• davidgro@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    All these people posting inspirational stories and here I am with my first thought being “Finally saw the northern lights”. Got some decent pictures too.

    • Truffle@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      That is on ny bucket list! They look surreal and I would love to experience seeig them.

    • R...@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      That is a great achievement, and a good looking one as well! One i haven’t yet reached!

  • Diddlydee@feddit.uk
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    3 months ago

    I self published two books and am almost ready to do a third. No interest in being a famous author or making millions, just glad to get them out of my head and to know they are just what I intended them to be.

    • Buglefingers@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      There’s a smaller publishing company for small time authors in Florida (if the company is still around) Called witching hour publishing. Their whole schtick is to make publishing cheaper and easier for small time writers. Check it out, might be worth it if you are gonna be prolific.

      • Diddlydee@feddit.uk
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        3 months ago

        Thanks. I’ve got two young kids and a busy job so not as prolific as I’d like. Maybe a book every 3-4 years, longer if it’s a grand fantasy. My first one was a quarter of a million words in a world I created from scratch, so that took maybe 6 years.

        • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted
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          3 months ago

          You are an inspiration. :)

          Speaking as someone who rarely ever writes because life keeps getting in the way but still hopes to be published someday. Every day it seems that dream gets further and further away… :(

          • Diddlydee@feddit.uk
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            3 months ago

            All you need to do is start and do what you can when you can. Spare minutes here and there all add up. Don’t get bogged down in minutiae. You’ll get there no matter how long it takes.

    • callouscomic@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      I saw a comment recently online regarding publishing an indie video game that “nobody played” where people noted you set out to do your goal that very few people ever complete. You published. You’re a winner. You accomplished your feat.

      I had similar stuff with music once in my life. It never went where I or others might have hoped. But we recorded and made albums. We played tons of shows. We had a few fans. We opened for big names we loved. I feel like a winner too.

      I’m not really saying this to reply to you. I’m not even sure you need to hear it. But someone out there does. Don’t let others define what success or winning is. By setting out to accomplish something, and doing it, that’s a winner already.

    • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl
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      3 months ago

      Title of the book? I am looking for some fantasy or sci fi to read.

      Or I guess that might be doxxing yourself…

      • Diddlydee@feddit.uk
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        3 months ago

        No worries about doxxing as I write under a pseudonym. Let Thy Wisdom Fear: The Gathering by D.T. Wilkinson. It’s on Amazon. There’s also my book of horror shorts called Tales Uncanny, which I just last week noticed a spelling error on the back cover courtesy of my darling wife and I haven’t fixed it yet.

  • MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    Talked a friend out of suicide when COVID first hit and a bunch of people lost their jobs and homes. Now he’s got a pretty sweet work from home job with full benefits and his own place again. Am very happy for him.

    • Bob@feddit.nl
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      3 months ago

      A friend of mine once said he’d join the army only because he didn’t have anything to live for, but I ended up helping him get a job on the railway and now he’s a train driver, and a good one at that.

  • Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Honestly, just where I’m at in life. I’ve been pulling myself up by my bootstraps for all my life.

    Grew up in bumfuck poorsville with abusive parents, joined the military, did some cool stuff, left and went to college, bought a house, graduated, sold the house, moved across country, got a job with my degree, and found a solid friendship group who encourage and care for me and vice versa.

    This is all while suffering from an unseen disease that I was finally diagnosed with while in college and have been fighting against ever since.

    I am proud of my achievements and I can really say to myself that I made it, despite everything, I made it.

  • demoman@lemmy.one
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    3 months ago

    In the past 365 days I have gained almost half a million views and more than 4000 new subscribers on youtube :)

  • Kit
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    3 months ago

    Homeless at 18. First apartment at 20. Put myself through college going part time while working 2 jobs, 21-25. Bought my first home at 29. Hit 6 figures at 33. Now in the top 10% of earners in my city.

    I had no one, no support network. Just me and a goal and strategic hard work every single day.

    The tough part is I’m now in my mid 30s and have had very little life experience because all I’ve been doing is working. Never been on an airplane or have been on a vacation. No passport or friends or social life outside of 2 internet friends. It’s been tough to sit down and figure out what will actually make me happy now that I’ve achieved my life goals.

  • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    Honestly, I’m struggling right now. Spent my 20’s waiting for something to happen that never did. Decided to change my life in my 30’s, and while I am a lot happier and more honest with myself in a lot of ways, I have also alienated people who were close to me by adopting new interests that they don’t share.

    I try to meet new people, but it’s hard. The ones out socializing tend to be much younger or older than me, and the ones my age are having kids and stuff.

    It has been really hard to find a balance between building the life I want to live, and not having changes isolate me to the point of loneliness.

    If my wife goes, I may just have to cut everyone off and start fresh, but that terrifies me.

    So, with all that, I guess I’m proud that I’m still trying and haven’t just given up completely and moved back in with mom like some of my contemporaries have.

  • Oka@sopuli.xyz
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    3 months ago

    Bachelor’s Degree. Not happy with the debt that came with it, and the lack of employment in the field since Covid and AI

    • InputZero@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      Welcome to the truth about university. It gives you more debt than you can handle, and a job that doesn’t pay enough.

      • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted
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        3 months ago

        I feel that.

        Spent 5 years in college, had to drop out because I ran out of money, now I work a dead-end job in retail for shit pay and like 70k in debt.

        Don’t do college, kids. It ain’t worth it. Or, rather, do college but do community (or a trade school).

      • Oka@sopuli.xyz
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        3 months ago

        On the contrary, the pay would be more than enough for me (single and alone) but actually getting the job is the hard part.

  • kingthrillgore@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    I paid off my college loans in full in 2019.

    I deleted my reddit account.

    I’m the first person in my family to get a University degree.

    I’ve been sober for four years now.

  • Tanis Nikana@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I’ve bought a house, got married, published two books, do stand-up and host a small game show, survived two strokes, transitioned, and have a lot of friends who think I’m tolerable.

  • Truffle@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    Being the first female on my mom’s side to get a phd; being the first female to not be a teenage mother out of all my female relatives on my mom’s side; being the first to practice non violent upbringing in both our families (me and my SO).

    Getting a full ride scholarship for all of my academic life: Bachelor’s, Master’s and PHD.

    Getting a green thumb after thirty and having my flowers, shrubs, ferns, fruit trees and succulents thrive.

    Getting on a horse after 30+ years of not doing it after a mare threw me off.

    Quitting smoking cold turkey.

    Working on my self trough therapeutic work to be my most authentic self.

    Exercising regularly for some years now when I came from a family that did not emphasize the importance of body movement.

  • n0x0n@feddit.org
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    3 months ago

    I’m really proud of my job as a manager. Dropped out of uni because I only learned what seemed interesting to me (mostly tech stuff from CS) and now I’m leading a team of devs. Cherry on top is that they like me, too. OTOH I’m proud of my wife and children and lots of other things, like having mastered 2 foreign languages, playing piano, recorder and guitar.

    Most proud that we bought a house though.