This guest post is by Jon Morrow of Smart Blogger (formerly Boost Blog Traffic)
After all, that’s the dream, right?
Forget the mansions and limousines and other trappings of Hollywood-style wealth. Sure, it would be nice, but for the most part, we bloggers are simpler souls with much kinder dreams.
We want to quit our jobs, spend more time with our families, and finally have time to write. We want the freedom to work when we want, where we want. We want our writing to help people, to inspire them, to change them from the inside out.
It’s a modest dream, a dream that deserves to come true, and yet a part of you might be wondering…
Will it?
Do you really have what it takes to be a professional blogger, or are you just being dumb? Is it realistic to make enough money from this to quit your job, or is that just silly? Can you really expect people to fall in love with what you write, or is that just wishful thinking?
Sure, it’s fun to dream about your blog taking off and changing your life, but sometimes you wonder if it’s just that: a dream. This is the real world, and in the real world, dreams don’t really come true.
Right?
Well, let me tell you a little story…
How I quit my job
In April of 2006, I was hit by a car going 85 miles an hour.
I didn’t see him coming, and I don’t remember much about the accident, but I do remember being pulled out of my minivan with my shirt on fire. The front end of the van was torn off, gasoline was everywhere, and my legs were broken in 14 places.
For the next three months, I had nothing to do but endure the pain and think about my life. I thought about my childhood. I thought about my dreams. I thought about my career.
And overall, I decided I didn’t like the way things were going.
So I quit.
I sold everything I owned. I stopped paying most of my bills. I turned in my letter of resignation, worked my two weeks, and then disappeared without saying goodbye.
Hearing about my insanity, a friend called and asked me, “Well, what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know,” I told him. “Maybe start a blog.”
And so that’s what I did.
For the next three months, I didn’t just tinker around with blogging. I dedicated myself to it. I started work at 8 AM in the morning, and I kept going until 11 PM at night. I didn’t watch television. I didn’t see my friends. From morning till night, I was writing, reading, and connecting with other bloggers. Nothing else.
Within a month, I had On Moneymaking off the ground, and within two months, it was getting 2,000 visitors a day and Performancing nominated it for the best business/money blog of the year. A couple of months after that, Brian Clark asked me to become the Associate Editor of Copyblogger, and so I sold On Moneymaking for five figures and went to work at one of the most popular blogs at the world.
And amazingly, that’s just the beginning of the story.
How I moved to paradise
Have you ever woken up one day and realized you secretly despise everything about where you live?
The weather is horrible. Your neighbors are jerks. You don’t like inviting anyone to your home, because it’s always a wreck, and you’re ashamed of how it looks.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to me in January of 2009. I was sitting in my pathetic apartment, wrapped up in blankets to keep warm, trying to get some work done on the computer, when it struck me how monumentally stupid it was.
I was a full-time blogger, for God’s sakes. I could do my work from anywhere in the world. Why on Earth was I living in this hellhole?
The only problem was I had no idea where I wanted to go, but a couple of weeks later, the telephone rang, and it was an old friend who had retired to Mazatlan, Mexico. As usual, he was calling to gloat about the weather and the food and the general superiority of the Mexican lifestyle, but instead of just suffering through it this time, I stopped him and said, “No, don’t tell me any more. I’m moving there.”
“What? When?” he stammered.
“I don’t know exactly when,” I told him, “but I’m starting right now.”
Two months later, I took a one-week trip to scout it out and look for places to live. When I got back, I started selling all of my stuff, packing the rest of it into storage, and saying goodbye to friends. Almost one year to the day after our phone call, I hopped in the car and drove just shy of 3,000 miles to my new beachfront condo in the finest resort in Mazatlan.
As I write this, I’m sitting on my balcony with my laptop, watching (no kidding) dolphins jumping out in the Pacific. It’s a sunny day, there’s a nice breeze, and I’m thinking about ordering a piña colada from the restaurant downstairs.
Lucky me, right?
