As you know, Bud has decided to vacate the position here at PluginID, and I’m his successor.

So who am I?

I’m Brett. But, really, a name doesn’t tell much about me. It’s just a way to identify me, a way to pick me out of a crowd.

So let me tell you a bit about me!

If you thought Bud (and Glen before him) were young, I’m even younger. I’m 17 years old – and I haven’t even graduated high school yet. I’m an entirely different person than Bud and Glen, and it’s going to take a bit of time for you to get used to me. But Bud handpicked me – he came to me and asked me to take his place – so you should trust his judgment and faith in me.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I’m still in high school. What kind of student am I? A great one. I’m salutatorian of my class and have done very well on the various standardized tests I’ve taken. Since I’m a senior this year, I’m applying to schools – and I’ll say, for now, that the top schools in the country are on my list.

What do I do in my spare time, besides blog? I play hockey – the kind that’s played on ice. I’ve been playing for nearly my whole life and will be captain of my school’s team this year. I love the game like no one else, and won’t miss a game or practice for anything.

Entrepreneurship and business also round out my other interests. My soul ignites like sodium in contact with water (sorry for the chemistry joke – I love that too!) when I think about the possibilities for making my own company sometime in the future. I’ve already co-founded a nonprofit with a few friends to host events for kids in my city, but I’d rather be running a for-profit business sometime in the future, hopefully in engineering or design (the former being the field I’m planning to go in at college).

What else is there to know about me? You’ll see more of my personality in the coming weeks, but, as a start, I love dry, sarcastic humor, though I won’t use much in my posts. I love music and movies, and make a lot of references to both. I like to make offbeat, unexpected comparisons to drive a point home – that means I like showing my creative side. I treat everything I do as an art form – it’s just part of who I am.

However, the thing I think reveals most about me is my worldview. Here it is:

• I think that we should all do work that matters – practice something that positively changes lives, including our own, and fulfills us.
• I think that if we let our guards down and talked with other people, we’d find that we are a lot more similar than we are different.
• I think that you can have more than one “passion” in life – you just have to find the one that you’re good at if you want to make a living doing it.
• I think that 99% of the fear and negativity we experience is all in our heads and doesn’t really exist.
• I believe that we are all creative at heart – there are just different forms of creativity, just like there are different forms of intelligence.
• I believe that no one should live a life of regret and wish they had “lived more” when they’re on their deathbed.
• I believe that everyone should follow their dreams instead of those of someone else.
• I believe that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard – every time.
• I believe that talk is cheap and just taking action is the best thing anyone can do – if it’s in a positive way.

Miscellaneous Site Stuff

I’m going to be posting about twice a week from now on, bringing you the best of what’s in my brain from relationships to improving your mindset to productivity to identity to anything you can think of that’s remotely related to personal development. It won’t differ much from the stuff that Glen and Bud have posted over the years, but I’ll tend to write essays that develop an argument rather than make list posts; my posts will have a single focus rather than listing things the vast majority of the time.

I love my readers. Really. As a relatively unknown blogger being thrust into the spotlight, it’s going to be pretty cool to hear from all the readers in the comments. I’ll read each and every comment, and reply as much as I can.

If you read PluginID, I’m going to treat you like family – or, really, even if you don’t read the site that often, I’ll treat you like family! Feel free to reach out to me however you want – on here or on Twitter, or even email if you want to do that – and I’ll get back to you as fast as I can. Granted, I have a lot of work to do, but I absolutely promise I will get back to you sometime. To borrow Olive Garden’s tagline – when you’re here, you’re family. I pledge that I will take care of you to the best of my ability.

Moreover, this is going to be a learning experience for me too. Still being so young, I’m not arrogant enough to think that I’ve seen all of the world – but, by learning from others, I have been able to break down a lot of the things common in personal development, like pursuing your passion, developing a new identity (something I feel like I’ve been able to do), and becoming more mindful. I’m still learning, though, so feel free to challenge my views. That’s good!

Also, when you guys comment – I’d love to see discussion. So many comments are just a regurgitation of what the author wrote and include some comment like “Great post!”. I want discourse, debate, and discussion. If you don’t understand something I said, let me know. I want to have discussions with you – not just say “Thanks!” to every compliment thrown my way (though compliments are good, don’t get me wrong!).

Whew. That about wraps it up. Welcome to the third volume of the story of PluginID. Hopefully you guys like it!

For this post, I’d like to see you guys leave me some questions for me to answer. What would you like me to write about here on PluginID?

Having been able to write for such a wonderful audience ( and I sincerely mean that ) has been a blessing leaving me with an abundance of great opportunities and relationships. That being said, today I am here to announce I am no longer the main writer behind the site. Adam is still the owner and will post from time to time and Brett Hagberg will now be the man behind the wheel. More on that later.


Why I’m Leaving

You may be wondering why after eight months I’ve decided to step down as the author behind the site. There’s a few reasons for that. At a personal level I feel it’s time for me to devote my time to some other projects that have been festering in my head for sometime. That includes relaunching my personal blog as well as marketing a Gluten free cooking site I’ve created with my friend.

