What do you really want from your life?

"It's better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way. What do you desire?"

Hi Guys!

I just thought I'd take some time out from my assiduous schedule on the road, (yeah sure!) with an objective to provide you with a little inspiration on all things related to long term travel and how to follow your dreams and make them a reality. I've always had a thirst for adventure and a healthy lust for exploring this vast world we live in and as explained in a previous entry, the purpose of my blog is to narrate and characterise my travel experiences in the hope that my lifestyle choice will inspire others to do the same.

It's a daunting and somewhat mysterious prospect to just quit your job, leave home & embark on a mission to galavant around the globe in the way I did back in May, but it's a decision I wholeheartedly do not regret. Many people said to me before I left; "You're crazy for quitting your job to go and travel the world" and "You're so lucky to be able to do that," but in reality, luck didn't play any part in my decision at all. I worked hard for several years and I saved money to enable me to pursue my dream. If you really want to do the same; you can! You have to stop procrastinating about wether it's the right thing to do. Get off your sofa, stop equivocating and just do it! You won't regret it!

Okay, so I know that logistically speaking, it's not just as easy as that but we need to ignore what people think and push against that grain of conventionality and actually do what we dream of doing instead of plodding along in a life that perhaps were not 100% happy with. As I stated previously, it's a daunting prospect to leave the secure life behind but I'm just an average guy so if I can do it, then so can you! Applying small steps to achieve your goals is the right mentality to adopt and this mindset can be implemented for anything you want from life, not just travel.

Forget about the social castle and trying so hard to impress; working so hard just to save for irrelevant items and material things. Is this the life you really want? To some people perhaps, but for me it wasn't and thats why I took the opportunity to leave my secure life behind and opt for a life on the road instead. Since making that big decision, I've never looked back. I feel liberated and free. I get to thoroughly explore interesting cultures, meet amazing new people, get lost in back streets in unfamiliar towns, sample culinary delights that are not available to me back at home and witness spectacular new sights…. I could go on! 

I used to work so hard back at home but ultimately I was bored, unfulfilled and deflated with working 40 hour weeks just so I could afford the things that I now see as acquisitive and completely unnecessary! I've learnt to forget about the materialistic element of life and what designer T-Shirt I'm going to wear at the weekend. Instead, I'm learning a new language, new skills and a fresh outlook on life. I've learnt to appreciate other peoples cultures and beliefs and I can empathise with people in a way I could not before. There are people in this world that don't have the luxury that you and me are so familiar with back at home and take for granted but I find that these people are incredibly warm and admirable and are willing to share with you what they have, which most of the time is next to nothing. These people are the epitome of what the world should be. Not reality TV stars that wear watches around their ankles, yet lack the intelligence to be able to tell you the time. Not celebrities who are only famous for living in a house for 6 weeks while sporting fake tans, and finally, douchebags in music videos that wear expensive gold chains, sunglasses in their living rooms at night and drink MOET whilst elaborating on how much money they have! Unfortunately, this lifestyle is one that's influencing a generation! Scary shit! 

I used to read blogs and view other peoples Facebook pages with a sense of envy at where they had been in the world; the places they had witnessed that I hadn't. I used to count down the days until the end of the week & considered myself a number in a matrix, lethargically working for a company that at the flick of a switch could end your employment if they wished. I learnt that there's just no loyalty in slogging your guts out for a company for years upon end only for them to perhaps turn round after 10 years of dedicated and ardent employment and say. " Sorry, we have no work for you, we're gonna have to lay you off." I made the decision to change my life and pursue my dreams. I chose to live my life in the way that I wanted to live my life without worrying wether it was the right or wrong thing to do under the scrutiny of what society believed I should be doing. You too can do the same! Taking those small steps to achieve your goals is the right way to get the ball rolling. You don't have to be as drastic or as exorbitant as me though. Each small step taken accumulates into a bigger picture. This is the optimal strategy for you to be able do the things you really want to do and empower you to be able to harness what you want out of life. Get off that couch, switch off reality TV and start to participate in reality itself. Believe me. You can do it!

As I clarified before, I had a relatively good job albeit not a career and I would constantly daydream about the places I wasn't visiting, the people I wasn't meeting and the sights I wasn't seeing. The idea of travelling the world solo had been at the forefront of my mind for years but something always got in the way. Excuses. I used to make up every excuse under the sun and I realised eventually that I was only kidding myself in the long run. Society tells you that it's too irresponsible just to quit your job an go travelling. Society was telling me that now you've turned 30 years old you should now be looking to settle down, earn some cash, buy a house. But why? That lifestyle may appeal to some people but clearly it wasn't for me. We only get the one life to prove ourselves. One life to find out who you REALLY are. Do you really want to spend all that time working and doing something you don't really want to do? Or do you want to see the world and everything it has to offer you instead? Our lives are mitigated by routine that tell you when you should eat, sleep, work, breathe, fart…. You should have faith in whatever decision you make in life is the right one and never look back and question it. I sit here now on the roof terrace of my hostel in Arequipa, Peru and I look back at the decision I took to change my life and I smile with pride because I dared to make my dreams a reality. You too can achieve the same if you really want it to happen. 

I exchanged my old life of watching crap TV, working for a big company that couldn't give a shit about me and living for the weekend and traded it for a life where I am free, liberated and have the opportunity to better myself in life. I get to meet the most amazing people the world has to offer and get opportunities to delve right into the heart of this great planet. Social media, newspapers and international news agencies will have you believe that the world is a big and dangerous place full of nut jobs, weirdos and crazy people. This is pure sensationalism of colossal proportion. 99.9% of the world is a good place and that includes the people that live upon it also. Travelling alone in South America is an eye opener but for all the right reasons. This continent is a fascinating and extremely welcoming place with a wealth of culture that when drawing a comparison to life back home, they're both a million miles away from each other. I can wander the streets talking to everyone that happens to cross my path and I have yet to meet a bad soul here. 

Finally, I empathise with what some of you are no doubt saying. You really want to leave the secure life back home but perhaps you can't afford to do so? Let me tell you that you can! I don't have super rich parents with endless resources of money, neither did I have a job that paid me an absolute fortune but I made it happen for myself by taking those small steps that I talk about. Let me give you a few examples. You like to drink coffee and every morning on the way to work you purchase that £2 drink. Do you really need it or are you buying it because you like it? That £2 coffee every working day for a year equates to £520. Lets say you like to go out at the weekend perhaps twice a month. When you're out, you spend around £40? How about you decide to go out once a month instead, saving yourself £480 a year in the process. With those two things alone; coffee and a night out on the town. In a year you could of potentially saved £1000! That amount of money can buy you 8 weeks of travel in a country like Peru where I am writing this from now. That amount of money will by you accommodation, meals, transport and nights out. Do you see where I'm coming from? Taking those small steps can get you a long way and help in making your travel dream a reality!

I hope my blog today has provided you with just a little bit of inspiration to perhaps get the wheels in motion to pursue what you really want out of life. My passion is to travel and it worked for me so why not you? Is working for a living in a job that you hate really what you want? Are material things really what you want from life? If they are then that's fine. I'm not here to criticise you and you probably haven't arrived at reading this part anyway! If it's not then what are you waiting for. Take those small steps today in making your dreams a reality! 

Over and out and greetings from Arequipa, Peru.

Chris

How would you spend your life if money were no object?

Chris Chalk Photography 2013 Copyright