Why I blog
I've wanted to start a 'real' blog for YEARS.
The idea first popped up in grade 10 and again during my first undergraduate degree. I finally dabbled in blogging in 2015, but the timing wasn't right and I pushed the idea away for a bit.
After graduating social work this past May the idea to start a blog become less of a want and more of a need. I didn't know why the drive was so strong but it was, and I finally decided to listen to my intuition, challenge the traditional 'social work' route and jump two feet into the blogging world. The first few months were awkward... but now that I've gotten into the groove of things and feel more confident in myself and my vision, I'm starting to meet likeminded souls with likeminded missions and I finally get 'it'. 'It' being why my intuition wanted me to blog so bad!
Blogging opened doors. Doors to the lifestyle and career I craved.
I am an activist. Human rights, animal rights, the planet's rights. It all matters to me. I am also a writer. Nothing makes me happier than forming words into powerful sentences. I've also always felt a little bit ahead of my time. Things that seem natural and normal to me are very strange to others and I've spent a lot of my life wondering why the world is so slow to catch up. Starting a blog and sharing my ideas has connected me with forward thinkers all over this beautiful planet. Instead of feeling lonely because no one understands me, I feel safe and at home with a group of people who understand me and my vision perfectly. These people have connected me to other people and slowly my entire world and what I believed was possible for myself and my mission opened up.
All thanks to a bit of creativity and a desire to go my own way.
I never wanted to make money from my blog. I wanted to create change. I wanted to show other sensitive people there was another way. I wanted a space to claim sensitivity as a strength, not something to be diagnosed and fixed. But the law of attraction is real and soon after committing to my vision the universe showed up to support it. The universe works in mysterious ways and before I started making money directly off my space I got a perfect social work job that not only connected me with other empaths and someone just as passionate about using social media for social change, but also gave me space to think, create and engage in the evenings. Then people started asking for mentorship and I started to get invites to coffee dates and community events to offer my opinion on the future of mental health. For a while I mentored and gave my opinion for free, but it didn't take long to realize the things that made me a great mentor and a great consult - my willingness to listen, my open-mindedness, my creativity and my intuitive insight - were valuable and money is how we show value in our world. I also realized my self-care - my own space, Reiki, essential oils, healthy foods, flowers - was expensive and I can't pour from an empty cup.
So I began to charge a small fee and further establish myself as an expert.
“In spite of current ads and slogans, the world doesn’t change one person at a time. It changes as networks of relationships form among people who discover they share a common cause and vision of what’s possible.”
I don't have a huge following and I don't do sponsored posts but I still profit off my space. And that's what I want to share with you.
The internet makes it possible to use our voice and our creativity to create change AND get a pay cheque.
But it requires we get creative and look outside the traditional way of doing things. We think we need to blog a 'certain' way and blog in a certain 'niche' to make blogging work. Or we think we can't create and sell a product because too many others do a similar thing. Worse though, we think we need to settle into 9-5s and live the lives our parents lived because it's safe. I'm here to say this isn't true. Creativity is the way of the future and there is more than enough success to go around. We can be and do whatever we want to be and do! As long as we believe in it. The world wants to evolve and there are a lot of us who want to evolve with it. How do we do that? By listening to our intuition and allowing ourselves to be creative in how we share our gifts and live our lives. This can be through a blog or through YouTube or an Etsy store. It can also be through a private practice or through a non-profit. The personal is political and the things we choose to engage in and the messages we choose to share in our day-to-day - including our jobs! - are creating the future.
“You really can do whatever you want.”
We don't have to settle for an old way of doing things. And we never need to believe everything has already been done (I can't even count the number of times I've heard: "everyone has a blog".... ) because while everything has been done, it's never been done from your perspective. YOU make your idea different.
We have the creativity and the strength to do things differently. To do things better. When we show up and follow our heart, the rest falls magically into place. We are led to the right people and the money we need to support our vision shows up out of what seems like thin air.
6 months ago I was sitting home applying to traditional social work jobs knowing it wasn't the right route. I'm not a traditional person. Nothing about tradition excites me. But traditional is safe and I pushed my intuition aside until I broke out in a rash that was so bad I had no choice but to finally listen. The day after deciding to forgo my traditional job search and register for this site, the rash was gone. I didn't know why I needed to blog and I certainly didn't think I would be making a profit but I showed up each and every day because my heart told me to. I blogged with no idea of the path ahead and slowly the path was shown to me. Today I can't help but marvel at what I've created for myself and the conversations I've started about the future of mental health.
If your heart is telling you to do something but you aren't exactly sure how it will all work out, or you can't really see how it will benefit you long term, remember the universe works in mysterious ways and your heart's pull is the universe's way of telling you the next right step to take so it can carry you to the life you desire.
Creative entrepeneurship for social change is a real thing. We really can change the world and get paid in the process.
x
Robin
P.S. If you are curious if a creative idea is worth pursuing, I wrote a post a few months ago that might validate you and your vision. Check it out HERE.