I’ve just started reading Tim Ferris’s The Four-Hour Work Week.<\/p>\n
I know, it was popular quite a while ago and now might be as dated as Vanilla Ice.<\/p>\n
But I picked it up, and am slowly making my way through it.<\/p>\n
He says, you may think you want to be a millionaire, but what you really want is to live like a millionaire.<\/p>\n
I have a lot of friends who live or aspire to live what is called the “digital nomad” lifestyle. That means, if you have a laptop and Internet you can live anywhere and take advantage of what the world has to offer.<\/p>\n
This is not new. That’s what Hemingway and Picasso did in Paris. Paris was super cheap to live in after world war one, and attracted a lot of artists.<\/p>\n
People with Internet businesses are finding that they can live much cheaper and better in tropical Asia.<\/p>\n
Which is fine, if that is what you enjoy.<\/p>\n
My family and I do not want that kind of life. I like having a family, and a community of people right here in my little town.<\/p>\n
I have moved a LOT as an adult, and when I moved here I made a conscious choice to stay.<\/p>\n
So, if I had all the money in the world, I’m not sure I’d move. And that’s awesome!<\/p>\n
I’m not a fan of complacency. But since I’ve found something I really like, I don’t need to change it just because.<\/p>\n
I want to live an examined life. I have thought it over, and the benefits of being a digital nomad (as much as I love travel) don’t exceed the value of having my roots where I am.<\/p>\n
I have a finite amount of time. How much is not given me to know. But what I have is precious, so I want to do the things I enjoy.<\/p>\n
In The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin says that if you are happy, but not aware of how happy you are, you are missing out.<\/p>\n
Cherishing the things I’ve chosen is a precious gift. I love my front door, the particular red paint I chose for it. As I acknowledge that happiness, I can relive it every time.<\/p>\n
Although I have barely started Ferris’s book, I can see that we agree on some things. Don’t let your assumptions and habits trap you. We are free to design our lives.<\/p>\n
But it’s also fine to look at your life and discover you have most of what you want.<\/p>\n
That’s a pretty great realization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve just started reading Tim Ferris’s The Four-Hour Work Week. I know, it was popular quite a while ago and now might be as dated as Vanilla Ice. But I picked it up, and am slowly making my way through … Continue reading