I'm hoping that this photo blog will be able to provide a little inspiration to you all on all things related to long term travel, and how to follow your dreams and make them a reality. I've always had a thirst for adventure and a healthy lust for exploring this vast world we live on. The purpose of this blog is to narrate and characterise my travel experience in the hope that my lifestyle choice will inspire others to do the same.
The Three Flamingos, Salar de Atacama (The Atacama Desert) - Bolivia
It's a daunting and somewhat mysterious prospect to just quit your day job and leave home for months upon end in the way that I first did back in May 2013, but it's a decision that I wholeheartedly do not regret. Many people said to me before I left; "You're crazy for quitting your job to go and travel the world" and "You're so lucky to be able to do that," but in reality, luck didn't play any part in the decision at all. The secret is to stop procrastinating, and envision other ways of living a life, implementing small steps to make this happen as you go. I promise you, you won't regret it!
I know that logistically speaking, it's not just as easy as that, but we need to ignore what people think and push against that grain of conventionality and actually do what we dream of doing instead of plodding along in a life that perhaps we're not 100% happy with. To quote Tim Ferriss from the book 'Four Hour Work Week' - "People would rather be unhappy than uncertain'. I find this incredibly sad.
As I mentioned previously, it's a daunting prospect to leave the secure life behind but I'm just an average guy so if I can do it, then so can anyone! Applying small steps to achieve your goals is the right mentality to adopt and this mindset can be implemented for anything that you want from life, and not just travel.
Skogafoss Waterfall - Iceland
Forget about the social castle and trying so hard to impress; working so hard just to save money for irrelevant items and material things. Is this the life you really want? To some people perhaps, but for me it wasn't and thats why I took the opportunity to leave my secure life behind and opt for a life on the road instead. Since making that big decision I've never looked back. I feel liberated and free. I get to thoroughly explore interesting cultures, meet amazing new people, get lost in back streets in unfamiliar towns, sample culinary delights that are not available to me back at home and witness spectacular new sights…. I could go on!
I used to work so hard back at home but ultimately I was bored, unfulfilled and deflated with working 40 hour weeks just so I could afford the things that I now see as acquisitive and completely unnecessary! I've learnt to forget about the materialistic element of life and what designer T-Shirt I'm going to wear at the weekend. Instead, I'm learning a new language, new skills and a fresh outlook on life. I've learnt to appreciate other peoples cultures and beliefs and I can empathise with people in a way I could not before.
Summit of the Khardung La Pass (The highest motorable road in the world) Ladakh, India
I used to read blogs and view other peoples Facebook pages with a sense of envy at where they had been in the world; the places they had witnessed that I hadn't. I used to count down the days until the end of the week & considered myself a number in a matrix, lethargically working for a company that at the flick of a switch could end your employment if they wished. I learnt that there's just no loyalty in slogging your guts out for a company for years upon end only for them to perhaps turn round after 10 years of dedicated and ardent employment and say. " Sorry, we have no work for you, we're gonna have to lay you off." I made the decision to change my life and pursue my dreams. I chose to live my life in the way that I wanted to live my life without worrying wether it was the right or wrong thing to do under the scrutiny of what society believed I should be doing. You too can do the same! Taking those small steps to achieve your goals is the right way to get the ball rolling. You don't have to be as drastic or as exorbitant as me though. Each small step taken accumulates into a bigger picture. This is the optimal strategy for you to be able do the things you really want to, and will empower you to get what YOU want out of life.
Get off that couch, switch off reality TV and start to participate in reality itself. Believe me. You can do it!
The Himalayas, McLeod Ganj, India
I had a relatively good but unskilled job and I would constantly daydream about the places I wasn't going, the people I wasn't meeting and the sights I wasn't seeing. The idea of travelling the world solo had been at the forefront of my mind for years but something always got in the way. Excuses. I used to make up every excuse under the sun and I realised eventually that I was only kidding myself in the long run. Society tells you that it's too irresponsible just to quit your job an go travelling. Society was telling me that now you've turned 30 years old you should now be looking to settle down, earn some cash, buy a house. But why? That lifestyle may appeal to some people but clearly it wasn't for me. We only get the one life to prove ourselves. One life to find out who you REALLY are. Do you really want to spend all that time working and doing something you don't really want to do? Or do you want to see the world and everything it has to offer you instead?
Our lives are mitigated by routine that tell you when you should eat, sleep, work, breathe…. You should have faith in whatever decision you make in life is the right one and never look back and question it. I sit here now in a beautiful cafe in Chiang Mai, Thailand, operating one of my businesses from my laptop. I work for a few house a day, and have the rest of the day to myself. Six months ago I had no online business. Anything is possible!
The Rock "El Peñol" and Guatape: Colombia
I exchanged my old life of watching bad reality TV, working for a big company that couldn't give a shit about me, and living for the weekend, and traded it in for a life of freedom. Social media and news agencies will have you believe that the world is a big and dangerous place full of crazy people and crime. This is pure sensationalism of colossal proportion! 99.9% of the world is a good place and that includes the people that live upon it also. Travelling alone is an eye opener but for all the right reasons. This planet is a fascinating and extremely welcoming place with a wealth of culture that words cannot do justice.
I empathise with what some of you are no doubtably saying. You really want to leave the secure life back home but perhaps you can't afford to do so? Let me tell you that you can! I don't have super rich parents with endless resources of money, neither did I have a job that paid me an absolute fortune but I made it happen for myself by taking those small steps that I talk about. Let me give you a few examples. You like to drink coffee and every morning on the way to work you purchase that £2 drink. Do you really need it or are you buying it because you like it? That £2 coffee every working day for a year equates to £520. Lets say you like to go out at the weekend perhaps twice a month. When you're out, you spend around £40? How about you decide to go out once a month instead saving yourself £480 a year in the process. With those two things alone; coffee and a night out on the town. In a year you could of potentially saved £1000! Taking those small steps can get you a long way and help in making your travel dream a reality!
La Parroquia de San Miguel - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
I hope my blog today has provided you with just a little bit of inspiration to perhaps get the wheels in motion to pursue what you really want out of life. My passion is to travel and it worked for me so why not you? Is working for a living in a job that you hate really what you want? Are material things really what you desire from life? If it then that's fine. I'm not here to criticise you and you probably haven't got up to reading this part anyway! If it's not then what are you waiting for. Take those small steps today in making you dreams a reality!
Thanks guys!
Chris
