I Understand and That's All That Matters

One of the things I've learned to deal with in pursuit of my writing career is a great dearth of understanding amongst friends and family.

Very few people can comprehend why I would put so much time and effort into what I do when the rewards appear to be so very little.

There was a time when I was part of that group about once or twice a month, wondering why I spend hours on end behind this keyboard, coming up with marginally-entertaining pieces and posting them for your consumption when most of the returns are anonymous hecklers telling me to quit.

But in the last few months, everything has become clearer to me; the path I'm on now has streetlights and I can see where I'm going. Just because others don't doesn't mean it isn't a valid journey.

Yesterday alone, over 1,500 people read my work at Keyboard Kimura, a far cry from the days of 42 people checking in here being the high water mark.

A large collection of respected and influential people in the Mixed Martial Arts business know my name and like my work, and nothing bad can come from that.

Just three months into writing about MMA - something I should have been doing a long, long time ago - my name is alongside some of the best in the business as a member of the MMA Fight Council Writer's Guild ... and not because I begged them to include me.

I've gotten to interview some great fighters, refine my skills on the keys and make a whole slew of friends and connections that can only serve me well moving forward.

A paying job it is not, but not everything in this world is about money. Sometimes it's about putting in your time because you know the money is out there and continued improvement and success will eventually bring it your way.

Have I chosen to pursue a career that is exceptionally difficult and has left many feeling unfulfilled? Absolutely, especially now with newspapers going the way of dinosaurs and the publishing industry cutting back in these harsh economic times.

But I would rather spend countless hours a week chasing my dream and winning little victories than giving up because I make less than $20 a month from writing and very few understand why I keep at it.

Even if nothing more comes of this, I'm happy and love what I do.

How many of the doubters who don't understand can honestly say that?