This Is How I Made $1M Online (Without the Get-Rich-Quick Bullsh*t)
This article is the exact opposite of what you think, and has nothing to do with millionaires or Lambos.
Quick note:
If you missed yesterday's masterclass -- Secrets to Six-Figure Newsletters -- you can catch the replay link.
Honestly...
I went totally bonkers in this one. Stayed so long to answer questions that my software LITERALLY kicked us all out. And a few people said the end felt like a drunken ‘ask me anything’ session full of nuggets haha.
Click here to watch the replay + Q&A
You don’t give a crap about millionaires.
Good. Me neither. This article is about the weird journey I went on to make $1M online, and it’s a wild ride.
People ask me all the time how I did it. And my response isn’t what you’d expect. What you’re about to read will inspire you and uplift your life in unpredictable ways.
1. Stay the hell away from “interests”
You’ll never make huge money online from something you’re interested in.
Interests die out. They require motivation and Tony Robbins quotes. As soon as you don’t get results or make money, you give up on interests. Pick something you’re obsessed with. Something you’d happily do for free.
2. Start a 6-figure newsletter
Every person making good money online has a newsletter. It’s your online hub. It’s the replacement for websites and blogs that nobody gives a crap about anymore. And it’s a place you own that can’t ban you or change their algorithm.
3. Get fired and lose everything
Get your dream job.
Have thousands of followers high-five you online and in real life. Feel like an absolute winner. Quit your banking job and join the sexy digital marketing industry.
Have your new boss say “you’ll be in charge of 16 account managers.” Smile. Feel powerful. Post a video on LinkedIn about how good your new job is.
Do your first 1-1s with your new team. Remember you’re older than most of them. Feel like a wise Yoda to them. Give them career advice. Help a guy called Jack create his own pet products startup.
Attend meetings and get asked to make big decisions. Go home to your girlfriend and tell her how good work was. Then have 3 months go by and get given a new boss.
You helped him get the job. He’s one of “the boys.” You can’t believe your luck.
On day one he starts saying strange phrases like “mortgage motivation.” You brush it off. He likes you so there’s nothing to worry about.
Just to be sure you ask your mentor to have lunch with the new boss. The two meet. They eat. Your mentor gives you the report afterward.
“He thinks you’re lazy, a pussy, and your LinkedIn following is a distraction.”
Have your heart sink. Ignore it. There are no other signs your new boss hates you. Keep going. Show up. Coach. Lead. Have your new boss give you loads of compliments. Go out to lunch with him. Have your daily coffees.
He’s such a good guy. He loves you like one of his three sons.
It’s late on Friday.
Nearly time for Friday drinks and free snacks. Life is so good. You’re on top of the world. Writing earnings are through the roof.
Your boss walks up to you before a meeting and says “need to have a quick chat.” You follow him to the nearest meeting room. He sits you down. Blood rushes to your face.
A wave of emotion comes over you.
You’ve been here before. You know what’s about to happen, even though he hasn’t said it yet.
“Sorry but I have to let you go.”
As he says those words you feel him get emotional too. He never does that. He’s a cruel man and he treats your team like garbage. But he knows how hard it must be, even if he’ll never tell another soul.
The formalities now continue. A letter from HR is handed over. A nice “don’t screw with me and leave the building quietly” warning is given. He gives you 5 minutes to pack your stuff up.
As soon as you get back to your desk your team is asking you questions.
“Can you help me with this client?” Can you approve this invoice for me?”
Your face goes white. You feel sick. Vomit feels like it’s about to pour out. You don’t know what to say. You freeze. You hardly say anything. You pack your stuff up as quick as you can so you can get the hell out of there.
It’s over. Life might be over.
You walk over to your boss at the elevator.
You get in with him. The 30-second ride down feels like 5 hours. You make it to the lobby while engaging in small talk with him. He pretends to be your friend. You know he hates you. You know he thinks you’re a loser.
Traitor. Jerk. Ass.
Wild thoughts race through your mind but you say nothing. Not worth it. You may need him as a job reference. He could blacklist your name in the banking and IT industry. You stay quiet.
Not so much because you have nothing to say, but more because you feel you could cry at any moment.
It’s so hard. It feels horrible. You walk from the elevator to the street outside. You hope to dear god no one sees you. But they do. Two of your direct reports are on the other side of the road.
They yell out to you. You wave and say nothing.
Tears are streaming all down your face.
It’s a waterfall.
They can probably see the tears from the other side of the street.
Too late.
All you can think to do is call your partner. She tells you not to worry about it. She believes in you. You feel a tiny bit better.
Now comes the hard part.
It’s Monday morning. Time to start again. You reach out to your network trying not to sound desperate for a job. The bills are piling up. You need a job. It’s part of your identity. The pain of last Friday hurts so bad.
You start applying for jobs. Nothing. Crickets.
You ask mentors, friends, and former colleagues if they know of any jobs. Nothing. Silence. The firing hurts even more.
After a few weeks of pain you do the unthinkable. You go on LinkedIn and tell the 100,000+ followers you have that you got fired. That you’re embarrassed. That you don’t know what to do. But you try to sound optimistic, not defeated.
The messages flood in.
People think you’re nuts for being so stupidly vulnerable. But you feel like you have no other option. It’s all or nothing.
A few of the messages lead to career conversations and possible job interviews. Many of the respondents have seen you write online for a while. They feel like they know you. They see something in you that you don’t.
Things are looking up.
Another week passes. Still no job.
A few interviews but none of them lead anywhere. You’re seen as damaged goods because you got fired and now have a career gap. Plus you’re getting old. A grandpa in corporate terms.
Some days are easier than others.
You keep going but feel like such a loser. After nearly 4 months of no job and no sign of a replacement salary, a former colleague refers you to an awesome job in IT. They do the reference for you. They get you coffee with the hiring manager.
They’re so generous it’s hard to believe.
It looks like you’re going to get the job then …. a hiring freeze. Things stall. You lose hope. You follow up weekly without sounding toooooo desperate.
Eventually the job comes through.
You start your first day. Lots of new friends. A fresh start. But you can’t help thinking that you never want to get fired or rely on a boss ever again. The feeling stays with you. After hours you continue to learn about the online game.
You try stuff. Speak to others with a similar goal. Over the following weeks and months a few paths reveal themselves. You keep building on the goal before and after work. About a year later you’re making more from the internet than you are from your 9-5 job. It now makes sense to quit your job.
When you look back, getting fired is the best thing that ever happened.
It forced you to think differently. It forced you to change your mindset. It helped you go through hard times so you could appreciate the good times.
That change in thinking is what makes you $1M+ online. The best part is, making this kind of money online makes you self-made. Even if you lose it all through some freak accident, you can make it all back again.
Losing everything is how you can become anything.
4. Make friends in the DMs
No one makes decent money online alone.
Start conversations with others. Share their content without asking for anything. Join a mastermind. Hang around the best. Be kind.
And stay humble because a lot of millionaires turn into a-holes.
This instalment of Unfiltered is free for everyone. I send this email weekly. If you would also like to receive it, join the 95,000+ other smart people who absolutely love it today.
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Thanks for writing this Tim. Resonates a lot with where I am right now - laid off from big tech, determined not to be reliant on someone else money (and opinion), starting to apply for jobs because that is what everyone else is doing - first automated reject landed already. Wanting to build my own thing.
The replay link is going to a missing page and dumps me into a Notion signup. Can you fix? Would love to see the newsletter replay. Thanks.