Successful But Unhappy? Time to Start Exploring Your Options

So you have all the trappings and wrappings of success.

You have a career that pays a high salary and you have climbed and clawed your way up the corporate ladder. You have the prestige car, holidays in Europe and a fine house. 

But you’re unhappy. 

You got to the top of the ladder and it’s leaning against the wrong wall. 

And instead of arriving, you’re now thinking of leaving. 

You’ve always wanted to do something that fulfills you but you feel empty. 

And you’re constantly saying to yourself, “There has to be more to life.”

Sometimes you dream about running away with the circus. 

To live in another universe. 

The great pandemic provided us the time to reflect. During the “great isolation” we thought about our lifestyles, our careers and life design. We started asking the bigger questions like:

“What should I do with my life?”

Do you have the courage to explore a different path?

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review, examines what rose out of the empty space the “Great Isolation” created. When we were banished to our homes to work remotely, we had time to think unfettered. We were no longer lost in the chaos of a modern living. 

There were some downsides but there was also an upside. We had time  to think and reflect and ask ourselves some better and bigger questions that we had never asked before.

The article pointed out some of the questions people asked themselves. Questions like;

• Is burnout the price of success?
• Why do I do what I do?
• What am I good at?
• How can I thrive?

Many of us don’t ask these questions because we are too lost in the noise and busyness and life. We stepped onto the hamster wheel and lost our soul in the process.

We’ve been chasing the money and status and we’ve forgotten what brings us joy. And that feeling sits inside us despite buying more things and dressing our lives up from the outside.

So how do you find happiness amongst the noise of life?

If the great resignation is more about the great exploration, maybe it’s time to start thinking about: 

• Finding a better career 
• Launching a startup 
• Or starting a side hustle. 

One of these options involves almost no risk except something that cannot be bought. Time.

The problem is most of us will never leave unsatisfying careers because we are locked into a certain lifestyle. As we earn more, we spend more. We are trapped in our own abundance and apparent prosperity.

Can you really have it all?

On one level, having it all means being able to pay for your life while doing something that you love doing.  

This is what it means to be “Happy and Successful.”

It’s not about attaining perfection but it is about making choices that matter. This means asking some more questions.

But most of us do not want to ask these questions as it will reveal truths that could lead to change. And most people struggle with change. It is uncomfortable and scary.

Questions that might arise:

• Can I make life simpler? 
• How much is enough and do I need all this stuff?
• Can I make money out of something I enjoy?
• What do I love doing where time stops still and I feel a sense of achievement?

Can work really make us “happy”?

The history of work is that there is work and there is life. They are often posed as separate.

Work means drudgery and then there is happiness.

I’m not prepared to accept that.

It is time for us to live fully and holistically. Happiness, making money, and paying for your life should all intersect.

So what’s the solution?

I’ve created a framework that can help you become successful and happy. It’s called the “Freedom Code”.

It’s designed to help you “Discover” what makes you happy, so you can start the process of making life the joyous adventure it’s supposed to be. 

Following this framework will help you to design your life instead of ending up as figurative roadkill.

So what is this Freedom Code then? 

The 5 Pillar Freedom Code

Pillar 1: Discover

Discovering your life purpose and why you are on this planet. 

That means uncovering your gift(s). And they can be plural rather than singular. Don’t think there is only one perfect path. 

There are multiple paths that will fulfill you. 

As Steven Spielberg reflected, “Dreams come from behind you… It is just a whisper and never shouts.” 

This means you will need to learn, observe, quietly reflect, and listen to the whisper. There is no template or exact formula for this, but some life habits and tactics will help you in this discovery phase.

Pillar 2: Create

Once you have discovered your gift then it’s time to create. Take action.

That could be creating art, writing, photography, music or a product or service.

Don’t get hung up on what a creator or artist is. This definition by Steven Pressfield is worth remembering, “Art is anything that means creating and sharing your gift with the world.”

Just start creating.  

Pillar 3: Share

Creating a product is one thing, but to see if people care about it, you must persistently place your product or art in front of the world. That means sharing your creation.

That is the only way to find out if it solves a problem, is an object of beauty that is desired and wanted… or if it needs more work.

Pillar 4: Monetize

If you want to turn your side hustle into your main hustle and fire your boss, you may want to find out if the world will pay you for your creation. Being a starving artist is not a place of freedom but desperation.

And I don’t know about you, but that is not a happy place.

Experiment with different business models to find what works. It may even knock on your front door.

Pillar 5: Amplify

Once the business model has been tested then it’s time to amplify and scale revenue.

