When we are young, we may have time and energy, but not so much money.
When we begin work, we may have money and energy, but not so much time.
When we are old we may have money and time, but not so much energy.
It seems difficult to balance it all.
I remember being young, kicking my football in the backyard, not a care in the world. But when I wanted to buy new football boots I was always relying on mum. She would negotiate with me on getting the mid-range boots every time, never the best ones, if only I had the money!
Once I finished college, I got a job at the bank and I was able to choose whatever boots I wanted. But there was a mad rush to training, often I was late trying to beat the peak hour traffic home, if only I had the time.
I remember, sneaking in those lunch time runs to keep my fitness and then eating my lunch quickly to get back to work on time so I didn’t get in trouble from the boss.
It wasn’t sustainable, and eventually my fitness suffered and bad habits crept in. The stress of university and my career was a lot, something had to give… My energy!
I became miserable, depressed.
One day, a person at work said to me: “Brendan, look around. Look at the people your senior. Is that who you wish to be in 20 years? If so, keep doing what you are doing. If not, make a change.”
I looked around. What am I doing I thought to myself. I am 25 years old, 20 years will pass and that is all I achieve? The thought gave me anxiety.
It was time to change. I wanted to stop stamping insurance documents and start stamping my passport.
It is almost serendipitous that I discovered when you make a decision in your mind with full conviction, that everything will change around you to bring that to life at the same time, and fast. If you focus and commit. Well I believe this to be true as it has happened too many times in my life for it not to be.
So upon making the decision in my mind that I was going to completely change my life and my career, two weeks later, opportunities began to arise in my life.
I spent the next 4 years building a side income, I quit university with 3 units remaining until graduation, I travelled on a plane on weekends to attend personal development events, and in 2016 I handed in my resignation at the bank.
I became fascinated with the thought of building a strong and successful future, with a balanced life. I decided that I was not going to get sucked into traditional work again. Although it is great for some people, I knew it was not great for me. I valued my time, and I wanted to see the world.
I had an experience in 2015 before I resigned from my job. I travelled to Bali for 21 days and in that 21 days I came back to Australia with more money in my bank account than when I had left. And I had an amazing time. It was a belief builder that it was possible to live outside the box.
My skin was healthy, my mind fresh, my soul was nourished from culture and I learned so much. I realised i’d spent more time outside in that 21 days than I had in years.
So I began to explore, and from 2017, I travelled all over the world, 5 continents with my girlfriend and we have collected more memories than I did in my previous 30 years of existence! It completely changed me as a person and how I see the world.
All that time, our house mortgage was paid by the tenants living in it, we were spending less than we earned, we removed our bad debt, and began building substantial savings. Everything that I was trying to do by spending 40 hours a week at the bank I was still achieving, I was just travelling the world instead of trading 40 hours every week in the same location.
And from our experiences, we began to learn so much. And from learning we created more income streams. This is what happens when momentum kicks in. Momentum is available to anyone.
I finally realised this very well kept secret. We can maximise our time, money and energy all simultaneously and sustain it.
So why are we taught to work hard to have enough for retirement to then go out and live? the entire time missing 1 of the 3 key ingredients. Well I don’t know the answer to this. I guess there needs to be some kind of pathway for people to follow. But it certainly does not mean it is the only pathway.
Here we are now in 2022, the world is more accessible than ever. People can work remotely. The internet provides the opportunity to learn new skills for free, residencies and second citizenships are accessible, and people can earn a living from anywhere.
For people with a little bit of courage, anything is possible.
Maybe you have the confidence to build an empire online and move to Malta?
Or maybe you are seeking more time to learn, live simply and get your time back and you move to Central America to make $10,000 last 6 months instead of 1 month?
Or maybe you simply want more time with your spouse and your children and so you find a life that can provide you that in a lovely little pocket of the world.
Whatever you are looking for, there is a country that provides it.
Thinking Globally:
When living in your home country there are restrictions to what is possible. But when thinking in a global mindset, the entire world opens up.
While one country may be going through a contraction, another may be expanding.
There is always an opportunity to look at a bigger variety of investment opportunities, different tax structures, new business opportunities and meet new people.
Moving abroad is an expansion. We are all story tellers and the more experiences you have, the more stories you collect.
Time is an amazing thing. I’ll never forget being in Croatia, and thinking about all the Croatians that had migrated to Australia that I grew up with, searching for a better life. I look up at the hills, those same hills where I watched on youtube bombs being dropped in the 90’s when I was a young child.
It was hard to imagine, this beautiful country, so peaceful, so wise from the recent hardship, so strong, so safe.
As I shared my photos in Croatia, people in Australia with Croatian heritage would message me and say “I wish I was there, I miss it so much”. Times change, countries change, people change.
Humans have been migrating to new countries for thousands of years.
I remember a woman on stage at a personal development event once say “we are not a tree, we can move” she continued, “when I say this it frustrates some people, but we are not stuck with roots in ground, we just attach things in our mind to make us think that we are”.
How wonderful roots in the ground can be, how amazing it is to have a place to call home. But equally, for those with dreams to explore how wonderful it is to know that they are not stuck.
What a time to be alive.