Today it hit me.
9 months ago I realized I wanted more in my life.
6 months ago I began working remotely from home.
2 months ago I enrolled in an amazing travel program called Remote Year.
Today it hit me.
These last 9 months have been filled with so many incredible experiences. I learned what I truly want in my life and began taking what felt like tiny steps toward fulfilling my vision.
A big part of my vision for my life was experiencing more. I had always considered myself a traveler. It felt like a part of me. But when I looked back, I realized I hadn’t been outside of the US in over eleven years.
I must have stumbled upon an ad for Remote Year. I can’t recall because I didn’t take it very seriously in the beginning. I halfheartedly followed all the necessary steps to enroll including two rounds of applications and a video interview. For the first couple days after I was officially accepted into the program, I dreamed about how amazing my life would be if I were to take this opportunity. When I brought it up to my family, they acted interested, but they knew I would never do it. I thought I knew it too.
A month later, I’m sitting at this beautiful outdoor restaurant overlooking the ocean at sunset near my home in Southern California. I feel a sense of immense gratitude. I know how blessed I am.
And still. I feel a pull. I see the people around me and I wish they were different. I long to sit in a crowd of strangers and not understand a word they’re saying. I desire to be lost. To experience newness. To travel.
So I get home and check my bank account. Is this an actual possibility?
Yes. It actually is. It’s a crazy, incredible, outrageous opportunity that’s just sitting there in my email inbox. Just waiting for me to choose it.
And so I do.
And now that I’m officially in, it’s all I ever think about. Everything I do is somehow related to my trip. I spend weeks researching the perfect suitcase. I make arrangements with my boss. I tell everyone I know. I’m on a non-stop wheel, spinning with excitement and preparation.
But today the wheel paused. And it hit me. I’m leaving. In less than two months.
And my people. I won’t see them for a year. And their lives are changing drastically. They’re going back to school. They’re starting businesses. They’re having babies.
And I won’t be here when it all happens. So I cried about my trip for the first time. I allowed myself to feel the fear. I sat in it for a while.
And then a friend reminded me that in one year, not only will all my people’s lives have changed, but my life will have changed as well. We’re all moving forward. We’re all realizing our dreams. We’re all finally doing exactly what we’ve always wanted to do. And how beautiful is that.
California Here We Come
Over three months have passed since my last post. But this time, I’ve been putting it off for good reason.
I’ve finally decided to do something I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do. I’m moving to California!
California has been a dream of mine since my sister moved to LA over 10 years ago. I always knew I wanted to go, but “life” kept getting in the way of me actually taking action.
Right after I began writing this blog, I put together a vision board that I’ve been working on for years. My vision board is a collection of 32 images that represent the life I want in the future. Many photos include the beach, palm trees, or mountains of California. I placed my vision board in my bedroom and began making it a daily habit to look at each photo and envision my future with those things.
Shortly after creating my vision board, I was contacted by a company in Southern California asking if I would ever consider relocating! Long story short, I interviewed a couple weeks ago and accepted an offer today! I couldn’t believe it – my dream had come true!
There’s a lot more to my vision board than simply moving to California, but I couldn’t be more excited to finally take a giant leap in the right direction!
4 HOUR WORK WEEK
My brother-in-law recommended that I read “4 Hour Work Week” about a month ago and I’ve slowly been reading about a chapter each week. I’m typically a binge-reader and once I start a good book I can’t stop until it’s over. This book was a little different in the beginning because I wasn’t fully buying into the concept. The last few chapters, however, really opened my eyes.
Since I’ve been working full-time, I’ve had issues with the 9-5 rule. (It’s actually 8-5 in my case, and we’re expected to take an hour lunch.) I’ve always thought it was ridiculous… As I’ve said before, I’m a huge procrastinator which has taught me how to work efficiently. I see much older people at my job who can only type with one finger and I think that there’s no way we both need 40 hours/week to do the same job!
In addition, I’ve always had dreams of travelling the world. It’s been extremely difficult for me to find a way to make that work with the 9-5 grind and a limited 8 days per year of vacation time. After reading this book, I now feel that it is possible to make these dreams a reality! Tim Ferris, the author of “4 Hour Work Week” explains specific ways to increase productivity so you can effectively eliminate the unnecessary and time-consuming tasks that are filling up your week. He offers pointers for both entrepreneurs and employees for arranging remote-work situations that create independence and more of an opportunity for long bouts of travel.
I’m still not sure exactly how this will all fit into my life, but I’m excited to start implementing some of these ideas and see where they take me!
A first time for everything.
I’ve been a procrastinator for my entire life. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned how to use it to my advantage and I now believe it actually helps me with productivity in most areas of my life. Since I’m accustomed to putting things off until the last possible second, I’ve become a very efficient person.
That being said, I got an email this morning notifying me that my domain, thedirectionofmydreams.com, was about to expire. I created this blog two years ago and haven’t posted once. I think about the empty pages every now and then, but I usually just brush it off with my usual, “I’ll get to it later”.
I originally created this blog because I had just graduated from college and wanted to document my new life. I’m two years into the “real world” now and my vision for this isn’t a whole lot clearer, but I’m going to make an effort to start posting.
Thinking back to my life two years ago, I can say that my life looks very similar. I changed jobs, but remain in the same industry. I’ve lived with new roommates in different homes, but haven’t ventured outside a 15-mile vicinity. I haven’t had any significant new relationships. I haven’t traveled anywhere new or amazing. This may not necessarily a problem for most people. But I have always had big dreams and it’s disappointing to look back and see that I haven’t pursued any of them. It’s scarily easy to get comfortable.
Now, I’m not saying that I’m not happy. I have great friends, a good job, and live in an amazing home. I am happy. I’m just beginning to realize that I’ve said, “I’ll get to it later” a few too many times and I’ve been putting off living my life to the fullest and experiencing my best life.
So… My hope is that I can use this blog as a tool for organizing my thoughts and dreams, and discovering what I really want to do.
THE DIRECTION OF MY DREAMS 