It has been a roller-coaster of a year.  I can honestly say without a doubt that this has been the best year, and the worst year of my life.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”                              -Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

With the unexpected death of my close friend, I’ve been thinking a lot (read: incessantly) about our time here on earth.  I now realize more than ever, that it is so important how we spend this time.  In the past two weeks, I’ve experienced a heightened sense of urgency around a ubiquitous topic that keeps bubbling up:

What is Your Personal Legacy?

When we look at the word “Legacy”, synonyms like “Birthright”, “Gift”, or “Donation” come up.  I believe that we are each here with a unique gift that we have to share with others.  And rather than focusing morbidly on the past, why not turn it around and look at how we can go forth sharing our birthright with others?

We often think of legacy as something that we leave behind, but rarely to we look at our legacy as something that we are doing in order to move forward.  But somewhere between the Light and the Darkness, the hope and despair, the good and the evil, we need to pick a forward point of focus—and move there.  As the saying goes, “Move towards the Light”.

In my opinion, finding this sense of purpose is as vital to our beings as air, water, and food.  It is what gets us through the low-lows, and provides us moments to glimpse the greatness that is yet to come.  I just finished reading Chris Guillebeau’s most recent manifesto, The Tower (click for a free download) and really resonated with all of the ideas presented.   I would highly encourage you to read this powerful tool.  I found it very motivational and poignant in assessing my current situation and how I want to move on.

Finding Your Personal Legacy & Sharing it With the World

In order to determine your own personal legacy, I believe we must go through a series of ups and downs to re-familiarize ourselves with what we want.  I have learned that we determine who we are and what we want by life’s contrasting experiences.  In essence, we learn more about ourselves by experiencing more of what life has to offer.  When we have sampled the proverbial “Variety of Life”, we can become more specific about what we actually want.

Sometimes, it is easier to think in terms of topics.  Try to imagine your life as a series of recurring themes.  For example, my life (and work) has always had a combination of these topics:

Travel, Outdoor Adventure, Teaching, Business, Art/Creativity & Fun.

Pretty much anything in my life can fit into one of these categories.  Keep in mind that we don’t necessarily need to invent something new; it could just be a new combination of things.

What are the specific themes that are a part of your life?

Next, let’s determine how you will share it with the world.  As individuals, we share our talents in a variety of ways.  In my next post, I’m going to go into more detail about introverts and extroverts, but the way that we share has a lot to do with our comfort level in communicating with others.  Or, if I put it into a question:

How are you most comfortable communicating with others?

Do you prefer to meet people in person, put together gatherings, parties, or events?  Do you enjoy small groups, and intimate conversation?  Would you rather write out your ideas, communicate with others online, or possibly write a book?  Do you enjoy doing presentations, videos, or manuals?  How can you best pass on your knowledge to others? Once you can get a clear idea of your unique combination of talents (and interests), and you have determined how to communicate it, it’s then time to…

Step it Up, Byatch!

Going out of our comfort zone is a necessary part of sharing our personal legacy.  And, the part that is rather unsettling is that after we are out of that comfort zone, we have to keep going.  We must continually step it up a notch, and repeatedly expose ourselves to a larger audience.

I call this Getting Naked On Stage.  The more we put ourselves out there for the world to see, the more vulnerable we feel.  However, the more we are willing to expose ourselves to new opportunities and new audiences, the greater chance we have at impacting other’s lives in a positive way and inspiring them to step it up and reach their goals, as well.

For me, my favorite way of communicating is through writing.  So, my next goal I’m working towards is getting my work into larger publications to reach a broader audience.  Is it scary?  YES!  But, I know in order to be on track with building my Personal Legacy, it is the next step.

What is the next step for you?  What is your Personal Legacy?  How do you want to Share it with the World?  And what do you need help with in order to get there?

Leave it in the comments below!

The History of Nomadism

Throughout history, various tribes or individuals have had the urge to roam.  Whether it be for food, following the sun, or for pleasure, this desire has lead individuals towards new experiences and distant horizons.

When I was in France, I was on my way to the Modern Art Museum when something else caught my eye.  The Musee Du Quai Branly - home of historic tribal artifacts from countries around the world.  My feet quickly pivoted around when I saw that there was an exhibit on Nomadic Peoples.

