Every artist was first an amateur ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (tweet this)
And when it comes to achieving more it comes down to one simple concept: making the most of your available time. We all only have 24 hours available to us every day so it is those amongst us that use time wisely that prosper (in every sense of the word). And in the same way that every artist was first an amateur, every successful, happy and fulfilled business owner was once a shadow of his or her former self. No matter the position you’re in now, you’re capable of being so much more.
In this, the third edition of my LWB 100 series, I aim to provide you with the material that will enable you to make the most of your time. In doing so you can transform yourself from the proverbial amateur into a true artist of your chosen craft.
What Makes this Different
For those of you who don’t know, the LWB 100 is a list of my hundred favorite blogs that can help you leave work behind — quit your job, build your own successful online business and (most importantly) live a fulfilled and enjoyable life. It is the result of countless hours of research and reading — each and every blog on the list has been personally scrutinised and handpicked.
With this being the third edition of the LWB you may be wondering what it has to offer over previous editions. Well for starters, the list features 23 brand new blogs — nearly a quarter of the list is brand new. But that’s not all. This edition of the LWB features my personal picks per category, which you will find directly below the list. If you are rather overwhelmed at the prospect of browsing through 100 blogs then you’ll be better served by starting with my personal favorites.
Before You Start
There are a few things you should take note of before starting with the list:
- You can sort the blogs numerically and alphabetically by clicking on the relevant header.
- Each blog has been categorized by a consideration of its main focus, and the entire list can be sorted by category by clicking on the relevant header. If you feel that a blog has been incorrectly categorized, please let me know.
- If you feel that a worthy blog has been missed off the list, please let me know! It may not have made the cut, or I may have missed it. Either way, I would like to know.
With that said, let’s get to it!
The Leaving Work Behind 100 [3rd Edition]
| # | Name | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SEOmoz Blog | SEO |
| 2 | Copyblogger | Web Content |
| 3 | ProBlogger | Blogging |
| 4 | Social Media Examiner | Online Marketing |
| 5 | Four Hour Work Week Blog | Leaving Work Behind |
| 6 | Daily Blog Tips | Blogging |
| 7 | Seth Godin | Online Marketing |
| 8 | Freelance Switch | Freelancing |
| 9 | Zen Habits | Personal Development |
| 10 | Quicksprout | Internet Marketing |
| 11 | Get Rich Slowly | Personal Finance |
| 12 | Occam's Razor | SEO |
| 13 | Smart Passive Income | Internet Marketing |
| 14 | The Unbounce Blog | Online Marketing |
| 15 | Brian Gardner | Internet Marketing |
| 16 | Steve Pavlina | Personal Development |
| 17 | Chris Brogan | Online Marketing |
| 18 | Shoe Money | Internet Marketing |
| 19 | Entrepreneur's Journey | Internet Marketing |
| 20 | Michael Hyatt | Entrepreneurship |
| 21 | Basic Blog Tips | Blogging |
| 22 | Social Triggers | Online Marketing |
| 23 | KISSMetrics | Online Marketing |
| 24 | Mixergy | Entrepreneurship |
| 25 | Kikolani | Online Marketing |
| 26 | Duct Tape Marketing | Online Marketing |
| 27 | Famous Bloggers | Blogging |
| 28 | Buffer Blog | Online Marketing |
| 29 | Marie Forleo | Leaving Work Behind |
| 30 | Freelance Folder | Freelancing |
| 31 | Viperchill | Internet Marketing |
| 32 | Dumb Little Man | Personal Development |
| 33 | Think Traffic | Online Marketing |
| 34 | Traffic Generation Café | Online Marketing |
| 35 | Income Diary | Internet Marketing |
| 36 | The Art of Non-Conformity | Leaving Work Behind |
| 37 | Smart Blog on Social Media | Online Marketing |
| 38 | Derek Sivers | Entrepreneurship |
| 39 | Write To Done | Freelancing |
| 40 | Young Pre Pro | Freelancing |
| 41 | Nerd Fitness | Personal Development |
| 42 | Rise To The Top | Entrepreneurship |
| 43 | Point Blank SEO | SEO |
| 44 | The Sales Lion | Online Marketing |
| 45 | Kaiser the Sage | SEO |
| 46 | White Hot Truth | Leaving Work Behind |
| 47 | Men With Pens | Web Content |
| 48 | Startup Lessons Learned | Entrepreneurship |
| 49 | Man vs. Debt | Personal Finance |
| 50 | Firepole Marketing | Online Marketing |
