Who doesn’t love making use of the internet? I love being able to see businesses, expos, services and other brilliant ideas on display around the world all because someone is able to put together information, publish it on a website and get it into search engines.

What about you? There are people out there living their dream because they’re able to run a business from home, online… and still play with their ponies! Sometimes it comes along unexpectedly, other times it requires real innovation and hard work. But why not do it?

Not that I see this blog as a business – it’s a passion – but it has brought about benefits I definitely didn’t anticipate:

• I’ve received a number of books to read and review and been able to add to my equine library at no cost to me
• I’ve had paid advertising on this site
• I was approached about teaching equine studies and gained a job and qualification because of this blog
• I get to write about my passion, which lead to writing for Suite101 and starting up a residual income

None of these things were planned, but they’ve all definitely been positives on account of writing a blog! Take the challenge today – what can you start online that you’re passionate about? Who knows where it may lead you…

On a side note – like the new look? This blog can now be found at http://www.equus-blog.com/ 😀

“A pony is a childhood dream, A horse is an adulthood treasure.” – Rebecca Carroll

So one of the women at work forwarded this information onto me and I thought it worth sharing… note the deadline is only 8 days away though!

ABARES is encouraging people to apply for the 2012 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, with applications closing 18 November.

There are 12 individual categories, with each offering up to $22,000 for project funding.The awards are open to young people aged 18-35 who have an innovative project that will benefit Australia’s agriculture, fisheries, forestry, food and natural resource management sectors.

Grant recipients can use their funding for a range of activities including research projects, industry visits or to attend conferences and workshops that will support their project. The awards aim to encourage science, innovation and technology in rural industries and help to advance the careers of young scientists through national recognition of their research ideas.

The 2012 Science and Innovation Awards are supported by: the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Australian Pork Limited; Australian Meat Processor Corporation; Cotton Research and Development Corporation; Dairy Australia; Fisheries Research and Development Corporation; Forest and Wood Products Australia; Grains Research and Development Corporation; Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation; Horticulture Australia; Meat and Livestock Australia; and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.

For further information: http://www.daff.gov.au/brs/science-awards

So a few things have been happening of late that have made me reassess what I wanted to achieve over 2011 and what I’d like to achieve next year, and I’ve concluded with regards to next year, I may as well hit the ground running!

What do you want to do for next year that you could actually actively start working towards this year?

My frustrated revelation this week has been that there’s always a replacement available.  If you don’t want to do a particular task or something doesn’t quite fit in with what you had in mind, there’s always someone willing to step into your position.  Change at times is inevitable, whether it’s wanted or not, but it can push you to question what you really want.

So what do you want in the near future?  And what are you willing to do to get it?  Start being accountable, perhaps by writing it up in a comment here – writing something down makes it that much more tangible.

I want to:

• build up a residual income via the opportunity that SendOutCards affords and help others do the same and gain some financial freedom
• invest in a rental property
• build up a financial portfolio that will help in the purchase of my dream property
• reach 300+ articles on Suite101