Here are some of the photos from inside the museum:

While it is impossible to know and understand a culture simply from it’s artifacts, it did seem like they had the right idea going.  Whenever they weren’t hunting/ gathering or building shelter, they were creating art, music, dancing, or preparing for some kind of festival.

Did the Nomads Have it All Figured Out?

It makes you think, do we really need so many of today’s aspects in our modern lives?  Or, did the tribal cultures have it figured out?  They seemed to fully grasp the concept that beyond the basics of eating and having somewhere to sleep, the rest of the time could be spent enjoying oneself and taking time for art, music, and traveling to the next destination!

In the library, there were all kinds of books on the topic.  And, while many of them were in French, you could get the gist from the pictures of what was going on.  One of my favorite books depicted not only the past, but the future of Nomadism.  Which leads me to my next question.

What is the Future of Nomadism?

Well, for wandering folks like myself, I’m always wanting to know.  So I decided to look up a variety of options and share them with you in this post.

For those of you that like to wander, and want to have a more affordable and sustainable lifestyle, these modern/ futuristic options might be something to consider.

Temporary Habitats

RV tours / mobile options/ caravans / carnivals are some of the options you can consider if you have an on-the-go travel type lifestyle.  I was blown away by some of the more futuristic options that are out there these days.  Here are some of my favorite picks and you can click on the link to learn more…

Be-coc built this awesome little mobile machine that expands upon set up.  You can tow it behind your truck, or settle in for a more semi-permanent residence.

The Mehrozeller is super cool with it’s awesome angles.  It has a super-modern interior and as you can see… will travel.

Thinking of something a bit smaller?  The Cargo S is like the mini-me of campers.  It pops out upon set up, but folds down for aerodynamic ease while traveling.

Small and Efficient Living

For those of you that want a more stationary option, you might want to check out the site BusyBoo.  This was my favorite site for looking through innovative structures ranging from domes, containers, prefab homes, and even houseboats!!

Here is a cool structure by DomeSpace.  A friend of mine found a dome built on his property by hippie squatters, and continued to live in it for the next ten years.  When it finally reached retirement, he bought a pre-fab dome kit and has lived in it ever since.  Domes are awesome = their geodesic design is the most solidly engineered structure, and you can loft them for more efficient use of space.

Domes can be added on to create clusters if you want something a bit larger, look here: Earth Bag House / Dome Cluster House.  Or, you might consider morphing the idea of the dome with some other modes of construction…

Odd shaped hobbit homes can be fun too.  Here’s one from Zed Factory.

Or, if you want something a little more modern and conventional, check out the Small Cube Home on BusyBoo.  This one is my personal favorite, and if you click on the link, you can get a better idea of building a cute, modern home with a compact design.

Having lived in a Small Space now for over three years, I can honestly say that use of space, efficiencies, and economics have become increasingly more important to me.  The idea of owning a home outright, or building something yourself is possible, and since it is affordable, it will allow you to spend more of your time doing what you love—like our tribal friends seemed to know all along!!

Here are Some Books You Might Like

Shelter is a classic book that shows structures that people built themselves.  Back before building inspectors and insurance approvals ruled, people had the freedom to build homes that met their needs.  This before-it’s-time classic will give you awesome ideas of what could be possible for you.

Home Works is a more modern rendition of Shelter.  It shows loads of Do-It-Yourself homes and will give builders loads of ideas.

Share Your Resources!!  What sites/ pics/ books would you recommend for the Modern Nomad??

I am SO excited to announce the launch of my Business Backpacker Video Course.  There are a few reasons why this is so exciting for me.

• I wanted to create a course that gives you all the information you need to find your purpose, share it with the world, and work from anywhere.
• I wanted it to be easily affordable to anyone.
• I want to give you an opportunity to win it for FREE!

If you would like to win this course, here is what you need to do…

http://businessbackpackervcourse.traindom.com/

Leave a comment on this post explaining HOW THIS COURSE CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR IDEAL LIFESTYLE AND BUSINESS GOALS.

What are you waiting for?

Submit your comment NOW!

Today I want to share something with you that might be the biggest breakthrough that I’ve ever had related to work. But first… a little history.

