Points North
on Apr 05, 2019 in News

Creating The Life You Want

I started off the year a little differently than expected. I hopped on a plane and went in search of a different view outside my window, a different culture surrounding me, a different vibe that I could dive into. Several different views, cultures and vibes, actually. And I’m using this space to explain why.

Our company is based in Baltimore, a city with great charm that I love, but what I do not love is the east coast winter. It disrupts my life in many ways, including my inability to bike to the office, and a mystery of trying to figure out where the sun went (it’s always dark). The dread of winter had become my reality. And so I started thinking about how easily we accept the realities that are presented to us. I accepted that at the beginning of every year I would be cold and it would be dark; that there was nothing to do but layer up and embrace for impact. Snow falling has always been peaceful for me to watch, but honestly that is about it. I started to also wonder what could I do to to make these three months of the year better and more conducive to the way I live and thrive. And that’s when I got the idea to skip winter.

SKIP WHAT NOW?

Some of you may remember that we do skip days at our company so perhaps it’s not sar far fetched that eventually I would skip a whole season completely. I am on the prowl for other locations where I can not just work remotely but also dive into the local scene as I would Baltimore. I am looking for good wifi, good coworking spaces, good wifi, good food, and good people. I am fueled by changing scenery and environments. Creative inspiration comes from my ability to be fluid and move. I knew for quite some time that something needed to be shaked up, and here we are.

THE PLAN

I am taking some time this year to explore other locations outside the US where I could spend an east coast winter. I’ve been signing up for a month in these locations because that’s the best way to break down the cost of living and other expenses for making something like this happen. My jump-in points have included Cape Town, Marrakech, Lisbon and now Valencia where I am for the month of April. I am living like a local, without being local. This means in addition to working from a coworking space, I’m also diving into the local community, going to both social and professional networking events, and volunteering. It feels good. Somethings we simply don’t know until we experience them. And this is me, giving myself the space and the time, to experience working this way and taking the challenges as they come.

BRAVE

I don’t know if I’m brave, or maybe I am. Brave enough to try new ideas, brave enough to venture out, brave enough to carve a path for myself that resonates more with the person I am becoming. Trusting myself enough to take life as it comes, trusting myself enough to get lost to be found, trusting myself enough to dive in and trust that I will know what to do. Taking a chance knowing that it may or may not workout, but taking a chance anyway. I think we all do this in small ways everyday. I’m just applying those same principles to something bigger.

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Even though I’m on a different time zone, and aside from the occasional scheduling snaffu of calendars not updating to reflect time, it’s business as usual. And I’m enjoying that, very much.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

You Don't Want to Miss This

A monthly newsletter with creative inspiration, industry tips, and good vibes.