#now let's see if my freelancing allows for my weekly schedule again after all this time /manifesting /manifesting /knock on wood 🕯️🕯️🕯️ | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yoonia · 5 years

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Dear my beloved readers,

I really didn’t want to post something like this since I have addressed this a lot before and a lot of writers have talked about this before me. But I feel like I need to say something since I’ve been ignoring a few messages that had come into my inbox because each time I respond to these messages, no matter what I said on those responses, people will see it as rude even when I do it nonchalantly.

First, I would like to give you a little insight into my life outside of this blog.

Ever since the day I graduated early this year and have been thrust into professional work since last year, I have to deal with messages coming to my phone, email, and online chat messengers saying: “When is the drawing due?”, “Will I be receiving the new drawing for [insert project here] this week?”, “Please revise the drawing to [insert project here]”, “Can you make sure that the project will be finished before [insert date that due within a week] because the shop is opening next month”, among other messages regarding project deadlines, and this occurred either daily or weekly, before I finally decided to go freelance. But even with the change, I still have these messages in and out frequently.

And I haven’t even started my masters yet.

This blog has served as a perfect diversion from that busy life and the stress of facing tight deadlines. I have loved writing since I was a child and writing fanfiction in this blog has been such a beautiful outlet for me to stay creative in a different sphere other than what I do in my real life.

The thing is, I am a slow writer. I think most of the people who had been following me since I started back in 2016 will know this. And it’s really not helping me when people send me messages asking me about updates when I have been so open in letting everyone know what I’m working on and what/when I’ll be posting through a writing schedule that is available in this blog.

Writing is supposed to be fun. It is supposed to be relaxing, instead of giving me the same amount of stress I had gotten from work.

Now, imagine how I feel when I have the time to visit my blog to relax and was met with messages saying: “When are you going to update [insert fic here]?”, “Are you posting [insert fic here] this week?”, “Is [insert fic here] will be updated soon?”, do you think that’s fun to deal with? When I have already placed my posting schedule on my blog? And how much progress I have made so far with each fic I’m focusing on?

I get it, you are curious to know when you can catch up with something you are reading on my blog. I know because I have been on the other side, when I am the reader waiting for an update on my favourite series. But I do what I know best would support the writer; I send them motivating messages, keep up with their updating schedules and any announcement they may have regarding said fiction work, and wait. I don’t send them messages that remind them to real-life project deadlines that suffocate them on a daily basis and giving them deadlines on their own writing.

“It’s been xx weeks without [insert fic here]” You might have meant this as a joke. But in my head, it sounds so different than what you probably had meant it to be.

Some of you might know that I keep up weekly updating schedules on other platforms before posting them here, so I figured the ones sending me these kinds of messages would be those who are following me there too. I understand your frustration, but please also understand that reading this kind of message after I have been beating myself up for not keeping with that weekly schedule while I was nursing a sick kitten, reconciling with my boyfriend of 3 years who lives in another state, and trying to keep up updates on my ailing grandfather back home makes my mind proceed it the same way as if I had received a message saying: “You have delayed the project for three weeks and we’re wasting time and money waiting for you.”

You understand what I mean, right?

I’m sorry if I had made you wait for days, weeks, months, or even a year, but please know that I do my best to not leave any series unfinished (unless I announce it so) and the perfectionist side of me will hate myself if I ever put out a half-assed fic and disappoint you guys just because I want to post something quickly.

If you’re wondering about updates, please always keep up with the schedule provided. If it’s there then it means I’m on the process of writing it, if it’s not then it’s still on the back burner until the day I’m ready to focus on it and release it for you to read. I can still answer your asks if you’re curious to see if a series is being postponed or discontinued, or if I’ll be continuing a one-shot fic because sometimes the answers can change through time and I might forget to announce anything regarding those ones.

And though this may have been stated before by other writers, I’m going to say it again, that messages demanding updates and reminding us how long it has been since our last update do not motivate us to write faster, instead, they deflate all the fun of writing which will then eliminate all the motivation we have of writing and finishing them. I’m sorry to say, that this is the problem I am currently having.

I’m sorry, again, that this post ends up being so long. But if you’ve read it to this point, then I’m just going to let you know that I am making this post to get things out of my chest because this thing has been bothering me for the past week and I’ve been losing all the motivation to finish the updates that are due to be posted on Inkitt this week. I just want to get this out there without lashing out to the beautiful curious readers when they really do not deserve to be lashed out on and also in order to allow me to focus on writing peacefully.

With all that being said, any further messages asking and demanding updates will be ignored, as they have always been, and the ones I currently have in my inbox today will be deleted. In exchange for any similar messages I will be having in the future, I will be deleting them immediately and I will reblog this post along with my posting schedule as a public response. And after this post is up, I will leave the internet for the next 24 hours or so to focus on writing and hopefully keep up with my weekly updates again as I normally would.

For everyone who are reading and to my followers and readers, whether you are coming from Tumblr, from AO3, from Inkitt or Wattpad, I just want to say thank you so much for all the support you have given me so far, thank you for all the patience and the kind messages and feedbacks. I’m sorry if I have been acting so down and negative lately, but I hope by getting this out, I can feel better and be positive again with my writing.

With love,

Dia.

#psa #misc: announcement #dia speaks

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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30 Minute Experiment: Work #30ME

So I’ve already gone through a couple Pink Floyd titles and one from The Cult, so I might as well start working my way through The Godfathers’ Birth School Work Death in terms of topics for this 30 Minute Experiment. (For anyone just joining, the idea is that I pick a topic and write about it for 30 minutes straight, without interruptions. When the time is up, I post. No edits, no re-reads, probably many regrets.) Okay, let’s do this...

It will surprise absolutely no one that I’m a bit of a workaholic and I’ve been one for most of my life. I think my first job must have been when I was 14 or 15 or so when I got a bicycle and started delivering newspaper, a job that I quite liked because it was a quiet suburban neighborhood in Westport where not a lot happened. (I do remember one day being flashed by an older woman who came to the door wearing absolutely nothing not realizing I was on the other side leaving her newspaper.)

One of the weird things going on in this pandemic is that after losing a writing gig I had just started, it gets harder and harder to push myself to do the much-needed work I have to do, whether it’s doing these #30Mes or writing my weekly Weekend Warrior column or cleaning or working on some of my long dormant screenplays or even writing to my imprisoned penpal (who I just got a letter from so I need to get back to him fairly soon.)

At a certain point, everything seems like work, even if it’s just scheduling time to hang out on Zoom with friends or family, which is something I did far less of in the days pre-pandemic (Can we maybe start a new numbering system so that 2020 is Year One and every year that follows would be 1 Post-Pandemic for 2021, etc? It feels suitable.)

But this whole time and even over the past four years I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to find some form of steady work, and sadly, things were so unstable pre-pandemic that it’s only gotten harder as more of my movie-writing colleagues are losing jobs and there are far more opportunities. I mean, anyone who reads my Weekend Warrior every week (or EVER!) will know that there are still movies being released, even if not all of them are getting any kind of theatrical release. Some of them are even quite good.

I was talking to one of my colleagues last night about the work situation and how everything just came to a stop in March when most of us had things planned or in the works, which unfortunately revolved mostly around movies.

But the current situation has become a great equalizer in terms of people needing to cover a lot more smaller indie movies, TV series and streaming stuff if they want to keep their jobs. I’m pretty sure that the job market is going to look very different in a few months as the country starts slowly reopening, and I think the people who don’t want to do the actual work like going to see movies and having varied tastes, won’t survive. They’ll just give up and go take one of those regular 9 to 5 desk jobs that are out there.

Believe me, I’ve been ready to make that transition for a couple years as I lost a lot of freelance outlets, some being closed, others just going in a different direction. It’s tough out there, and it’s really hard for me to take any sort of dog-eat-dog mentality when it comes to work, because I don’t like seeing my friends struggling. That hurts me almost as much as my own struggle (which I’m happy to say has taken an interesting and slightly positive turn this week).

Sure, I’m definitely ready to be done with this and to get back to work, even though it’s been some time since I’ve had any steady work hours -- probably the Tracking Board where I was doing a 9 to 5 shift five days a week -- and I’m going to have to get back into some of the good working habits. I already try to go to sleep at a reasonable hour and don’t stay up past midnight playing video games (or Android games) or doing some of the other distractions that would keep anyone else from getting work done.

I mean, if you read today’s Weekend Warrior, you’ll see that I spent a lot of time watching and writing about a bunch of movies just so that people will have some idea that there is good movie entertainment still coming their way which hopefully they’ll look into it. I don’t want to too far down the tangential wormhole of the movie biz right -- I’ll have plenty of time to talk about that over the next few months -- but the pandemic equalizer that I mentioned hasn’t really helped the smaller indie movies as I’d hoped since people still would rather throw on Netflix or Hulu or HBO and binge watch some show or another.

I have a LOT of stuff that I’ve been meaning to watch but my desire to keep my brain in gear and stay motivated in terms of my writing has led to things like this experiment, which I’ve done a pretty good job keeping up with. If I really look at this to see how it helps me in terms of earning a living, I think I can say fairly that it’s a daily job that forces me to think and write quickly, which is something that’s important for most of the better writing jobs out there. And it only takes 30 minutes a day, so it’s not like it’s taking me away from any of the time-wasting activities I’d love to do instead.

Sure, I’m definitely trying to use this time productively even if the “work” I’m doing doesn’t do much to help me financially, although I will say that doing this stuff helps me both mentally and emotionally, which is half the battle when you’re dealing with a job and people you have to work with. I learned that the hard way at a few of my recent jobs post-CS, but I’m not going to get into all of that. I believe very strongly that sometimes you just have to do something to maintain your own mental health even when it’s not the best decision on the grand scheme of things.

