10/24/18
10/24/18
There are bloggers, influencers, and online entrepreneurs all over the internet that seem to be living the dream life. They get to do what they love every single day and make money doing it.
To me, that is the dream life.
And it may seem like these people have it all figured out. Or you may be thinking that they got lucky somewhere along the way. That you can’t do what they do.
And maybe it’s not even about these online influencers and business owners.
Maybe you’re thinking that you can’t possibly get a job in the movie industry. Or that it’s too difficult to make a good living as a yoga instructor.
Or maybe, just maybe, you think that your dreams are too big that you’ll never be able to achieve them.
So you stay at your HORRIBLE 9 to 5 job, sitting in a boring cubical, because it’s the safe and reasonable thing to do.
You don’t really have an option. You have to pay rent every month. You have to find a way to get food on the table at night. And you want to have enough money in your bank account to go out for a drink with your friends.
But what if I told you that you could make money doing what you love and create a life that you actually want to live.
Would you believe me?
Today, I’m going to do something a little bit different.
I want to dive more into really changing your life. Because so far, I talk about the following stages: what to do when you already have a blog and need to grow it.
But I really want to start talking more about the very first stage: how to get the courage to create a life that you truly love.
So let’s get into this!
MY STORY
If you’ve been around for a while, then you’re probably sick of hearing my story. But for all you new TCB community members, I want to introduce you to my life just 2 years ago.
In 2016, I had graduated from college with a job offer to start working in the digital marketing industry. It was the only job offer I had. And I honestly felt forced to take the position even though I didn’t really want it.
It was located in the same college town that I had been living in for the past 4 years. A town which I didn’t want to live in anymore. And the worst part was that my boyfriend had accepted a job offer in Rochester, NY so we would have to deal with a long distance relationship.
Plus the company was a small startup. Which to keep it real with you… it scared me to death.
I was going to be the second employee on the team. Right beside the man who started the company. And I knew that if anything went south, I could easily be fired.
It was terrifying.
But I had to make money somehow. So I took the position.
After a few months, I started to dread every weekday morning.
I hated waking up not knowing where I was going to work that day. Or when my boss was going to show up to work.
I hated not having a structure, but the thing that I hated the most was that I didn’t really enjoy the work that I was doing.
I felt extremely unfulfilled and like I was wasting the money of my boss by sitting at my desk with no work to do.
At the time, I thought the problem was just the job.
So I started to apply to new positions in a different city. But after a few interviews with no job offers, I began to accept the fact that I had no choice but to stay.
After a few more months, I started to go into a very dark place.
I stopped taking showers daily. I didn’t work out. I didn’t eat anything that was good for me. Heck, most mornings I stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get a bagel and an iced coffee and that was the highlight of my day.
I was depressed. And I could feel it all over my body.
I would roll out of bed every weekday morning a half hour before I had to leave. Throw on the same clothes, pull my hair up in a ponytail, and grab a zip-up sweater that I could curl up in all day to hide.
Then when I would come home, I would put on pajamas, maybe make food, or just eat ice cream for dinner. Watch some tv and then go to bed.
I’m telling you, I was miserable. And I’m sure I was miserable to be around too.
October 18th, 2016
This was the first time that the Universe talked to me.
I’m sure it wasn’t the first time. But this was the first time that I actually listened.
Up until this point, I had thought that everything that I was feeling was normal. That I had to stay in a job that I hated because that’s what you have to do as an adult. It’s just what life is.
You’re born, you go to school, you go to college, you get a full-time job, and then you retire. That’s life, right?
But on October 18th, 2016, something hit me. I was sitting on my couch at home when a wave came over me that made me realize that I wasn’t okay.
That I was actually miserable with all aspects of my life and that it wasn’t “normal”.
I knew at the moment that something had to change. That this couldn’t be what my life was meant to be.
I felt like I should wake up and enjoy my life… every. single. day.
The 9 to 5 mindset didn’t make sense to me. I wanted to work when I was most productive and make money for the work that I did.
I didn’t want to just sit at a desk and receive a paycheck every week because that’s the system.
To me, the system is BS!
And I had to find a way to get out of it. So I started my blog.
RELATED: My Mental Health Journey: How Starting A Blog Changed My Life
LIVING FOR MONDAY
Wouldn’t be amazing if you could wake up every Monday and not dread what the day holds?
Most people live for the weekend.
It’s like every Monday they are in a bad mood. And it takes until Thursday for their mood to improve. And only because they are close to the weekend.
But when you think about it, most people live for the weekend as a way to escape their lives. Because if you want to be completely honest with yourself, most of your life is spent during the workweek… not on the weekends.
I hate when I see family and friends on Sunday and they say “I don’t wanna go to work tomorrow”. It’s like the standard thing that you have to say every Sunday.
AND I HATE IT!
5 out of the 7 days of the week is considered the work week. These are days where people with 9 to 5 jobs are required to go to work.
