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Road Warriors That Inspire Us

by Meg · 16 comments

Glass half full or empty?

If you are being brutally honest, do you consider yourself a glass half full person or a glass half empty person?

I personally have always been a glass half full kind of gal.

But when I am looking at the rest of our trip, I am noticing that, regardless of whether or not the glass is half full or half empty, the substance in our glass is getting lower.

What it is this substance?

Money and time!

How Do We Fix This?

By working like hell to start up our own business that will allow us to live (and travel) on our own terms indefinitely.

This past month in Berlin has been wonderful, as we have had plenty of downtime in the city to brainstorm and pursue business ideas.   It has been hard work, and it is only about to get harder… But I know that every minute dedicated to our start-up will be worth it when we are able to live life on our terms.

Some of our biggest inspirations have come from the following folks, as they have mastered the art of living on the road while starting a business.  They are proof that our hopes and dreams for the future are realistic and achievable.

Folks That Have Figured It Out

Love Play Work 

Hannah and Chris were your typical 9-5’ers that didn’t want to live life just looking forward to the weekends.  They yearned for more and wanted to enjoy every minute of every day.  In 2008, they decided to test out working together as a location independent couple for 6 months… It clearly worked for them because they are still on the road, while operating multiple business ventures.

Hannah and Chris’ Words Of Inspiration:  “We can work from a hammock, a beach, a chalet or anywhere that allows us to seamlessly integrate ‘work,’ ‘holidays’ and ‘adventure’. Life for us flows much better that way.”

Location 180

Similar to Tony, Sean started out his career as a financial analyst and felt underwhelmed by not having the flexibility to do things that excited him. He created Location 180 in 2009 to hold him self accountable for living his dream life.  By January, 2010 he was living in Thailand working in SEO, consulting, and affiliate marketing and making enough money to support his new lifestyle.

Our goal for Landingstanding is to hold ourselves accountable for starting our own business and to make enough money in our business to continue living our nomadic lifestyle.  Sean has showed us that all of this is obtainable and worthwhile.

Sean’s Words Of Inspiration: Sean is all about “Living a life worth writing about.”

The Professional Hobo

In 2006, Nora sold her Toronto-based financial planning practice and decided to hit the road.  Since then, she has travelled to over 30 countries working in various trades in exchange for accommodations.  She has leveraged her career in Finance to start up the website, Wise Bread, which is a community of bloggers dedicated to providing personal finance and money management tips for people “living large on a small budget.”

Nora’s Words Of Inspiration: “If we are not tied to a desk all the time, the options for how — and where — we choose to live open up dramatically.”

Art of BackpackingTwenty-Something Travel

Tony and I met Mike (Art of Backpacking) and Steph (Twenty-Something Travel) during our stay in Buenos Aires.  Mike and Steph first met at a travel conference before backpacking in SE Asia and then travelling the world together. They also work tirelessly at building their blog communities and at starting up side businesses to fund their adventurous lifestyles.

When we met them, they were working on their new App, Eat The World (now live and ready for purchase), which provides users with a list of what local foods you should sample in each country of the world.  As you can imagine, Tony and I (being the fat kids that we are) loved this idea!

In addition, Mike owns the online travel blogging community, Art of Travel Blogging, which provides invaluable resources to help travel bloggers with their websites.

Sidenote: Mike and Steph recently got engaged in Colorado!

Mike’s Words Of InspirationThis quote was shared by Mike on his website and resonates with me and Tony: ‎”A man is not where he lives but where he loves.” – Proverb

Steph’s Words Of Inspiration: “I’m a big believer in the importance of doing things that scare you.”

Almost Fearless

In 2008, Chrisine left her corporate management  job in Boston and decided to explore becoming a writer and photographer… all while travelling the world with her animator and filmmaker husband, Drew.  They decided to combine their expertise and are now in the process of completing an online documentary chronicling people who are taking their careers online in order to travel the world.

They are currently working their butts off to complete this exciting project by the end of August, just in time to submit it to film festivals.  To learn more about this incredible venture (and to support their efforts), check out their Kickstarter Campaign!