I do miss having some of the structure of a job in my life even though I feel my calendar is just filling up with other things, even if it’s just doing things to help support my friend’s own mental and emotional health by taking part in their activities. Believe me, as much as the monotony of the day-to-day may have been getting to me a few weeks back, I feel like I’ve moved past that, and now I’m so focused and disciplined about getting things done, who knows? Maybe I’ll even have a few screenplays done by the time I’m allowed to go to a movie theater or press screening again.

I can only imagine how much harder this is for my friends and family who have gotten used to going to an office five days a week and have built their entire lives around that structure. Of my immediate family, only my sister and her husband and kids were doing anything in that vein, since both my brother and I have always been homebodies for the most part.

Right now, I’m not sure if I could even deal with going on the subway every day to go to a job, but thankfully, more businesses are figuring out how to stay running while allowing employees to work from home. At least as a writer, I don’t necessarily have to be anywhere, although as I’ve said before, I still prefer to see movies on the big screen... preferably without my own name watermarked across it. (This is done to avoid piracy, obviously, since it can be traced right back to me.)

Although I’m slowly inching towards a point in life where most people are ready to retire, I think I’ll be good to keep working in some capacity or other for at least the next ten years. The down time in between jobs these past few years has made it far easier for me to be thrifty so it’s no like I’m trying to support a ridiculous comic book habit anymore and have less need for consumerism.

I can’t remember if I discussed during the “money” topic but I do feel better when i know i have money just in case I want to do something fun when that’s allowed again. There have been too many times in recent years where I’ve had to decline an invite to go somewhere just because I was worried about how even spending $20 might affect my ability to eat for that week. (Yes, things got that bad!)

I guess we’ll see where things go in the next few months, but I don’t think you’ll meet another person who is more than ready to go to work for 40 to 60 hours a week once again, since I’ve also gotten better at scheduling my time. I mean, it’s still not great but when it comes to working, especially as a writer, I feel that I’m always getting better at facing new challenges, and I do hope some will still come my way.

I have about five minutes left to go in today’s #30ME, and I’m not sure if I have that much more to say about “work” right at this moment, but I do want to say that if you got far into today’s ramble, I hope you’ll drop me a line with some suggestions and opinions. It doesn’t mean I will change what I’m doing since as I’ve said, these are more for me than anyone else, but it would be nice if someone is reading them and maybe it changes their opinion of me (hopefully in a favorable way).

That’s it for me today but I’ll be back tomorrow..maybe talking about the “Birth” or “Death” part of that Godfathers song.

#30ME #30MinuteExperiment #Work

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theonyxpath · 5 years

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Questions! We get questions every day, and while a lot of them start with “when”, as in “when is my favorite book coming out?”, a fair number are more about some integral things that aren’t obvious to folks if they haven’t been lucky enough to read this blog regularly.

Unlike you, my fine friend, who no doubt already know a lot of the following! But I bet there’s a few things in there even you can use brushing up on!

“In order to put out so many game lines, Onyx Path must be a big TableTopRPG company with lots of employees, right?”

Well, we work with a lot of talented freelance creators, but there’s only four actual staff members, so no, not really big at all. There’s myself, as founder and Creative Director, Mighty Matt McElroy as our Operations Director, Lisa Thomas as our Office Manager, and Mirthful Mike Chaney, our Art Director and primary Graphic Designer.

The hundreds of writers, editors, artists, designers, and developers we work with all around the world are all freelancers – that means that they are hired with a contract. Sometimes per project, sometimes for a time period to do a particular agreed-upon set of goals.

“You mean that those lovable scamps from the Onyx Pathcast – Dixie, Eddy, and Matthew – aren’t staff members?”

Correct! Although the Pathcast is one fun thing that they do for us, and their biggest responsibilities lie in shepherding our projects, all three of them are freelancers for us. Albeit freelancers who are part of our weekly meeting to cover how all our projects and the company in general are doing because they are just really great at what they do.

Being freelance also means that our creators can easily take part in other projects for other companies – which is something I encourage. More experience from any source means that a creator is building their expertise, and that means better and better projects for all of us.

We also hire consultants when needed – sometimes for long periods, sometimes on a project – to cover viewpoints or areas of expertise we need to have. Sometimes to cover the nuts and bolts, day to day needs of part of our business, like working with translation partners or like James, our Kickstarter concierge, that our usual crew don’t have the bandwidth for.

TC: Aeon Distant Worlds art by Michele Giorgi

“I heard Onyx Path was secretly still owned by White Wolf, and that you, Rich Thomas, were still with WW.”

That sounds like an internet rumor, and we all know how reliable those are!

So, no. I left WW a few years after the merger of WW with CCP and started Onyx Path Publishing in 2012. I am the sole owner. Other than being a licensee of the current White Wolf/Paradox, we have no other connection with them on a business level. Again, let me underline that no other company has any sort of ownership of or ability to control Onyx Path.

Also, Eddy Webb does not own Onyx Path, or even part of it. Because I’ve heard that rumor, too. He owns Pugsteady, which is a very good company all on its own.

M20 Book of the Fallen art by Michael Gaydos

“But you do own Exalted, right?”

Nope. Exalted, Chronicles of Darkness, and the World of Darkness books that White Wolf/Paradox allows us to publish under license still belong to them.

Beyond the fact of WW‘s ownership of those IPs, what that means for you noble readers and players is that Onyx Path has limits as to what we can publish based on what the owners of the game lines are comfortable with us publishing. For example, we get a lot of this sort of question:

“Why won’t you make Hunter The Reckoning, Demon: The Fallen, or, OMG, Mummy 20th Anniversary Editions?

And the reason is: we would – if it was cool with White Wolf/Paradox. Unless they give the OK, about these or any of the books we publish under the license with them, we have no legal right to just put out a book. This has been true for us going back to when CCP granted Onyx Path the license, so it’s not something nefarious, just how this license works.

The Realms of Pugmire game lines, Cavaliers of Mars, Dystopia Rising: Evolution, and Legendlore, are also licensed lines as well, with different sorts of contracts that specify different things as part of their terms.

The game lines we own, and therefore have a much wider latitude on how the lines develop, are: Scion, Scarred Lands, They Came From Beneath the Sea! and the Trinity Continuum. Without outside approvals, we can move a lot faster with our decisions as to what projects to do next, and how fast, and in what order, and where they are sold, and, well, just everything.

So if it seems like you’re hearing and seeing a lot more hoopla about our owned lines lately, that’s a huge part of the reason: we can just decide on Scion Pantheon Journals in a meeting Monday, and they can go on sale on RedBubble on Wednesday.

By Jove! That’s actually what’s happening this week! What a coincidence!

TC: Aeon Distant Worlds art by Sam Denmark

“You didn’t announce anything new at GenCon, and the First Draft section is getting kind of thin. What’s up? You guys out of ideas?”

Far from it! I think the Project Progress section here on the blog can be, or at least, has been, misleading in this regard. What we’ve had happening for the past year or year and a half, has been a kind of bloat brought on by us finally finishing a bunch of old Kickstarter and other projects, and being up-to-date on current Kickstarter and other projects.

Plus, we have multiple pitches that we’ve been waiting to hear on – relating to my notes above about approvals from our Licensors. Doesn’t make sense for us to get writers started until the projects have been given the green light.

Most importantly, we’ve several bigger projects still under wraps: from working out just what we want to do all the way to finishing the outlines for writers. For example, now that we ran the Trinity Continuum: Aberrant KS, we’re working on TC: Adventure! and actively discussing how to bring all that’s awesome about a pulp-genre setting to modern audiences, while dealing with the more problematic aspects of the time period.

Oh yes, there are still many games we want to create and we are all set to develop more projects for our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

Kickstarter!

Keep an eye out in this space as well as on our social media for the Deviant: The Renegades Kickstarter that will be launching after August wraps up!

Onyx Path Media!

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features our Terrific Trio deep in anticipatory antics about upcoming games they’re excited about!

Today in the media we’re mainly going to talk about our Twitch channel! As you can see from the schedule, we have games planned for Scion, Pugmire, TC: Aberrant, Scarred Lands, Vampire, and there’s so much more to come! Please do check us out and if you have an Amazon Prime account, and aren’t already subscribed to a Twitch channel, you can subscribe to ours for free for exclusive content! Here’s the channel for you, and thank you so much for keeping up with our content: https://www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath/

And if you missed it, here’s episode zero of Paws & Claws, our Pugmire actual play on the Twitch channel: https://youtu.be/Y519d9Cmx7g

We have of course produced videos beyond that, including this video here where Matthew asks for your They Came From ideas: https://youtu.be/ek8x-eoJ2Tc

And the Onyx Path News went live today. Find the link to today’s episode here: https://youtu.be/XE1kAsRYIJw Matthew talks all about new releases, Kickstarter, Backerkit, community content, our media, and his favourite authors!

We’d be remiss if we didn’t promote some of our favorites too. As our main focus is on our own Twitch today, we’re going to point you in the direction of only a couple more channels, but the big list of streams will return next week!

Here’s Occultists Anonymous (who are also appearing on our Twitch channel) with their Mage: The Awakening actual play: Episode 36: After emerging from Atratus’ soul and getting a frenzied call from Mammon, Wyrd the Seer and Songbird investigate their cabalmate’s disappearance. https://youtu.be/GopIcUu-rAU

And the excellent Story Told Podcast continues their superb Dragon-Blooded actual play here, so do tune in if you’re interested in Exalted: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-episode-12

Drop Matthew a message via the contact button on matthewdawkins.com if you have actual plays, reviews, or game overviews you want us to profile on the blog!

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio2, and they have the 5e version, supplements, and dice as well!: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And NOW Scion Origin and Scion Hero are available to order!

As always, you can find most of Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, we’re offering a selection of Scion pantheon themed journals on our RedBubble store!

Conventions!

