Today was a productive and positive day! I slept at 10 AM after working last night and woke up at 5 PM. After a quick shower, I went out to get milk, had tea, and spent some time taking with my mom. Then I sat at my desk and continued learning Upwork from Irfan Malik — watching how he reviews submitted proposals, pointing out mistakes, and teaching ways to improve writing proposals. I made detailed notes to apply later. After dinner and a walk with my friend, I worked until 5 AM. Feeling a bit tired, I checked my phone and found a Social Media Intern position at Ibex Karachi, so I applied. Later, I did a small prayer, had tea, and came back to writing this journal while continuing my Upwork learning. My goal is clear: complete the Upwork course, bring clients for Meta ads, and grow myself overall. Feeling motivated and proud — a productive day indeed!

While watching Irfan Malik’s Upwork series, I realized why many freelancers struggle even after sending hundreds of proposals. The problem is not skill alone, it’s the mindset. Freelancing is not a waiting game where clients magically appear. It’s a thinking game, where timing, confidence, and clarity decide who wins. What hit me the most was understanding client psychology. Big clients don’t have time. They don’t read everything. They engage fast with someone who feels right in the first few minutes. That’s why applying early on a job that truly matches your strength is more powerful than wasting connects everywhere and hoping for luck. Another strong lesson was about trust. Clients feel safe when they see work that looks familiar to their problem. Even if the technology is similar, they choose what their brain understands quickly. This made me realize that smart freelancers don’t chase every project, they wait for the right one and then go all in. This session changed how I look at freelancing. It’s not about surviving on small orders. It’s about becoming mentally sharp, emotionally disciplined, and strategically confident. Grateful to Irfan Malik for explaining freelancing from a real, psychological perspective.

I spent months wondering why some freelancers get flooded with client invites while others barely get noticed. After figuring out what moves the needle, here's what I learned: Your profile isn't a resume -- it's a sales page. Stop listing every skill you've ever touched and start positioning yourself as THE solution for a specific problem. "Video editor" gets ignored. "I turn raw footage into viral YouTube documentaries" gets invites. The search game is real. Clients literally search for freelancers before posting jobs. If your profile doesn't have the exact words they're typing in ("AI video generation," "YouTube SEO," whatever your thing is), you're invisible. Sprinkle those keywords everywhere, especially your headline. Here's the thing nobody tells you: being "available for any project" makes you look desperate. The freelancers getting consistent invites? They niche DOWN. They own one thing and do it incredibly well. Your Job Success Score is basically your reputation score. Guard it with your life. If that means taking smaller projects initially to build reviews, do it. A 100% score with glowing reviews is worth more than any portfolio piece. Response time matters more than you think. Enable those mobile notifications. Clients send invites to 5-10 people and hire whoever responds first with a solid answer. Being second doesn't count. And controversial take: don't be the cheapest. Raise your rates as you get reviews. Higher prices actually attract better clients who send more invites because they associate price with expertise. The profiles getting invited constantly? They're complete (every section filled), active (logging in daily), certified (skill tests done), and specific (clear niche with killer portfolio). That's it. No hacks. Just positioning yourself as the obvious choice for what you do best. What's worked for you? Drop it below 👇

Good morning, everyone! On 6th December, I reached out to 100 local businesses on Instagram to help them grow their sales on a very low budget. Within a few hours, a high-ticket client contacted me and scheduled a meeting for 8th December at 3 PM in Orange County, which was 4 AM in Pakistan. I spent two days preparing for the meeting, learning more techniques about Meta marketing on YouTube. On the day of the meeting, I waited for 6–7 hours. I sent her the Google Meet link, but she didn’t see my message. I had to call her directly on Instagram. During the call, I introduced myself and learned about her business. Unfortunately, due to lack of communication, she said she wasn’t interested and already knew Meta marketing. Even after the call, I sent her a marketing plan, but she later told me she had already hired someone. I felt really disappointed, especially because I had told my family about the meeting. After that, I gave up for the day and ended up scrolling on my phone, wasting time. On 9th December, my cousin came to Karachi for an embassy interview, so I couldn’t focus for 3 days. He left on 11th December, and I tried to get back on track. But it was tough because I hadn’t been journaling for 7 days, and on 12th December, I stayed up till 6 AM scrolling on my phone. I decided to restart the next day. On 13th December, I woke up at 2 PM, took a shower, had lunch and tea, and sat at my desk. I attended Sir Haroon’s live session, where he guided someone on Upwork outreach and lead generation. I realized that every business needs leads and sales, so learning these skills is a great way to start. I also completed 50% of the Mental Mastery course and felt like I was finally back on track. This week was a bit negative because I hadn’t been journaling, but I turned off my phone, put it away, and focused on working. It’s now 6:22 AM, 13th December, and I’m still working. I will sleep only when I feel sleepy. Love to all my members and Muslim brothers. May Allah and Sir Haroon’s team bless us and accept our efforts.

Assalam e Alaikum everyone, I recently learned Meta ads and ran 2 campaigns worth PKR 1,800 for a local client, which generated 102 conversations. On Saturday, I did outreach to 100 clients on Instagram, and Alhamdulillah, one USA-based client replied and is ready for a meeting today. The client is working on a real estate project worth $2–15 million, and this will be my first international project, so I’m a bit unsure about handling it. I would really appreciate your suggestions on how to approach this client and how much to charge for Meta ads plus full account management. JazakAllah Khair!