Summary

A Serbian journalist and content marketer shares their journey of overcoming adversity and a teacher's doubt to build a successful 23-year writing career through discipline, persistence, and learning from mistakes.

Abstract

The author recounts their personal story of becoming a professional writer against the odds. Despite growing up in a poor, war-torn country, and initially being discouraged by a teacher, they persevered and secured a state-sponsored university place to study journalism. Over the years, the author has worked as a journalist, blogger, and content marketing strategist, emphasizing the importance of discipline and learning from failures. They advocate for the power of ordinary people to create extraordinary things and encourage readers to embrace their value, mistakes, and the potential to make a difference through writing.

Opinions

The author believes that average people have the capacity to build and make admirable things in the world.
They quote Steve Jobs to reinforce the idea that individuals can influence and change their surroundings.
The author values discipline highly, considering it more crucial than talent or hard work for sustained success in writing.
They encourage readers to not let negative opinions of others deter them, but rather to use such negativity as motivation.
The author reflects on their own experiences, suggesting that persistence, learning from mistakes, and a love for writing are key to a successful writing career.
They share a personal anecdote about writing a story that evoked emotion, highlighting their ability to craft impactful narratives

I’m Pretty Average. Yet, I’ve Been Living From Writing for 23 Years.

If one poor girl from a Serbian village can do it, you can do it, too!

Almost everything you see or admire in this world is built or made by average, ordinary people.

People like you and me.

Steve Jobs has a quote I like:

“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.

And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”

Extraordinary is rare.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be extraordinary.

I love writing and coffee. So I’m enjoying it every day.

I hope you enjoy my writing. If so, subscribe to my newsletter — I write about content marketing, but also productivity and self-growth.

I was in year 12 of grammar school and just discovered I wanted to be a journalist. I’ve always loved words and knew I had my way with them.

But when I shared my plans with our class teacher, she said:

“You? No way! You don’t have what is required to be a journalist.

Two months later, not only did I manage to secure a place at the university to study journalism, but I was one of only 35 students who got their study fees covered by the state.

After I got my BA in journalism, I spent 12 years working as a journalist in a daily newspaper and left it to switch to another career — marketing.

Don’t let difficult people hold you back — use their negativity to propel you forward. 👊

What helped me the most?

I was born in a poor, war-torn country, Serbia.
I grew up in a small village and didn’t see cinema or theatre for the first 16 years.
I wasn’t the smartest student in the class.
I wasn’t the most hard-working person in the office.
But I built a great discipline, and that’s what counts the most.

Motivation gets you started, discipline keeps you going.

No matter what.

The same is true with your writing career.

Talent is good, but persistence and learning from your mistakes and failures bring you closer to your goal. I did some great and funny things.

That helped me go from someone who lied to know English at a job interview to someone who lives from writing in English.

My discipline and love for writing brought me immense joy as a journalist, blogger, content marketing strategist and author.

I’ve been living from writing since 2000.
I wrote more than 10,000,000 words, offline and online.
Most important, I learned how to write good stories. If you ask my husband to describe my writing, he’d say:

“She once wrote a story about toilet paper that made people cry”.

The moral of this story?

Not to brag about me, as I’m an ordinary person.

But, to read something good today.

Understand your value.

Hug your mistakes and failures.

And start building something extraordinary, the ordinary you.

Start today.

Because one person can change the World.

“I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

Edwin Osgood Grover.

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