As I write this, it’s just ticked over to midnight. I’ve just put out the final touches on the fourth lesson in my upcoming crowdfunding program, and set up the login details for the beta testing group. And I’ve just turned 32.

For me, birthdays are like New Year. I’ve never been much of a “rager” and actual New Year is a great time to curl up on the couch with my favourite movie and avoid the drunks. Today tends to be the day that I spoil myself rotten and take stock of where I am, and where my life is going.

This year is special. One year ago, I was in a completely different place in my life.

I was a very bored, very miserable office worker. I got up every morning, drove to work, and hated myself for it. I wrote learning materials for apprentices. I was good at it, but writing about screwdrivers and fighting corporate bureaucracy just didn’t spin my wheels. Meek and timid, I just put up with it. I thought everyone arrived in the parking lot each morning hating their life and existence.

The one ray of sunshine in my life were the project updates I got through Kickstarter for the projects I’d backed. At random times each day I’d get an email from someone who was following their passion and changing the world in their own way. Good news or bad, every update thrilled me, and gave me hope that by giving a small amount of my wage, I was helping as well.

One day I’d had a minor disagreement with someone over something stupid. And it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I spent that lunchtime crying in my car. Sick of the job I hated and the crap I put up with, I remember looking in the mirror and realising that this was my rock bottom, and that anything was better than the situation I was in.

So instead of diligently working on whatever I should have been working on that afternoon, I spent it Googling career counselors, job ads and personality tests. I was in the wrong job, at the wrong company, in the wrong industry. Backed into a corner, I knew I needed help.

And I found it. Google served up the perfect counselor. She didn’t have the flashiest website, but something about her clicked. So we met, and we began working together. At the time the photo at the top of this blog was taken (during my birthday roadtrip last year), the work was just beginning, The result of the work under a month later was 5 possible career choices – one of which was working with people on their crowdfunding projects. It was an idea I’d had months ago when I noticed how many awesome ideas were let down by poor rewards, poor community management, the wrong platform, and unachieveable targets. At the time I’d just brushed it off – no-one got to do something THAT awesome for a job – but the counselling gave me the courage to try.

So I tried. I cautiously told my friends, family and colleagues. I was blown away by the response. I started making contact with people in the industry, who welcomed me with open arms. I set an official leaving date, started a website, and ran my very own (successful) campaign.

The scope of this job – the services and products I offer, the people I work with, and how I do it has changed drastically from that initial idea, but one year ago, I was just starting on the path to get where I am now.

And where I am now is pretty mindblowing. I help people achieve their dreams every day – since launching in March 2014, I’ve helped projects raise over quarter of a million dollars collectively. I get to ride the rollercoaster on every campaign and now I am lucky enough to say that I am totally in love with my job. So much so that the biggest problem in my life right now is I find it hard to take a day off! But today I’m going to step away from the screen (right after I finish this blog) and I’m going to hang out with my mum at the beach.

So no crowdfunding tips from me this week. But there are a lot of exciting plans coming to fruition right now. I can’t wait to see what the next year holds, and I hope you join me for the ride.