So if you are only living for the weekend, then you are only living for 2 out of 7 days. For your whole life.
And to me, that’s pretty darn sad.
I want to be surrounded by people who are living for Monday. Not for the weekend.
I want to be surrounded by people who are so passionate about what they do that they don’t dread to go to work but actually enjoy it.
I want to be surrounded by people who work on the weekend by choice! And not because they feel forced to.
I want to be surrounded by people who want to make their lives better so that they can make the world better.
These are the people that I want to be surrounded by.
Are you one of them?
HOW TO MAKE MONEY DOING WHAT YOU LOVE
You may have just scrolled down to this section because this is where the meat of the blog post is.
And if that’s you, then that’s okay.
But I want to stop you and ask you something: are you here to just make more money or to create a better life for yourself?
You could answer yes to both of those questions because they do go hand-in-hand. But my hope for you is that you’re here because you want to create a life for yourself that you actually love. Not because you want more money to buy silly things.
So how exactly do you make money doing what you love?
Step 1. Find what you love
The first step is to find what you love.
Here on TheContentBug, I talk a lot about blogging. How to start a blog, how to grow your blog and stuff like that.
But that doesn’t mean that you should start a blog!
Honestly, I think that’s a common misconception is that I want everyone to start a blog. That’s just not the case.
Let’s say that you absolutely love to make people laugh. That’s what makes you giddy. That’s what makes you want to get up in the morning is the fact that you get to make someone’s day a little bit better with laughter.
If that’s what you love, then there are so many paths that you can take in your life to follow that passion!
You could be a comedian, an actor, a writer for other comedians, movie scripts, or tv shows. And heck, you could even be a YouTuber because there are actually a lot of funny YouTubers these days!
Whatever you love, there is a way to make it your dream job.
Here in Rochester, I want to this Becoming Boss event with other fellow girl bosses. And on the panel that spoke that day was a woman who made her career out of a love for flowers. She is now a local flower farmer who grows flowers and makes beautiful arrangements for events, weddings, and all sorts of other things.
Even if you have a love for flowers, you can make a career out of it.
But it all starts with finding what you really love.
Step 2. Determine what career path you want to take
Not everyone is cut out to be a business owner. Just like not everyone is cut out to be an online influencer.
And that’s perfect! Because there are other options out there other than starting your own business online. (Although that’s mainly what I talk about…)
If you want to be an actor, then be an actor.
If you love photography, then maybe you want to be a photographer.
Or if you’re obsessed with food and you want to work with food somehow, create a list of all the careers that you could have with food. I’m sure there are hundreds of them!
Just because you love something doesn’t mean that you have a set career path in front of you. And just because you have a big dream doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve it!
There are people all over the world making a living doing what they love. There are famous actors, singers, business owners, bloggers… whatever you can dream of, it’s probably already out there.
And if someone else has already made a career out of something, you better bet that you can do it too.
But right now, you have to decide on what career path you aspire to take. And then we’ll get into the money-making situation.
Step 3. How can you provide value to others?
Here’s the thing.
A lot of people peg millennials as people who want to make money by doing nothing.
And I’m sure that’s true about some millennials. But not all of them!
There are some extremely successful young adults that are hustling their butt off for every dime they make. And that’s because they understand that they have to provide value to make money.
If you want to leave your 9 to 5 job to do what you love, you have to understand that you have to find a way to make money. And typically that’s an exchange of a service.
Think about it this way: what impact can I make on the world? What can I provide to others? How can I help someone else in a way that they can’t help themselves?
People will most likely exchange their money to receive something that they can’t seem to do on their own. Whatever that is.
But the main thing is that you are always going to make money for the service that you provide to others.
So how can you take your passion and turn it into something that is actually profitable?!
That’s really what this all boils down to.
Step 4. Figure out how to make money
Some career paths may be obvious.
Let’s go back to that actor one: if you want to be an actor, you’ll probably make money from the jobs that you get. Whether that’s a small role in a movie, a few lines in a tv show, or a lead character in a play.
Whatever job you have at hand, you’ll probably make money from the person that hired you.
But that’s not always the case with following your passion!
If you want to be an actor, it may take you a while to land your first real gig! So you have to find other ways that you could make money while still pursuing your passion.
And I’m not talking about working at McDonalds while you go on auditions.
I’m talking about actually working in your field!
When I started my blog, I knew that I wanted to transition it into a full-time business. But I didn’t know how I was going to do that.
RELATED: 5 Steps To Transform Your Blog Into A Full-Time Business
So I decided to break down my skills and transform them into client work and become a freelancer.
At the time, I absolutely loved blogging and I knew how to write SEO focused website content from my experience in the digital marketing industry. Sooo I become a freelance writer!
That way my days were still spent doing something that I loved while making money doing it.
Over time, I’ve actually transitioned my freelance work into Pinterest and SEO work for mainly bloggers. Again, I’m taking my passion and making money from it.
