Ways to Make Money

I used to have a blog that was specifically about making money tips, years ago.  But, there are others out there to help you do that.  And, I don’t want to suggest that making money should be a primary goal.  I’m at a point in my life where I will accept less money for more freedom and doing things I enjoy.  But, I have collected a few over the years that I use from time to time, and I wanted to suggest them to friends and more to make money on the side, as well.

Uber/Ubereats/DoorDash/Lyft - any of these will work if you like to drive.  Ubereats is my primary use of time, as I like it and makes the most of my options… I choose not to do Uber passengers like I used to.. tho that does make more.  You apply via the driver app and are an independent contractor, setting your own hours… you can do this just for a trip a day, if you want, or less.

Usertesting- you click on options that are there to see if you qualify.  If you do, you can make 10 dollars for 15 minutes of speaking aloud as you view a page or do a task. https://www.usertesting.com/

Amazon Mturk/ Prolific- answer questions or do small tasks for money.. Amazon has more tasks, but you need to understand how to download and use their extension and prolific pays more. https://www.prolific.com/ Mturk 

Swagbucks - also can warn for answering questions, but harder to qualify.  But, you can also earn for buying things, entering contests, viewing clips, and more. https://www.swagbucks.com/

Appen - Australian company that works with major us social media companies.. you apply for projects, and if you qualify can earn 10 dollars an hour doing tasks.. but pays a month after work and can end suddenly. https://connect.appen.com/qrp/v2/services/onboarding/sign-up

Ibotta - money for buying specific groceries and such https://home.ibotta.com/

So, that’s just a few.  Hope it helps.

Reframe Happiness

When you “reframe” something, it doesn’t always mean to be delusional about it… though some move in that direction.  They don’t accept reality, so they change their perception of reality to fit their circumstances.  Indeed, I got into several past bad social connections with people because I reframed their lack of effort, empathy, or romantic actions to be just that it was underneath but just not seen.  But.. to quote the Bible (not as a holy source but collection of passed down maxims on life), faith without works is dead.  What it means is if you can’t see its effects in some way, it’s not there.  That’s not just true of faith but is a life application principle for judging what is or is not, as well.  Even Jesus said to judge a plant by its presence of fruit… love, joy, peace, patience, etc.. or not.  

But, what if the FRUIT and TRUTH suggests a path is not functioning to bring you happiness?  Then, you might want to reframe what you NEED to be happy.  I think I am at this point, when it comes to a romantic future.  On this blog and posts over the years, I’ve been kinda unsettled about whether you need romance to be happy on your own.  This came from repeated attempts that went badly… indeed, I have not had a relationship in my life with someone that cared for ME and not what I provided and whose love remained… ever.  And, now, my life has developed new problems of finances and more due to a job with a long commute and credit issues due to waiting on the first checks for it and auto repairs and such.  Ultimately, they will get resolved, but there is other drama issues in my life due to an ex trying to harm me and more.  Again…all that will eventually go away within a year or less, but all of this will have an effect on keeping me looking like not a great provider for someone shopping for a marriage partner.  So… I can sit around depressed that others have made my identity undesirable for a long term partner…or I can change what I seek to be happy.

The fact is that most of my age are not looking to remarry.  I’ve published stats where both men and woman that are over 40 are 2 to 1 against remarrying… women more against it than men.  They had their kids and family.  Now, they just want to have fun.  Over the last year, I’ve been flirting with adopting this attitude for myself.  Now.. with the above challenges, I’m basically being pushed into it.  But, a single life doesn’t have to be unhappy.  In my job, I get to talk to women at restaurants as I pick up orders and in bars can have chats.. all short interactions without connection, after.  The meetup app has lots of events for that, as well. I can still date short term if I want for fun.. and who knows if that leads to something, but that shouldn’t be the goal or I’m setting myself up for depression.  I can still have friendships for a caring connection, and I can definitely satisfy myself sexually and do often to be honest.  

And, it’s not a bad life.  With my current work, I work on my schedule, wear what I want, listen to music and drive, and see nature.  I watch what I want to watch.  I can talk to a girl that’s a friend or notice a girl’s beauty without someone getting mad.  I can live where I want to live and move if I want… and I have been considering moving back to the Midwest and may someday, but I’m finding I like it here, too.. so will just keep that mental discussion bookmarked.

So.. you may not have the life you expected, but if you say fk it and just live the life you do have, you might find happiness closer than you think.

Freedom

The other day, I read a meme that said having money isn’t about money.. it’s about freedom. The last few weeks has definitely shown me that you don’t need money to be free. You can choose to be free and just live that way.

Each July 4th, we celebrate Independence Day and the Declaration of Independence that says…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—…when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

It’s not just government that tries to infringe on your freedom.  It’s business, peer pressure, media messages about what you should look like or do.  If you are going to pursue your happiness, you have to be willing to disappoint those counting on their ability to control you.  In Serendipity, a character quoted Epictetus saying, “If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”  You don’t need money to be free.  You just need the courage to choose your own happiness or the happiness of others.

