Welcome to my 300th post. 2 and a half years ago, I decided to pick back up blog writing with a very different approach compared to how I approached it when I first began writing in mid-2016. Way back in 2016, I had decided to start a blog that dealt with financial topics which was inspired by sites like Financial Samurai which itself helped inspire the Financially Independent and Retired Early or F.I.R.E. movement. What I realize now is that I picked up the task of blogging hoping that I too would one day become independently wealthy from my side hustle and would be able to leave my job. I poured many hours and diligent research into my blog, yet after 3 months I grew frustrated with my lack of readership and quit.

In late 2018, after a separation which would later lead to divorce, losing my old job, losing a business I had created and searching for my next step, I realized I may have given up too soon. What I was originally writing for was an outcome, which had more to do with me being unhappy at my previous job than finding a new passion. After listening to many motivational speakers and entrepreneurs like Gary Vaynerchuck, I realized that I was going about it the wrong way. I was looking for an outcome to make me happy when I should have been looking for a process that makes me happy. I also realized later that in addition to helping people, my blog had spillover benefits that were making me better at my job. I needed to become more comfortable with the idea of loving the process and not focussing on an outcome.

Branching Out

Much of my blog format is still structured similar to those who inspired me but I also decided to deviate in my own way. My posts have broadened out from just finance and markets related topics to motivational topics, life values and probing questions I myself had on both markets, personal finance and potential fraud. The result has both improved my writing and my broadened my knowledge on a range of topics, hopefully they have for others too. Forcing myself to write twice a week and aiming for a post of about 1500 words pushed me to organize my thoughts and delve deep enough into some topics to be able to make sense of them for others.

I have steadily grown my readership to about 400-500 readers a month and have and 15 email subscribers. These are puny number for most serious bloggers but I learned after I gave up the first time that popularity doesn’t validate or invalidate anyone’s writing, it just means it’s popular. What’s “good” writing is subjective but quantity is not subjective, no one can argue with what you have produced. Many of the entrepreneurs I listened to that inspired me when I was going through difficult times lived by a mantra of keeping going no matter what; no matter what the mood is or the perceived success of your endeavors is. Keeping going and trying despite the circumstances will push you to eventually find the way that is right for you and leads to success on your terms. This is the journey I am on through this blog.

Looking at Things a Different Way

For years I had been telling people that I was going to write a book. I had stopped and started books on various topics intermittently. Even while writing this blog I was supposed to be crafting a book on the side which is only about 15,000 words complete (a typical adult book is about 90,000 words). Yet even though my blog doesn’t generate any income currently and isn’t read by a ton of people, I now see the value of continuing to try.

What I mean by this is that maybe the blog format is not the best way to disseminate my ideas. I am realizing now that through my persistence and shear effort, blindly committing myself to writing 3,000 words a week no matter how much I felt it wasn’t going anywhere, I have built up a body of work that can now be put behind a paywall, packaged into books or into topical presentations which can be distributed to interested buyers. I could even make an NFT of my writings and sell them. None of this would be possible if I didn’t just start and commit to keep on writing.

It is often said that purpose is what really drives us. I have a passion to help people understand markets and finance and for learning more myself. One viewpoint that really sticks out in my mind in terms of motivation however, is something I heard Gary Vaynerchuck say about vlogging one time which I will paraphrase below. His thinking put my own writing into perspective for me. Gary was trying to convince a young man to vlog anything about his life on a daily basis because it could lead to better things. Even if he didn’t go viral he said, imagine if our grandparents had vlogging when they were younger. Wouldn’t you love the opportunity to hear the perspective of your 20 or 30 year old grandfather or grandmother? Even if it never generates anything for you monetarily, it could serve as an invaluable time capsule for your loved ones. He called this the booby prize of vlogging, or in my case blogging.

I often think of this interpretation when I don’t feel like writing. I think that at the very least if no one reads or no one cares, or if I die tomorrow, my son would be deeply interested in what I thought and felt about the state of things at this point in my life. That drives me to keep going and at the very least be able to end up with the booby prize of a gift to my son and other loved ones who would care to read my writings one day.