More so, I decided against continuing with the site just for the sake of it. While I love writing and connecting with this audience my heart is always calling me in a different direction. Because this site was founded on being true to yourself and doing what you love, it would be hypocritical of me to continue on when I know it’s my time to go.

Taking Over

First you got to know Glen Allsop, then you come to learn who I was. Now it’s time for you to dive into the mind of the great Brett Hagberg, one of the brightest minds I’ve seen in a long time.

Brett will be sharing more of his story over the next couple of weeks and I’m confident in what he’s capable of. I personally chose Brett because of the other amazing work he’s done on some popular personal development blogs. Not only is he extremely intelligent, his passion for making the world a better place is unparalleled.

I ask that you give him a chance, as I know you won’t be disappointed.

Walking Away

I want to THANK everyone who gave me a chance even after the great Glen Allsop left and headed into the Internet Marketing realm with his immensely popular blog ViperChill. I appreciate all the support you’ve given me over the past eight months. It means more to me than you know. I hope I see you around.

Chances are if you’re into personal development you’ve seen him around a lot lately. His relatively quick success and passion for self improvement has been of great inspiration to not only myself but hundreds of others as well.

Henri has been kind enough to answer a few questions that I know you will find valuable in your own personal development and internet marketing journey. He has also recently released a personal development e-book that I can genuinely recommend (not an affiliate link) Enjoy.

Henri, you’ve blasted into the personal development scene within the past few months, what are some of the steps you’ve taken to make this a reality?

In short: I learned from a successful blogger and took massive action.

I’m a big believer in modeling, which is about finding someone who is doing what you want to do, then either joining their course, which I did, or better yet, getting them to mentor you for free.

I played poker for almost five years, and it was during my poker years that I discovered the power of having someone watch over my shoulder and point out what mistakes I was making and how I could improve.

When I started, I had no idea what I was doing. I only knew I wanted to start blogging, provide a service and my own products down the road.

My learning curve was dramatically reduced when I joined Chris Garrett’s Authority Blogger course. I went through the course and whenever I ran into a problem, I e-mailed Chris and got some feedback.

In essence, I eliminate the confusion and doubt that comes with doing something new by getting a mentor who’s already successful. This way all I had to do was focus on execution.

If we look at more details, I started off commenting on other blogs in the first few weeks. I did this, a lot. After that I mustered up the courage to guest post. Once I got my first post approved on a big blog (Write to Done), I realized that I had nothing to fear.

That’s when I started focusing a large percentage of my time on writing guest posts, and it helped me reach 1,012 subscribers in 101 days.
There are a lot of other strategies I used, but if I had to choose one strategy, it would be guest posting.

Here at PluginID we help people plugin to their identity, this often means taking a hard look at our own personal beliefs. How have your own personal beliefs affected the person you are today? What belief has helped you most in your own personal growth?

The belief that has helped me the most is my willingness to believe in myself.
When I started making a living playing poker around 2004-2005, the confidence I had in myself was record low. I had not yet proven to myself that I could do anything out of the ordinary.

But I was willing to try. I was motivated by not working for someone else, because we all know what working 9-to-5 can do to your soul.

Eventually I started making a living, which allowed me to score points in the confidence category. As time went on, my confidence grew to outright arrogance at times.
It has served me well, because instead of thinking about excuses, I go “If he can do it, I can do it” and I start thinking of how.

I by no means think I am smarter than anyone else. I am just more willing to sacrifice my whole life to whatever I do.

I could never do this if I didn’t do something I loved. In the beginning, I loved poker, but when I got sick of it, I started building websites and finally started my blog, which I wouldn’t give up for anything. Well, almost anything, negotiation is always possible ;).

Getting to the place I am today is simple, but not always easy. You have to be willing to take action, fail and keep going until you succeed. As you get more victories under your belt, your confidence will grow.

In your blog, the Wake Up Cloud, you often talk about overcoming fears. Can you share a few ways in which you do so?

One of the best ways to overcome fear for me is to make my goal so important that the current fear I have becomes insignificant.

The downside is that it only works when I am really passionate about where I am heading. For example, I’m horrible at public speaking and would probably suck at it in the beginning, but if the time comes, I am willing to get up there, because I know it’s necessary in taking my game to the next level.

I’m not saying it’s going to happen anytime soon, but I think you see where I am going with this. I really do not care about most fears if they aren’t getting in the way.

A perfect example in blogging is the audio or video interview. I’ve heard many self-help bloggers turn them down, because they think their accent is incomprehensible.

When I was first contacted for an interview, I was afraid and unsure, but I knew it was just another step on my path to success. It got in my way and I knew I had to do it.

There was no reason for me to stall. It was better to take action, and move forward.

Seeing how successful you’ve been in such a short amount of time, where do you think you’ll be in one year?

In one year? I do not have any grand plans, but I do have some goals. I want to make a full time income doing what I love, which really isn’t that big of a deal, since I live a pretty minimalistic lifestyle.

