Beating the Odds: What Cancer Taught Him About Pursuing Dreams
He’s beaten the odds on many fronts-from battling cancer to establishing a profitable freelance writing career- both of which are no small feat.
Now Chris Bibey, author of 2 books and the blog ChrisBlogging.com shares the details of how he built his profitable freelancing career on his daily blog, which offers tips, tricks, and strategy for earning a full-time income through writing, blogging and internet marketing.
After graduating from college with a journalism degree, despite battling a completely unexpected and persistent cancer in his thyroid throughout his entire college career, Chris took the path of many aspiring writers- a completely unrelated job in sales and marketing.
But his encounter with cancer had taught him a valuable lesson that many of us don’t learn until far too late. He felt completely unfulfilled in his job and didn’t feel he was getting paid what he was worth. And while most of the population of the world feels this same way yet continues to drone one, Chris knew that life was too short to waste time doing anything he didn’t enjoy. In response, he quit his job and set out to pursue what he loved writing.
It was a good thing that I got sick. Now I see life with a different perspective. I don’t want to put myself through the day to day stuff that I don’t like. A lot of people think working at a job you don’t like is just a part of life that you have to deal with, but it doesn’t have to be.
During his first month as a freelancer, he made $53 by doing a horrible freelance writing job that he found through FreelanceWriting.com. Discouraged but not beaten, Chris continued to scour the freelance writing job boards and the next month cleared $850.
That second month I did a job for a real estate company in FL who needed a lot of work- it made me realize that there WAS work out there and that I could make a substantial amount.
In the third month, he brought in $2287 and that figure continued to rise. Now Chris is quite comfortable and doesn’t regret leaving corporate America one bit.
Could You Do It?
Could you jump ship from your current job- whether it be working for someone else, or abandoning your own business that you no longer love to pursue your dreams? The idea can seem scary, but as Chris’s story proves, it can be done. Here’s how he did it.
- Jump in with both feet. You can have some success trying to start a business part time, but it’s not as effective as if you commit yourself to it entirely and have no other option but to succeed.
- Before leaving his job, he saved enough money to get by for 4-5 months
- If you begin earning more than you thought faster than you thought, keep that money around in savings just in case
- Figure out exactly how much money you’ll need each month to get by
- Work on securing steady, regular clients that bring in enough to pay the bills. This way, no matter what, you’ll get by. Make sure you have enough time left over after doing this work to make additional income
- Venture out and try new things to bring in the extra cash. Never tone down the marketing side of things even when you’re comfortable
- Keep regular clients engaged by connecting frequently by email, IM, or phone-even if you don’t have a current project on your plate
- Pitch ideas to current and past clients rather than waiting for them to come to you with projects
Whether your freelance writing or starting a business selling goods, these tips are universal.
Becoming a Published Author
In the midst of all this, Chris also wrote two books. Not only was this a personal success, but also greatly increases his reputation as an expert on his subject matter and as a writer. His first was about West Virginia Football and more for fun.
His second book titled, Open Your Heart With Basketball: Mastering Life Through Love of the Game has cover quotes by Regis Philbin and Dick Vital, and a forward written by University of Arizona men’s coach Lute Olson.
Although it is based largely around the game of basketball, it also teaches life lessons at the same time. To give some details, Open your Heart with Basketball touches largely on how my life and basketball career were affected when I was diagnosed with cancer. As you can imagine, the lessons taught in the book can help you succeed in life, sports, and of course, business.
It was no accident that his book now sits on the shelves of Barnes and Noble backed by star-studded cover quotes and forwards. Chris went about the publishing of his book with the same persistence the cancer had shown when challenging his thyroid. Rejected by numerous publishers as can be expected by any new author, Chris persisted and landed a publishing contract and an advance with Dreamtime Publishing in Miami.
The publishing company helped to get the book in the hands of several celebrities such as Regis. Then Chris set to work, personally contacting big names on his own list to write the forward.
When I tried to reach Lute Olsen, I talked to the secretary and lots of other people and eventually got through. I’ve talked with Dick Vital on the phone a few times. You can make a lot of friends and meet a lot of people with your writing career.
Chris’s blog offers daily insight about the steps he has taken to achieve success. His approach to helping others through transparency of his daily activities, successes, and setbacks make this blog an interesting read for any entrepreneur or any one dreaming of becoming one.
Thank you Chris for this inspiring story!
Each month, we feature someone in a NON-sponsored interview like you just read above. You can learn more about Interview Me by reading this page. If you would like to recommend someone (including yourself) to be featured, please e-mail Christine [at] Create Business Growth [dot] com and tell us the WHY behind your recommendation.
August 30 2007 06:00 am | Interviews
The Power of the Interview » ChrisBlogging > Blog Archive on 31 Aug 2007 at 10:44 am #
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