Most people think I became a ghostwriter because I loved writing.
They only saw the ending. Not the long, winding road that got me here.
I was a village boy from Pekan, a secluded little town, the Royal town of Pahang.
Before and after school, I herded cows under the hot sun. My office was a muddy field. My alarm clock was a rooster crowing.
To be a writer? Never crossed my mind. Life had other plans for me.
Somehow, I ended up furthering my studies in Land Surveying in Melbourne, Australia.
Everything was different in Melbourne but I loved it there.
But imagine, one day I was chasing stubborn cows. A few years later, I was learning how to measure land halfway across the world.
Then I came home thinking a qualification would open every door.
But it turned out, the economy was bad, GDP dipped.
Jobs were scarce. Reality hit harder than Melbourne’s windy days ever did. I even failed a restaurant dishwasher interview.
Finally I entered the corporate world after a string of frustating job search.
Like most young executives, I believed hard work would speak for itself.
It didn’t.
One of the biggest wins of my career was closing a nationwide deal, the kind that could have changed the company’s trajectory. The proposal, the negotiations, the late nights, I poured everything into it.
Then came the part nobody warns you about.
The recognition never came. A toxic boss made sure of that.
The deal got celebrated. The person behind it didn’t.
And that wasn’t the only time.
Corporate life taught me a lot. It also taught me that office politics can shout louder than performance ever will.
Years later, I stumbled into online writing in the side. Not because I dreamed of being a writer, but because I needed another way forward.
So I wrote. Article after article. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year.
Nothing.
No applause. No clients. No income. Just hope, and a lot of it.
People assume your first dollar online comes fast. Mine took years, before someone finally trusted me enough to pay for my words.
That first payment wasn’t life-changing money. But it changed how I saw myself.
It proved persistence leaves footprints, even when you can’t see them yet.
Today, some folks know me as The Poolside Writer😎
I ghostwrite for professionals. I help people put into words the things they’ve never quite managed to say themselves.
Funny how life works. The boy who once couldn’t picture his own future now helps others write theirs.
Looking back, every chapter served a purpose.
The cows taught me discipline. Melbourne opened my eyes. Corporate life built my resilience.
Ghostwriting gave me freedom.
Sometimes the dots only connect when you stop looking forward and start looking back.
Ever had a career find you, instead of the other way round?
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