Okay Thousandaires, we’ve been avoiding the elephant in the room for a few months now.
I’ve heard grumblings here and there, but nobody has come out and said it. I know you’ve all been wondering, so I think it’s time to give you all the truth.
Yes, I am famous.
I know, I know… I’m sure you’re kicking yourself for not realizing I was very recently one of the most successful journalists in history!
Okay maybe not all of history; how about recent history? And not really journalism, but internet journalism. Actually sports journalism. To be more specific, fantasy sports journalism. And maybe not “one of the most succsessful”. Let’s say I was in the top 1,000.
Yep, I used to be one of the self proclaimed top 1,000 internet fantasy football journalists in recent history. Pretty famous, huh?
I started writing professionally in 2003 because I had an insatiable passion for fantasy football. I took a job with Head2Head Sports and was their lead fantasy football writer from 2003-2009. During that time, I have been published in national print magazines that you see when you’re in the checkout line at the grocery store. I also branched out and was one of the top experts at FantasyFootballChamps last year. I wrote twice a week and made well over $50 per article. I was turning a nice little profit as a fantasy football journalist. There was only one problem.
I had zero passion.
I can’t pinpoint exactly when I lost my passion for fantasy football, but it was definitely a few years ago. I still liked the NFL and playing fantasy football, but those articles were work for me. There’s no way I would have been any more than a casual fan if it weren’t for my writing gig.
Some funny things happened during those last three years or so. First of all, I was in denial. I could tell my passion was waning, but I attributed it to other factors in my life. I thought I was so busy with other things in my life, and if I just had more time I’d love it again.
Secondly, I can look back and realize that I didn’t have truly original idea for my writing during those final years. I was perfectly happy with writing the same articles over and over every week, and just changing the names and numbers. I didn’t lay awake at night thinking about what my readers wanted; I didn’t think about those articles at all unless I was in the process of writing them.
Fast forward to today. I finally made it past denial and realized I had lost my passion. I quickly retired in January of 2010. About six months later, I decided to start this blog.
I went from writing twice a week for over $50 an article to writing five times a week for literally pennies per article (my lifetime AdSense earning are sitting at about $39.80). And you know what?
I couldn’t be happier!
I know it’s a horrible cliché, but it is so much better to do what you love than to make money doing something else. I’m certain I would have a different attitude if my writing were my primary source of income (I believe we all have a responsibility to earn our living no matter how much we like or hate our job), but since writing is my hobby I love having my own blog and writing about my passion today, which is entertaining personal finance.
This was a long one, so if you’ve made it this far, you are rewarded with today’s Thousandaire Question: Have you ever taken a pay cut for happiness? Or (even better) could you increase your happiness by taking a pay cut today and moving to a different job?
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
I haven’t done the same, but I will definitely admit I admire what you’re doing. I wish I had the courage/balls to do the same. One day I will. For now I’m busy getting up my side income so that I can feel safe doing so.
Thanks Will. I actually don’t really think I deserve admiration. Sure I’d like the extra money I had writing about fantasy football, but I’m making my bills without it.
Good luck increasing your side income.
errrr, what exactly is fantasy football?
I went into journalism because I wanted to write. And then I kind of started to think I’d prefer editing and subbing. I still do a bit of freelance writing and of course write for myself (blogging), but sometimes ‘doing what you love’ isn’t necessarily the best answer, you know?
I’d love to get paid to eat and travel, and maybe I could try to do that through writing, but I think that would be too much work. I used to review movies a lot, and it definitely detracted a bit from the enjoyment – you spend your time trying to make sure you remember important lines/scenes, think of clever and deep comments, analysing it rather than just sitting back for the ride.
I can relate with your movie reviews. I felt trapped on Sundays because I felt like I had to watch every game and waste my whole day on the couch. Now I enjoy watching games when I want, and I can also be productive on Sundays.
Congrats man! Sounds like you made big bucks beforehand though.
I would give yourself a year for this blog. You’ll see a real good pickup in ad revenue imo.
Thanks Sam. I definitely understand that if I give this site time, it has potential to make a lot more than I was making with my fantasy football writing.
However, I’m just enjoying myself right now. If the money starts coming it, that’s even better.
Many people have told me that once they started getting paid for thier passions, it stopped feeling like fun and started feeling like work.
Yeah I would take a pay cut if it was more fun or less work or my team was fantastic.
I can definitely relate because fantasy football was my passion seven years ago. I don’t think the work had anything to do with me losing my passion, I just think I grew and changed as a person.
I took a pay cut after I came back from my maternity leave with my child. Staying where I was would have meant a 1.5 hour commute each way, long working hours and a boss that I despised. I took a job that was more than $20K less per year, but was close to home and would be a fresh start. It took a lot of guts to allow myself to do that.
It has worked out amazingly. Five years later I am still employed with that company, and have had a number of wonderful, challenging positions and a great family balance!
Ew. Commuting is the worst. I would probably take a 50% pay cut at my real job to avoid a 1.5 hr commute.
As you saw at my post at Sweating the Big Stuff, I am totally looking into giving up my real job for a full-time job that pays WAY less…like going from $35,000 to $20,000-$25,000. I just want to be happier. My husband suggested I find a job that makes me happy that pays at least $25,000 a year and then throw myself into blogging to supplement the difference. I am seriously considering that right now…
That sounds like a great idea. Especially if your blogging income can grow more and then you could do it full time after a while. Good luck!
Excellent post Kevin!
I haven’t taken a pay cut for happiness, yet. It’s tough to slog though work that I don’t care much about, but I need to save for just a little longer.
I got a guest post on Monday from someone who moved on to do what they love. Don’t miss it!
I haven’t taken a pay cut for happiness, but I just recently passed up on the opportunity to make a bunch more. I recently found myself faced with deciding between taking a higher paying full time job, branching out on my own, or taking my current job (and salary) and molding it into just my favorite parts of the job. I chose the latter. I’ve got more time and less stress. Fortunately I’ve been pretty frugal and don’t have debt to worry about (anymore).
Awesome article! Ah no wonder your writing is easy to read, you’re a pro! Glad you found your new passion. Slightly surprised because I know a few Fantasy Football guys and they are OBSESSED! Keep up the great work!