[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/38517834 w=400&h=250]
1. For those who may not know, you are traveling the world-without flying, all the while working to build a sustainable business that will allow you to work from anywhere with an Internet connection. How did you come to decide this and what were the reactions of friends and family? Did they think you were crazy or did many of them get it?
First of all, thanks for taking the time to put together these questions for me 🙂
I’d known I wanted to travel for several years, and eventually I decided to take the plunge and just go for it. I saw a lot of other people online who were doing the self-employment thing from the road, and I figured they had nothing I didn’t have or couldn’t learn. So I quit my nice 9-to-5 job and started figuring it all out. That was 18 months ago, and even though it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing ever since, I have no regrets about my decision. It’s been one big adventure and I continue to learn and grow every day.
As for friends and family, they thought I was pretty crazy, but I’m lucky in that they’ve always been happy to support me as long as I’m following my dreams and not hurting anyone. I’m not sure many of them really “get it”, but that’s okay. My lifestyle doesn’t have to resonate with everybody.
2. Did you travel much before? If so tell us about those trips and how they differed from this one.
Before I quit my job I’d been to a grand total of five countries in almost 29 years of living. So I wasn’t well traveled by any means. I was quite independent though, having moved from Ireland to the US for three years. That was a great experience. But as regards culture shock and unplanned travel, I was pretty green.
3. How do you keep yourself going? I am sure there are days for you where you just want to sleep in, no blogging or work of any kind-what keeps you motivated, inspired and moving forward?
I love this life I’ve built for myself, so that keeps me motivated to do what’s necessary to maintain it. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid, and then I have to go home and live with my parents. Much more fun to be hopping on a boat across the Persian Gulf after ten life-affirming days in Iran.
That said, I do try and give myself a break every now and then. If I really don’t feel like working some day, I’ll be my own best friend and allow myself some downtime.
As for blogging, I see my writing at Disrupting the Rabblement as something of a legacy project. I get frequent emails from readers thanking me for some words that made a positive difference in their lives. Knowing that my writing can have that kind of impact is hugely inspiring.
4. How did you transition from the 9-5 to being self-employed? I always find this detail so important and yet it’s left out of a lot of people’s stories. I think this part is what makes others realize, “hey I can do that!” It seems the stories we hear a lot of are, “Well I was a gazzillionaire lawyer who decided to sell the Bentley and travel the world in my yacht.” I think what many people miss is that EVERYONE can make the transition if it speaks to them-they just may have to plan more. Tell us your transition story.
In many ways I feel like I’m still transitioning. I’ve gotten to the point now where I can comfortably earn enough each month to cover my expenses, mostly from freelance web design work. The next step is to go from self-employed to business owner, so I’m no longer trading my time for money. That should afford me the flexibility to take extended time away from my laptop and go have more travel adventures.
But let me tell you how I arrived at sustainable self-employment. It took me about a year, but I could have done it much faster if I had skipped experimenting with passive income initially and got busy freelancing from day one. I think it’s important in the early days to just make money any way you can. Get some income flowing, and then feel free to experiment with passive income and the like. Resist the urge to put the cart before the horse.
Once I put my passive income ideas on hold and started offering up my web design skills, momentum started to build and within a couple of months I had clients chasing me instead of me having to go hunt for them. My rates have doubled in less than six months.
I did have two advantages though. First, my blog had a decent following, which made it easier to get the word out about my services. Second, I already had some marketable skills, since I worked professionally as a web designer back in the cube farm.
For anyone reading this who doesn’t have those advantages, I suggest you consider signing up for a course like Sean Ogle’s Location Rebel, which gives you access to a connected and supportive community, and helps you build marketable skills quick-smart.
5. How does it feel to be living your dream? Is it a realization that “hey I am doing it!” or do at times, you still feel like you are working towards it?
A bit of both. Sometimes I do pause for a moment and shake my head in disbelief, or just bust out in a big stupid grin. In many ways I am living my dream. At the same time, I do still feel like I’m working towards my true ideal. As mentioned, I’d like to transition more into being a business owner. As it stands currently, if I take a week away from work, I don’t get paid that week. The trick is to appreciate how far I’ve come and enjoy where I am while working towards an even better future. I like to think I’m doing a good job of that 🙂
6. What advice do you have for others who want to drop the 9-5 and make a huge life change. Things you would do differently perhaps or things you wouldn’t change for the world?
A few things I’d suggest:
1) Trust yourself. As Christopher Robin once told Winnie the Pooh, “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
2) Surround yourself with positive, supportive people. Ideally, some of them will already be living the type of life you want for yourself.
3) Make friends with change and uncertainty. You’ll be spending a lot of time with both of them.
4) Experiment and persist. In the long run, you can’t fail if you keep doing those two things.
5) Move towards your fears. Think of them as signposts, pointing the way to your biggest breakthroughs.
6) Rock on with your legendary self 😉
“I quit my 9-to-5 job in November of 2010 and have since become a self-employed vagabond, pursuing my passions and helping other people escape mediocrity while I travel around the world without flying.“–Niall Doherty
Thanks so much for putting this together, Michele, and for the kind words in the video 🙂
You are welcome Niall I enjoyed your answers-thanks for taking the time!
Love Niall's comment ” rock on with your legendary self”!
Great post inspiring a get up and do-it attitude with tools for aquiring a skill set. Thank you both. Rock on, sail on, smile on. Andrea
Andrea I love Niall's comment too! So glad you enjoyed the post and thank you for commenting!