When Life Gives You Lemons… Make Money!

You’ve probably heard the expression “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” In other words, turn a negative into a positive.

I’d rather turn it into money!

Let me explain…

I was invited to be a coach at Early to Rise’s 5 Days in July Internet Business Building Conference in Miami this year. It was an incredible experience to help others realize their dream of building their own Internet businesses from scratch, and I was walking on air at the end of the week.

Well, those great feelings came to a sudden halt on my way home from Florida.

My plane had just departed from the gate, and we were heading out to the runway for takeoff. I sent a text message to my wife and children letting them know that I would see them in a few hours.

Just then, the pilot announced that during the pre-flight check an indicator light came on and we had to return to the gate so maintenance could find out what the problem was.

After sitting on the plane for an hour, we were told the problem could not be fixed quickly and we had to de-board.

The flight was eventually cancelled and rescheduled for the following day.

Life had just given me a big bag of lemons!

I had been away from home for a week, and my wife and children missed me. (My youngest cried every time I called and told them I wasn’t coming home yet.)

I had checked my luggage, so I had no clean clothes, no toiletries, and no toothbrush. I couldn’t even comb my hair!

I didn’t have a charger for my phone because I had packed it. So when the battery died, I was unable to call or text anyone.

So… what would you do if faced with this situation?

Take the free hotel and meal vouchers from the airline and hit the hotel bar? Take a cab to the nearby casino and see if your luck changes? Watch TV in your room and do nothing?

I decided to make some money.

I fired up my laptop and managed to accomplish the following before that battery, too, died:

1. Called my wife and kids on Skype and gave them an update on my travel status.

2. Added a new sidebar banner to my website promoting a fitness product. This resulted in 40 clicks and 2 sales.

3. Sent out an e-mail broadcast to my list. The broadcast contained an affiliate link to a different fitness program I was promoting, and resulted in 2 more sales.

4. Wrote an article for my primary website.

5. Wrote another e-mail broadcast for my list to be sent later in the week.

6. E-mailed my business and JV partners.

7. Wrote one complete article and two article outlines for Early to Rise… including the article you are reading right now. (Whenever ETR publishes one of my articles, I get an immediate spike in website traffic, opt-ins to my e-mail list, and even some product sales.)

So instead of just sitting there being upset about my cancelled flight, I DECIDED to be as productive as possible.

I took advantage of the unexpected free time the airline had blessed me with, and did as work as I could.

So the next time life hands you lemons (and it will), forget the negatives and focus on the tasks that will make you money instead!

[Ed. Note: Pete Genot is the founder and editor of The Healthy Minute — a free online newsletter publishing the latest breakthroughs in the health industry. Each issue is designed to be read in about 1 minute, and can help you live a longer, healthier life. Sign up today and Pete will send you a free report that details an abdominal workout routine he’s developed over the last 25 years. You have to see his before and after photos!

Pete acted as an ambassador and coach for attendees of our Info-Marketing Bootcamp last week. And he was joined by a dozen of the top Internet marketing and business-building experts working today, including Rich Schefren, MaryEllen Tribby, Perry Marshall, and, of course, Michael Masterson. If you couldn’t make it to the live event, you can still learn how to build your own online business by following the Early to Rise model.]