Review of the year 2017
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This year 2017 has been a roller coaster, full of travel adventures, personal accomplishments and unexpected events. But looking back at it, I see progress in everything I started earlier this year and because of that I could not be more grateful to have accomplished all of that this year!
I still remember last year writing this as my 2017 goal:
"Next year will be all about branding and creating video content to get out of my comfort zone! Remember to always push your limits!"
Learn Film-making
2017 was meant to be the year I learned as much as possible about making videos, which I did. I have always carried a camera with me as long as I can remember and was capturing moments of my life and people I care about in order to see them again later in the future. But what happened is that I transferred them on to an external drive and they remained there forever accumulating virtual dust...same with my photography, hence the reason I created my blog and an instagram account where I publish a photo every single day. And that is the same thing I want to accomplish with videos, give them a second life.
So I studied film-making watching tutorials on Skillshare, Lynda.com, Youtube. I learned how to plan my shots, how to shoot videos, what gear to use and what settings to get the best quality image as possible.
I invested into new gear (Sony a6300, smartphone gimbal, DJI spark drone), even though your gear doesn't define your work. I spent hours and hours learning how to edit videos and finding the right format of videos I would like to make.
I wanted to test everything I could in order to know what worked for me and what did not, and I believe I get a pretty good idea today of the type of video I want to make in the future.
I already published a few videos on my Facebook page. Go check it out and stay tuned for more videos to come in 2018!
Keep traveling
Colombia - Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin
US - Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas
Canada - Quebec, Toronto
Thailand - Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi
Indonesia - Bali, Ubud
Northern Ireland - Belfast
Ireland - Slieve Bloom Mountains, Sligo
United Kingdom - London
Italy - Rome
France - Nantes, Paris
Latvia - Riga, Jelgava
Spain - Barcelona
Austria - Vienna
Hungary - Budapest
14 countries, 27 cities and I don't even want to count how many flights and hours spent in the air! The year 2017 was a great travel year once more. Travel has become part of my life and I just cannot stop. I still have many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa that I would like to visit. Hopefully in 2018.
Professional life
After 5 years working in tech companies in Ireland, I decided to take a break to reflect on myself. I felt like my life was automated and that I had no control over it. Every day looked the same. The only thing I could notice was how tired I was and my grey hair growing on my face! It was time to take a step back and really figure out what I wanted to achieve with my life. Hence, that is why I quit my job as a social media advertising analyst last summer.
I needed more time to work on a couple projects I had in mind but was putting aside because I did not have enough time to work on it. 6 months later, I am finally seeing the results of my work. There is still progress to make and a need to keep the momentum but I could not be more grateful today to have made that decision.
Today I can finally say that I found a way to make a living working online and doing something that I love. Photography, traveling, blogging are the 3 things that drives me professionally nowadays and thanks to technology and my work experience I can leverage my knowledge to live a life on my own terms.
Branding
Building a brand requires time and a good vision of what you wish to achieve. It is easy to do it using only one platform, but when it comes to build your brand identity on multiple platforms, you really need to have a marketing strategy in place and focus on what you are good at.
I created my personal website that showcases what I personally do. I needed something to sum up what I do and the services that I offer to work in collaborations with brands or other bloggers.
Online Business
I work as an affiliate marketer and earn a commission on sales that I make. I wrote a full article about it if you are curious to learn more. Being an online entrepreneur or an entrepreneur 2.0 as I like to say is a LOT of work. And the transition from an employee state of mind to an auto-entrepreneur requires a few adjustments when it comes to your mindset and the impact of your work. You really need to think about what is the one thing you can do in order to pay your bills at the end of the month, rather than going in every direction, trying everything hoping for the best!
If you are going through the same struggle, I highly recommend you to read "The ONE thing". This book redefined the way I work and helped me become more productive in projects I work on.
Success stories of 2017
- Traveled to my 5th continent, South America
- Quit the corporate world
- Earned a living working online
- Reached 10K followers on Instagram
- Traveled to 14 countries
- Built a community of aspiring entrepreneurs and full-time travelers on Facebook called Millennial Roamer
- Launched my online merchandise store
- Read 24 books on personal development in one year with an average of 2 books per month
- Got engaged
Overall a great year 2017. Many things happened and literally changed my life in a good way. I feel more in control and see life today with a different perspective. Seeing life as an employee VS an entrepreneur are two different things, but that would be a conversation for another time!
Let's say that today I realise that the only person stopping you from doing what you love is yourself and that if you do not believe in your vision of life, no body will do it for you!
2018 will be a year of creation I believe. I want to build an online course for aspiring Millennial Roamers and help them in building the life they desire by leveraging the technology at our disposal to setup their business on automation to earn a passive income.
If I can do it and many other online entrepreneurs that I know can do it, there is no reason why you could not do it either. All you need is to be exposed to the right information, know how to use a couple online tools and have the mindset to make it happen.
This online course will be divided in couple segments:
- Photography
- Online tools to setup your business
- Social Media Management
- Facebook advertising to generate leads for your business and grow your audience
If you are interested in joining the Millennial Roamer Academy, click here to join my Facebook group or click on the image below and get your credentials.
I also want to build collaborations with other entrepreneurs and brands in order to work on projects that will challenge me. I have been thinking a lot about promoting African countries in ways no one have seen them before. Africa is such a huge continent and the 52 countries have each a story to tell and gems to see in your lifetime.
So if you know any travel bloggers or vloggers, please let me know as I already have a couple of ideas on how to make it happen!
That's it for 2017, it is a wrap and the time to turn the page to a new chapter of our lives. If you need advice and tips on how to setup your goals and track them overtime in 2018 to see your progress, make sure to join my Facebook group Millennial Roamers where I share daily hacks on business, travel and social media marketing!
Until the next one, Happy New Year 2018 and may this year bring you the success you have always dreamed of!
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