Alas, my blog will never make me rich.
I like to read. I LOVE to read, in fact. I read a bunch of crap, like chick lit and sometimes accidentally romance novels when the cover of the book fools me into thinking it’s chick lit. I’ll read it anyway. It’s like candy. No nutritional value but it’s fun while you’re eating it. I try to balance out my crap reading with what I call “smart books,” a.k.a. non-fiction or classic novels. I don’t always make it through the non-fictions…they’re always really interesting to me at first, and then I get bored. But sometimes I don’t, which brings me to my point. Malcolm Gladwell totally keeps my interest on non-fiction subjects, so as a result I’ve read several of his books, the first being The Outliers. It’s about incredibly successful people and WHY they are successful. The basic consensus is this: successful people don’t have to have giant IQs, in fact, sometimes intelligence that high is detrimental. No social skills. IQ doesn’t measure street smarts. High-ish IQs seem to be best. But what really makes a successful person successful is luck. I prefer to call it “random advantageous circumstances” since I don’t believe in “luck” as it’s defined. And it’s not just luck, it’s being able to recognize these random advantageous circumstances and furthermore, taking advantage of them. Bill Gates is one of those people. He was in the right place at the right time with the right interests and knew to milk that shit.
Let me switch subjects for a sec. You’ll see where I’m going with this. Now, I by no means consider myself a writer. I probably should, I make my living proofreading and dabbling in copywriting. And it’s not as if I think I’m a BAD writer, really, I just realize that I’m not the best. I ramble, I can’t keep track of my tenses, I DESPISE re-reading my work to check for errors (stream of conscious writing, you know) and I don’t always have a solid point. BUT…I do adore the subjects I write about (kitties) and I have good stories.
My baby boy is so good. And cute. And lovey.
(Here’s where I put the two together.) As a smart girl, I feel like I should have done something considerable with my life. But I’m grown up and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up (cat whisperer is at the top of my list currently, but as you can read here, it seems kind of hard to break into). Since reading the Outliers, I keep that recipe for success in the back of my mind at all times. I’m always on the lookout for my million dollar idea. For the wave to ride to success. When I started this blog, it was because my cats are psycho and frankly, I don’t always believe the things they do. Writing about my crazy cat experiences is cathartic and highly rewarding (who doesn’t like favorable comments?) But I always hoped that I’d find a way to make it my million dollar idea. Well, no one’s offered me a sponsorship yet, but I decided to take it upon myself and look into getting paid via ads. Which is when I discovered that WordPress ain’t havin’ none of that. Unless you go through them and you buy your domain name. It seems rather sad to pick up my toys and leave for greener and more profitable pastures. And as of now I’m not planning to. I just needed to vent about my defunct dream. ONE MORE MILLION DOLLAR DREAM DOWN THE DRAIN!
It would help if the boys helped with the hunt for the million dollar idea, but they only search for bugs.
I also failed on the “marrying for money” idea. What can I say? I’m a sucker for love.
So if anyone knows how I can make my crazy cat stories into stacks of benjamins, hit me up, yo. I’ll be on that like a cheap suit. Until then, I’m going to see if I can get the cats jobs.
Taco is a petulant child. If you won’t make room for him on your lap, he’ll FIND room. Forcefully. Ah, the life of a cat mom.
MEOW hear this! 
Just wanted to let you know that I enjoy your writing style and subjects and always look forward to your posts in my RSS feed. Another blogger had you in their favorites which is how I started reading your posts. I love your point of view. It’s hard to make a living just as a writer, but you might be able to find a way to supplement your income with your essays. You are very readable and one never knows when an opportunity might show up. Hope that door does open for you soon.
Thank you so much! Your compliment made me feel just as successful as if I was getting paid. Totally made my day!
Sure wish I knew how to make money off my blog but until pigs fly, I guess I’ll just keep using it as my online diary 🙂 I enjoy your blog so if you abandon wordpress make sure you leave us your new url!
They always say “do what you love and the money will follow” – or something to that effect anyway. I wish you riches too! And thank you! I’m glad that people other than my mom (who like all moms, think everything their kid does is awesome) enjoys reading! Makes it worth it. Doubt I’ll be leaving anytime soon though. Possibly too lazy for all that.
‘random advantageous circumstances’, I like it. I think if you can do what you love for a living, you are way ahead of the game. It’s a luxury not a lot of people enjoy. You know what’s also cool about writing a successful book? You can be financially comfortable but still be anonymous. No Lindsey Lohan moments…….no one knows you.
Hahaha Lindsey Lohan moments happen because she’s Lindsey Lohan. I mean, look at her parents.
My mom found her calling (a used bookstore) in her 40s…but yeah, some people never figure it out. Then again, some people never try. I get bored with things so easily though, what I enjoy one minute may not be what I enjoy the next. I make things so difficult on myself!
Wow, I really admire someone starting a business in this economy. Cool mom!
I never gave much thought to ‘enjoying’ work, although I was well compensated and worked with a good group of people. As a single home owner, I just did what I needed to do to get by.
Should people settle on a career that doesn’t thrill them? I don’t know, depends on your personal situation I guess.
Oh, she’s been doing it for 20 years. Started with a few tables at a flea market and free labor from a 10-year-old (me), working a full-time job too, and now she’s got a big store there. Business has been down a lot lately and she’s been freaking a bit, but she’s been slowly taking my marketing advice (it’s actually what I do) which isn’t markedly helping but she’s got a lot of facebook fans at least! My mom is an amazing person and I wouldn’t have the work ethic and the self-esteem I do without her…she refuses to believe it when I tell her that, though. I got her stubborness, too.
One of my cats had a job for a while – paid for medicine and vet bills for both cats for a few years. Final testing a drug for a condition she had.
Haha I was hoping more for something like acting jobs. Taco’s the only one with a condition and it’s a neurological one (Feline Idiopathic Cystitis) and he refuses to take drugs. I’m not a big fan of them either, I wonder if any homeopathic studies are around? Probably not much money in that. Sigh.
Even a homeopathic drug has to get into the cat somehow. Taco probably would refuse that too.
In this case it was a redosing of a human hypertension drug. In the end they didn’t go public with it because it didn’t last on the shelf long enough. I was able to keep getting it made up special after the test and it might well have added years to her life..she lived to see 20. I see drugs as a tool – they have uses and can be overused or misused.
This is true…I love science but I am always skeptical of drug companies. I’m sure there’s more well-meaning scientists out there working on drugs to saves lives of all kinds than not, but in the end everyone answers to the shareholders. Ugh. There I go sounding like a crotchety old lady again.