Lifestyle Design

Freedom to Travel

2008-04-12T13:52:00.001-07:00

You don't have to be a millionaire to travel and choose your lifestyle. New Years 2008 I decided to go to Las Vegas with some of my friends. We went on to California and then to Mexico for the next couple days after. I had a blast. I can recommend no better way to spend new years day than on the beach. Especially because my brother called me from home and asked if he could borrow my snow beanie. I like snow sports,
but I hate scraping the windshield on my car early
in the morning. BLAH!!!. The vacation was quite theraputic. The reason we went? Because we couldn't justify not going.

Some don't have the passion to travel, and that is cool too. But I have the blessing of a strong desire to see what the world has to offer. The traditional answer to this 'curse' is to make sure I millions of dollars so I can retire early and then when I am 55 I can 'afford' to travel the world. Or It has been suggested that I get a job that requires me to travel the world for 'work'. These both sound like great options. I am a fan of both these options. But it doesn't really solve my current dilemma. I want to travel the freaking world! Must I be rich to do so? My answer is most assuredly not. My eyes were opened to this when we went on that New Years escapade. The entire trip was only 175 dollars total! (Minus some money spent in Mexico on clothes). I was fairly suprised that we were able to have so much exposure to the world for so little. Granted we are all young and we traveled light, but I was blown away to realize just how cheap it was to travel if one really wants to do so. And I do.

The point of this article is to promote ways of gaining freedom over 'spacial' constraints. Anything from extreme to conventional, executive to vagabond, hitch-hiking to Rent-A-Car. I am going to continue adding posts and links of different ideas and resources for getting freedom of travel. And post comments of additional methods of travel that somebody could benefit from.

(Work in progress)

Links to additional posts on my site:

Links to outside resources:

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose."
--Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement 2005

Document Your Memories!

2008-04-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

Documenting my memories has helped me in designing my lifestyle. Journal writing, video recording, and frequent photographs aren't done enough by the average person. This is because the average person is unsatisfied with their life. Who could be motivated to write in a journal everyday about how they worked 12 hours only to come home too tired to do anything they loved? Why document a life you wish you weren't living? The 'New Rich' and one who is designing their own lifestyle has much more to document. NR also have more to share with other people as well. Live a life worth documenting and share it.

(Photo from www.oldworldbookcompany.com)

Several months ago I wandered into a Barnes and Nobles. I am a collector of books and I enjoy reading. But this day I was drawn away from the books and over to the journal section. They had such beautiful leather bound journals and I had the thought, "I wonder what I could fill that journal with". I caved and purchased the high end, high priced journal. The great news is that I do not regret the journal purchase at all! I have since recorded my travels and unique experiences. I am actually filling the pages with worthwhile content, and I am loving doing so. I have a priceless record of a road trip to Las Vegas, California, and Mexico with some friends, I have entries of concerts and shows I have attended, and I make frequent entries about how I am following my passions on a day to day basis. I used to hate journal writing and maybe you do now, but if you hate journal writing, get a life worth writing about. Live a life where you are compelled to at least write a few things, because even you can hardly believe you are living your dream.

Maybe you don't like writing by hand, this is not a problem, try maintaining an online journal or blog or even record videos of what you are doing. Just express yourself. This is just a small thing that has helped me tremendously in lifestyle design. Documenting my life has been a positive thing.

(Friends and I sledding in Madison, WI. I am 4th one back)

Join the "New Rich"

2008-04-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

Join the 'New Rich' and build your lifestyle. If you search for the term 'New Rich' on the internet you will be directed to Wikipedia and learn about 'Nouveau riche'. This isn't what I am talking about when I speak of the 'New Rich' (NR). Ironically, 'Nouveau riche' is a semi derogatory term used to describe a social class of people who have new found wealth (this part's true), but who will more than likely be foolish with their money.

This is not us! The 'New Rich' I am speaking of can be found a little lower on the search engine results mostly surrounding recent books such as "The Four Hour Work Week" By Timothy Ferriss. So what does it mean to be NR? Being NR means you aren't satisfied with life as most have it. You don't necessarily have any more money than anybody else. But you do have more of what you want. The NR construct positive and creative ways of making money and managing their time to support their lifestyles.

How do I get started? Some members of NR begin by creating a list of their dreams and things they are passionate about (Hiking, Photography, Humanitarian Aide, Family time...etc). I am going to assume you already have a couple ideas of what you could do to replace the 60+ hours you are working. If not take some time to consider what you would do if you had no restraints. Then proceed to make a list of what those restraints specifically are. I am talking about your liabilities. There are dozens of obligations you have that you may or may not have thought about. Make a list of anything from your monthly house/car payments to even small liabilities you have accrued such as a cell phone or internet bill. Begin strictly monetarily, when that is finished list time obligations and liabilities. After you are finished you should have a thorough list of whats holding you back from achieving your dreams. Some of the items on this list are a good thing. You probably shouldn't eliminate your monthly medication.... I can't stress the importance of this list. Seriously consider how several of these items can be eliminated. With a little creativity most of them could be.

The next step is to begin thinking passionately about different ways to achieve passive income. Passive income is the key to making it as a 'New Rich'. Passive income is income that you can make without being present. Passive does not mean no work, it just means you don't have to be working when you earn the money. This is vital, because it gives freedom of time. This freedom of time is enhanced when you can find sources of passive income that can be automated. Many people set goals of how much money they will make in a year, or how many hours they need to work to get so much money. I believe these goals are foolish. It is much wiser to set goals of increasing your passive income. In short, begin to become obsessed with increasing your passive income. This is the 'New Rich' way. Passive income will give you freedom over time like nothing else will.

These are the beginning steps of NR. I am a member of the New Rich, it is a unique approach to living life. I am following these steps myself. I have been doing my best to have the control over my lifestyle that I want. And I feel passionately about helping others. Because I see too many people wasting the precious life they have. If your passion is photography, why would you work as a manager the majority of your life? If your passion is travel, why would you tie yourself to a job requiring you to be in a certain location your whole life until you are finally 65, and can 'live the dream'? Well for most it may be because they do not think there is any other way. I refuse to accept this. In this blog I will show you how it is working for me and for others and how it can work for you.

(Photos Freely Given By www.freefoto.com) Good straightforward site for good free photo's check it out.

Freedom

2008-04-09T16:43:00.001-07:00

Freedom to choose is frequently sacrificed as people choose lifestyles that are rigid and inflexible. It isn't uncommon for the average person to be swimming in debt and financial liabilities by their early twenties. Work hours increase, time available decreases, mobility and freedom to travel decrease, and dreams are forgotten. So what is to be done? My solution, and it is not totally original, is to design your lifestyle with freedom in mind. Not just financial freedom, but freedom to live life how and where you want.

This blog is about:

1. Freedom over Money
2. Freedom over Time
3. Freedom over Location

I hope you enjoy,

Charles

Comments are appreciated.