BIO
Dirk de Bruin (A.K.A. Diggy) is the author of the Upgrade Reality ebook, and publishes a self improvement blog.Born in Amsterdam but raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Dirk has been involved in a variety of things like running a giant supermarket with his father and learning about stocks and Forex trading, which has given him experience in the business world.
As a result of his success, he's developed a desire to share his knowledge and experience with others which he does by writing a variety of self-help articles on his blog located at upgradereality.com.
Hello Diggy!
I saw so many guys who were great at attracting beautiful girls while I was way too shy to even say 'Hi' to a pretty girl. I lacked self-confidence and was also not happy with the fact that I was not making money from something that I'd built up myself
from scratch.
I wanted to learn how to improve all those areas in my life and that is what inspired
me to read dozens of books and seek out mentors to learn from.
Please share with us the transformation that you endured by going from a brick and mortar business to a Forex trader and into an online personal development entrepreneur.
Working in a supermarket was hard work. Seriously, very hard work.Our store was open from 7am until 9pm every single day of the year, including Christmas and New Year's eve. My normal work days often consisted of more than
10 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week. This lasted for about two and a half years until
we sold the business.
After that I became interested in the economy and stock market, so I started teaching myself about stocks and Forex trading by spending hours reading articles and books related to the subject. I opened demo accounts (where you get virtual money to trade the real markets with) and went bankrupt a couple of times (with my fake money account of course.)
Trading is not easy and very risky once you put your own money up, so I decided to focus my efforts into something less risky like online marketing. This spiraled me into a journey of learning how to make websites, building affiliate links, learning marketing skills, building relationships with colleagues and clients and building up my blog Upgrade Reality.
In your blog, you often mention self-limiting beliefs. This is a condition that most of us can relate to at one time or another. Can you share some insight
as to what helped you overcome your limiting beliefs?
Limiting beliefs are exactly what we call them. They are certain ideas and thoughts that we have about ourselves, about our abilities or about the world around us that
hold us back from what we are really capable of.Examples would be something like "I'm not smart enough to make a living online"
or "I'm not good-looking enough to get a girlfriend".
I had many of these limiting beliefs, but I didn't know that I had them. I only became aware of them after having read several personal development books. Over the last couple of years as I kept reading and learning, I managed to apply principles and concepts from the books I read and I changed and removed many of those limiting beliefs.
Today I still have certain limiting beliefs, but now I know that they are limiting beliefs and they don't restrict me as much as they used to.
Attitude, mindset and passion are three qualities that you obviously posses. What would you say helped you develop these necessary traits for success?
I believe that attitude and mindset are something that must be learned. The easiest way to learn these two things are from reading and studying successful people.If there is something that you want to achieve, find successful people who have
already achieved it and study their way of thinking, their attitude and their mindset. There is a reason why they think the way they do.
I also think that passion is something that everyone has, but most people have
not discovered theirs yet. It's not that hard to discover it, but it takes a bit of soul-searching. You just need to realize what you really enjoy doing, what you
would do every single day of your life if you could, and what you would even pay to
be able to do. Once you find your passion, use it to propel you towards success in
whatever you do.
I truly enjoyed reading your ebook "Upgrade Reality." I was amazed at the amount of information you cover in just one book; all essential elements to succeed in every area of life. What prompted you to write this ebook? Was all the information drawn from your personal experience?
Thank you! Since I started my blog, I had been planning to create my own products. First, I needed to establish myself in my niche and
build up an audience.When I felt the time was right, I wanted to create my first product, but I had no idea what I'd create. I wanted something unique and original, that only I could create. That is how my ebook came about.
It was a complete guide to all the personal obstacles that I had overcome in my own life, and I wanted to share my experience and advice with everyone who has had the same or similar obstacles. The result is a comprehensive 122-page guide which many have thanked me for writing.
Diggy, you mention you were a shy kid; however, you managed to overcome shyness and emerged a new person which has been a definite factor to your success. Would you give us a couple of tips that helped you transform your shyness into the outgoing person that you are today?
Yeah, I was definitely shy. I hated talking to strangers, or speaking in front of people.
I was too scared to talk to girls.It took me a long time to overcome my shyness. I managed to do it by reading a lot about how other people overcame their shyness, and by applying what I'd learned.
For weeks on end I went out to clubs and places to approach total strangers. I had conversations about the strangest things and I just learned how to be comfortable
with myself. (I was rejected by literally hundreds of girls in this time).
All that rejection and practice taught me so much about not being so self-conscious about what people think, and about how to make friends with total strangers within minutes of meeting them.
One question that I like to ask to my guests is related to challenges, mostly because we can learn from each others' experiences and attitudes. What would you say has been your biggest challenge and what did you do to overcome it?
I'd say that overcoming my shyness and learning how to interact with girls has been my biggest challenge, and I overcame that by facing my fears and not giving up.Currently my biggest challenge is succeeding in building up a full-time income from
my online venture. This is just as much of a struggle for me, and it's taken me
months or incredibly hard work and effort to get to this point. I am still not where
I want to be, but I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep working hard, and keep reading and learning. I know I'll succeed, but I also know that it may still take some time before I do!
I want to thank you for allowing me this interview. I hope I inspired your readers
and wish you all the best!
Thank you, Diggy, for your sharing so openly. I'm sure many of my visitors have found your insight helpful; especially the "not giving up" part!
I must confess that one of the reasons I wanted to interview you is because of your youth. You see, we usually read about people who have "already made it"; however, I believe it's also important to acknowledge those who are "on the way" as they provide us with insight on how they are overcoming their own challenges as they go.
As I read your words, I couldn't help but think of the many young people that get easily discouraged without realizing that perseverance is definitely a trait they must acquire if they are to become successful people. Thanks for having emphasized on the importance of persistence!
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