Save Against Fear: October 12th – 14th GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd PAX Unplugged: December 6th – 8th 2020: Midwinter: January 9th – 12th

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad (Scarred Lands)

Vigil Watch (Scarred Lands)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Redlines

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Development

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

Geist 2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

W20 Art Book (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Post-Approval Development

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

V5 Chicago Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Let the Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Editing

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

TC: Aeon Ready-Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Post-Editing Development

Memento Mori (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e Companion)

DR:E Threat Guide – Helnau’s Guide to Wasteland Beasties (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

DR:E Jumpstart (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Heroic Land Dwellers (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Indexing

ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

Contagion Chronicle

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Ex3 Lunars – Contracted.

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Contracted. Sketches already coming in.

TCfBtS!: Heroic Land Dwellers – Contracted. LeBlanc doing the splats.

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed – Thinking I throw a bunch of this at Vince and Trabbold.

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

DR:E Threat Guide – Helnau’s Guide to Wasteland Beasties – Michele is doing the critters.

Deviant (KS) – Contracted.

Trinity RMCs – Getting Riley on these this week.

Cults of the Blood God (KS) – Mark is in to do fulls and cover.

Chicago Folio – Lemme see who I got left post KS art buy for Cults. I am gonna try to get Paul Lee to do the fulls.

Mummy 2 (KS) – Got Matthew’s notes.

In Layout

CoM – Witch Queen of the Shadowed Citadel

Dark Eras 2 – Files with Aileen

Trinity Continuum Aeon: Distant Worlds

VtR Spilled Blood – For Josh.

DR:E Jumpstart

Aeon Aexpansion

Proofing

C20 Cup of Dreams

V5: Chicago – Inputting errata.

Geist 2e – XX’s and then Indexing.

Signs of Sorcery – Inputting errata.

M20 Book of the Fallen

DR: E – Inputting errata.

At Press

Dragon Blooded – Deluxe at Studio2, shipping.

Dragon-Blooded Cloth Map – At Studio2, shipping.

Dragon-Blooded Screen – Shipped to Studio2, shipping.

Trinity Core Screen – At Studio2.

TC Aeon Screen – At Studio2.

Trinity: In Media Res – PoD proofs coming.

Trinity Core – Printing.

Trinity Aeon – Printing.

Shunned By the Moon – PoD proof ordered.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Born on this date in 1921 – Gene Roddenberry, who, love him or leave him, got Star Trek on the air and set the stage for many, many, folks’ first introduction to science fiction – and utopian science fiction at that! Plus, because why not, this is also the birthday of William Marshall in 1924, who appeared on Star Trek as Professor Richard Daystrom, and whose amazing voice graced us as both Blackula and the King of Cartoons! Also, to continue the Star Trek theme: in 1938, Diana Muldaur, who appeared on both the Original Series, and on STtNG as Dr. Pulaski, was born, and last but not the least likely to get it on on an alien planet, William T. Riker’s portrayer, Jonathan Frakes, was born in 1952. (Bill Clinton was also born on this date in 1946, and while we all know he’d give Riker a run for his money, he was never on Star Trek – just a US President.)

#Onyx Path Publishing

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gracespilkerr · 4 years

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21 Best Side Jobs for Firefighters

Does your firefighting schedule have you working one day on and then off for two or three days?

If so, then you might find that your wallet has nothing but figurative flies in it by the end of the month. If you’d like to pad your bank account, it helps to have a side hustle or a second job.

So, what are the best side jobs for firefighters?

We recommend the following 21 side jobs for firefighters:

Blogger

Real estate agent

Carpenter

Personal trainer

Landscaper

Uber/Lyft driver

Bartender

Security guard

CPR instructor

Waiter

Nurse

Lawn mower

Youth league coach/referee

Mechanic

Customer service rep

Dog walker

Delivery driver

Emergency technician

Painter

Online teacher

Tow truck driver

In this article, we’ll discuss each of these awesome side jobs in more detail, including how much money you can make so you can choose the right side hustle for you! You’re not going to want to miss it.

21 Lucrative Yet Flexible Side Jobs for Firefighters

Blogger

The first (and in my opinion the best) side hustle you can take on is blogging. This site is run by a firefighter looking to make more money on the side, and there’s no reason you can’t do the same as well.

Your blog doesn’t necessarily need to be about firefighting, but rather, anything that you’re passionate about and interested in.

Blogging best practices dictate that you add content to your blog at least weekly or every other week. To increase your chances of ranking on the first page of Google search results, you need to follow search engine optimization or SEO rules.

Use keywords throughout your writing, and try to publish content every now and again that’s longer, say, 2,500 or 3,000 words or more.

Yes, these posts take a long time to write, but if you get a lot of views, then the time and effort will have been worth it.

If you’re worried about spending money on a domain, you don’t necessarily have to. These days, you can make a free, professional-looking website in minutes.

How much money can you make blogging?

The answer depends on how often you write, if your blog ranks well, and how much traffic you get.

Man blogging on computer.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or BLS–which we’ll use as a resource throughout the rest of this guide–notes that writers and authors earn $30.39 per hour, which is $63,200 a year.

However, that number varies greatly as I know several bloggers who are making thousands (and even tens of thousands) every month from their blog!

Real Estate Agent

Yours truly is also a real estate agent/blogger/firefighter. Helping someone find their dream home or selling a property so they can move on to something bigger and better is a great experience, and as a real estate agent, you’ll do that all the time.

You can either get hired as part of a real estate team or work as an independent real estate agent. The latter sounds great, especially if you have a primary job as a firefighter, but it’s not necessarily all it’s cracked up to be.

You have to find the properties that are available, list them, tour them, and negotiate the sales price. Choose between going freelance or being part of a team carefully.

As for touring homes, while your clients will request times to see a property, it’s ultimately up to you (and the homeowner) when you will show a property. Even on those days when you’re firefighting then, you can still do some showings before or after work.

Showing properties isn’t all you’ll do. Once a buyer finds a home they love, you’ll guide them through the buying process from start to finish. You don’t necessarily have to see the client in person to do this, which makes real estate a great option for you.

BLS says that real estate brokers and sales agents on average earn $24.39 per hour or $50,730 a year.

Again, this number can vary greatly depending on you, your network and how much time and effort you put into growing your business. However, it’s not uncommon (at least in my area) to work with several agents who make well north of $100k every year.

Carpenter/Handyman

Perhaps you’re useful with your own two hands and some tools. If so, then carpentry might be a field you want to look into doing outside of firefighting. As a carpenter, you will approve sketches and blueprints that come your way, measure out supplies for projects, shape and cut the materials, and then assemble.

The job of a carpenter can be a full-time one in and of itself or a side gig that you do to keep money coming into your bank account. To become a carpenter, you only need a high school diploma and some formal schooling through an apprenticeship program. Then you can get to work.

Carpenter working.

Carpenters earn $24.24 per hour, which is $48,330 a year, notes BLS. That’s not too shabby!

While being a handyman doesn’t necessarily require any formal schooling it too can be a great way to bring in extra income.

There is a HUGE demand for contracting services right now and people will pay top dollar for quality and professional work.

Personal Trainer

As a firefighter first and foremost, you need to be in peak physical condition to handle the rigors of the job. That means you probably spend a lot of time in a gym, be that at a facility or even your own home gym.

Instead of working out just for yourself, why not show others the benefits of fitness by getting a side gig as a personal trainer?

You can either seek a personal training job through a gym or visit clients in their own home. No matter which way you choose, you get to help your clients achieve all their fitness goals, whether that’s losing weight, gaining muscle, or learning to push themselves harder with their training.

The BLS quotes your earning potential as a personal trainer at $19.42 an hour or $40,390 a year, but this is flexible. You can set your own prices if you’re not part of a gym, which means your earnings potential is even higher!

Landscaper

Do you love spending time outside but find that your firefighting job doesn’t really allow for it?

For your side hustle, tend to nature and beautify homes as a landscaper. You’ll manage lawns, cut shrubs, remove overhanging tree branches, plant flowers, add rocks, carve out yard walking paths, and so much more.

As an aside, part of the job does include killing off pests such as wasps, ticks, and mosquitoes, but the rest is a lot of fun.

Like what you need to do to become a carpenter, it’s recommended you have some skills and background to do this. This might be a multi-year apprenticeship, so perhaps hold off on applying to landscaper jobs until you’re certified.

When you can enter the field, BLS says landscape architects make $33.35 an hour or $69,360 a year.

In addition, there are several things you can do that are similar but go great with traditional landscaping work.

For example, I know a guy who bought a stump grinder and offers stump grinding services.

Uber/Lyft Driver

You have a car, right? Why not put it to work as a driver for popular taxing services Uber or Lyft?

While this may not be for everyone, I know several people who have worked as a driver and they seemed to have a great experience with it.

When you get approved as a driver for either service (or both), you put a sticker or sign in your car denoting your status as an Uber/Lyft driver and then get started.

Here’s how it works. You check the app and see who needs rides and where. Then, you choose to accept the ride. Uber or Lyft will take their cut, but you earn the rest, as well as a tip if the customer is feeling generous.

The cool part about being a Lyft or Uber driver is there’s no limit to the amount of money you can earn. Indeed says the average national salary for a driver role like this is $30,513, but it all depends on how much you feel like driving each day.

If you live in a quiet area with not a lot of people, your earnings may be more limited compared to someone who calls a bustling city home. Still, whether you rely on being a Lyft/Uber driver as your second hustle or your third hustle, it’s a solid option.

Bartender

Pouring drinks for people is an art, and one you can discover when your side job is that of a bartender. Ideal if your firefighting schedule leaves your weekend nights open, bartending lets you meet interesting people and always be at the heart of the action in your city or town.

Becoming a bartender isn’t necessarily easy, admittedly. You’ll have to learn the names and ingredients of hundreds of different cocktails and drinks. Then, you have to put your knowledge to the test to earn your bartender’s license.

However, depending on where you live/work the bar you work for may not require a license.

Once you’ve got that license, you can begin applying to jobs at bars and restaurants. Just know that some bartending jobs might lead to pretty late nights.

You don’t want to burn too much of the midnight oil so you can be fresh for your firefighting job, so think carefully about how this side gig would fit into your schedule.

