Most of my days are spent typing up my assignments on my laptop. I think many people think that my job isn't real. When I tell people I work online from home, they tell me there is no such thing as online work. The only other people I've met who fully understand my job are writers or graphic designers.

I've learned that being motivated is one of the most important things I can do for myself. Since I no longer work at a job that requires me to make a physical appearance, keep a schedule and clock in, I've learned that I have to be even more motivated to reach my goals for earning money. I've also learned how to be more resourceful.

I enjoy writing about food and investment opportunities. Both are of interest to me. I enjoy sharing knowledge that I have learned, even if I am not earning enough to actually use the advice myself.

I actually found these opportunities on the Internet. I was elated to find the opportunity, because unemployment was at an all time high in my area. I was struggling to make ends meet, and I was constantly being harassed on other jobs that I had taken in the past. Therefore, I was somewhat discouraged about the job market in general. I was happy to find something to keep my mind occupied that also provided some income.

The biggest challenges I have to deal with on a regular basis have to do with balancing my work life with my personal life. Because of the medical needs of a loved one, I drive anywhere from 300 to 500 miles per week, so I've had to find ways to take my work with me.

After putting in about 25 hours of work on a large project in early 2010, my laptop's hard drive failed and I had to start over from scratch. At that point I just felt like crawling in a hole and dying.

To succeed in this kind of work, you need to be able to work regular hours without needing someone else to get you motivated, but I guess that's something a lot of self-employed people have to do.

The bottom line on what I do is to translate "engineer-speak" into common, everyday language. Though engineers read what I write, so do marketers, sales people, executives and other non-engineering individuals. I like to think that my contribution prevents confusion and reduces total cycle time in product development.

This job does indeed move my heart. Many non-engineers look at the stereotypical engineer almost as an unfamiliar life form. I am able to translate engineers’ visions and what they mean to basic language that nontechnical people can understand easily, ensuring focus on the problem at hand rather than on terminology.

I am an article writer and mostly write about business and financial topics. There are tons of misunderstandings about what a writer does. The biggest one that I wish people would understand is that a writer is not on vacation simply because they work at home!

I do really feel like I have found my sweet spot in life so to speak. My talent and opportunities match my skills and ambitions. There is no success without passion and writing is my passion.