Hi guys. I've been a DP member for quite some time now. I joined DP in the hopes of finding freelancers, in the hopes of talking to fellow internet-wizkids and in my quest to quit my day-job and turn professional. I was making a steady $5k/$7k a month at that point - but was hesitant to take the big leap. A couple months later, I posted my first bragging topic on DP - mainly because I was psyched about buying a car with adsense money. It was right after I reached my second goal of quitting my day job and going pro - and hitting the $10k/month average for 3 months in a row I set as a goal to myself to do so. For the past year and a half, I've been doing my online publishing thing full-time now, and I've come to the point I feel I'm running a legitimate business from my living room: long term partnerships with people across the globe, banks to talk to, accountants to pay, lawyers to pay and goals to reach... My final goal for 2009 was buying an apartment with my online cash - and a little over a month ago - I did just that. Hard work turned into place of my own - a place I bought with MY money, with no help from my parents - paid for by "the internet". The reason why I'm posting this here is simple: I want people to understand how quick this all went. I started with a $100 investment under 3 years ago. Right now, my company grosses well over $30k a month, without ever having new money invested. I drive a sports car, I own my own house, I travel around the world. I'm not a genius. I'm not even close to genius. I work harder than most webmasters I'm sure - but I also take breaks. I have close to no technical knowledge. My parents are not rich. I can't write php code, I can't even write a full HTML page without using a WYSIWYG editor. I had no real-life mentor. What I did have was: - Focus. - A plan. - Stamina. That's my advice to all of you. Start thinking big. Start setting short-term and middle-term goals. Work to reach these goals and push yourself further. It really doesn't matter what kind of online business you're in - but whatever it is: take some time off every once in a while to assess your situation. Are you reaching your goals? Are you doing things looking at the big picture? Are you focussing on the things that make you money and not the things you like to do? I'm nothing special. I have no incredible skills. Whatever I'm doing, you can do. Whatever I achieved - almost anyone from anywhere in the world can achieve. Focus. The web is ours! As a little bragging extra: some photos of my brand new apartment - all paid for in internet-money! (And yes, this is a bragging thread, so feel free to curse at me for acting like a baller)