If you want to make a bigger difference in the world then amplifying, accelerating and growing your side hustle is where we go from hobby and a starving artist to a successful entrepreneur.  

Wrapping it up

The goal here is to find happiness from creating. It is not just about money. Charlie Munger summed it up well when he said, “I did not intend to get rich. I just wanted to get independent.” 

Steps 4 to 5 of The Freedom Code are optional extras. Simply by Discovering, Creating and Sharing your gift, you will find more happiness and fulfilment.

We all want freedom. Independence. We all want to be successful and happy.

You can choose happiness or you can continue to be trapped in a life that no longer fulfills you.

It’s up to you. 

And starting a “Side Hustle” built on the Freedom Code Framework is one low risk path to Freedom and happiness. You have nothing to lose.

Join Side Hustle Strategies 

SideHustleStrategies.co. is an evolution of Jeffbullas.com that I have always dreamed about. It is devoted to helping you grow personally and professionally (if you choose). Side Hustle Strategies exists to help you flourish.

Since I launched Jeffbullas.com, it has been read by over 40 million people. That website and blog was originally a passion project that started as a side hustle. As I grew my blog, I discovered the financial freedom it gave me and how I designed and lived my life. 

After experiencing that freedom, I wanted to help others get control of their life. That is where the inspiration started for creating SideHustleStrategies.co.

Join Side Hustle Strategies today.

The post Successful But Unhappy? Time to Start Exploring Your Options appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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How a Side Hustle Can Lead to a Life of Adventure

Imagination is a beautiful human trait. It leads to creation (…or just a thought bubble dissipated by procrastination). Not all your ideas are worth acting on. 

But when you feel a calling that promises an adventure, that may be something worth seizing and manifesting.

And despite our clinging to the fantasy of immortality, the reality is that we only have one life. So what do you want to do with your life? Life is not a dress rehearsal. 

Life is a glimpse of light between two pieces of darkness. It is being born and dying. What you do in that gap between those two unknowns determines whether it is exciting, memorable, bland or boring.

I received an invitation to speak in the tiny country of Estonia, and it sparked an idea in my mind. This idea had been gestating in my mind for a long time but had never been born. 

My air tickets were already taken care of by my client. I had lined up a partner in crime to join me.

We hatched a plan and chose the countries we wanted to visit. It was decided. We would spend three months working and traveling while exploring some nooks and crannies in Europe. 

This Dream germinated after starting my digital side hustle back in 2009. I realized that I could design a business that could provide the flexibility and freedom to roam the world and still generate revenue to pay for my life. 

Would you like to go on a digital nomad adventure?

There are a few basics that you’ll need before you pack your bags and head to the airport. 

• You need an Internet connection that is reliable and fast enough to keep you sane. 
• You need a laptop that has a built-in camera 
• You need a place to work. An Airbnb will be enough. 
• Electricity. Batteries need charging from time to time.
• The suitable international adaptors for connecting to the internet and the power
• A sustainable routine. Just partying isn’t going to work.
• Some discipline 
• A dose of patience 

The optional extras

The digital nomad experience is a change from the 9-5 grind but with enough routine to be sustainable. Designing how you want to work needs a little thought and imagination. 

Here are some of my optional requirements. 

• If you are traveling to a warm climate, I recommend working outside on a terrace. 
• Find a place with a view that inspires. 
• A nearby village you can walk to (without needing a car) 

Why try out the digital nomad life?

A friend of mine and their partner were planning to travel and spend some time overseas. But unexpectedly, the trip was canceled when one of them sadly died. Tragedy can strike, and life can be cut short. You cannot reboot life when it suddenly shuts down. 

1. Life is short, so “Carpe Diem” (Seize the day) 
2. You have memories worth bottling into 
3. Traveling increases your awareness of what it means to be human and expands your ideas

What I learnt from my experience as a digital nomad

This adventure was always going to be an experiment. So I went into the digital nomad test lab with my eyes wide open. I knew there would be some outcomes and experiences that didn’t match my expectations. It’s best not to remain rigid as a digital nomad. 

