I am quickly realising that the need to plan out my menagerie of ideas and projects is upon me.

I had such a brain-explosion in my last few weeks of semi-holidays, and have started work on so many projects, that I can see the terrible time when it will all just come crashing down and I will curl up in a little ball, whimpering in the corner at the overwhelming-ness of it all…

Just kidding… or am I? Seriously, the realisation has come - loud and clear - that I need to really focus, and organise my efforts. The investment of time and money (mostly the former) and my small successes so far have given me the motivation to keep going - and to commit to this experiment for the long haul.

So - I’ve got a little less than three years to achieve my goal - be making a living online by the time I’m 30. The more I learn, the more confident I am that I can make it happen - with a heck of a lot of effort!

I also have the problem of not being a natural ’salesperson’. I don’t like being sold crap, and I’m the sort of person who prefers to be left alone in a shop, rather than being pestered by a supernaturally chirpy salesgirl. However, in my current job I have had to learn the art of selling - and while it’s still not easy, it’s becoming more so.

Why is that? The main reason is that I really believe in what we do. We really help kids, we really make a difference to their lives, and it is truly contributing to their growth and development as human beings. One of the main reasons I became a teacher was because it was ‘right livelihood’. This is a Buddhist term, and I am by no means a Buddhist, or anything else, but I have been interested in studying religion for years (I even majored in Studies of Religion in one of my degrees). The gist of it is that you should earn your living in a way that either does no harm to others, or that actively does good.

My goal with my online endeavours will always to be to provide products, services, content, and advice that truly helps others, and enriches their lives. Now, different people have different ideas about what that means… so perhaps sometimes what I recommend or share will not gel with what you want or need. If so, please be content with the fact that I am truly trying my best! And I’m sure I’ll stumble along the way.

I am, after all, right at the beginning of this crazy journey! I’ll write a post in the next few days that outlines my plans, and let you all in on some of the projects I’m working on at the moment. I’m hoping to get my photography site up and launched within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for that!

So - where are you in this journey? Are you jumping all over the shop, or have you got a day-by-day outline of exactly where you’re going?