BLS says bartenders earn $11.39 and hour or $23,680 a year, but that’s not including those sweet, sweet tips that will surely keep you afloat financially.

Security Guard/Bouncer

Do you have it in you to prevent people from getting where they’re not supposed to go? As a security guard, it’s your responsibility to protect information and valuable assets so these don’t get into the wrong hands.

Similarly, with the bartender job a lot of bars and nightclubs are always looking for security. Perhaps you can consider spending your evenings doing security.

I did for 2 years and it was a great side gig!

Your security job could take you to many different places. Perhaps you’re security at a retail store, a bank, an office, or even a music and entertainment venue.

Either way, expect to be standing on your feet for the entirety of your shift, which is the only downside. Otherwise, just look mean and intimidating and you’ll excel.

Security guards may earn $14.29 and hour, which is $29,710 a year, states BLS.

CPR Instructor

When you were training to become a firefighter, you learned how to administer certified cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR. You’ve perhaps even used the skill a time or two before when on the job.

Why not keep your CPR skills nice and sharp by working part-time as a CPR instructor?

Your second job will have you instructing classes of nurses and other medical professionals, showing them the ropes of applying perfect CPR.

You’ll likely use a dummy in most demonstration scenarios, or you could even perform CPR on a real person. Most CPR instructors are part of the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or other medical centers, so start there when applying for jobs.

This is a lucrative side hustle, too. CPR Certification Online HQ says you could earn $52,790 annually as a baseline, with some CPR instructors even raking in close to $65k a year depending on location.

If you’re feeling really ambitious and you have your ACLS or PALS card you could become an instructor for one of those courses as well.

You could easily turn this into your own company that provides training services for individuals or companies to complete their new certification or renew their outdated certifications (think daycare centers, dentist offices, chiropractic offices etc).

Waiter

It may be a standard side job, but don’t discount working as waitstaff. Unlike a job as a bartender, you’re constantly running around from table to table, taking orders, serving food, bringing empty plates back to the kitchen, and processing customer bills when working as a waiter or waitress.

Being great at this job is all about being able to remember orders. Having a vivid personality also helps, as customers will enjoy interacting with you.

That will also help you generate more tips, a must in waitering as it is in bartending. That’s because BLS says waiters and waitresses make $11 an hour, which is $22,890 a year. You’ll need tips for a job like this to be lucrative enough for you.

Nurse

If you think you’ll need a long-term side gig, nursing is a pretty fantastic pick. You will have to pour many of your spare days into studying nursing so you can pass the NCLEX-RN exam.

Then, you have to get your state license and you can finally begin applying to jobs as a registered nurse.

You may even take your role one step further, spending more time on medical schooling to become a nurse practitioner, or an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN).

As a nurse or a nurse practitioner, you help diagnose patients, provide them treatment, and hopefully save their lives. Sadly, this can’t always happen, so that’s something you’ll want to keep in mind if you plan on getting into nursing.

Like being a bartender, nurses can have long hours, so try to schedule your nursing shifts so you’re not firefighting on the same day.

The BLS notes that registered nurses earn $35.24 an hour or $73,300 a year. Nurse practitioners bring in $55.67 an hour, which is $115,800 a year.

If you’re unfamiliar with the fire service you’d be surprised to learn how many firefighters/paramedics also work as nurses and physician assistants.

Lawn Mower

Do you have an awesome ride-on mower that you love to use? Do you sometimes wish you could mow the neighbor’s lawn as well? Why not take all that extra energy and enthusiasm and put it towards a secondary job?

As a mower, you’ll clean up lawns, including some of the most overgrown ones. You can even start your own lawn mowing business, which The Balance says can earn you $5,000 to $50,000 a year as you’re just getting started. If you’re more established, you could make anywhere from $160,000 to $250,000 annually.

In fact, I know a firefighter in a neighboring town who started a VERY successful lawn mowing company and then got into firefighting.

Do keep in mind that mowing is a seasonal job for many parts of the country, so you might need a third part-time job to bring the money in (usually snow plowing if you live somewhere that gets a lot of snow in winter).

Youth League Coach/Referee

Another great side job for firefighters is working as a youth league coach or referee.

As a coach, you get to inspire teams of kids to work together, learn their skills and values, achieve victory, and understand what’s important about defeat. You can also foster what could become a lifelong love of sports in these kids.

If you’re a youth referee, then you get to oversee the games, ensuring the kids play fairly while everyone still has a good time.

Glassdoor says you may be able to earn upwards of $40,089 a year as a youth league coach. Just make sure you go for the paid positions only, not the volunteer jobs.

Mechanic

You enjoy tinkering around with your own car, and when your buddy had a problem with his vehicle, you were able to fix it right away.

That has you wondering, maybe you could charge for your vehicular expertise?

Absolutely! As a paid mechanic, you’ll diagnose all sorts of car issues, from the more common ones to the tough-to-find problems.

You’ll also issue preventive maintenance, including changing out filters, balancing the wheels, rotating tires, changing oil, and tuning up the engine.

You do need some training to become a mechanic, but then you could earn about $20.24 an hour or $42,090 a year, notes BLS.

Even if you don’t know much about cars, oil change places are always looking to hire hardworking and ambitious people. This could be a great place to start!

Customer Service Rep

If you’d prefer to work from home, you don’t only have to be a blogger. You can also work in customer service. This job is often remote and requires a high-quality telephone.

You’ll be trained on how to handle customers, who will call with questions, feedback, and yes, sometimes complaints.

On the phone, you’ll guide the customer through their problem, working actively with them to come up with a viable solution.

If you by chance can’t help, then you’ll redirect the customer to someone who can. Overall, your role in customer service is important in inspiring customer satisfaction and loyalty to whatever company you represent.

According to BLS data, as a customer service rep, you might make $16.69 an hour, which is $34,710 a year.

Dog Walker

Are you an animal lover? Can you not get enough of warm, fuzzy, sweet creatures? Take the edge off your tough firefighting job by getting into the side hustle of dog walking.

It’s your duty to take other people’s dogs for walks while the dog’s owner has to work or be in school.

You may walk one dog at a time or several, talking them to the park, around the block, or through the neighborhood. This job is really a win-win, as you get to spend time around sweet animals and get lots of exercise too.

Oh, and having a posse of pups with you is often a great way to meet people, whether as friends or something more.

The hourly earnings for dog walkers varies by state in the US; you can check out a comprehensive salary list courtesy of Care.com here. On average, expect to make at least $15 an hour.

Delivery Driver

Earlier, we talked about driving for Uber/Lyft as a side hustle. Another driving-related job you might want to try is being a delivery driver.

Now, what you’re delivering will definitely vary.

You could drop off pizzas, mechanical parts, medical equipment, or all sorts of things. Besides just delivery, you have to pick up these items too, so you’re driving a lot.

Becoming a delivery driver usually only requires a high school diploma. This job, if you’re lifting heavy cargo especially, is a great way to get exercise and be paid for it.

Speaking of pay, BLS says you’ll make $15.69 an hour, which is $32, 020 a year.

However, if you’re working as a firefighter chances are you’re responsible for driving some pretty big trucks.

Have you considered getting your CDL and driving commercial vehicles? There could potentially be plenty of money to be made in your off time.

Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic

The fact that you can work as an EMT/paramedic on the side is one of several reasons I urge aspiring firefighters to go to paramedic school rather than get a fire science degree!

Click this link if you want to read more about Paramedic vs. Fire Science.

Another medical-related job to consider is being an emergency technician like a paramedic or EMT. You’ll work with emergency departments and transfusion clinics to transport people to life-saving medical treatment.

This can get old quickly if part of your firefighting duties include EMT or Paramedic work, but you can do it part-time.

Also, there’s room for growth, as you could earn your certification to make even more money. Getting the certification can be done online, so already a role like emergency tech fits into your schedule nicely.

BLS says your earnings as an emergency technician will be $17.02 an hour or $35,400 a year.

Painter

Few people want to paint their homes or businesses, but it’s a job that needs to be done.

Enter you, the professional painter.

Either by yourself or with a team, you’ll head to the site, paintbrush in hand, prime up the walls, and then paint them an appealing, fresh new color.

Besides just buildings, your job as a painter could take you to bigger jobs, such as painting bridges, equipment, and machinery. This is a great job if you want to put your stamp on the world!

When working as a painter, BLS says you’ll earn $19.37 an hour, which is $40,280 a year.

Also, as someone that works in the real estate industry I can tell you that there is a huge demand for good painters! It’s an easy and relatively inexpensive way to give life to old or outdated properties.

Online Teacher

You have lots of knowledge in that head of yours, and you’d love to impart it with the world. As an online teacher, you can do just that, and all from the comfort of your own home.

If you’re an expert at something, then you can teach it to others and make money doing it.

Perhaps you teach foreign students how to speak English or teach budding musicians to play guitar. Per Glassdoor data, you can earn $42,579 a year teaching, which should surely supplement your firefighting income nicely.

Tow Truck Driver

The last side job we recommend for firefighters is tow truck driving. Yes, that’s right, one more driving job. As a tow truck driver, you’ll go long distances carrying freight like food supplies, farm machinery, or equipment.

Or, if you’re ambitious, you could even start your own towing service. Being an emergency tow driver for vehicles during storms or other emergencies can be a very lucrative side job!

You could be driving for days at a time, which will fill in those blank days on your schedule when you’re not fighting fires.

Although it’s physically demanding, getting the goods to their destination as a tow truck driver can provide a lot of satisfaction.

You will have to enroll in a professional truck driving school to get this job, as operating a tow truck is nothing like driving even a firetruck. You’ll also need to obtain your commercial driver’s license or CDL.

Once you find the towing job for you, you could earn $21.76 or $45,260 a year, says BLS.

Conclusion

These days, it seems like everybody’s got a side hustle. As a firefighter, you’re no different.

