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Ethan Miller was 24 years old when he made his fifth attempt to start an online
business.
By that point, most of his friends had stopped asking how it was going. His parents
avoided the topic altogether. He was “that guy” — the one who was always trying
something new and always failing.
But Ethan wasn’t lazy. He worked late nights after his warehouse job, spent
weekends learning marketing, and poured every extra dollar into his ideas. Yet,
every time, something went wrong.
Failure #1 — The Drop-Shipping Dream
At 19, Ethan discovered a YouTube video claiming anyone could make $10,000 a
month with dropshipping. It looked easy — find cheap products, build a website,
run ads. He borrowed $800 from his cousin to start.
Three months later, he had zero sales, a maxed-out credit card, and no cousin. The
mistake? He thought money came before value. He never learned what people
actually wanted. It was a harsh, expensive lesson.
Failure #2 — The Motivation Channel
Next came his YouTube channel, “Rise Daily.” Ethan loved motivational videos, so
he started making his own using free stock footage and voiceovers. For six months,
he uploaded twice a week.
His most-viewed video got 38 views — and half of them were his own.
That failure hit differently. He realized consistency means nothing without
connection. People don’t follow effort; they follow authenticity.
Failure #3 — The App That Never Launched
Ethan teamed up with two online friends to create an app that helped people
manage their goals. It was ambitious — too ambitious. None of them knew how to
code, and they spent eight months designing instead of building.
When the developers’ invoice came, the group fell apart. Ethan had spent $2,000 of
his savings, and the app never launched.
Failure #4 — The Freelance Struggle
After the app collapsed, Ethan tried freelancing as a content writer. He created a
Fiverr account, wrote for $5 an article, and barely got noticed.
He was competing with thousands of others and had no idea how to stand out. His
gigs were buried under pages of similar offers.
That year, he earned $112 in total. Enough to buy more coffee — and self-doubt.
Failure #5 — The Blog That Nobody Read
In early 2022, Ethan started a blog called The Everyday Mindset. He wrote about
motivation, failure, and persistence — his favorite topics.
He published 40 articles in six months. None ranked. None shared.
He considered quitting everything. “Maybe I’m just not meant for this,” he told
himself.
But one night, while scrolling Reddit, he saw a quote:
“You never really fail until you stop trying.”
Something clicked. Ethan realized he was chasing money, not mastery. He was
building businesses without building himself.
So, he changed everything.
The Turning Point
Instead of chasing new ideas, Ethan spent six months learning copywriting, SEO,
and audience psychology. He treated learning as a job — 8 hours a day after work,
studying free YouTube courses, reading marketing books, and practicing writing
daily.
He realized every failed business had one missing piece: understanding people.
Armed with new skills, he rebuilt The Everyday Mindset from scratch — not as a
random blog, but as a brand.
He wrote with emotion. He optimized each post for search. He connected his words
to his readers’ struggles.
And slowly… it started working.
The First Win
His article “Why You Haven’t Changed Yet — And How to Start Today” hit the front
page of Medium.
It got 45,000 reads in two days.
Emails started coming in — people thanking him for helping them change their
mindset.
That’s when Ethan launched his first digital product — a $9 eBook called The
Restart Guide. He sold 300 copies in the first month. It wasn’t millions, but it was
proof.
The Growth
Over the next year, Ethan turned his writing into a business.
He built a mailing list, offered online courses, and started coaching.
By 2024, The Everyday Mindset reached 1.2 million visitors a year. His income
passed six figures.
He didn’t build an app. He didn’t run dropshipping stores. He built trust.
The Lesson
When people asked Ethan how he did it, he always smiled and said:
“I stopped chasing shortcuts. I started mastering one thing.”
He failed five times — but every failure built the foundation for success.
If he had quit after the first or second try, he’d still be stacking boxes in a
warehouse, wondering “what if.”
Ethan’s story isn’t about luck.
It’s about persistence, self-awareness, and the courage to start again.
Because in the end, success doesn’t come to those who never fail —
It comes to those who refuse to stay down.
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