This has not been a great week for me, to be honest. After a couple of fairly sizable setbacks, I need to regroup a little.
I always find the best way to do that is to remind myself of why I quit my gambling industry career and turned freelance in the first place.
The idea was to sit on the beach with my laptop, enjoying the freedom to work as and when I choose, with a lot less stress. So I made a point of doing exactly that today. Life is good.
Advantages of Freelancing
Back in the day, I used to struggle with my mental health. It’s not good to be stuck in an office all day, especially in the UK during winter. You could literally go an entire day without seeing sunlight.
On top of that, I’ve never been a morning person. I come alive in the afternoon and I do my best work at night. I always thought it was stupid that I was forced to get up early, barely able to function, not even being half as productive as I could be, based on someone else’s arbitrary nonsense rules.
To be honest, I don’t really know what took me so long to turn to freelancing. It’s not for everyone, but it’s perfect for me. I’m free to work my own hours. I can travel whenever I need a change of scenery. If I need a mental health day, I can just take it, without needing to justify it to anyone.
Why Didn’t I Do This Sooner?
I don’t have many regrets in life, but I wish I’d realised sooner that life could be this way.
It’s particularly frustrating that I started writing gambling content in late 2008, after a trip to Dublin, and continued to do so, on a part-time basis until 2014. However, when my iGaming career blew up, I ditched the writing as I was always too tired.
I felt like I needed to focus on my career, so my hobby and side hustle took a back seat. Eventually, I just stopped completely.
With the benefit of hindsight, that was a mistake. But I’d never even considered that I didn’t actually have to have a “proper” job. In those days, I didn’t have an entrepreneurial bone in my body. I thought you were just supposed to go to school, university, join the rat race and climb as high as you could.
It’s particularly stupid given that my dad started his own business when I was a teenager. So it’s not like I didn’t have some kind of role model.
COVID Lockdowns
Like many freelancers – and particularly writers, I think – it was the COVID-19 nonsense that kicked everything off for me.
I wondered what I could do during the lockdowns, which were especially long and hard in the Philippines. I also knew I was about to lose my job, as it was a retail sports betting operation. Returning to my former passion was a no-brainer.
I’ve always enjoyed writing gambling content. The reason I got into the iGaming industry in the first place was because I fell in love with poker, as well as and horse racing, when I was at University.
In those days, I had a gambling-themed blog with a bunch of mates. Then I started writing for affiliates to earn extra pocket money. The signs were always there, I just never followed them.
Sometimes you just can’t see the wood for the trees.
Beautiful Boracay
After losing my job, there was no need to stay in Manila, so I moved to Boracay. The centre is very touristy, as it boasts one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, but it’s nice and quiet at either end of the 7km long island.
I have an amazing view from my balcony, which is a great place to work from. But every once in a while, it’s nice to go down to White Beach, have a coffee or a beer, and bash out a few thousand words.
I’m very thankful to be around at a time where technology makes it so easy to work from anywhere, which facilitates what is a pretty awesome lifestyle.
And, of course, for winning the life lottery and having a British passport. Damn, it’s *so hard* trying to travel places with my Filipina partner!
Reflection
This post has been a little bit self-indulgent. It’s not really for anyone’s benefit other than my own, to be honest. Real old school web logging, this.
I think I just needed to write something down in order to reflect on the good things in my life, rather than the focus on what has been a pretty stinking week. It’s done the job.
Onwards and upwards.