How that will happen I am not sure about, but I do have a few ideas. I’ve noticed that the more willing you are to take action, the more help you’ll get from people, because they see that you’ll be successful whether they help or not.

What I have found helpful is focusing on what I love doing right now, and having larger flexible goals of where I am going. If you have rigid, step-by-step goals that you follow to a fault, you’re probably not going to be as successful as someone who is open-minded and flexible.

I say this because it is impossible to predict the future. You just never know what might come your way. You may have to change everything and do a complete turn-around. Life is funny that way.

What advice can you give to those who are struggling to find passion in their life?
I see so many people struggling with finding their passion, and I think one of the biggest blocks is that they take it too seriously.

It doesn’t have to be the be all, end all kind of thing. It is not a decision that defines you for the rest of your life. For example, my first website was about poker. It failed horribly, and I discovered that it wasn’t something I wanted to do.

It took me about two years to figure out that I liked another niche. Then after 6 months I realized that I really loved helping people improve their lives.
It’s an evolution. If there’s anything I want to say, it is this: have fun with it, and most of all, start taking action and seeing what works. Learning what doesn’t work can be just as valuable as learning what does.

Hello, my name is Adam O’Connor and I am very happy to announce that I am the proud new owner of Pluginid.com. Our current cracker jack team consists of Bud Hennekes who will contine to write those amazing, thought-provoking posts, Glen Allsopp who will be on board to offer email support for Cloud Living, and myself who will be teaching you how I  have generated a 5-figure monthly passive income online for over 6 years now.

A bit about me…

I am a 33-year-old Southern California native (duuuude!!!) and I live there with my wife, daughter and newborn son.   No, my hair is not bleach-blonde and I don’t surf everyday.  In fact, I  haven’t surfed in years.  I do like to lift weights, make money online, read books on Catholic Apologetics, and I am very active in teaching the Catholic faith to adults and participating in the many rich and beautiful, traditional devotions in my local parish.

I am also an Internet Entreprenuer by day.  My wife and I have been developing niche content, ecommerce, affiliate/AdSense and small business websites since 2002 and have been earning a nice, 5-figure monthly passive income from the Internet for many years.  Last year we sold 39 of our AdSense/Affiliates sites to streamline our business so we could put more time, energy and focus into a handful of sites rather than trying to manage the 50 we had.  We also went looking to buy a few new website properties.  I found pluginid.com in April 2010 and quickly realized that it would be the perfect opportunity to do what has been a great desire of mine for years…  Teach and share what I know about generating passive income online.  So, very shortly, I plan to begin posting and offering new tools on the site on generating online passive income, buying and selling passive income sites and fixing/flipping them as well.  I absolutely love what I do and want to share that and help people make the leap to earning a nice income from niche affiliate minisites, blogs, etc.

And now for the special offer part of this post… for the next 15 days

We are offering these two Online Passive Income ebook Guides for the price of one:

Cloud Living and Online Reputation Management

Cloud Living alone sells for $37 and is our best-selling ebook. Seen as one of the best internet marketing e-books available, Cloud Living has grossed over 30 thousands dollars in the past year.

For the past year, Cloud Living has been selling at an outrageously affordable price. Several readers have already used the lessons they learned in Cloud Living to generate thousands of dollars in passive income.

Here’s the thing, next month in June, the price of Cloud Living will be going up to $47. With the current market, we feel that is more than a fair price for such an abundance of information, which may I remind you, is written by individuals who walk the walk.

But, before we do that, we want to reward you, yes you, for being such a loyal follower of this blog.

So for the next 15 days, we are offering 2 ebooks for the price of one: Cloud Living and Online Reputation Management (ORM).  Cloud Living will get you on your way to pulling down some nice passive income from mini affiliate sites and ORM give you the edge on building a large subscriber-base on your blog, manage a stellar reputation online, hide and refute negative posts, and grow your subscribers, friends and lists. ORM alone sells for $39 and together these ebooks are selling for $76.   But, we’re giving it all away for  $47 during the next 15 days.

Claim Both Guides Now for $76 $47!

While both products stand strong on their own, this is the one, two, punch will give you what you need to start or kick-start your Internet business: ORM is a guide for building lists, blog subscribers, a solid twitter-base and Stumble Upon credibility; and  Cloud Living, the simple, yet effective tool for creating profitable affiliate niche minisites and blogs.

If you’re serious about making a solid passive income online this bundle is for you.

What You Get with Cloud Living

Cloud Living is Glen Allsopp’s phrase that he coined to describe the charmed lifestyle he leads because he took the leap and started creating affiliate niche minisites and blogs. The Cloud Living ebook is a tactical and practical guide that will lead you by the hand to generating a 5-figure monthly income online in a few short years. Created with the beginner in mind, Glen walks you through the ins and outs of what it takes to make it in the online world.