Celebrate the Little Wins

Along the way too, no matter how difficult things are, I take time to celebrate the little wins. This also helps move me along. In looking over my past posts for writing this one, I realized I am finally at the top of the Google rankings for the search term “Cash Chronicles” having upended that damn Australian book series and a trap music album of the same name. There is even a real estate podcast of a similar name now, maybe we can collaborate in the future. I learned to celebrate the sheer volume of what I have produced so far and mark milestones on the way to producing more, 200 was one, then came 250 and now 300. The number doesn’t matter, but setting my sites on another small goal keeps pushing me along.

300 is significant for me because it represents about 5 books of material or approximately 450,000 words. It means that even if I string together a number of related posts, I now have the bones of that book I was looking to write. It’s much easier to edit than it is to produce original material (at least for me).

I stuck with writing rather than branching out to a podcast or YouTube long after blogging wasn’t as popular partly out of stubbornness but also out of a commitment to keep pushing on to see where things go. There is something to be said to committing to a form of communication and not jumping on every trend, it helps you to hone your craft and become an expert at it, as opposed to being mediocre in everything.

A Note on the Image and Resiliency

The title image of this post features a Spartan warrior reminiscent of the movie 300 but it is also a reference to the resolve, discipline and persistence it took me to write consistently and produce content. I am starting to notice the results of such persistence in other areas as well. 8 years ago, I started a company with my childhood friend that didn’t work out. When things went left with the business and I was out of a job, I could have sold the properties I owned, cashed out and defaulted on the investors. Yet because they had trusted me with their hard earned money, I felt an obligation to pay them back with the proceeds of a real estate sale, with interest, and take the losses myself.

I did manage to hold on to one piece of real estate from that business which ended up benefitting from the changes the pandemic brought about. Some of those same investors came back to me after the dust had settled and expressed their interest in investing with me in different ventures due to how I had made sure they were taken care of previously, even when things didn’t work out. I had lost that battle but still won their trust. The result of this has been an ever growing real estate portfolio in California, Texas, New York and now potentially New Jersey that could soon grow into a stand alone venture of its own. It would have been easy to give up and throw in the towel when things didn’t work out with the first business but persistence got me through that ordeal and led to events which I couldn’t have anticipated only a few years ago.

Our short term challenges can often overwhelm us and make us feel helpless. I am constantly inspired by the influencers I see on Instagram and Tik Tok who have defied the odds and made themselves a success, be it through paying down their student loans or overcoming prison to turn their lives around and start a financial movement. I find myself trying to coach friends and loved ones through the myopia of tough times to believe that things can go much better in a shorter period of time than they anticipate if they take the bull by the horns and face their challenges head on.

Cash Chronicles remains a growth in progress. I am already contemplating how to change things up while keeping up my writing. I have heard a number of suggestions for growing my reader base which I am open to, from moving to Substack to creating an audio feature to joining Tik Tok. Currently I am leaning more towards narration of the visuals of my posts through Tik Tok, in a format similar to shows by Ken Burns or crime story features. If readers have ideas or would like to share their own experiences please comment below or reach me on Instagram.

The information provided by www.cashchronicles.com is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal or financial advice. You should consult with an attorney or other professional to determine what may be best for your individual needs. www.cashchronicles.com does not make any guarantee or other promise as to any results that may be obtained from using our content. No one should make any tax or investment decision without first consulting his or her own financial advisor or accountant and conducting his or her own research and due diligence. To the maximum extent permitted by law, www.cashchronicles.com disclaims any and all liability in the event any information, commentary, analysis, opinions, advice and/or recommendations prove to be inaccurate, incomplete or unreliable, or result in any investment or other losses. Content contained on or made available through the website is not intended to and does not constitute legal advice or investment advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed. Your use of the information on the website or materials linked from the Web is at your own risk.