I began working toward becoming a freelance writer nearly three years ago. When I started my journey, I had no idea the potential the internet would offer. In fact, I had intended to pursue writing for print media such as magazines, journals and trade publications. I'm happy to say that today I'm earning money as a writer. However, I've never written anything for print. Everything I've been paid to write has been online, and my writing career truly started with blogging.

I began this blog shortly after the birth of my third child, and the loss of my steady job, as a way of simply practicing my writing and creating a platform with which to show editors my abilities. I had no idea the path blogging as a profession and movement would take, nor did I ever imagine the opportunities it would provide. Blogging has given me:

• Practice to hone my writing skills
• The opportunity to network with potential employers and friends
• Knowledge and proficiency in using social media
• Business sense and excitement about entrepreneurship
• Confidence in my abilities and worth as a writer and a marketer.

I've spoken and written countless times about putting yourself out there and knowing your worth. But then I seemed to forget my own advice, and I got lost for awhile. Lost in the day to day of just getting by, rather than making a plan and setting goals. Somehow, recently, I've managed to snap out of it. I've been more assertive about making my own opportunities and reaching out for the kinds of writing I want to do. And it seems to be working!

At the beginning of the year, I reached out through a letter of introduction to the owner of a website I was interested in writing for, and that bold move paid off. I now have a regular gig writing on topics related to education and career. The icing on the cake is that the job pays pretty darn well! I've also started to be more assertive about getting involved in affiliate marketing and in selling advertising on my blogs. In fact, I recently pitched my ad services on GigCoin as a means of promoting what I have to offer. I'm tired of sitting around waiting for good things to happen for me!

It takes a lot of work and a lot of courage to put yourself out there and step out of your comfort zone. I can see already that it's worth the effort. I'm even getting excited about building up some of my other long set aside projects and hope to give you an update on them soon. It all really comes down to confidence. For me, getting past the fear and moving forward has led to small successes. These small accomplishments have increased my confidence and will likely lead to even greater successes. The year's off to a really good start.

What about you? What kind of changes are you making to take steps toward achieving your goals? I really want to hear about them. Let's encourage each other!

* Sponsored post, but every word is true.