Cloud Living Gets You Started with an Affiliate Web Site in Minutes!  It Includes:

• 176-page eBook
• 6 Tutorial Videos (ranging from 4-10 minutes in length)
• A Free Affiliate Website Template
• 8-page Documentation Guide
• 100% Free Email Support

Cloud Living contains ALL of Glen Allsopp’s secrets to show you how he created a 5-figure monthly income online and built a blog with 4,000 subscribers in less than one year.

What You Get with Online Reputation Management

• Why Online Reputation Management is important to your web survival
• Exactly how to monitor your brand, what to look for and the tools to use
• How to ‘own’ your search results and deal with any negative mention
• How to protect your reputation proactively with conversation channels
• New updates for every new version that is produced.

30 Day Money-Back Guarantee

Look we get it. 47 dollars isn’t pocket change. But we are so confident that you will be thrilled with your purchase that  if for whatever reason you don’t find it valuable, you are entitled to a 100% refund with no questions asked.

The time to create an online business has never been better, and we are certain both Cloud Living and Online Reputation Management will help to make that happen. If you’re ready to take your income and life to the next level there is no better time to do so than now. Your online journey will require effort, but with the tools at your hands there is no reason why you can’t reach your online goals.

Buy now and have both guides in seconds and with a bit of hard work be well on your way to creating an online empire..

Claim Yours Now for $76 $47!

It’s also safe to say that everyone loves treats, and today you’re in for one. Not only will I give you my thoughts on Everett’s amazing e-book (not an affiliate link) on being minimalist, but I will also share the great interview I did with Everett a few weeks ago.

I’ve read nearly 50 books within the past three years. Some have been good, most have been bad, and only a handful have left a significant lasting impact on me. The art of being minimalist (not an affiliate link) is one of those amazing books.

Because of Everett and his amazing writing, I began to  contemplate my own idea of what’s possible, especially in regard to living freely. Reading his book has made me seriously consider never buying a car, further embrace the path of minimalism, and taught me the beauty of simplicity while also inspiring me to continue pursuing my dreams. Yes.. the 70 pg e-book is that damn good.

A Story of Consumerism

I first want to say I’m extremely blessed to have grown up in a family that has done very well financially. I say that not to brag, but to show where I’m coming from. Growing up, I was graced with literally anything I wanted, which as you may know, lead to me collecting a lot of stuff. Quite frankly, I was[am] spoiled (I like to leave the rotten part out.)

Because I was raised with an abundant amount of possessions, I quickly become accustomed to the “more more more” mindset. But as I matured, I soon discovered that that mindset would not bring me the peace of mind I sought. Does that mean I don’t enjoy my Mac book pro? Or I-phone? Of course not. When you buy less, each possession you do decide to keep is that much more valuable.

Buying stuff for the hell of it, is something that I’ve struggled with for much of my life. I can’t tell you how much stuff I purchased only to lose it in my closest a few weeks (even days) later. I know that my situation isn’t unique by any stretch of the imagination and that’s why I’m so excited to help share Everett’s message, because we all can improve. I could go on days about the benefits you’ll receive for reading it, but minimalism is personal and you need to experience it for yourself.

Who Will Enjoy It

People who value freedom.

People who want to travel.

People who value relationships and experience more than the illusion of a bank account.

People who want to make a difference in the world.

People who want to spend less time doing busy work and more time creating.

Who The Book Is Not For

Anyone who doesn’t meet the criteria above.

Minimalism is personal, and that’s why it’s beautiful. There’s no check list and there’s always room to improve. Minimalism is more of a mindset than about owning nothing. You don’t have to be a monk with no home to come to appreciate the power of owning little. You don’t have to not own a house to realize the power of doing less. It’s all about finding that point where happiness can radiate from every part of your being.

You Don’t Have To Buy This Book

Now this might sound weird, as I’ve just spent a good several hundred words describing how amazing (and literally life transforming) the book has been not only for me, but hundreds of others as well. But the truth is you don’t need to buy his book. You can begin living the steps he gives in right now. You can begin to appreciate the power of simplicity before you finish reading this post.

Do I recommend it whole heartily? Yes. Can it literally change your life? Absolutely. But for me to tell you to buy it would go against the philosophy of minimalism.

So often, we (myself included) forget that we don’t need anything to start creating change today. We don’t the latest book or program to begin applying the knowledge we already know.

Living a life of minimalism forces you to make due with what you have, instead of waiting on the illusion of tomorrow.

By no means am I saying you shouldn’t invest in programs or books that will help you in the long run, but don’t waste a second  thinking you have to wait until then.

You Need To Buy This Book

You may think I’m crazy, as I just said you don’t need this book, but I was simply trying to make a point. With anything you buy, you’re often chasing an experience that is currently available to you now. Realizing that this is the case more often that not, can really open your eyes up to how simple happiness can be.

I’d be silly to tell you not to buy the book, and for that reason I even suggest putting your minimalist journey on hold and buying yourself a copy right now. For the price of less than coffe for two, you could quickly be on your way to experience freedom at its purest form. His book has had such a strong impact on me that I’m telling you to bu

Having now been at college for a year, I’ve come to realize I don’t need stuff to be happy. I have a ways to go, but I’m also as excited as I’ve ever been.

