shellyrogersrennEver wonder how to change the outcome of your life?
Do you remember playing as a child and not liking the out-come of the game you were playing? You could shout, “Do over!“, and magically reset to before the undesired outcome occurred. Or, watch a time-travel movie and think of all the things you would do differently if you just had the chance to go back in time?
Unfortunately there is no do-over button, and (at least not that I have found no matter how hard and often I’ve looked) a time machine. But, I have found that life is a blank book that we, ourselves, are writing each and every day. Canadian author, Robin Sharma, once said, “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” Now. Isn’t that a powerful thought? Every single day when we get out of bed we have the capability of doing something different and changing the outcome of our lives.
A traveler’s dream can be a reality
Up until now I have been living the travelers dream…in my head. True, my life has contained more than the average adventure…but, for the most part, I was working 40-50 hours a week for someone else whilst dreaming of when I could live my life the way I wanted.I remember back when interviewing for jobs in corporate America, the person doing the interview would often ask, “What is your dream job?”. I would never give the styled answer about how I dreamt of spending 40 years with said company, moving up the ladder as I did, one day to retire and (if I was still able) travel the world. Instead, my answer has always been that I’d like to travel the world and write about the glorious, unusual, colorful places I’d see and the aromatic, succulent foods I’d eat and thus reap the rewards of a life fulfilled every single day. Does that sound anything like you?
Write from anywhere in the world
When I lived in the Tuscan region of Italy, a friend of mine from Washington State said she was so envious that I was living in such a beautiful place. I was working in the fashion industry full time taking only the usual vacations and told her that she was living in one of the few states with a national rainforest. She was within just miles of the iconic volcano, Mt Rainier, as well as multiple other National Parks, waterways, lakes and so many breathtaking cities. Then I asked her, how many pictures of them did she have?
My point of that is that in every corner of the world there is something that someone else wants to see, to know about and to visit. The only thing stopping us from sharing that information is doubt, insecurity, and the unwillingness to put ourselves in the position of possibly failing. But failure to start, is still a fail.
Traveling and vacationing are not the same
The dictionary defines travel as, “going from one place to another, typically over a distance of some length”, and vacationing as “a period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling.” I believe that traveling is more about the journey.
Have you ever gone on vacation and upon returning home you said, That was fun, but it’s so good to be home? That is because vacationing, even leisurely ones, can be quite exhausting with the overwhelming need to see and do everything you can while you have time. Traveling on the other hand is an understanding that because you are on a life journey, there is no need to take everything in at once. You can slow down and enjoy.
When I go from place to place I often get excited when I take a wrong turn. “Why?”, you ask. I feel that a wrong turn is not a distraction. Life itself is a journey and with each wrong turn I’m able to see something that perhaps I would have missed if I was focused solely on the destination.
The wanderlust lifestyle
Most people in America live a “normal life”. They go to work where they spend 40-50 hours a week and get an average of 11 paid time off days (PTO) every year. Of those 11 days off only five are spend on rest and relaxation. Statistics show that balancing a career and a personal life is difficult, and in a most cases, personal life loses out.
But, life is short.
Today almost anyone with a computer has the ability to work away from their physical office. What is keeping you from taking your work with you anywhere you happen to be? If you enjoy writing, photography, developing software, etc., and have an uncontrollable desire to write new page in your life, maybe its time to live your dream.
Your adventure starts now
I don’t want to work 40-50 hours inside an office building and repeat that for the next 75 years. That is not my dream. I reject the idea utterly and completely. I am restless and each day I hear a call to adventure whispering on the wind. At the end of my life, when my book is finished, I want it to be a story of adventure with colorful photographs of all exciting and unique people and places that I’ve experienced.
Life is not a spectator sport.
Get out and live!
As far as we know for sure, we have only one life. Why waste it on somebody else’s dream?
The purpose of our lives is to be happy – Dalai Lama
I have come to believe that the time I spent going to an office day after day has been wasted. Living in California the commute can be quite extensive and it is often difficult to just jump right in and begin working. By creating my own life-style work I find I have more time to explore those hidden gems next to home, as well as spend more time going to places I had previously only wished to see abroad. I get more time to enjoy. I can start and stop working at my own leisure and from anywhere I happen to be.
Life is beautiful. Don’t wait for your life to start. You are the driver of your life bus. Where is it that you want to go? Dream big, enjoy the journey, stop often, smile and be kind. You are on your way to living the life of your dreams because happiness starts here. Today. Tomorrow may be too late. Don’t look back one day and reminisce about the time you almost started living. Happiness really does start here.
