Man, I remember a time, not that long ago actually, when I just felt completely adrift. Like, every morning I’d wake up and just scratch my head, wondering what the heck I was actually doing with my life. You know that feeling? You’re working, you’re busy, but it all just feels like treading water. I was constantly on the hunt for something, anything, to give me some kind of direction. I’d read all sorts of stuff online, talked to friends, even poked around those ‘what’s your ideal career’ quizzes – anything to get a clue about my own damn future.
I bounced around quite a bit back then. After college, I thought I had it all figured out, jumped straight into a sales role. Thought I was a natural talker, right? Turns out, selling fancy widgets wasn’t my jam. I struggled, really struggled, trying to hit those numbers. Every day felt like a battle, convincing myself to make just one more call. That lasted maybe a year and a half before I just burnt out, completely fried. I walked away from that, thinking, “Okay, that wasn’t it.”
Then I tried my hand at something totally different. A buddy was starting up a small online store, selling custom-designed t-shirts. I offered to help with the marketing, thinking it would be more creative, more ‘me’. And for a bit, it was! I spent hours learning about social media ads, tinkering with designs, even packed some orders myself. But the money just wasn’t there, not consistently anyway. We’d have a good week, then two terrible ones. It felt like constantly chasing a moving target. I poured my energy into it, but eventually, I had to admit, this wasn’t bringing in the bread. I needed stability, badly.
That whole period felt like a total hodgepodge. One day I was reading up on affiliate marketing, the next I was trying to learn basic coding from free online courses. I was literally throwing darts at a board, hoping something would stick. My bank account was a mess, my confidence was shot, and honestly, I was getting pretty desperate. It was like I was looking for some magical prediction, some divine sign, to tell me what to do, because I sure as hell couldn’t figure it out myself.
Then came the turning point. Not a grand revelation, more like a quiet exasperation. I was living paycheck to paycheck, eating instant ramen a lot. One afternoon, after another rejection from a job I really didn’t even want, I just sat down and stared at my dusty old toolbox. I used to love tinkering with things when I was a kid – fixing bikes, building models, that kind of stuff. I missed that feeling of actually making something work with my hands. It hit me: instead of just thinking about what I should do, why didn’t I just do something tangible?
So, I started small. A neighbor mentioned her old fence post was wobbly. I offered to fix it, just for the cost of materials. I grabbed some wood, got my drill out, spent a whole Saturday out there, sweating, cursing, and eventually, the fence stood firm. The satisfaction was immediate, way different from closing a sale or getting a few likes on a t-shirt post. My neighbor was thrilled, paid me a little extra. That tiny act, that small success, sparked something.
I didn’t stop there. I started telling people I was available for odd jobs around the house. Fixing leaky faucets, hanging shelves, painting rooms. Things I could learn quickly or already had a basic understanding of. I watched a ton of YouTube tutorials, read up on home repair forums. Every new job was a learning experience. Sometimes I messed up, had to redo things, but each time I got a little better, a little faster. I started buying more tools, investing in myself.
It was a grind, especially in the beginning. Some days I was completely exhausted, covered in paint or sawdust. But I was building something real, one project at a time. The referrals started coming in, slowly but steadily. People liked that I showed up on time, did good work, and charged a fair price. I remember getting my first ‘big’ project – a complete bathroom remodel. I was terrified, but I broke it down, tackled it piece by piece, and actually pulled it off. The client was stoked, and so was I.
What started as a desperate attempt to just make ends meet slowly morphed into a full-blown small business. I wasn’t just fixing things; I was building a reputation, building a skill set, building a future with my own two hands. I stopped looking for abstract ‘predictions’ or magical signs. I realized I was literally making my own future, one screw, one nail, one happy customer at a time. I was writing my own script, every single day.
Now, I look back at that aimless period and just shake my head. All that worrying, all that searching for an answer from somewhere else. The answer was always in the doing, in the getting up and just starting. These days, I’m booked out weeks in advance, I’ve got my own van, and I actually enjoy waking up every morning. That feeling of being lost? Long gone. And honestly, it feels pretty good. Best part? No bosses, no crazy targets, just good, honest work and the satisfaction of a job well done.
