The Atlas Heart

Hi! I'm Mimi.

I created The Atlas Heart with the intention of not only seeing the world, but understanding and writing about cultures from the perspectives of locals – what I call ‘seeing the world through a kaleidoscope lens’.

Popular posts

Things to do in Santa Cruz

101 Best Things to Do in Santa Cruz, California (From a Local)

Bucket Lists, California, North America, USA

101 Best Things to Do in Santa Cruz, California (From a Local)

101 things to do in Sacramento, California | The Ultimate Bucket List

101 Things to do in Sacramento | The Ultimate Bucket List

Bucket Lists, California, North America, USA

101 Things to do in Sacramento | The Ultimate Bucket List

101 things to do in San Diego (from a Local) | The Ultimate Bucket List

101 Best Things to do in San Diego (From a Local)

Bucket Lists, California, North America, USA

101 Best Things to do in San Diego (From a Local)

things to do in Los Angeles

100+ Best Things to do in LA | The Ultimate Bucket List

Bucket Lists, California, USA

100+ Best Things to do in LA | The Ultimate Bucket List

Figueroa Mountain Brewing - Santa Barbara, California - 30 California Breweries to Visit

The 30 Best California Breweries to Visit

California, Food and Drinks, North America, USA

The 30 Best California Breweries to Visit

A Guide to Getting a Work Visa in Australia for Americans - The Atlas Heart

A Guide to Getting a Work Visa in Australia for Americans

Australia, Oceania, Travel Planning

A Guide to Getting a Work Visa in Australia for Americans

Destinations

World Map Placeholder

World Map

38

countries visited

10

Places I've lived

7

years of blogging

my travel essentials

All of my favorite travel essentials in one place! Find out my recommended travel resources, preferred products, and must-have gear that I use in my own travels so you can be prepared for your next trip.

✨For any of you who have recently been laid off

✨For any of you who have recently been laid off or who are looking to pick up a side hustle or full time work.✨ .
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I’ve been doing freelance marketing and SEO consulting work for the past 7 years, fully remote.
I know this is a stressful and uncertain time for many and I’d like to extend a (virtual) hand to help in anyway I can. .
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This is what I can offer:
👉 WFH / productivity tips.
👉Resources on how to learn marketing/ SEO and how to apply those skills for your own business or for consulting work.
👉 How to get freelance clients / start a consulting business if you’re looking to work remotely.
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Shoot me a message or comment below - I’d love to help if you’re needing advice or support in any of these areas. I originally offered this to my friend group, and after coaching one person 1:1 this week and sending resources and advice to a dozen others, it made me want to extend this offer to a wider community to see how I can help more people right now. If there’s enough interest and overlap, I’m also thinking of doing a series on my blog about these topics and some free video trainings. Stay healthy, stay safe.❤️
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#wfh #workfromhomejobs #workfromhomelife #freelancelife #freelancer #freelancewriter #freelancework #upwork #upworkfreelancer #remotework #remoteworking #remotejobs #freelancejob #consultingservices #consultinglife #consulting #covıd19 #covid_19 #covid #coronavírus #coronavirus

This too shall pass. 💛 . . My traffic has dropp

This too shall pass. 💛
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My traffic has dropped by 75% since last week. The passive income that I so diligently built up for the past six months has all but disappeared within a week. This could be an easy time to throw in the towel, to accept that maybe it’s just not in the cards for me to one day make a living from my travel blog or passive income alone. But I don’t see it that way. I don’t give up easily, and I see this as a chance to find ways to be more resilient in a less than ideal time, instead of losing faith in my journey. .
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It has also given me pause to focus on other things besides just work. .
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👉I’ve reconnected with my housemates more in the last week than I have in the last few months because we have a sweet little coworking space set up in our quarantined house.
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👉I’ve been reading more and expanding my mind in the form of business and psychology books and business and marketing courses. .
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👉I’ve started discovering the free workouts local SF studios are offering online right now while people are quarantined (including CorePower yoga!🧘🏼‍♀️)
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👉I’ve made it a point to reconnect with more people on a regular basis over FaceTime and via phone call just to say hi and catch up. .
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👉I’ve made room in my schedule for daily journaling again. .
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👉 I’ve been brainstorming other ways I can still make an income doing what I love, even if that means taking a break from travel content for a while. .
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I know people have it much worse right now and I know that everyone deals with stressful times in different ways. Just know that this too shall pass. In the meantime, learn a new skill, reconnect with friends and family, and find joy in the little things that still make this world a beautiful place. I know it’s easy to give into the negativity and panic inducing thoughts. Stay strong, stay healthy, and take a break from the news when you need to recharge. From my quarantine to yours. ❤️

