From Whoa to Go

It was Corbett Barr in his Free Pursuits article, How We Can Help Each Other Achieve Our Lifestyle Goals that said: “I don’t have all the answers yet…”

I posted the following comment on his blog:

So much of what we read about Location Independence is about our individual choices and I have found that in this community it is all about sharing those choices, saying loud and clear, ‘this is what I want for my life’ and then finding a way to make it happen. What I also see happening though is how we can support each other directly. These are the choices we are making for our lives but like anything we venture to do, we need support from like-minded people.

When you state that you do not have all the answers I believe it’s an important recognition that you’ve made to the community. None of us will have ALL the answers simply because we each have a different lifestyle choice but we can support each other and share ideas, thoughts, tips and even our frustrations because we never know whose answer is the one we need.

In his article he clearly defines the goals that he and his wife have for their future and in a reply to me he asked, ‘How would you summarize your lifestyle goals?’

What a fantastic question Corbett!

What I originally replied:

My goals are relatively simple; I only wish to be able to be financially secure. I enjoy working hard at something but I think in order to do so we must be doing what we love (so it doesn’t feel like work). I get a lot of value from being an ESL Teacher but I do not want to solely rely on its income to live. If the job turns pear-shaped I want to know that I have created an external income that I can fall back on- no matter where I am.

Travel is already my way of life, I knew when I left Australia that I wouldn’t be going back permanently for a great number of years (initially it was 10yrs, now though, it’s not capped). The trick for me now is to make it financially viable and my blog is all about how I’m making that happen.

I am like Corbett in that I do not have all the answers, I’m not even going to pretend some, but I do know that the world wide web does and all I need to do is tap the source in the correct way. I feel like my current research and exploration into the community of Location Independence is like an oil well, when tapped correctly it explodes rich wealth (of information) into the air!

Further to what Corbett has written about I’d like to add that what I feel is different about the Location Independent community is that because we each have our own personal goals we can share safe in the knowledge that the information will not be stolen. So much of information sharing comes with a disclaimer, what you give out you do so with the knowledge that your idea may be taken, like stealing that great new invention, tweaking it and saying it’s original!

This is exactly what I feel Location Independence is not. We cannot take from others what is not right for ourselves.

For me the definition of living a location independent lifestyle comes from the website that coined the phrase in the first place: Location Independence:

Live & work anywhere you choose!

The key is: YOU! Me, I, My!

No matter what my interests are, no matter what my choices are, they are mine, so what ever information I come across to help me it automatically becomes individual and personal. I feel it’s safe to share because this is a community that has greater needs. Our own!