The following is a comment I saw a while back on ManvsDebt.com about our good friends over at Discover.Share.Inspire.com:
“The thing that gets me is where do these families earn the money to pay for their adventures? Some sponsors, it seems. And “online businesses”. But what about the people who don’t have these options? I mean, I can reduce the amount of things I own and sell off the excess things, but unless I have a job I’m not going to have near enough cash to live this kind of lifestyle.”
A couple things kind of rub me the wrong way about this comment…
First, it’s my humble opinion that everyone has “these options”. It’s not just limited to a few select people. It’s a decision.
Also, the person making the comment is assuming they need a job to have cash in order to live how they want.
Wrongo!
Let’s make this clear – a job is not the only way to have cash. But this is an entirely different subject. Back to the point…
In the world of lifestyle design, money isn’t the only currency. There’s also time, mobility, notoriety/fame, influence, and more.
What do you want to be “rich” in?
To the family that wants to travel the world, time & mobility are definitely the most important.
However, in order to do anything, you need money. That’s just a fact.
So what do you do?
Here are a few options to start living your dream life while providing for yourself (and family) along the way:
- Wing it – just freaken take off man! Have faith that “the universe will provide” and just follow your dreams.
- Have a plan – this is like teaching English once you get to Thailand or wherever. It also means having a lot of faith too because many times, things don’t usually work out the way we intend them to when traveling.
- Save and go – with a good job, you can save your little bum bum off, quit, and then take off. Be sure to overestimate the costs of everything – you’ll come out just right.
- Have a job and work remotely – this one sounds pretty glamorous and is great IF you have the right kind of job…and understanding boss.
- Have your ideal job in your ideal location – this is like teaching sky diving lessons in Switzerland or being a dive instructor in Belize. Be sure to learn about local work visas and also if you’re going to upset locals by potentially taking away a job that could have gone to them instead.
- Have a real paying business – set up a real business that provides real income and allows you to work from anywhere – anywhere with an internet connection that is.
We opted for the last one.
Call it a lack of faith or a good old fashioned desire for security. We chose to stay behind for just a bit and built a real business that would enable us to take off on our adventures.
In other words, we chose money first, then mobility.
I’m not saying everyone who’s thinking about traveling has to do what we did.
It’s just for us, we found it much more palatable to get the whole money thing established first. It just plain makes things so much easier.
It’s true that you can take off to travel the world with hardly any money – especially if you’re single.
But as a parent, traveling with kids, it’s a bit of different. As a dad, one of my primary roles is to make sure I’m providing for my family. I’ve got to make sure they have a comfortable place to sleep at night with lots of food in their little bellies.
While mobility is a currency lifestyle designers focus on, you can’t have true mobility without a way to pay for it.
One step at a time.
Think about your situation. Apply this to you. What’s appropriate for you? Maybe you’re single and the thought of buying the next ticket out of town is exciting. Do it! Maybe your goal is to be that Flamenco instructor in Madrid. Do it!
If you’re looking for adventure, with your family, and a safe and happy way to pay for it all, why not consider creating your own business to do so?
It worked for us. And we’re pretty average people. It can work for you. What kind of business to create is yet, another subject entirely – one that we’ll cover in-depth over the next few months.
What about you? What do you think about your own mobility and income?
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