Oh, and did I mention that Christine and Drew also travel with their young son, Cole? Respect!

Christine and Drew’s Words Of Inspiration: “All it takes is a good wifi connection, a little creativity and the desire to do something different.”

Your Turn: Who do YOU look to for inspiration?

About Meg
Exhausted from traveling every week as a Business Management Consultant early in my career, I took a year off in 2012 to travel at my own pace. I am a high-energy girl that loves being active, eating food, drinking wine, and exploring the world with my partner-in-crime (and husband), Tony! I now reside in Portland, Oregon and continue to write about travel, food, wine, and the awesome adventures we have in the Pacific NW!

Steph August 3, 2012 at 9:46 am

Thanks guys! Thrilled to be in such great company.

Meg August 3, 2012 at 4:52 pm

Anytime Steph! Thanks for all the Asia/Australia trips over the past few days BTW… SO pumped!

Kabamba August 3, 2012 at 12:22 pm

Thanks for these inspiring stories of real people in a real world.

Meg August 6, 2012 at 9:03 am

You’re welcome Kabamba!

JR August 4, 2012 at 12:15 pm

Great article about what can happen when you dream and put action behind those dreams. Think big you two and keep loving.

Meg August 6, 2012 at 11:48 pm

Thanks JR! “Keep loving”? Have you gone hippie on us? 😉

Cherina August 5, 2012 at 9:14 am

All the hard work and planning and brainstorming will pay off you guys! Hope you are coming up with some great ideas for your new business. Self sufficiency – hallelujah to that! :)

Meg August 6, 2012 at 11:50 pm

Thanks Cherina! I really hope we can get something off the ground. Self sufficiency and having the ability to travel the world indefinitely would be amazing! Tony and I may have to pass along some ideas your way when we all Skype together 😉

Callie August 5, 2012 at 10:18 pm

Good list – really cool to see people who never stop exploring new possibilities!

Meg August 6, 2012 at 11:56 pm

Callie – I just checked out your blog and love it! When do you head to Asia? Let us know if you’ll be in Thailand anytime soon… We are here over the next 2 months and would love to meetup. Best of luck on all your journeys – Travelling when you are young is the way to go!

Gina August 6, 2012 at 1:20 pm

Enjoyed reading through this. I work full-time right now and trying to build my own business when I’m not working at my day job that will let me have a location independent lifestyle. A cubicle and 3 weeks of vacation time just does not sound like the life I want!

Meg August 7, 2012 at 12:06 am

I agree with you Gina! Working in the corporate world provides little flexibility… And 3 weeks of vacay just isn’t enough! I am impressed you have been able to build a business while working a full time job. I couldn’t even think straight after a long day of work back home. Travelling and having a lot of downtime to brainstorm has been a lifesaver for Tony and I. Best of luck in your journey and keep in touch!

Hannah Loveplaywork August 6, 2012 at 8:07 pm

hey
thanks guys for including us in such awesome company! You have already done the bit that most people find the hardest, actually travelling and thinking about how to make it work more permanently. The rest will come in time. I know that’s super frustrating (we’ve been there!) but you are heading in the right direction.

You should enter our competition! We’d love to hang out with you both and it would help you extend the travels a little further!

http://www.loveplaywork.com/2012/08/join-us-in-mexico-australia-new-zealand-south-africa-thailand-or-even-tahiti-for-free/

Meg August 7, 2012 at 12:12 am

Thanks Hannah! There are so many road warriors that have inspired us to pursue this lifestyle and I had a great time writing this article. It has been frustrating at times but it’s also been a lot of fun and I know I just need to be patient and keep working hard with Tony!

Thanks for sending the competition details along. Tony saw this the other day and thought it looked like an amazing opportunity. It is so cool that you guys have put this together.

We will be in touch and thanks again for your kind words!

Mark August 7, 2012 at 10:15 am

Cool article. Gets me pumped to read about other people and their successes. I’m drinking the koolaid and making strides to become part of the elite group of individuals who are living the dream. See you all at the airport!!!

Meg August 8, 2012 at 4:59 am

Thanks Mark! Keep drinking the Koolaid 😉

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