This week, I left a job that failed to bring me happiness at any point.  I’ve noted all this in the past, but to re-repeat.. When I went to the interview for that job, it was pouring rain.  At the interview, the entire government building lost power.  When I left the interview, I had a flat tire.  When I took my car to Pepboys to fix the tire, their lift broke my car door.  Due to waiting a month for my first paycheck, I had to pay bills on credit and fix my car on credit.  A few months into the job, I was accused of harassment by someone for just being friendly.. 5 minute conversations a few times a week… which management said was just a reaction to someone in the past that DID harass her.  I was put in multiple positions and banned from asking past workers how to do the jobs.  I only worked in my hired position alone for 3 weeks of the entire time I worked there.  I had to take medical leave, and when I returned was placed in new positions without training and blamed for things not done while I was on medical leave and asked to take the blame for work in the past of the new positions I was given.  So .. I left.. and gave upper management much feedback to consider.

I also lost access to my daughter… when my ex that has delusions and paranoia and narcissistic behavior said she was going to block my daughter from seeing me and that if I had a problem with it I could sue her, but that she’s be 18 before I would win so it would be moot.  I bring this up, because my RESPONSE would be an example of freedom and lead to more freedom.  Instead of calling the cops on her and calling a lawyer to take custody, I asked my daughter what she would prefer, and she said to let it just be til she’s 18 and can do what she wants.  So.. I gave up my struggle in exchange for peace for me and my child, and my ex will be known for her own choices.. as the parent that blocked a daughter access to a father. 

ALSO.. I only moved to Florida to be with my daughter.. now that I cannot see her, I’m really free to live anywhere, which I will be considering… I may stay, but it also means I can live as free a life as I want.  I could stay in Florida but move further away, so dating others at more of a distance is also an option.  So, all this ended up doing was expanding my potential in all areas of my life.  As I am doing Ubereats deliveries once again, I could literally move anywhere anytime.. once my eye surgeries are done.

So, freedom doesn’t take money.  Freedom can be found in making less money on your own with power over your own schedule, wardrobe, and radio station you play as you drive into your future making your own money.. or however you choose to do it, once you stop letting the judgment of critics dictate your course.

Resonance

I’ve noted this in my blogs over many years.  In fact, a very long time ago, I read a book as a kid about an apprentice learning the five magics or something like that.  I don’t even recall the name of the book.  But, one of the concepts that he learned was that if two things were similar, affecting one would affect the other.  It’s actually in a way a foundational concept for magic and prayer for that matter.  Scientifically, it’s called resonance, and this tuning fork video displays it well.

But, it’s not limited to magic or science.  In general like people will resonate with others that are similar, and that will affect connections for friendships or more, as well. It affects jobs, too.  You’ll love it or hate it, based on how much it resonates with your soul.

I’m re-learning this, after a couple years of chasing things I found interesting for being different, only to lead to dead ends or conflicts with what I valued as an individual.  So, I’m choosing to work at things I like to do, say what I feel, watch what I want to watch, and be who I like to be.  As I have said in blogs past, if you put on an act to get someone, you’ll just end up getting someone that likes the act.. or the job or whatever you use to attract.  If you want someone that likes you, you gotta show… you.

So, find your place in the universe.  Strike your true note, and let that bring resonance to the things that will most happily fit in your life and lifestyle.  Whether or not it attracts others, you can be happy falling in love with yourself and the life that results.  And, I wish everyone that peaceful journey with me.

Back to Life

Has it really been two weeks since my last post?  Wow.  Well, it’s been busy with getting back to work and certain distractions that I’ll not go into or comment on. But, I have been reflecting on my own mistakes of the past and ways I can grow.  

Often, my own actions lead to my own pains.  I was thinking of my ex’s and how a lot of times my pains didn’t come from them changing but from me assuming something was there that wasn’t.  It’s easy to mistake appreciation for my care to equal care for me, so when I was paying for dates and selling my house for a wedding and more, I’d get a positive response.  Then, when challenges came and the money stopped, their interest would wane, because they weren’t interested in ME but what I provided.  

But, it’s also true that you have to respect boundaries when you care for someone, too.. and that has to be the hardest and most confusing part of social interaction in modern value age.  For literally thousands of years, men would make the move, romantically.  Even today, that’s often expected.  But, what if the other person ISN’T interested?  A grand romantic gesture valuing someone becomes an awkward situation and pressure… even if not being phrased as pressure.  In reflection, I can see the potential that even my ex might have married me out of feeling indebted for my care.. rather than actually caring?  So… how can you actually tell, how do you approach, what is right and what is wrong?  It’s definitely not easy to know, anymore.  I don’t really have an answer for that.. or how friends become more without this exact challenge.  But, what I do know is people have boundaries and only they can invite you to enter them.  So, I’m working on it.

But… life is risk.  You cannot improve without risk, and you’ll never reach your goals without taking them. There will be good outcomes, and there will be bad.  What is an awkward situation for someone receiving interest is a nice reward to another.  I continue to believe you just have to be yourself and care for others. The rest will …hopefully… work itself out.