It's that time of year again for me!
I'm in Seattle at $MSFT (Microsoft) HQ for the MVP Conference.
Clippy is alive and well here.
If you've been following me for a while, you might remember I'm a Microsoft MVP - that's Most Valuable Professional. An award $MSFT give to about 2500 people globally for product excellence and service in the community.
That's not my job; it's something I've been awarded five times, and it's a privilege to be here in Seattle with 2,500 other MVPs (who are mostly giving - unfiltered feedback about constant Copilot backflips).
The purpose of my post is to share 'how I got here'.
In 2019, when COVID hit, I shared some useful PowerPoint templates on LinkedIn.
People liked them.
They got shared globally.
I created more and shared them.
Soon, I had more than 100 of them.
I wondered, would anyone pay for them?
I put them in a downloadable file and stuck them on a website to see if anyone would buy them.
I didn't think they would.
They did.
Not only did they buy them, but they also asked me to run courses to teach them how I did them.
I did a lot of stuff for free.
I sold a lot of templates and courses.
I was still working full-time in financial services.
I worked nights and weekends.
Microsoft gave me the MVP award, which brings me to Seattle as one of the top PowerPoint influencers.
I invested the first $200K I made from this side hustle in my eToro portfolio.
I didn't plan to become a world-famous PowerPoint expert.
I didn't plan to become an eToro Popular investor.
But when opportunities arose, I didn't hesitate.
I replaced self-doubt with 'what if?'
These opportunities presented themselves to me in my fifties, and I never contemplated that I was too old or if it was too late. I just went for it.
After reading this today. What will you do tomorrow?
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Sharon Connolly is a PI who started investing in 2013 with just $25. If she can do it, so can you! Follow.
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Not investment advice. The author may have financial interests in the mentioned instruments.
Interesting story! Hopefully when I reach my 50s I'll achieve at least half of what you're doing today βοΈ all the best miss ππ½ππ½π«‘... Show More
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Tue May 12 2026 05:50:24 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
