Hi there! I’m Rick. I’m an aspiring author finally taking my first steps toward becoming a full-time author. Working a job I hate is just something I can’t do anymore. I’m ready to take a leap and follow my dreams.
I have been him-hawing around the dream of becoming a full-time author for years. The courage to even place it into my mental landscape came one afternoon when my wife and I were hiking.
You see, my wife is not a traditional thinker. Or maybe I should say she doesn’t think like an “artist.” She is one of those technical people who can instinctively set her mind to something and eliminate any potential roadblocks that can potentially jeopardize her mission.
As we were walking, the conversation about dream jobs came up. She asked me what I would do if I could do anything. It took me less than two seconds to tell her I would be a full-time author. Being her usual self, she said, “Well, just work on it, and once you figure out how to make money, you can go ahead and quit your job.” Then, she kept right on walking.
Naturally, I froze and waited for my head to stop spinning. I couldn’t believe that my wife would actually support me quitting my job to pursue a career as a writer. A writer…how cliche is that? Lucky for me, we were deep in a trail, and she had no choice but listen to me clarify the agreement for the next five miles.
After that conversation, I realized there are two types of people. The ones who live in fear: me, maybe you. And those who don’t believe in roadblocks and go for it. I have always been the former. But I no longer want to be.
That was a few years ago now, and I’ve done absolutely nothing to further my dream. Now, I know what you’re thinking: If my special person told me I could quit my job the minute I learned how to monetize my dream, I would do it in a heartbeat! But that’s what living in fear does to you. It gives you outs, and it gives you reasons to create excuses.
I don’t know what shifted in my brain, but in the last few weeks, I’ve felt that desire to leave my job more and more. It’s become almost unbearable to think I am not doing my dream job.
So, I started writing, and out came a chapter. Then two, then three. They weren’t particularly good chapters. I’m not a savant, after all. But I was 10,000 words into my novel before I knew it, and I’m still going.
Being one of those “fear” people we talked about, I panicked and wondered how long it would be before the magic wore off. I needed to keep the momentum going, which is when I hatched the idea for this blog.
Blogging my journey will be a great way to stay accountable and document my progress. I also hope that by sharing my experience, I’ll find like-minded people on the same journey and create friendships. I want this experience to be fun so that I can appreciate each step of this journey without feeling too much pressure or stress.
I have a lot of work to do, and I’m excited to share what is working and not working for me as I build a platform from scratch.
If you’ve made it this far into the post, thank you for reading this. I can’t wait to see how the journey unfolds, and don’t forget to subscribe if you’d like automatic notifications whenever I post something new!
Rick Huerta
Download this cheat sheet to optimize underperforming posts on your website.