The Device I Thought Was Safe
This morning I had a bunch of windows open on my laptop, and the whole thing just froze. Solid. Not the kind of frozen pond you can skate across – the kind where nothing moves at all.
And here’s the part that got me. This was the machine I figured was fine. My newest one. Windows 11. The laptop I’d quietly told myself was safe and up to date.
Turns out it wasn’t.
If you’re over 50 like the woman in the picture and hoping to make some extra money online, you’ve probably had a morning like this. You think you’re all set, and then something stalls. So let me walk you through mine – and what it taught me about getting unstuck.
The trouble with thinking you’re up to date
I’ll be honest with you about my little collection of devices.
I’ve got an iPhone that’s getting on in years. An iPad so old it no longer gets updates, and the apps are starting to quit on me one by one. A Windows 10 laptop I keep limping along with paid security support.
But the Windows 11 machine? That one I trusted. I bought it new back in 2019. It said it supported secure boot. As far as I knew, it was the safe one.
Then it started slowing down. Really slowing down. And this morning, once I had a few windows going, it locked up completely.
Windows was reporting a device security problem. It couldn’t accept a security certificate, because the firmware – the BIOS – was out of date.
Out of date. On the machine I thought was current.
How I got it going again (two hours later)
Now, I’m no computer technician. So I leaned on my desktop Copilot to sort through it with me.
Together we figured out what was wrong. It walked me to the manufacturer, and I started updating the BIOS.
Then came the reboots. I must have restarted that machine a dozen times. Each time I’d tell Copilot what happened and what didn’t. And often the answer came back, “Oh yes – that’s a quirk with your machine.” And each time it handed me the next step to try.
Two hours later, we disabled secure boot, and I was back on my way.
It wasn’t one clean fix. It was a stall, then a step, then a stall, then another step. Over and over until it finally moved.
What this has to do with making extra money online over 50
Here’s where my morning starts to sound familiar.
Building a little income online works the same way. You think you’re on solid ground, and then something stalls. A tool stops cooperating. A plan you trusted turns out to be out of date.
And it’s easy to read that stall as a sign you’re not cut out for it.
But that’s not what it is. It’s just a quirk in the machine. The fix is rarely one big leap. It’s a stall, then a step. A question, then the next instruction. You report back what worked and what didn’t, and you keep going.
I didn’t fix my laptop because I’m clever. I fixed it because I had something walking me through it, one step at a time.
A gentle word before you go
If you’re sizing this up, here’s the honest part. Making extra money online over 50 takes a little time and a little patience. The stops and starts are normal. They’re not the exception – they’re the road.
What shortens the whole thing is having a clear plan and someone pointing you to the next step when you stall. That’s the difference between two frustrating hours and two frustrating months.
A simple next step
So if my morning has you thinking it might be time to finally get something going online, I’ve got a small, free starting point for you.
There’s a new free tier over at the Internet Profits Academy. Think of it as the resolution step – the thing that gets you moving instead of staring at a frozen screen.
Have a listen to the quick 4-minute message from Dean Holland. Dean’s a fellow who started from scratch online and built a genuinely successful business out of it, and he’s helped a lot of regular folks do the same.
In those few minutes, he explains how you can discover your own ideal money-making topic and audience – and how to take part in his 60-minute Model One Challenge.
No pressure, no rush. Just have a look and see if it turns your crank.
Now, normally I’d point you to my home page first. That’s where you can grab my free guide by hopping on my email list, and it’s how we stay in touch over time.
But today I’ll do it the other way around. This direct link lets you see the value of the Academy for yourself – no sign-up, no hoops to jump through first.
Have a look at what Dean’s offering. And if it speaks to you, come on back and add yourself to my email list as a second step. That way we can carry on together from there – the free guide, the regular notes, all of it.
You can find the Academy right here: https://SoapboxBob.com/fr33mium
And my home page, any time you’d like the free guide: SoapboxBob.com
The Perfect Time is Now.
Hello – I really enjoyed this post because it reminds us that just because something comes to a halt doesn’t mean it’s broken beyond repair. Whether it’s a computer, a business, or even our own confidence, sometimes all we need is a little patience, the right guidance, and the willingness to keep taking the next step. I also appreciated your point that progress is often a series of small fixes instead of one magical solution. That is a lesson many of us need to hear.
And I have to admit, I smiled when you described all those reboots. I think we’ve all reached that point where we’re talking to our computers like they can hear us. Mine has heard a few motivational speeches over the years, although I’m not convinced it was paying attention. Thanks for an encouraging read.
Thank you so much, Ernie – for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment. It really means a lot to me.
Yes, I have to admit my computer has received a few motivational talks over the years too! I’m still trying to decide whether it responds better to encouragement or the threat of being replaced. 😄
Thanks again for reading and for adding your own perspective to the conversation. Comments like yours make writing these posts worthwhile.
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