Matthew Gates 12m 2,912 #confessions
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
It has been a crazy year for everyone, hasn’t it? We were not without our troubles and struggles, either, but a lot of great things also came out of 2020. Every year, we choose the confession highlights of the year, which consist of just several confessions that stood out. These confessions are hand selected and feature articles that I’ve written and others have written. They are not really biased, but chosen somewhat at random, depending on the topic they cover. It doesn’t mean they received more or less views, but we just thought they were interested and chose to highlight them.
Take a look through our previous years:
Top 10 Confession Highlights of 2019
Top 10 Confession Highlights of 2018
Top 10 Confession Highlights of 2017
Top 10 Confession Highlights of 2016
Top 10 Confession Highlights of 2015
Top 10 Confession Highlights of 2014
Top 10 Confession Highlights of 2013
Before we get into the highlights of 2020, however, there were some things that happened this year that we wanted to point out.
- We hit 3000 confessions in another milestone!
- We are well over 1,000 different authors on the website!
- We began a project and then turned it into a book, which was largely inspired by this website!
- We added a much more detailed area on the New Confessions page which tells you information about publishing on this website, including all the data about this website as well!
- We added the ability for you to see the upcoming confessions!
- We made it to Page Rank 4 this year, after being Page Rank 3 for many years!
- China surpassed the United States in visits around the month of October 2020, though the US has since restored its former glory!
- In an interesting turn of events, it used to be that the United States, India, Canada, UK, and Australia were the top 5 visiting countries, but in 2020, China, Russia, the Netherlands, and France have all surpassed these countries in visits! Of course, the United States still remains predominantly #1!
- Although we can’t see it, we do have several backlinks from EDU websites and a GOV website!
- We are one of the very few websites that truly focused on personal COVID-19 stories along with a variety of topics that were not shy to talk about COVID-19
- For the ladies or even the couples who are looking for a great time, we received a chance to try this new vibrator, and were able to publish one of the very first reviews on it! A dear friend of mine was happy to take up the honor! Who couldn’t use a new vibrator for the New Year? Check it out, you won’t be disappointed!
- There will be many more ONET Insights to come!
- As we enter the new year, we are still publishing for free! Though if you do want to sign up for an account, you can publish instantly for $5 bypassing the entire queue, or you can email us your article with a priority for $10, your article will be published in 1-5 business days, and we will be happy to take care of everything for you!
That is all I can think of for now and with the good of 2020 also came the bad, including a server crash and some data loss, but we’ve since recovered about 97% of all of our articles. I still have some to add to this website, but these were articles from contributors who I paid on Fiverr, so there is not too much rush for me to get them out at this time. They definitely will be coming in the near future! So without further ado, lets get started!
1. Women-Owned Business: Why Now Is The Time To Start
There has never been a better chance than COVID-19 to finally start figuring out your creative side and starting your own business. Even my wife opened up an Etsy shop in March 2020 and by December 2020, made her 1600th sale by the end of December 2020. I was very surprised and insanely happy for her. There were some rough times where she was almost unable to keep her business running, but I stepped in and kept it going for her, so that when she was finally able to restore some of her life back to normalcy, she took over, and has done amazing.
Many jobs were lost in 2020 and they were female-dominated industries, with 20.5 million jobs gone, and over 55% of those were held by women. These jobs may never come back or they will pay women less when they do re-enter those fields. While the nursing industry was certainly a stronghold, the teaching and restaurant industry, and many other areas suffered greatly. While some of these women will be able to return to their jobs, the damage of being out of work for months at a time has been costly, especially on single women with children. In addition, with schools being closed, it is likely that women were expected to stay home and teach their children, while their husbands went out and looked for work again, or were protected in their jobs.
Fortunately, there is hope! Women are very creative and innovative and are natural born entrepreneurs. While being at home, many women turned to freelancing opportunities and remote jobs. I even boosted some of the economy myself around the world by hiring over 550 women to participate in the My Life As A Woman Project Initiative. There are thousands of untapped markets just waiting to be explored and for you to take over and do business. Whether you want to make your own products or do some dropshipping, give it a try! If you are a woman and have been thinking about starting your business, you should have started in 2020, but if you haven’t already, 2021 is going to be your year to do this!
