Every wonderful story starts somewhere. I say wonderful because this website, your creative learning hub, has gone through a lot as a brand and has witnessed different versions of me over the years. It evolved while I was evolving too. Now, it exists to bring you stories, experiences, and insights on productivity and mindfulness.
But, let’s go back to why and how Snippets of Wonders began!
I cannot remember exactly when, but it was in 2009 when I craved this appetite for sharing my thoughts and daily life in public space, i.e, on a blog. My first attempt was on using Blogger. I published a few posts, but as life happened, I got busier that this yearning disappeared. My teaching career abroad was getting traction and so my focus got shifted to that.
Thankfully, these five major sources re-ignited my desire for blogging and reshaped the direction of its vision and mission.
Five Sparks
❤️ Trisha Velarmino and her blog PS I’m On My Way (2014)
It was in 2014 when I stumbled upon this Filipina travel blogger, Trisha Velarmino, who was exploring Latin America and she was blogging about her experiences on her site P.S. I’m On My Way. I got inspired to the point of binging her blog every day after work. It served as a window to a far away world and this spark propelled me to take action.
When I make a decision, I take massive action right away so I published my first post in January 2015 via WordPress. Then, I bought my domain and took hosting services. Snippets of Wonders was officially released in February 2015. It has been 9 years since then!
It did not really take me a long time to come up with a name. Though I’m an overthinker, there are times when I would just go with the flow. To me, snippets could be glimpses of a different world. It could also mean fragments of things that were once complete. They could be pieces of puzzle that are yet to be put together. In snippets, I think of elements of the past, present, and future.
Wonders refer to that child in me that will pop up every now and then when triggered by something. I’m naturally an inquisitive person and quite stubborn at times and I know to myself that I will always be guided by wondering and wandering about.
I’m the type who does all the research, weighing the pros and cons, diving into details, and mapping out every possibility. But just when people think I’ve made up my mind, I’ll flip the script and follow my gut instead.
It may not be ideal, but for me, there’s always an option to live life differently…only if we wonder and wander enough.
❤️Japanese Proverb (2015)
A Japanese proverb states that, “Only by staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” This quote has inspired me and continues to inspire me in so many ways. We live in a beautiful era where we have convenient access to what we need in life to be productive, happy, and successful. The world gives us a strong reason not to waste time and accomplish everything we desire.
Snippets of Wonders was conceptualised in resonance to this philosophy. My online creative learning hub is about providing content – blog, worksheets, workshops, and courses – that will help the community try the productive and mindful route towards happiness and success.
I believe that the vision and mission I have for this site will always be timely and relevant as more and more people become empowered in owning their choices in life. I support an active life where we get to do so many things, be it in career, business, spirituality, relationships, or leisure!
We may not be able to live until 100, but we can make our life feel like we’ve lived like we’ve reached 100!
❤️Ikigai by Yukari Mitsuhashi (2016)
I came across this concept of Ikigai when I was browsing through articles online. Travelling to Japan has always been in my bucket list and so anything good that pertains to their culture really influences me.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that embodies the intersection of passion, mission, vocation, and profession. The first time I saw that Venn diagram illustrated by Marc Winn, it enlightened me. Hector Garcia states that your Ikigai will keep you going because you have found something that’s worth living for.
Snippets of Wonders is my Ikigai. I’m naturally wondering about things and I wander through travels, books, and movies. I love doing this and I know that I have a penchant for writing. With the exposure to blogging, I’m sure that eventually I can be paid directly with this work or earn financially or non-financially from it indirectly. I’m still in the progress of crafting and molding the message that I feel my community needs to hear and learn.
Snippets of Wonders conveys my passion, mission, profession, and vocation.
❤️ Certificate of Entrepreneurial Marketing Course at Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (2019)
Since I’ve been treating Snippets of Wonders as my Ikigai, I could not make it work for three years. I realized over that time that blogging should not be taken as just a hobby. For people to consider my work seriously, I needed to organize it systematically.
I enrolled myself in a programme in entrepreneurship and marketing at Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. I did this because I needed to know the fundamentals of managing Snippet of Wonders as a business entity.
It was a three-month practical course where I got to present Snippets of Wonders to a panel of judges. It was a good experience because I took a diploma level on branding and a certificate in small business management later on. I met like-minded people who were also zealous in their small enterprises.
From this spark, I committed to taking action that will help me sustain my blogging business and build credibility in what I’m doing. If it’s my Ikigai, I need to take care of it for the long term.
❤️ CoronaVirus Pandemic (2020)
The global health crisis in 2020 had a big impact on who I’m becoming and if there’s one eye opener I’m always taking with me, it is that life is not guaranteed tomorrow. No one is promised to us and so being thankful, mindful, productive is my daily goal. I want to make the most of the days I have and live a peaceful life.
The mission of Snippets of Wonders became clearer and narrower which is to bring stories, experiences, and insights on productivity and mindfulness. When you land on our site, we want you to feel at peace, as if you are just spending time with a close friend over a cup of coffee.
Our offer became more specific, which is to give free worksheets and guides on how to accomplish tasks efficiently, avoid burnout, align our actions with our values, manage stress, and live mindfully. We share stories, how-to’s based on experience, ideas and realizations triggered by what we see around us.
We write our content in the hope of making our readers, feel a little more inspired in a time when they’re probably feeling low. We hope they will feel a little lighter after visiting our site. Then, we know we’ve served our purpose, our Ikigai.
The pandemic really altered how I see life now and this has impacted my blogging business.
We truly are just but a number of days.
A Wonderful Future Ahead
Here at Snippets of Wonders, we continue to use our passion in producing content that will resonate with the changing needs of adults on being productive and being mindful.
I believe that it’s going to be wonderful ahead! We’re seeing more and more technologies emerge that can help us in being efficient with our tasks. There are also more conversations around work-life balance and mindfulness. We will strive to expand our knowledge with travels, experiences, and community networks to understand the pulse of our readers.
We’re excited about what’s in store in the next few months. Though we don’t look that far ahead in terms of planning, we still stick to a system that works for us to bring stories, experiences, and insights to you.
We don’t know each and everyone of you, but thank you for visiting our learning hub.
If you believe a friend may benefit from our content, feel free to share the link to our website, Snippets of Wonders!
So, yes, this is why and how Snippets of Wonders began!