My whole life I wanted to see the world and have adventures, conduct experiments, recreate the wheel, take a deep dive into different cultures, and immerse myself in nature…
And that’s just what I’m doing!
But it didn’t just happen to me one day.
It took overcoming chronic illness, paying off a ton of debt, driving myself into a pretty intense burnout, cultivating some solid mindset shifts, and a ton of hard work and fortitude. But I’m doing it!.
I am a Nomad.
Achieving the freedom to do as I please…
Now, before anyone works themselves up into a lather about laws and income and so on, let me explain…
I enjoy work and being productive, creating things, and solving problems. And I am certainly a law-abiding citizen with respect for others’ property and personal space.
When I say ‘achieving the freedom to do as I please,’ I mean that I have intentionally designed my life in a way where the work I do, where I live, and who I spend my time with are all a matter of choice for me. And I’ve worked really hard to not feel trapped by debt, illness, fear, or obligation.
This path takes a considerable amount of personal responsibility and accountability. And I am not always perfect.
I have bad days, where I can get irritated or overwhelmed and grumpy. But this is when it’s time for me to look in mirror and ask myself:
“Are you tired, bored or just feeling insecure?”
I find that most poor moods/attitudes/mindsets and overall misery can be attributed to at least one those 3 states.
Sometimes it’s one, sometimes it’s all three.
Sometimes it is actually something you had no control over, but you can choose how you react. So, now it’s time to ask:
“What do I need to do to fix it?”
And then I fix it. It may not happen over night, it may take years. But grabbing the low-hanging fruit, taking one small step at a time toward your goal, builds confidence, brings peace of mind and exercises the brain.
…and happiness ensues.
I had a condo, a job I’d had for over 11 years, and many, many dear friends in Fort Lauderdale. My life was pretty cozy and predictable. But a predictable future makes me uneasy and there were behavioral patterns that weren’t exactly moving me toward my goals or passions.
So, I decided to make my life an adventure.
And, on April 3rd, 2021, I left.
It seemed like it should’ve been harder or scarier, but it just felt right.
And what about all this adventure I keep talking about?
If you live in reality, which many of us have gotten a hearty dose of over the last year or so, you know that you can make all the plans you want but no one has the power to control all the moving parts that go into making that plan a reality. For instance, I was planning on leaving the country… and then, covid.
Instead, I like to say I’m making possibilities, not plans.
The only thing you really have control over are the decisions you make.
And I’ve decided to make myself as capable, resilient, and independent as possible so that no matter what life throws my way, I’m in a position to continually grow and enjoy my time on earth.
I move in the direction toward my intended outcome preparing myself to succeed in all the potential possibilities.
So, here it is my plans for possibilities…
- Spend about 3 months out of the year in the U.S., visiting friends and loved ones and enjoying the places I’ve called home, and also continuing to explore this massive, beautiful and diverse country.
- Spend the other 9 months of the year traveling the world, staying approximately 1 to 3 months in each spot to really get a feel for it and relax. Do this until I’ve either seen it all… or just don’t feel like doing it anymore.
- Take a multi-passionate approach to business and work that suits my multi-passionate self and allows me to pursue my constant appetite for learning and continuous need to evolve.
- Share my adventures and strategies with the world and help those interested figure out how to get out of their own way and achieve the life they’ve always dreamed of.
I attribute being able to pull this off by focusing on my 4 core principles:
- *The continuous pursuit of Optimal Health
- *Creating diversified income streams
- *An “If anyone can do it, I can!” mindset (also, the “If it didn’t go well, I’m smarter and stronger for having given it a whirl” mindset), and
- *Applying Efficiency to all the mind-numbing adulting-type tasks that drain your energy bring no joy into your life.
And of course, all of this is a never-ending work in progress.
Come along with me on this adventure!
Sign up for the Goin’ Places, Doin’ Things Newsletter and receive weekly updates on:
- *the places I’ve traveled,
- *the tools and resources that are making life easier,
- *the strategies that are helping me to achieve my goals,
- *and, best of all, awkward belly flop-type failures I will no doubt experience along the way and the lessons II get to learn from them.
