I stumbled across this meme the other day and knew I needed to use it in one of my blog posts. It’s true…if you chase after butterflies, they’ll fly away. But if you build a beautiful Butterfly Garden, the butterflies come to you. Attract what you want…don’t chase it.
This was a big a-hah moment for me. For years, I’ve been chasing success. What is success in the blogosphere? Well, some would say the number of followers you have. That’s part of it. Some would say a good indication of success is financial. That’s true, too. Doing something you love while helping people is a HUGE part of it. For me…my primary goal is to spread the light God so generously gave me with others. To help them navigate the rough bumps in the road of life. To let people know they are not alone.
But that finance thing…that’s important, too. We’re at that point in life where we are depending on a pretty fixed income and who knows how long even that will be around given the current political climate. So, diversifying and planning for any scenario has become important to me. I’ve set goals for 2023. I sat down the first week of the year and wrote out my list of things I wanted to try to monetize my blog.
I don’t want to have advertisers if I don’t have to. I would rather use my own wits and skills to generate income. That was the goal when I started Marshmallow Ranch ten years ago…to supplement our income with things I could sell. In those ten years, many possible avenues for a little “side hustle” have been introduced and I’ve decided to try one of them.
Quite often, I share a helpful or unique product I think you might like. I put a link in the post so you can go see it. Most often it’s something offered through Amazon. Whether we are fans or not of the big boxes with the smiles, they are hear to stay. And for Mr. FixIt and me, they are a lifesaver. We live way out in the country and with the price of gas and the wear and tear on the car and tires, we’ve chosen to utilize Amazon Prime and shop online as opposed to shopping the big box stores in town twenty-five miles away.
I’ll let you in on part of my new project. I’ve enrolled in the Amazon Affiliate Program. This means if you buy one of the items that I share a link for, I will get anywhere from 2-20% of the price of the item. That’s not a ton, but here’s where it really helps. If you purchase one of my recommended items, then go on shopping and buying what you were going to buy anyway…I get the same percentage of that purchase, too. The beauty of this is…it does not raise the price of the items and there is nothing out of your pocket. It’s a win-win situation and if I work at it, there can be some good income for me.
There’s more to reveal in March when I have all my ducks in a row, but for this…there is a tiny bit of a time crunch. I need to have some some qualified sales in the next 180 days in order to be accepted in the program. And that’s where I could use your help. If you see something you like and wish to buy, you can click the link on my post and buy the item yourself. Or, you could copy and paste the link and share it with someone you know who might be in the market for such things.
I’ve prayed a lot about this and for some reason I’ve had a huge burst of joy and energy over the project I’m building. When I feel that, I know I’m heading in the right direction and this could be a factor in my success. I won’t spam you about items. Whatever I recommend will be treated the same way as I always have in the past. Thank you so much for always continuing to love and support me on this incredible journey I’ve been on.
Like I said, March 12th will mark TEN years since Mr. Virgo died. This is the first time I’ve headed into that anniversary with anything but sadness. This time, I’m heading in with a sense of sober recognition and hopeful anticipation for building something great these last however many chapters there are of a well lived life. I’m turning 70 in June. The best is yet to be!
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“I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”
Jeremiah 29:11 MSG