If you have been following my tweets, you might know that I have had plenty of stress (more than my fair share). 

Quite honestly, the past year has been hell.

My ideal office space.

It’s time to change your mindset, Chris.

My business almost didn’t survive after I was betrayed by the one person I thought I would always be able to trust till death.  Depression and drinking, DDOS attacks, Kosovo Hackers, and an unexplained server crash, all compounded, NEARLY spelled disaster for Webovator.  But I am a fighter.  I have a tattoo of the word THRIVAL.  I don’t believe in mere survival, I want more out of life. I have been re-evaluating my business, my hobbies, and my reading materials, in an attempt to coalesce a more worthwhile existence. Money is not the goal; the goal is economic and geographic freedom.

My friend Kevin once told me the best revenge anyone can ever get is by forgetting the past and being happy.  A mentor from Broadcast Center once said that real magic is the ability to see patterns between cause and effect, and if you want to change the outcome, you recognize how to change the actions that cause the outcome.  By applying these two quotes I have come to the realization that I am happy, because I enjoy what I do.  I love helping friends and clients to build their businesses with a website, SEO, traffic campaigns, PPC management, etc., because it’s so rewarding to see the results, hear a “thank you”, and watch them achieve their own success. If you know me, you know that my favorite Zig Ziglar quote is “You can have whatever you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want.”

So I was reading Frank Kern’s blog comments tonight, and stumbled upon yet another internet marketer’s squeeze page.  (You enter your email, and you get access to a free success course on Clarity, Confidence, and Focus–email me or leave a comment if you want the link, but I am not specifically endorsing it, not having opted in, myself.)  But the interesting thing was that the marketer had posted a video of a Tony Robbins interview for people to watch before signing up for his free course.  I watched the interview and I can say two things:

1. There is something very peculiar to me about Tony Robbins’ appearance.
2. He beat a brain tumor, and I think his insight on life is inspiring.

Here is the video for you, if you are in need of some inspiration:

So if you are beating yourself up with worry, wondering what the next step is, just change your mindset. It only takes a few seconds to reclassify a problem as a challenge. Watch the end of the interview, and listen to what he says about the person who is paralyzed from the neck down.  After three years, he is happier and stronger.

My year of hell is over.  Thanks to all of my friends, family, freelance partners, and clients.  May you all enjoy the success you deserve, in the remaining 6 months of 2009.