| 51 | chrisg.com | Online Marketing |
| 52 | ConversionXL | Online Marketing |
| 53 | Niche Pursuits | Niche Sites |
| 54 | Location 180 | Leaving Work Behind |
| 55 | Danny Brown | Online Marketing |
| 56 | Jonathan Fields | Entrepreneurship |
| 57 | Blog Marketing Academy | Blogging |
| 58 | Paid to Exist | Leaving Work Behind |
| 59 | Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life | Personal Development |
| 60 | Live Your Legend | Leaving Work Behind |
| 61 | My Wife Quit Her Job | eCommerce |
| 62 | Make A Living Writing | Freelancing |
| 63 | Adrienne Smith | Blogging |
| 64 | AdSense Flippers | Niche Sites |
| 65 | Retire @ 21 | Entrepreneurship |
| 66 | Sparring Mind | Online Marketing |
| 67 | Pushing Social | Online Marketing |
| 68 | Success Works | SEO |
| 69 | Passive Panda | Entrepreneurship |
| 70 | Online Income Teacher | Internet Marketing |
| 71 | Escape From Cubicle Nation | Leaving Work Behind |
| 72 | The Suitcase Entrepreneur | Leaving Work Behind |
| 73 | Chris Ducker | Online Marketing |
| 74 | PotPieGirl | SEO |
| 75 | Steve Scott Site | Internet Marketing |
| 76 | Jeff Korhan | Online Marketing |
| 77 | Tropical MBA | Internet Marketing |
| 78 | eCommerce Fuel | eCommerce |
| 79 | Make Money On The Internet | Internet Marketing |
| 80 | Eventual Millionaire | Entrepreneurship |
| 81 | Exile Lifestyle | Leaving Work Behind |
| 82 | Content Verve | Web Content |
| 83 | Alexis Grant | Leaving Work Behind |
| 84 | Mike From Maine | Internet Marketing |
| 85 | Prolific Living | Leaving Work Behind |
| 86 | Motivational Memo | Personal Development |
| 87 | Reviews 'n' Tips | Blogging |
| 88 | Get Busy Living | Leaving Work Behind |
| 89 | Grad Meets World | Leaving Work Behind |
| 90 | Income Press | Internet Marketing |
| 91 | Dollars and Roses | Internet Marketing |
| 92 | The Word Chef | Online Marketing |
| 93 | Foolish Adventure | Internet Marketing |
| 94 | Build A Little Biz | Entrepreneurship |
| 95 | Virtual Miss Friday | Online Marketing |
| 96 | Create As Folk | Entrepreneurship |
| 97 | Marketing Wise | Online Marketing |
| 98 | Forever Jobless | Entrepreneurship |
| 99 | Life Stoked | Personal Development |
| 100 | A Life On Your Terms | Leaving Work Behind |
The Best of the LWB 100
I’m not going to lie — that’s a lot to get through! And while I know from past experience that plenty of people will enthusiastically dig into the list and start consuming content, in this edition of the LWB 100 I want to give you alternative means of checking out my favorite blogs. Below you will find my personal picks from the LWB 100 by category.
Blogging
Picking a favorite here is a toughie, especially considering that there are plenty of “blogging blogs” that didn’t even make it onto the list (generally because they’re a little too technical and far removed from the whole Leaving Work Behind mindset). Having said that, my pick has to be ProBlogger. I’m pretty sure it was the first blog I actually came across when I started my journey and also happened to be the catalyst for the launch of my freelance writing business (via the ProBlogger Job Board).
There loads more to love here though — I’d like to mention Daily Blog Tips and Famous Bloggers in particular which both offer a tonne of great advice relating to the art of blogging.
eCommerce
There are only two blogs to pick from this category but I’ve got to go with My Wife Quit Her Job. You could accuse me of nepotism on the basis that I write for the blog but that’s not really the reason.
The fact is that Steve Chou (the blog’s owner) and his wife are a living, breathing case study of how to successfully launch a successful eCommerce store. Steve offers up the kind of candid view of his experiences in a way that really resonates with me and I have no hesitation in recommending his site to anyone that is considering launching an eCommerce store.
Entrepreneurship
Many of us are looking for actionable advice when in fact we would be far better served by understanding the fundamentals of business — that is what these blogs are all about. While this is the category I consider most important in terms of helping people to leave work behind, it is probably also the most neglected.
There are some truly great thinkers amongst the entrepreneurship blogs listed on the LWB 100 but I have to pick Mixergy on the basis that it offers an enormous breadth of knowledge and experience in the hundreds of interviews available on the site (Rise to the Top is also a notable mention for the same reason).
