{"id":2454,"date":"2020-10-22T19:53:26","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T02:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifestylebyremi.com\/staging\/2326\/?p=2454"},"modified":"2021-07-30T15:38:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T22:38:59","slug":"why-i-started-blogging-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifestylebyremi.com\/staging\/2326\/why-i-started-blogging-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Started Blogging + Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buckle up, kids. This post is going to be a long one. <\/p>\n\n\n

I figured there needs to be at least one post on here about why I started blogging. <\/p>\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve read or heard plenty of stories about people who hated their day jobs and wanted to pursue something that builds the life of their dreams. <\/p>\n\n\n

And I guess my story half aligns with that. I honestly like my day job. <\/p>\n\n\n

The job I have now is the \u201cdream job\u201d I had on my vision board during college. <\/p>\n\n\n

My blogging journey started because I had a shift of priorities in my life. <\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n

I decided that this life I had built for myself was great, but my dreams are now taking me in a new direction.<\/p>\n\n\n

I\u2019m sharing my story, hoping that it encourages some of you to take that next step towards your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n

Anyway, here we go!<\/p>\n\n\n

\"why<\/figure>\n\n\n

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure <\/sub><\/em>here<\/em><\/sub><\/a>. <\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Why I Started Blogging<\/h2>\n\n\n

I knew exactly what I wanted to do after college. <\/h4>\n\n\n

I studied marketing in college and landed a fancy advertising internship in Los Angeles in the summer of my junior year that absolutely changed my life. <\/p>\n\n\n

I was so impressed and overwhelmed by the amount of creativity spewing from the place. <\/p>\n\n\n

I loved the work hard, play hard mentality, and couldn\u2019t wait to live out my Mad Men dreams after college. <\/p>\n\n\n

It made me very confident about my career path and where I wanted to take my life. <\/p>\n\n\n

And as I was getting ready to graduate my senior year, I stumbled upon Steve Job\u2019s Stanford 2005 commencement speech<\/a>, where he told us to \u201cnever settle.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

I loved his speech so much I put this in my email signature: <\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cThe only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do.\u201d <\/em><\/p>Steve Jobs<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

(Cheesy, I KNOW\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n

I felt SO lucky to know right out the gate what I wanted to do with my life. <\/p>\n\n\n

After graduation, I wrote down a five-year plan for my advertising career and applied right away to agencies in San Francisco (where I lived at the time). <\/p>\n\n\n

Fast forward five years, and I\u2019m back in Los Angeles (my hometown), at one of my dream agencies. <\/p>\n\n\n

And, I worked my way up to the exact position I told myself I\u2019d be in five years prior. I did it! <\/p>\n\n\n

But then my body shut down, and I started getting sharp pains in my stomach.<\/h4>\n\n\n

I got multiple tests done only to find out that stress was likely the cause of my pain. STRESS!<\/p>\n\n\n

The past five years, I had worked my ass off, worked long night after long night, and just did the damn thing because I loved what I was doing. <\/p>\n\n\n

It was worth it! Right?<\/p>\n\n\n

My body did NOT think it was worth it, and the pain (and my doctor) told me that I needed to take a beat to decompress. <\/p>\n\n\n

It sent me down a year-long path of listening religiously to health podcasts, learning what food was good for my (stressed out) gut, and reading self-help books to strengthen my mind. <\/p>\n\n\n

I had never been healthier, and slowly the pain eventually subsided. <\/p>\n\n\n

That same year, I took a life-changing trip to Japan with my dad. <\/h4>\n\n\n

It was my first time traveling outside of the country and to the country where I was born. <\/p>\n\n\n

I\u2019m an adoptee from Japan<\/a>, and this was my first time going back to where I COULD\u2019VE grown up. <\/p>\n\n\n

The place where my birth parents (who I\u2019ve never met) lived, and I got to experience it all with my dad. <\/p>\n\n\n

That trip made me realize how much more there is to life than work. <\/p>\n\n\n

It gave me a new appreciation for my roots, my culture, and my parents. <\/p>\n\n\n

Related post:<\/strong> My Adoption Story – Part 1: “Family”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

There was so much more to experience in the world outside of work. <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n

Up until then, reaching my career goal consumed my entire world and had me living and breathing work. <\/p>\n\n\n

Friends and family would ask what I\u2019d been up to even though they already knew my life update would be about work. <\/p>\n\n\n

I\u2019m proud of myself and how far I had come in my career – but after Japan, my priorities shifted. <\/p>\n\n\n

I spent the next couple of years just thinking and talking about the life I wished I had and never did anything about it. <\/p>\n\n\n

And then, COVID-19!<\/h4>\n\n\n

The coronavirus pandemic, Kobe passing, and all the civil unrest happening in America was the catalyst that made me decide enough was enough. <\/p>\n\n\n

I needed to stop THINKING about making moves and start taking actual steps to make my dream life a reality. <\/p>\n\n\n

2020 taught me that you never know what will happen in the future, so you have to enjoy and make the most of the present. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

There\u2019s a weird sense of empowerment you get when you realize that the past and the future are only thoughts in your mind. <\/p>\n\n\n

You can choose whether or not to react to them.<\/p>\n\n\n

So, I decided to be extremely intentional with my time and invest it in things aligned to how I truly wanted to live my life. <\/p>\n\n\n

Blogging aligned to the \u201cnon-negotiables\u201d I defined for my future: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n