A Not So Rude Awakening

Much as I would like to relate that my foray back into the world of writing and my first ever encounter with blogging was borne out of a passion for writing, and that its wiles were beckoning at me from my seat in the entrepreneurial world; that sadly, is not the case.

Alas, my story has so much more of a familiar ring to it that you hear almost everyday: how somebody stumbled upon something out of the age-old need for survival and made it big. Necessity after all, breeds ingenuity. While I’m no genius, and definitely nowhere near the path of making it big (yet), I did find a way to survive.

An unlikely lifeline

Flashback a few months ago, times were hard, business wasn’t doing good, and was in fact, nearing the point of extinction if you know what I mean. I needed a fallback and an alternative source of income – fast.

A visiting friend Nikki (whom I now see as a Godsend), told us in passing about the opportunities that could be had in online job communities like oDesk (www.odesk.com). At that time, my interest in checking out the site was more out of curiosity than actually believing I could make it a full time career. Guess I wasn’t that anxious at that time.

So I went through the motions of opening an account by disclosing just some very basic info and signing up for daily job alerts. Initially, I was thinking more along the lines of virtual administrative assistant tasks because I was no programmer, web designer, or network administrator.

Writing what?

Then I stumbled upon some article writing jobs which led me to think that there was a place here for me after all. Well, the job posts did mention looking for someone familiar with SEO articles, keywords, blog writing, social networking etc. – terms and concepts which I absolutely had no idea about.

But then again, writing was still writing, right? While I’ve been pretty much out of touch on what the world of writing has evolved to these days (as it apparently has), I figured it couldn’t have grown in such leaps and bounds as to altogether revamp the basic rules of English grammar.

Turns out I was right. But what I found out in the process of updating myself in the writing world was more than I bargained for. My initial readings about blogging and SEO writing made me realize that writing has indeed evolved into a completely new environment as I have never known before.

Blog writing in particular caught my eye as it simply amazes me that people are apparently paid good money just to write about what they think and feel, and simply share what they know. Goodbye stiff editorials and critical reviews, hello blogging!

Taking out my good ole writing pen

For someone who has attempted to climb the steep steps of the corporate ladder, and gave a good (if failed) shot at making it in business, the idea of taking on a career that simply depended on one’s talent, discipline in meeting deadlines, and determination to succeed is quite refreshing.

Of course, you can apply all these so-called virtues to other professions but the sheer burden of having to adjust to other people’s inefficiencies and dishonest intentions would eventually weigh you down. Take it from me – the “burn” expert.

Now, it’s just me and my proverbial pen, the keyboard. No excuses.