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How Taking Risks Can Lead You to a Better Life

Today marks 18 years since I left the UK and moved to Rome, Italy.

I still remember all those years ago being sat on the plane and wondering if I was brave or just plain crazy. If I'm honest, I was probably a bit of both.

Back then I never would have thought that I would now be married, have two amazing kids and, above all that, that I'd still be here in Rome. My original plan had been to stay for 3 days!

I took a risk. A huge risk, and it was the best thing I've ever done.

Sometimes you just have to follow your gut.

Taking risks doesn’t mean succeeding every time, and that’s OK!

“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” — Stephen McCranie

The Plan

As I said, my original plan had been to stay here for just 3 days. I was going to travel around Europe visiting different countries. That is until I found myself with no money.

Yep, I lost all my money in France. I had a connecting flight and all I know is I had my wallet when I got to the Paris airport but it was gone when I arrived at the airport in Rome.

At this point I did freak out a little. I was alone in a foreign country with no money, and didn't speak the language.

I could have called it quits. I'm sure a lot of people would have given up at a hurdle like that. I almost did.... almost.

Luckily I'd booked my accommodation online before leaving the UK and so had my 3 days paid in advance. That gave me 3 days to work out a new plan.

On my third day here I got a job working in a hostel, which got me a small amount of money and a bed to sleep in. I was back in control.

At this point I figured I'd stay in Rome for a few weeks and put aside some money to get to my next destination, Greece.... I've still never been to Greece.

Well, weeks turned into months, and I got a job offer at a different hostel. Nicer place, more money, better hours... and then I met my now husband. It was then that I knew I'd really moved to Rome, and I wasn't just visiting anymore.

So you see, life doesn't always work out the way we planned.

Sometimes risks don't mean success.

Sometimes, they can lead to a complete failure.

Sometimes failing isn't such a bad thing after all.

What was probably one of my most epic fails turned out to be the best thing that could ever have happened to me. I learnt so much about myself, and discovered strengths I didn't know I had. I faced my fears, and came out on top. I was rewarded for all my hard work with the life I have now, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Through failure I ended up succeeding and having a better life. Some risks are worth taking.

"The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done." ~ Arnold Palmer

Whilst my above example was a complete life changing event, it applies to how we live in general... and to our blogs.

So, are you going to just sit there wondering what your life could have been like if only you had taken a couple of risks? Or are you going to do something about it while you still have the chance?

Want to write a book? Do it!

Want to start a blog? Do it!

Been thinking about trying something new with your website? Do it!

By taking a risk you'll either reach your goal, or learn from the failure. Either way, you'll grow as a person and discover talents and skills you didn't know you had.

You might also like: Why Taking A Break From Work Is Good For You

Want To Increase Your Blog Traffic?

As bloggers, we often focus on creating fresh content — but some of your biggest traffic opportunities are already sitting in your archive. If you’ve been blogging for a while, you may have hundreds of older posts that could be revived, refreshed, and re-used to bring in new readers.

Updating older posts is one of the quickest ways to improve SEO, boost engagement, and make your content more appealing for sponsored links and brand partnerships. Here’s how to identify which posts are worth revisiting and the best ways to upgrade them.

Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.

Why Updating Old Blog Posts Matters

Refreshing older posts helps you:

Improve search engine rankings
Provide a better user experience
Keep information relevant and accurate
Increase the value of your archive
Create stronger opportunities for sponsored content

Brands prefer working with bloggers who maintain high-quality, up-to-date posts — so regularly updating your archive shows professionalism and boosts your earning potential.

How to Choose Which Posts to Update

If you've been blogging for a while you might have hundreds of blog posts in your archives. How do you figure out which ones are worth updating?

A good place to start is by looking at your traffic stats. Posts that bring in the most traffic are a good place to begin. Updating these 'Evergreen' posts will ensure that new visitors to your blog get the best first impression (especially if these posts were from a year or more ago).

Look at your analytics:

Posts that bring in consistent or high traffic
Evergreen content that remains relevant over time
Posts with declining traffic that could be revived
Articles ranking on page 2 of Google (easy wins!)

These posts already attract readers, so updating them helps you make the most of the audience you already have.