With this list of more than 20 great side jobs to consider for more money, you can do what you like as your main job and your secondary job too!

from FirefighterNOW https://firefighternow.com/21-best-side-jobs-for-firefighters/

From https://catherinelee4.blogspot.com/2020/08/21-best-side-jobs-for-firefighters.html

source https://catherinelee4.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/21-best-side-jobs-for-firefighters/

via Blogger http://pppearlyn.blogspot.com/2020/08/21-best-side-jobs-for-firefighters.html

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webbygraphic001 · 4 years

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How Freelancers Can Stay Positive During the Coronavirus Crisis

There are a lot of negative emotions swirling around right now: fear; stress; frustration; anxiety; depression. And what’s worse is that it feels like there’s no escape from them.

We don’t know how long the coronavirus crisis is going to last, so we can’t allow these negative emotions to overwhelm us day in and day out. It’s not sustainable. What’s more, there’s a direct correlation between negativity and productivity. So, when you’re feeling bad about something, you’re more likely to lose focus. And when you give in to distractions and allow yourself to procrastinate, you feel guilty about not doing the things you said you would do. It’s a vicious cycle.

Here’s what I’m going to suggest: We’ve had some time to adjust to the new “normal”. We might not know everything about the virus, but we at least know what we’re in for for the foreseeable future. So, let’s try and take back some control over our own personal worlds and stay positive as best we can.

Let’s look at some ways to bring some positive energy into our lives and our businesses during this crisis:

1. Limit Your Exposure to Social Media and News Apps

Right now, coronavirus is all anyone is talking about. There’s no way to stop the news cycle or to clear up our social media feeds until we get through the crisis. But that doesn’t mean you need to be fully entrenched in coronavirus talk — especially when you’re trying to focus on your work and stay positive.

I don’t know how many of you do this normally, but focus apps are great for this. Which ones you use depends on where your weightiest distractions come from.

For instance, I use Boomerang to silence my Gmail inbox during the day.

Not only does this silence work emails when I need to focus, but it keeps coronavirus news alerts and marketing messages from getting in the way.

While there are some great distraction-blocking apps for iOS, Android, and Windows devices (Freedom is probably the best out there), you have to pay for them. So, what I do to keep costs down is use my devices’ distraction-free modes to block access to social media.

2. Connect with Other Freelancers

As freelancers, most of us don’t have a workplace of colleagues we interact with on a regular basis. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need to connect with our peers — especially now when things in our businesses might not be as predictable and stable as we’ve become accustomed to.

Let’s look at an example of when this might come in handy:

I’ve seen too many messages on Facebook from freelancers asking what to do if a client wants to cut their rates or a prospect suggests paying practically nothing for a whole lot of work.

The justification is always that these are uncertain times and they need to cut back. But what they’re really doing is devaluing the work that freelancers do. And if freelancers set the precedent now that they’ll build a website for a couple hundred dollars, it’s going to be hard justifying raising rates again when things return to normal.

So, having a community of designers and other creatives to turn to right now is critical. Not only does it give you a place to work through these kinds of unique circumstances in your business and get the support you need, but it gives you a safe space to vent about what’s going on.

Facebook Groups are a good place to find these communities. You can also look for local Meetups that bring together creatives (virtually) on a weekly or monthly basis.

3. Spend Quality Time with Friends and Family

For many of us who worked from home before the coronavirus, isolation is nothing new. That said, the coronavirus has thrown a wrench in the works for all of us, regardless of our living situation:

If you live and work alone, for example, self-isolation is normal. However, you no longer have the ability to break out of your home after work or on the weekends and this is something that many freelancers need to bring a much-needed balance to their lives.

So, what do you do?

If you’re feeling more isolated than usual, reach out to those closest to you and do some Facetiming. Even a few minutes a day can help break the monotony and loneliness of being alone 24/7 and give you the positive lift you need.

If you live with a roommate, partner, or your family, on the other hand, your home is now inundated with “noise” that wasn’t there before. Whereas before your loved ones served as a break from work, you’re all now working and studying and living on top of each other. If you need a break from anything, it’s probably them.

So, what do you do?

If you feel overwhelmed and stressed by the full house, it might be a good idea to set a strict schedule, rules, and boundaries.

It might require you to cut back on how many hours you work, but you can at least be more productive when you have a dedicated time and space to work. In turn, you can emerge from your workspace and go back to enjoying the time you have with your housemates and loved ones.

4. Keep Working Even If You’re Not “Working”

If your work has been compromised by the coronavirus, it’s a good idea to keep busy.

I’m not telling you to go out there and hustle and start a new business venture. Instead, fill your daily schedule with activities that make you feel hopeful and get you excited about your business. Even if you move the needle just a little bit, the progress you make now is going to feel great.

Think about how hard it is to find time to do work on your business normally. Wouldn’t it feel good to throw a little love its way while you have the time? You could:

Redesign your website;

Refresh your portfolio;

Improve your social media presence;

Grow your LinkedIn professional network;

Tighten up your processes and automate what you can.

You could also use this time to sharpen your design skills and business savvy. There are so many companies offering their products, resources, and courses at reduced rates (or even free) right now, so this would be the perfect time to pounce on the opportunity.

Even if clients have hit the “Pause” button on projects or it’s just that revenue is coming in more slowly than usual, keep your business moving in a positive direction. It’ll give you something to look forward to once things return to normal and you can go full speed ahead again.

5. Make Time for Something Fun Every Day

When you’re stuck in one place and told not to do the things you’d normally do or see the people you’d normally see or visit the places you’d normally go, it sucks. It’s easy to feel like fun, in general, has been cancelled.

But there are ways to find joy and stay positive in your home despite the chaos going on outside. Here are some things I’ve seen others do that might inspire your own daily dose of fun:

Host a virtual bingeathon and sync up with your friends so you all watch the show at the same time. (Tiger King, anyone?)

Load up your Instagram feed with a bunch of feel-good accounts (for when you make time to look at your social during the day). For me, puppies, food, and beautiful travel destinations keep me happy.

Music is a known mood lifter and focus booster. If you find yourself getting distracted by your surroundings or caught up by coronavirus-related news, turn on music that gets you moving — emotionally and physically.

Getting some fresh air is another way to clear your mind and reset your mood. Just make sure to adhere to distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders when you do.

Wrap-Up

I know it’s not easy to stay positive right now, but you’re not just fighting to make it through this crisis in good health and in one piece. You have to think about how your mood is affecting your business. You can’t do much about the coronavirus’s impact on the economy (except to more closely manage your finances), but you can make choices now that put you in the best position to weather the storm and be ready to hit the ground running once the chaos clears.

Featured image via Unsplash.

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top1course · 4 years

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EARN $14 EVERY 2 MINUTES FOR TYPING (FASTEST MAKE MONEY ONLINE SITE!)

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I’m going to show you exactly how to earn $14, every two minutes, spiked simply typing, with your finger so let’s go ahead and, my computer so I can show you some earnings, so as you can see right over here I’m receiving payments, to my Paypal account every single day from the method that I’m about to, the show you okay but this is a quick, disclaimer, that 99% of people, will not, follow, the three steps therefore they won’t get results so the question is will you follow, the three, simple steps I’m about, to show you, the start making 7 to 4, $10 every, 2, minutes, okay so I will be showing you the three exact website, ranking from, lowest paying to, highest paying, okay that will pay you seven $14, every, 2 minutes, then I’m going to show you the special tool, that you will need, so that you don’t have to do all the hard work, And then as a bonus, which you’re going to want to stay until the end of this video I’m going to show you how to, income while you sleep, excel $500, while you’re sleeping, hate this Ryan Hildreth in before I reveal B3 websites that are going to pay you seven $14 every, 2 minutes go ahead, then click the Subscribe button, download this video, and that little notification Bell next to it so I can alert you, on the best ways of making, money online and if you want my number one wreck, recommendation for me, making money online., the first link, down below this video which you can click after you complete this video so let’s go ahead and jump over to the, cool, that you will be needing, okay and this is called, google, translate, so you won’t be needing this tool because this tool is going to do all, The hard work, for you, so, there is a companies out there which I’m going to show you, the three websites that will be, paying you, to trance, scribe, audio, okay so meaning, when you, they’re going to send you an audio file, or video, and all they have, have to do is type, what you hear, but this tool right, here, okay is going to type it, for you all you have to do is go to Google translator, okay type it in or do it on your phone, and as you can see there’s a, this little audio button right here this little microphone button, now if your computer doesn’t have a microphone you can use your phone, okay but you’re going to let your computer, listen to the audio file or your phone listen to the audio file, so that, when that audio is playing right, There’s a video playing words or an audio file.