The tribe is taking form. Will you be part of it?

Interview

Everett, for those who aren’t familiar with your story, what first inspired you to live the minimalist life style?

I’ve always lived with less than your average person, but I took the minimalist journey to a new extreme in September of 2009. The reason is one that I believe many people face in the modern world.

I had a pretty awesome day job, working at New York Magazine as a photo editor, but it was taking up a lot of my time and I wasn’t being paid what I felt I was worth. The worst part, I had to go into an office every single day. The modern tragedy that everyone faces: office oblivion. The best part of my day, when the sun is out, was being spent under fluorescent lights cropping photos of celebrities I cared nothing for.

I’d been reading the work of Leo Babauta on his blogs Zen Habits and Mnmlist, and also I’d read the 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.

I quit my job with $3000 in the bank, and decided to apply minimalism and working from anywhere in the most hardcore way possible. So many people told me that I’d fail, but I didn’t I thrived.

It turns out when you apply a healthy sense of minimalism, you can live and work from anywhere. This is what I wrote about in The Art of Being Minimalist, and on my blog Far Beyond The Stars.

In Cloud Living, Glen teaches people how to make a living online, how has minimalism and your blog helped you in gaining financial independence?

Working online is a huge transition for a lot of people. There is no guaranteed paycheck every two weeks like there is in the 9-5. You are responsible for every dollar you make.

This is where minimalism comes in: I’ve kind of stumbled upon the fact that humans don’t really need as much as we think we do to survive. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that 80% of the stuff we spend money on every year isn’t necessary.

What do we need? Inexpensive housing, and food. The rest is optional.

When you decide to opt out of consumerism, and only buy what you need, this dramatically decreases the overhead that you need to survive. You can take a lot more risks, and invest a lot more time in building income online, when you only need to spend $500 a month to support yourself. If your life costs $5000 you’re going to be a slave to the corporate system forever, because there’s no way you’re going to make that much money right out of the starting gate.

Eventually your income will grow, but when you first start it will be small. Being minimalist can save you a lot of worry during that transition.

What advice can you give to those who struggle to part with their excessive possessions?

There are many ways to reconsider your relationship to possessions, the secret is different for everyone.

When I was getting start as a minimalist, I found reading about people living with less was a big inspiration. People like Tammy Strobel, Karol Gajda, and Colin Wright — who are all living extraordinary lives with less, and working exclusively online — are huge inspirations to me every single day.

In your blog, you talk about how you own less than 100 items, how has this allowed you the freedom to travel and do as you please?

All of my stuff fits into a bag, which has allowed me a great deal of freedom to travel. In the last year I’ve lived in Portland OR, Chicago, New York, and I’m moving to San Francisco Bay in May, which so far has only cost me the $125 plane ticket + establishing new housing when I get there.

Stuff takes up your time, stuffs takes up your energy, and stuffs keeps you stationary. Many people are content to only travel two weeks out of the year.

When you have less than 100 things, you can relocate for the price of a plane ticket. This means that I can move basically whenever I want. I don’t necessarily need to, but the option is available.

There’s an overwhelming message, that I like to blame on the TV, that stuff equals happiness. This is quite the opposite, in my experience. I’ve found that buying things can give you a temporary dose of adrenalin, which makes you feel happy for a moment, but then that feeling fades. Traveling the world and living free can make it possible to have amazing experiences that will enjoy for a lifetime. Stuff can never give you that opportunity.

Can one own to few possessions? When is too little, too much?

I’m not sure if there is too few possessions. You caught me at an interesting time Bud, because I’ve been reducing my possessions to 50 things before moving to SF — At this point, every item I get rid of just makes me feel freer. The more you get rid of, the more you want to get rid of.

When you free yourself from the idea that you need stuff to keep you happy, you open yourself up to a world of infinite possibilities.

Thanks Everett for taking the time to do this.

Thanks so much for this opportunity Bud, it’s been great talking with you.
Best,
Everett Bogue – Far Beyond The Stars

Are you choosing to walk down the minimilist path? Is it all hype? I’d love for you to share your thoughts and experiences below.

–

Don’t be too alarmed though; I haven’t owned the site for three months, and not much has changed around here. A product has been launched, posts have been written and I’m still far too active on Twitter.

However, I no longer pull the strings. This means that I am going to be writing less frequently and I will no longer refer to myself as the owner of the site. For now, the only decent blog I actually own, is ViperChill.

Despite the change of ownership, very little is going to change here at PluginID. The new owner is actually a close friend of mine, and someone I’ve known for many years. This was not about the money, but all about a new vision (which I explain further down). I won’t reveal exactly how much I was paid for the site, but in an effort to keep the transparency I’m known for, let’s just say it was a mid five-figure deal.

Why The Change?

