"If you want to live a life you've never lived - you must do things you've never done"
Recently, I made the decision to take the leap and quit my job to pursue writing full time. Some definitely might call me risky, but I put trust in myself that I made the decision.
As hard and gruly, isolation has been – it has also taught me a lot about how strong I truly am. I was forced into a situation where I couldn’t make money, I wasn’t surrounded by my usual outside forces, and I was left alone to my own vices.
I won’t lie to you, it was hard at first. I had been serving for eight years prior to this situation and truthfully, I was too scared to follow my passion.
Writing has always filled me up inside but when faced with the question of “could I sustain my life” on it (mind you, I never tried) – I always thought the answer was, no. Instead, I thought like most do, that the safe bet would be to continue serving until I could “figure it out”.
"Figuring it out" resulted in :
- Making multiple excuses to why I couldn’t leave even if the reasons were untrue
- Consistently looking to others for approval and guidance
- Constantly wishing that I was living a different life
And then, the unthinkable happened. BAM.
COVID.
All of those thoughts and worries I had about not serving anymore, quickly turned into reality.
My boyfriend and I were left unemployed and lost.
Nothing was certain, and everything was closed, so the only thing that I could do was put trust into my passion.
I knew I loved to write, and I knew that I loved to write well – so I started up my blog.
Next thing you know, I was tuned in. “IN THE ZONE”, as some might call it. I was bouncing back from, my blog – twitter – instagram – linkedIN- Fiverr.
And you know what? Soon after all my hard work, I was actually starting to make money.
The more promises I kept to myself, the more I was accomplishing.
Soon, I realized that I had it in me all along to pursue my biggest dreams of writing full time. I had it in me that whole time.
I thought back to what it was that was keeping me back from moving forward :
Being so scared of taking risks and chances
Letting others opinions dictate what was best for my life
Wishing with no action
I remember back to when I was fourteen years old, starting my job as a little hostess. I was young and impressionable which makes sense. My job was brilliant and guided me to come out of my shell and shape and mentor me into the woman that I am today.
But, that’s just it. A job teaches you and then you move on. I realized then in isolation, how much I have grown as a person and how much I was stifling within myself whenever I went to my job.
A job is just that – a job. They come into your life when you need it and they are supposed to leave your life, when you don’t.
Your passion, your goals, your dreams are a lifestyle. I have trust in myself to allow myself to push the limits and create what I so desperately want to achieve.
I have so much to learn, teach, and share. Again, to write is to live for me and now knowing how much I have in me to give, I never want to stop.
Moving forward, I know that there will be a lot of ups and downs. But you know what? I trust in myself. I am ready to give it my all and see how far that takes me.
I trust no matter what that I will get myself wherever I am meant to go. After all, I’ve gotten myself this far.
I am so proud of you both!! You have worked hard, were cautious before taking the leap and have set goals that I know you will reach. You’ve got this! Congratulations!! Love and blessings always xoxo….
Thank you SO much – this truly means a lot to me xoxo your support is EVERYTHING <3 Could not be more thankful!
Congratulations on your decision! I totally feel you on those thoughts that hold you back. Best of luck in your new adventure!
Thank you SO much, Erin! I am so happy that you can relate! Very much appreciated!
Amazing post! It’s so encouraging to see people make the moves to pursue their dreams. I think that’s what we all want and sometimes all it takes is that push!
You’re so right, Sara! I believe that when the time is right for a person – they will know! The encouraging words mean SO much!
You are doing great and it takes courage to take the leap of faith.This is inspirational and it is true jobs done before were just a stepping stone to the goal.Congratulations on the milestone achieved.It’s nothing but inspiring.
Charity, wow thank you so much for those supportive, kind words! It means a lot!
So awesome! Way to go girl! I’m sort of in that middle space right now where I’m trying to decide what to do myself! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you SO much, Jessie! I am wishing you SO much luck! I believe that the universe will push you along the right track – we just have to be open to the signals!
Great read! Sometimes good things do come out of challenging times. I think it’s awesome that you’ve take that leap of faith and set your mind to follow you heart. With work and focus, you can make this an amazing career path. Wishing you much success. And thank you for the inspiration to listen to my inner voice.
You’re so right! This year has taught me more about resilience than I have ever known! Thank you so much Ana, and I am so happy I could ignite some inspiration in you! The biggest compliment!
