Road Warriors That Inspire Us

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If you are being brutally honest, do you consider yourself a glass half full person or a glass half empty person?

I personally have always been a glass half full kind of gal.

But when I am looking at the rest of our trip, I am noticing that, regardless of whether or not the glass is half full or half empty, the substance in our glass is getting lower.

What it is this substance?

Money and time!

How Do We Fix This?

By working like hell to start up our own business that will allow us to live (and travel) on our own terms indefinitely.

This past month in Berlin has been wonderful, as we have had plenty of downtime in the city to brainstorm and pursue business ideas.   It has been hard work, and it is only about to get harder… But I know that every minute dedicated to our start-up will be worth it when we are able to live life on our terms.

Some of our biggest inspirations have come from the following folks, as they have mastered the art of living on the road while starting a business.  They are proof that our hopes and dreams for the future are realistic and achievable.

Folks That Have Figured It Out

Love Play Work 

Hannah and Chris were your typical 9-5’ers that didn’t want to live life just looking forward to the weekends.  They yearned for more and wanted to enjoy every minute of every day.  In 2008, they decided to test out working together as a location independent couple for 6 months… It clearly worked for them because they are still on the road, while operating multiple business ventures.

Hannah and Chris’ Words Of Inspiration:  “We can work from a hammock, a beach, a chalet or anywhere that allows us to seamlessly integrate ‘work,’ ‘holidays’ and ‘adventure’. Life for us flows much better that way.”

Location 180

Similar to Tony, Sean started out his career as a financial analyst and felt underwhelmed by not having the flexibility to do things that excited him. He created Location 180 in 2009 to hold him self accountable for living his dream life.  By January, 2010 he was living in Thailand working in SEO, consulting, and affiliate marketing and making enough money to support his new lifestyle.

Our goal for Landingstanding is to hold ourselves accountable for starting our own business and to make enough money in our business to continue living our nomadic lifestyle.  Sean has showed us that all of this is obtainable and worthwhile.

Sean’s Words Of Inspiration: Sean is all about “Living a life worth writing about.”

The Professional Hobo

In 2006, Nora sold her Toronto-based financial planning practice and decided to hit the road.  Since then, she has travelled to over 30 countries working in various trades in exchange for accommodations.  She has leveraged her career in Finance to start up the website, Wise Bread, which is a community of bloggers dedicated to providing personal finance and money management tips for people “living large on a small budget.”

Nora’s Words Of Inspiration: “If we are not tied to a desk all the time, the options for how — and where — we choose to live open up dramatically.”

Art of Backpacking & Twenty-Something Travel

Tony and I met Mike (Art of Backpacking) and Steph (Twenty-Something Travel) during our stay in Buenos Aires.  Mike and Steph first met at a travel conference before backpacking in SE Asia and then travelling the world together. They also work tirelessly at building their blog communities and at starting up side businesses to fund their adventurous lifestyles.

When we met them, they were working on their new App, Eat The World (now live and ready for purchase), which provides users with a list of what local foods you should sample in each country of the world.  As you can imagine, Tony and I (being the fat kids that we are) loved this idea!

In addition, Mike owns the online travel blogging community, Art of Travel Blogging, which provides invaluable resources to help travel bloggers with their websites.

Sidenote: Mike and Steph recently got engaged in Colorado!

Mike’s Words Of Inspiration: This quote was shared by Mike on his website and resonates with me and Tony: ‎”A man is not where he lives but where he loves.” – Proverb

Steph’s Words Of Inspiration: “I’m a big believer in the importance of doing things that scare you.”

Almost Fearless

In 2008, Chrisine left her corporate management  job in Boston and decided to explore becoming a writer and photographer… all while travelling the world with her animator and filmmaker husband, Drew.  They decided to combine their expertise and are now in the process of completing an online documentary chronicling people who are taking their careers online in order to travel the world.

They are currently working their butts off to complete this exciting project by the end of August, just in time to submit it to film festivals.  To learn more about this incredible venture (and to support their efforts), check out their Kickstarter Campaign!

Oh, and did I mention that Christine and Drew also travel with their young son, Cole? Respect!

Christine and Drew’s Words Of Inspiration: “All it takes is a good wifi connection, a little creativity and the desire to do something different.”

Your Turn: Who do YOU look to for inspiration?