03/30/2016
First of all, as you can see. It is true. I've had this blog here since 2007. Yet. I rarely post & I have really nothing of significance to share. At least in my own mind.
That is until, I finally realized ( recently ) that I MUST value myself, my thoughts above all else. I MUST believe that I CAN & WILL add value to this world. At least while I am still here walking this earth.
So without further ado, here is my story. The theme here will be on my financial ups & downs. The risks & rewards I've taken in the past. The current situation of my finances & career path. And where I'd like to be in both the near future & later on down the road.
Ready ! Cool. Thanks for being here. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for commenting & thanks for being you. This is going out first to a gentleman here online & his blog at " GET RICH YOUNG. " Even though, I myself am not that young. In fact, I am middle aged ( wow ! did I just write that ) 40. Time for ACTIONS !
My name is Corey R Jackson. I am originally from the Central Coast of California. A beautiful little place about 5 hours North of here ( San Diego ) Pismo Beach. Go ahead, google it. Beautiful, yes ? There are also a couple other " personalities " or Internet Marketers that are successful ( I am on my way ) from the area. 2 of them off the top of my heard are Chad Nicely & Lynn Brown. Here in SD. There are many. But a couple that I admire & have followed are first & foremost. Pat Flynn. From a while back. Frank Kern. & Jason Moffat.
My first online presence or introduction. SDSU. 94. Dorms. The Living Learning Center. First on campus dorm to receive computers & the first to have access to " the internet. " Thanks Mom for paying that extra cash to get me in there. Although, at the time, I still wrote all my papers by hand. First draft, second draft then onto a computer. Also, I never owned a computer all through college. In fact, I never even owned a cell phone till last year. This is my first full year 2016 with a " smart phone " What am I ? A dinosaur ?
I can remember back in 94 the few whom had a computer & access to the Internet. Ohhh the places we would go. Eye opening to say the least. Think about what's " out there " now & what was back then. Now, I must admit that a couple of my friends did go out and become very successful in their chosen new & upcoming careers. In fact, I was there ( and still am ) way back then when some of these sites were just blossoming. Really, I could have been famous in a much different way then simply typing these words right now if you catch my drift.
And that is my first experience. Second. Onto the whacky & wild world off slanging pills, lotions & bars then later yummy & deliciously nutrient rich power juice. You might already know where I am going with all this & I am sure that many of you have been where I was. Yes. MLM !!! Really, I am just going to stop here at this & move forward. Cause I don't want to put another inch of my energy towards it. Yet, I must say that I did do my best at that time to start my online presence while at the same time becoming more & more frustrated with the inner workings of technology. Not only to say, burning every bridge imaginable with friends, family & complete strangers while I was at. You wanna try my age defying lotion ? Or take a shot of this elixar of life ? All the while, I get the top 3 % of the organization rich, rich, rich & I barely make a dime. O.k. enough of this. Moving on...
Moving forward in time but first a little more about myself & my (still) best friend in High School. We were always the different ones. The outsiders. Yet. We were very popular & easily moved through all of the "niches" one would come across in High School. Go Eagles ! AG. We both had our own unique views on things but got along like two peas in a pod. Or rather at the time our nicknames were " Beavis & Butthead." Anyone old enough here to remember them ? Cool. hu hu hu huh...ha ha hah...
We always had some kind of scheme or plan going on with us. Everything from Internet Kiosks way back in the day to real estate & flipping houses in the mid 2000's. He was always the more dedicated & focused one. He is a top computer engineer first for the government then private now on his own.
Damn ! I should have learned coding & all that crazy stuff. I remember seeing him with big ass books on Cplusplus or Java this or something that. I just thought to myself. What is that ? And, I've got no interest in staring at a computer all day. Puzzles. I like People.
However, I eventually was able to purchase a small condo near the border. He bought a few places in Texas. Then on our 30th Birthday. We planned a month long blow out trip to Europe for the month. Good times. Surfing. Eating. Drinking. Exploring. Overall Debauchery. No Limits. No Constraints.
Let me just say. My sale ended up falling through last minute & I still got on that plane to meet my best friend with nothing but a single " Jackson " in my pocket. But ... that is a whole other story.
When we returned, I eventually sold my place & re paid every dime that I owed.
