Jaka Juvan

A 90-day streak on Instagram!

But, still no money nor recognition.

Even though I am:

• Showing up every day

• Doing my research

• Sharing incredible insights

Nobody seems to care.

Then, I realized that I missed a crucial part; I was creating content, but my marketing was sluggish!

6 MONTHS BEFORE

My fiancée and I just moved in together to my father's old house.

After 5 years of an incredible relationship, we finally lived together - such a relief!

Struggles seemed to be over, so we decided not to rush with business, but rather focus on learning & self-improvement.

The desire for a job was gone. We were satisfied with the situation.

But then we realized, that my parents only gave us 1 year of rest, before forcing us back to college.

They started forcing us to sign up for young adult groups helping people to choose their career path.

Their intention was clear:

• Get a job

OR

• Go to college

Everything deflecting us from our business.

We actually didn't go there, but it came at a huge price.

My parents tried to convince us that

• Our business would fail

• Nobody would listen to us because we have no degrees

• We're not in the top 10%

They basically projected their limiting beliefs on us.

That went on and on.

After some successes, I built up confidence. But then my father destroyed it the next day.

I would drill a hole into the roof if you make money with your business

he said...

I was deeply hurt. I needed to reflect on that. I poured my soul into my journal.

Alex Hormozi inspired us to start reaching out.

I tried to coach fitness online, and my fiancée tried mental health coaching. I wasn't strong enough to succeed; my emotions were too strong.

And my fiancée quit after almost breaking through.

We even tried with McJob, but were rejected!

That was a clear sign that we deserve more.

Instagram was our next try.

At first, our content was bad:

• Poor research

• Incoherent speech

• Unclear concepts

But we thought that consistency would suffice!

WE WERE WRONG

Our next try was TikTok - the same result. We were stuck!

So we finally decided to create a clear marketing strategy.

• Writing video scripts

• Cross-posting

• Deep research

We got some results, but we wanted more.

Course creation was the next step.

I created courses on health transformation mindset & fitness; and my fiancée on mental health. We spent over 100 hours on them but earned only 50$.

We neglected marketing! AGAIN!

"Let's pause for a moment", I said.

"We're pushing ourselves hard to escape the situation, but we have no clear direction.

THE PLAN IS MISSING!"

The decision was hard.

We realized that we lack:

• Audio-video editing skills

• Marketing skills

• Copywriting

• Engagement

• Networking

So we decided to stop targeting the void and start over again!

I bought the Pen to Profit course by Iman Gadzhi's Educate, and we started learning copywriting.

The dots connected! We sucked at marketing, that's why nobody saw our content.

We realized why we made no money, despite the efforts.

After:

• Careful reflection

• Goal-setting

• Life reevaluation

We decided to stop recording reels and focus on writing instead.

10 days on Medium & X, I admit that the decision was great!

• I feel much more confident

• No more video editing (where I sucked)

• Just new opportunities

With all the motivation to learn, I'm determined to make it work.

My plan:

1. Consistency

2. Correcting mistakes

3. Enhancing knowledge

4. Refining strategies

5. Staying in the game

That's how I'll make it work!

I'm prepared for a ride, with all potential twists & turns.

I AM READY! NOTHING CAN STOP ME!

Ask yourself:

"What's my greatest passion? When you find it, work on it till it starts working for you!"

Though dropping out of college didn't make my life easier, it filled it with passion & purpose.

Keep following your purpose!

Check out About Me pt1 and pt2.

Would you be interested in an article about how I handled emotions and parents' pressure? Let me know in the comments.

Copying the habits of billionaires won't magically make you successful.

Success requires a path tailored to your unique circumstances and level of development. After I unsuccessfully tried to model Fortune 500 member's routines, I came across the video where

Youtuber & entrepreneur Iman Gadzhi shared the importance of tailoring your routine to your level of success. Adapting my habits to my current level made a significant difference.

Let's see how to do it!

1. **Identify Your Unique Strengths & Leverage Them:**

Understand what sets you apart.

Many try to mimic the routines of the ultra-successful without considering their own distinct talents. Your unique strengths are your competitive edge; use them to stand out in your niche.

The recognition of your craft isn't important, your passion & creativity are!

Be the master of your game by leveraging your authenticity!

2. **Set Realistic, Incremental Goals:**

Ambitious goals are essential, but they must be attainable.

The mistake many make is setting benchmarks based on someone else's peak performance. Tailor your goals to your current stage, ensuring they're challenging yet achievable. Iman's success can be my long-term North Star, but not this year's must!

Your goals should inspire you, not scare you off!

3. **Adapt Strategies to Your Current Stage:**

What works for a billionaire may not work for you now.

