Seattle: another city full of people I know and love. I was looking forward to spending a month or so around some of my favorites.
What actually happened, though, was far from ideal. I had two project deadlines in Seattle… and I missed them both. … and I spent almost the whole time in Seattle buried in a laptop fighting with code.
The bottom line: my work sucked.
Balance
One of the goals of this quest was to be able to balance work and travel. But, what really seems to have been happening was that I was traveling for a bit, then hunkering down on work for a bit, then traveling for a bit, then… you get the point.
Maybe that IS balance. … or maybe, the work that has been sustaining this whole lifestyle isn’t the right work.
Trading Time
We hear this idea of trading time for dollars. It’s a cycle we try to get out of when we become entrepreneurs. The goal is to have the dollars come from something that you’d spend your time doing anyway, right? Stress of deadlines? Not having enough knowledge to do a job? Giving up the things you want to do in order to do the things you have to do?
Does that sound like freedom to you?
Yeah, me neither. So, here I am, 3,000+ miles from home, taking in amazing sites, hanging out with incredible folks, learning valuable lessons – and at the same place I was four years ago.
Inconceivable!
I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means
It turns out this web development thing is a good step in the right direction… but it’s not perfect.
…and that’s OK.
We face our fears one at a time. I faced down the fear of leaving corporate America and I’m able to travel and pay my bills – with a bit to spare. It’s step 1… and it’s a win. See, you may not hit the nail on the head right away, but that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’ve succeeded in taking one step further. What is truly inconceivable is the idea that your first “plan” is going to be an overnight success. Let go of that idea. Focus on the idea that success happens in steps.
Do It Again
Do it better!
Success is try and try again. Success is practice. Success is making tweak after tweak.
I realized the web development was taking up so much of my time that I wasn’t able to focus on the life I wanted to be creating. Sound familiar? Corporate job taking up all your time, then you’re too stressed to focus on what you want to be doing?
The reality is, though, this is better than where I was in corporate America. I like the work AND it allows me to travel. Sure, it’s not my be-all end-all perfect existence. In fact, it can’t continue as is. But it has given me the chance to experience a LOT of what I’ve wanted to.
But, I’m back to where I was four years ago. Something’s got to give.
This time, though, I know what it is.
Sometimes, the answer doesn’t happen right away. Sometimes the road is a bit foggy ahead. You never clear through the fog until you take a few steps towards it.
What’s your next step?