2. 5 Ways To Manage Stress While Working From Home
Chances are, if you are working at home, it has been quite amazing. You get to spend more time with your family, and especially, the children. Your dog gets to stare at you more often than usual, likely waiting for you to give them whatever your snacking on right now. Your cat is interrupting you constantly for exactly 3 belly pets, before tearing into your skin. And you do not even have to often worry about what you are wearing or putting on your clown face! I mean makeup! It’s great, isn’t it?
What they don’t tell you are the downsides of working at home, which have their own stresses, including the fact that your children are not outside actively playing, and have more energy than ever before, while they aren’t in school. You may have to even sidetrack to ensure they are tuning into a Zoom session for school. You might have to get dressed up and look the part for your own company meetings, despite feeling anti-social and lazy, especially when you look around and see the mess around your house that you have been avoiding since the start of COVID-19. With the tips from this article, you can find ways to manage your stress and create a work environment.
3. The Best Hobbies For The Modern Gentleman
In the time of COVID-19, a man is still a man and a man gets bored quite easily, when he’s got nothing to do. Of course, he could drink beer, but that’s not really a hobby. Okay, nevermind, it totally is. I know, you’re all yelling at me. Of course, drinking beer can be a hobby! But getting into things that keep you occupied and are actually productive, this article covers several topics including rock climbing, craft beer brewing, martial arts, or collecting items, and even getting into great physical shape.
As you sit home on your couch or are working from home, there are still plenty of hobbies to take up, including programming, playing video games, or doing something that you haven’t done in a long time. So don’t be afraid to start again soon, and if it can even be an activity that involves your spouse and your children!
4. How Donating Can Be Beneficial To Your Wallet
While I do not donate thousands of dollars per year, you might catch me donating $25 here and there to various charitable organizations, often through my friend’s causes, as they post them on Facebook. I personally prefer children’s hospitals, such as St. Jude or St. Baldricks. There is no amount of money that can fix everything, but it definitely is a start to helping many organizations. Whether it is a Veteran in need, or a terminally ill child, who will at least get to experience something great in their lives before they leave this Earth, or if you prefer to donate to an animal shelter.
Whether monetarily or through volunteering, there is no shortage of people who can help. This article explores why charitable giving actually helps you and is beneficial to not only your soul and spirit, but to your wallet as well. Whether it helps your career or taxes, many not-for-profit charities depend on donors to give each year. If you haven’t started donating or very rarely give, consider choosing an organization, taking up a cause, and donating at least $10 per month.
5. The Legacy Of Michael Jackson
Believe it or not, Michael Jackson, after being deceased for nearly a decade, is still earning more money in a day, a year, and even most of our lifetimes through his estate. Much of the money goes to his family, his lawyers, his charities, etc. While there was controversy surrounding Michael Jackson his entire life and the media may prefer everyone to forget about him, he should never be forgotten for his contributions to the music and entertainment industry. Very few people like Michael Jackson are born into the world, but he became the King of Pop and a legend in his own right.
This article covers the legacy and accomplishments of the great Michael Jackson and honors his music, his movies, and his life. We can talk all we want about the negative and what Michael Jackson did in his life, as he was in court, and an alleged sex offender and molester, and we cannot forget this, but to completely throw Michael Jackson into the grave and bury his name is a dishonor to humanity, as the good he did in the world should be known and mentioned whenever possible. As time goes on, and the world stops playing his music, he could easily be forgotten, but this article is an effort to try and make sure he at least has some legacy to continue on in his music.
6. The Life Of A Female Comedian
A personal friend of mine and one of my crushes in college, Sarah Garner has a smile that made you melt, and anyone who enters her life knows she’s as cute as any girl can be. From her humor to her intelligence of seeing and understanding people, Sarah shares her life as a comedian. I had personally reached out to Sarah and asked if she’d be interested in writing this article. With a little bit of a push with some compensation, she happily did so.
Sarah explains her troubles and the struggles of being a female comedian, which is an industry still very largely dominated by men. Making it as a female comedian is not an easy thing to do and there is hardly any money in it, but she proves that women are funny as all hell. From pointing out women’s issues to women’s body functions, Sarah tells it like it is and is never shy to share a story about her life.