Stepping back a little from this site has been on my mind for quite a while. The main reason for the change is that I feel like I have already accomplished my main goal which was to document my personal growth in different aspects of life. In the last 19 months since writing here, I have:

• Quit my day job
• Started making a living for myself online
• Setup monthly payments to two children in Vietnam so they can go to school
• Been featured in the UK’s 2nd biggest newspaper
• Continued to travel the world with the chance to stay anywhere with an internet connection

When I started the site, not much was going right for me in life. Now, just over a year and a half later, I feel like I’m exactly where I want to be, and doing exactly what I want to do. In other words, I really love my life right now.

I have made it my mission to share as many lessons as I can on my personal journey, I’ve just achieved things in far less time than I expected.

My other reason for handing over the reigns of this site is simply the time that running a large community consumes. If I allowed it, running PluginID could take up my entire day. I decided for 2010 that I want to massively cut down on the number of projects I’m invested in; it just so happened that the “next step” for PluginID aligned with someone wanting to buy the site.

A New Face, and A New Journey

As I have said from the start, PluginID was always my place to document my struggles, goals, and achievements. Right now, I feel like I’m coming to a point in my life where I’m very content with my situation, and most of my goals aren’t going to be shared by the average person. At least, not right now.

PluginID is one of the few blogs online that has never accepted guest posts. My reason behind this was so that an audience could get used to someone new in the field (me) and it would give me a chance to make my mark. I’m still not a fan of accepting guest posts, but I am a fan of following a new journey, a new mission, and learning some lessons.

From February 1st, Bud Hennekes (yep, the guy that wrote this awesome post) will be in charge of 90% of the content written for this site. I’ve been a fan of Bud for years and reached out to him a few months ago when I wanted to create another product. I believe he is the perfect fit for the site, and his situation in life right now is scarily similar to the position I was in when I started PluginID.

Just to be clear, Bud is not the new owner but will be writing most of the content for the site and will be working closely with myself and my friend (the new owner).

What I’m Doing Now

I actually have quite a surprise in store for you guys that may annoy or surprise some people. Although I have loved travelling for the last few months and will continue to for quite a while yet, I have decided to look closely at my next challenge in life and decide what the sensible action to take is.

Now that I’ve leaped over some massive hurdles – such as making enough money online to support my lifestyle – I have a few more that I want to jump. The first, is to make enough money so that my brother and sister have no financial issues for a good few years. Ideally, by the date I’ve scheduled for myself, I want to give each of them at least $100,000.

Outside of home, my longer-term life plan is to open a school in a less-privileged country such as Thailand or Vietnam. This is something I wrote about on the first ever post here and I still believe I can make that a reality. Finally, my biggest goal (and the one I dislike talking about for some reason), is to own (not run) a nightclub. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for the last four years and is still a dream of mine.

Although it’s probably not something that makes a lot of financial sense ;).

Because I have such big goals, I think it’s best that I spend some time in one place to help me reach them. Travelling the world has many advantages, but I don’t find productivity to be one of them. I have decided to move back to Cape Town, South Africa for at least a year to make my next dreams a reality. I know South Africa well and there are at least 30 people there who I call close friends, so it will be a nice place for me to stay while I write the next chapter of my life.

Of Course, a Massive Thank You!

I have been delaying the writing of this article for way too long but eventually decided I just need to be honest with you guys, and then let whatever happens happen. I have tried to say what I’ve said here without losing any of you as friends, readers, or subscribers. I’m sure what I’m saying here is going to disappoint a lot of people, but I hope that you all understand my decisions.

I also hope that you will all stick around for Bud’s content (there’s some great stuff ready to go live) and I can’t wait to interact with you all after I write an update here in a few months with how things are going. I could go on and on about the individuals I want to thank, but I would only end up missing someone out and feeling bad.

So, as the most genuine words I’m ever going to write, I want to say: thank you! Readers, bloggers, commenters, haters, linkers, emailers. You name it. Thank you.

I have changed more as a person in this last year and a half than I could ever imagine, and a lot of that is down to communicating you awesome people on a daily basis.

From here, I’m personally very excited to watch Bud’s own journey unfold and see what he achieves along the way. It has been a great ride, and I appreciate you sharing it with me.

If you want to keep in touch with me in other forms, you can add me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

The community here has grown massively in a year: from 700 subscribers to almost 6,000. I can’t thank all of you enough for your support in terms of links, retweets, comments and even just eyeballs. I can see already that next year is going to be special.

Quick, No-Hype Offer If You’re Interested

They say actions speak louder than words, so I wanted to put a bit more value behind my thank you. We’ve decided to bundle our two products, Cloud Living and Reality Switch, into one deal over this festive period. Cloud Living, our guide on how to make a living online, is accompanied by Reality Switch perfectly as it contains mindsets and strategies to help you put Cloud Living into action.

Individually, each of these cost $37 and they’re both selling very well. However, for this offer we’re willing to slash the price for the two to $54, which is a saving of $20 over buying them individually. Based on this large saving, the offer will only be valid until midnight on December 31st 2009.

If you’re interested in picking up these two products that will help shape 2010 into your best year yet, then here is the link you need:

Thanks again, and I hope you all have an amazing holiday season. One of the downsides of travelling the world is that you don’t get to spend time like this with family and friends but I’ll still make the most of today! I hope you do too…

Reality Switch is our guide which helps you get from where you are in your life right now, to where you want to be. It’s about completely transforming yourself both internally and externally to have what you want in the right balance.