For as long as I can remember, I worked. My parents would put us to work in the yard, I’d work on weekends, I got a job very early, and of any of my friends, I was the only one that worked. In college, I worked. I was also leading recreational trips for the university, on the rowing team, and taking a full load of classes. None of my other friends worked. But I did.

This created two situations for me. One, was that I began to resent work. It was always getting in the way of what I wanted to do. I couldn’t go to parties, events, or occasions because I was always working. I missed out on a lot: concerts, birthday parties, movies, days with friends, trips, you name it.

The second situation that it created that I wasn’t aware of until much later was this constant need to be “done”. I wanted to be done with school, so I could be done with work, so I could go out with my friends. I was always pushing on to the next task, trying to “finish” everything, to hurry up so I could relax.

It wasn’t until I moved to Thailand that I realized the effects that these issues had created on me. Early on, I had learned how to work and be responsible. But I’d also learned to resent my work. I’d pushed through activities trying to force myself ahead, looking forward to the time that I could finally be done and relax. But, as a business owner, when are you ever done? Is there ever really a point you reach where you throw your hands up in the air and yell, “Eureka! I’m finished! My work here is done!”?

Anyway, back to arriving in Thailand… so when I first moved down to the beach, I realized that I could relax. I had enough money coming in to cover my expenses each month, and a whole lot of time on my hands. So, while I wasn’t quite done, or finished, I had gotten myself to a point where I could slow down, relax, and take it easy.

In theory.

Because I didn’t know how.

Yes, that’s right, I didn’t know how to relax. I tried everything. I went to the beach. I went to massage. I read books. I looked from the outside like a person who was going through the relaxing activities, but on the inside, I wanted to do something! I’d go to the beach but couldn’t lie still. I would pick up a book, and be done in a day. I’d have an idea and write it all out. On days where there was nothing to do, I got anxious. I wanted something to do. And then, like a ton of bricks, it hit me:

I am a worker.

I am not a sitter, a lazy person, a lurker. I am a busy-body, a creative producer, a worker. I like forward momentum, I crave movement. I love learning and challenges, and reaching new heights. I enjoy pushing myself mentally and physically, and strengthening my mind to reach new levels of achievement.

Changing Your Relationship with Work

What I then realized was that I needed to change my relationship with work. The idea of ‘work’, the reaction of ‘work’, what I got from ‘work’, and my experience with ‘work’ all needed to change. I had physiologically been resisting work. And, as a worker, this was a very silly thing to do!

The first thing I did was to reassess my situation. I had created the “4 hour workweek” because I thought that was what I wanted. I now knew that is not what I wanted, and it was time to do something different. I needed to create new truths. Here were my new truths:

I am a worker, I like creating results, I like earning extra money, I like reaching new financial goals, I enjoy helping others. I can help more people, and my life will improve.

Adding Incomes

So, if you are a worker, and you can learn to get over resisting it, great things can happen. You can begin to add additional incomes. You may realize, just as I have, that it is not about plowing through your work, trying to get everything done, and get it over with, but rather, about reaching out to others in new ways.

Creating Balance

Because you are a worker, it is difficult for you to create balance. You tend to “plow full steam ahead” or work yourself into exhaustion. This is something that I have witnessed in my life, as well as my client’s. You need to put a schedule in place (or overlapping activities) that create balance. Otherwise, you will continually work until exhaustion (or explosion) and have to waste time on the recovery process each time (I talk more about this in my free eBook if you haven’t checked it out, do).

One way I’ve found to do this is to spend more time doing enjoyable hobbies. I can work hard on my business, and then go out diving. I’m working towards my Dive Master certification, but the diving itself helps me to relax, focus, and be more in the moment. Are there activities in your life that help you feel relaxed?

Helping Others

I have always been in fields that helped others. I like helping others, watching them learn, grow, and excel. It makes me happy to know that I’ve played some small part in helping others accomplish their dreams. Once I accepted the fact that I was a worker, I realized what this really meant was that I wanted to help more people. I have since tried to channel this energy into activities and efforts that will help more people. One of the big projects I’m working on right now with Digital Nomad Academy does just that. And, because I’ve changed how I think and feel about work, I am really enjoying the process.