• Expect an experience to teach (and sometimes make you cry and stamp your feet). Get ready for frustration and agitation. Sometimes filling the car up in Italy was a lesson in patience.
• Moving all the time is stressful. Navigating a new country where the language and road signs aren’t in your language means you will make some wrong turns. One Freeway mishap turned into an hour detour. That will mean you need to suck it up and grimace. 
• Every new digital nomad office will not meet the Dream. One day we ended up in an apartment overlooking Lake Como. Sounds romantic, except that it was next to a busy road, and sometimes it felt like a tent on a Freeway. The Italians love noisy motorbikes. But the views were to die for, and the storms and light shows over the lake were out of this world. 
• A great joy in my life is banter and conversation with friends around a dinner table or in the corner of a noisy restaurant. If you are traveling in a country where your language is not the norm, you will start to miss the banter of people that make you laugh and think. 
• The routine of exercise is hard to replicate when you are a high-speed moving nomad. Unless you’re a runner. I did fit some cycling in, but the friction to do that meant it was in fits and starts.

Becoming a digital nomad: My best tips

On reflection, the digital nomad experience was one of the best things I have ever done. I discovered lakes that reflected scenic mountains and forests and took my breath away.

Lake Carezza and Lago di Braies were diamonds amongst jewels. I explored roads where each corner produced a postcard in the Dolomites. I walked mountains and trails that begged me to return, dive into and want to revisit so I can turn over more experiences that make my heart sing.

Hiking the 3 Peaks in the Dolomites and stopping for a refreshing Aperol Spritz at a Refugio hotel begged you to stay. We caught trains that rolled past slices of heaven and stopped at stations perched between heaven and earth.

The Bernina Express was a revelation that included an outdoor viewing caboose that you didn’t want to leave in case you missed just one view.

My best tips:

1. Pick a base that you can explore from and allows you to experience a place and its regions without the stress of constant moving. 
2. Choose a place that isn’t far from an international airport. A one-hour flight is always another universe, and it makes it easy to come home to your base.
3. Select a corner of the planet that has some people you know nearby if you can. They will provide ready-made networks and conversations ready to go. 
4. Keep it simple and travel light. 
5. Hire a car if you want (it allows you to explore at a whim), but be aware that in Europe parking is a nightmare.

Did I get work done?

Yes. I worked most mornings.

Was it the perfect working holiday? 

No. 

But it was three months I cherish and will remember forever. And I have the iPhone photos and memories to prove it. 

Want inspiration and ideas for starting a side hustle that will allow you to travel the world?

SideHustleStrategies.co. is an evolution of Jeffbullas.com that I have always dreamed about. It is devoted to helping you grow personally and professionally (if you choose). Side Hustle Strategies exists to help you flourish.

Since I launched Jeffbullas.com, it has been read by over 40 million people. That website and blog was originally a passion project that started as a side hustle. As I grew my blog, I discovered the financial freedom it gave me and how I designed and lived my life. 

After experiencing that freedom, I wanted to help others get control of their life. That is where the inspiration started for creating SideHustleStrategies.co.

Join Side Hustle Strategies today.

The post How a Side Hustle Can Lead to a Life of Adventure appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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11 Google Ads Tools to Help You Stay Organized and Productive

If you’ve ever tried to use one of Google’s native tools to manage your ad campaigns, you likely know how time consuming and confusing they can be.

Thankfully, there are a number of other Google Ads tools that can help you run your campaigns more effectively and efficiently. 

This article shares our top recommendations for Google Ads tools (based on specific results or goals you’re trying to achieve) to keep your campaigns organized and your productivity on point. 

Analytics and Management Tools

These are comprehensive tools that allow you to manage multiple facets of your advertisement activities and get a bang for your buck. 

Adalysis: Excellent all-in-one PPC tool

Adalysis helps you track the performance of every aspect of your PPC account and be aware of any issues that arise. This includes bidding, keyword management, budget management, keyword quality score analysis, ad copy AB testing, custom reporting, audience insights, and more. 

Key features:

• Gain fresh insights into the best performing ad patterns to validate your strategy and discover overlooked opportunities.
• Automated audit checks alerting you to any issues discovered in your campaigns, keywords, ads, search terms, landing pages, placement, ad extensions, and more.
• Custom KPI monitoring and data visualization with prebuilt templates. 

If you want to make sure you never miss an opportunity for improving your performance, Adalysis is the tool you need. 

Google Analytics: Excellent for conversion tracking and auditing Google Ads accounts

Google Analytics enables enhanced goal tracking and gives you an overview of who is driving conversions as well as a better understanding of the overall value of your campaigns.

Key features: 

• Tracks website conversions and user activity.
• Provides funnel analysis and custom reporting.
• Unlocks performance opportunities and potential issues with the website.

Competitor and keyword research tools

These tools allow you to gain valuable insights to your competitors and the key aspects to focus on in your campaigns to get better results. 

SEMrush: Excellent for monitoring competitor performance and getting competitive insights 

SEMrush primarily defines itself as an advanced SEO tool, but it is also popular amongst PPC professionals. SEMrush lets you see how your competitors’ ads are performing so you can get the insights you need to sketch out performance strategies. 