You might also like: Exploring CTA’s: Different Types of Calls To Action To Use in Your Blog Posts

Ways To Upgrade Old Blog Posts

1. Update the Graphics

By updating the graphics on an older post you instantly give it a fresh look. If you use visuals when sharing your posts on social media (which I hope you do), then this is an easy to share the same post again without your followers getting bored of the same old same old. e.g. they might have pinned your old graphic to a board on Pinterest. By giving them a new, fresh, image, they can pin it again to a different board and share your content again with their followers.

Your branding may have changed since you did the original post too, so by updating the graphics you can make sure that your best posts have a consistent look.

You might also want to think about adding additional graphics to the post e.g. if your post only has a horizontal image consider adding a vertical image too. Vertical images work better on Pinterest.

2. Fix Broken Links

Any blog that has been going for a while is bound to have a broken link or two somewhere.

Broken links are links that do not reach their intended destination. This could be because the page you linked to has been removed. Too many broken links on your website will mean you lose credibility.

Negative effects of broken links:

Damage user experience
Reduce your credibility
Negatively impact SEO ranking
Increase bounce rate

Use a link-checking tool to scan your older posts and fix or remove any links that lead to a 404 page. This is also an excellent opportunity to add sponsored links or affiliate replacements.

3. Add or Update Keywords

Keywords are incredibly important for SEO. When updating an old post, check that:

Your target keyword appears naturally in the title, introduction, and headings
Your meta description includes relevant keywords
You’re answering search intent clearly and directly
You’re using related/key phrase variations

Reworking your posts title can be a great way to increase traffic to an older blog post. If your original post had a random title like "Recent Musings" it's not doing anything for your SEO. Change the title to something that includes your keywords and makes people want to read your post.

4. Add Additional Links

Since writing the original blog post you may have written more blog posts related to the topic. Add your newer links to the older blog post. A simple way to do this is by adding the text "You might also like: INSERT LINK HERE'.

You can also add external links to trusted sources, which helps build authority and offers more opportunities for sponsored placements.

5. Refresh the Content

Typos and outdated information can slip through — it happens to all of us. Give your older posts a careful read and:

Fix spelling and grammar errors
Update out-of-date information
Add extra tips or examples
Improve clarity and structure
Add a stronger call to action

If the post needs a complete overhaul, consider rewriting it as a brand-new article and redirecting the old URL.

You might also like: 60 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers and E-A-T and Blogging in 2025: Why It Matters and How Bloggers Can Improve Their Content

Need A Break?

Are you struggling with overwhelm? Is it all getting too much? Do you feel like you need a break?

You're not alone!

It's common to get feelings of burn out. Sometimes it's due to the same old routine, other times it can be due to health problems. Maybe you feel stuck in a rut and can't seem to come up with new ideas or are just lacking inspiration in general.

We've all been there. I've been there numerous times over the years. In fact, I started this year asking myself questions like "What am I doing?" and "Why am I doing this?"

Yep, I was in a creative hole.

The winter season brought with it a wide variety of health problems that forced me to take some time off. At the start I was stressing over not being able to get any work done... and we all know how helpful stress is to our health.

So anyway, there I was, already ill and looking after my poorly children and stressing about whether or not I'd posted to my blog, checked my emails, or done any of the hundreds (I'm not exaggerating) of tasks I usually have on my to do list. I reached a major low and basically it was all too much.

That's when I realized something needed to change. I decided to turn my negatives into positives and used my sleepless nights to think about what I really want, and what I need to do to get there.

“At one point in your life, you will either have the thing you want or reasons why you don’t.” - Andy Roddick

The Brain Dump

The first step was to get all those thoughts out of my head and on to paper. Doing a brain dump is so liberating. Seriously, give it a try.

I started asking myself what I really wanted to be doing with my time, how much I wanted to do, what I wanted to make time for outside of work, and what would mean I could be happier, stress-free, and motivated.

Just writing these things down made me feel more motivated. I started to get excited about what I could do. A plan of action was already starting to form in my head.

By taking just a few minutes to declutter my thoughts I was already feeling more empowered and focused.

Follow Your Passion

One thing that became clear straight away was that I need to do things I'm passionate about. I don't want to just go through the motions. I want to be excited about everything I do.

But what if I'm passionate about more than one thing I hear you ask?

That's me! I don't want to be chained to one small niche. I don't want to do just one thing all the time. It's just not me.

My next step was therefore to write down what I'm passionate about. What I like doing? As Marie Kondo would put it, "Does it spark joy?"

I like helping people. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others, and seeing them get results. It's one of the big reasons behind why I organise the Promo Day conference every year. I find joy in seeing others win, knowing I played a little role in making it happen.

