You’re probably here to find out what this is all about, secretly steeming while the boss is away or just creatively finding ways around life? Boredom sets in and you don’t see the possibilities in situations anymore. You want to travel to find purpose and meaning in your life. You want to make a change because...
Change is good.
You’ve seen them all, the travel bloggers living the dream of traveling the world and writing about their experiences, successfully making money on steemit. And there you are wishing that you could be one of them too, live the dream of earning money while being location independent.
If you are still young or don’t have any responsibilities in life yet, such as take care of the kids, pay for the car, pay the mortgage, look after the business, then this is the right time to invest in experiences before you settle down and get serious in life indefinitely. Perhaps you just want to do something cool in your life, like ditch 9-5 in favor of full-time globetrotting. Then this is the perfect time to take advantage of the digital gold rush that will work in your favor.
I’m saying all of these based on my own experience. I’ve done it myself and I’m here to say that it is possible. I practice what I preach, and that’s why I’m able to write this article. I’m here to share the experience and hopefully inspire people to have the courage to make a change in their lives and follow their dreams.
For me, the formula to living the life of your dreams is the proper mindset + courage + the strong desire to make the change.
SIMPLIFY
Yes that’s right. Simplify, simplify and simplify. I perfectly understand that it won’t be easy at the beginning, removing all the clutter in your life, embracing a frugal life without sacrificing comfort and convenience. Finding the right balance in everything.
6 years ago I already knew what exactly I wanted to do in life, and that was to travel. To go on a long journey and find my purpose in life. To invest more in experiences, as I was aware of the long-term reward of travel for me. And so to be able to achieve the dream of traveling the world, I had to find ways to save money, live below my means, and simplify my life.
I was already used to the high life, a slave to consumerism. My wage increased, and the demands as well. I’ve been one of those who had this “go, go, go, go, and get, get, get, get” mindset. Later on, I realized why did I spend all these money to have a lot of clothes, a lot of makeup, a lot of shoes when I didn’t really need a lot of things. When I was younger, I was a rebel in the making. I didn’t care what I wore to school. I did whatever I wanted to do, not caring what people thought of me. In short, I didn’t give a shit. My professors in UNI hated me for being different. But when I finished school and got a job in the corporate world, things had changed quickly. I changed and later realized that I didn’t like what I had become. That was when I started questioning life, if there’s more to this than being inside the office cubicle for 8 hours a day, every day coming home feeling depleted. Waiting for the weekend to splurge and to buy things to compensate for the boredom. Things that I thought will make me happy.
Simplifying my life is one the best changes I did. I started not conforming when I realized what was important to me. I was happy with fewer things. I’m really a low maintenance woman, I don’t really need a lot of things. I don’t need to impress anyone as I don’t really care what people think most of the time. I just value the opinion of those who are close to me. For me investing in knowledge is more important. I have more books than clothes. I breathe my own fashion.
Aside from being able to save money, simplicity will give you less stress, more peace, better finances, more focus, and most importantly… more space for what’s more important to your life. This is possible, though not magically overnight. Slowly, with effort and determination.
Less is more.
Travel
It’s time to book that one-way ticket to the world after being able to save money by changing your lifestyle. But wait, I know it feels scary. Perhaps you are about to quit your job, leaving you with no security or anything. I understand how it feels. Taking a journey into the unknown is the scariest thing, but don’t worry as you are not alone. Those who have traveled have been through the same thing, and the best advice I can only give is…
Just do it!
You already have the idea of what you wanted to do, it started as a thought and now it’s time to make it happen. But you don’t know how to start, all those worries consumed you. I say, just breathe and move towards your fear, as this is for your own growth. Imagine being able to overcome the fear, and how good it feels. What an achievement, give yourself a big pat on the back. Celebrate! You see, travel teaches you how to face your fear, and this will help you become a stronger person.
Having a proper mindset is the key, realize that everything will be alright. Travel will teach you how to live life to the fullest, it will teach you what you’ve been missing out all these years. Travel will let you live the present moment, which is the most important.
I remember the first time I traveled, and I was alone. Can you imagine how scary it was for me? No shortcut, I just dived into the unknown straight away. I was aware that it is normal to feel scared at the beginning. But as I moved on, traveling from one place to another, meeting amazing people from all over the world, I wasn’t scared to travel anymore. The travel bug is something that won’t leave me forever, and it is the best thing that ever happened in my life. This is the reason why I am not running out of stories to write and pieces of advice to share.
If you don’t like where you are at the moment, then deciding to leave is the first step to getting somewhere. So I repeat,
Just do it!
Steemit
When you have all those experiences, it would be easier for you to write. Words would seem to type themselves, and it will all flow naturally. Writing about your travel experiences that inspire people is the best thing, and thanks to Steemit blogging platform, you can get rewarded as well.
When I was traveling, I found many ways to earn money and minimize my expenses. I had invested in skills even before I have traveled, which I had made use of in order to pay for the bus, pay the national park entrance fees or buy myself a beer sometimes. I already knew that these skills would come in handy in the future, and I was right. I had some freelancing gigs like graphic designing, writing, social media marketing etc. Investing in having these skills would be helpful before traveling.
Aside from traveling, I love to read. Reading is my own way of traveling while being in the same place. And it also helped me in writing, as I was able to have more ideas. I was also able to adopt the writing styles of authors. So in order to improve on writing good quality content for steemit, then I say,
read more!
The same with having your own website, writing good quality content is the key to attract readers or visitors. And here on steemit, there’s already an established audience and a growing number of readers, and you don’t need to build it from scratch. Now all you have to do is make sure you’re providing good content, sounds easy? Nope. Oh not just good by the way, like really good. Really good that it will stand out. Because there are already too many good contents here as there are crappy ones. If you seriously want to make money here, then you need to find ways to make your writing stand out from the rest of the world. Think about what would make us click that article you posted, will it be beneficial to us or will we just waste our time.
I am new here and I’m happy to be able to write with passion consistently. I can say that I’ve earned some good amount just within a month of signing up. I mean, not as much as those whales of course, but what can I complain. I’m even happy enough reading comments and gaining followers who really read my posts, like seriously. If I get rewarded from my work, then better! The money I earned from here would be able to help me get my life back on track, cope with a recent job loss and perhaps travel more in the future. And inspire more....
I believe in steemit and I want this amazing community to continue to exist, as finally I’m doing the things that I love - travel and write. Writing for steemit is something that makes me jump out of bed early in the morning. And if you’re the same, then it means you already found your passion. So let’s continue making steemit a better place for everyone and for us passionate writers by providing valuable content, staying for the community and inspiring others to the same.
The world we desire exists, it is possible and it is ours.