Rewarding Yourself

Lastly, we need to remember to reward ourselves. As “workers”, we tend to finish one thing and just go straight on to the next. This always leads us back to burnout, so one thing I’ve started to do is to build in big rewards for myself. My biggest reward is travel. I love visiting new places, spending time with friends in old places, and taking adventures around the world. So, that is how I set up my rewards. I recently hit a major milestone and rewarded myself with a trip to Bali. I will be done writing the coursework and curriculum for DNA in June, and I’m doing a RTW trip.

The fun part of this is that I’ve accepted that I am a worker. I am going to work, and I am going to work on projects I care about with people I want to succeed. I can do this work without the resentment of “having to be somewhere” or “needing to get it finished”. Because I don’t have to waste all that time and energy on resentment, I move forward faster. I realize the benefits of multiple incomes, creating balance, helping more people, and taking time to reward myself properly.

I hope by sharing this I have gotten you to think a bit. I hope if you realize that you are a worker, you can put these practices in your life, and begin to experience a whole new way of being who you really are!!

My funny work-station in Bali. Everything you need within 5 paces!

One topic I would like to write about today is the idea of making up stories.  We make up stories all the time.  We have stories about ourselves, about other people, and even about the world–and the way that the world works.

What is interesting about our brain is that the thoughts that we have and repeat over and over become our truth.  What I mean by this is that if I have a belief like “I have a bad back”, and I tell that story to myself and to others again and again, that thought pattern becomes predominant.  Since the brain works in pathways, and the more we repeat the pathway, the stronger the belief or story becomes, the easier it is for us to follow that path.  Our story, whether fiction or fact, becomes very real to us.

Very real indeed.

Old Stories

The truth is that our Old Stories are holding us back.  They are an old belief system that gave us the results that we are seeing now.  And, if we want to learn, grow, and reach new levels of achievement, we must begin to see them for exactly what they are:

Old Stories that got us Old Results

These ideas or ideals were also based on:

Old Perceptions - what we believed at one time when we had a limited amount of information to base our story on.

Old Values – which supported our old needs and desires.

Past Experiences – that we have probably learned from, grown from, and can move forward with a new outlook on life.

An Old Story of Mine

My New Story

After some of the mental training that I’ve observed and read about, I decided to implement a new philosophy about my back.  I’m tired of having this Old Story hold me back, even if it was true for me at one time.  The new truth is that I am an athlete, and an adventurer, and I like to be strong and push my body to new heights.  So, rather than reconditioning myself with my Old Story, I’ve been very focused lately on the New One.  And, just as a side note, this new story has allowed me to get very excited about achieving new goals that I had previously ruled out of my life.

Here is my New Story:

I love to climb.  I’ve always excelled at it when I have allowed myself to train consistently for it.  Truthfully, I’ve always been an athlete.  I really enjoy several outdoor adventure sports, and climbing is my favorite one of all of them.  I am now training to go to several climbing destinations around the world.   I have a lot of friends that are climbers and are in the best shape of their life.  This year, I am training to be in the best shape of my life.

Looking at the Experts for Inspiration

One of the things I’m doing to get past old stories is to look at the experts for some motivation.  I’m watching videos of top climbers, and reading their stories of physical and mental conditioning.  Many of them have recovered from major injuries and act as a huge inspiration for people that have overcome difficulties and broken world records in their sport. On one of the videos, I was particularly struck by a climber with a specific trick. He absolutely refuses to give up.  He goes into it, gives it his all, and fails, again, and again, and again, and he gets up the next day, and tries it again–wholeheartedly.

I decided to try this on my recent climbing day, and it absolutely worked.  Normally, I would give something a go, fall, and try a few more times, then come down.  This time, I just absolutely refused to give up.  And, something interesting happened.  I made it to the top of all of the routes.  I’ve never finished them before, and then, just because I changed my Old Story, and got focused on the New Story, I was able to accomplish something I’d never done before.

The exciting part about this is that I’m just at the beginning of my training!  I can’t wait to see what happens when I can consistently embrace this new philosophy.

So, what are some Old Stories that are holding you back?

How can you make a New Story that moves you forward and gets you excited about life?

Who can you look to for inspiration, advice, and insight?

