Shouldn’t everybody be happy? Shouldn’t we all be blessed to wake up every morning beaming with excitement for what the next day holds? We like to think so. We’ve found an amazing balance in our life between work (which isn’t really work because we enjoy it) and play (which is a life of travel and experiences). We literally wake up each morning and thank the world for what it has provided us with.
“But we’re not rich!”
We don’t have cars and houses, flashy clothes or high paying jobs.
We just live the life that suits us best.
What we love happens to be travel and we made it happen, but anybody should be able to do what they love. I remember a few years back I would hear people say cheesy cliché lines like that and I would just ignore it because A) I thought I had to make money at whatever I loved and B) I didn’t know what 100% happiness could feel like.
The first step is to get out of the matrix of life at home.
Ignore what other people say. We all need to just take a step back and think about what is really important. Family, friends and living your life to the fullest. If you enjoy fishing, then go fishing! If you love golf, then golf! If you want to travel the world, then do it! There’s no reason why you can’t.
If you’re passionate about something, everything will just fall into place!
When we started planning for our first trip we were nervous as hell. We didn’t know what to expect and we were overwhelmed by how much we had to do to get ready. But that was because we were so plugged in that it was hard to break away. There was no red pill to set us free, we had to go through all of the pressures of leaving the ordinary behind.
“Quitting your job and deciding to live in the moment isn’t easy at first!”
The fact is:
Western life does a good job of keeping you preoccupied and tied down.
Everyone has to have certain things: cars, contracts, homes, phones, fridges, tv’s, tablets, mattresses and mini-fridges all bought with leases, loans and lines of credit. This means that when you finally decide to pull yourself away from it all, it holds you back and keeps you down.
If you can just release yourself from this tangled web of long hours and heavy pressures, you can be free. You will realize that you can work just 20 hours a week and make enough to live comfortably.
Volunteering, Teaching English, working on a farm or running a blog, are great ways to sustain a life of travel, but there are lots of ways to make money that you might enjoy. Take a year off and just go! Go to work for 3 hours a day instead of 12 and then get off at noon and spend the day doing what you love, all while saving up to go somewhere or do something you’ve always dreamed of.
“You don’t have to have very much money to travel!”
We’re so happy that we broke free and we’re able to live this lifestyle now, but we want more people to do it! Why is retirement a light at the end of the tunnel? There doesn’t have to be a tunnel, unplug and go do what you love!
It really is just that easy.
If you don’t like your job, QUIT! If you don’t like where you’re living, MOVE! It’s that simple. Just get rid the ties that bind you and set off on a journey. Find a new life that suits you better. And if you’re happy doing what you’re doing, whether it’s work, play or both… then you’re already there. Keep doing what you love!
We are happy because we do what we love every single day, and if we don’t love it, we stop doing it and move on. That is what’s called freedom and it is something that we all possess!
Here are some links to help you start planning:
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Hey,
Thanks for the great blog. My partner and I have been considering a move to China for the last month or so. This post so sums up what I am feeling right now. I do not want to wait until I am retired to enjoy life. That is crazy. I am tied down in debt chasing things that mean nothing! Cars, house, business are all just big burdens of debt.
My question is… when you decided to take the plunge, was it totally mutual or did one of you need to convince the other that the risk would be worth it? I am all in, but my partner is not 100%. He is totally interested but is unsure that the money made in China would afford us a good life. I have crunched the numbers and it works for us (pending liquidation of our US life), but it is still scary as hell.
Thanks again!
Hey Ben,
Thanks a lot for the comment!
What you guys are going through is what most people go through when they consider giving it all up for freedom. You know you really want it, but there’s some trepidation around whether or not you’ll be financially stable.
For us, we were both on the same page. We both were in agreement about making a life change – one that we’ve never looked back on, and one that we’ll never ever regret.
What’s the worse that can happen? You come to China and you don’t like it, so you move back. Even if you came home to nothing because you sold it all, it wouldn’t be a bad thing…no debt is always good!
The world is yours to explore, all you have to do is jump…and more times than not, you’ll be caught 🙂
Good luck to you both!
Cheers
Nick and Dariece,
I have been reading your posts over the last month or so. I learned about your blog through the Travel Agent Academy, I believe it was. I am a Corporate International Travel Consultant. I love travel but DESPISE my job. I spend 8 plus hours a day making reservations for people who are fortunate enough to have a job that pays for them to travel to places that most of us can only dream about. For the most part, my clients are rude, demanding and unappreciative. I believe what you are saying about falling into a trap if one is from the West. I think I could give up most of my possessions in exchange for the freedom to travel, however I am no spring chicken anymore, I am 53 yrs old. but I feel the same way you two do. Right now I am the sole caretaker of my mom who is an 87 yr. old Alzheimer patient. Even though my mom is in an Alzheimer unit, if anything happens to her, I am her only child and the only one to be with her in an emergency. Do you two not worry about financial security, health care, things like this that you will need in your golden years? Please keep up the blog, it is a nice fantasy for the rest of us.
Many thanks,
Paula
Thanks Paula,
There are many ways in which a person can be happy, and in which they can travel. For us, it was long-term (forever) travel or nothing! However, we know many people who go away for a month each year, or a few weeks. It’s important to get away to recharge those batteries and to experience something/somewhere other than home. Ideally you could do some short term holidays until you are retired (if you’re not ready to sell-up and travel). The fact that you DESPISE your job is awful! What if you were to change jobs, maybe that would help? Being the sole caretaker of your mom is something that I’m sure you don’t take lightly, no one would, and it makes complete sense to want to be home for her.
To be honest, we don’t worry about financial security (we have some savings) and we are working online to make a living. We also have the option to Teach English anywhere in the world. The one thing we know is that we’re following our Personal Legend in life and doing what we’re meant to be doing…being happy and free 🙂 For the Golden Years, we plan to be living abroad somewhere with inexpensive healthcare, unlike that of western countries.
Good luck to you 🙂
Hey guys
This is a great and inspirational post. You write what we’re all thinking, at least the ones that want to break free! Society is really trying hard to keep everyone in line. We already broke loose a few years ago, but then got stuck again. Now we’re ready to go on a new adventure and looking forward to throwing off the shackles once more!
Happy travels!