Ok, you are finally ready to start putting in the efforts needed to get your goals accomplished. You figured out your 2nd Shift hours and now it’s time to get to work. After a couple of sessions you look back and realized you haven’t gotten a lot done. Why is this? Because you may be clocking hours instead of grinding.

One trap that we often fall in is just clocking hours. It comes from our 9-5 jobs. We get to work, clock in, then we start talking to co-workers, surfing the web, listening to music and so forth. Even though we are getting paid for the time, we aren’t being that productive. However, when you start working on your own, the only hours that count are the ones when you grind and not clock. When you grind, you start seeing progress. You are focused at the task at hand and being efficient. So next time you sit down for 2ndShift, don’t just sit there and clock hours, but make those hours mean something by grinding.

Stress is so often looked on as a bad thing, that people have looked past the good things stress can bring. But before I get going let me clarify that I am talking about the good stresses in life, and yes there is such a thing. The stresses that so many of us try to get away from are going to the job everyday that you hate, having to complete a ton of school work in short periods of time for a class you care nothing about, etc… The stresses that should not be grouped in this category are naysayers telling you that you can’t do something, mentors pushing you to the limit to complete something they know you can do, you pushing yourself to work out so that you can fit in that bikini you bought for spring break, etc….

Those types of good stress are things that you can build off of and things that you can use to make you stronger. A healthy amount of these things can keep your muscle (your brain) in tip top shape and FIT.

F - Focused

I - Inspired

T - Tough

When you are pushing YOURSELF to complete something YOU want to complete, it keeps you focused and inspired even though you may be stressed because of it. And having criticism along the way (negative or positive) gives you that extra push and keeps the pressure on you to prove everyone wrong and builds mental toughness.

Don’t quit and complain about your stresses, rather use them weights to stay FIT!!

Ok, let’s be real, no matter how many ideas you have none of them will generate you any income unless you actually act on them. I know you, you’re probably saying of course! But here is the thing; you must have certain characteristics or factors to begin to be successful in whatever you set out to do.

On Moolanomy he has outlined 7 key factors to help build successful income streams. I choose this article because he gives good real life examples of how each factor comes into play.

Here are my 7 key factors to build successful alternative income streams

1. Passion — Do what you love. If you hate writing, don’t start a blog or try to write for money. Find income ideas that are compatible with whom you are and success will inevitably follow.
2. Expertise – Focus on what you are good at to begin the process. Sure, you could learn something new, but you want to put your best foot forward when you are starting out. Leverage your expertise to generate that extra income!
3. Patience — Don’t expect to see the desired results right away — e.g., this blog was losing money for three months before I earned my first dollar. Building alternative income streams take time and effort. For some income streams, you might see results right away, for others you might have to wait. Time is your friend when it comes to building alternative income streams so start as early as you can and stay in it as long as you can.
4. Commitment – Some ideas take more effort than others. For example, investing my money in the stock market doesn’t take that much time — just contribute the money, set up my asset allocation, research mutual funds and ETFs, invest, rebalance quarterly, and watch my money grow. Others take a lot of time and commitment — e.g., this blog consumes about 3 hours a day.
5. Persistence — Not everything you try will be successful — e.g., my little stint with the bulk candy vending business. You may have to try dozens of ideas before you find the one that works for you. The important thing is to keep trying.
6. Diversify — Don’t stop at the first thing that works. The whole idea is to have as many income streams as you could. You never know when one would dry up — e.g., even the Niagara Falls stopped for a day! Diversification is a great way to reduce risk, and it’s the best insurance against losing an income stream.
7. Little by little – The nice thing about diversifying and having a lot of income streams is that little things do add up to a lot. Just like they said, “A dollar here, a dollar there. The savings add up” — in our case it’s the income that adds up.

Well, there you have it — my secret recipe for building successful alternative income streams

Writer’s block is caused by a lack of inspiration or creative spark that involves temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing. We have all experienced it at least one time or another in our lifetime, some of us more then others. Before I wrote this post I stared at the computer screen for who knows how long trying to come up with something to share with the world. So I did some searching, and I came across this article, “10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Creativity.”

I know you are thinking, “Why does jump starting my creativity matter to me?” To put it plainly, because money is just an idea, to increase or generate streams of income, it all starts with being creative! So…the more creative you are, the more ideas you come up with, the more ideas you come up with, the more opportunity you have to generate money.

