I get a lot of questions about how I managed to become a full-time blogger right out of school. I can see the apprehensive looks on people’s faces when they hear me say that I blog and create content on social media for a living, almost like they are calculating how I could possibly live off of a “blogger income”. Or, the typical response is, “Oh wow…you do that? full-time, for real?”. Yes, FOR REAL!
When I think back to how I did it, a lot of it came down to taking risks & trusting my passion and work ethic to figure things out. We all have that little voice inside of our gut telling us that we have a bigger purpose or passion, it’s just believing in it that most of us find to be the tricky part. Trust me, at time’s I too, doubted myself, but once I took that risk, I haven’t looked back.
I recently finished reading the book, You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero (p.s. a must read for any one wanting to go after the life they want, aka all of us), and I read this one quote that hit me so hard (it’s pretty deep, so be ready lol).
K, can we take in how true that is!? We all literally walk through life being scared to make meaningful changes because we are scared of financial impacts, what people may think, or our limiting beliefs that we might not be able to do it. But, the only truth we know is, we all have one shot at this life so why not make it the most badass version we possibly can for ourselves? I can already hear people saying things like: “but I have rent to pay”, “but it’s just SO competitive”, “but I want to buy a house”. BUT, BUT, BUT. Have you ever thought that you could buy a house while also making money doing something you love? You can literally make money doing anything you want, as long as you have a ton of passion & drive.
Ok, I won’t get too too deep on that anymore, but for real though, think about that!!
Basically, I just feel super passionate about this whole topic and it makes me upset when I can see people who are just so scared to take a risk, when I know for a fact they will succeed in whatever they do. So, here are 5 ways that you can start building up the courage to take risks towards your dream job and ultimately, live your dream life!
1. Surround yourself with other badass people who are living out their dreams.
This one is so important. For me, this was a big way I felt inspired and courageous enough to take the risk. When you are constantly surrounded by other people who are living out their dreams, it makes you question why you aren’t doing the same for yourself. The motivation, passion and drive from these kinds of people will start to rub off on you, giving you those same positive feelings.
Think about hanging out with someone who is a total drag, is negative about life, hate’s their job and just goes on and on about it. How would you feel after hanging out with them? I know the feeling & it makes you want to climb into bed and drown in their same misery.
But, picture hanging out with a friend who just started her own business, is travelling a ton, & her passion radiates, making you feel confident, refreshed and inspired knowing there’s people out there living like that. THOSE are the people you need in your life right now.
2. Listen to podcasts & read books about other successful people in your field.
Listening and reading about other entrepreneurial women’s success stories is a great way to gain that confidence in yourself. Hearing about the struggles, the ups/downs, & how fulfilled they are today, is super motivating. Keep feeding your self with these stories!
A couple of my favourite podcasts to listen and learn from other entrepreneurial women are: The Influencer Podcast, & Girl Boss Radio. You won’t be disappointed!
3. Write down your goals, read back your goals, envision your goals, go to sleep thinking about your goals, BE YOUR GOALS.
Did you know that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down? Grab your pen and paper guys!! I am a total believer in this because I swear it is true. I usually write a yearly goal list, and a monthly goal list, and for the most part, I look back and see that I have checked off if not most, all of the goals on the list. There is something about writing things down that really allows you to put it into practise and believe it to be true.
After sitting down and writing these goals down, read them back when ever you are feeling uninspired. Go to sleep at night picturing what it would look like for you to have these goals happen and be your truth! It may sound crazy, but the more you think and believe something to be true, the more you put intention into these goals on a day to day basis.
4. Just START. Prove to yourself in small ways that you can make it a success.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from working for myself is to simply just start. Whether you have dreamt of making a blog and you have been putting it off, or you want to start posting your outfits on instagram, just do it! It will never be perfect at the beginning. Trust me, when I look back at my first blog posts and outfit photos on instagram, I can’t believe how much I have evolved (scroll down my feed on IG if you dare lol!). But, the point here is, I wouldn’t have gotten here today if I was too focused on having the perfect chance to start taking photos.
The best part about this is, you will start proving to yourself that you can be successful even if its in small ways. Maybe you start posting outfit photos and you have a few people comment how much they love your style! These are small wins that add up to the bigger goal in the end! Prove to yourself that you can do it, even in the smallest ways and you will be surprised at how that risk-taker inside of you might just wake up one morning wanting to take over!
5. Practise Self LOVE.
The more confident you are with yourself, the more you trust your ability to make things happen for yourself. This is something I have learnt over time (and am still learning), but will take you places you only dreamt of.