Slang words, it’s going to type out again, exactly what is being said, now here’s the caveat, transcription companies, pay double and even triple, if you can transcribe, foreign languages so Spanish, i’m French Russian whatever, write anything other than English if you can transcribe, those languages, then they will pay you double, triple, sometimes even quadruple and I’ll show you the websites that will pay you that type of, money, app to transcribe, spanish French Russian, different types of languages, and you don’t even, speak those languages, or understand those languages, if you use the tool, right here that I’m, i’m showing you Google Translate, okay that’s exactly why I pulled up this, tool because, let’s say you, transcribing, spanish, and they’re going to pay you, a $7 per minute, right, and you don’t know Spanish, you can go ahead and use Google translator pulled, Stop play the audio file in it’s going to, to type out the text, or you, and you can go ahead, copy paste that text, and submit it, to the comfy, okay now the first company, that will be paying you, to do transcription, is called, rev., calm now this company businesses go here right, maybe they need a video that’s trance, scribe they wants, maybe at the Spanish video and they want it transcribed, english or, they just wanted, transcribe in Spanish so someone can, read along, as they’re watching, the video right, those companies are going to pay 3 to $7 permit, now the transcriptionist are getting, paid that money, so, what you can do is go to reddit.com you can, scroll all the way down to the bottom, okay, and as you can see right here in the about section they have, freelancer, That’s what you’re going, to be doing you’re going to be a, freelancer so you can, choose when you want to work, choose when you want to do this and get paid to do it, now, once you click on, freelancers, it’s going to take you to this page right here so freelancing jobs, work from home, with rev, now you can create a flexible work schedule, i’m there freelancing a jobs allow you to work, as much as you want or as little as you want so you can earn as much as you want, and some days, if you don’t feel like working you don’t have to do it, okay there’s going to be, hundreds of jobs, statues from, and you get paid weekly so you receive weekly payouts, via PayPal, so you will need a PayPal account, okay and, you know you can be a transcriptionist, obviously the range, Your pay is, 24 cm, what’s the 90s, transfer video minute, but that’s just, for English, if you go down here if you know a foreign language, well you don’t have to know what you can just use Google Translator, brighton they can pay you, upwards of $3, search for video minutes, and sometimes even higher, okay so this is, the first site that you’re going to want to apply, cjis sign up to be a ref, freelancer, this has been featured in, the penny hoarder, forbes., the Huffington Post, the work-at-home wife, real waste, earn money online and business, insider so this is, a very legit site, that you can use, to start making money, online being a transcriptionist, and using Google translator as your tool, okay now, here is the Second Sight, okay it’s called, transcribe me, dot-com transcribe me, . com so this is, one of the top rated sites, Again you know it was on the penny hoarder lots of other sites that are talking about Trench.

Describe me, .com how good of a sight it is to start making money, now the top monthly earnings here, is about $2,200, okay which is actually, pretty good, but, the next site that I’m going to show you crazy, even more they have a higher, monthly earning but this is, a good backup to have, you know you sign up with rev, as a freelancer maybe you do, a few jobs, and you want to diversify and gets, more jobs, can come to transcribe me set up a profile here, and do foreign transcription, it’s okay using the Google translator tool so again, scroll down no experience or upfront investment, and you don’t even know, you need to know a foreign language because I showed you the tool, that you can utilize, To make more money, triple or quadruple, okay freedom and flexibility, and you know they have a pain, anaplan wepay regularly and, securely, via, payPal, you can keep track of your earnings in the dashboard, so again, come to transcribe me, set up a profile, and there you go now this is the highest paying site, this is the third site, right here, is called, speak, right. Com, speakwrite.com, that you can earn, upwards of $3,400, per month, okay that’s a, pretty good siding, can come right there, i mean an extra 3 Grand, so you can invest, after you can spend on, or whatever it is you want at the end of the day maybe you have a mortgage to pay where you have, bills to pay right, maybe you need some extra groceries, you can pay that with 3400 a month okay this, it’s pretty good so, this site probably pays the most, And, again, do, born transcription, and you can get paid even more, okay using the Google, translator tool so go ahead and set up an account, on this site, then you have, 3 account, it’s okay but, here’s the thing, okay this reminds me of when, i first got started, with my first job okay this was a you know my nine-to-five sort of job right here, you could see I was, handing out milkshakes, cleaning dishes, and you know, being at the cash register taking orders okay, the reason why I, chose this job, which because it paid the most, alright I wanted to make the most money, right off the bat without having a college degree, or any experience I didn’t have any experience, and no college degree so I said you know what, this place this place, pays above minimum wage they pay it off, A few box above minimum wage at the time it was like, $10 an hour, okay, now, that was my mentality going into this I wanted to, fast and I wanted something that could, penny Wright, now but the problem is with this mentality, okay, is that, would never going to get me to finance, natural Freedom this was just going to help me pay some bills, maybe some car insurance, but it wasn’t going to help me be financially independent, and be able to save up, hundreds of thousands of dollars, okay to eventually wear, hire at a young age, this wasn’t going to do that because I had the mentality of, well I just want to make money right now so what’s the, the quickest way I can do it, but if I had the mentality of, how can I create an online business, that will generate passive income while I sleep, Okay.

And then I can retire from that Ma, money right I didn’t have them mentality but later on I figured out after, i’m getting sick and tired of working at a place like this maybe you can relate maybe you hate your 95, you have a boss breathing you’re over your shoulder and you’re not getting paid what you are, work you’re not getting, paid will you think your value is, it’s okay, maybe you just want some extra money at, the end of the month we have credit card debt like I had I had, 10000 in credit card debt, i was sick and tired because this was not going to get me, through okay this is not getting any Financial Freedom soap, what did I do I decide to change my mindset I said okay I need to build something right now, maybe it will take me a month or two, But I’ll be able, to start generating, more money that I, looking at my new job, my nine-to-five and this is when I, started my business my online business, in the first 6 months, i made 350, 5000, dollars okay, that was a lie, exchanging money, maybe cuz I wasn’t making more than, you know I wasn’t making more than 35k, at this, 9 to 5 that I asked, we despise right, but then I made in the first 6 months, more than my parents more than, any of my family is saying, okay and I mean that in a six-month time span now how was I able to do that, okay it’s because, i set up an online business that was selling, products and services, while I was sleeping, okay while I was sleeping, i didn’t need to actively be there right sometimes you don’t feel like showing up, Work sometimes you get out of bed in your life, tired, you don’t want to have to go to work, will you have two if you need if you want the paycheck right, but if you have an online business, you don’t have to, be at work every single moment of the, the day right because the business is working, for you, but it does, does take time to build, the system, okay and, this system, allowed me to go on, who went to Maui here, say that one of the most, expensive hotels and while I was sitting by the sea, infinity pool with my wife okay we’re just enjoying, basking in the Sun, this was kind of like after the first, money I made a said you know what let’s go on a vacation, and as I was sitting there, my phone was going off with notification, $1,000 thousand dollars thousand dollars, every single hour I was making, thousands of dollars, okay and I don’t I don’t have a college degree in love, the smartest guy in the world but I did set up an online business, the online business allow me to buy my, dream car, right here this, the quarter million dollar vehicle I was able to buy it responsibly because my business, is paying for it, now you’re probably wondering, okay Ryan, how do I set up a business like, okay well if you click the first link, down below this video, okay that is V it’s going to be an ebook, that is going to give you, the best business model that help, me achieve, what I have today, help me make my, lights for seven figures, okay and you’re also going to get access, to a business Builder challenge, where is Rocky from day one year you don’t know any, Today 15 where you start learning.

Your first dollars online, also get access to an 8-figure coach someone you can call up everyday, summon you can ask questions am I doing things right, am I going the right direction, okay that’s something I didn’t have it first I didn’t have someone that I can access everyday, where the phone call for free, okay to ask if I’m doing things the right way, and to Help Me Guide Me, to success, so if you want that, click the first link down below this video, can grab that, affiliate ebook, all right, and I will see you, in the next video, take care,

from WordPress https://top1course.com/earn-14-every-2-minutes-for-typing-fastest-make-money-online-site/

#Education #best ways to make money online #business from home #earn from home #earn money online #ea

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productreviewsamazon-blog · 4 years

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Easy Backlinks Review ֠Syndicate Content And Build Backlinks

Easy Backlinks Review – Syndicate Content And Build Backlinks

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Get Easybacklinks Now: https://clickonthis.one/backlinks

Video Transcript:

So actually to start work with the EASYBACKLINKS system you need to create project so you can click project in the menu then click create new project the project say it is something like and grow up of this your submission for your specific needs specific client or the specific for specific side so I will view this and just name and hit create of course you can give the description for this side next all project is created so I can switch to accounts tab in the accounts tab I select the project I have just created and here I will see all the possible sites is effects can submit to actually I see stepless of date side so became a status update site like Twitter and other great sites you can publish your status updates bookmarking sites you see 17 bookmark inside the best booking sites available on the wall so in the internet so you can submit to blog post so here we have 21 walk the best block say you can submit your blog post documents is the Beckman’s allows you to submit PDF documents to document share inside so we have at the moment and document sharing sites videos so we admit to six most powerful the best video sites and web profiles so you can build more than 100 of web profiles to get backlinks to your site and let me show you how to it is easy to work with the system so I’m select same status updates I click select all and now I have to choose if I like just to create a counsel this on this side so I click great accounts automatically button but if I like to create accounts and publish to the sides automatically so I click and I prefer this option more so I click create accounts and publish so I just click this bottle now I write my status here and of course I can put my links here and hit start creating and publish a column that’s basically you need and it will create accounts and the middle to submit of course you can click schedule option here and choose date on what you would like to do this job and select for how many days you like to spread drip your posts on say 7 days or more so I like to do this job immediately and I just simply hit the start creation publishing bug so basically and right now I can switch my PC off and enjoy my life and don’t pay any attention on all this so restless absolutely automatically the same story is say with any other services here available let me show you we have to point our profile is easy to create so I would select all and click create web profiles I place my link here and my end context hit start creating publishing that’s all so very simple and the system already works on their accounts we have a link manager here hero we will see if the links the system creates for you so actually one is created already up here also you can see the queue here shops but the system works on right now and when for what time is this job is scheduled and the last feature here I like to show these RSS feeds so actually you can add to the system day RSS feed from your side choose option hub you like to submit it daily weekly hourly submit to all the sides available to submit few random sites do this daily weekly and select sites you like submit to your heroes list of your accounts available and it finished that’s all so and the system every day go to this your RSS feed check if there are any new post and we’ll do submission while we’re talking so we have 50 accounts created already this looks awesome okay in this video I’m going to show you how to easy rank video in youtube using shortcuts and update latest updates I made for video submission services so actually I go to publish and video here I have already set up a few YouTube accounts and now I will add video posting so I click Add button first of all I will add shortcut here I click add shortcut I’m going to create city shortcut here so actually we have the option here to get cities which are in them a few miles from the particular zip so I enter my zip code paste 50 miles and click find cities ok and system provided me a list of the cities which are in the radius 50 miles from this zip I will call this Circuit City so actually why I do all this often it’s very difficult to rank site or video for particular city because so huge competition around but we may submit video not for this particular but for the cities around this our city we tried to run for and people will look in for the which live around find your side and call you and order your services that’s why we use this approach now I will hit ok next I will set up my video submit item I choose video file next I will give this video file name which will be posted so I copy just file name paste it here and we’ll replace real real city name this shortcut so I hit city and on this place also and set tag tags moreover I can upload some nails which will be used for our video submissions so I have to prepare a few images which I like to use some nails put it into zip archive and applaud using this applaud button if you will click help button you will see the descriptions at two megabytes maximum for video sub nails if you don’t have on sub nails you can tick this check box and the easy Beckman’s will randomly create some nails for each of video submitted some nails support is available for confirm by phone number YouTube accounts only please pay attention so your every of your accounts have to be confirmed by phone number only after this you are allowed to submit some nails and give us a check box post all shortcuts possible so if I take it let me click Edit City to explain some is the backings will do submission for all shortcuts you have provided so actually there will be many videos submitted during this process let me check how many it is so actually we have more than 100 of cities got by this zip operation to actually 200 and there will be 200 of videos submitted each video will have unique city name and hopefully we will get some of this video ranked immediately on the first page of Google um our submit item is ready so I hit create actually mimic also before to see if all is correct hit preview button as you see in first spin we have this city same city here Sam sitting in the description same city in the text and also if I hit preview again there will be other city and this city is in the title in the description in our tags and also in video file name ok nice so I hit create let’s wait till video file is uploaded ok our video submit item is created I just will select YouTube accounts I help and hit publish schedule it button so actually this submission will spread for seven days and as I’ve selected 11 accounts each of these accounts will get 10 videos and hit publish button and publishing is successfully started okay actually I forget to mention that when you upload one video for each submission is the buttons will change each video file to make it unique for the YouTube this allows us to submit the same video about spam for one account many times and actually YouTube will accept all our videos because it will think that every video is different of course the good you will be if you use confirmed by phone number like YouTube accounts and easy buttons will create different something else for each of the video and now I would like to show you some ran ranking I got so I go to link manager you see me a few videos are submitted already and I like to show you real ranking I’ve just received from sub just from submission all these a few videos so a plumber’s wears Columbia on the first page we have our video plumber’s review a also video on first page plumbers karate on so actually the video is number one on this page one breast prosperity video is on the page number one here’s number two on page number one plumbers chicken will curious plumber State Park video is number one plumbers kayak iam video is on the page number one okay as you seem this approach helps to easy rank videos for different kind of local keywords hopefully you find this video available thank you for watching.

