Today I hung out with my friend Jay (hi, Jay if you are reading this)! I consider him my mentor in the real estate investment space. I’ve always been interested in real estate but I’ll really dive more into it when I gain the capital to invest. We’re in the works of co-writing a kindle book as we’re huge fanatics of financial independence. In the midst of conversation, he brought up my backstory, my purchasing a one-way ticket to Stockholm, and he thought it was motivational and rare. Jay talked about how a lot of people will say they’ll quit their jobs, but they’re so far chained to the corporate world that escaping is too difficult.
Is Becoming a Digital Nomad Rare?
When Jay brought that up I was wondering how rare exactly the prospect of quitting your job and pursuing passive income really is. Is it really uncommon for people to uproot their lives to free themselves from the 9-5? I remember reading a blog post by a friend’s friend who talked about the typicality of millennials quitting their jobs to globe trot the world. It made me feel like I was just doing what most people of this generation do. But I suppose that’s not exactly my case. As previously said I am hoping to create a lifestyle change and build freedom from working a routine office job to survive. At the least, I want to become location independent. I want to have the freedom where I can take a day job if I wanted to, but quit if I wanted to as well. I don’t want to take temporary vacations, come back home, and wait until I save up for another one to travel again. I want freedom where my choices are not financially bound.
Buying the Ticket
Jay’s right. I think what I’m doing isn’t typical. And now I’m reflecting on what was going through my mind last June in 2015 when I purchased that one-way Stockholm ticket. I remember the panic attack I had when buying it. There was a flight deal, and I thought that this was it. This was my ticket to freedom – an affordable $200 flight. I thought it was now or never, because if I didn’t do it now, who knew if I’d actually do it?
I spent the entire day, looking at the ticket buy page, thinking about my life, flip flopping on whether it was the right thing to do. I only told one friend about what I was doing so she was the only one I could talk to about the situation. Palms sweaty, heart racing, I clicked “checkout” and grabbed my ticket. I sighed with relief, but I would panic like crazy multiple times after. My mind kept telling me “YOU’RE CRAZY. YOU’RE FUCKED. WHY CAN’T YOU BE NORMAL? WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO ESCAPE?” Sometimes I would question if my need to quit the 9-5 stemmed from laziness. Now I know that’s not the case. I’m chasing fulfillment and choosing myself, and it’s a rare path to take.
The Power of Networking
Okay, I’ve babbled on and on about my story but now I’m going to get to the point. The reason why I brought up my backstory was that I realize 6 months ago, I was scared as fuck. I felt so alone with my decisions, and although I do still feel that way at times, my level of anxiety has greatly reduced. And the reason why I’m not as panicked is that I forget how rare my decision is. Why? I’ve been surrounding myself with people who have done the same or are on similar paths. Back home most of my friends don’t understand what I’m doing, but thanks to the internet I’ve been able to reach out to people who have succeeded, and I’ve joined communities of people with the same passions.
From my Europe trip in 2014 (I know, I reference it a lot), I vowed to be more courageous and reach out to people when I have questions or want to speak with someone. Thinking back, I actually met Jay through biggerpockets.com when I was studying real estate investment! And the other day, I reached out to this kindle book guru (Jason Bracht) and video chatted with him. I’ve e-mailed two other digital nomads to learn more about their lives as well. Through Facebook, I’ve also joined travel groups, digital nomad groups, and passive income groups.
Every time I look at my Facebook news feed I see stories and motivational posts by people who are striving for the same goal. I forget that I’m a rare case cause I’ve reached out to experts and I see amazing people around me all the time. My norm has evolved away from the standard 9 to 5, get married, whatever. Because I see all these people making it, challenging themselves, quitting their jobs, their actions are my new normal. My own behavior and mindset don’t feel too erratic anymore that it’ll scare me and induce an anxiety attack!
It’s easy to feel alone. It’s difficult to reach out to people and join communities. But it’s necessary. It’s crucial to surround yourself with people who GET you, because when you’re alone you’re more likely to second guess your decisions.
So don’t second guess. Don’t give up. And don’t do it alone.
