July humbled me. I tried the “passive income” route—designed a gratitude journal and a simple budget planner on Canva, uploaded to KDP, and told myself the internet would do the rest. I spent $127 on ads and a seven-day keyword tool trial. Sold eleven copies. Royalties: twenty-two dollars and change. I pulled the ads, fixed typos, rewrote the descriptions to sound like an actual human, and waited. Crickets. The truth was obvious: online plays take time and distribution you don’t get for free. My mistake wasn’t trying—it was assuming my first attempt deserved attention. I let the journals sit, chalked up a $105 loss, and went back to things I could control this month. But I kept one habit from that detour: every listing I write now (on any platform) reads like I’m talking to one specific person. It converts better. Even when it’s a used rake. #Finance #MakeMoney #SideHustle #PassiveIncomeMyth #KDP