My whole life, I’ve been searching for something.  For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to do something great.  I’ve wanted to build something, and be a part of something big.  I’ve wanted to help people to accomplish great things.  I’ve wanted to discover amazing things and share them with the world. 

When we are getting closer to our passions, we feel something stirring inside.  We feel a force tickling us and compelling us to take the next step.  We feel the vibrance for life and we know our passions are coming forth.  We feel alive.

This is the passion of an entrepreneur. This is why we are in business—because we know we have the ability to share this life, this excitement, this spark within.  And we want nothing more than to do that.

Sometimes this passion wanes.  The spark becomes dull or muted, and we miss the fire.  We search for it, but it is gone.  And for no apparent reason.  This can be a bit heartbreaking.  We long for something, knowing that it once was there.  What if we never feel it again?

But, what we might not know in that in this lull a new spark is forming.  One we cannot see just yet.  It is taking awhile, because it is one that will burn brighter and longer than the one before.  We keep working on ourselves, and before we know it, we begin to have the feeling within.

As you know if you’ve experienced this before, when it comes back, and we are on track with our lives, and our mission, the spark jumps forth and grows brightly and consumes you.  It wakes you up at odd hours with excitement—excitement of The Possibilities That Could Be.  Excitement that comes with a new idea, a new longing, a new vision, a New Mental Destination.

This happened to me four years ago when I started my business.  It happened when I awoke in the middle of the night and was able to put ten years of information into an outline that would become the basis for my consulting program, this happens to me when I’m consulting, and this happened to me when I went abroad and started my blog.  Each one has been an indicator that I’m on the right track, and that I’m doing something meaningful in my life.  And, it is again happening now.  But even bigger.

It’s just past seven in the morning and I just SHOT out of bed and raced to my computer.  Yes, it is a day off, and Yes, I could be sleeping in.  But, I can’t.  I can’t because my fire is burning brightly.  I’m overwhelmed with the excitement for an idea that I’ve had, and been working on for quite some time.  I’m overrun with the possibilities of sharing this concept with the world, with my readers, with You.

For the past three years, I’ve been mentally kicking around the idea of sharing my consulting program with the world.  I’ve wanted to do it in a variety of ways, but each time I got close to the delivery of it, it just didn’t seem right.  It wasn’t the “way” I wanted to deliver.  It didn’t have the right look, or feel, or dynamic behind it.  So, I kept writing, kept refining, and kept paying attention to my inner promptings of how to best go about delivering this information to the world.  ((Sometimes, when nothing is happening, we can get ready so we are prepared for it when it does.))

Next, I had a seemingly endless series of false starts.  I knew how I wanted to do it, and who I wanted to create it with.  But the timing wasn’t working out.  But, we pushed on, and eventually, the timing all lined up.  The creative forces were at work, even when I couldn’t see or feel them, and the perfect people have been brought into my life to make this dream a reality.

Everything literally happened all at once, and at warp speed–which is why you haven’t seen me on my blog for over a month.  We’ve launched something huge.

Why I’m Writing This Post

I’m writing this post for two reasons.  One is to encourage you, as an entrepreneur, a business owner, or an average Jo—don’t give up on your passions.  Don’t give up on your spark.  It means something.  It exists to let you know You Are On The Right Track.  You Are Doing Something Important With Your Life.  This is Why You’re Here.  And most importantly, a message that I just learned today… when the spark seems to dim, or go out, Don’t Give Up.  That is just the universe going out, creating the right moment, the right people, and the right opportunities to let your flame burn even brighter than it ever has before…

..and Ignite Your Fire Within.

This story is based on a real experiment that took place in a laboratory.  I’ve told this story several times to my clients because I think it has a lot to say about choices, mindset, and human behavior.  I wanted to share it on my blog to facilitate a conversation and get your ideas and opinions.  So make way for…

The Story of Mr. Rat and the Two Doors

Once upon a time, there was a rat.  Mr. Rat lived in a cage in a laboratory, and his life was about to change.

The next morning, Mr. Rat was removed from his cage, and put into an experiment.  Life as he knew it quickly faded into the past.  His new home consisted of four walls, a closed door, a food and watering area, a sleeping area, and a wheel to run on.

“Not a bad place to live,” thought Mr. Rat.

