Of Lessons Learned and Quest for Change

“You change for two reasons. Either you learn enough that you want to or you’ve been hurt enough that you have to.”

2011 hadn't been good to me, career-wise. For the most part of the year, I was stuck in a rut. Why, you say? Well, I've always been a procrastinator and lazy-ass. I was always procrastinating, wasting time on worthless things, and doing minimal work. I think lazy is an understatement. I was a couch potato! Though I didn't spend the whole year doing nothing. I just lost momentum during the latter months. And I'm not proud of it. But before we get into that, let me tell you my story....

The first quarter of the year saw me getting down from the corporate ladder to the online job route, on March specifically. I resigned my post as the Corporate Secretary of this network marketing company and left Manila to go back to my hometown - Olongapo. It was also the time that I got serious in trimming down, which turned out to be successful since I did shed a great deal of weight. (But let's talk about that some other time.) Anyway, I was more than relieved when my mom told me that it's time to leave the ill-fated company and settle back in Olongapo. Boy, was that the happiest day of my life (LQL.) It was really a relief since that company did nothing but bring lots and lots of tears. It was that company that really exposed me to GRAFT and CORRUPTION. Yes, folks, corruption doesn't solely exists in the government. It is everywhere. And sad to say, we fell victim to it.

The 2nd quarter didn't immediately see me concentrating in online job. I spent the couple of months getting back to direct selling - the H&B. It was fun at first, but I came to realize that direct selling is not my cup of tea. That's when I started to become a freelance writer in The On Demand Global Workforce - oDesk.

3rd quarter came and I felt great. For the first time in my 24 years of existence, I earned serious cash without relying on my mom's efforts. I was on a roll during the first few months. Every week, I withdrew money from my ATM card and happily handed them over to my mom. She's in charge of the budgeting after all. It felt really good to be able to share on our daily expenses. I was beaming with pride. I mean, that's an accomplishment in itself. But then, some good things in life never last. In this case, my persistence and dedication.

And there goes my only source of income on the last quarter. Don't get me wrong. I earned a couple of bucks, but not enough to make both ends meet. From being a provider, I got demoted to being a dependent. That's the time that I started procrastinating and doing unimportant stuff and spending money on worthless things. Oh, I'm aware of it. That I'm sure of. Enough for me to feel ashamed of myself, but still not enough to take proper action.

So I procrastinated, and procrastinated, and procrastinated even more. A week would pass without me doing anything. And when it did, all I could do was shake my head and blame my idleness for it. Coincidentally, our financial woes were piling up at an all-time high. The whole time I sat, feeling so stupid and still doing nothing. The consequence? I lost a total of six job offers, all of which pay pretty well.

Some of life's lessons are learned at the worst times. And most of the time, we only change because the situation is already painful enough to bear. True story! Christmas and New Year came that the only gifts I managed to buy are for my immediate family. And it took desperate measures to do so. And so this year, 2012, I got a hold of myself and picked up the momentum I threw last year. I've finally realized what I wanted to do all along - brave the world of Internet and Social Media Marketing. And that's my quest for change!

Internet marketing can be a little intimidating. And it's a pretty big world out there. But I intend to succeed. I'm willing to take baby steps because I know it will lead me to where I'm supposed to go. As the fortune cookie says,

"Don't be afraid to take that big step, Success comes from taking calculated risks."

And I'm not afraid. In fact, I'm really excited and I'm very much ready to take on the world of IM. But there's still a big room for improvement. And I have so much to learn. With the right attitude, mindset, and hard work, I know success is just within my reach!

With that, I'll share these words,

"You gotta hurt in order to know. Fall in order to grow. Lose in order to gain. Because most of life's lessons are learned in pain."

I hope you learn your lessons and find that quest for change just like I did! =)