I’ll never forget watching that rusty Blogger dashboard refresh.
$1.00 earned.
My palms stuck to the keyboard. I clicked again.
$1.30.
Breath shallow. Pupils dilated. This wasn’t about money – it was possibility crackling through fiber-optic cables straight into my nervous system. What if I could weaponize words to buy back my life?
Little did I know that digital pennies would soon help me survive the storm ahead.
When love died, writing became my life raft
Six years later, the sting still lingers. My partner of 2,190 days left because I’d become a ghost – unemployed, 50lbs overweight, crying in shower stalls to avoid being heard.
The knockout punch? Her Instagram story three weeks later.
There they were – her and the “best friend” I’d paid for dinners – kissing under the Eiffel Tower she’d promised we’d visit.
I became a cliché:
- 5am panic attacks
- Missed deadlines
- Microwave meal debris piling up
- Friends tip-toeing around “the incident”
But during one seaside meltdown, saltwater slapped sense into me. My buddy Sam stared at my snot-covered face and said:
“Dude, you’ve already lost everything. What’s left to fear?”
That’s when my keyboard became a pickaxe.
The 3-phase writing framework that saved me
Phase 1: Word vomit therapy (Months 1-3)
I wrote like a madman – 500 raw words daily about:
- My ex’s stupid nose scrunch
- The moldy takeout containers in my trunk
- Why seagulls are life’s ultimate survivors
Result: My Medium followers tripled. Turns out vulnerability sells better than corporate jargon.
Phase 2: The 1% monetization hack (Months 4-12)
Every article had to:
- Solve 1 micro-problem (e.g., “How to email editors without puking”)
- Include 1 actionable template
- Answer 1 reader question from comments
Result: Clients started chasing me. My rate jumped from $0.10/word to $1/word.
Phase 3: The freedom algorithm (Year 2-6)
I systemized everything:
- Content machine: Repurpose 1 pillar post into 15 social snippets
- Income streams: Affiliate (20%), coaching (30%), digital products (50%)
- Life design: Bali Airbnb > cubicle farm
Your turn: From surviving to thriving
That first dollar still sits framed on my Chiang Mai desk. It’s not currency – it’s a reminder that:
🔥 Scars make relatable content
🔥 Breakdowns can become breakthroughs
🔥 Words hold infinite earning potential
The question isn’t “Can you do this?” – it’s “What pain will you transmute into power first?”
P.S. Want my free “Writing Through Wounds” checklist? I’ll show you exactly how to turn trauma into traffic (without sounding like a therapy session).
