If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit. – William J. Clinton
Thursday, March 5, 2015 (DAY 1,095)
When I first conceived of this idea that began as a whisper and grew louder and louder within me–to the point that I could no longer ignore it–I still often pause and find it incredible that upon exactly three-years from leaving Denver, Colorado and the United States with a one-way ticket to Belize with absolutely no idea what the future had in store for me...well let's just say it has certainly been quite the adventure! There has been plenty of highs, as well as plenty of lows, but through it all I feel that I have grown and changed in ways I could never have fully expected, nor do I feel that a so-called ordinary life does not interest me any longer, especially after tasting and experiencing the amazing freedoms that I have. While I know that this lifestyle may not be for everyone–as I have said many times–do not think for moment that you couldn't do it yourself. I also try and remind people that I didn't just wake up one morning, quit my job, and jump on a flight! I spent nearly a year planning and making preparations, including cutting back on my spending habits and doing the things that have, in all honesty, truly helped make this global adventure an easier transition.
When I first conceived of this idea that began as a whisper and grew louder and louder within me–to the point that I could no longer ignore it–I still often pause and find it incredible that upon exactly three-years from leaving Denver, Colorado and the United States with a one-way ticket to Belize with absolutely no idea what the future had in store for me...well let's just say it has certainly been quite the adventure! There has been plenty of highs, as well as plenty of lows, but through it all I feel that I have grown and changed in ways I could never have fully expected, nor do I feel that a so-called ordinary life does not interest me any longer, especially after tasting and experiencing the amazing freedoms that I have. While I know that this lifestyle may not be for everyone–as I have said many times–do not think for moment that you couldn't do it yourself. I also try and remind people that I didn't just wake up one morning, quit my job, and jump on a flight! I spent nearly a year planning and making preparations, including cutting back on my spending habits and doing the things that have, in all honesty, truly helped make this global adventure an easier transition.
The areas that I didn't focus upon was building out an itinerary, researching countries outside of Central America, by speculating too much since international travel can change frequently (i.e. visa restrictions or fees, cost of living, political unrest, and etc). The areas I did utilize my time appropriately I felt were doing things such as; securing banking and financial issues for international travel, passport renewal with the extended booklet, renewal of my driver's license, selling my items by prioritizing what could be sold immediately to what I would need up until a specific date (such as my car), testing out various clothing and equipment items thanks to REI's former 100% Guarantee Satisfaction return policy, which sadly now that they set a time limitation of one-year from the purchase date for returns, I have no longer chosen to utilize this as an option for travel clothing or equipment. For example, there were several items I left the U.S. with that were purchased from REI, and several of these items I never used more than once! Therefore, trying to return them later in practically brand new condition, this has caused me to discontinue using REI or even recommending them for purchases, because you can typically find the same items online for cheaper with similar return policies. So, once again I know that some people thought I was running away from something, where I saw this as beginning a new chapter in my life by closing out a previous chapter that had been a 12-year career in broadcast television with HDNet, now AXSTV, and a relatively comfortable lifestyle I had built in Denver, by trading it all in, to live as what may call; a hippie, a vagabond, or just a plain ole backpacker–budget traveler.
While I have been extremely blessed and fortunate through the past three-years in the places I've had a chance to see, the experiences I've gone through, and of course all of the wonderful and amazing people from all around the world that I can now call friends, I still view what I am doing as a platform to inspire others to live out their dreams, whether that means global travel or something more simplistic. Don't let anyone impede your dreams. I know I have used it before, but I still find the quote by Marianne Williamson to be extremely inspiring, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
I know that many friends and family have probably felt the same level of frustrations that I have with either my lack of and/or inability at times to stay in communication, especially in the 21st Century, however, even while living in Seoul–one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world–there are still limitations. The above image shows how I am often unable to connect to Facebook Messenger or Facebook itself, and why I have tried to convince family and friends of downloading Kakao Talk, which is a free app for both iOS and Android. This mobile app, is also supported now via PC and MACs, and besides being the most widely used communication tool in Korea, I am able to connect to this app with complete ease. There is of course the possibility that because I am still using an archaic iPhone 4 that my connectivity could be better with an upgrade, which I plan to do in the very near future with (a bum da da da dum dum) the much coveted iPhone 6! For some reason, I still remember when I purchased the very first generation iPhone back in 2007 for $600, which of course seemed outrageous at the time, and bringing this new piece of technology into the office and having everyone from our editors, producers, senior engineers, my boss, and I believe even our CEO stop by and take a look at this incredible form or black magic! hahaha.
And here is above is a chart demonstrating the various mobile communication apps, and one area I was surprised about was that Line was both a mix of a Japanese and Korean based efforts by the Korean based company, Naver, that developed it. I suppose this image has little to do with the milestone of my three-years of continuous global travel, but I still found it quite interesting from both a consumer standpoint as well as a progressing entrepreneur, primarily in the fact that the Asian market is growing at an accelerated rate and by many economists' projections that in less than a decade, by 2024, China will surpass the United States in consumer spending power. I'll continue to mention that anyone that knows me well, knows that I do enjoy talking business–and by both traveling and working in Asia for nearly two-years–I've had an opportunity to understand this growing market and how many Western–based companies are finding it difficult, if not nearly impossible to penetrate this enormous market. In one article from The Economist, they talk about how South Korea's biggest web portal Naver, has "thrashed Yahoo and kept Google at bay."
In closing out this blog by celebrating this milestone, that as I said before was almost impossible to imagine more than three years ago, I hope that those that have continued to join me on my travels round the world will not just continue to do so, but once again, that they will be inspired to begin working towards achieving their dreams and hopefully it involves effectively changing people's lives! Geonbae (건배)!
A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST 3-YEARS (1,095 DAYS)
*Please be patient, more photos will be added soon!
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