Life hacking; lifestyle design; geoarbitrage; digital nomad. Hot, hot terms out in the entrepreneurial blogging world right now. And man, do I hate them . . . maybe because I’m not a real fan of the whole ‘being labeled’ thing. But what musician is, right? However, it’s impossible for me to deny the fact that these words and concepts partially embody the direction my life is headed.
Speaking of being labeled, the number one comment I’ve gotten from friends recently is, “but you’re a drummer.” I know, I know . . . what’s a guy whose job description involves hitting stuff with blunt objects doing with a virtual assistant in Bangalore, multiple eBooks in the works, and a penchant for becoming ‘location independent‘? Wad’up wit dat, yo? Easy answer. I find no reason why I can’t do the performing, studying, teaching and writing that I do anywhere, regardless of locale. From (or, in) any spot on the planet that I happen to choose! Furthermore, I see no reason why anyone with a similar yearning can’t do the same.
A quick online search will provide you with loads of sites and coaches eager to help you break away from the 9-to-5, develop your own business, conquer the power of social media and ‘brand’ yourself. There is a wealth of knowledge available . . . some for a nominal cost; some free for the taking. My problem with many of these resources is that they often tend to feature MBA-holding business-types who have quit cushy jobs in search of something more. They were in $50-100k corporate positions, working their way up the career ladder, before the decision was made to leave that all behind and work for themselves. They had amassed the personal connections, business know-how and financial resources necessary to begin their own startup (or several) and get on that road to freedom from ‘the man.’ Don’t get me wrong . . . I applaud that wildly. No matter what, that takes foresight, courage, strength, hard work , determination and faith. But what about you and I? What about the creative-types of the world- the musicians, visual artists, dancers, actors?
My passions for traveling the world, researching percussion and its role in other societies, meeting and learning about new people and their cultures, dabbling in foreign languages, and returning to teach and write about these experiences, are just as strong as my passion for the act of playing drums. Performing, traveling, studying, educating, writing, creating. These are not simply a list of random things that I do. These have (and, continue to) become what I am. The combination of all-of-the-above is what makes me tick, keeps me continually excited, and motivates me to work even harder. Again, why can’t I create a lifestyle that allows all of these to happen on a regular basis? One that brings sufficient income to sustain more of the same? I can . . . I am . . . and I will! And so can you, if you so desire.
In a recent meeting with friend/guitarist/postal worker Steve Prager, the conversation gradually morphed from the bulk mailing options he was presenting, to developing products, order fulfillment, travel, lifestyle design and VAs. He called me “the Tim Ferriss of the music world.” Yikes! While that is far from the case at this point, I am intent on doing the work necessary to forge further ahead on this path that continues to unfold before me a little more each day. As I’m able to make progress myself, I will post the steps taken, and lessons learned, right here. The process will certainly involve some guessing, experimentation and mistakes. But I promise to ‘walk the talk‘ . . . no preaching B.S. ideas that I am not proving are possible to implement.
I honestly have too many friends and acquaintances who say that they ‘live vicariously’ through me and my adventures. My one wish is that anyone in that position would STOP doing that. Now! Instead, evaluate the fears and obstacles standing between you and the life you secretly fantasize about, and start living it.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Mark, Thank you for reminding all of us that the essence of life is the freedom to “be”, I look forward to the inspiration that you will continue to share with all of us here, there, and everywhere!!!!
Thanks for reading, Jolene- and for the encouragement!
Hey Mark,
I really liked your last post. I am a fairly unassuming, middle of the road, even keel kind of guy – exactly the kind of person one would least expect to sell virtually everything he owns to move to a far away and foreign land to teach music. I can’t tell you how many people questioned my decision, not to mention the tons of advice to “be careful.”
But as you said, it comes down to one thing – what kind of life do you want to live right now? I share this philosophy with you, though I have come by it fairly recently. Upbringing and self-handicapping kept my perceived options rather narrow for a long time. It’s amazing what a good woman can do for your outlook on life.
Now, with all that being said, you’ll never get me paragliding
Wow- how true, Brad. It sounds like we share the upbringing or “social scripting” that warns us to “be careful,” not take risks or make waves. Kudos to you, man- for taking that step . . . or, flight, rather!
Speaking of flight, the whole paragliding thing’s not nearly as “extreme” as one may think!
Thanks for posting this Mark, it is really motivating. I think that one of the biggest stumbling blocks that people have about following their passions is that they aren’t willing to put the work in or make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen. I am sure you see it all the time in teaching music – people wanting to be good but not wanting to take the time to practice – they expect it to come naturally.
We have to get past the idea of instant gratification, the play now/pay later, and realize that anything worth having is worth working for. It may not happen overnight, but every step we make in that direction puts us that much closer to the goal. It is so easy to caught up in the result that we forget that the process is just as important if not more so.
One thing I can definitely say about you is that you are a great model for that drive and dedication that keeps you following your passions. Keep up the good work!!
Hey, Ken: Thanks a ton- that’s very cool of you! And you are SO right.
The unfortunate desire for “instant gratification” is so prevalent in this society. We think it would be cool to HAVE certain things, or be able to DO certain things. Then, we start down the road to reaching that goal, hit a roadblock or plateau, and say, “nah . . . that’s a lot of hard work.” But dedication, hard work and sacrifice DO pay off in the end.
Most of my students have heard me preach . . . “If you’ll do now what other people WON’T do, you’ll eventually be able to do what other people CAN’T do.”
hey mark, to fix the comment thing. use file manager to access comments.php in your themes directory. for some reason, the comments.php in your directory is not the same shown in WP’s theme editor.
look for “Comments For This Post” and just delete “Comments”.
Calvin- you’re the absolute best! Thanks a ton for taking the time to straighten that out for me!
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