Finding Tom in the Philipinnes, Life as an Adventure Vlogger, A Sense of Place Magazine, 3 March, 2019.

All the while attracting millions of followers and fulfilling a Millennial’s ultimate dream — to make a living out of social media.

Tom, 25, has become famous largely by simply being himself, infectiously funny, wildly enthusiastic, smart, with a dose of self-deprecating humor thrown in.

All mixed up with lots of “Face”, the determination to simply have a go. Tom enthusiastically encourages others to pursue their dreams; to live a creative life. Or at least try.

He cheerfully admits he could never have existed in another time; well not as someone with a significant fan base who can pack out events simply by announcing them.

This Facebook video had 9.5 million views at last count.

In ancient times, that is before the internet, someone who wanted to write, including this author, was forced to cajole, plead and submit endless stories to countless indifferent editors before getting, if they were very lucky, a break.

Now you can write what you want and press a button.

That doesn’t make it necessarily easier. It is, as the saying goes, a highly competitive space. It is a very different process. According to the site Hosting Facts there are 4.1 million blog posts per day .

Every story has a beginning and so does Kuegler’s. What, in the throes of success, may seem meteoric began, for him, a very long time ago, in 2015.

After doing more than 20 job interviews and watching those interviewing him get bored even as they questioned him Tom thought:

And so he started writing online as a freelancer for a number of different websites, way back in 2015.

I decided one day I wanted to go on a road trip. It was like, man I want to see New Orleans, California, I had never been out there.

I was thinking: what is stopping me?

I’m working at my table, why couldn’t I…

I packed everything in the car, stayed in different cities.

I saw the country while working. It changed me big time.

In Bel Air people want to throw holy water on you if they hear you’ve been exposed to liberal ideas.

The same in San Francisco if you tell them you grew up in a conservative household.

I cut across Louisiana, up to Oregon, across to Montana. I would wake up in my tent in and hear the wolves howling, the stars, all that sort of thing. Glacier National Park. They call it the Crown Jewel of the continent.

I went to Utah, Colorada. And then back home.

I had started blogging as Finding Tom. Little things. What to do in New Orleans, Texas, Austin.

I made a pact with myself, I am going to write one story a day.

I thought, I’m not going to knock any body’s socks off, but I wanted to get out there.

Crazy enough people started reading and following.

Build Something Awesome.

“Just because nobody is watching you or reading you doesn’t mean your bad. It just means they haven’t discovered you yet.”

I was thinking: One day I’m going to make money blogging, but I have to make it for myself.

I knew it would take years, and it took about 1.5 years to make any substantial inroads.

It was not always of the best quality, that is super-evident, but it gives you a lot more opportunity.

I did it because I enjoyed putting my thoughts on paper.

It has helped me to tighten my perspective on things.

It has made me a better thinker, introduced me to a lot of skepticism, and criticism.

It has taught me a lot. I have grown more in the last two and a half years blogging than I have the rest of my life.

Damned unbelievable.

In the Philippines people come up to him in the street.

I have an event, people come to meet me.

This is just crazy.

I am not that special a person.

There are people putting out more important messages than me.

There might never be another time like this.

You never know what is going to happen.

I can’t lie, this is probably the happiest I have ever been.

Sometimes I sit down and think:

You are frigging blessed right now.