Well, what might surprise you is I left out a piece of the story. It’s the part where I have a fatal disease, I can’t move from the neck down, and yet I essentially get paid to help people. Let’s talk about that part next.
How I get paid to change the world
You know what’s funny?
The worst part about having a disease like SMA isn’t how everyone treats you like a charity case. It’s not the frustration, anger, or depression. It’s not even the inability to reach over and pinch a cute girl’s butt when you want to (although that’s pretty bad).
No, the worst part is the freakin’ bills. The doctors. The medication. The nurses.
I added it all up, and the total cost of keeping me alive in the US was $127,000 a year. That’s not rent. That’s not food. That’s just medical expenses.
Granted, I didn’t actually have to pay all that. I had private insurance, Medicaid, other government aid programs, but all that support comes at a price: they control you. The government allotted me only $700 a month to live on, and I had to spend every single cent above that on medical expenses, or they would cut me off.
So for years, that’s what I did. If I made $5,000 one month, I set aside $700 for living expenses, and I spent the other $4,300 on medical bills. Nothing was left. Ever.
And eventually, I got sick of it.
I wanted to make money without having to worry about losing my healthcare. I wanted to take care of my family, instead of them always having to take care of me. I wanted to actually live somewhere nice, not some ratty little apartment built for folks below the poverty line.
The only problem was, it just wasn’t possible for me in US. No matter how I played with the numbers, I couldn’t make it work. So, I did something crazy:
I quit Medicaid. I moved to Mexico. I stopped worrying about myself at all and started a business based on one simple idea:
Helping people.
I found up-and-coming writers who wanted a mentor, and I trained them. I found businesses who wanted to cash in on social media, and I developed their strategy. I found bloggers who wanted more traffic, and I created a course on how to get it.
In exchange, they paid me what they could. Some folks gave me $50 an hour and others $300 an hour, but I treated them all the same, and I dedicated myself to making their dreams a reality.
The results?
Within two months, I was making so much money so fast PayPal shut down my account under suspicions of fraudulent activity. Today, not only am I making more than enough to take care of myself, but a couple of months ago, I got uppity and bought my father a car.
Do you understand how precious that is? For a guy who can’t move from the neck down to buy his father a car?
And the best part is, I’m not making money blogging doing mindless drudgery. I’m changing people’s lives.
Every day, I get emails from readers who say my posts have changed their thinking. Every day, I get emails from students who say my advice has changed their writing. Every day, I get emails from clients who say my strategies have changed the way they do business.
I can’t really believe it. Normally, a guy like me would be wasting away in a nursing home somewhere, watching television and waiting to die, but here I am speaking into a microphone and essentially getting paid to change the world. If my fingers worked, I’d pinch myself.
And here’s the thing:
I don’t want it for just me. I want it for you too.
The reason I told you this whole story wasn’t just to brag but also to convince you of one incontrovertible point:
YOU CAN DO THIS!
You want to quit your job and become a professional blogger?
You can.
You want to travel around the world, living life to its fullest?
You can.
You want to dedicate your every hour to helping people and making the world a better place?
You can.
Because listen … I know it’s horribly cliché, but if I can quit my job, risk the government carting me off to a nursing home because I can’t afford my own healthcare, convince my poor mother to abandon her career and drive my crippled butt 3,000 miles to a foreign country, and then make enough money to support myself, my mother, my father, and an entire nursing staff using nothing but my voice, then what can you accomplish if you really set your mind to it?
My guess: pretty much anything.
No, it won’t be easy. At some point, I guarantee you’ll want to quit. I guarantee people will treat you like you’re insane. I guarantee you’ll cry yourself to sleep, wondering if you made a horrible mistake.
But never stop believing in yourself. The world is full of naysayers, all of them eager to shout you down at the slightest indication you might transcend mediocrity, but the greatest sin you can commit is to yourself become one of them. Our job isn’t to join that group, but to silence it, to accomplish things so great and unimaginable that its members are too awed to speak.
You can do it.
I believe in you.
So get started.
Right freaking now.
Jon Morrow is Associate Editor of Copyblogger. If you’d like to learn more about what it really takes to become a popular blogger, check out his free videos on guest blogging.
