Three years ago today I left for Beijing, China to start my trip. Since then, I’ve been to 18 countries and lived at least a month in 5 of them. I saved roughly $15,000 before the start of the trip and have not worked in the US since then.
Motivation
The recession crushed dreams.
Dreams of retirement… or getting rich in the next tech IPO… or even the dream of a better life for your kids.
For my wife and I, however, the recession was different.
It was the best thing that ever happened to us.
And you know what? It can be the same for you.
So what do you do when you’re called crazy and/or stupid for leaving everything to travel the world?
According to a study done by William Maddux, an assistant professor of organizational behavor at INSEAD, people who live abroad are more creative than those who do not.
I’ve minimized my life down to two backpacks and a box of memories that I’ve kept at home. Learn how you can too.
In the following post, I’ll walk you through how I determined how much to save and how I went about making it happen.
Looking to travel long-term? After close to three years of travel, I’ve learned quite a bit on making the best of my adventures.
On paper my life was perfect. I made $85,000 in 2009 despite barely turning 25, I paid very little rent to live in a million dollar condo my friend’s parents owned, I could vacation anywhere in the world I wanted to (and did), I was making new friends, and I had virtually no responsibilities. But that was only on paper. In reality I was miserable.
I’m tired of hearing excuses.
This lifestyle didn’t just fall on my lap. I didn’t wake up one day to find myself with thousands of dollars in my bank and the freedom to travel anywhere whenever I wanted. It was the complete opposite. I had negative balances and a job that kept me indoors, exhausted, and lazy. I hated it.
The only way anything was going to change was to be as dedicated as possible towards my goal. Having priorities is key to motivation and getting things done.
Quitting your job to travel the world is definitely possible but it does take preparation. It’s especially true if you have a slew of material goods, debt, and among other things that could hold you back from traveling or worse — force you to return home while you’re traveling. Preparing does get frustrating and overwhelming but the process can also be quite rewarding.
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