15 Years of Hope to Prosper
Today marks the 15th anniversary of me posting on Hope to Prosper. Way back then, I was still posting on BretFrohlich.com, but I registered and switched to HopeToProsper.com in 2009. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed in my life. My kids are grown up and out on their own and I’m even a grandpa now. Many of the financial struggles are behind me and most of my goals have been reached. Anyone who has followed my blog for any part of this journey has seen me grow as a writer and a person. I hope to have inspired a few readers along the way.
January 25, 2007: My First Post
The Mission
The mission of this blog has never changed in the 15 years I’ve been posting nor has my advice of earning, saving and investing. I’ve seen a lot of blogs and writers come and go and I’ve seen a lot of financial advice come in and out of fashion. I never waivered in my mission of encouraging and educating others nor have I changed the type of financial advice I give. This advice has worked for me and countless others and I’m confident it will work for you as well.
One thing that has changed quite a bit in the past 15 years is my financial situation. I could only dream of being debt-free and financially independent back in 2007. I still had two kids at home, a big mortgage and much smaller income. I had a boss who treated me poorly and there wasn’t much I could do about it, except get another job. I could easily walk away right now, but thankfully I love my job and my boss. Throughout all of this change, I believed faithfully in my vision of the future and now I’m living the life I dreamed of way back then.
My Second post: Pay Yourself First
Struggle & Rebirth
I posted for almost a decade before I burned out and stopped writing. At first, I went from posting weekly to posting just a couple times per year. Then, I stopped completely for almost four years. It wasn’t just that I was burned out, I had completely run out of things to say. After hundreds of carefully crafted articles, I had gone over the same advice in many different ways and I didn’t want to recycle the same advice any longer. I lost a lot of my readers and my Google Page Rank while I was away on hiatus and it wasn’t just me and my blog. Blogging seems to have lost its luster and has been largely replaced by visual platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
I started posting again last year during the pandemic. I was locked down, working from home and facing a layoff. I had plenty of time on my hands and reinvigorated with a new message and some new ideas for blogging. I chose to post once a month, instead of once a week, so I wouldn’t be under pressure to come up with so many new posts and ideas. I was working with a group of entrepreneurs and content creators and their energy and ideas inspired me. They gave me some feedback that my blog looked outdated, so I chose a new theme and created a new header. I hadn’t updated my theme since 2009, so this wasn’t a big surprise to me. It just took a fresh set of eyes to provoke the change. I enjoy writing again, especially from the perspective of success, instead of the mindset of need.
The Bottom Line
Time is going to pass in your life, whether you choose to get ahead or not. So, you may as well save and invest your money for a brighter future. The saddest outcome would be for fifteen years to pass while making no progress.
“I planned my success. I knew it was going to happen.” – Erykah Badu