It's crucial to adapt strategies that align with your business's current needs and growth phase. Implementing high-level tactics prematurely can lead to poor decisions and limited growth.

Investing in hedge funds with 1000$ at the age of 20 isn't what you want; investing in your skills is!

Acknowledge where you are, and work up from there!

Takeaway:

• Identify your current level

• Seek inspiration in those that walked your path - model their habits when they were at your level

• Identify their habits

• Tailor them to your own plan

• Enhance your plan as you go

BOOM! You're now well ahead of where you were yesterday!

Now, you know who to look up to, so change your habits and crush your goals!

Check out: Why Do We Want Millionaire’s Life And How To Start Living It

• Sleepless nights

• Unberable noisy neighbours 

• Forced to give up on my dreams and live my parents' dreams

Is such a life even worth living?

That's what I was asking myself every night. Several hours after going to bed, still awake, unable to calm my mind. Covered in sweat I reached for my journal and poured my soul into it. 

"Do I even want to live that life anymore?"

it read. I wasn't actually going to commit suicide, but depression was there. Clarity of mind was gone and my decision- making impaired.

6 MONTHS BEFORE

Faced with the decision to either:

• Take care of my fiancée and I

OR

• Give up on my online business

• Return to college

• And become mom's son again

I went for the latter.

Having struggled with health issues for my entire childhood, I felt I wasn't ready to provide for us.

I felt the need to become a kid again, not the father I was supposed to become.

So I accepted mother's offer, returned to university, and she took care of me. I felt loved again...

But that love came at a huge cost - I gave up on my dreams to please someone else! DEADLY MISTAKE!

Courage and ambition turned into procrastination, and helplessness. My independence was lost, and replaced by the burning desire for my parents' love. I wasn't living my life anymore.

So, I decided to study physics again, that time in a different city.

Having all the support again:

• I passed initial exams

• Attended classes

• Studied

But, I had no purpose anymore.

The initial motivation quickly turned into an intense suffering.

I needed to force myself to:

• Get out of bed

• Attend lectures

• Prepare for exams

I was drawn to libraries, studying personal development and rediscovering my purpose.

My academic performance dropped, so my mother realized that I wasn't giving my best anymore.

That's when the nightmare yet began!

Despite attending classes, I failed the exams, and couldn't solve math problems anymore. Everything seemed like quantum physics - too hard to understand. I was working hard but failed over and over again.

The classes became increasingly harder and I was despared.

Then, I decided to:

• Stop visiting most of the classes

• Start building my online business

• Focus on my craft instead of studying

And I needed to lie to my parents...

I knew that they would do everything to get me back to college, because they believe that's the only path to success.

That's when I started evaluating the sheer meaning of life.

Is it even worth to live such a life?

What's the point if you can't do what you want?

How could I ever be happy again?

Journal became my best friend and probably saved my life!

I poured all my pain into pages.

Perpetual conclusion was that I should:

• Follow my dreams

• Build my business

• Inspire people with my health transformation story

But, I couldn't focus on it...

I lost all my mental clarity.

• I couldn't sleep

• Neighbours were noisy

• I felt lonely

After 3 months of such life, I dropped out (told my parents 3 months after that).

I tried to focus on my business, but was:

• Forcing results

• Procrastinating

• Sabotaging myself

• Trying to find a mentor that would solve my problems for me

The result?

More and more suffering, till I eventually made a courageous decision.

My fiancée and I grabbed our suitcases and attended a job interview. We were ready to buy an apartment and work hard to pay for it, just to:

• Get freedom

• And start working on our dreams

We didn't get a job, but we showed we're ready for more

That's when we moved in together for the first time.

I somehow convinced my father to allow us to stay in his old house, where we're still building our future!

But, that's not the end of the story...

There were (and some of them still are) many obstacles on our way to success.

But to make this story short, I will write about the REAL business steps in the next chapter. That's where the real obstacles truly began.

Until then,

Keep following your purpose!

P.S. If you missed part 1, check it out.

Living in this house is a true nightmare!

• No heating, only a fireplace

• Winter jacket is needed in the kitchen

• No warm water

Everything is old and begging for renewal.

2 YEARS AGO:

Living in the Slovenian capital I saw all the luxury in the region. Lamborghini's racing around my flat and men wearing Rolex. Everything was so modern, so soulless.

Being a poor student in that city wasn't something I dreamt about.

Seeing all that money, but having none. Barely covering the rent and buying great food, while seeing people with Swarovski bags on the street. The traffic was crowded, and people were loud.

