Ok Spongebob, its storytime…

In 2006, I earned 1.17M. I don't say this to impress or unimpress you… simply because I earned 10x that in 2005. I have also never revealed my earnings in public as it's simply no one's business but my own. But for the sake of this story, I do believe it helps to illustrate a point, which is very important.

What happened?

From 2000-2005, I had an office, employees, massive overhead, was working 12-16 hours per day (everyday), my health became a wreck, and my marriage was crumbling fast. Money is NOT the answer to happiness if every other part of your life is out of balance.

So in late 2005, I decided to make a change.

I closed down the business I ran (guess what market that was in). I ensured my staff was secure for at least a year, and decided to work from home.

At first, I was scared shitless. Money wasn't an issue, but I just didn't know what to do or how to do it. I had a ton of experience in marketing to a rabid audience, but this was different. I no longer had a product or service, so what did I do?

I let my subconscious do the work. I went about my life as if I wasn't working. I concentrated on my health and got back in shape. I took my wife on a much needed vacation, and I basically relaxed.

Then it happened… I was talking a shower in the morning after a long sleep and viola', the idea came to me. All at once, I KNEW what I was going to do, how I was going to execute it.

In my excited state of mind, I immediate went to my office after that shower and began to furiously write down every thought on paper. I wrote up an action list, and I prioritized those actionable items in a way that made sense to me.

Then I got to work… slowly. I decided I was only going to work 4 days per week, 6 hours per day. This worked well for me.

I began with marketing other people’s products using the same marketing knowledge I gained over the past few years. I made money… and began making it fast.

My stress levels were WAY down. My health was improving, and my wife and I were talking again.

It's amazing what a little change and balance in your life can do for you.

As I was thinking about writing this post, I wanted to also give you something you can use today to help you organize your home business. And that's an inside look at what I personally use on my computer everyday.

Are you ready? I think you will be in for a shock here…

1. Outlook (30 min at the end of the day).

2. Google Analytics (as long as I need to spend on it first thing in the morning).

3. Word (to create reports and organize my action items).

4. MSN Adcenter, Google Adwords, and Yahoo to setup new campaigns and check previous day's stats.

That's it on a daily basis.

I use many other programs, but not daily. I now outsource a lot of work through Odesk.com, but not at the day-to day-employee level. My wife is now my bookkeeper and I use a 3rd party CPA firm for end-of-month and quarterly taxes. And lastly, I keep a lawyer on retainer.

I hope this helps.

Woody

PS - I've decided what my first product will be for WoodyMaxim.com. It will be an audio CD based on this post. I should have it ready for the $10 24-hour sale on Tuesday of next week.

If you have any questions for me to answer in the second post for today, make sure you make the comments on this post.