Beyond that I have to mention Derek Sivers’ blog (an extremely gifted man) and also Forever Jobless — although this blog has endured a bit of a stuttering start, Billy Murphy’s entrepreneurial insights are priceless.
Freelancing
Freelance writing has essentially gifted me the life I have today so I’ll always take every opportunity encourage people to follow in my path (that is the primary reason I created my freelance writing guide). If you’d like to discover more about what I consider to be the easiest path to leaving work behind for anyone who has a remote talent for writing then check out the blogs in this category.
My top pick has to be Make a Living Writing — the hugely experienced Carol Tice has a great deal of value to offer on the topic of freelance writing. A notable mention also goes to Young Pre Pro — I love Oni’s site. Finally, Freelance Switch is an enormous resource with some truly great content and also happens to feature the likes of Carol and myself as guest posters.
Internet Marketing
It comes as no surprise that this is the second most heavily populated category in the LWB 100. You would be forgiven for thinking that selecting a favorite would therefore be difficult but I have no hesitation in naming Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income as my top pick. Pat’s site has been a true inspiration to me over the last couple of years and I don’t know where I would be right now without it.
There are a couple of newcomers in this category that I would also like to mention specifically: Mike From Maine and Dollars and Roses. Check them out and you’ll see why!
Leaving Work Behind
This category features blogs that can help you in terms of your mindset and approach to quitting your job and establishing a successful online business. They may not always major on actionable advice but they offer you something far more valuable — the tools with which you can take action in your own unique way.
There’s a lot to love here — as much in the people behind the blogs than the blogs themselves. Picking one favorite is pretty much impossible, I have to say. These are the guys (and girl) that I think really make an impact: Chris Guillebeau, Scott Dinsmore and Marie Forleo. Having said that I’ve not even mentioned superstars like Tim Ferriss and awesome up-and-comers like Liz Seda. Get exploring!
Niche Sites
Just like eCommerce there are only two sites to pick from in this category and to be honest I couldn’t single one out. Spencer Haws’ Niche Pursuits is a great one-man case study of how to launch a successful and diversified business with its roots firmly set in niche sites while AdSense Flippers is run by a two-man team of born entrepreneurs who have an enormous amount to teach in terms of creating efficient systems and building huge numbers of websites. You should check them both out!
Online Marketing
There are more online marketing blogs out there than you can shake a stick at so you wouldn’t be blamed for being overwhelmed by the huge number available named in the LWB 100 (23 to be precise). These blogs cover a broad spectrum — from B2B and B2P marketing to blog marketing and beyond.
Having said that my top pick has to be Think Traffic. As far as I am concerned Corbett Barr is on top of the world at the moment with the redesign of his site last year and the launch of Fizzle not too long ago. He has a great deal to offer to anyone who is interested in online marketing.
Beyond that there are loads of other blogs I absolutely love: Social Triggers, Firepole Marketing, Sparring Mind and even more (I have to stop somewhere!).
Personal Development
This is a much-neglected area when it comes to leaving work behind — I think a lot of us could do with expanding our horizons and focusing more about what goes on in our head as opposed to what we are trying to achieve in external, materialistic terms.
The standout blog here is Steve Pavlina’s — his site has been around for about a decade and the amount of awesome content he has available is nothing short of staggering. I also have to mention Nerd Fitness because it is simply awesome — check it out.
Personal Finance
This is yet another two-site category but my pick is definitely Man vs. Debt. I always love a blog that’s from the heart, so to speak, and Adam Baker’s journey is one worth reading about.
SEO
There are some great SEO blogs out there but SEOmoz is the king. I would however also heartily recommend Point Blank SEO — while Jon’s blog is a relative newcomer he has already established himself as someone whose opinion is worth listening to.
Web Content
Finally we have something that should be important to just about everyone reading this — the art of writing content for the web. While my first recommendation to anyone will always be to grab a copy of the Yahoo! Style Guide there is also a huge amount of free advice available across the blogosphere.
With that in mind, I consider Copyblogger to be top dog when it comes to learning about effective web content writing. If you own an online business in just about any shape or form you should be subscribed.
Please Take a Moment to Spread the Word
The LWB 100 took me a staggering amount of time to put together — in fact, this 3rd edition may well have taken me more time than the 1st and 2nd put together. I would be extremely appreciative if you would take a moment to share it with your friends and followers.
If you would like to feature the list on your own blog, you are more than welcome to do so, but please link back to Leaving Work Behind. Thank you!
Photo Credit: pedrosimoes7