Category: Journal

It was nice to see and hang out with my cousins who I haven't seen or talked to in a long time!I'm reminded of how time flies. We are all getting older---always busy doing our own thing. While I prefer to get on a one-on-one deep convo, a group gathering is also fun as it allows you to jump from one cousin to another without setting up another meeting (everyone had a tough time going).Everyone's got their own priorities---but if it's for a family member, you almost always automatically put it on top of the priority list. It's just the way it is lol.***The article I've been working on that dragged on for 2 weeks was finally rejected.While the rejection stings, I'm also glad it did. The beauty of rejections…

As I was looking at the mirror, changing the angle of my head to assess how bad the bruise in my eye was, I was thinking, "I can't show up to work like this?!"I had a black eye in my left eye. No, I wasn't sucker punched. It was a result of my son's miscalculation and lack of attention. You see, he likes to slam the back of his head on the pillow. To him, that was fun, until he accidentally landed on my left eye instead. He and I both cried...and I wanted to cry longer. He is a heavy boy. But as a parent, you don't have time to cry lol.Your baby's cry is probably the most unbearable type of noise you can hear---you do anything and everything…

I had my very first coaching call this week!While I had good takeaways, I also realized that I could've gotten more valuable answers. The questions I asked and the context I provided were vague. So when you ask a vague question, you're going to get a generic answer.I don't want generic---that's something you can Google. I needed something more specific to my situation. It's where the coach helps you figure it out on your own by asking you questions that increase your awareness about your problem.I'm gonna ask a more specific question next time...***My ghostwriter landing page is done:- Bio = DONE- Wring Samples = DONE- Ebook Samples = DONE- Short description of service = DONEHowever, I have a few more things I needed to do before I start "promoting"…

All the chapters of my ebook have been published on Medium for testing. That means, whichever performs the best (the top 5) will be included in the ebook.The next step is to convert these chapters into an e-book, which, will serve as a lead magnet to help me understand my readers. I'll do that by creating a set of survey questions. The more I understand who's paying attention to my work, the better I can customize my content for them---and build trust.Trust---is not something you develop in an instant. It takes a while depending on the value you provide out there.***Drinking a bottle of beer in the afternoon felt...relaxing.The workload is getting a little too crazy lately that I wish I was a full-time writer. But that "wish" only shows…

It's been over a year since I last played my PS4. Why?I just never had a chance. The desire was there but it always fell at the bottom of my priority list. Now, this does not mean I'm not giving myself time to have "fun". Playing video games is just one of them. So why this time?I've been taking a break from writing and learning about storytelling.Playing PS4 (or any time of entertainment) relieves me from thinking about what to write about.***I decided to split my first ebook into two ebooks.The contents of my first ebook feels disorganized and overwhelming. I learned how most people prefer to get a "quick hit" as opposed to trying to understand insights. I'm the same lol.So now I decided to use the ebooks, not…

I had to change my IG bio at least 5x times as a step to start calling myself a "ghostwriter".Now, changing my profile's bio that much says something: I DON'T KNOW WTF I WANNA DO. However, after a while, with the help of a free ChatGPT prompt, I was able to decide which direction I was going for now. And if it's not turning out the way I wanted it, I will change course again. I will keep doing that until I find the overlap between what I enjoy writing and what others enjoy reading.Here's what I learned:Clarity comes from iteration (not from theorizing things in your head).***Our new mattress was delivered yesterday.My partner asked, "Is it any good?". Truth is, our old mattress was so bad that anything else…

Saw an osteopath this weekend to release those stiff back muscles."What did you do?", he asked, but I just shrugged. Truth is, the 8+ years old mattress we sleep on has reached its end of life. In addition to that, the fact that sit all day at work doesn't help. Plus, the chair I use at home is---not meant for office work. It's one of those foldable chairs you use at a gathering.Of course, it's pretty obvious how I don't value my back as much as I should.Anyway, the osteopath did its thing, and now my back feels relieved. It's easy to think that my problem is solved, but not quite. What the osteopath did or any doctor you see is just a bandaid fix to the real problem: I'm not…

I just finished editing the contents of my storytelling cheat sheet.The edited versions have been submitted to one of Medium's largest publications for writers. All of the articles I submitted this week were approved! That was a record!This is why that's a big deal:- It shows that the quality of my writing is good enough (otherwise, it would've been rejected)- It allows my article to be viewed by a larger audience.***2 weeks ago, I sent 2 articles to the same Medium publication I mentioned above.1 was accepted, while the other was rejected. Now, both performed differently---so different than what I expected:- the article that was rejected performed better. It had more engagements for some reason.- the article that was accepted, didn't have much traction.This says 3 things:- You never know…

Went on a 3-hour meeting with online friends to discuss making money from our craft (online).We've been learning and studying storytelling, but what for? What brought us together is this common goal of getting paid to do our craft---so we can keep doing the craft. Otherwise, we'd be stuck doing whatever is helping us pay the bills and other immediate needs (i.e. a 9-5 job).And so, if the goal is to "do the thing that you love", then you need to figure out how to convert your work into its monetary value---the same way we are getting paid in our 9-5 job.***Editing makes my writing process inefficient (but it's crucial).I'm editing Chapter 3 of my ebook and I was like, "WTF am I talking about?". In other words, I couldn't…

I'm now editing my ebook and I was like, "WTF am I talking about?!"That's me saying, "The work requires a lot of polishing". But here's the thing, the draft I shared with everyone was there for "validation" purposes. Is it useful or not? Because if the answer was *crickets* then that means, I should move on to the next money-making idea. No need for editing and all that.However, the response I got was "It's insightful".And so I'm gonna keep going with it. And I'm gonna try to hit 3 birds with 1 stone. How?I'm gonna repurpose the content of the ebook and post it as an article on Medium. That accomplishes the following:- validate the idea even further. Do people really care?- I get paid if people find it helpful-…