OMG..I am sitting..bawling. This an amazing story. AMAZING. I have NOTHING to complain about and WILL stop making excuses. I saw the mention of a “hero File” in a comment above…YES, this is one for the Hero File. ((HUGS))
Easily the best blog post I’ve read in a long, long time. It doesn’t really get more inspiring than this.
Yeah you both exactly say what I am thinking, this post is awsome and inspired me, and having started my first blog last week it provides much information and hope for me, I hope I will reach my goal of a helpfull and successfull blog any day
Wow what an inspiring post! I had no idea that you were paralyzed too! You are my idol! I wish you more blessings and keep doing what you are doing!
What an amazing and inspiring story. Thank you for sharing!
What an inspiring story. One man with essentially only a brain to do what we all aspire to do. I salute you Jon…and will do my best to do it “right freaking now”!
Paul
this is amazing. thank you so much.
Hi Jon – Your post moved me to tears. You had me at quitting the job and moving to Mexico, and then you showed your picture and I lost it. What a magical, miracle you are. I am reminded at it’s most basic level a miracle is simply a change in perception. Look where you’re change in perception led you. I agree w/ others this post is a keeper and a must read. I too will be reposting to my blog. Thank you for your courage and for sharing your wisdom. Your message is so much bigger than blogging :) would love to meet you one day. Maybe in sunny Mexico!
Jon:
I remember watching your video on using Dragon Naturally last year and was impressed with that to say the least…BUT….
The post you have written is beyond all shadow of a doubt the most inspirational, insightful and well written post I’ve read in maybe the last 5 years.
Keep stuff like this coming and you’ll be on top of the New York Times Bestseller List and a trip to Oprah will be guaranteed.
OUTSTANDING WORK!
Patrick
Jon,
That is one of the most powerful things I’ve read in ages. I had never read your posts before today, but I think I’m going to be spending a lot of time today looking up your past posts.
Thank you for sharing your story. Truly, I am thankful for this.
Hi Jon,
Thank you for sharing your adventure! I resigned from my job last week, so this is exactly what I needed to hear.
The panic is receding…and I can’t wait to do this!
Sarah
WOw! You really are inspirational, Jon. Your story really inspired me to move on with blogging.
I’m just beginner and I’m looking forward to reading more of your tutorials.
God bless you.
Jon,
Now that we can’t blame our bodies for holding us back, we will keep blaming our minds. And our luck, and our parents, our friends, our lack of friends, lack of connections, etc. etc. etc.
Will power and inspiration from folk like you will help us get back on track, though. And I thank heaven for you.
Please keep it coming (as I know you will!)
Best,
David
You know, just yesterday I was talking to a friend about what we were going to do when we graduated from university and I kept telling him that the opportunities were so few and we wouldn’t find any work.
I… feel so empowered now. To at least try. I swear, whenever I feel like quiting, I’ll just read this blog over and over again and get over it.
Thank you so much, you honestly make me believe that I could do anything! I wish you all the happiness in the world.
What an amazing, inspiring post. Thank you so much for sharing your incredible story and motivating me to continue in my pursuit of a full-time writing career. You’re speaking life into people’s dreams.
Wow…such an inspiring story and post. I had a blogging coach through Leo’s site, A-List Blogging and they had incouraged me to do some guest blogging. But I just got frustrated with “trying to fit it” and “selling myself”. Sometimes I feel like blogging is like high school and you have to kiss ass to fit into the “in crowd”. Yes I want to have a popular blog but making money was never the catalyst for me (lucky I know) so I don’t feel like “selling out” or “buying” my followers with free “e-books” for subscribers. Am I the only blogger who feels this way?
What an inspirational story! Hopefully this has struck a nerve with some of those making excuses about not living life to the fullest. Epic post.
Oh Jon — You should buy stock in Kleenex, because you’re creating a run on it!
Thanks for continuing to show the way.
That is without a doubt the best post I have ever read, Anywhere!
