“My goal is to have the freedom to live an extraordinary life, and I share that with my customers.”

Ryan Moran is an entrepreneur, writer, traveler, comedian, and overall cool dude. Ryan prides himself on inspiring, educating, and empowering people to have the freedom to live extraordinary lives.

To discover the eight steps to controlling your personal economy, watch a free video series at www.FreedomFormula8.com. You can also discover more about Ryan at his personal blog, www.RyansReview.com.

MO: How did you get into Internet marketing? Is it always something you saw yourself doing?

Ryan: While I always knew I’d be in business for myself, the Internet marketing world was still in its infancy when I discovered it. In fact, my dream was to own a real estate investment company, and the Internet was simply a way for me to “raise a few bucks.” As more and more business moved online, I realized it was the future.

My first business was simply an 18-page website that reviewed information products on the Internet. It paid for my private college education, and, more importantly, it helped me discover how to market online by building an audience and selling products.

MO: As a marketing consultant, what is the most common mistake you see business owners making?

Ryan: First, business owners do not properly monetize their funnels, and they sacrifice profits as a result. Without a properly monetized funnel, a company has less money to spend on marketing. When you have a funnel that’s optimized, you can spend much of your initial revenue on acquiring new customers, and your profit is made on the back end. This is counterintuitive for most business owners, but it’s how you grow quickly.

MO: An important aspect of your business model is to build a lasting business. How have you done this in your business?

Ryan: Personally, I do it with my brand, and I do it by having products that stay around for a long time. Most entrepreneurs are so set on a “quick hit” that they lose sight of driving things deep. As a result, they never build a brand, and they fail to see the full potential of their products. Instead, I recommend driving your products deep and building your brand to have serious staying power.

MO: Your motto is to help people build their income streams so they can live their lives the way they want. How has this been true for you?

Ryan: We all want to be rich. Today, however, being rich isn’t just about the amount of money you have in the bank. When money is your end goal, it consumes you, and you never have enough. I went down that path, and I discovered it’s a rabbit hole. There is no joy there, only self-destruction.

Instead, my goal is to have the freedom to live an extraordinary life, and I share that with my customers. I teach them not how to get rich, but how to have simple businesses that pay for their lives. In that way, they can live lives of abundance, whatever that means to them. For me, that means traveling, learning, jumping out of planes, taking risks, starting businesses, doing extreme physical challenges, and experiencing as much of life as possible. For others, it may just mean being the best dad possible. It’s not about being rich – it’s about having the freedom to live your life with maximum happiness, joy, fun, and contribution.

MO: You have given talks about how to live your life with a mission and a purpose. What do you think is the most valuable piece of advice that you can give someone about how to enhance his or her life?

Ryan: Most people believe that their lives have a hidden meaning and/or mission, and their job in life is to “find it.” As a result, they go through lives feeling uncertain and “hoping” that they one day find themselves.

The truth is your life has no predefined meaning or fate. Instead, you define your own reason, and you define your mission and purpose. It may change as you grow and age. This frees you to live your life for what you believe in and what you want to represent, rather than what you are fated to do.

MO: Where do you see your endeavors taking you in the future? What is your biggest goal?

Ryan: My biggest goal is to be as happy as possible. I know that’s clichéd, but as soon as I forget that, I am tempted to do things I hate to do, or I start to worry about money and what other people think of me (and those are the enemies of happiness). I intend to grow as much as possible, to learn as much about life as I can, and to share it with as many people as possible.

Right now, I aim to help as many people as possible discover that they don’t have to live average lives. They don’t have to have a 9-to-5, and they don’t have to be stuck where they are. Yes, I want to make as much money as possible, and I want people to think I’m awesome, but at the end of the day, none of that matters if you don’t already love your life.