paradise is within reach

No, I'm not talking about some spiritual nirvana or heaven. If that's what you're waiting for, then power to ya, but I'm looking for my paradise here and now. How does an island in the Caribbean sound?

All of my life I've thought that there must be a better way than the get a good job, pay your bills, save some money, raise a family, and live somewhere that gets cold. I was never able to settle into a regular job, because I had this longing inside me and an itch that said there was something more, something better, something that would allow me to be free. The internet seemed like a logical place, since you can access it from anywhere in the world, so I started looking there. That was when I got into web design, and eventually turned it into a business. But even that is just too much busy work, too much customer service, too much time. How can I travel and see the world and have time for hobbies and adventures that I love and am passionate about, when I have to spend time designing websites, updating websites - and for other people? I'm not passionate about designing websites for people, so I can't do it just because I love it. While it is a good in between option, it's still not quite what I'm looking for, and so I continue to be driven to find something more. Always more.

I've investigated various work from home schemes, as well as some great looking affiliate or internet marketing programs. There is so much hype with the internet marketing and affiliate marketing, though, that it is easy to get lost in the information overload - and getting lost is not where I want to be!

Then we stumbled across a little tutorial called the Master Affiliate Program - I've mentioned it before (see website ventures, part 1). The whole program is about building a quality website, based on a particular theme (niche), that provides valuable content to your visitors. The very last step in the process is to monetize, to add things to your website that bring you money. But this is the last thing you focus on, because the whole point is to deliver value and to presell your visitor, to become a trusted friend who they then want to buy from. I loved the concept! I loved the WIN-WIN-WIN of it all. I don't want to make loads of money off of people who then feel scammed or ripped off. I would much rather OVER-deliver and provide tons of valuable information, and quality products and opportunities, so that they feel like they got far more than their money's worth from me.

So I started a site, using just this simple tutorial as a guide. Romantic Couples Games was born and has continued to grow to this day. It wasn't perfect - there were places in the tutorial that I didn't go into a thoroughly as I could have, but the site was still born, and has gotten a handful of visitors to click through and purchase, not to mention the ones who spend large amounts of time just browsing and enjoying the information!

Around the same time, Jon signed up for the more intensive program. But we didn't do anything with that. I kinda worked on my site, but we didn't try to take it any further or do anything together on a bigger scale.

Then Cuba happened, and we came back and started asking ourselves, "Why are we living here? Why are we staying where it gets so damn cold?" He started asking himself why he was putting up with the things that drive him crazy in his business, as well. And so we started to dig into the program again. The whole program is called Site Build It!, and the full program is around $300 for the year and includes a large array of tools - literally everything you need to build your site, including tools for doing email newsletters, blogging, forums - you name it! It also has a great forum for SBI!ers to help each other out, so that the ones who are more advanced can help those who are having problems with just starting.

SBI! also has a great brainstorming tool so help you do your keyword research. You see, the whole idea of building a theme-based site with great content is not just to provide a great site for your visitors, but also to attract the search engines and be able to rank well in them. This comes by having a site that is connected and all on the same theme, and uses good keywords. So they have a tool to help you do your keyword research that tells you how the demand is for that keyword, how many sites are already using that keyword, etc. And the tutorial walks you through the whole process, step by little step.

So we started getting into the more intensive tutorial. The basics were the same as the one I had done before, just with a little more detail. We brainstormed some topics that we were each interested in - I'm doing more research for my romantic / sexy games theme - and then we decided to pick one that we were both interested in and to research it and develop it together. And so our website has begun! We are still in the keyword research stage - last night we started a blueprint of the actual site structure and the sub-topics and such. And we have our unique site "spin" as well. You always want your own unique spin, something to give it character, make it unique and fun.

So all of that to say that I think I have finally found something that will really work - and I have something that gets me excited enough to get up in the morning!

The guy who started Site Build It! now lives in Anguilla, in the Caribbean, with his whole family. He is my hero - well, one of them! So as we started into this tutorial, started finding out more about his story, and how he moved his family to Anquilla in the last year or so, and as we were reminscing about Cuba and disliking the cold, we started to talk about moving somewhere tropical ourselves. So just for fun we started looking at maps of the Caribbean, looking for interesting islands that might be nice to live on.

Then I came home from work the other day and Jon was all excited about Dominica (or the Commonwealth of Dominica). He had spotted it when looking at a map or something and had googled it to find out more about it. I looked it up when he mentioned it, and I think I've fallen in love! I haven't even been there yet, but I think there is a very good chance that we have found our paradise!

Dominica is in the eastern Caribbean. It is a small island, about 70,000 people, 300 square miles. It is volcanic based, with a few sandy beaches. Lots of tropical rainforest, tons of fresh water lakes and rivers, and a large amount of mammal wildlife. It is nicknamed the Nature Isle of the Caribbean. The pictures we have seen are absolutely beautiful. Lush and green, scenic, adventurous. There are lots of outdoorsy things to do on the island. Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Dead Man's Chest, was filmed partly on Dominica. Remember the island scenario, with the canibals and Jack Sparrow has to escape? Yep, that was Dominica! They say it is so unspoiled that if Captain Cooke came back it is one of the only places he would still recognize.

Yep, sounds like my paradise! For the first time in my life, I think I am really beginning to really believe that it is reachable, as well. And not just for me - for anyone. If you want something bad enough that you are willing to do whatever it will take to get it, then you will have what you want. Our paradise island has become our goal, and we have found a strategy to help us acheive that goal.

Yes, I have found a passion, an excitement, a dream and a goal to work for, that gives me that boost to get out of bed in the morning. My paradise is within reach - and yours is too!