Wow. Just wow. All because you believed in yourself — and now you are helping others believe in themselves. That’s what it’s all about.
Cheers to your courage!
Yaa very inspiring story Friend!. Your article was too long. But I started to read a bit and I read this whole article. Because the story is very interest and it is pretty sad a little.
As you said there “I Can Do It”
And Thanks for this greatest article. Love it
Jon,
Thank you for sharing your story. I love your attitude — so inspiring. You make it possible for the rest of us to BELIEVE that we can have the life we dream about too. What a gift you’ve given to the world. Awesome!
This was a very inspirational story. Thank you for sharing apart of yourself with us. I give up all the time. I start and than go back to square one. Your story is a true lesson of never giving up, especially if it is what you really want.
Hi Jon
I had a similar experience. About 2 1/2 years ago I was in my home on a Sunday afternoon and I had a Gran Mal Seizure. My life changed on that day in March of 2009. The only thing I can remember is that when I woke up my doctor said you’ve lost your job and you can’t drive. Well to make a long story short I have been able to come back and now working full time for the past 6 months. Life is feeling a lot better due to family and a wife that I love a lot! I have started blogging for the company I work for and have really enjoyed it! Thanks for you great post and inspiration!
Thank you for sharing your story! And God bless you as you live your life to the fullest. I am grateful to be living my life the way I want to as well. I love owning my own business! I “Make Child Safety Easy”.
Great inspirational post, Jon!
I quit my job recently to become a full-time blogger and copywriter. I had a lurking fear in my mind about the success of my business. But your story has inspired me a lot! Thanks for this wonderful post!
With respect,
Vishal
Just when I had decided that I couldn’t afford to spend anymore time reading tips from blogging experts, comes this. Thank you SO much for sharing this story with us. ProBlogger rocks!
Really inspiring story, thanks for sharing and helping people.
Jon, what an inspiration. Reading this brought tears to my eyes. I was fired 6 months ago out of the blue and am still struggling to find a job. You’ve reminded me that I’m the hero of my own story as are you. I was diagnosed with 2 mental disorders years ago which I cope with by using talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medication. I don’t want to let a chemical imbalance rule my life. I have always taken pride in whatever work I have done and before this had never been fired in my life. It really did a number on me and had me questioning my self worth. 2 weeks later my father suffered a stroke and I really started examining my own mortality. 2 months after I was fired I totaled my car in what I can only describe as a freak accident. I escaped with no injuries and my daughter had a broken collar bone. It was nothing short of a miracle. I should be dead right now but God wasn’t ready for me. It’s been a rough road but I always try to remember that I have many blessings that most people take for granted. Just when I was losing my faith in humanity I read this article and I am in awe. It is wonderful to know that there are still people in the world like you. I wish you the best anyone could wish. You’ve amazed and inspired me today and I thank you for that. Please never stop inspiring and helping people. You are truly one in a million. You are proof that the only thing standing in the way of you and your dreams is often if not always yourself. I hope others reading your post will take note and remember that we are all human, we all make mistakes, and to be kind to one another…after all we’re all playing this crazy game called life. Some may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…. :) good luck in all you do Jon, but I’m sure you won’t need it. :) Keep being the awesome person you are.
This is a great story! Really gives a kick in the ass to those of us complaining about our lives and opportunities that still have the ability to move. Me and my brothers have started doing comedy videos and I’m constantly looking for ways to increase our exposure. Jon do you have any ideas?
Jon, I’m a firm believer in that we are given all that we need when we need it most. Today I needed this! Thank you!
Gayla I feel the same way!
I so needed to read this. Especially today. I had planned on doing something really negative, but I’m so inspired. Thank you so very much, for your honesty,
Saundra
This post was awesome! Thank you for your inspirational words. I am a stay-at home-mom, trying to work 3 jobs from home. I have been interested in starting a blog, but I wondered if I could do it. This post really helped open my eyes. You can’t do it if you don’t try.
Speechless. Thank you for this.
Jon, you’ve appeared in my social stream at just the right moment and I’m so grateful! Thanks for sharing your story and encouraging me to keep going for it.