There is a key here not to sell yourself short.
I think it’s better if you can find a way to make money in a way that still relates to your passion while you focus on your main goal.
So let’s talk about some ideas on how you can make money from your passion.
Create your own business
If you’re dying to break away from your 9 to 5 job to do something that you love, then you could always start your own business.
This can be daunting at first. And you really need to figure out what your main revenue streams are. But based on all the following options I’m going to provide you with, you’ll quickly see that it is possible to make money by starting a business.
Either by services you provide or products you create. It is 100% possible!
Become a freelancer
You should have known that this was coming.
But I honestly, believe that one of the easiest ways to make money from your passion is to become a freelancer.
Break down what you love to do into specific skill sets and determine what service you can provide to others. Then, land some clients!
It’s really much easier than you would think.
RELATED: How To Become A Freelancer On Upwork
Find a way to work with companies that you love
If you’re not sure what exact career path you want to take yet, then you might want to start by working with companies that you enjoy.
Let’s say that you’re extremely passionate about makeup. And you’re not sure if you want to start an Instagram or YouTube channel to become a beauty influencer.
Well, you can always get your start at Ultra or Sephora. You could just work with customers to help pick out the best products for them. Or you could become a makeup artist and perform makeovers on people.
This is a great option to not only make a steady income but to explore what aspect of your passion that you’d be interested in pursuing.
But this option doesn’t mean just getting another job… If you want to become a fashion blogger but you don’t want to work in a clothing store, you could make money by reaching out to brands you like and creating collaborations with them!
There is always more than 1 way to make money from companies you know!
RELATED: How I Made Over $500 In Affiliate Income From 1 Company
Actually get a job in the field
This is a little bit similar to the one before, but then again it could be completely different.
For some people, they just want to have a career that they enjoy while working for someone else. And that’s perfectly okay!
As long as you’re pursuing your passion and you’re waking up to go to a job that you actually enjoy, then that’s all that matters.
So if you’re someone like that, then you need to find a way to get a job in the field that you want to be in.
You could start broad and just like for any job that relates to your passion. Or maybe you have a specific position that you want to hold.
Whatever it is, start looking for jobs and find a way to make it happen!
Develop products to sell
This could take a bit more time and money to actually get off the ground. But if you have a passion that involves creating products for other people, then I say freaking go for it and find a way to create that product.
It could be a digital product like an ebook or online course. Or it might be a software or program that people can get access to.
Or if you want to move into creating physical products like a clothing line or something else, then you can go ahead and do that as well!
Honestly, if you have an idea of a product you want to create, the best thing you can do is to find your target market and ask them if it’s something that they would be interested in.
And if so, then take a leap of faith and create that product!
RELATED: What I Did Right (& Wrong) With My Last Course Launch
Options for bloggers
If you’re already a blogger and you’re looking for ways to make money from blogging, then I’ve already got a whole lotta resources for you to enjoy.
Start by checking out these blog posts:
- Beginner’s Guide to Making Money Online
- 5 Practical Ways to Monetize Your Blog: How I monetized my blog within my 1st year
- How I Made Over $500 In Affiliate Income From 1 Company
- How To Become A Freelancer On Upwork
Step 5. Take a leap of faith
You’re never going to make money from your passion if you continue to stay stuck in your life.
I would have never made it to where I am today if I just settled for the 9 to 5 job that I had.
So you have to decide right at this moment if you are going to take a leap of faith and find a real way to make money by following your passion.
Because I’m here to tell you that it is possible. I’m here to help get your brain thinking of ways to take action. And I’m here to motivate you to get started.
But beyond that, there isn’t much else that I can do with this simple blog post.
So right now, I want you to create an action plan with your next steps. And then start working on those steps.
You never know where you’re going to be 3 months, 6 months or a year from now. But it doesn’t have to be stuck in the same old life that you’ve been living.
So go out there and conquer the world, my friend!
And if you’re a blogger and you need help getting there, then you might want to check out The TCB Vault that is about to launch in the next few weeks!
WHAT JUST HAPPENED
When I started writing this blog post, I really wanted to focus on the ways that you can make money by following your passion.
But as I started writing, I realized that this blog post was much more than that.
So I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my story and learning how you too can change your life.
And if you’re feeling discouraged by all of the work ahead of you, just know that every day is a new opportunity to do something big.
Take it one step at a time. And you may be surprised where those little steps will take you.
XO, Cath
KEEP READING…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cathrin (Cath) creates content that encourages bloggers & online entrepreneurs to be themselves, chase their passion, and create their success online. 1 year after started her blog (TheContentBug.com), Cath left her full-time position working in the digital marketing industry to pursue her dreams of being her own boss. In weekly blog posts, sporadic YouTube videos, and constant talking on Instagram stories, Cath hopes to spread her story and be an inspiration to others who desperately want to change their lives.
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