Backlink Building Software Described

Hello, fellow bloggers, freelancers, and social networking managers. I understand you dont have that much time because handling and keeping alive a company is not an easy job. Its even harder when your customers would like to have mostly of the advertisement online through social networking, the nightmare of uploading content, managing them all, creating and creating new accounts.

Earning links is hard if you dont know how to find shortcuts. And most people dont have a clue. But link building doesnt need to be laborious. It is possible to build a strong backlink profile without an excessive amount of time or effort if you know where to look for easy backlinks. Yes, easy backlinks do existand they may be high quality, too.

Top Tips With Backlink Building Software

Despite the fact that we are all in the business of hacking on the engine’s algorithm, by doing things that bring direct ROI and improve our position – you need to bear in mind that not all dofollow links are created equal in Google’s eyes. Your rankings will not improve in any respect, while others could harm your website.

Backlinks are significant because: They can assist in improving your organic rankings faster They attract referral traffic They help users by feeding them with additional, relevant information, navigate through various sites and pages on the internet. Google has been known to give a lot of credit to sites with a nice number of backlinks.

Simple Tips about Backlink Building Software

That’s why you need to always focus on getting high-quality,”organic” backlinks. This means that you have to deserve them, rather than simply build links through unethical tactics for the sake of hyperlinks. No matter what you set out to achieve online types, there are two backlink types that you may obtain: The dofollow and nofollow link.

With the Moz Bar on to find the DA of sites, heres what I found. Relevant sites can be opened by me and submit events, or use another series in the list above to find results. You want to spread the word about your event and gain some backlinks and mentions the way along.

What Everyone Ought To Know About Backlink Building Software

1. Search Google, see with them and locate review sites. 2. Use the Moz Bar Extension to determine if the links on their sites are do-follow. 3. To get featured on review websites which provide links that are do-follow, have high DA and PA, and low Spam Score. Heres an example. G 2Crowd is famous in the inspection space.

Find event directories in any of these groups: Your niche/profession Location General You can use innovative search parameters or simple Google queries to locate events directories. Try simple queries like these: key word city submit your course keyword city submit your event key word city add event keyword city add your event key word city add an event keyword city submit your class keyword city submit event keyword city submit your conference keyword city submit an event keyword city submit your workshop Or advanced queries like these: city inurl:occasion inurl:submit keyword inurl:event inurl:compose city keyword inurl:event inurl:submit city inurl:occasion inurl:include keyword inurl:occasion inurl:add city keyword inurl:occasion inurl:add Heres an example.

You do need when you edit Wikipedia articles the approval of the websites moderators. For that reason, I thought this strategy was a backlink generator that was not-so-easy. But if you please the moderators, then this is a simple way to get backlinks. Yes, do-follow backlinks. You have three categories of backlinks from Wikipedia: Easy backlinks from hyperlinks Easy traffic from special citations Easy backlinks from hyperlinks Weve covered ways to get backlinks from Wikipedia in detail .

As found on Youtube

Originally posted 2019-09-26 23:47:14.

https://reviewsarena.net/marketing-software/link-building/easy-backlinks-review-syndicate-content-and-build-backlinks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=easy-backlinks-review-syndicate-content-and-build-backlinks

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productreviewsfree-blog · 4 years

Text

Easy Backlinks Review ֠Syndicate Content And Build Backlinks

Easy Backlinks Review – Syndicate Content And Build Backlinks

youtube

Get Easybacklinks Now: https://clickonthis.one/backlinks

Video Transcript:

Backlink Building Software Described

Top Tips With Backlink Building Software

Simple Tips about Backlink Building Software

What Everyone Ought To Know About Backlink Building Software

As found on Youtube

Originally posted 2019-09-26 23:47:14.

0 notes

jeunesseproductreviews-blog · 4 years

Text

Easy Backlinks Review ֠Syndicate Content And Build Backlinks

Easy Backlinks Review – Syndicate Content And Build Backlinks

youtube

Get Easybacklinks Now: https://clickonthis.one/backlinks

Video Transcript:

Backlink Building Software Described

Top Tips With Backlink Building Software

Simple Tips about Backlink Building Software

What Everyone Ought To Know About Backlink Building Software

As found on Youtube

Originally posted 2019-09-26 23:47:14.

0 notes

bolognesemedia · 6 years

Text

What I’ve Learned From Running a Multimedia Business

I moved to the DC area in August of 2016 from New Bern, North Carolina. Ever heard of it? If you're a Marine Corps brat like me, it's possible. Otherwise, I highly doubt it. DC's atmosphere, the people, the cars, they all exude a level of luxury and professionalism that you would never find in coastal North Carolina.

This was a welcome change. I had been working from home for the past few years and was ready to venture out and take my chunk out of the very obvious wealth being so freely shared in this metro mecca. The first steps were rough. I had moved into a townhouse I knew I couldn't afford, with that bleary-eyed optimism that us younger people tend to have when faced with a new opportunity.

Goal number one? Pay rent every month.

I continued working from home, churning out video after design after ad campaign, but then I realized; all my clients were sourced from a freelancing website that took an ever-growing cut of my earnings and didn't allow me any face time with the people I was helping. But this was what was paying the bills, and I didn't know a soul for 300 miles. So what were the next steps?

Get off your ass.

The biggest misconception of being self-employed is that there's less work involved.

When most people hear someone is "self-employed", a romanticized image appears in their head; "I wake up at 10 am and look out over the balcony at the world I hold in my hands, french pressed coffee and a gourmet breakfast awaiting me at the chic little café down the street. My work day will start when I say it starts."

No.

If your average day is spent reveling in the fact that you don't have to clock in and out every day, you aren't going to be making money as a startup. The truth is, there's a lot of discipline required to generate the money you need, and even more discipline to work in a healthy way. Left to its own devices, my body desperately wants to be nocturnal. I'll stay up until I can't keep my eyes open anymore working on a project or learning about a new skill or just binge watching Billions on HBO, then sleep until 5 or 6 pm that day, wake up, and do the whole thing again.. Did I do this the entire time I lived in North Carolina? You're damn right I did, and I rarely left my house, I didn't make new friends, I didn't even seek out local business. I stuck myself in a complacent rut of consistent online freelance work. Sure, it kept my bills paid, but my business wasn't growing and my quality of life was severely low.

Had I had discipline in my work-life balance, I might have been happier, I probably would have made quite a bit more money, and most importantly, I would have 2 years' worth of business and personal connections in that area.

Now let's fast forward to today. It has taken a lot of shaking hands, doing favors, and nitty-gritty planning to make anything at all out of the visions of grandeur I have for myself. My industry is full of bright-eyed and well-motivated people of all ages who want to escape the 9-5 and live on their own terms, and some are definitely better at it than others. Some have worked 70 hour weeks for several years to get to a point where they don't always have to put in the weekly 40. The issue in clarity is that people only tend to see the ones that have put in that behind-the-scenes work and can afford to live that romanticized "self-employed" life that people picture.

I am by no means "wildly successful". There are peaks, there are valleys, and it takes a lot of determination and discipline to keep pushing forward with what I do.

Motivation to go network: It really does help to know people.

A short while ago, I met a man I've wanted to meet since I edited the Gentleman's Gazette Interview of him. Brian Sacawa is the founder and executive editor of He Spoke Style, an approachable, honest and relatable source for men's style inspiration and advice. He hosted a pop-up shop at a swanky hotel in Downtown DC. Also attending the event was Barnette Holston, founder of the Men's Life DC and DC Fashion Fool blogs. I wanted to get back into the "behind the scenes" of men's style on a more local level, so Barnette invited me to the DC Dapper Dudes Brunch, which brought local men's lifestyle and fashion influencers together for a few hours of photos, great food, and most importantly, deep conversation about the industry of style and influence in DC.

