The Grass Always Seems Greener
I have been straying from writing about my passion these last few months. Because of that, I am constantly looking for other pseudo-passions on which to hitch my wagon. I constantly think that topic over there is the one that will propel me to digital-nomad-writing-on-the-beach freedom.
My passion is travel. It has been ever since I went on a five-month trek across Europe in 2008. I may not have known it was my passion enough to jump into it and make it a career (a regret for sure), but something inside me sparked.
That spark kept getting brighter after I came back to Calgary. It flamed up enough for me to move to Vancouver and then again when I moved to Chile and Panama. I love living in new places, travelling to new destinations, and submersing myself in new cultures and customs. Unfortunately for me and everyone else, Covid has kept me in my hometown of Vancouver for longer than I have wanted.
During this pandemic, I found a second job as a freelance writer. Like many people, I am hoping to turn my side gig into a full-time career. I want the now-stereotypical digital nomad life (I wanted the digital nomad life before covid — before it was cool and everyone wanted it).
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Now that I am becoming a writer, I have been searching for my passion for writing because writing on what you know is much easier than constantly researching new topics. So I wrote on many different ideas, jumping from topic to topic, finding my love but not having any success. Why? Because none of those were my passion. Because I haven’t travelled for so long that I have forgotten my hunger and love for travelling and living abroad!
I have forgotten that I started a website dedicated to my future of travelling worldwide and living in a different country (www.coupleofsunchasers.com). I have forgotten that I love going to the airport and waiting for my flight to an unknown and amazing adventure. I have forgotten the smells and sounds when you step out of the airport and onto the street of a new and interesting country, ripe for exploring and learning.
I have had a “grass is always greener” problem my whole life. I like to try and start things, but I don’t stick with it long enough to enjoy the spoils of being an expert in whichever field I have stuck with. I get sidetracked with the shiny new object over there, keeping me from becoming a master in my chosen niche.
Recently, I have been writing about whatever pops into my mind and hoping that something sticks or pops out and hits me in the face with a “Here Is What You Can Make Money Writing About” sign. Guess what? This is not working, and it’s because I am doing the process backwards. I am trying to write about something that will make me money and then turn that into a passion.
What I have to do is focus on my passion, cultivate that passion, and let it grow into something that I can make a career with.
I had a good chat with my sponsor the other day to get me back on track. He is into all things crypto, and guess what? I thought maybe I should start writing about crypto. Why? No reason. Because it was there in front of me. Because it was something other than what I have been writing about, and maybe I could make a living out of writing about crypto. Because the grass looked greener over there.
Well, no more.
I am going to stick with writing about all things travel.
The first lesson I learned was how to see stories to write about. In terms of blogging and making a portfolio of travel articles, I have found that almost any travel news story can be turned into a meaningful and interesting article. Plus, if it is in the news, there is a chance I can piggyback some internet traffic and get some clicks.
The other lesson is to keep writing. I have been reading about many people on Medium who say they write one article a day or about five a week to receive the $500 writer’s bonus, even if they only put out 500 words. That is a lot of writing to put out, and I would imagine not all of it is good writing, but I get it.
The best way to get good at writing is to write and write and write more. So that is what I am going to do.
Additionally, the best way to commit to something is to put it in writing and hold yourself accountable to other people. So here it is: I am going to put out at least one travel story a week.
Hopefully, I will build up a solid resume of travel stories and procure a job writing about travel for a living and live my digital nomad dream on the beach.
Stay tuned for more, and make sure to follow me for all my new travel articles.
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