Change is often scary and it brings uncertainty and many unknowns to our lives. I think as humans, we’re pre-programmed to dislike change, no matter what shape or form it comes in. However, change also has a way of inserting itself into your life without your say so. In this case, you have two choices: adapt and thrive or fight and lose.
I speak from a place of experience. I speak as someone who went through a big change that required adjustment and a new attitude toward life and purpose. Up until a year ago, I’ve been a happily employed or self-employed practicing attorney. Due to some family decisions, it became necessary for me to stop working, and become a stay-at-home mom for my toddler.
It was quite possibly one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. The day I closed the doors to my office and went home felt like a big piece of me just went missing. I didn’t know how to become a stay-at-home mom.
The Change That Gave My Life a New Direction
As much as I love my son, staying home was not easy. Physically I was more tired than ever before. I was running around, cooking, cleaning, and trying to keep up with an overly active toddler. Mentally, however, I was having a difficult time. I missed working, I missed deadlines, and the daily to-do’s that I was so used to as an attorney. I needed a mental stimulation-a challenge.
So what did I do, you may ask? I turned to the online world. You see, blogging has always been something I’ve been interested in. I even did it for a short time right before I attended college. Becoming a stay-at-home mom gave me the opportunity to see what else was out there in the world that I could put to use for me.
I started blogging, at first about my daily life as a mother and challenges. It was an outlet for me. Blogging gave me something to do and look forward to other than raising my son and looking after the household. However, I realized I was more passionate about another topic: online marketing. So that’s when my current website started. My entry into the blogging world started as a hobby, but soon I realized that it was actually possible to earn good money with it.
From Attorney to Stay-at-Home Mom Turned Online Solopreneur
The idea of being able to earn money from home, raising my child my way, and having something in my life that provided me with the mental stimulation I needed was too good to be true. I doubted that decision many times over.
At first, it was the discomfort of transitioning from being an attorney to a blogger. Even though I am still a fully licensed and active attorney, in my mind I used to think that I failed as an attorney since I was not working actively.
I was uncomfortable at the thought of my friends and relatives finding out about my blogging activities. All this fear and discomfort was holding me back from realizing my blog’s true potential.
That’s when I embraced the change that happened in my life. I welcomed it because it provided me with a fresh opportunity that I wouldn’t have had before.
I fully immersed myself in the blogging world, made connections, started gathering my own tribe of people who liked my posts and followed me. Pretty soon I started putting my attorney skills to use and provided other bloggers with legal compliance information. My website is being monetized now by selling digital products that I created, online courses, offering audits and consultations, as well as affiliate marketing.
Through my journey, I became familiar with several wonderful men and women who were making a full-time income from their blogs. One particular blogger has been making over 100K/month for the last four months in a row. This is just an inspiration of what is possible if you try. I am certainly not saying that every blogger, or even me, will make this much money, but it’s something to strive toward.
I shared this story to encourage all of you out there who are crippled with fear at the thought of change. Let it be. Embrace it and thrive in the new environment that will undoubtedly open up in front of you because of that change. Shape your life to be what you want and how you want it – you have the power.