Blogging has changed my life for better. This post is personal but I wanted to write it as I felt the need to share my story with you, because I think it might inspire you to start your own blogging journey.
During this pandemic, when many people lost their jobs or struggle with depression and mental health, maybe blogging is a good choice to consider.
If not anything else at least you will get to know me better and see how I started my blog and why it was so important to me.
I started my blog in 2018 when I was at one of the lowest points in my life, coping with a loss of my loved ones and toxic violent relationship. Harassment at work lead me to quit my job and I ended up completely broke. Not a great time to remember.
I did not know from where to start, I felt so depressed and confused, but I knew one thing for sure, that I want to be my own boss and live on my own terms and to never be harassed and put down like I was before.
To have peace to do things at my own pace is what I needed.
MY PERSONAL STORY AND HOW I STARTED MY BLOGGING JOURNEY
I started searching for a work from home jobs, tried so many along the way. I was worried and struggled, I was full of fear. At that time, uncertain about my future I found out what real anxiety and depression mean.
Before 2015 I was the most cheerful person you could probably meet, coming from a modest family that had money only for basic things, but I was loved and had greatest friends, the most beautiful childhood. I was working hard to get scholarship for University because my family couldn’t afford it, and I believed in myself and made it happen. As someone with no money in the pocket I managed to get a well-paid international internships and travel. I learned, I sacrificed but I was making my dreams come true.
I thought I had all figured out. I was always the one giving strength to others telling them that nothing is impossible and help them see the world with different eyes and inspire them to go after what they want no matter what limitations they might have.
Whole my life I was a very cheerful person, positive and loved. Than all of a sudden I lost my biggest moral support in my life and few other family members, it was a huge tragedy, but wasn’t all, I thought I found my dream job far away from my place of birth and was harassed and tortured, my passport was taken, I was manipulated in a horrible ways and ended up running away by myself without anything.
My dignity was all I had, but I did not trust anyone at that time. I was cheated by people I trusted, I was also robbed and had my last money stolen.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, because from such a positive and driven mindset, I ended up being a person with dark thoughts, helpless and without a faith.
My life looked something between horror and criminal movie with so much drama in between.
If something goes well in your career but lacking in love you still have what to look forward to and you are motivated to fix it. If you are healthy and have a loving relationships but no job still you are motivated to work on other things.
But when all aspects of your life are falling apart, relationships, loss of family members, financial, health problems, career…Those are the times you break down.
That is what happened to me, I experienced depression and barely had strength to take a shower. People who know how depression feels they will understand, it is not only psychological but also physical. I still had a vision of my life but it took me to live day by day, making step by step. I felt so tired and unmotivated.
My first blog was opened on free blogger platform, for me it was like I diary entry where I let my thoughts flow, it represented a form of therapy I needed so much at that time.
Didn’t had any idea that I can earn from blogging. For me it was just an escape and my way to deal with my emotions. That is how my journey began.
I didn’t know at that time what exactly I am going to do, but I knew I want to work from home. So I was searching and trying many work from home jobs and after some time learned that blogging can be a business too. Had to start from zero!
I switched from blogger to WordPress. I didn’t had even money for hosting, my mother borrowed to me and I started writing. It was not anymore my diary but a real business looking site with valuable information. Now I am proud to say that I have 3 WordPress websites and one Shopify ecommerce shop.
Blogging changed in my life by pushing me towards personal development and entrepreneurial mindset to search and find solutions that later on improved so many aspects of my life, gave me financial freedom and ability to work from anywhere in the world, travel and enjoy, flexibility to make my own schedule according to my needs and make time for learning things I want and enjoy my hobbies. That didn’t happened overnight, it took time and effort.
Blogging was and still is a great journey for me.
BLOGGING IMPROVED MY LIFE IN SO MANY WAYS
Sounds strange when I say that blogging improved my life in so many ways but it really did, by being your own boss is a challenge. Working on your mindset is part of the entrepreneurial world.
It made me search and read more about personal development which made me realize that some of my beliefs had to be changed. I became more grateful and started celebrating small achievements.
I am more courageous to go out from my comfort zone and take risks, by following not my mind but my soul. I build my strength, confidence and self-esteem and learned how to set my goals and go after them.
This all changed all other aspects of my life, not only business and finance but family, love, friendship relationships and overall health as it made me really aligned with life and motivated.
Now I am glad to say that my life is great.
BLOGGING GAVE ME FINANCIAL FREEDOM
During that horrible and painful period in my life I was financially dependent on others and very disappointed but had support of the closest people.
My mother is the one who gave me money for hosting. Blogging gave me independence and financial freedom, it gave me that peace of mind to not have to worry if I will have tomorrow for food and bills. And what was from great importance for me is that I will never ever have a boss again and risk to be harassed, or work among people who love to create drama.
I have my own money, I am my own boss, I love working by myself. It is incredible relief and it is what fits me.
Another thing is that now I am able to help my loved ones even financially and surprise them with paid holiday trip. I am so thankful for being able to achieve that.
Building a successful blogging business and earning a full time income took me 2 years of time and effort.
BLOGGING GAVE ME SO MUCH FLEXIBILITY WITH MY TIME
Flexible schedule and ability to manage my time as I wish, made my life so easier. That is why I prefer blogging over other work from home jobs.
There are no any deadlines and clients, it is as passive as possible. I have so called creation months when I am only writing my content or creating digital products and courses, this is just few months per year, usually 2-3 months. All other months I am totally free to work on scaling my business, future projects, branding…I work only 5 days a week. Only 4 hours a day.
I have time to spend with my family and loved ones, travel and do all those things I love, camp and hike, learn new skills or new language or just spend time on myself and enjoy spa day all day long.
BLOGGING GAVE ME ABILITY TO NOT DEPEND ON A PLACE OF LIVING
If I decide to spend 3 months in some other country I can totally do it, when you have a full time 9-5 job it is almost impossible to take so long leaves.
Another thing which is awesome is that if I ever decide to relocate like I am planning to, it is way much easier as I don’t have to search for any job.
As someone who loves traveling and adventuring all over the world this is really one of the greatest benefits I have from my business. Waking one day in one country and another day somewhere else, world is my oyster.
Living life the way I want to is such a blessing.
CONCLUSION
I love what I am doing, providing valuable information that are helpful and sharing my knowledge is what drives me. Having a supportive and genuine community of people who are reading my posts and appreciate it. Through each and every blog I have, I am lead by passion and love.
Blogging is something that everyone can learn. You don’t need a degree but you need a strong will to learn and always upgrade your knowledge.
You probably have some hobby or something that you really love that you can share and teach others. If you have a degree in something that you would like to continue doing, like it is case with me, you can share your expertise in a creative way. If you have some other small business, incorporating blog on your website can be very beneficial for you and your customers.
Blogging indeed changed my life in a way I couldn’t imagine, but the success did not come overnight, it took me two years to make it work.
I enjoyed the process and I am so proud of myself and thankful for each person that reads my posts.
So thank you for reading this, I really hope you enjoyed, sending you positive vibes, love and hugs and useful resources below in case you want to start your own blogging journey.
RESOURCES:
Blogging FAQ; Answers to most common blogging questions
Thanks for sharing such content.