With so many side hustle opportunities and success stories on social media, everybody wants a dib into the magic pot.

We all desire to do better, whether that is monetary gain or self growth.  And if an opportunity arises where you can maximize the results with the same input, then why not?

People are looking to make it big (or bigger) with what they are already doing.  Monetizing hobbies and skills are the next big idea. 

We hunger for appreciation; a bit of praise for the work we have done. 

…

What if there weren’t tangible results for what you were doing? How do you count your accomplishments with a stay-at-home/ not employed status?  Furthermore, what do you do if your job is critiqued way more than praised? 

• How much time does it take to do dishes?
• All you do is clean and cook.
• You are probably watching Netflix all day.

What happens is that it gets dark fairly quickly.  You are cornered a little bit more every day till you are left to question your self worth.  You sit and downplay all you have done that particular day: the cleaning, cooking, laundry, errands, pets, organize toys, and the list goes on.  

Day after day, you question your purpose in life.  

Perhaps, you need to find new sources of outlet.

And that is when the concept of side hustles emerges.  

…

For me, my outlet stream was writing.  Words were giving me a platform to reflect on my feelings and emotions.  It was very healing at times that I was able to articulate what I was thinking without someone physically listening or holding my hand through a pothole.  

Day after day, I kept squeezing in quiet time to write and analyze what tangible things I can do to fill the emptiness. Then, it dawned on me that if I wanted to step out of this misery, I had to do it myself.  

Whatever I needed to do or wanted to do had to be my effort.  No one was coming to hold my hand and open the doors.   Or even crank a window for a breath of fresh air.  

Clearly, people around me didn’t notice the blues, because maybe then they would lend a hand or an ear in support.  

I needed a change; and I had to step out of my comfort zone if I wanted anything done.  Then, I came across the concept of side hustles and cashing in on your hobbies.  It led me to brainstorm a visual web of all my interests, and I began googling for opportunities. 

The first thing I did was to look into substituting and applied for part-time employment.  I earned a little to only invest it back into the creative world.  

I tried different crafting tools and enjoyed the inner peace from playing with different mediums and hues and filling pages in the sketch book.  

I gave my sketches a different perspective. Each piece had a story, so before sharing the piece on social media, I started adding stories – a deeper message beyond the paper.  

The messages were leading to more self-discoveries and growth, and hence I started focusing on writing more.  

Writing was giving me a voice and filling my soul. 

I already had a blog back from 2017 and it needed more time and consistency.  I started adding more stories, but didn’t see much returns.  When researching blogging success, I stumbled across a growing resource –  Medium.com.

https://medium.com/@chaoticsanityblog/about

At first, it was daunting to write on a bigger platform than a personal blog. I hadn’t shared my writing before. Were my stories good enough for people to read? I was questioning the ownership of stories on a social source.  I debated how to balance the blog and Medium.  

I read articles day after day on what Medium is and how it works.  And it was fairly safe to invest $5 a month for a membership.  There was nothing to lose.  I had copies of all the stories on google doc so I can simply post it on the blog.  And by chance if it works, I would gain a community of readers. It was a great safe way to learn more about writing and perhaps making money from your stories. 

After 9 months of story writing, I think I am now getting a hang of writing on Medium. Here is what I have learned:

• Write consistently 
• Write for a publication so there is more exposure to your story
• Write longer pieces with approximately 3-5 minute reading time.  
• Read and learn from other writers
• Build a community by clapping, highlighting, and commenting on others’ work.

…

 To carry my own weight tomorrow,

I cannot wait for an opportunity;

I have to go looking today.