But that was all about to change, too.  Soon, Mr. Rat discovered that there was a problem with his new living situation.  Without any warning he would receive electric shocks at random intervals.  It seemed there was no correlation to his actions and the administered shock.  One day, he might be getting some water and receive a shock.  The next, he would be sleeping.  The shocks did not happen at a certain time, and Mr. Rat became very confused.

“None of this makes any sense,” said a frustrated Mr. Rat.

About this time, his door swung wide open.  Curiously, Mr. Rat peeked down the corridor and wrinkled up his nose and sniffed.  “It smells safe,” he thought, and ventured ahead.

Down the hall, he found another room, exactly the same as his last one.  He sniffed, and followed his nose inside to check it out.  Suddenly, the door shut.  Maybe this would be his new home?

Days passed, but Mr. Rat was worried.  Something was different here.  While it looked the same and smelled the same, something was different.  There were no shocks.

“Or are there?” Mr. Rat mused.

Maybe there would be one.  Maybe it would be soon.  Maybe it would be bigger than the last one.  All of this brooding made Mr. Rat deliriously worried.  He became increasingly nervous and wondered of his fate.

“What will happen to me?”

Unexpectedly, the door was removed!  Mr. Rat sniffed again.  He went down the hallway towards his old home.  That door was removed too.  He looked inside.  Everything looked just the same as he’d left it.  He went back and forth between the rooms indecisively.  Mr. Rat settled back in to his first room.

The shocks began again.

But now, something was really different.

There was no door.

Mr. Rat could choose where he wanted to live.

The choice was up to him.

What do you think he chose to do?

————————–

Oddly, Mr. Rat chose to remain in his first home and continue to receive the shocks.

The doors remained open.

Fear is an interesting topic.  It is much like Stress;  it can be real or imagined.  We may feel fear because of an experience that has happened in the past which triggers fear in the present.  We might feel fear of uncertainty, or fear of the unknown.  Or, we may even be frightened of doing what we’ve always wanted to do with our lives—a kind of nervous excitement, if you will.

The main reason I wanted to write this post is that in our minds, we don’t tend to differentiate between these types of fear.  We just feel the fear and STOP.

Fear is debilitating. It keeps us at a distance.  It stops us from moving forward.  It holds us back.

Our natural instinct when we begin to feel fear is avoidance.  Many people will go to unnatural extremes to avoid their fears, rather than dealing with their fear, and moving forward.  This is what today’s post is going to be about.

Recognizing Your Fear

The first step is to stop and recognize your fear.  By acknowledging that it exists, you give yourself permission to begin to deal with it.

Identifying Your Fear

After you’ve acknowledged it, it is time to find out where it is coming from.

• Is this a fear based on something that has happened in the past?

• Is this a fear of the unknown future outcome?

• Is this a fear of becoming more yourself?

Moving Towards Your Fear (NOT AWAY FROM IT!!)

PAST FEARS: Try to recognize if the fear is based on something significant that happened in the past.  If so, begin to rationalize that When This Happened, It Was an Isolated Event.  Just because something happened once, doesn’t mean it will always happen that way.  Move forward mentally by visualizing same situation with new outcomes.

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN: Oftentimes what holds us back is the fear of not knowing.  The funny thing about this fear is this:  How will we ever know unless we move forward??  Try moving forward in small steps by doing what’s in front of you.  Don’t get overwhelmed by the “Big Picture”, just do what you can now, and then do what’s next later.

FEAR OF BECOMING YOURSELF – OR GETTING WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED: This is the most fascinating one.  We want something, Really Bad, and yet, we keep it as a “Future Fantasy”.  Why would we do that?  The reason is simpler than you might think:  We are afraid of failing at what we Really Want.  The thought of failing at something we deeply care about is So Strong that we do nothing, and just keep the idea, experience, money, relationship, career, success at bay.  It is safer to have the fantasy then the reality.

But, here is the thing:  We Will Always Want it to Become a Reality.  So, why not go for it? It isn’t going to go away—Ever!  So why not start moving towards it, despite the fear, and bring what we’ve always wanted into our lives now?

