that business, then where will you be if you end up quitting your job, only to find yourself working MORE than you were at your 40 hour per week job?
Therefore it is important to realize that we want to carefully define work and not let our thinking get clouded when it comes to our side business. The goal is still automation and working less to make more money so that we can achieve time freedom.
Lately I have been really working hard on building up my passive income stream from my online income. I have had lots of online money making ideas but I have narrowed them down. This has consisted of 3 key activities:
1) Writing new content each day (30 minutes)
2) Creating links to my money site, usually from free content platforms (30 minutes – 1 hour)
3) Building links to both the money site as well as the “farm” (those sites that link to my money site). (30 minutes).
So in reality I am spending about 2 hours per day on building up my business. At this rate, I am enjoying some nice growth and I am also creating a system that will scale nicely. It is a pain in the rear to find new content platforms with which to build links from, but once you have done so, they can eventually be used again when targeting your next keyword. It takes time to find new sources to use but it is one of the better internet marketing strategies. So I think it is time well invested even though it is a hassle. Building links is not easy, but if you can get into a routine and do it every single day, then the passive income will build and build and build…..
At some point, after reaching the desired income level, you can scale back this 2 hours per day to perhaps 1 hour per day. Not quite a 4 hour work week but probably less than 8. Not too shabby for writing about something you love every day…….