It's been awhile since my last post. I don't entertain fantasies that I will necessarily stick to it this time around, though I do concede that blogging is a lucrative (both financially and otherwise) practice for me, so I will stick to it at some point. I've decided to change my life a bit. I've burned some of my bridges and have decided to take the jump (albeit more like a 1-2 story jump, rather than a cliff dive).
I quit any and all "secure" jobs I have working for "the man" and am now reduced to essentially freelance work; teaching students privately and teaching company classes. My income has not been this low since I was about 20, but my spirits have not been this high.
It was a frightening thought for awhile. What if I lose my students? What if my dreams, which I have decided to realize, never come to fruition?
Well, if that's the case, I guess I can always fall back on the 9-5. In terms of teaching, particularly in the field of teaching I do, I have skills and experience, and I'm quite confident.
But isn't that what I'm trying to get away from? Aren't I taking this dive in order to escape the 9-5? Yes. So wouldn't it suck to be dragged back into it? Yes.
But then a thought hit me, or rather a question.
I remember reading once in one of Tony Robbin's books that finding solutions is not about finding or having the right ANSWERS. It's about asking the right QUESTIONS. I couldn't agree more. The question was: Why would it suck to go back to a 9-5 where you're obligated to answer to a boss?
The answer: Because then I wouldn't get to do what I wanted.
The next question: What is it that you want?
The answer: To do EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW.
That was my ah ha moment. I'm doing exactly what I want to do now. And it's scary. But also exciting. 32, and I'm FINALLY going to give it my genuine best to do what I want. It's an anxiety-filled dream come true.
But I can live with it. Hell, I'm enjoying it so far (though I may be speaking too soon, hehe). I can't live with tying myself down to the chains of mediocrity and a life of 9-5 coupled by unrealized dreams. I can live with taking a shoot at my dreams, failing, and tucking my tail between my legs while I accept a 9-5 life. At least I tried. That's a comforting thought.
I've dreamed and fantasized about this lifestyle for years: Financially stressed, but with all the freedom I can handle to utilize my creativity as far as it will go to create a life that is not necessarily financially wealthy, but wealthy in terms of happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction. A life where I'm doing what I love and I am free to create or even uncreate as per my will. It's a beautiful concept. It's a beautiful concept that is going to be full of a lot more grinding and irritating hiccups than I could possibly predict. But that's ok. In fact, that's part of the fun. What better way to learn about life than to charge at it headfirst.
For instance: I am going to move out. My vision is to have a very nice-looking, comfortable place in a safe, clean neighborhood with a spare room that I will create in my classroom. This place will be affordable (under $1000 a month; this is very affordable in Japan, trust me), fairly spacious, clean, convenient and easy to get to. So far I've found several places like this, each with their own set of compromises.
Place #1: A bit old; ugly view from the window. Otherwise great.
Place #2: Overbudget ($1200 a month) and near by some "love hotels" (where Japanese couples go to have sex). Otherwise perfect.
Place #3: The best of them all; the set-up of the apartment is a dream. Overbudget and a bit of a walk from the nearest train station.
Argh. So, what do I sacrifice? Financial ease? Convenience? Appearance of the neighborhood? Appearance of the apartment? Still thinking on this one.
In the mean time I've realized it will be very difficult to maintain my lifestyle solely on my current job. Why? I've quit and thus my income has been depleted considerably. But what does that mean? I have more time. And with more time, I can find more ways to earn money on my own.
I spent a couple days searching and found a number of ways to earn more; some very mindless that pay very little, others a bit more strenuous but with more potential. I created a list, and decided I'm gonna try about one a month. If one particular one goes well, I may extend that.
First on the list was Picky Domains. The concept was intriguing and simple enough: create unique and interesting domain or product names, make $20-$50 a name. I assumed there would be a bit of competition, but it seemed simple enough. Think of 1-2 good names a week, bring in an extra $100-200 a month for what seemed like very little effort. First of all, I think I did a good job of predicting the difficulties, but not the degree.
#1 Most of the clients are requesting names for things I'm not particularly familiar with, thus it's hard to come up with catchy or unique names that truly represent their brand or company or product.
#2 There's more competition than I thought. I'd say for every 10 names I think of only 1 actually gets submitted because the others are either a) already established domain names or b) names other contributors have thought of.
#3 It's extremely hard for a client to "like" your submission. Most ads requesting suggestions get several hundred submissions. Generally around 10 are liked, and only 1 of them will be selected in the end.
So yes, the odds of you getting selected are extremely low. However, I will continue with this for awhile because a) it's pretty good creativity practice and b) other than the creative energy needed, it's pretty simple. Although I probably thought of several hundred names, all-in-all it only actually took 30 minutes or so. It's not time consuming and there really isn't any effort required other than being creative. I can also do it while doing other things, like watching a movie or playing poker. In terms of ease and convenience it suits me. If I'm not producing anything with it I'll leave it and move on to the next idea.