Good for you! Congrats on your bravery. Nothing great will happen if you don’t take a risk! Wishing you the best.
Thank you so much, Karin! I totally agree with you – no achievement has ever been made from staying in the same place! Thank you SO much!
I love this! I took the leap after a bit of a push last summer and haven’t looked back once!
Comments like this really push me and excite me for what’s to come! I am so happy that it’s worked for you! Thank you so much!
Congrats for taking that leap of faith!
I think COVID has taught us all something new about ourselves. While i’ve had a blog for about a year now, COVID is what really brought me to start investing in myself by taking blogging courses and learning how to truly make this a business. I still have a ways to go but you have inspired me to keep pushing!
thank you so much!!
YES, Tiara! As unfortunate as it was – it really did push a lot of us to step outside of our comfort zone and push!
I am SO happy that you got to dive into your blogging career and start your business! That is SO exciting and I am so proud of you!!
I want to hear more about this -ah! lol
That is the sweetest compliment, and I am so happy I could do that for you, Tiara! Please, stay in touch!
I can’t wait to join you! 😉 Someday…..
You will get there, Alicia!! I believe, as long as you have it in your heart – you WILL make it happen <3 !! And I'll be right here to congratulate you xox
Wow. I’m so glad I saw you on twitter today.
I’m in the finals stages of writing the memoir I’ve planned since ai was 8. Like you, I plan to leap And see when I land. I have never thought I would make money writing. I have no idea how to do that…
Hi Sage! Wow, I am so so happy you came here to support me! xo I am so thankful!
That is SO amazing, Sage! I am so excited for you to take control and see what happens! I know, it’s wild how much growing up, people make it out to seem like it’s not a pathway you can take. I’m here to tell you it IS! People are DOING this and currently making lots of money off writing! So why can’t that be you!?!
I am going to message you on twitter because there’s just so much to be said lol !
Great post and congratulations! Sometimes a little push can turn out to be just what we need. Looking forward to following you on your journey!
thank you so much, Anne!! That truly means a lot!
I am so excited for you to come along with me! YOU CAN DO THIS!!
This has been so inspiring Pam! I’ve had my blog for about a year. I had worked the whole time during the quarantine period but I was recognizing that other people were finally taking the leaps of faith to go forth and pursue their dreams and build their blogging businesses. I’m finally excited to take it to the next level and your post has been the extra motivation to keep going!
Micheala , wow that touches my heart SO so much. You are so right, now more than ever people are taking this isolation period to really just dive into our passions. In reality, how passion is what we have – the skills we have with us! It’s so true!
I am excited for you to take that next level and I’m SO happy that my words could inspire some motivation in you! I cannot wait to keep following on your journey! I’ll be right there rooting you on!
This is beautiful! I’m so proud of you and the leap of faith you took. I just love your courage and self motivation. All the best in pursuing your dreams and passions. You have more chances of living a fulfilling and successful life than one stuck in a job.
Tisanke, thank you so so much for those kind, sweet words. That truly means so much to me and I am so happy to have the support that you share. I agree with you completely and I’m excited to see where this road leads! Thank you for being so wonderful!
Hey Pam,
I have to be very honest that I was equal parts shocked and worried for you when I read the first paragraph of this blog post. Although I’ve been blogging for a while, I still can’t reconcile the idea in my head that it is possible to go full time with a blog (even though I know many do).
However, as I read your blog post, I began to understand why.
You’re really brave for committing to writing and pursuing this path. You inspire me to keep trying, and who knows? I might follow in your footsteps one day too. Thanks for sharing, and I wish you all the best! 🙂
Ming! I really appreciate your honesty and I can completely understand that. It’s scary going out on your own and following your own path. I feel like it’s worrisome because if you haven’t already done it or immediately know someone who is doing it – it seems impossible or really really hard. BUT the moment you do it – nothing can stop you. Surround yourself with people who are DOING it and you will see nothing but possibilites! Plus, when it comes to blogging there are so many possibilities that could mean when making money. Affiliate marketing – ads, sponsored posts, brand deals, writing for others (which I do), copywriting, graphic design, content creating like youtube or twitch. There is SOOO many different possibilities for making money online!
Thank you SO much for those kind words! I absolutely love hearing that I sparked inspiration in you! I say, go for it!!
Cannot wait to hear what you have in store! Thanks so much, my friend!