O.k. Now onto the J.O.B's part of my life. I could simply attach a Resume here for your viewing pleasure & knowledge of my past employment experiences. But I'm not. Instead, I will say that I've done a bit of everything or at least have kept open to it all. The 2 jobs I spent the most time at were 1. Activity Coordinator / Tour Guide for an International Language School & 2. Trader Joe's Specialty Grocery Store. Yes. Yes. Yes. We all love Trader Joe's.
The one aspect I truly enjoyed with Tj's is this. People ( I mentioned that above didn't I ) I've still got several boxes filled with cards, torn up pieces of paper, receipts etc...with peoples contact info. What they do. Quotes. All kinds' of stuff. But. Over the years, there was one guy who would always come in around mid morning or late afternoon. Always wearing shorts, a tank top, flip flops, cell phone in one hand & a beautiful woman (or two) on the other. Of course, I had to find out what this guy does. Now, it took me a couple years to get it out of him but once I did, I knew I had to align myself with him.
Not going to divulge his real name or even the company he owns. ( Although, I do feel like publicly ... o.k. Corey not cool ) But, do also remember me talking about only owning my first cell phone / smart phone just last year ? Yep. True. Anyway, this guy & his company are one of the first Mobile App developers first for Apple ( hint: there first big success before strict regulations came into effect was an app to rate a certain part of the female anatomy ) It both became very popular & successful then taken down shortly after. Yet. This was enough to get the company started. Now, they work with top rated " self help " / meditation / health / travel ( my client ) & others. They are still selling. And they are one of the only few publicly trader mobile app / content creation companies around.
So, after a few conversations at Tj's & even more on the boardwalk here in Pacific Beach & at the local watering holes on Garnet. We signed a contract. I was to be an Independent Agent. Cool huh ?
Now, I must say. I took this and ran with it. I created email templates. Did my research. And started in on a couple year journey of reaching out to potential clients, arranging conference calls, negotiating contracts, making phone calls, answering emails etc. etc. etc...As much as I could possibly do in order to get that all important contract signed. And hustle I did. You've also got to remember again that I was doing all of this without a so called smart phone or even a cell phone at that. My friend & family & everyone thought I was nuts. ( could be a little true yes ) Yet. I managed to secure the company some major deals & over time began to realize though lovely & very reclusive dream of Passive Income. Residual checks are the absolute best ! That is as long as they keep coming.
O.k. here comes the other side of the roller coaster. I remember specifically like it was yesterday the day I signed one the " biggest fish " out there in regards to this company. It was going to more than double their app content. Going to create a whole new revenue stream. Going catapult the company's stock prices. And most important to me. Finally. Oh finally. I'd be able to pay some bills with the expected money. Maybe even pay rent or even more. Well, in fact. I was told directly & personally by the CEO about what I could come to expect. You see. The company has had other " Independent Agents " in the past. They would do the same as I & bring in both clients & content. Now, I didn't know specifics of how much money this company was making or was worth. But. When I signed that big contract with that big travel company. Well, I was told this. " Corey, you are now our top agent. That was our biggest fish to date. Do you know how much our previous top agent made last year ? " No. No. I don't but please. Do tell. " He made nearly 80 G " Now, some of you may be thinking, " that's not much. " In that case, please stop reading & contact me right now to let me know how you do it. Cause for me. That is some serious money.
Fast forward. Yes. The residual checks started to go from a little to a little more but never ever ( let me repeat ever ) up to the point where it would add up to the type of money he was taking about. And again. Fast forward to a few years back. The checks stopped all together. I have to interject here that at this point in my life. I was going through a very rough patch in my life. Again. Another story for another post. But. I didn't even bother with trying to track this guy down & asking questions. I was trying my best to simply survive & working at Trader Joe's.
O.k. Rewind. When I signed that last deal. I was living with my girlfriend in a condo that she owned. We had been together for nearly 5 years. The first couple years good. Then...well you understand. That wild little redhead firecracker. While things were good ( and right before they got bad ) we had made a decision to both move forward in our education & move out of SD/PB. She studied GIS ( Map Making ) and myself was looking for a new path. Funny, this is a part that comes together with Mr.Flynn.
We both got into the University Of Denver for our Masters. Our plan, to take half our classes online then move out to the mountains. Her. GIS. Me. A new & upcoming " Sustainable Business Practices." I actually studied and took a practice exam for the Green Building LEED exam of which Pat originally wrote his blog for a study guide.
Get your hands ready, cause this is about the top of the financial roller coaster.
PART II Coming Soon
