I’m Pretty Average. Yet, I’ve Been Living From Writing for 23 Years.
I’m Pretty Average. Yet, I’ve Been Living From Writing for 23 Years.
If one poor girl from a Serbian village can do it, you can do it, too!
Hi friend.
If you need something to uplift you today, read this small story. We often forget that almost everything we see or admire in this world is built or made by ordinary people.
People like you and me.
Steve Jobs has a quote I like:
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.
And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”
Extraordinary is rare.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be extraordinary.
I love writing and coffee. So I’m enjoying it every day.
I was in year 12 of grammar school and just discovered I wanted to be a journalist. I’ve always loved words and knew I had my way with them.
But when I shared my plans with our class teacher, she said:
“You? No way! You don’t have what is required to be a journalist.
Two months later, not only did I manage to secure a place at the university to study journalism, but I was one of only 35 students who got their study fees covered by the state.
After I got my BA in journalism, I spent 12 years working as a journalist in a daily newspaper and left it to switch to another career — marketing.
Don’t let difficult people hold you back — use their negativity to propel you forward. 👊
What helped me the most?
I was born in a poor, war-torn country, Serbia.
I grew up in a small village and didn’t see cinema or theatre for the first 16 years.
I wasn’t the most intelligent student in the class.
I wasn’t the most hard-working person in the office.
But I built a great discipline, which counts the most.
Motivation gets you started, discipline keeps you going.
No matter what.
The same is true with your writing career.
Talent is good, but persistence and learning from mistakes and failures bring you closer to your goal. I did some great and funny things.
That helped me go from someone who lied to know English at a job interview to someone who lives from writing in English.
My discipline and love for writing brought me immense joy as a journalist, blogger, content marketing strategist and author.
I’ve been living from writing since 2000.
I wrote more than 10,000,000 words, offline and online.
Most important, I learned how to write good stories.
If you ask my husband to describe my writing, he’d say:
“She once wrote a story about toilet paper that made people cry”.
p.s. many people asaked me about this story, so I’ll haver to translate it from Serbian and post somewhere :)
The moral of this story?
Not to brag about me, as I’m an ordinary person.
But, to read something good today.
Understand your value.
Hug your mistakes and failures.
And start building something extraordinary, the ordinary you.
Start today.
Because one person can change the World.
“I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”Edwin Osgood Grover.
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I share:
How to start your small business marketing marketing on a budget
No BS tips about content marketing
How to become a better writer (even if English is not your first language)
Marketing strategy bits and pieces
My best tips about self-improvement and productivity for small business owners and solopreneurs.
This article was originally published in Medium, in the publication Smiling World.
Angelina, thank you for this post on mindset and inspiration. One of the major limiting beliefs we impose on ourselves is “ I can’t do this” or “I can’t achieve what he/she has done”.
The solution is simple but not necessary easy and that is, as you so beautifully has described here, to meet up for yourself every day and do the work despite adversity you might encounter.
Love your story, Angelina. So encouraging ❤️