And I needed to study physics, locked in my awful-looking dorm room, whose wall was so thin that I could hear my neighbors breathing. I hated it with all my heart. I just wanted to leave that place and start with my online business.

That's when my mother would say she was jealous because I could live there and study physics.

I felt like a jerk. Attending classes at the top university in the country was a nightmare for me, yet people were jealous of me. I decided to make a move.

• Stopped visiting classes

• Spend my days studying personal growth, business, and fitness

• Started building my online business

• Read countless books in the library

Shortly, I had some success, but I couldn't share it with my parents, who thought I was still attending my classes.

Then, I made a decision and declared that I was a dropout.

THAT WAS A DEADLY MISTAKE!

My initial business success diminished as did my motivation. My parents demanded that I get back to university and were always stressing me out. Self-doubt took charge of my psyche and started hindering my progress.

However, I had the courage to fight for my dreams.

• I dropped out of college

• Started my online business

• And was getting increasingly successful

Until I couldn't stand it anymore!

I was too weak at the time.

The pressure built up and I couldn't cope with it anymore. They managed to convince me to return to college the next year and turn me off from my entrepreneurship journey.

At that time, I was a loser.

But only 1 year after that, I rose like a phoenix.

However, to keep this story short, I'll cover the next chapter of my journey in the next story.

Check it out to see how I turned myself into a successful entrepreneur!

Dropping out of college can be a very tough decision to make because you're about to make a socially undesirable decision, which is highly unpredictable.

There are a number of reasons why this decision is so tough:

• Unpredictable result - fear of failure & lack of knowledge or experience

• Financial insecurity

• Social pressure - parents can be especially daunting

That's why it's completely understandable to have some fears when making such a choice.

But let me tell you something: Dropping out of college while launching my online entrepreneurship journey was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and that's why I am going to address the potential fears when it comes to leaving the university in order to pursue your dreams.

FEAR #1: Fear of failure: The worry that their business won't succeed.

Fearing to fail in an online business?

You're not alone! Almost everyone who makes such a bold verdict is afraid that they won't be able to pull it off, and get to the desired outcome. However, keep in mind that those who succeed were once in your shoes as well - afraid to fail- but they somehow figured it out and made incredible amounts of money!

Embrace the fear and go chasing your dreams!

Fear #2: Financial insecurity: Concerns about losing a stable income source or incurring debt.

We need money to survive, that's why having no stream of income can cause some serious headaches.

Carefully planning your finances can be a very beneficial thing:

• Save some money

• Limit your expenses

• Try to get a part-time job if necessary to be able to pay the bills

This assures that you'll be able to focus on your business without having to worry too much about money.

Here’s how I did it:

• Saved enough money for 1 year

• Limited expenses to 200€/mo

• Focused completely on my online business by avoiding distractions

The result? I am incredibly close to start making money with my online business!

Remember: Financial problems are just temporary - when the business starts making money, you'll never have to worry about it anymore!

Fear #3: Family pressure: The expectation to conform and achieve traditional success.

Dropping out of college can be met with a lot of frustration by your relatives, that's why you need to grow a thick skin.

To paraphrase Iman Gadzh - a 24-year-old multimillionaire: When your parents were your age, having a university degree was an insurance policy that set you for life. So they're basically teaching you the outdated models that were the truth even 30 years ago. But keep in mind that things are changing and so has the value of the college education dropped, while online education gained an incredible potential to be the pivot to skyrocket your success.

To put it simply - your parents might not be up-to-date when it comes to giving career advice!

Fear #4: Lack of knowledge: Uncertainty about where to start or how to build a business.

Unlike in the traditional education system, where the entire curriculum is laid down in advance, nobody will give you the complete self-learning curriculum to build a profitable online business.

That's why it can be scary to finally take the driver seat of your destiny, after being guided for many years. Not knowing where to start and how to progress can be challenging limitations to overcome. Especially, when you're under constant peer and family pressure.

However, when you finally start out with your business, you realize that the next steps become more and more logical, so you just have to keep being consistent with your efforts and the results will come.

Fear #5. Perceived safety of education: Believing a degree is the only path to success.

The well-established traditional education system might be perceived as the safest way.

Lawyers, doctors, and engineers are commonly referred as the smartest people in the world, and all of them hold a university degree. Their salaries are exceptionally high, which is why people associate their success with the degree they've obtained. That's why people often overlook the number of unemployed people with university degrees from other fields of study, which is living proof that not every piece of paper opens big doors.

Investing your time in improving your skills will give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace, so you'll be able to get a high-paying job just as a doctor or an engineer.

TAKEAWAY

Having fears when opting for the unconventional path can be a very frustrating step on your journey.

