{"id":447,"date":"2025-05-08T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T07:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samimartin.com\/musings\/?p=447"},"modified":"2025-05-07T01:32:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T01:32:24","slug":"this-isnt-how-i-thought-it-would-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samimartin.com\/musings\/wellness\/this-isnt-how-i-thought-it-would-be\/","title":{"rendered":"This Isn\u2019t How I Thought It Would Be"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This isn\u2019t the version of my life I imagined I\u2019d be writing about<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not at this age. Not after everything I\u2019ve learned, everything I\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here we are\u2014at the backline of midlife, neck-deep in a career pivot with a wallet that\u2019s lighter than it should be, a heart still full of fire, and a head that won\u2019t stop asking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhy the hell is this so hard?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s just call it what it is: rebuilding a life, a career, a lifetime of experience\u2014after spending years doing work that I was good at but not always proud of\u2014is complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not new to this game. I\u2019ve helped companies rake in more than six figures a day<\/em>. I\u2019ve built email programs that converted cold leads into memberships faster than most people could write a subject line. I\u2019ve seen the inside of success. I\u2019ve tasted it. I\u2019ve run with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I\u2019ve also attempted to walk away from it. Always returning for the ALMIGHTY DOLLAR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Industry I Left Behind<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the truth, and I\u2019m not here to sugar-coat it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I built my skill set, developed my experience in the online adult industry<\/strong> at one of the companiesthat pioneered affiliate marketing programs and online processing for credit cards. I was behind the screen\u2014running marketing and affiliate programs, dialing in email sequences, and making numbers move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I made my name with a product called Psychicrealm<\/em>\u2014over 30 paid conversions a day from cold traffic. That landed me the opportunity to take over Naughty Mail<\/em>, an email product the company had just bought. That\u2019s where I really learned the craft\u2014building high-volume, high-conversion email systems that made $150k a month for one product alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m proud of the work<\/strong> I did, but not proud of the industry<\/strong> I did it in. That tension sat in my gut for years. I knew I had the skills. I just didn\u2019t want to keep using them for someone else\u2019s bottom line\u2014especially when the product wasn\u2019t something I could stand behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pull to Do Something of My Own<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s been the throughline for years.
That ache to build something real. Something mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And if I\u2019m honest, the first time I really followed that pull was when I started a project called Sliding Glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SlidingGlass.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t know what I was doing technically\u2014I just grabbed a camera and went. I shot surf, I shot wakeboarding, I followed my instincts. I\u2019m a water sports junky and a rock and roll junky, and that project brought both together in a way that made me feel completely alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The content I created. The relationships I built.
That was mine. And I was so damn proud of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sliding Glass was a moment of clarity\u2014proof that I could build something I believed in. That I could tell stories that mattered to me. That I didn\u2019t need anyone\u2019s permission to just start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Moment I Almost Jumped\u2014and Didn\u2019t<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In January 2023, I was in Playa del Carmen. I\u2019d just been let go\u2014three months earlier than planned. It should have been the moment I went all in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took a trip to El Cuyo, sat with it all, and knew I had the means to make the leap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And then I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not fully. I told myself I would. But instead, I floated. I enjoyed the freedom. Maybe a little too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that moment planted something. And slowly, it grew into what I\u2019m building now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building Something Real (Across Three Brands)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t just want ShiverMedia, the agency.
I realized I’ve always needed more than just a single lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I started building three distinct spaces:
\u2022 ShiverMedia<\/strong> \u2013 digital marketing and design, grounded in strategy and storytelling for small businesses
\u2022 SamiMartin<\/strong> \u2013 personal brand: stories, wellness, growth, midlife pivots in the backline, and saltwater truths
\u2022 Salty Blue Mexico<\/strong> \u2013 documenting ocean adventures, reef conservation, travel stories rooted in place and purpose<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These brands let me bring all of me to the table\u2014creative, strategic, personal, and passionate. Each one fuels the work I actually want to do. Not just for income, but for impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I\u2019m Doing Now (And What Lights Me Up)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These days, I\u2019m offering what I know how to do best:
\u2022 Brand development and logo design
\u2022 Email marketing and lifecycle campaigns
\u2022 Social media strategy and content planning
\u2022 Real estate photo and video here on the island
\u2022 Teaching tools and digital downloads
\u2022 AI prompting and visual content creation\u2014because I\u2019ve always stayed ahead of the tech<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for the first time in a long time, I feel like I\u2019m doing work that matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Puerta al Cielo shoot? Climbing up to shoot a rooftop trampoline install? That\u2019s the stuff I live for.
Planning and executing the Izla Hotel content strategy? Right in my flow.
Branding work and storytelling with Turquoise Tides Travel? Deeply fulfilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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