It’s no secret that I’m really curious and interested with earning a passive income. Heck, it’s the reason I started a blog titled, Passive Income Now. By default, my curiosity leads to me asking lots of questions. Well, lots of foolish questions. This ties into a recent conversation I had with an online friend that earns a sustainable amount of passive income monthly. I asked about secrets on passive income opportunities and if he could share any with me. He shared one powerful secret about passive income opportunities that I must absolutely share with you guys:
Most passive income opportunities are active until the point that that 99% of people will give up.
I thought about it for a few minutes. Then I realized that this is completely true. Any passive income opportunity that will earn you any decent money in the long run, will cost you lots of time right now. This is why most passive income chasers give up before they cash in on their passive income.
Think about it. By the time you start earning a substantial passive income from a real estate holding, you would have needed to invest time and money into setting up the unit, screening applicants, and finding the ideal tenant for your unit. If you want to earn a passive income from an eBook, you would have to go through the massive headache of writing the book, formatting it, designing it, and then marketing it. By the time any passive income comes in, months of your life would’ve already gone by. This is why most of us give up when pursuing a passive income opportunity.
Now the million dollar question: how do you not quit pursuing your passive income opportunity?
1. Persistence pays off.
Apparently this is true when going after a passive income opportunity. I couldn’t tell you because I’m still at the persistent stage. I don’t need to tell you this, but almost every success story involves persistence and reaching the point where you want to give up many times. If you fail, then fail fast. Don’t give up after you’ve devoted a significant amount time to a passive income opportunity.
2. Realize that passive income opportunities require focus.
I often hear praise and support for real estate investments as a source of passive income. That’s great and all, but how passive do you think a real estate investment is? Unless you outsource all of your Landlord duties to a property management company, you’ll likely be stuck with lots of work. Who do you think the tenants will call when something breaks down? YOU. Collecting the rent checks may be passive, but all of the other work involved requires focus.
3. Work on your passive income opportunity on the side.
I don’t know how to say this nicely, but it’s very unrealistic to quit your job to build a few passive income streams. This is too far into the world of “get rich quick” and Robert Kiyosaki followers that it makes me sick. If you have a steady income already coming in then you won’t have to stress about generating 6 figures from your side passive income opportunity. A passive income should be just that. Income that comes in on the side. Don’t quit your job. Focus on your passive income on the side.