See below for a post from “dumblittleman” on 10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Creativity:

Many of us want to be more creative. If you’re a blogger, you are searching for a killer idea for your next post. If you work in marketing or advertising, you’ll be trying to come up with that brilliant concept that will bring in a swarm of customers. If you have a creative hobby, like painting or writing, you want the next piece to be a masterpiece.

Sometimes, we might feel as though we’re “just not very creative”. Other people seem to have better ideas and bigger projects. The truth is that there are plenty of ways to help yourself become more creative. Here are ten of my favorites:

1. Read Widely and Deeply
Whatever field you’re in, reading can only help. Go to the library and check out some good books – and don’t make all of them ones in your area of expertise. Why not get a novel you’d never normally read, or a book about a topic you have no knowledge on? This can jump-start your brain into working more creatively as you try to assimilate the new information based on what you already know from your own field.

2. Try New Activities
Another way to get your brain in gear is to try something totally new. Whether it’s salsa dancing, pottery or a medieval reenactment, taking up a new hobby can help shake things up and encourage you to think laterally. For example, you might be inspired to write an article using your new interest as a metaphor for something in your main field of work.

3. Talk To Strangers
Children are warned about “stranger danger”, but as adults, we shouldn’t be too afraid of talking to new people. We naturally associate with people who are like ourselves – the same income bracket, the same dress sense, the same career or industry – and this can stifle our creativity by making us feel that “everyone’s just the same”. Branch out. Chat to someone you don’t know in the cafeteria. Say “hi” to the person next to you in line at the coffee shop.

4. Reject Your First Ten Ideas
One great way to generate ideas, if you’re stuck for inspiration, is to sit down with a blank piece of paper (or a blank document on your computer) and list at least twenty ideas. Reject the first ten: they’ll almost always be too “normal” and bland. You have to get through these easy ideas in order to be really creative. If you’re writing a short story for a competition on “murder” for instance, the first ten ideas you have will be the ones that judges see time and time again.

5. Experiment: Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
We’re often wary of trying new ways of working or new activities because we’re afraid we’ll fail. But there’s no shame in failure – after all, as a baby, you failed countless times at walking, talking and potty training… but you’re an expert in all of those areas now! The path to success often requires trying out a lot of ways which don’t work.

“If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” –Thomas Edison

6. Make Connections: Link Two Projects
Do you have a stack of half-finished sketches or half-written short stories languishing in a drawer? One very effective way to reignite your enthusiasm is to combine two different projects. Take a character from one of your short stories and insert him into the plot of a different one. Mix that fantasy dreamscape sketch with the steampunk idea. Take an idea from that zany game you were designing and put it with the brainteaser series that you had planned.

7. Take An Unusual Perspective
If you’re working on a long-term creative piece, like a blog or a novel, it’s easy to get stale. Try adopting an unusual perspective. You might write a scene in your novel from the point of view of an inanimate object, or through the eyes of a character whose state of mind has been altered by alcohol or drugs. You could try writing a post on your blog from someone else’s perspective. For me, one of the most memorable posts on Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger is “5 Things You Should Know About My Dad the ProBlogger”, purportedly from the viewpoint of his (at the time) one-year-old son:

“You see my Dad reads more than he writes. I think he does this because his writing gets better after reading what others say and because it means he’s learning more about his topics.”

8. Do Your Chores
This might sound like odd advice – after all, chores aren’t exactly creative. But physical activities like vacuuming, washing the dishes or scrubbing the floors leave your mind free to wander – and it’s surprising how many ideas can occur to you when you’re not sitting staring at your desk.

9. Use A Different Medium
If you’re a writer, try drawing for a change. It doesn’t matter if you can’t draw – use stick figures – but this can help jolt you out of your comfort zone, allowing you to approach a problem in a new way. If you’re a painter, try making up a tune and words for a song. If you’re a graphic designer, use modeling clay or create a collage. Don’t limit your creativity to just one medium.

10. Daydream: Keep Asking “What If…?”
The final, and most important tip for enhancing your creativity, is to daydream. Stare into space. Let your thoughts drift. Think about your project when you’re going to sleep at night – unusual thoughts often crop up in that half-awake, half-asleep state. Don’t try to force or rush creativity; give yourself time to let your ideas simmer away in the back of your mind.

Which of those ideas work for you? What tips would you add to the above list?