Discussion
I went through the same thing last year after a redundancy. I wrote a thread about my travels using a website called www.helpx.net
Paid my membership for 2 years, found a good few places and off i went for 3 months. Experienced a bad place where knives/violence and far too many functioning alcoholics lived, then experienced a great place where if i was a german speaker, i'd of stayed.
I worked for free, on someone elses house. The profits of my hard work aren't with me now, but the memories of a work ethic born of doing things for the experience, for the feeling of achievement and not the financial reward
To me there has to be an alternative to selling your life away in the present for some reward you may never reach in later life, it's just hard to drop a lifetime of "sensible" ideas of owning a house, mortgage and existing day to day in a job you loathe. Im not saying a crap job either, plenty of people i know and a lot of threads on here and one in the lounge show that quite a lot of us exist because we have never thought of the alternatives and hate our day to day routine.
Paid my membership for 2 years, found a good few places and off i went for 3 months. Experienced a bad place where knives/violence and far too many functioning alcoholics lived, then experienced a great place where if i was a german speaker, i'd of stayed.
I worked for free, on someone elses house. The profits of my hard work aren't with me now, but the memories of a work ethic born of doing things for the experience, for the feeling of achievement and not the financial reward
To me there has to be an alternative to selling your life away in the present for some reward you may never reach in later life, it's just hard to drop a lifetime of "sensible" ideas of owning a house, mortgage and existing day to day in a job you loathe. Im not saying a crap job either, plenty of people i know and a lot of threads on here and one in the lounge show that quite a lot of us exist because we have never thought of the alternatives and hate our day to day routine.
A friend of mine epitomizes this; he's 32 and still a lowly beach lifeguard. Works the summer in Cornwall and then jets off to Oz or NZ to work their summer. He's having the last laugh though I reckon. Its a care free existence almost and he seems to have a lot of fun. (helps that he's one of those people you can't not love, everyone loves him).
Doesn't get paid loads, but then I don't suppose that matters to him. Long as he has a board, some speedos, some flip flops and a bed to sleep in he's sorted. Oh and a plane ticket twice a year. If he's not watching the sea, he's in the sea and he's happy as can be.
Doesn't get paid loads, but then I don't suppose that matters to him. Long as he has a board, some speedos, some flip flops and a bed to sleep in he's sorted. Oh and a plane ticket twice a year. If he's not watching the sea, he's in the sea and he's happy as can be.
As mentioned previously, it's finding out what your drivers are and what is important to you.
I don't work 9-5 for the sake of it to fund material goods. It's the subsequent benefits like providing a bigger house for my fiancé and seeing her over the moon. Or being able to cover any unexpected costs when she gets a bit overwhelmed.
It is about a balance at the end of the day. Earning enough to make you happy while maintaining your life and not blindly getting dragged into the cycle.
I don't work 9-5 for the sake of it to fund material goods. It's the subsequent benefits like providing a bigger house for my fiancé and seeing her over the moon. Or being able to cover any unexpected costs when she gets a bit overwhelmed.
It is about a balance at the end of the day. Earning enough to make you happy while maintaining your life and not blindly getting dragged into the cycle.
Otispunkmeyer said:
A friend of mine epitomizes this; he's 32 and still a lowly beach lifeguard. Works the summer in Cornwall and then jets off to Oz or NZ to work their summer. He's having the last laugh though I reckon. Its a care free existence almost and he seems to have a lot of fun. (helps that he's one of those people you can't not love, everyone loves him).
Doesn't get paid loads, but then I don't suppose that matters to him. Long as he has a board, some speedos, some flip flops and a bed to sleep in he's sorted. Oh and a plane ticket twice a year. If he's not watching the sea, he's in the sea and he's happy as can be.
Whats he going to do when he gets to mid 40's and cant do it anymore?Doesn't get paid loads, but then I don't suppose that matters to him. Long as he has a board, some speedos, some flip flops and a bed to sleep in he's sorted. Oh and a plane ticket twice a year. If he's not watching the sea, he's in the sea and he's happy as can be.
mondeoman said:
Whats he going to do when he gets to mid 40's and cant do it anymore?
Why cant he do it at 40? Plenty of the ski instructors (OK different job, same lifestyle) are in their 50's and 60's. But in my experience, someone like that wont worry about it, when it comes they'll settle down, open a surf shop or something like that. If you've never had lots of money, you dont miss it.
mondeoman said:
Otispunkmeyer said:
A friend of mine epitomizes this; he's 32 and still a lowly beach lifeguard. Works the summer in Cornwall and then jets off to Oz or NZ to work their summer. He's having the last laugh though I reckon. Its a care free existence almost and he seems to have a lot of fun. (helps that he's one of those people you can't not love, everyone loves him).
Doesn't get paid loads, but then I don't suppose that matters to him. Long as he has a board, some speedos, some flip flops and a bed to sleep in he's sorted. Oh and a plane ticket twice a year. If he's not watching the sea, he's in the sea and he's happy as can be.
Whats he going to do when he gets to mid 40's and cant do it anymore?Doesn't get paid loads, but then I don't suppose that matters to him. Long as he has a board, some speedos, some flip flops and a bed to sleep in he's sorted. Oh and a plane ticket twice a year. If he's not watching the sea, he's in the sea and he's happy as can be.
d though, won't be suprised if he's still knocking out ridiculously quick Open Water and Surf swims when he is that old. Anyway yeah, he won't be worrying about that. He'll just fall into whatever life throws at him. He does have a degree and has worked some engineering style roles in the past but a suit and a tie and a desk is just not for him.
Probably been posted before. Anyway ...
An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.
The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.
The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."
The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.
"Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied "15-20 years."
"But what then, senor?"
The American laughed and said "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions. "
"Millions, senor? Then what?"
The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.
The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.
The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."
The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.
"Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied "15-20 years."
"But what then, senor?"
The American laughed and said "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions. "
"Millions, senor? Then what?"
The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
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