My Favorite Black & White Photos!

I have always liked taking black and white photos. Black and White photos usually are considered classy and so I hope this little post of my favorite black and white photos added a little more class to your day!

(From Top Left)

1. Being a Business Teacher for day! 
2. One of those, "I need a new profile picture" photos.
3. Just adding another smile to my Instagram account.
4. How about a second smile for Instagram as well?!   

xoxo,

I'm Featured in Blog Trends + Free Download

Last week, I asked you to vote for my article "Blogging VS. Freelance Writing" in the Blog Trends Link-Up Contest in order to get featured and it worked! I am this week's featured blogger on Blog-Trends.com.

As featured blogger, I answered some questions from Blog Trends, check out the article "Zobia: The Eternity Journal" to see what I was asked and what I was answered.

Because I could not have done it without all my readers who voted, here's a free download to help you keep track of your blog posts for the week, your goals for your blog, and your blog to-do list.

Click here to download and print the "My Blog This Week" organizer.

Thanks for all your love and support!

xoxo,

Why I Love & Hate the Daunting World of Business

I'm going to start by saying daunting is a strong word and I used it to show you that business really isn't as much fun as one may hope for. However, as a person who one day hopes to become an entrepreneur, I find joy in the "dauntingness" of business. Having a business is great, you get to make your own choices, play by your own rules, and create a name for yourself or your brand. With that said, for those who have started a business or are trying to I assume you see the fine lines between everything you could get get, everything you want, and the reality.

Let's face it you can have a great idea, a great product or service and expect instant customers, but receive about 5 views per day and 1 customer every other month. Kind of a detour to your dream isn't it?

That's where the daunting stuff comes in. All the things you have to worry about and keep track of such as your overhead expenses, your sales or profits, analytics, inventory, marketing and advertising your brand, and social media impact. Lot of work isn't it? It consists of taking a lot of time, making sacrifices, and getting down to finishing all the boring work. So what's fun about it?

The fact that you're always doing something. The joy of being an entrepreneur does not come from the rewards, but simply the process. That is why business men & women strive for the entrepreneaurship goal because being an entrepreneur means that you keep going and keep creating and advancing in business.

It takes dedication and a lot of work down the line, but if you're like me and need constant change and stuff to look forward to or even to dwell on, you'll enjoy the ride.

What's my Business? 

I run a website called Fragrance Essence. It's a shop where I sell authentic men & women's fragrances for prices less than retail. I sell fragrances by Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Estee Lauder, French Connection, and I even created my own line of products called Blossom Baskets.

Photo by FragrancEssence.com

Have you ever had a business? Are you interested in starting one in the future? Leave a comment below!
xoxo,

Blogging VS. Freelance Writing

Photo by ThePrettyBlog.com

   I like to say "I'm a freelance writer". If I get lucky the person I am talking to has never heard of this word or doesn't know what it means. In that instant, the person thinks I am a professional writer or journalist of some kind. I am no journalist, but I do think freelance writing can be categorized as professional.

   When you're a freelance writer and sell any of your writing works - you have actually created your own job that you can call a profession. You might not get paid much in this profession, but rest assured that 95% of the money you make by freelance writing is yours. Plus, when your work is out here in the Internet world, you might not even realize that you are creating a name for yourself and when you're working from home on your computer getting noticed scores you more customers & more customers means more money. Not too bad, right?
    On the other hand, Blogging is a whole other ball game. There's no competition to have a good "name" in the business. And, unlike in freelance writing you don't get paid directly for your writing. You may find a way to endorse, advertise, and monetize your blog, but majority of us don't charge to have others read what we write or to use it.
    When you blog, you start out writing for yourself and slowly build up a community of readers where you find yourself writing for them as well. Freelance writing is writing sometimes for yourself and then selling your work and most times solely writing to please a customer or reader. Sometimes it can be both.
     In my freelance writing and blogging journey, I learned that sometimes when you write something for a specific person or group of people, you learn more about yourself than you do when you just write about something that interests you on your own with no topic or purpose. Often times I find myself starting to write a piece for someone, but turning it into something I would like to post on my blog.

