And after that?

Recently I got a comment pointing out that I should have gotten myself a proper job with the possibility of remote work before starting to travel. It was about the fact that I had become a kayak guide in Hiroshima and that my next job was in snow clearance and housekeeping in Niseko.

And I mean, sure, if I wanted a remote job, I probably should have gone to University for about five years and then apply to a job that after two to three years might let me work remotely abroad year-around. Or maybe I should have started building my own business and be my own boss making exactly the schedule I want. Any case somewhere in the future I’d apparently be working four days a week earning a fortune. AND THEN I could finally move abroad, start travelling full-time and enjoy the life I had always wanted!

Which reminds me of a very old story… In a small fisher village, a businessman tells a fisherman he could earn so much more money if he stayed longer at the sea. The fisherman doesn’t understand what he’d gain of it so the business man goes on and on about scaling the business, buying more ships, hiring people, building a fishery empire, getting rich and making an exit.

“And after that?” asks the fisherman

The business man describes the holiday he’s on; how the fisherman could visit small coastal villages, enjoy the beach and the sun and go fishing as much as he likes. The fisherman is still puzzled:

“But that’s what I’m doing now.”

Looking down from a fancy 40-floor office building, it’s not very cool to be a fisherman. But it’s even less cool to realize that the fisherman might have some answers.

To the people who chose differently, the most curious thing about my lifestyle seems to be the fact that

I want this.

I know I’d make more money climbing a corporate ladder instead of a literal one. I know staring at a screen and stressing about quarterly goals is more respected than doing physical labour outdoors.

But I want to be a barista, a loader driver, a snow mobile guide and a pet-sitter. I want a Work-Life balance where Work feels like Life and I still don’t do it for more than eight months a year. I want to spend my days on the beach and in the mountains, skiing and snorkelling, relaxing, loving, sharing, caring and chasing the sun. And I want it today, every day, not next summer for four weeks.

Many people could have a fancier, more expensive holiday than me, but money doesn’t change the view. I might be a surf instructor or a gardener and we’ll still be looking at the same sunset. When the businessman’s holiday is over, the fisherman will stay and keep fishing.

And I’ll travel around the world, doing what I love. For one thing money can’t buy:

The time in my hands.

xx