That was GOLD. Thanks and rep to kimi!
What kimi says about taking action is so important. I know, it's been said a thousand times here and elsewhere, but it really is true. I know from experience, and as you can see, I've been signed up for this forum for a while and I would read here pretty regularly. I never said much because I guess I'm just not that "social" but maybe that will change.
I've been involved with IM since around 2005 and I've made some half-decent money. Not a fortune by any stretch but there were times when it was enough to support myself and family. I've had a lot of ups and downs. Things would be going well for a while and then the bottom would fall out. I just wasn't smart about putting all my eggs in one basket and diversifying my income sources.
I was doing OK until last fall when the updates that accompanied the EMD update slaughtered me. I went from making a living to make $0 overnight. I had the wrong attitude and lousy work ethic for too many years and it took that incident to wake me up. I also had a lot of personal problem around that time, but that's all behind me now.
I'm starting to claw my way back into the game, but as many of you know, it ain't easy. I'm fully committed to making this work and doing it right this time. A lot of people here on BHW have been very inspirational and I've picked up a lot of good ideas. Right now I'm doing some writing to make ends meet while I work my way back into the IM game.
Anyway, I've already blathered on too long. Again, thanks to kimi for an awesome post. I intend to use a lot of that information to help me get back where I want to be. A defeatist attitude is the wrong one to have in this business no matter what hits you. Lesson learned and time to move on!