"I traded my couch for a mouse"

How a Counseling Psychologist Became One of the Good Guys Online

Come back with me to the Fall of ‘74…

I’m a Junior at Winter Park High School, and the teachers are starting to focus on how important it is to decide what we want to do for the rest of our lives.

Seems kinda early to me.

While sitting on a bench in front of the cafeteria one Tuesday afternoon, talking with my buddy Rick about a girl problem, a few dots connected.

I’d always been the one that my friends sought out to talk about problems and challenges. I guess I was a good listener early on.

The night before, I had watched “The Bob Newhart Show” (the “Hi Bob” one) with my parents.

Bob Newhart played a psychologist in private practice.

My friends always sought me out for advice, and I enjoyed helping.

We were supposed to be picking a major for college.

And it was decided as simply as that…

Majored in Psychology at the University of Central Florida.

Got a Masters in Counseling Psychology at Florida State University.

Helped run a drug rehab for teenagers while working on my PhD.

Started a private practice in ’86 and never finished my PhD, in large part because my professors told me I couldn’t write, and I believed them.

Started writing a weekly relationship column for the local newspaper to build my practice. It was only supposed to be for 6 months to a year. It took off, filled my practice, became nationally then internationally syndicated, and ran for 20 years.

Not bad for a guy who couldn’t write.

Trading My Couch for a Mouse

In October of ’05 I opened my first website, teaching how to create content for the Internet.

I really thought I would practice in Tallahassee for the rest of my life, and play a little bit online.

Then the boy’s mom divorced me and moved them to north of Atlanta.

It was time to get mobile. I spent all of ’06 and the beginning of ’07 going back and forth between Tallahassee and Atlanta each week. Sunday night through Wednesday in Tallahassee, seeing a week’s worth of clients in 3 days. Then Wednesday night through Sunday night in Atlanta, seeing my sons and trying to get something going in business.

Finally moved to Atlanta full time in February of ’07. Within just a few months that online side hustle became much more fun and lucrative than private practice ever could be. And as an added bonus I could do it from home.

So now “the guy who couldn’t write” earns a really nice full time living helping people just like you create content and convert it into profitable digital products and profitable empires.

A couple of years into it, one of those professors who told me I couldn’t write signed up for one of my Content Creation Workshops.

That was a pretty happy day...

The Obligatory Credentialing and Personal Stuff

I'm the creator and host of the Content Profit Show, Custom Content on Demand, and Content Profit Nation.

I'm the single Dad of 2 grown sons, one daughter (in law), one grandson, and one German Shepard/Husky/Wolf named Duke (head of security). And almost all of them are housebroken :-)

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