About Steve

I blame it all on that one-way ticket.

It was early September, I had just made a boatload of money working 80-hour weeks all summer, and I was ready for a serious change of pace.

My final semester of college would have to wait.

I did what any 22-year old with wanderlust and no responsibilities would do. I bought a Eurail pass, stuffed a small backpack full of essentials, and hopped on my first trans-Atlantic flight.

It nearly ruined me, in the best possible way.

Forevermore, I would never be able to go more than six months without an adventure of some sort. The Europe trip was a whirlwind of new experiences and thrills-a-minute as my buddy and I hit cathedrals, museums, and a pub or two across the mainland, with a side excursion to Egypt for a couple weeks. We met interesting people along the way, and I made some lifelong friends.

Three months later, I returned home and finished school the following May.

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I’ve had three defining moments in my life. Three decisions that set my life on a course of adventure and made an indelible mark on my head and my heart.

That was the first — deciding to take a semester off of school to travel and explore, untethered to any schedule. Ever since, I’ve followed my own path and had a yearning to live and work on my own terms.

It’s taken me to 34 countries on five continents, including Luxembourg, my country of second citizenship, Nigeria, my wife’s home country, and offbeat places like Greenland and Uruguay. I’ve also spent 29 weeks in Ecuador, my adopted home country.

An unyielding zeal for travel led to my second defining moment.

Straight out of college I went right into Corporate America. The plan was to make my first million by the time I was 30, and sales was the best way I knew how. Although I didn’t hit that financial milestone by that age, I did quite well working with two different publishing companies. It would have happened if I had continued.

The only problem with that plan?

I didn’t get enough time off to travel, and I was confined to someone else’s rigid structure of how, when, and where to work. I wanted a little more lifestyle freedom.

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So on March 30, 2009, I had my second defining moment in life: I left a perfectly good job to become a full-time freelance copywriter. Best career decision I’ve ever made.

I quickly made a name for myself, working for legends like Dan Kennedy and Mark Everett Johnson, along with some of the biggest companies in the direct response marketing world.

From there, I continued working with copywriting clients while founding the Copywriter Cafe. We started off with 40 members in 2012 and have grown to over 10,600. It’s one of the premier groups of its kind, and I also have a smaller, private group called the Cafe Back Room.

Today, I write books, help freelancers transform into business owners, and consult with a select handful of clients each year.

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Finally, my third defining moment in life: Marrying my wife, Emida.

She and I met as friends many moons ago, lost touch completely for four years, and reunited when the stars aligned.

Emida has been on board with my travel and business plans from the start, and we make an excellent team. She has her own mural painting business, and we live in rural Georgia, east of Atlanta. It’s very conducive to the work we do, and we’re content these days to stay home and create.

After all these years, I’m still madly in love with Emida (and I think she still is with me). Our four adult kids live in four different states, and they’re each making their way in the world. We have an actor, a dancer, an artist, and a future Ambassador.

Life is good.

This is my story, and this is what I was called to do. I’m glad you’re here, and hope to connect soon if I can help you in any way.

You can reach me at steve@steveroller.com, and make sure you’re on my email list to get regular musings on making an impact.