Since I came back from the Appalachian Trail I have been in a bit of a limbo with regards to what I wanted to do next - challenge/life wise. I was locked in to doing my Masters In Women and Gender Studies, so knew I needed to be based at home until I handed my dissertation in (31st August!).
I also knew it was time for me to leave home in September. But I wasn’t excited by anything, nothing was grabbing me and getting me motivated. I don’t think my body or my mind was ready to start thinking about another adventure, and it wasn’t until a few months ago that I did start thinking more deeply about my life, and the decisions that had to be made this year.
When this happens, when you are in limbo and you feel uncertain about your life choices, it can be very easy to go back to the old path, the old life, the tried and tested, the simpler and generally much easier life of working for someone else, having a regular pay cheque and being able to blame someone else when things go wrong.
I started to ask myself, was it time to quit? How was I going to be able to make enough money to leave home in September? Have I given it a good enough go? Is this as far as I can take it? Is it time to face reality, that I can’t make enough of a living to keep Tough Girl Challenges going?
I had some very low points at the start of the year, as even though downloads were increasing, patrons weren’t. In March everything was plateauing out - social media, downloads, income from patreon. Maybe this was it - maybe this was as far as I could take it.
If I could not make it work financially - did I need to get a ‘proper’ job, in order to fund the growth of Tough Girl Challenge myself? What was the point of doing my Masters? Should I move back to London to have more of a social life and to be closer to my friends?
All of these thoughts were going around my head. I stated to look at jobs, I got my CV updated. I got so far as to start completing application forms. But I could never finish them, I didn’t want to. I know there are a lot of people out there who would properly feel more comfortable if I did have a ‘normal’ job and re-entered society as a proper citizen, and earning a regular pay cheque every month. It would certainly make life easier for me!
I realised, that getting a 9 -5 job in London and working for someone else just wasn’t what I wanted to do. I weighed up all the pro’s and the con’s and really thought it all through. I didn’t want to go back to that way of living. I love my life, I love my freedom, I love the choices I get to make every day, I love what I do, I love the Tribe, I love Tough Girl Challenges, and I want to make it work.
Financially, I don’t make enough money to be able move out of home in the UK and survive, without getting another job. Which if I did, would then have knock on consequences for Tough Girl Challenges, as running it is a full time job plus more.
So how can I make this work? How can I continue to do what I love, while earning enough to be independent and move out of home?
I looked back at my first blog post about my goals for Tough Girl Challenges, and thought back to how I wanted to live my life.
I wanted to travel and explore, be fit and active and to challenge myself. I wanted to combine these passions and share them to encourage other women and girls to go after their dreams. I wanted to be able to run Tough Girl Challenges from anywhere in the world. I wanted to be a digital nomad, living a life of adventure and travel.
That was my answer, that is what I needed to do. I needed to go travelling and do challenges, that is the way I wanted to live my life. By traveling under my own human power, and by sticking to a strict budget. I would be able to leave home in September and to embrace and lead the life I wanted.
It’s time to reduce my possessions down, pack up what I own, grab my phone and laptop and get out there. Get on the road, get travelling, get adventuring, while continuing to grow Tough Girl Challenges, via podcasting, blogging, and also vlogging!
My goal is to reach 300 patrons by the time I leave home in September. As this should give me enough income to support myself while continuing to work on and grow Tough Girl Challenges, from the road. 3 months to make it happen!!!
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Learn more about my next challenge here!
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