I just activated my affiliate account few minutes ago and paused the video on Blogging (Core Commitment 2)  when David Wood said, “Before you finish watching the video, I want you to write a post. Do it right now.” And here I am, cranking these words out at 3:04 A.M. while rest of the city slumbers. Go core!

You see, from the beginning of 2013, my brother Sidz and I joined forces. For years, we were busy with our own gigs in the internet marketing universe,  and we always spoke about doing something together, someday…

Sidz is a musician. And his wife, Vanita, is one of the most talented singers I have ever met. Last August, they were blessed with a baby boy Rishabh, my dear nephew. He’s such a joy to be around! Sidz also co-founded a social media company, which is doing really well right now. I am so proud of him!

When we were in middle school, everyone used to be confused around Sidz and me. We’re just 2 years apart and we almost looked like twins. We always had to remind people our correct names and which grades we were in.

As we grew up, we sang in the school choir together, played in the cricket team – we both were wicket keepers, learned the keyboard, guitar and mridanga (an India drum instrument), performed in shows, joined different colleges but took similar subjects, spent a lot of time skipping classes and playing snooker, got into trouble together… and pretty much everything had a weird and awesome way of being similar between us. I guess our core values, likes and personality were the same. We are brothers and best friends.

In 2006, I attended the Global Internet Summit, and for the first time, my mind exploded!  A group of successful internet marketers from around the world visited Bangalore and presented what they doing to earn a living and have a fantastic lifestyle. I can still remember driving back home that night being thrilled and excited and energized and completely insane. I had finally found a way to make money, have lots of time, give back to society and live an exciting life. And that’s where my affiliate marketing career began.

Few years later… as if by prophesy, Sidz joined the internet marketing world – but not through me… He found internet marketing through his own network marketing connections and learned how the game worked. And then, he spent his own time, money and efforts to hone his skills.

Things started getting exciting… Brothers playing the same game once again!

We’d sit up all night discussing various traffic strategies… and analyzing different tools… and comparing sales pitches from competing products… and sharing strategies from our own campaigns and circles of influence, etc… And we’d always say to ourselves, “You know what, someday we’re gotta do something together, and it’s going to be great!”

Few years later…

Sidz got married and has a handsome little baby boy and, runs a successful social media company.

I got engaged to the most beautiful, kind, loving and caring woman of my dreams. Her name is Nidhi. She’s an artist and ballerina. And I’m still in love with affiliate marketing and this internet lifestyle.

Deep down, Sidz and I were waiting for something…

Something BIG… Something so earth shattering and valuable that it’ll change the game and truly help people live with purpose and freedom and choose anything they’d like to do – and be who they want to be!

It’s only natural that you’d like to share what you have with others so that everyone lives in harmony. Right? Especially something as important as TIME.

Helping people free up time and make enough money to follow their true passions – is a worthy mission in life. And it’s a mission Sidz and I always believed in. We both chose the road less traveled, and there’s no turning back. It’s fun! And we’re grateful.

And then Empower Network came along…

Sidz got to EN first. We always enjoyed discussing marketing and stories with each other. One thing led to the next, and after further study and application, it was evident enough that the time had come… to join forces. We had finally found what we had been waiting for all these years!

Empower Network.

Cheers,
Swarup

P.S. We decided to have unique blogs for Sidz and me – so that we both have our own personal space to write and share, and at the same time, work together through Empower Network.

So, here we are today… This is the first post on my brand spanking new Empower Network blog (REPUBLISHED). Hurrah!

If you are reading this, I appreciate you for being here right now and personally welcome you to my blog. How are you doing? Drop a line into the comments section below. Let’s talk.

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I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’

“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’

“Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’”

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.’”

Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.

Credits: From the inspirational best-selling book series Chicken Soup For The Soul. This true story was written by Jack Canfield. I highly recommend that you purchase a copy and keep it by your bedside. There’s always a story that’ll brighten your day and move you, especially when you need it.

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