{"id":3244,"date":"2009-01-17T10:14:47","date_gmt":"2009-01-17T18:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/?p=3244"},"modified":"2009-01-17T10:14:47","modified_gmt":"2009-01-17T18:14:47","slug":"so-you-want-to-live-the-dream-life-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/so-you-want-to-live-the-dream-life-heres-how\/","title":{"rendered":"So You Want to Live the Dream Life? Here\u2019s How\u2026.."},"content":{"rendered":"
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At a dinner party last weekend, I was bragging about my upcoming 6 week trip to New Zealand and Samoa, when one of my super \u00a0wealthy friends said, \u201cWow, I wish I could do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

I almost spit out my wine and said \u201cBULL! If you really wanted to, you would!\u201d\u00a0 He conceded, that yeah, I was right.\u00a0 If he really wanted to he could.<\/p>\n

People say we are \u201cliving the dream life\u201d because Drew and I take an adventure trip every year, to someplace different.\u00a0 In the past 13 years, we have been to over 15 countries and our son is on his second passport.\u00a0 Drew calls these trips \u201cdropping out\u201d because we drop everything and leave for awhile.\u00a0 Rather than calling it a \u201cdream life\u201d I like to say that we are LIVING.<\/p>\n

Ask yourself this question:\u00a0 Are you LIVING, or are you just going through the motions, in a monotonous fashion?<\/p>\n

Do you dream of a life where you have the freedom to travel to foreign lands, to spend months at a time exploring the globe?\u00a0 Or does it seem out of reach, exotic, only for rich people and Europeans\u2026..<\/p>\n

If we can do it, you can. \u00a0Drew and I are not rich \u2013 most of our friends make more money than we do.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have a lot of time, either.\u00a0 Our business keeps us extremely busy.\u00a0 And then there\u2019s our son, who \u201cshould\u201d be in school rather than traveling the globe.\u00a0 By American standards, we should not be taking these trips every year. \u00a0\u00a0But they are vital to our LIVING.<\/p>\n

We love surfing in foreign lands, meeting the locals, trying new foods and wine.\u00a0\u00a0 Our son knew how to read a map when he was 3 years old.\u00a0 A 16 hour plane trip is a piece of cake for him!\u00a0 He has fun playing with kids who don\u2019t even speak his language.<\/p>\n

The thing I love the most about adventure travel is that it gives me a respite from my hectic life of being a business owner.\u00a0 Once I\u2019m on that plane, leaving L.A., I truly leave everything behind.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even THINK about work while I\u2019m gone.\u00a0 I truly live in the moment, THE NOW, when traveling.\u00a0 For some reason, I can\u2019t relax as easily when I\u2019m on a short one week trip.\u00a0 Work looms over my head like a cloud, and I can\u2019t relax.<\/p>\n

So, how do you arrange your life so that you, too can live life part-time as a vagabond?<\/p>\n

MAKE THE CHOICE:<\/strong> First, decide that you really WANT to live this \u201cdream\u201d life.\u00a0 Many people say that they \u201cwould love\u201d to live the way we do, but when it comes down to it, they\u2019d really rather keep doing what they\u2019re doing, following the status quo.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the \u201cstatus quo\u201d? \u00a0Going into unnecessary debt by driving expensive cars, living in large homes with large mortgages, having too many children, working a job that ties them down, following the sheep with the \u201cgo to college, get a job, get married, have kids, wait until you\u2019re 65 to take a vacation\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n

Arrange your life so that you have the freedom to roam the globe.\u00a0 If you are already stuck in the \u201crut\u201d of the status quo, it may take you a few years to get out of that rut. \u00a0But those years are going to go by, anyway, so you might as well start working on it now!<\/p>\n

DROP YOUR BELIEF THAT YOU CAN\u2019T CHOOSE YOR LIFE: <\/strong> Americans are so conditioned to do what they\u2019ve been conditioned to do!\u00a0 Example:\u00a0 \u00a0You can\u2019t do that.\u00a0 It\u2019s irresponsible.\u00a0 Or, your parents drilled it in your head that you are going to college and will have a corporate job, or be a doctor, or a lawyer, and that travel is a luxury.\u00a0 These become beliefs.\u00a0 Drop them.\u00a0 Come up with your own.<\/p>\n

MAKE CHOICES THAT SUPPORT THIS LIFESTYE:<\/strong> Marry someone that loves to travel as much as you do, and that is also committed to this lifestyle.\u00a0 Don\u2019t have a lot of kids.<\/p>\n

CHOOSE A FLEXIBLE PROFESSION: <\/strong> Yes, you can choose a profession that allows flexibility.\u00a0 It took me years, but I did finally.\u00a0 It\u2019s all a CHOICE.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to have that corporate job sitting in a cubicle.\u00a0 There are many flexible professions, including:\u00a0 Entrepreneurs, nursing, temping, fishermen, freelance writers and photographers, artists, athletes, teachers, professors, food concession businesses.<\/p>\n

AVOID DEBT:<\/strong> Drive older cars.\u00a0 Live in smaller homes.\u00a0 Get roommates to share in the cost.\u00a0 Squirrel money away.\u00a0 Be frugal.\u00a0 (If you are like most Americans, you have a $600 car payment, you pay about $100\/month for car insurance and you pay about $500 to renew your car registration.\u00a0 THAT\u2019S $8,900 A YEAR, just to drive a car!\u00a0 How\u2019s that for a nice trip.\u00a0 You could live in Costa Rica for a year on that!)\u00a0 By the way, my car\u2019s been paid off for years, and it costs me exactly $675.00 a YEAR in renewals and insurance.\u00a0 It\u2019s a Toyota, so I figure it\u2019ll run for another 10 years or more.\u00a0 If you have a large car payment right now, sell your car and buy a cheaper one.\u00a0 Yes, that\u2019s a possibility.\u00a0 It\u2019s a choice you can make. \u00a0\u00a0Read this helpful blog post for some great debt elimination tips:\u00a0 http:\/\/zenhabits.net\/2007\/06\/73-great-debt-elimination-tips\/<\/a><\/p>\n

LIVE SIMPLY \/ BE A MINIMALIST:<\/strong> Simplify your life.\u00a0 Get rid of your clutter.\u00a0 Don\u2019t buy junk you don\u2019t need.\u00a0 Don\u2019t fill up your closets and garages with stuff you don\u2019t use.\u00a0 Get rid of the drama.\u00a0 Don\u2019t spend time with people who don\u2019t love you the way you are.<\/p>\n

TAKE TIME TO PLAN:<\/strong> My first big trip in 1997 was a four month backpacking trip around the world.\u00a0 It took me one year to plan it out, save up the money, and figure out what to do with my car and my apartment and my job.\u00a0 To this day, that was the best trip I\u2019ve ever done, because I did it alone.\u00a0 It was a major growth spurt for me.<\/p>\n

DO IT:<\/strong> It\u2019s not that complicated.\u00a0 When I did my four months around the world, American people said \u201coh, you must be so brave\u201d and \u201cwow, that must have been hard\u201d and \u201coh my God, you went for FOUR MONTHS?\u201d\u00a0 The reality is, I wasn\u2019t brave, it wasn\u2019t hard, and along the way I met so many Europeans and Aussies and New Zealanders who were saying \u201cyou\u2019re ONLY traveling for four months\u201d and \u201cwow, I\u2019m doing a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are real life examples of some of the people I know who have \u201cthe dream life\u201d figured out:<\/p>\n