Wow. Thank you for that. Transcending Mediocrity is my new mantra.
Thanks for the motivational kick in the butt. I’m always getting so frustrated with my life and it’s always nice to hear success stories, especially those as inspiring as yours!
Now I know who are the real heroes.
It’s Jon and his mother.
I just can’t express what I felt while I read this post and learned the story behind it.
Thank you Jon!
Hi Jon, what a great story – thank you for sharing. This is the first Problogger post that I have read in it’s entirety for a long time! A great writer as well!
I am curious to know, especially after watching the documentary, Sicko, if you have been able to afford healthcare because you now live in Mexico rather than the USA?
Thanks for sharing everything! I needed that today.
Jenny
This is such a beautiful article ~ thank you for sharing your voice (in more ways than one)!
~ Kate
A very inspiring and motivating post Jon. It’s fantastic what you’ve achieved and you should be very proud of yourself (as I’m sure you are), I’ve got a lot of respect for you man!
It should be a wake up call for people who take the things that they have in life for granted and don’t realize how lucky they are and how much of an advantage they have over other people who might not be so fortunate.
You’re awesome!
Wow Jon – thank you for summing up exactly what it means to have strength, keep faith and not let anything stop you. Congrats on your tremendous success!
I am sitting here in awwwww. I started a blog a while back and I did get frustrated and quit. After reading your story I am back on board again and this time will not be quiting
What an inspiring post; thank you for sharing your story!
It’s so easy to jump to conclusions as we read the blogs of others and see all these photos of their fabulous house, their latest toys and read about their exciting travel plans, but the reality of it is that we never really know the full story of that person behind the computer screen.
You’re absolutely right in that we can all achieve our goals if we’re willing to put in the time and effort. The catch, of course, is that most people are simply not as dedicated. They lose focus, get discouraged too easily and stop before they ever have the chance to see where their efforts can take them. This post is a wonderful reminder that while success doesn’t always happen overnight, it certainly comes quicker when we make the decision to actually do something about it rather than just sit there dreaming.
From the depths of my soul, thank you.
My business took a nose dive in 2008/2009. I felt very tired and gone through the ringer. In 2009 got a W2 j.o.b. (I’m calling it a long term consulting contract… ha!) In 2010 I left the j.o.b.; I’m not cut out for it and I missed my business. I rediscovered my joy and passion. I reinvented the business.
A friend of mine told me 2 months ago: people who start their own businesses are enthusiastic, energetic and naive. They make it go because they don’t know any better. She then said, people who start a second business are crazy and courageous. They know the effort, passion and time that goes into it and do it anyway. Because they love what they do and have a message to share.
So grateful you wrote this story. Reminds me I’m on my perfect path.
Jessica, http://roomtobreathe.org
Thanks so much for this article and for sharing your personal story and enthusiasm. It is more than inspiring. It’s truly awesome.
I’m sitting here crying. Three weeks ago I went to visit family out east and randomly decided to stop over in Richmond, Virginia. On the flight home, I knew my life had changed. I came home and quit my job. I’ve stopped paying my bills. I’m gonna let my house (in Canada) foreclose and I’m moving to Virginia. In six weeks! I don’t know how but I’m gonna make it happen.
This post was timed so perfectly for my eyes, mind and heart. Thank you for sharing and for being the strong, determined person that you are.
Inspirational as it’s my dream to be able to work anywhere in the world in about six months time.
Amazing story! Thank you for sharing it!
Great, Amazing, and inspiring story!
You said helping people is what you do and apparently you are really good at it.
One of the best times to feel inspired is when you aren’t even looking for it! That’s what happened when I was referred to your post. Love it! I personally just started a blog two months ago, sparked by tragedy. It’s out of such chaos that creativity can flow!
Thank you,
Gail
http://www.rescuejesus.wordpress.com
What an inspiration. What else can one really say? I know I am not going to be complaining about my time and effort. In the end, it will be worth it and I have much to be thankful for. Thank you for sharing your story.