Which is what I'm gonna use this blog for: to post about my progress in terms of additional income.
I quit any and all "secure" jobs I have working for "the man" and am now reduced to essentially freelance work; teaching students privately and teaching company classes. My income has not been this low since I was about 20, but my spirits have not been this high.
It was a frightening thought for awhile. What if I lose my students? What if my dreams, which I have decided to realize, never come to fruition?
Well, if that's the case, I guess I can always fall back on the 9-5. In terms of teaching, particularly in the field of teaching I do, I have skills and experience, and I'm quite confident.
But isn't that what I'm trying to get away from? Aren't I taking this dive in order to escape the 9-5? Yes. So wouldn't it suck to be dragged back into it? Yes.
But then a thought hit me, or rather a question.
I remember reading once in one of Tony Robbin's books that finding solutions is not about finding or having the right ANSWERS. It's about asking the right QUESTIONS. I couldn't agree more. The question was: Why would it suck to go back to a 9-5 where you're obligated to answer to a boss?
The answer: Because then I wouldn't get to do what I wanted.
The next question: What is it that you want?
The answer: To do EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW.
That was my ah ha moment. I'm doing exactly what I want to do now. And it's scary. But also exciting. 32, and I'm FINALLY going to give it my genuine best to do what I want. It's an anxiety-filled dream come true.
But I can live with it. Hell, I'm enjoying it so far (though I may be speaking too soon, hehe). I can't live with tying myself down to the chains of mediocrity and a life of 9-5 coupled by unrealized dreams. I can live with taking a shoot at my dreams, failing, and tucking my tail between my legs while I accept a 9-5 life. At least I tried. That's a comforting thought.
I've dreamed and fantasized about this lifestyle for years: Financially stressed, but with all the freedom I can handle to utilize my creativity as far as it will go to create a life that is not necessarily financially wealthy, but wealthy in terms of happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction. A life where I'm doing what I love and I am free to create or even uncreate as per my will. It's a beautiful concept. It's a beautiful concept that is going to be full of a lot more grinding and irritating hiccups than I could possibly predict. But that's ok. In fact, that's part of the fun. What better way to learn about life than to charge at it headfirst.
For instance: I am going to move out. My vision is to have a very nice-looking, comfortable place in a safe, clean neighborhood with a spare room that I will create in my classroom. This place will be affordable (under $1000 a month; this is very affordable in Japan, trust me), fairly spacious, clean, convenient and easy to get to. So far I've found several places like this, each with their own set of compromises.
Place #1: A bit old; ugly view from the window. Otherwise great.
Place #2: Overbudget ($1200 a month) and near by some "love hotels" (where Japanese couples go to have sex). Otherwise perfect.
Place #3: The best of them all; the set-up of the apartment is a dream. Overbudget and a bit of a walk from the nearest train station.
Argh. So, what do I sacrifice? Financial ease? Convenience? Appearance of the neighborhood? Appearance of the apartment? Still thinking on this one.
In the mean time I've realized it will be very difficult to maintain my lifestyle solely on my current job. Why? I've quit and thus my income has been depleted considerably. But what does that mean? I have more time. And with more time, I can find more ways to earn money on my own.
I spent a couple days searching and found a number of ways to earn more; some very mindless that pay very little, others a bit more strenuous but with more potential. I created a list, and decided I'm gonna try about one a month. If one particular one goes well, I may extend that.
First on the list was Picky Domains. The concept was intriguing and simple enough: create unique and interesting domain or product names, make $20-$50 a name. I assumed there would be a bit of competition, but it seemed simple enough. Think of 1-2 good names a week, bring in an extra $100-200 a month for what seemed like very little effort. First of all, I think I did a good job of predicting the difficulties, but not the degree.
#1 Most of the clients are requesting names for things I'm not particularly familiar with, thus it's hard to come up with catchy or unique names that truly represent their brand or company or product.
#2 There's more competition than I thought. I'd say for every 10 names I think of only 1 actually gets submitted because the others are either a) already established domain names or b) names other contributors have thought of.
#3 It's extremely hard for a client to "like" your submission. Most ads requesting suggestions get several hundred submissions. Generally around 10 are liked, and only 1 of them will be selected in the end.
So yes, the odds of you getting selected are extremely low. However, I will continue with this for awhile because a) it's pretty good creativity practice and b) other than the creative energy needed, it's pretty simple. Although I probably thought of several hundred names, all-in-all it only actually took 30 minutes or so. It's not time consuming and there really isn't any effort required other than being creative. I can also do it while doing other things, like watching a movie or playing poker. In terms of ease and convenience it suits me. If I'm not producing anything with it I'll leave it and move on to the next idea.
Which is what I'm gonna use this blog for: to post about my progress in terms of additional income.
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