Yesterday I went to lunch with my sister and she asked me “Where do you find the time?” This was a very relevant question as it wasn’t too long ago that I was asking myself a similar question “Where do people find the time?” I was very much like my sister about six months ago. This was me:
• 36 years old
• Happily married
• Two children, aged 3 &5
• Full time job (8-4)
• Homeowner
• Attempting to be actively engaged in sports
It felt like I was constantly exhausted. I was going to bed anywhere from about 9:30-10:30pm and waking up at 6:45am to get ready for the work day. I enjoy my job, but after 10 years my passion has long waned. I was coming to work trying to find ways to motivate myself. Then I came across an article (don’t ask to source because it was long before I started blogging) and it spoke about how some of the most successful people have the time to do everything they want. How? It’s quite simple actually, they make time.
Now, I’ve heard this before, but for whatever reason this time it actually meant something and resonated with me. So I made the decision almost overnight that if I wanted something, I needed to make it happen. My first step, get my Masters in Business Administration (MBA). I have always wanted to pursue my MBA, but time and money has always prevented me from taking the plunge. This time was different however. I paid the registration fee to write my GMAT in late January and with three weeks of heavy studying successfully wrote my GMAT, met the March 1st deadline and registered to start my MBA studies in the spring.
Where did I find the time to study? Well for starters, I have a very supportive wife. Then I had to make time. So I re-arranged my schedule, prioritized what I wanted, what needed to get done and what where nice to dos. Next on my want list was how to make more money. My MBA will end up costing tens of thousands of dollars and I had very little of it lying around (Insert shameless plug #1 - Please follow me and upvote). So me and my wife started brainstorming and came up with a few ideas. We started selling things around the house that were no longer needed and I started trimming down my sport collectibles and comic collection. It wasn’t easy, and was very time consuming so we had to make time. Once again we prioritized, started taking pictures and posting items for sale on Kijiji and eBay, we also brought items to local thrift shops. It didn’t take time before we started noticing the money slowly trickle in and as a side bonus, we have since de-cluttered our house significantly.
Our first money making ‘scheme’ was a temporary one as eventually you run out of things to sell. Enter blogging. I recently started blogging for a financial site called Seeking Alpha (Insert shameless plug #2 – Visit my profile and follow me: http://seekingalpha.com/author/mat-litalien/articles#regular_articles). About 2 weeks ago, on a whim I submitted my first article for publication and within hours it was approved and published. I have a passion for all things finance and this seemed like a natural fit for me. In the weeks since I have joined, I have posted 13 articles and have accumulated 105 followers. Naturally this has me quite excited and it has been a decent source of revenue on the side.
Now I have stumbled upon Steemit, where I am once again attempting to make a go out of blogging. I am very new to blogging, crypto currency and the entire Steemit platform, but once again, I am making time and giving it a go.
The answer make time is quite simple. Apart from prioritizing, I started going to bed later and getting up earlier and a funny thing happened, I have more energy now than I did six months ago despite fewer hours of sleep. Why? I believe the answer is quite simple. I am doing what I want to be doing and as a result I am a very motivated and much less lethargic. My motivation at work has returned and I am no longer dredging through the days watching the clock slowly tick away.
The best part about this is that anyone can do it. If you feel as though you don’t have enough time in the day, make time. Want more money? Find ways to make more money. Want to find happiness? First, you need to find what makes you happy, then make it happen. I’ve spent the past few years making excuses until I finally started to take ownership of my life and made things happen.
A word of warning, making things happen isn’t easy and takes a lot of hard work, dedication and it doesn’t happen overnight. You will fail along the way as I have, but be persistent and be resilient and you will find yourself making things happen!
Thanks for the read and please follow and upvote! #steemsquad