Leaving Work Behind

What Is Holding You Back?

By Tom Ewer on May 23, 2013

We all give up.

Look back on your life — how many times have you given up on something? More times than you can count, I’m sure. I personally could start rattling off any number of things: from musical instruments, to sports, to intellectual endeavours.

Generally speaking we give up because of a lack of motivation and/or willpower. But how often do you actually look closely at those factors and seek to understand the underlying issues that prevent you from achieving something you set out to do? To my mind, you have the best chance of achieving your goals when you have a full understanding of (a) what drives you and (b) what holds you back.

And that is exactly what I want to write about (and help you with) today.

How to Start Blogging [In Ten Minutes]

By Tom Ewer on May 21, 2013

Making money online is a challenging prospect to those with no experience. As someone who only started their own journey in making money online less than two years ago, I can relate to that fact. As such, I try whenever possible to address common issues amongst Leaving Work Behind readers in my posts. This is one such post.

I receive more emails about this particular issue than perhaps any other. It also happens to relate to what I consider to be the most important part of making money online (at least in the way that I have gone about it).

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Why Client Specificity is Vital to Your Success as a Freelance Writer

By Tom Ewer on May 16, 2013

Sometimes you get lucky, but it is how you react to the luck you are handed that really makes the difference.

My online business was essentially built on that principle. I tried any number of ways to make money online before I stumbled across freelance writing, practically by accident. I didn’t really think that I could ever make a living from freelance writing and yet I submitted a few pitches via the ProBlogger Jobs Board and managed to land a client. That was (in part) the lucky bit, but it was what I did next that made all the difference.

In this post I want to show you not just how to become a freelance writer, but how to become a successful freelance writer. I want to show you how you can carve a niche out for yourself so that prospective clients come to you. I want to put you in a position where you’re never short of work. That is the position I find myself in these days, and I want to help you to achieve the same.

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How to Defeat Self Doubt [in 5 Steps]

By Tom Ewer on May 14, 2013

If you’re just starting out on the road to leaving work behind then one of the biggest issues you’re likely to face in the coming weeks and months is doubt. Doubt that your plans will succeed. Doubt that you have what it takes. Doubt that you’re capable of really quitting your job and building a successful business.

I know this because I had that same self doubt when I started out. It is a common theme in many of my early posts here on LWB such as How to Combat a Loss of Enthusiasm, The Importance of Mindset, and What Cricket Can Teach You About Blogging.

When I wrote those posts back in mid-2011 I had achieved nothing in the world of making money online. I can tell a different story today, but only because I fought and defeated the doubts I had in myself. And that’s what I want to help you with in this post.

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Blogging: How to Build Authority From Scratch [in 5 Steps]

By Tom Ewer on May 9, 2013

A lot of would-be bloggers are paralysed by an indecision as to what they should blog about.

Many feel that they don’t have anything particularly interesting to say or don’t feel that they are an “expert” in any given field.

I have two pieces of advice in response to this common issue:

You only have to be “expert enough” (i.e. more knowledgeable than most) in order to write authoritatively on a topic.
If you feel uncomfortable with presenting yourself as an authority on a topic, turn the approach on its head and use the blog as a journal of your journey to expert status.

In this post I want to focus on that second approach — the approach I took with Leaving Work Behind and the approach I am taking with other blogs of mine such as P90x Journal and Piano Journal. It ensures that you can avoid any feeling of discomfort over representing yourself as an “expert” and allows you to launch a blog on any topic that takes your interest — whether or not you have any experience in it.

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