Happy New Years, everyone! 2022 is officially over, and it’s a new year! Time to set new goals and see how last year went.

At the start of 2022, I set out to find myself a new job that would allow me to purchase my first house. As it turns out, locating a remote white-collar job is much trickier than I imagined. Unfortunately, the majority of interviews I was scheduled for were canceled last minute as another candidate was selected for the position. To remedy this problem, I started to look into changing career paths out of marketing and finding a reliable employer. Currently, I am in the process of being hired for a Railroad Conductor Trainee position with my local railroad. This job will put me above my hourly target of $25 an hour and includes a sign-on bonus with the catch that I would have to stay with the railroad for at least three years. I plan to work as a conductor for a year, and if I enjoy the work, I’ll stay with my employer. That way, at the start of 2024, I can make steps toward purchasing my first house.

In the meantime, I still wish for more space and freedom from my family. Over the next month or two, I will purchase an RV that shall act as my new home on my family’s farm. The RV will allow me to work on my projects without breaking the bank. Good thing I have managed to avoid any debt and have built up a solid credit history over the years! However, I plan to take out a loan for the RV to continue building upon my credit history.

As for projects this past year, I have self-published my first book! The Short Stories of A Dungeon Master is available anywhere you buy books. For 2023 I plan on investing more money in marketing The Short Stories of A Dungeon Master. My goal is to turn a $12,000 investment into $20,000. I’ll be looking into hiring a marketing firm that excels in marketing new authors. By hiring a marketing firm, I can free myself up to work on other projects while I earn money from book sales. For example, I’ll expand on my short story, A Hero’s Beginnings, and create an entire book from that story. My goal is to write at least one chapter every two weeks. Jifar’s adventure will reach an estimated six novels over the next few years. By 2024 I hope to have my second book ready to be edited and published.

In between writing my next book, I am exploring the idea of opening my own small business. I’ll be selling custom paracord crafts—for example, collars, leashes, and harnesses. In addition, I plan to sell paintings and expand my drawing abilities into digital art. Since the start of 2022, my artwork has dramatically improved, and by the end of 2022, I have started taking commissions for small art projects. I would work mainly from home for this business and sell my products online. To promote myself, I will travel to conventions to sell my goods. My new business also allows me to travel and meet many wonderful people.

Thank you for reading my blog post. I hope 2022 has been a good year for you and that 2023 will be an excellent year for all of us. If you would like to share your accomplishments of 2022 or your goals for 2023, feel free to respond in the comment section. I would love to hear your story!

Happy New Years, everyone!

Best,

-Bryce Ward