Spring has sprung! September 1st marks the beginning of many things for different people. The first day of detox, diets, and exercise programmes in preparation for summer. A time to get going in the garden, spring clean the house or learn a new skill. Spring is a time for fresh starts and new adventures. For me, September is the anniversary of adventuring into my dream of pursuing a career in writing. A future of freelance freedom.
Credit: http://www.thehealthword.com/
A couple of years ago I found myself unemployed in the middle of a retrenchment-inducing economic downturn. Jobs were scarce, my nearest and dearest were severely affected and I went from being a well-fed, middle-upperclass LSM 10-er to yet another person without a job or an income. I tried a number of things to make ends meet, but there was little interest in professional PowerPoint design or graphic work at the time. Things started to get a little dire.
I’d always loved to write and eventually decided to give it a bash. God alone knows how I landed my first client! I had no formal training or experience-just a fortunate ability to string together a sentence, the willingness to do the best I could with what I had, the initiative to educate myself with the resources available to me, and perseverance, perseverance, and more perseverance! I now write regularly for blogs and websites based all over the country and absolutely love what I do. The flexibility, freedom, and nature of my work make my career (for the most part!) a joy. And I’m finally doing professional PowerPoints again too. Bonus!
This Spring season and this month mark the happy anniversary of my foray into freelance writing freedom. I don’t know how long it will last and the “road” has been more of a 4×4 track, but I am so abundantly grateful to all the amazing people who’ve made it possible for me to achieve even this small goal. (You’re awesome)!
What do September and the Spring season mean to you?
Spring is awesome, and indicative of fresh a start :)
I think everyone should aim towards doing something they are passionate about. What’s more important: Money or Satisfaction?
In my opinion, the pursuit of wealth never brings satisfaction.
Well done on the successful career change, and especially paving your own way through such difficult financial and employment times.
I always look forward to Spring, warmer weather, longer days meaning more time outdoors – love it! Feels so good that winter is finally over, it seemed extra long and cold to me this year.
Congratulations Jo, what a wonderful story, it shows that following your dream results in happiness, because you certainly sound happy in every post you write and every email we exchange.
We’re lucky to have you here on iMod, giving us all everyday awesomeness! Thank you :)
Looking forward to your next post!!!
Thanks for the kind words of encouragement guys! You made my day!
Also an important one for me – spring day marked my return to freelance!
After being back in the full-time sphere after freelancing for over a year, it was brutal in so many ways… really just felt all wrong, and even though I struggled on and tried to do the best I could, it never felt like I was meant to be in an office, toeing the line.
When I first made the decision to return to freelance, I didn’t really have the energy or time to let it sink in, with thing at burnout point my only goal was just to survive the last few weeks. Waking up every day since Wednesday, everything feels like it’s slowly returning, and my stress levels feel like they are finally going down. For now, I have more tan enough work, hopefully things can just work this time and I can make my long-time dream of being my own boss a reality for good now!
Awesome post lady, thanks for sharing and congrats for the year mark! :-)