‘WORK THE DREAM’
Have laptop, will travel,’ was a phrase I used to recite to people who asked me how I could pack up and leave the life I knew behind, in search of something more adventurous. I was lucky. I am a property owner so I rented my home in order to fund a six-month travel experience. This enabled me to immerse myself in writing my book and change my office space on a regular basis. But what if you want to travel and fund your travels whilst working away. Is this possible?
In a small hostel in Jaipur India, I met up with Matt Dockers and his wonderful partner Lisa. They are travelling for 90 days and in our short, brief conversation, I became intrigued about how they are able to take so much time off. Both are young professionals and Matt tells me that he has his laptop, is actually still working and loving every minute of this lifestyle experience.
‘It really is a state of mind’ he said. I used to be a PE teacher in the UK, so my time was regulated. I was becoming frustrated by becoming part of the system and relying on set timetables and holidays. Lisa and I both wanted to see the world and so by releasing myself from a 9/5 job I moved into an industry that gave me freedom to work when I wanted and in locations of my choice. I had always been interested in Health and Well Being, I loved helping people achieve their goals and being part of a great support team.
As Matt chatted away with bubbly enthusiasm, my guard went up slightly as I thought any minute now he will openly try to sell me a health product. However, there was no time for that as our host at the hostel was keen to take us off to a rooftop restaurant where we could all view the amazing sights of the city.
Matt and Lisa were loving life, travellers who get together have something in common, they are visionaries with a plan. We all linked up on Facebook and I followed Matt and Lisa’s travels as they moved through India and down to Sri Lanka. They truly were living the life they dreamed about.
Matt works for a company called Isagenix. It is a health product and he is building his business whilst he is travelling. At the moment, it is giving him a part time income, this is the case with most people who venture out to run their own business. Matt is happy to have a support team behind him and that makes a big difference when you are travelling, knowing someone is there who cares about motivating you. I wondered if Matt needed any help in that area but he assured me he welcomed the support. Obviously, there are some people who think this is easy but you do need to work hard to achieve the goals you need to be successful.
When you travel, he advised, you still need to set yourself a routine, even if it is a few hours per day, but it is refreshing to move about and see new places, one minute you can be working from a beautiful beachside location and the next from a busy rooftop in a vibrant city.
Matt and Lisa did save some funds before they left but it was wonderful to hear him say with a big beaming smile, my travels did not cost me anything. Surviving in places like India and Sri Lanka can be very cheap and with no added living costs you can stay in a hostel or homestead.
My own travels brought me in touch with a variety of other people, stories are told and ideas shared. The world is an inspiring place and in today’s modern society the need for fresh and new ideas in a fast-moving global civilisation, will demand more people like Matt and Lisa who venture out, grabbing the opportunities that come their way and learning how to interact in many different cultures necessary for an evolving business world.
So, what next? I ask him. Following their travel experience they are both settling in Vancouver Canada where Matt will continue to build his online business. They would like to carry on travelling but also want to secure a base to come back to friends and family, maybe travelling for a month at a time. ‘But first’ he says, ‘I have a great product I want to tell you about.’ Absolutely and why not, anything is possible if you are prepared to work at it.
