What if I told you that 5 years from now your life would be more or less the same as it is today? Your daily schedule and the constants within your personal bubble were not much different than you experienced today. Wouldn’t you feel a little cheated?
So then, why are so many people afraid of change?
This series will walk through the unconventional journey from the past year between two digital professionals, Joy Loo and Ian Ray. And how we become location independent, digital nomads, and in essence homeless professionals. But we hope to show you that what they say is true …
“home is where the heart is.”
BUT WHY?
Having been students of people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Tim Ferriss, Gary Vaynerchuk, Michael Gerber, Paul Arden, and Rolf Potts, it seemed natural to question the status quo.
But more importantly, why wouldn’t you want to pursue your dreams? You probably hear it everyday. I know we did. That annoying voice in your head that interrupts your thoughts to remind you of your most recent dreams and ambitions. Maybe you want to learn to cook, play guitar, speak another language, or the common one many people we met share, see another country.
Have you ever heard your inner voice telling you to do something?
If you listen closely, you will realize that voice is actually coming from an area of the body outside of your brain. It’s your gut telling you to trust it for once. So chase your dreams when they call you. Just make sure it doesn’t knock the wind out of you!
JUST GO
It was raining hard the day we moved out. So hard that we even had to use the mattress like an umbrella when we were packing up. Which was kinda ominous, as we were living in sunny Costa Mesa, CA, which gets like a foot of rainfall each year. But wouldn’t you know it, there was literally a rainbow after we finished and dropped off the keys.
We packed up all of our belongings into our parent’s garage, and also sold off Ian Ray’s old beater car (99 VW Golf). If you’ve ever moved after being in the same residence for even just a few years, you will have experienced those existential moments when tossing out things you haven’t used or needed in just as long. It was a great lesson that taught us about spending our life collecting and storing experiences instead of just home goods.
Shortly after we were off to Southeast Asia for a month (Dec 2014). Laptops, Smartphones, and some awesome web technology allowed us to easily work and communicate with our teams and clients remotely. If we didn’t have to be tied to one geographical place, then let’s see what that’s all about. We tested this digital nomad life-hack in places such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phuket, Siem Reap, Taipei, Berlin, Frankfurt, Giessen, and now San Francisco.
Southeast Asia Journey
Remember always that you are just a visitor here, a traveler passing through. Your stay is but short and the moment of your departure unknown. Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. Look deeply at life as it is.
TO BE CONTINUED
Coming from a very budget-friendly area of the world to one of the most expensive, and helping to play a part in redefining what it means to be an inhabitant of earth. Subscribe to follow our story and see how we’ve been living as executive homeless professionals all around the city of San Francisco.