"I want to work from home!" I screamed.
In my head.
I glanced around my apartment. My roommate had already left for class - so she wouldn't have heard me anyway. Still, there was no need for her to hear all of my random thoughts. So I had become skilled in keeping them to myself.
I was a junior at Indiana University and had recently decided that I disliked my major. This was clearly the wrong time to come to that realization. Yet, it was true. I had no desire to seek an internship or a job within my chosen field of study. I had spent the past few months trying to decide on a different path and to be honest, nothing seemed very thrilling. In the end - they were all just jobs. Having worked from the age of 15, I knew that working a 9 - 5 job for someone else wasn't what I wanted to do.
With a cup of coffee in hand, I grabbed my laptop and shuffled my pajama clad self to the balcony of our second floor apartment. My coal-black cocker spaniel followed behind and plopped down beside my chair. It was a beautiful Spring morning that brought warm gusts of wind. I had always enjoyed this time of year and the freedom that the winds seemed to bring.
"Brinkley, wouldn't it be nice if I could earn an income from my computer?" I mumbled as I propped my feet up and opened the laptop.
As I browsed a few of my favorite blogs and sipped on coffee, I envisioned doing just that for life. A cloudy picture of waking in the morning to a relaxing day of coffee and working began to float through my thoughts.
The years marched on and I clung to that thought. It remained on the back burner of my plans - but it was there. Graduation came and so did marriage. Before I knew it, I was pregnant with my first child and making arrangements for child care once I returned to work.
Yet once again I found myself daydreaming. It was another beautiful Spring day. I could see the trees just outside of my office window move with the breeze. The sun shimmered into my cold, quiet and lonely office.
"I want to work from home." I whispered. "I want to be home with my children."
This time I said it out loud. Quietly. But out loud.
I logged onto my current blog. I tapped out a few thoughts and logged off.
Suddenly, the moments from that day on the balcony came flooding back. Why had I never acted on that dream? Others were doing it - why did I allow it to remain just out of reach?
I logged back onto my blog.
"It starts now!" I told myself.
I had once earned a few bucks from blogging - and then never tried to earn more. Those few dollars were thrilling. Yet, I had let go of it for a steady paycheck at my 9 - 5 job.
It took quite a few years to get the hang of earning any money online. I dug and researched how others were doing it. Made note of everything and avenues that looked like scams... and carried on.
Today, there is nothing that could pull me into work outside of my home. I am with my kids as they wake, eat lunch, play outside and enjoy dinner. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I wish I hadn't needed to spend so much time figuring everything out - but it has paid off. There are many ways to earn a living online - The Bloggy Guide to Monetizing Your Blog details the methods that I have used.