It comes from my own story of quitting my job and travelling the world and now being able to live anywhere and Bud’s of travelling throughout America and Asia while dealing with personal travesties along the way and now finding himself more successful than ever.

If you have previously purchased Cloud Living then this book is a perfect addition to that. This book is very much about the mindsets, success traits and characteristics we’ve found in each other and the multiple millionaires we speak to on a daily basis. This book, is a book of pure success.

Reality Switch Contents

This is one of my proudest achievements in the short time I’ve been on earth and I’m very happy with the result. At 126 pages, this guide is absolutely packed with no-nonsense advice to help you get your life in track.

The guide comes in eBook (PDF) format which you can open with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download). More specifically, it contains:

• 126-page eBook
• 2 excellent interviews
• Over 10 stories of successful reality switching
• 100% Free Email Support

As you can probably tell, this wasn’t just some project that was put together in a rush. I’ve spent countless hours on this and the finished result contains everything you need to know about how to take your life from where you are not to where you want to be.

Buy Reality Switch Now for $37!

My Current Situation

If you don’t know much about my background, let me give you a quick rundown. In 2007 I was doing college courses I hated and had a part-time job in a clothes store. At the time I was also running an Internet marketing blog and after getting ‘noticed’ for my expertise in the area, I was offered a job in Cape Town (South Africa) to work as the social media manager for multiple Fortune 100 companies.

That was it. At 18, I quit college, quit my job, and left the UK for hotter climates. While living and working in South Africa, I used the spare time I had to start building websites again and even created this blog. Through a culmination of my blogging activities and my affiliate websites, I was earning enough money to work for myself so I quit my job in January 2009.

I’m now living in Amsterdam and have been “jobless” for almost one year. Don’t worry though, I’m now making a tidy 5-figure income (in dollars) every month online. I am currently staying in an amazing apartment right in the center of Amsterdam and have plans to see me travelling for the next two years.

Reality Switch is our way of saying: here’s how to do the same.

Buy Reality Switch Now for $37!

Reality Switch Contents

Interested in seeing what kind of things we’ve jam packed into 126 pages? Well, the main sections of the guide are:

Mindsets – 7 Mindsets that we’ve found in common with thousands of successful people and ourselves shared here with tips on how to apply them to your life.

Passion Into Profits – Here we help you define what your passion is and explain how you can turn that into profits and perhaps more importantly, help you realise you deserve to get paid to do what you love.

Switching Realities – This is about taking all of the mindsets and systems we have previously covered and now actually getting action steps to turn your dream into a reality. This is about how you go from an end-goal in your head to actually having it manifest in person.

Simplify – Now that there is action necessary in certain areas of your life, it’s important to simplify and reduce the amount of items that get your attention. This will free up time for you to devote to your new mission in the direction of reality switching.

Of course, that’s not all, there’s also things in the guide such as:

• How to Become a Millionaire
• 2 Interviews with both a Productvity Guru and a Life Coach
• Our personal stories and how our hurdles resulted in success

and so much more.

Buy Reality Switch Now for $37!

BIG Bonus to the First 50 Buyers

This has now ended, thank you for the first 50 orders!

If you are contemplating buying this guide, then it’s important you take action quickly. The first 50 buyers will receive two very special bonuses.

1. $10 off the Purchase Price

As soon as the first 50 copies of reality switch have been sold, the price will be hiked up to $37. This will not come down again anytime soon so it’s important you take action now. The last time we did this all 50 copies were sold out within 1 hour.

2. Free 2-1 Skype Call for 30 Minutes

We tried to cover as many examples as possible in our guide, but we’re sure there will still be people with some questions. Because of that, both of us will meet with you for a live Skype call (just like a telephone call, but free) and discuss your personal situation and give you advice.

I would say this alone is worth more than $100, nevermind included with an eBook that only costs $27.

Before we stop being crazy and realise how much work that will take up, take advantage of the opportunity now…

Buy Reality Switch Now for $37

I remember this night so perfectly, as if it was last week, and was completely shocked to see it dated: November 2007. Knowing it has been two years since that video was taken makes me realise how fast life can fly by without us even noticing and how the next two years will be pretty much the same.

It got me thinking about what I’ve managed to achieve over the last few years. Looking back, I’m actually proud of myself and my accomplishments. From leaving the country and moving abroad, to quitting my job and now working for myself full-time, I’ve crossed off quite a few items on my goals checklist.

For the last two to three years, my whole life set-up has been focused around one main goal: earning a living online so I can go anywhere in the world for as long as I want. I’ve been making enough money to support this lifestyle for quite a while now, but what’s even better is that I’ll be doing this journey with one of my best friends, Diggy.

