Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Welcome to Day 130 of my journey to $40,000 per month.

First off, sorry I missed yesterday's update.

The truth is, I spent a lot of time thinking about my life, my goals, my strengths, my weaknesses, and the fastest path forward financially. Sometimes taking a day to think is actually more productive than taking a day to work.

After doing a lot of reflection, I've decided to make a pretty significant change.

For now, I'm putting the Rank & Rent program on the backburner.

Instead, I'm planning to focus much more heavily on affiliate marketing again while also looking for a second job to increase my income as quickly as possible.

Let's talk about why.

June Income Update

As of today, the amount of money that has hit my bank account during June is:

$2,355.85

Not bad.

Most of that money is still coming from my full-time call center job, but my long-term goal is still to have my online income exceed my job income.

I'm also expecting another paycheck from my call center job on Thursday, so that should give the monthly total a nice boost.

One thing I've learned over the past couple years is that building an online business rarely moves in a straight line.

Sometimes you're sprinting forward.

Sometimes you're testing things.

Sometimes you're changing direction.

And sometimes you're taking a hard look at what's actually working and doubling down on it.

That's what this week feels like.

Email List Update

My email list is currently sitting at:

2,809 Leads

The number continues to slowly decline.

Normally that might sound like bad news, but there's actually something encouraging happening behind the scenes.

My open rates have been improving.

Lately I've consistently been seeing open rates above 30%, which makes me very happy.

I'd much rather have a smaller group of engaged subscribers than a larger group that never opens anything.

Of course, I don't want the list shrinking forever.

My plan is still to eventually grow the list again using paid advertising once my financial situation is stronger and I have more money available to reinvest into the business.

For now, I'm focused on quality over quantity.

Why I'm Changing My Strategy

So what's with all the sudden changes?

Honestly, I spent a lot of time thinking about who I am as a person.

I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is blindly copying someone else's business model without considering whether it actually fits their personality.

Just because something works doesn't mean it's the right fit for you.

At this moment, I have debt I'd like to eliminate as quickly as possible.

I'm also spending almost every waking hour either:

• Working a job

• Working on my online business

• Thinking about ways to improve my financial future

That's basically my life right now.

And after a lot of reflection, I realized something.

I may not love jobs, but jobs are incredibly good at producing predictable income.

You work.

You get paid.

It's simple.

It's reliable.

It's consistent.

And right now, consistency is extremely valuable to me.

The faster I can increase my income, the faster I can:

• Pay off debt

• Build up savings

• Buy paid advertising

• Invest in business assets

• Potentially purchase done-for-you Rank & Rent websites in the future

In other words, earning more money now gives me more options later.

The Second Job Idea

Over the last couple days I've started applying for a few jobs.

The one that actually sounds most appealing to me right now?

Target.

Specifically something like being a cashier or cart attendant.

I know that probably isn't the exciting answer some people expect.

But honestly?

A relatively low-stress job sounds pretty appealing right now.

Plus, I buy a lot of stuff at Target anyway, so the employee discount wouldn't hurt.

Sometimes progress isn't about finding the perfect opportunity.

Sometimes it's about finding the next practical step that moves you closer to where you want to be.

That's how I'm looking at it.

Why I'm Returning To Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is still the business model that has produced the most online income for me personally.

I've tried a lot of different things over the years.

Some worked.

Some didn't.

Some were exciting.

Some were frustrating.

But affiliate marketing remains the model I understand best and have had the most success with.

So instead of trying to force myself down a path that may not be the best fit right now, I'm going to lean back into what I already know.

That doesn't mean I'm abandoning Rank & Rent forever.

Not even close.

I still think it's a fantastic business model.

I simply believe that at this stage of my journey, increasing cash flow quickly needs to be my highest priority.

And sometimes the smartest move isn't doing something new.

Sometimes it's going back to what already works.

Final Thoughts

One thing I've learned over the years is that goals don't care about your ego.

Sometimes you need to change direction.

Sometimes you need to admit something isn't working as well as you'd hoped.

Sometimes you need to take a step back so you can take 3 steps forward later.

That's where I'm at right now.

The mission hasn't changed.

I'm still chasing $40,000 per month.

I'm still building my online business.

I'm still documenting the journey every step of the way.

The path just looks a little different today than it did a week ago.

And honestly?

That's okay.

Want To Learn How I Make Money Online?

If you're interested in building an online income stream and potentially creating more freedom in your life, I put together a free training that walks through the business model that changed my life.

👉 Check out the free training here:
https://jacksdigitalventures.com/freetraining

Connect With Me

Want to follow the journey on other platforms?

You can find my YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and everything else here:

👉 https://jacksdigitalventures.com/linkinbio

Thanks for following along, and I'll see you in tomorrow's update.