7. My Life In China During COVID-19
When COVID-19 began to hit the United States, already forcing much of the world into lockdown, there was nothing we could do, but turn to our hobbies, our home businesses, and seek out anything that could help us stay sane during this time. As I was thinking about projects to do for Confessions of the Professions, I wanted to focus on COVID-19 stories throughout the year, although I only ended up getting stories from March 2020 until about June 2020, which brought in a heap load of new visitors from around the world, especially China.
As the world was curious about what was going on and what was going to happen, I was curious about real life stories, and so I reach out to a woman in China for her story. The first woman I reached out to happened to be from the epicenter of the corona virus, Wuhan, China. She shared her story, and this not only inspired me to continue getting COVID-19 stories, but she is largely the inspiration for the My Life As A Woman Project Initiative. After receiving her story, I wondered what all women’s lives were like in their countries, and I decided this would be the project for 2020, and eventually, I turned it into a book, My Life As A Woman: World Edition (Amazon affiliate link).
8. Straight To Business: Running A Successful Blog
If you’re already going crazy from being stuck in the house due to COVID-19, there is no time to start a blog like the present. I started Confessions of the Professions 8 years ago and it has since surpassed millions of visitors. In fact, every month, we receive about 2 million visits to the website, with about 50,000 new unique visitors each month. There is no shortage of emails asking to contribute to this website, and we see dozens of new freelance authors a year, many new marketing agencies that wish to work with us, and even one-time authors who came across the site and loved it.
While we have not fully monetized this blog, it has probably made about $5,000 in its in existence from the ads, sponsored articles, and few donations that it has received. Most of this money goes right back into the support of keep the server running and this website going strong. This article is from me and my own personal experiences of running this website and how to start your own blog and be successful, including making money from your blog, and even turning it into a business.
9. Joe Pera Puts Me To Sleep
A stumbled across an amazing night time show that reminded me of Mr. Rogers, but this involved a younger man, who talked about his life and the world around him. His name is Joe Pera and he puts me to sleep. I often find myself turning on Joe Pera, just to listen to his voice, so that I can be calm and go to sleep. Joe Pera started out as a comedian, but may have found an even better niche. While there are currently only two seasons, I hope there will be 10 more seasons.
Joe Pera can be found on Adult Swim, although it is not every night, unfortunately. You can often catch the show playing on Friday nights, usually two 15-minute episodes. However, if you do navigate to YouTube or AdultSwim.com, you can find the episodes of Joe Pera there. If you decide to check his show out, you will not be disappointed. It may even help your children go to sleep and it is quite educational, and allows you to have a look into the mind of Joe Pera.
10. A Beloved Radio Host
Years ago, I stumbled across a night time radio station while I was working as a security officer in my car. This woman played some good music, but knowing she adopted 8 children, she has a very blessed heart and she shares it with the world through her kindness, generosity, and advice, and especially in her choice of music. Her radio network can be found throughout the world. Her name is Delilah and if you happen to come across her voice, you will understand why I loved listening to her.
While I stopped working in my car many years ago, I do occasionally catch her show when I’m traveling and flipping through radio stations. She offers a lot of advice on love, death, heartbreak, depression, and much more. She is a woman who is beyond wisdom, and is just here to share her magical sense with those who need someone to care, and just listen to them for a little while.
Honorable Mentions
PornHub: Ryan Creamer For Women
Ricky Gervais Offends Hollywood In 2020
While 2020 has been a hectic and crazy year in which I lost 4 family members, two who died due to COVID-19, it has been a blessing of a year as well. There is nothing I can say but wish you a happy and healthy New Year and pray that you have yet another full year of life ahead of you, and many more to come. Thank you for affirming our reason for existing and thank you for letting us know you exist! We love that you visit and read this website and will continue it going for as long as humanly possible. There is nothing greater than sharing this amazing gift with the world, a website we built up for the world, by the world, and to the world. Consider supporting the projects of Confessions of the Profession’s by making a purchase of our amazing book of 2020, My Life As A Woman: World Edition 2020.
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