10:00 pm. Maybe I should go home, its been a long day at the office since I got here at 8 this morning. It’s been a busy few months actually. A trip to Japan, a trip to Korea, a couple days in China, several late night conference calls, and email from the time I rise until the time I go to bed, 7 days a week. I do some of my best problem solving while in the shower and in my restless sleep, and on those 16 hour international flights
Vacation was nice. I only spent a couple hours a day on email. The extra late evenings and weekends leading up to vacation sure made it easier to unplug while away from the office
The truth is, I loved it. For awhile. The first years of my career I was learning so much so fast that I just wanted to keep at it. I loved learning and solving problems. I worked every holiday in college. I graduated on Friday, moved myself over the weekend, and started my first job on Monday. When I left my first job, I had the weekend off before I started the second job on Monday. Instead of taking vacation, I cashed out my accrued hours. And then about 10 years ago, I had my first long vacation, a total of 3 weeks.
Week one, I mostly thought about work. Week two, I started relaxing and thinking that scuba diving in the tropics was not too bad. By week three, I had a new problem to solve: How can I do this every day for the rest of my life?
I started asking myself questions such as “What is the purpose of life?”, “What is the key to happiness?”, and “Is it possible to live a good life without a job?” I started reading books and websites about retiring early. I had a lot of questions and few answers
I wrote a 50 page business plan about how to scuba all over the world. It was a good starting point, but I didn’t follow the business plan to the letter. There were a few curves in the path, a few unforeseen obstacles, and a few lessons learned.
But 10 years later I have an answer for “Why do you travel?” Because there is more to life than working in an office. And thanks to years of preparing for it, because I can
I remember a wise YOUNG man saying to his mother several years back, “Mom, If you want something in your life, you need to go make it happen.” I see you followed your own advise perfectly! How AWESOME to have the freedom you have created in your life. I’m very proud of you, son! You are an AWESOME man! Luv you more then you could imagine! :)
Whatever happened to your business plan to scuba all over the world? Sounds quite interesting to me.
Hi Kierun, the plan has evolved quite a bit over time. The original plan had me working as a dive instructor and guide, so i could dive for free. Somewhere along the way I realized that i didnt enjoy diving enough to do it everyday. We will dive a bit when we are in Belize and Roatan, Honduras, and maybe in the Galapagos, but will do it in moderation
“because there is more to life than working in an office”
It’s sad that so many people never figure this out while they are still young and healthy enough to travel. They plan to do so many things after they retire, never taking into account the possibity of future physical, mental, and/or financial limitations.