Our plan is to go to:

• Amsterdam
• Barcelona
• Stockholm
• Paris
• Prague
• Berlin
• Bangkok
• Milan

and probably a few other places I’ve missed off the list. Our base for at least 2 months will be Amsterdam though, where we’ve (I saw ‘we,’ but I mean Diggy) sorted out an awesome two-bedroom apartment. Diggy is joining me on this adventure for 3 months, but my plan is to continue for about a year. I do have some UK returns planned (for example, for my Mom’s 50th) but the next 12 months will be mostly spent on the road.

“You’re So Lucky”

People tell me all the time (mostly via email) how lucky I am about being able to do this. How some people are tied down with their job, kids and so on and don’t have this opportunity. The first thing I say is that when I started learning how to build websites and make money online, millions of other people had the chance to do the same.

Millions of people my age could have worked hard to “get this down” – but they didn’t. They didn’t put the time and effort in to get what they want out of life. I will spare you the label of being ignorant, but if you think I’m lucky, then maybe you’ve just seen too many scams promising you overnight riches or success.

It has taken me over 2 years of hard work to get to this point, and I’m going to start reaping those rewards in two weeks. You don’t see the nights when I was up at 1am (when I had a full-time job) finishing off a 3,000 word blog post or building minisites in industries I didn’t care about. You don’t see where I turned down nights out with my friends so I could finish projects to get me to where I want to be. You didn’t see me quitting college not sure if I would be back in the UK with no job and no qualifications.

Because I turned down a few nights here and there, I don’t have to turn down a night ever again. My job works around me, not the other way around.

Your Own Mission

Wherever you are now (Point A) and wherever you want to be (Point B) is more than likely going to involve a lot of work. Seriously. I’m sorry if I’m the one presenting you with this harsh reality for the first time, but it’s the truth. Show me a few people out of the billions on this planet who have experienced overnight success and I’ll take it back.

Not only will it involve hard work, but you’ll face a lot of hurdles along the way. As Randy Pausch wrote in his book, The Last Lecture, these hurdles are simply there to prove how badly you want something. They’re there to keep out the other people — not you. The list of hurdles I’ve jumped or risks I’ve faced are endless, but just like you can, I found a way to get past them.

If you really want to completely turn your life around, there are just 4 steps involved:

1. Do what you love. No excuses. I don’t want to hear them
2. Keep doing it despite criticism and doubts from people around you or society in general
3. Be willing to make sacrifices (nights out, heavy spending, social status and so on)
4. Read no.2 again. It’s crucial

I’ll leave you to fill in the gaps; one of them is action.

Video of This Post

I’ve said pretty much everything I’ve written here in video form (I did the video first, without rehearsal) which I hope you enjoy.

If you can’t see the video, click here to go to the post.

When I attended Pam Slim’s workshop this weekend, what I noticed is that I don’t have a clear focus with the business properties that I run. Sure, there were people there with lots of business ideas, but they all seemed to have a clear focus on each.

When I look at my own online projects, that is not the case. For those of you who don’t know me, around 60-80% of my income is made up of affiliate marketing and 20-40% (depending on what I do) is generated via my blogs. Despite making most of my money though affiliate marketing, I love blogging much, much more.

So now that affiliate marketing is out of the way, let’s look at blogging. I have 4 blogs but PluginID is definitely the most active and the one that takes up most of my time. I love writing here but there is one issue that is bugging me: the audience here (through my mistakes) are here for two completely different things.

Some people are here to learn about spirituality, others about productivity, and others about how I make money online. This came to my attention more clearly when I recently ran a survey about what people would like to see on the blog.

If I start focusing more on making money and running a business, I will be alienating a lot of my audience. If I continue to write about other personal development topics then I will alienate those who purchased Cloud Living and want to know more about my adventures down that route.

My Options

Right now my options are:

• Keep Going As I Am – Write a little about each now and then as I currently do and continue to grow. My issue is that nobody here is getting 95% of my posts tailored to what they want to read. Every other blog that I read, I read for a specific purpose. I think Steve Pavlina is the only other blogger similar to me but I find it strange that sometimes he will promote a dating product and other times he will promote something meditation based. I like projects with a clear focus.
• Start Another Blog – I do have a name and audience in mind, and this would involve separating the internet marketing content from the other articles I write here. This would probably solve the dilemma but greatly add to my workload in terms of promotion and writing content. Ideally, I want a blend.
• Create a Hybrid – Ideally, I want to give myself and this blog a clearer focus. I still want to help people quit the day job and everything that entails, but cover other topics like being the light and making the most of life. Essentially I want this site to be known for something, rather than everything.

A Hybrid?

There are many terms people are throwing out there these days which are similar to what I cover. ‘Location independence’, ‘lifestyle design’, and a few others spring to mind. Neither of these terms really interest me. So that’s where I hope you guys can come in.

I’m looking for a way to clearly state what it is that I offer here at PluginID and deliver that consistently on a weekly basis. This way I can have in my mind a clear focus around all of the posts that I offer and that my articles will be relevant to you more frequently.

Thank you for your time…

The comments are now closed but thanks to everyone who took part. I couldn’t reply to every comment, but certainly read every single one.