However, you should always keep in mind that there's no difference between going with the traditional path or the self-education path - you'll have to work hard for success in both ways. That's why going for the option that is more aligned with your truest desires is always the best. Both paths have produced countless success stories as well as failures, which means that no way is safer than the other.

So, choose the approach that's aligned with your grandest purpose, and don't be afraid to go against societal norms.

In the end, it's your life - so choose how you want to live it!

Forcing the desired outcome seems compelling, but it's the exact reason you're stuck!

Surrenderring to the process while enjoying the journey instead of seeking shortcuts is the right way. Setting close deadlines causes increase of stress, anxiety and self-doubt. Their purpose is to persuade clients or to beat procrastion and not to force success!

My greatest achievements were the product of a clear vision, surrendering to the journey and enjoying every single step, while trying to sprint to the finish-lane always backfired.

Reason #1: Sustainable success comes from understanding and gradual improvement

"Success is a marathon, not a sprint", is a widely used phrase - however, oftentimes misunderstood!

Declaring that the "NEXT WEEK WILL BE MY WEEK" leads to perpetuating cycles of acknowledging failure. Giving your best while still not getting there is blowing your confidence. That's why setting long-term, sustainable goals leads to significantly better outcomes that last lifetime.

ACTION-STEPS:

1. Imagine what steps you need to take to achieve your outcome in 2 weeks

2. List the habits/action steps

3. Forget about the deadline

4. Start doing your habits daily

5. Let the result come naturally

Why would you need to get there today, if you would like to stay there for the entire life?

Reason #2: Forcing success prevents genuine learning and growth

The ability to focus on learning and growth is hindered by severe time pressure.

When time is running out, work quality is compromised, and learning is neglected. Mistakes are repeating themselves and you're not evolving at your craft. Studying your craft and growing as a person would elevate your success.

• Evolve your expertise

• Grow as a person

• Never settle for mediocre quality

When learning and growth are neglected, it becomes impossible to succeed!

Reason #3: They lead to repetitive cycles of the same issues.

Identifying the root problems is a crucial but highly-demanding task.

That's why people under time pressure try to solve superficial problems. They lack time to go deep into the challenges while compromising their results. However, issues are ONLY solved when the REAL obstacles are eliminated.

• Identify root cause

• Focus all your efforts into it

• Avoid superficial problem

Go slower and deeper priorizing a sustainable lasting solution!

Takeaway:

Unresolved issues will wait for you to fix them.

That's why you should:

• Identify and solve the root problem

• Take your time and let your wins compound

• Have faith that you get what you deserve

While

• Keeping up with the highest quality work

• Showing up daily

And enjoying the journey.

REMEMBER: Motivation should be linked to success habits, not deadlines!

Dropping out of college to start an online business requires more than just courage; it demands strategy and foresight.

However, more often than not, people just go straight into the battle, without a proper plan or clear vision.

As a consequence, they:

• Feel lost

• Unmotivated

• Discouraged

That's why, they often either return to college or get a job they hate.

After walking this path for more than 9 months and making some terrible mistakes in the process, I've decided to make it easier for you and share what I've learned so far!

Mistake #1: Skipping Market Research

Market research is the compass for your business, guiding product development and marketing strategies.

Ignoring it can be devastating as you can quickly start doubting your decisions due to having no proper plan. That's why it's crucial to conduct research and identify your target audience. Successful entrepreneurs understand their audience's needs and preferences, tailoring their offerings to meet these demands.

Having your research in check, you're well on your way to succeed in your online business.

Mistake #2: Skipping Financial Planning

Many assume that their business will start making money in the first few weeks, so they don't feel the need to save some money beforehand.

Actually, your business might make some money in the launching phases, but more often than not, your entrepreneurship journey will face some trial and error. That's why it would be wise to save enough money for at least 6 months. Being able to completely focus on your business is what you want, so working a part-time job to pay the bills isn't something you would want when trying to build your online empire.

So, eliminate the financial stress by saving some money before going all-out in your online business.

Mistake #3: Neglecting Marketing

A great idea alone won't sell itself.

Effective marketing drives visibility that leads to profits.

Invest in:

• Copywriting skills

• SEO skills

• Cracking the social media algorithm - going viral will sell your products!

That's how your products and services will get recognized!

Takeaway

By avoiding these common mistakes many unnecessary headaches will be avoided.

So, focus on:

• Effective marketing

• Financial planning

• Market research

Top that with consistency and daily improvement and you'll be well ahead of your competition. After conducting market research & investing in my marketing skills, my business has gained so much clarity. The unnecessary self-doubt has vanished and so has the stagnation.

Prepare yourself well and you can be confident in your success!