Buckle up, kids. This post is going to be a long one.
I figured there needs to be at least one post on here about why I started blogging.
I’m sure you’ve 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.
And I guess my story half aligns with that. I honestly like my day job.
The job I have now is the “dream job” I had on my vision board during college.
My blogging journey started because I had a shift of priorities in my life.
I decided that this life I had built for myself was great, but my dreams are now taking me in a new direction.
I’m sharing my story, hoping that it encourages some of you to take that next step towards your goals.
Anyway, here we go!
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 here.
Why I Started Blogging
I knew exactly what I wanted to do after college.
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.
I was so impressed and overwhelmed by the amount of creativity spewing from the place.
I loved the work hard, play hard mentality, and couldn’t wait to live out my Mad Men dreams after college.
It made me very confident about my career path and where I wanted to take my life.
And as I was getting ready to graduate my senior year, I stumbled upon Steve Job’s Stanford 2005 commencement speech, where he told us to “never settle.”
I loved his speech so much I put this in my email signature:
“The 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.”
Steve Jobs
(Cheesy, I KNOW…)
I felt SO lucky to know right out the gate what I wanted to do with my life.
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).
Fast forward five years, and I’m back in Los Angeles (my hometown), at one of my dream agencies.
And, I worked my way up to the exact position I told myself I’d be in five years prior. I did it!
But then my body shut down, and I started getting sharp pains in my stomach.
I got multiple tests done only to find out that stress was likely the cause of my pain. STRESS!
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.
It was worth it! Right?
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.
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.
I had never been healthier, and slowly the pain eventually subsided.
That same year, I took a life-changing trip to Japan with my dad.
It was my first time traveling outside of the country and to the country where I was born.
I’m an adoptee from Japan, and this was my first time going back to where I COULD’VE grown up.
The place where my birth parents (who I’ve never met) lived, and I got to experience it all with my dad.
That trip made me realize how much more there is to life than work.
It gave me a new appreciation for my roots, my culture, and my parents.
Related post: My Adoption Story – Part 1: “Family”
There was so much more to experience in the world outside of work.
Up until then, reaching my career goal consumed my entire world and had me living and breathing work.
Friends and family would ask what I’d been up to even though they already knew my life update would be about work.
I’m proud of myself and how far I had come in my career – but after Japan, my priorities shifted.
I spent the next couple of years just thinking and talking about the life I wished I had and never did anything about it.
And then, COVID-19!
The coronavirus pandemic, Kobe passing, and all the civil unrest happening in America was the catalyst that made me decide enough was enough.
I needed to stop THINKING about making moves and start taking actual steps to make my dream life a reality.
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.
There’s a weird sense of empowerment you get when you realize that the past and the future are only thoughts in your mind.
You can choose whether or not to react to them.
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.
Blogging aligned to the “non-negotiables” I defined for my future:
- Being able to work remote
- Independence or working on my own time (and terms)
- Making a positive difference in the world / giving back to the community
A blog allows me to design my ideal post-COVID life.
I could envision myself doing this for the long haul, and I’ve never felt more aligned to something in a long time.
I’ve finally found something that would allow me to impact the world in my own way positively.
My goal is to create content that uplifts and inspires people to be more intentional with how they live their lives.
The main takeaways from this experience:
- You have to go after your dreams. Life is short, so why not go after exactly what you want?
- Just start. Start even if you have no idea what you’re doing because you’ll figure it out!
- Live life how you want. Take control of your life by being intentional with what you do every single day.
- Get out of your own way. Stop making excuses. If you really want something, you’ll find a way to make it happen.
Blogging Resources
I did A LOT of research before purchasing anything for my blog!
I looked into what resources and programs would make my life easier right off the bat and set a good foundation to monetize and expand my blog in the future.
If you’re interested in starting a blog, I link below precisely what I used to start my blog!
This blog mainly covered WHY I started a blog, but I do plan on adding a few more posts in the future about HOW I started my blog.
Bluehost
First, you want to make sure to own your domain name. I used Bluehost because it’s very affordable (plans start as low as $2.95/month, but I have the Plus subscription for $5.95/month) and works smoothly with WordPress.
WordPress.org
The #1 thing I read when researching how to start a blog is that you 100% should self-host if you want to monetize your blog. Plus, WordPress gives you the flexibility to do so much more with your website down the line!
17th Avenue Feminine WordPress Themes
I am so happy that I found 17th Avenue because I’m a website newbie! When I started my blog, I had zero clues on how to do anything with WordPress, let alone design a pretty, mobile-first design!
I found 17th Avenue through Etsy, and all the reviews raved about how easy it was to personalize.
The step-by-step guide that came with my template was CLUTCH, and I still refer back to those directions from time-to-time.
Grammarly
Writing is the #1 thing you do as a blogger. Grammarly has been a lifesaver for me and allows me to post blogs with confidence. Grammarly proofreads but also gives suggestions or flags when sentences don’t read properly.
There’s a free version, but I invested in the Premium subscription because my blog’s health is very dependent on the strength and correctness of my writing.
A Self Guru – Legal Bundle
Coming from the ad world, I understand the importance of making sure everything I did on my blog was legal and followed all regulations. Looking up legal templates was one of the first things I looked into after purchasing my web domain.
Many bloggers highly recommended Amira. Her templates were straightforward to use, and I feel very secure, knowing that my blog is covered legally.
Canva
Canva makes it so easy to design assets for my business. I use it to create Pinterest pins, social content, my logo, and much more!
Looking for more inspiration?
Check out my YouTube video below where I go into detail about how and why I quit my full-time job to start my online business.
Leave a comment
Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below with any questions you have about starting a blog! Happy to answer any other questions you have for me.
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