Key features: 

• See what people click on the most, ads that get the best reach.
• Find out what search terms your competitors are bidding on. 
• See the amount of traffic brought to your competitors’ websites through PPC.

Google Trends: Excellent for uncovering seasonal demand

Google Trends is an essential free data source for PPC marketers. It helps you provide your target audience with the right information at the right time. And this boosts your chances of converting them. 

Key features:

• Uncover valuable trend data that you can use to adjust your campaigns to match seasonal demand.
• Discover event-triggered spikes in keyword search volume.
• Access keyword-related data, including search volume indexes and geographic information.

Google Keyword Planner: Excellent for finding the right keywords for your campaigns

Google’s Keyword Planner is an essential PPC tool for keyword research. It’s a free tool that finds the perfect keywords to target in your ads based on Google Search data. 

Key features:

• Type in a phrase, website, or category to generate new ideas
• Get instant bid estimations for your keywords. 
• Discover the historical trending and search volume data of keywords

Fraud prevention tools

These tools allow you to eliminate any threat to your campaigns and your ads accounts. 

ClickCease: Excellent for fraud protection and white label reporting

ClickCease eliminates the frustration and cost of account/ad campaign creep. The tool detects fraudulent clicks that inflate charges and waste your ad spend. It lets you see the people bidding on your keywords. In turn, you can see their ads, monitor their performance, and outbid them. 

Key features

• Constant campaign monitoring.
• Automated real-time IP and user blocking.
• Custom detection rules and detailed reports.

PPC Protect: Excellent for eliminating click fraud across all channels

PPC Protect tracks every click on your ads and landing pages, as well as how users interact with them. Using cybersecurity insights, the tool allows users to create a protection layer across all channels automatically.

Key features:

• Automated monitoring to determine if interactions are legitimate or invalid.
• Protects against click fraud across all acquisition channels.
• Leverages powerful cybersecurity technologies to build a proactive defense layer

Landing page tools

Consider these tools if you want to build a great landing for your ad campaigns. 

Unbounce: Excellent for building ad landing page quickly and efficiently 

Unbounce is a popular choice for building ad landing pages amongst top PPC specialists. It has a pretty intuitive UI with drag-and-drop features that make designing even the most demanding ad landing page a breeze. 

Key features:

• Tons of templates to go from.  
• Requires no prior experience or coding skills. 
• Landing page A/B testing

Optimizely: Excellent for landing page A/B testing

Optimizely is an excellent alternative to Unbounce. It offers the same features and takes away almost all the experience requirements in building fantastic ad landing pages. It also claims an intuitive and clean interface. Though, we must note that Optimizely has better A/B testing functionalities.

Key features: 

• Unlimited A/B testing and experimentation
• Content and product recommendations
• AI-driven personalization.

Tools for creating and editing ad copy

These tools help you write and design ad copy that ranks and converts your target audience. 

Dashword: Excellent for creating ad copy that ranks

Dashword helps you write better by determining the relevance of copy based on data from the top Google results of any given keyword. You can easily create well-optimized ad copy and see how they’ll perform across channels. 

Key features:

• Uses an integrated keyword tool to guide writers to produce content that ranks.
• Provides an overview of all of your competitors outlines.
• Gives a clear indication of quality through content scoring.

PPC Ad Editor: Excellent for designing and presenting ad copy

It allows agencies to create mock-up ads in one place for feedback and approval thanks to a commenting feature, enhancing productivity. PPC Ad Editor users handle all of their tasks online, eliminating Excel files.

Key features:

• Build campaigns and collaborate with teams in real-time
• Create a preview of your campaigns in an easy-to-read format
• Export a Google Ads Editor friendly CSV

Choose the best tools to keep your campaigns organized and improve your productivity

As you’ve seen, there are several tools you need to leverage to make the best out of your PPC campaigns. That said, juggling between tools can be a pain, and you’ll need to build some technical skills to properly maneuver each tool. 

That’s why I recommend that you choose an all-in-one solution like Adalysis. It’s a combination of PPC automation tools, auditing tools, as well as reporting and offers the best value for money.

Guest Author: Maria is the co-founder of Loopex Digital and an independent writer about search marketing. She works with brands such as Sprout Social, Shopify, Oberlo, and many others to help them increase their search visibility and conversions. Her main area of specialization is PPC and SEO.

The post 11 Google Ads Tools to Help You Stay Organized and Productive appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

* This article was originally published here

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