Tips for the Freelance Writer:

1. Don't know where to sell your work? Check out Fiverr.com and start there! Need ideas? Check out my Fiverr profile.
2. Write what you know and search what you don't. Always. Accurate information makes it easy to sell your work.
3. Always hand in original work. Of course.
4. If someone disapproves or disagrees with your writing work. Keep it for reference and ignore it. Usually the best writers are the ones who don't get too many approving faces. ;)
5. Keep a folder or portfolio of all your writing works. I save every single one I write. If you looked at my portfolio you'd see many cheeky Christmas lyrics I wrote along with a couple of really sensitive love songs I had sold for Valentines' Day.

Tips for the Blogger:

1. Blog about what you know.
2. Try to start as many conversations through your posts as possible. A simple "How was your weekend?" after a long post will be sure to spark up some conversations.
3. If a picture is worth a thousand words and your blog needs a little color. Add one and you'll be enriching your posts with a thousand more words. 
4. Don't try to blog about what your favorite bloggers do. Keep it original and tailored to who you are.
5. Have fun with it! You don't have to worry about being paid or not for the quality of your work so just do what you love and have fun with it. 

UPDATE: If you like this post please vote for it on Blog-Trends here. This article is Blogging VS. Freelance Writing. Please click *LIKE* to vote. Thank you! :)

xoxo,

Catching up on Photo 365: Part 1

Here are some of my January Pictures! I have been promising pictures in my last couple of posts and I have finally decided to post them in a catching up series. This is part 1, many other parts are to come. Then, I will switch to posting them weekly!

1. My favorite necklace that my father had bought me on one of my birthdays.

2. I found these in the freezer aisle & couldn't resist giving them a try.

3. How about trying them with some hot dogs?

4.Sneak peek of my novel! A picture is worth a thousand words. Literally.

5.Cute mini bottles of coke.

6. How healthy does it fruit salad look?

7. Successful shopping trip.

8. Homemade burgers are my favorite.

9. I'm making cinnabons now. :)

10. Fact: I take a Music Theory class. 

11. A poem I wrote that was published.

12. Taking a Coffee break.

13. More Cinnabons!

14. What I have in my bag!

15. Got my Coffee, my laptop, and my phone and I'm ready to work!

xoxo,

The Eternity Journal has moved...

The Eternity Journal has moved to a new home. I have moved to TheEternityJournal.com! Because of this change, all of my BlogLovin' followers will soon be moved to the new BlogLovin' profile of The Eternity Journal and if all goes right none of my followers will have to take any action in order to keep following!

Thanks for reading!


xoxo,

My Updated About Me Page is Perfect!

I just spent a large amount of time updating my About Me page. I surely added lots of stuff most of you will be surprised to read about and I think I finally was able to describe myself perfectly. It is the most updated and detailed story of the person behind this blog! I really hope you check it out and let me know what you think!

On another note, I have entered a blog hop contest in order to win a spot as featured blogger on Blog-Trends.com! Please show your support and vote for my entry "21. The Eternity Journal: Believing in Yourself"!

It would mean the world to me to be a featured blogger! Please vote by following this link: Blog-Trend Link Up and finding the 21st box with my entry and simply clicking *Like*! I also encourage you to link up as well. Perhaps, if I can't be featured, one of my readers can!

xoxo,

Managing Life & Digital Passwords

How do you keep track of all your accounts and passwords?

I am well-aware that I am not the only person with this problem or question. As I grow socially
online, I create at least three new accounts on different websites each month. Plus, with all the cuts in applications that I have been using for quite a while such as Google Reader and Posterous, I am forced to find new services to create yet another account on. I have so many accounts! How in the world am I supposed to manage it all?

I mean I am one person trying to be a team of social media experts and myself all at the same time and I have come to a conclusion that there is no simple way out then to deal with these accounts I must manage.

If I could show you my list of bookmarks and accounts, you would not be able to sleep at night. Take my word for it. I am slowly becoming an internet account hoarder.

Do you have trouble managing hundreds of accounts at once? Do you have a specific system or place where you store your passwords to be organized? Or do you have someone managing it all for you? (Lucky you!)

Please do comment and let me know how you avoid this insanity.

xoxo,