Meeting all these guys opened my eyes to a scene I had no idea even existed (remember the whole "sheltered freelancer" thing?). They're not specifically in my industry, but they're all fantastic examples of people with a creative flair and a goal that they were working tirelessly to achieve. The thing is, they weren't doing it alone.

Building a community to work with is an amazing strategy to motivate yourself and generate ideas a lot faster. Since the brunch, I've worked with Barnette, Hugh and Crye (a fantastic clothing store based in Georgetown), and many more locals I may have never met if not for me just getting out there and finding the opportunity.

You may not need an MBA, but you do need to know what you're doing.

This was perhaps the most difficult wake-up call I've received throughout my journey to this point. I've always been extremely pro-vocational schooling and adamantly against for-profit colleges. I stand firm with the mentality that you shouldn't have to go hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt just for the possibility to make that money back in the industry you decided you wanted to be in when you were 18 or 19 years old. Vocational education is much more targeted, much more hands-on, and much cheaper.

That being said, I don't think that your education should stop once you get that prized piece of paper signed by the right people. Reading books and watching instructional videos tailored to guiding you toward what you want in this world is a habit that the richest people alive today swear by. These authors have been down the road you're on right now and have a mass of experience to share. You'll learn about their triumphs, their failures, and exactly what got them to where they are. That's pretty valuable information if you ask me. These authors also tell you the things you may not have though of, such as how vital your own personal development is in order to succeed. No matter what your industry is, you won't get far starting a business without learning sales, marketing, public speaking, even personal style.

A favorite book of mine is The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman. He shares my cynicism toward business school and took it upon himself to scour through hundreds of books, gather his findings, and package them all together into one immensely valuable source of knowledge. Give it a read and let us both know what you thought!

You need to establish goals for yourself and your business.

Go out to a crowded mall or town center and start asking people "Do you want to be successful?". Chances are most people are going to say "Yes". But if you then ask them "How?", they likely won't have a great answer. Granted, not everyone aspires to start their own business, and that's okay. But in anyone's life, in order to reach that "I made it" point, there needs to be a clearly defined path to follow.

Start by being realistic with yourself about the most general aspect of what you want you or your business to be. Bill Gates didn't start day 1 of his computer programming job in high school by writing a list of steps to make him one of the richest men in the world, he began by setting incremental goals for himself on each step to the top.

What do you enjoy?

What are you good at?

What is profitable?

From there, you can build an idea of your best options for success. After you've determined that, do your research on the industry and figure out how the masters got to where they are. Create a business plan from the start, outlining your 1 month goals, your 3 month goals, your 6 month, 1 year, and so on. This will give you a tangible timeline to really buckle down and continually tick off the boxes on your to-do list.

The more detailed your list, the more mental satisfaction you'll get from completing the tasks, and very likely the more ideas you'll generate based on what you've done.

I keep a daily, weekly, and monthly to-do list on my phone, and every time I finish one of the tasks, I think about the next step in that process. It really helps me to feel that I'm moving forward with my plans and usually keeps me on schedule with the rest of my life. Everyone's mind runs a bit differently, so find what works for you and lock yourself into it. You'll be amazed what can happen.

In a very long-winded way, this has been a peek inside the past 2 years of my brain. My industry will never go away, but the people who don't actively pursue success within it (of which I almost was one), will be forgotten and move on to settle for something less than what they dream for.

Don't settle. Be your best professional self. Find your opportunity.

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totallyinedible · 7 years

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It's almost blasphemy that my reflection time is Friday prayer time... but at the same time, it's therapeutic to an extent.

This week has been generally okay... until it wasn't... and for no damn reason. On Monday, I had a call with Osama and as soon as we began to talk, my mom rushes into my room and tells me that my aunt is on her way and wants me to help her. My planned night ended up going nothing like I wanted to and it bothered me a little. I ended up going back home, watched a little bit of Young and Hungry to change my mood and then went to sleep and start a new day. Tuesday Was back to being okay. It was game night; one of the things that has been constant since end of last summer and one thing I really look forward to every week.

Wednesday, things went downhill - and I emphasize again - for no damn reason. Wednesday, my mind started wandering into its comfort zone; fucking up. Nothing happened that triggered these thoughts, and I feel it's the nothingness that lead there anyway. Wednesday night, all I could think of is how to refrain from downloading a dating app one more time. It was very difficult to keep myself restrained. It seems quite late, but are those withdrawal symptoms? Or is it just my mind isn't completely used to the current state of life? My mind went back 6 months in time... to the time I started obsessing about Touma. To the time, I had a burning heart that imagined us the perfect couple. To a time that never even existed, and probably never will. I reiterate, Touma doesn't even know of my existence, and unless I am actually in love with a guy, I would like to continue my man-fast. It's been the best decision that I've made in recent memory, and I don't want to lose all the progress I've made so far.

But night time makes it harder and harder. Driving in the empty dark streets at the end of the night reminds me of my successful endeavors at capturing men. It makes my heart long for the excitement I get from talking to stranger and hitting it off big time. It reminds me of the sexual attempts we'd have without getting caught and that I later regret. Yes, I realize I'm only romanticizing and thinking of what made me fall over and over into the same pitfalls. But it doesn't seem I am fully in control of my mental state. The fact that I haven't succumbed to the darkest corners of my mind is something to be happy about, but again... the detox process is not instant.

Patience, Amer... Patience...

This brings me to a couple of more things that I've come across this week. I'll start with my dad's talk about finding a job abroad and leaving what he called a hell-hole. Halfway through my time at university, I was one of the lucky few who realized how amazing Amman can be. Ever since, it's been one of my goals to be one of the people who want to create change in Jordan. The local cultural identity is dying. I come from pure Palestinian blood, but I was never exposed to the importance of my own origin and heritage the way other relatives were. My dad always searched for the better life and wanted us to live it, so he did not throw us in the cyclones of the past. My mom was too young to care about any of this. Last week, I found out that my dad had a really tough childhood in terms of safety, and I realized my dad never shared the sad parts about his life with his children.. and I also realized that I don't know any proper history of any sorts.

I guess this explains why I'm very detached from the past. I love to learn about the past, but I don't like to stay stuck in it.

Anyway, I'm veering off topic. My dad was one of those who had the chance to leave Jordan, but when he started a family, he came back because it is a common belief that Amman is a great place to raise your children. Little did my father know that coming back to this country was his worst decision financially, and he seems to regret it to this day. He's pushing me to leave this country and go to Germany. The problem with that is there is nothing for me in Germany! I would love to go live there. The country is magnificent. But for one, I would be leaving all my loved ones behind. But even a greater reason not to go is that the field that I am interested in continuing in is one that relies heavily on language. Currently, my German doesn't allow me to work in copywriting. English is not an option there.

This topic has been on my mind for a while. What do I want to do with my life? Where do I head next? I believe in giving the proper time for anything and not taking impulsive actions. My impulsive actions have all been wrong. I have never taken a leap of faith and had good results. So I'm going to say this rationally... I'm not a big fan of all the responsibilities I have at Bayt. My role is very undefined and that leads to with defined roles to throw their donkey work on me. A typical Amer would want to escape to a better place, but current Amer wants to do things with patience. How? The same way I am trying to handle my emotions lately; by tackling matters head on. Right now, I'm working on my time management skills at work to make sure I finish all those daunting tasks thrown at me within the shortest timeframe possible every week. By doing that, I want to make sure to them quickly and efficiently, as they will keep coming on a weekly basis. This will give me the time I need to work on what I really want to work on since I joined; being creative and improving my skills at work.

I really don't want to leave Bayt now. I feel I've been very lucky by working with a great team, a great boss, and a company that allows for progress (or at least, that's how I feel). My only issue right now is that I don't see my own progress, but again, it's only been 5 months, and it would be ridiculous to expect results so damn fast. So this all boils down to patience. I will be patient and give it the time it needs. Sooner than later, if I feel like my career goals do not align with Bayt, I can start my search again.

What I need is the small changes in my daily life that I keep promising myself to implement. There doesn't seem to be any freelance work coming way this week, so it just might be the perfect time to focus on myself... why? Let's explain...

Firstly, I've already changed my eating habits this past month and I already lost 2.5 kilos. This is a great incentive for me to actually get to work out. I am not subscribing to a gym; mainly because it's not something I am considering within my limited budget, and also because I'm still not comfortable going to a gym. So I'll set 3 days a week where I use the treadmill we have at home, and once every week, I'll go for Just Dance. You can all suck it because it actually helped me lose weight before :D So yeah. Since Game Night is Tuesday, the three days would be Sat, Mon, and Wed. If Game Night changes, the schedule shifts. As we say in Arabic, دق الحديد وهوه حامي. Sorry, everyone. I have no idea how to say that in English #bilingualproblems

The second thing that I feel like it's a suitable time for is to start praying again. I stopped almost 3 years ago. I still go to Friday prayers and I even managed to read Sooret Al-Kahf almost every Friday for the past 2 years. I've always used university and how busy I was as an excuse to stop praying, along with the excuse that we had no prayer rooms at university. I know it's all bullshit, but assuming they are valid excuses, I no longer have them as excuses. At work, the prayer room is literally next to my desk. Also, my current work-life and after-word schedules allow me not to miss any prayer. So maybe it's time I stop being lazy about this matter and get to it.

It's very hypocritical how I manage to talk about having sex with guys and keeping at my prayers within the same blog, let alone the same post. I wonder if that makes me cool and unpredictable, a human piece of trash, or just an example of the complex human system?

While I spend my life figuring out the answer to that question, I plan to spend the weekend with a peaceful mind, a couple of creative outlets (already instagrammed and working on a silly vocal loop), and I hope to catch up with some old buddies.

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