A while back, a blogger I respect a lot, Carrie from Careful Cents, wrote a post about how she increased her freelance income by more than $2000 per month (totally go check this post out. And the rest of her site. It’s got good, good stuff). One of the key points was to say yes more often. It’s a point that stuck with me since I first read it.

It’s hard for me to say yes to opportunities. I have a variety of trust issues regarding people. I’m terrible with taking chances and seizing opportunities. Some of the reasons for this stem from my own insecurities; some of them stem from experience. And, also when it comes to my career and success, I’m a pretty pessimistic person, which is attributed mainly to my lack of self-confidence

This last part is perhaps the most dangerous when you’re trying to make a living as a freelancer. When you’re trying to freelance, you need to be confident in your skills and knowledge. You need to have a thick skin. You need to network, take risks, and make opportunities come to you as well as create your own. Not an easy thing to do when you’re a textbook introvert, new people make your nervous, and you get overwhelmed easily.

But I’m working on it. Every day, I work on it. It’s getting better but I have a long, long way to go. And in the back of my mind is always Carrie’s point about saying yes.

Which is why, when the nice guys at Credit Forums (a sort of local company. They’re based in Philly) approached me about writing a page for their newest guide, I agreed to do it. Well, I hesitated at first and did some research but I agreed to do it. I figured it was a great way to get some practice writing for a book, which is ultimately what I want to do, and who knows what else it could lead to? Everyone has to start somewhere. Why not start here?

And, I’m not going to lie to you, a bunch of really selfish factors got tossed in the mix of reasons I said yes. I’m glad I did, too, because not only has it panned out but it’s a quality finished product that I’m really proud to be a part of (and one of the other contributors is my very first mentee, Pauline, from Reach Financial Independence so that’s extra aca-awesome).

Oh, the best part? You guys get a copy of the guide, 21 Days to Healthier Finances, for free just by following this link. You don’t have to sign up for anything, register, give any information to access the guide (although there are bonus chapters that you get if you register by email. Totally your call).

It’s a really quick and easy guide to read and it gives a number of tips from a variety of experts on getting your finances under control if that’s something you’re interested it. Or, you can read it just to see what I wrote. That’s cool, too.

And, apropos of nothing except I totally ripped off the title of this post from it, here’s the video of The Lonely Island’s “I’m On a Boat”: