At 25, I was starting over. Being that I had certain financial goals to meet by the time i turned 30, I was left with only five years to achieve them. Armed with two years of experience and grandiose dreams of making a living from writing, I was off building my ‘personal brand’.

But reality set in. Blogging was nothing more than a hobby with a rare few making enough coin to sustain a decent living. And off I was to find a 9-5 to pay the rent.

Disheartened, the remaining morsels of hope were rerouted at my new job. Gone were blog posts about the social media website du jour, replaced with financial analysis of local companies. The work was far from chic. And being unable to discuss our clients, made for terrible casual conversations. On the bright side, I earned a decent steady pay with health insurance.

As time progressed I had the itch to do more. Make more. Excel more. Burning deep inside was an entrepreneurial spirit aching to get out. So I put it to work.

Masquerading as a sole-proprietor behind the corporate firewall, I began focusing on my ‘personal brand’. Again. But I pivoted from a self-centered tech pundit with no experience, to a team player willing to do the grunt work to get ahead. And the new image was noticed. By everyone.

What followed is a wild ride that intensifies every day. In four years I have doubled my salary and have exceeded my expectations for what I could accomplish.

And I still have a year to go before I turn 30.