I’ve had numerous ideas for a long time about different ways to make some money. Some would say that it is actually annoying that I look to monetize almost every thing in life that I can. I won’t lie, I think it’s annoying too. My quest for money comes from reading things like Rich Dad, Poor Dad – which I actually found tucked in a seat pocket on an airplane. From there I kept buying more and more Robert Kiyosaki books to read, which for me was a revelation since I generally don’t like to read. That was about 6 years ago. Now I find myself doing a lot of reading online.

A few years back I had heard about the 4-hour workweek and picked up a copy to read and reference. Much like the RDPD books, I tore through it. Clearly there’s some passion behind the idea of passive income for me. Having the time and freedom to spend with my family and friends, travel the country or world, or just relax on the deck. Those are the reasons that really have been driving me. My three year-old daughter is even more drive now, but why haven’t I done anything about it.

I’ve tried a few times. I started a community magazine that was solely support by advertisers – at least that was the plan. It failed and my credit card balance still reflects that failure today, even though it’s 4 years later. It really didn’t support the passive income idea either as it was a lot of work. Really though, other than a few little sites here and there on the internet, I haven’t done as much as I have in my head. Then probably a year ago, when the 4-hour body came out I started looking online for other ideas.

I came across an income report on My 4-Hour Workweek and was fascinated by what I saw. It was on Eric’s website that I came across the niche site duel. I followed a link and ended up on The Smart Passive Income Blog, or SPI as it’s much more commonly referred to. I started poking around on the site and found a wealth of knowledge and information by this guy named Pat Flynn. Pat also has income reports on his site and that’s when it really struck me. Since October 2008 through August 2011 he’s gone from making $7,906.55 to $34,034.40 – it’s true, you can see it on his site. Adding up the numbers totals $664,091.35 for an average monthly revenue of $18,974.04 (unless I’ve done my math wrong).

WOW!

All I can say is wow! Those numbers are amazing and definitely inspiring. In fact this post is the first time I’ve added up the numbers that way and it’s even more impressive than I had thought. Great work Pat! I’ve become an avid reader of the SPI Blog and listen regularly to the SPI Podcast, which I would highly recommend.

I’ve also started checking out other sites as well searching for income reports that I check for inspiration too. Here’s a list of a few that I check regularly:

• Smart Passive Income
• Online Income Lab
• My 4-Hour Workweek
• My Money Blog – net worth report

I know that I’m missing some great resources, so please leave them in the comments below and I’ll happily add them to the list.

Yesterday I was stumbling around Google and came across another site about passive income and started reading. I haven’t done much reading, but am definitely inspired. It really seems that anybody can actually do this and last time I checked, just like you, I’m an anybody. I’ve started checking out a few other sites too like I Will Teach You To Be Rich, which I actually found somehow through the SPI blog. There’s also 1K on the side that seems interesting. I’m done with reading for the sake of reading now. It’s time to put the wealth of knowledge into action.

Action? How about lights and cameras too!

I’m doing a road trip in just over two-weeks and we’re turning it into a documentary. A few months ago I started an awesome website about the return of the Winnipeg Jets to my childhood hometown of Winnipeg, MB. My cousin and I decided we’d do a road trip but then it became so much more. A colleague said “we need to turn this historic event into a movie. A documentary about the passion of Winnipeg Jets fans.” And that’s how JET FUEL came to be.

The reason I’m including it here is that I see both the Jets fan blog and the movie being generators of passive income. Yes, we post regularly to Winnipeg WhiteOut, our fan site, so that’s not truly passive but the older stories that still get a lot of traffic display ads that generate some incremental revenue. JET FUEL doesn’t have a distribution deal yet, but it has already started to generate some pre-sales of the DVD as well as some contributions. Once the project is done, I’ll have all these amazing memories and I’ll also have a physical product that can be sold/purchased. We have our agreement setup already on how the repayment works (since for now it’s largely self-funded) and that’s where the passive income part starts. The other part I really like about it to is that a portion of the proceeds we raise go to a charity and cause that’s close to me.

The tag line for the movie is “a movie for the fans, about the fans, by the fans” and we’re trying to be as true to that as possible. We’re crowd-sourcing stories. Through social media and our website we’re lining up interviews with Winnipeg Jets fans and hockey fans in general. We’re also asking for funding through IndieGoGo. Now there’s an interesting way of getting some funding. So far we’ve got about 4 people involved in the project, even though the site shows just one right now. That’s because we haven’t “laser focused” our funding efforts on one channel…which we might have to.

So, what are you gonna do?

I have no fewer than 80 domains in my GoDaddy domain manager and most of them are sitting there as ideas. Those ideas need to turn in to some progress or I’ll simply be paying for more domains that I might do something with at some point. I’ve heard it many times before, but more recently on the SPI podcast that the real difference between successful people and those who aren’t, is really taking action. Reading blogs, eBooks, magazines, etc are great, but what you do, or should I say, what I do after reading is what will really make the difference. It’s time to start being and doing the things I’m passionate about. That in turn will allow me to have the the things and life style I so desire.

I’ve also learned that while some people are great at sprinting, the path to personal financial freedom and passive income is a marathon. There’s time and training and effort that needs to be put in in advance of finishing the race. Having run a marathon I can attest that without the initial effort leading up to the event, the event itself would not have happened for me.

I would love to hear from you and your thoughts on passive income. Any strategies you have and use, personal successes or anything else you’d like to share. Leave a comment below, or send me a tweet about it. No matter what, I hope that you’re doing something you’re passionate about and enjoy.