What We've Learned from Travel is an ongoing series where we share our favorite lessons from constantly moving from A to B and back again. If you missed Part One, you can find it here.
Since we started this travel journey four years ago, I've noticed the most perplexing aspect of our lifestyle is that we don't live in one spot.
No homebase. No roots.
So it tends to be the most difficult question when someone asks, “Where do you live?” The answer is more complex than what people expect, and it feels revealing to explain our entire life in one sentence.
At the same time, it's also incredibly entertaining to see people's reactions. Strangers usually look back at us with a mixture of surprise, interest and confusion. It’s as if they're watching a bad news story: they want to know more, but feel completely overwhelmed by what they're hearing.
What’s central to that confusion is the fact that we have no home. No place where we keep all of our clothes, no kitchen where we cook all of our meals, and no bed where we lay our heads every single night.
But this is our normal. And through this experience, we've learned something pivotal:
Roots are overrated
Being comfortable can suffocate your self-growth, safety can inhibit progress and playing small does a disservice to your soul. Here is the truth: Having roots does not necessarily mean you'll grow.
We've found the opposite to be true. Our uncomfortable, unpredictable life has inspired us to be better, more patient human begins.
Now, we understand the importance of going with the flow; surrendering to our false sense of control; and finding comfort in one another instead of a steady location. And because we’ve experienced and learned these truths as partners, we’ve created a strong base to build our marriage and relationship.
Nothing is really "stable" in this life. It’s a complete illusion, and change is the only real constant. Ditch your roots, and you’ll find an accelerated route to this truth.
Success is subjective
For most people, a full-time job is the key to a thriving, successful career, BUT it does not necessarily equate to a happy, fulfilling life. It can also lead to a stressful time suck that steals 40 years of your life.
Once we realized we did not fit in the traditional corporate world, we were liberated to design the right lifestyle for our interests. We stopped looking for outside influence, and spiraled inward to ask, “What do we envision for our lives?”
Part of that vision was to stop trading our time for money. We wanted to build something that worked for itself, paid us while we traveled and allowed us to create our own schedules.
For us, success is not about making more money or earning more recognition. It’s about having the energy and availability to enjoy our lives and the loved ones who fill it. Investing in real estate and using those investments as vacation rentals provides us with passive income, which frees up our time to do the things we love.
By choosing a non-traditional lifestyle, we hope to inspire others to ditch the idea that we have to work a 40-hour job for the next 40 years. Success is subjective to each individual; don’t let the masses decide what success means to you.
Travel is a teacher
In every experience, we have the opportunity to be the student—the observer. Travel is the perfect scenario where we must go outside our comfort zones and confront the stories we tell ourselves. Pay attention to its lessons. You may find that roots are totally overrated, and success is defined by what’s important to you.
- Morgan