In the last week, COVID-19 panic has spread rapidl

In the last week, COVID-19 panic has spread rapidly throughout the world, much more rapidly than the actual virus. And it makes sense. People are dying. It’s unprecedented for the world to shut down and to seem so unprepared for dealing with a pandemic. Things have taken a turn for the worse for those of us in the travel industry, and I know the same can be said for small businesses all over the world. Everywhere you look there are grim reports about how it’s going to get much worse before it gets better.
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Now stop. Take a deep breath. Take a step back from the panic and anxiety. And ask yourself how you’re showing up today. Are you adding to the panic? Are you worrying about what’s to come when it only makes you more anxious? .
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Instead of eating up the media’s fearmongering tendencies, think about how you could be showing up in a positive way during this crisis. All you can control are your own actions, so focus on that. Be kind, be mindful, be thoughtful to others who might be at a higher risk than you. Get out in nature, meditate, get enough sleep, whatever you have to do to feel normal in a very abnormal situation. We will get through this. And we will come out stronger on the other side of it (and more hygienic). Take some time this weekend to get off social media and take a break to reconnect with yourself and those who bring you the most joy (even if it’s just through a call or video chat if you’re isolating yourself). .
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We are strong.
We are smart.
We are capable. .
x Mimi

6 months after saying I wanted to work on building

6 months after saying I wanted to work on building my passive income from $0, I hit my first $1,000+ month in passive revenue in February. As an added bonus, I’ve also increased my blog traffic to over 40,000 pageviews per month.
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I have worked on a lot of different passive income strategies over the past few months - ad networks, affiliate marketing, Pinterest, I even wrote a 50,000 word book in two months. And I think I finally have a good idea of what works well for my business and how I can move forward to grow my blog and passive income to the next level. And I gotta say, I’m pretty excited about what’s yet to come in 2020. .
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👉Next milestone goal? Hitting $5K per month in just passive income before I turn 30 in May. .
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Head to my blog for the full post on what I did to get to $1,000 per month and how I plan to grow that to 5x that much in the next few months. It has been a journey - I’m looking forward to continuing to update you all on my progress. 🥳😍 Let me know - do you have any questions or curiosity to learn more about making passive income?
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#passiveincome #passiveincomestream #passiveincome #travelblogger #womenwhotravel #travelblogging #bossbabe #businesswoman #bosslife #bosslady #travelbloggerlife #morrobay #californiadreaming #visitcalifornia

The only thing that makes me happier than a Califo

The only thing that makes me happier than a California road trip? Writing a book about California road trips and sharing my favorite spots around the state with all of you.🤓
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I have some VERY EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE TODAY!!! My California Road Trip guidebook is officially for sale on my blog. [side note - I still can’t believe I get to write that sentence out, I’m an author heyooo]
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This book is my baby. It’s an accumulation of 24+ years of living in California in three different regions and thousands of miles traveled. Did I tell you that I even slept in a van for two months just to see as much of the state as possible? I’m excited to share my book with you, not just because of the hard work I put into making it, but because I really believe it will allow you to see California on another level. 🚗
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This book is almost 400 pages, covering 8 regions, 200+ destinations, and it includes a bunch of Golden State goodies like custom maps to help you plan your itinerary and printable checklists. If you’re ready to have the most epic California road trip ever - check out the link in my bio. I’m offering a presale deal of 25% off until Feb 1st to celebrate the official release date of my book on Feb 8th, 2020.
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Pop the champagne and cue the dance party, here’s to kicking ass and making good on your goals in 2020. More to come about my book soon. Peace ✌️

Hey guys, guess what!? I’m writing my first book

Hey guys, guess what!? I’m writing my first book! I’ve been knee deep in research and writing every day and I’m excited to announce my first nonfiction travel guide will be coming out at the end of January. .
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I’ve been wanting to create my own product for ages, but I always had excuses for why I couldn’t do it right now. But, to be honest, I’m over making excuses for why I can’t do things or be successful in the way I want. It’s a mental block that I’ve worked on getting over for a while, but due to recent events and on and off health issues I’ve been dealing with since October, it has really hit home for me that there’s no time like the present. I can’t think of a better way to start off the New Year than truly diving into what I want to do, regardless of that fear of failure or it not living up to what I want it to be. .
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Here’s to living boldly in 2020 - wishing you all a very merry Christmas and happy end to your 2019. Time to go back into my writing cave for the next few weeks, but I look forward to sharing my book with you soon! See you on the other side. 😎

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© 2019 The Atlas Heart | made in collaboration with Ink & Honey Design Co. + Michelle Robins Creative