Johny, the snake tamer with a 12 ft long King Cobra (Ao Nang Snake Show)

Getting Over Your Fears

About a month ago, I realized that I was stuck in my fears.  I knew there were things that I wanted (and have ALWAYS wanted) to do.  Suddenly, I got overwhelmingly annoyed with myself and my internal voice firmly declared:

I’m going to go do everything I’m afraid of, I’ll be right back.

Off I went into the night.  I signed up for my Dive Master course, I phoned a climbing instructor and arranged a Lead Climbing course, and I went for a long motorbike drive down dark streets I’ve never been on before.  When I returned, I sent an email out for moving forward with a big project I’ve been working on that scares the hell out of me.

And then, a funny thing happened.  I felt Refreshed, Energized, and Relieved.

Surprisingly, it didn’t even take that long!  In less than an hour, I had faced all of my fears and made progress towards many of the lifelong goals I’d been effectively ‘saving for later’.

Me with boa constrictor, Lucy

What are some of the fears you could start moving towards now?

About a year ago I was living in Ao Nang and was bored with the rainy season so I decided to head up to Bangkok to have some fun.  While beach life is fantastic, it lacks in certain areas such as: live music, theaters, variety of nightlife, and shopping.  So, when I need a dose of those things, I head out to the cities.  My plan was to go for two weeks, so I stashed my larger bag with a friend locally, packed up a small bag and headed up to BKK.

Somehow two weeks turned into two months!!  I wouldn’t have guessed that I would have stayed there that long, but an opportunity came up that I thought would be fun to pursue.  My friend Craig was the director of Princeton Review and they needed someone to teach a Business English Pre-course to university students.  This would be fantastic!  I signed up, went through the training and started the following week.

Here is the thing about me.  While I run an online business, I really don’t like spending all my time online.  I really enjoy building relationships, teaching others, and meeting the locals.  I have personal-coaching relationships through my Skype calls, but having real live human interaction fulfills a specific need that my business does not.  It’s also nice to have something to do during the day since most of my business is run at night.  It livens things up, gives me an opportunity to learn something new, and keeps my life more active than it normally would be.

After that six-week course ended, I came back down to Ao Nang and thought it would be a good idea to teach here, as well.  I immediately heard of a school that needed an English teacher and went in to interview shortly thereafter.  I taught there a semester, then was asked if I could teach Science (that is what my undergraduate degree is in), and moved over to the private school (EP Program) where all courses are taught in English.

It’s been about a year since my first teaching experience, so I thought it was about time I share some of my experiences with you all.

So, let’s start with the Benefits of Teaching:

First off, even if you are employed as ‘Full Time’, it is Part Time.  At home, teachers that work 7am-3pm teach that entire time, then take their work home with them.  Not so here.  In the high schools, you will teach about 17 – 19 hours a week.  In between lessons, you have time to grade, prepare, go online, read, etc.  While you are meant to stay on campus, some schools are less strict about that rule.  It really depends on where you work.

As a Full Time Employee, you get a one year Work Visa (Read: this might as well be GOLD if you want to live here), and Health Insurance.  Your monthly salary will be roughly 30,000 Baht a month, which includes about 2.5 months of paid holiday time.  Considering you can live BIG here on 20,000—you end up in a good place and able to save and holiday even if you don’t have another side income.

The school will usually take you along on trips and send you to training courses.  On some of these I’ve wanted to pull my hair out because I had no idea what was going on, but looking back, they were great cultural experiences that I wouldn’t have experienced elsewhere.  You get to see and do things that a normal westerner would not ever be invited to.  Cultural Bonus Points.

Generally speaking, the other westerners that choose to live here are cool.  I’ve met really great people where I work and it isn’t the same scene as working at home.  Most people come here to enjoy the lifestyle, so they are game for adventures, travel, and new experiences.

The Other Side of Teaching

So, before you go ‘round with your resume, there are other things that you should know about it, too.  Many of the ‘downsides’ of teaching can be avoided if you first understand culturally where they are coming from.  Because I didn’t know any of these things, I found myself (and still do!!) incredibly confused, irritated, and down right pissed off on many occasions.  Here are some of the things you should know—and try your very, very best to accept and your time will be much easier and enjoyable.

Most of Thailand is Buddhist.  This means, generally, that 1) the future doesn’t really exist, and 2) you only worry about now.

“But,” you might be asking, “how do you plan anything then?”  And my answer would be, “Exactly!!”