Whether through writing, illustrating, or graphic design, I love being creative. I also find it a great stress relief. Something I like doing that lowers my stress levels... that's a definite win.

Upgrade Your Skills

Next I took a look at my skill set. What am I actually good at? What do I want to be good at?

Life is a constant learning curve. Everyday is a new possibility to try something new, or to improve on something we already know.

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

This step in my process was all about simulating new ideas, and learning some new skills.

So I took to Pinterest and made notes about the sorts of graphics that made me want to pin them and click through to read the article.

I researched landing pages, sales templates, and web design. All the time making notes about what I liked and didn't like about the way others were doing them.

I watched some webinars... and you guessed it, I took a LOT of notes.

The more I learnt, the more I wanted to learn. As my ideas started to become clearer in my mind I added to my brain dump pages of my notebook.

I was feeling more and more positive, inspired, and motivated. Good bye creative hole!

With all the notes I'd made I started to put together a solid plan of action. With each step noting the what, how, and why. I now not only had a clear idea of where I'd been going wrong, what I wanted to do, and how I was going to do it.

I even had lists of the areas I want to study more, and the skills I want to improve on.

The thought of working again was no longer stressful. I felt empowered, and motivated to do it. I actually wanted to get back to work.

There was just one more thing I needed to do first...

I needed to get healthy.

Take Charge Of Your Health

I often struggle with my health. My immune system has a hard time dealing with all my allergies and other issues, then throw in two kids to the mix who bring home all the wonderful viruses doing the rounds and BAM! Sick days!

This year has been particularly tough. You see, the problem is that when you get ill it weakens your immune system and that means it's even easier to catch the next illness. It turns into a cycle that feels like it never ends.

Well, I've well and truly had enough of being ill. It's time to break the cycle.

As excited as I am about my new plan of action, it makes no sense to rush back to full time work. I need to give myself time to recover properly.

Whilst going through this whole process, one of the things that became clear to me is that I was doing too much. I was creating stress for myself. I didn't have a clear plan of action, and in some cases, I didn't even have a clear reason why I was even doing it.

When you work from home, it's easy to let work take over. Giving myself business hours was my first step, and something I should have done a long time ago.

How many hours did I really want to work each day? How much could I work without it becoming stressful? What else did I want to make time for?

One of the great things about taking some time off from work was that I got to do some of the things that I'd wanted to do for a while but just hadn't had the time to do.

Reading is obviously one of my favourite hobbies. I read a lot of books to review. I'm a huge fan of Net Galley but, if you've ever used the site yourself I'm sure you already know, it's super easy to let your TBR list get out of control. This leads to overwhelm and stress... and there we are again back in the circle. It was great to step away from my to do list and read just for the fun of it.

Exercise is something I've always enjoyed. Being ill doesn't make it easy though. When you're not feeling well it's easier to curl up under the covers or sit around on the sofa. As soon as I was starting to feel a bit better I decided to start inserting some gentle exercise into my day. Stretching, walking... nothing too stressful. Just a bit of movement to ease my way from coach potato to fit chick.

The more exercise I was able to do, the better I felt. I decided to set myself some daily goals. Stuff like "do 100 squats" or "walk a least 6500 steps". Just a few minutes a day and I was already seeing results, both physically and mentally.

Fitting in a least some movement in each day is super important especially if you do work where you're sat in front of a computer most of the time.

I normally don't watch much TV. Any free time I have in the evenings is usually spent reading or working. During my break I signed up for Netflix and have been enjoying watching some series and films. It was great to just switch off from everything and relax. I'm not saying I want to sit around all day watching TV but it was nice to catch up with some shows and actually watch some films. Some even sparked some new ideas for future projects.

Anyway the point is taking a break and stepping back to look at the bigger picture has done wonders. I now have a concrete plan for a more balanced, happy, and healthy life.

My new business plan will definitely bring in better ROI, and I'll be doing only the things I actually enjoy doing, whilst also making room for quality personal time.

Hire a virtual assistant

Why Taking A Break From Work Is Good For You and Your Business

Have you been feeling overwhelmed and stressed?

Do you find yourself asking questions like "What am I doing?" and "Why am I doing this?"

Do you have ideas for your blog, or author brand, but don't know where to start?

Get in touch and I'll help you put together a plan of action to get you back on track.

Book Your Virtual Coaching Session Now