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Comment by jjm | Hacker News Reader

I have to point out that most of his income came from the ebooks. His income from consulting and apps came in less than the job he left. Self help has always sold very well the last three decades.

I 'believe' that many who come here and quit their day jobs are usually doing it for _startups_ and/or _app dreams_.

Nathan is working hard, doing as many things possible. Not many people can do this (unless/until they reach some desperation factor which makes one realizes the need to _hustle_ and get stuff done).

Bottom line, it's hard work and all sweat. Of course, knowing what industry sells and finding what niche your skills fit in work too.

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"doing as many things possible"

That's my takeaway from this article, and your comment. Trying to go solo with only one source of revenue/income is foolish. Do as much as you can, as long as the return on investment is sound.

I wouldn't try to do as many things as possible. Work on one till it is making money (or needs to be shut down because it is failing) then move on to the next thing. Be careful not to spread yourself to thin. That said, get another income source (besides consulting) before you quit your job.

Before the eBooks I was on track to barely beat my previous year's salary (I probably would have hit $75,000). But I focused a ton of time on the books rather than consulting or promoting my apps, so that decreased the revenue from each of those. So keep in mind that some of the book revenue is in place of consulting revenue.

Well said. I'm nowhere near the success level of Nathan, but do see each year's hard work translating into incremental increases in quality of life every year (I'm a self employed consultant).

I lend an ear to freelancers and consultants quite a bit and a lot of the focus is on how hard they're having to work, and how surprising that is to them. The first thing I say is that yes, it's an incredible amount of work. You can ease the pain a bit here and there, but in general there are absolutely no short cuts.

To "make it" being self employed, or selling products, or both, takes an incredible amount of desire and persistence. So much that you really have to enjoy the process, otherwise most quit before they reach any reward simply b/c it's too much work combined with too much risk.

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