Most of Thailand will get bashed for its lack of organization or planning.  As a consultant that focuses on systems and efficiency, this drove me absolutely bonkers (and still does).  At home, you would start the year knowing when your holidays are.  Not so here.  Yes, they will come, and you are likely to be informed maybe a day or two in advance.

“Well, how can I plan anything then!?!”  I hear you asking.  My response (again):  “Exactly!!”

This might cause an overall breakdown in your nervous system.  Especially because they have done a school year before, how could they not know this was coming? The thing I’m realizing is that they don’t even think of it unless it is Now.  So, you kind-of have to live with that if you are going to teach here.

Secondly, Thailand operates in a hierarchical system. Here’s how this works.  By level of respect it goes like this:  The King, Government Officials, Monks, Teachers, White collar workers (office jobs), Blue collar workers (laborers or field workers), Children.  Males are higher than females.  Someone older than you is automatically higher than you.

What does this mean for you?  Basically this: (and I just figured this out recently, so God Knows how many people I’ve disrespected—oops!)  If someone asks you to do something, you go and do it Now.  Drop everything, and go do it.  There will be no warning, generally no reason, and no time for you to prepare. But, because it is a respect thing, you have to do it.

(Again, this bent my idea of reality where you question authority, attempt to understand what it is you’re meant to do, and autonomously come up with ways of solving problems … which leads me to another point…)

Most things in Thailand are done as a group, as is decision making. I laughingly call it “The Conference”.  If you want to change your order in a restaurant, there might be A Conference.  If something is going on at school, there will be A Conference.  You, being the westerner, will unlikely be invited to The Conference, but you will just find out the results.  Thais value groups, so most important things are done in groups like living in groups, eating, going to events, holidays, and even going to the bathroom.  You rarely see a Thai person just going off by themselves to do something because they feel like it—which is also why it is shocking to most people that I am here on my own.

Thai teachers will punish the children by hitting them with a stick or cutting their hair publicly.  I don’t like this at all, but thankfully, westerners aren’t allowed to do it.  The parents find this acceptable, even if you don’t.

You will most likely be responsible for creating your own curriculum and teaching the kids how you want.  This can be a really good thing.  Last year, I didn’t have books and I really enjoyed the projects I did with the kids and was amazed with their artistic ability.  This year, I have a book so it is more structured, but the projects and activities are still up to me.  Note:  You will not be praised here for your work.  The idea of positive reinforcement doesn’t exist here so don’t expect it.  Also, you will only hear if you are doing something wrong.  This can feel devastating, and uninspiring, but look to your kids for the rewards.

Generally speaking, you have to pass the kids.  There is no such thing as ‘failing’ in this society (which makes grading seem rather irrelevant, but you have to do that too).  And, if you factor in the conference thing, you will realize that all of the kids work together in groups and don’t want anyone to fall behind.  Needless to say, there is a lot of copying, cheating, and very little original work.  The idea of being an independent worker or thinker really isn’t valued here like it is in the U.S. but, in a way, it seems to be a much friendlier approach to learning and living.  This is rather refreshing coming from the “If you don’t know something, you’re screwed, and you better go and figure it out all by yourself–pronto!!” approach.  The general feel to everything here in Thailand is that you don’t have to worry and if you don’t know how to do something, you will be helped out.  Maybe The Conference isn’t so bad after all?

Keep in Mind the Bigger Reward:  The Children

As you can see, there are many benefits to teaching here.  The biggest reward, by far, are the children.  They are amazing, talented, happy-shining-people that love having you there.  They are well behaved compared to home, and excited to see you and talk to you in English.

Culturally, you are up for a BIG CHALLENGE.  Expect to feel frustrated and confused by the lack of shared information.  Know that the technology will break and not work.  Understand that it is not their way to tell you ‘good job’, but let the kids smiles make up for that!!  You have to keep in mind that just by being there and teaching them, you are potentially tripling their income as an adult. Thai English speakers make FAR MORE MONEY than just Thai speakers.  Given that most of their opportunities will be in tourism, dentistry, law, medicine or other English speaking professions, you are paving their way towards success.

Have any questions about teaching?  Write ‘em below.  I’m happy to answer what I can!!