New Years Day, a time for recap & reflection. A time to start those New Years Resolutions, and reinvent yourself. Set goals to make the New Year better then the last. 2017 was a pretty rough for me. I didn’t experience a death in the family or a major health crisis, but life definitely broke out the curve balls. Crushing my dreams, plans & ambitions for the year. Forcing me to face some harsh & difficult realities.
Since August of 2016 I have been treading water. Enduring a broken hand on opening day of ski season, breaking up with a girl I should have spent the rest of my life with, switching jobs 6 times, a run in with the law that took my license for a year, relocating to 7 different states and the worst leaving my travel partner Kota back in MN so I could pursue a job with cheap housing and try to get from under this monthly credit card obligation debt I have been dealing with since the summer of 2016.
The pillars that make us feel grounded & normal like: healthy relationship, home, employment all were crumbling towards the end of 2016 and all throughout 2017. At 39, this is not where I expected my life to be after the most profitable summer ever. I had goals & ambitions I never had because I had money in the amounts I had never had before. It was like the universe was meeting me head on to put me back to zero. There were moments when I had to force myself to just take a deep breath. Take a step back. Game plan, and find a solution to the problem.
I was successful at staying a float with a monthly obligation of $2,000 up until this last move. I started the move with almost $15,000 in cash, and another $4,000 in available credit cards. Then I went on a crazy hail mary road trip to dig myself out of the hole I found myself in, and secure employment that paid better then 1997 wages. All that accomplished was seeing a few friends, and dumping my money down the gas tank. Then I chose to test my luck at poker instead of get a real job which started off great, then I went card dead for almost 2 weeks and found myself with less than $5,000 to my name.
Which forced me to take a job I didn’t want in a place I didn’t want to be. To replace a phone I didn’t want to replace, and leave a dog & RV in a place I didn’t want to leave them. Just another day in the life of a traveler where sacrifice and compromise are far too common. Something I learned way back in 1998
This last year hit me hard. 2017 challenged me, and took me to places that weren’t on my radar. Financially, mentally, physically & emotionally 2017 kicked my butt, and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Today is the first day of 2018, and I am hitting the ground running.
Ten years ago I had a travel blog up and running with goals and ambitions like Nomadic Matt. Unfortunately he had luck & the money to create what I dreamed off. Where I explored inexperience & cheap coders who never delivered. But today I am writing another blog post in my newly designed blog that is fully functional, and on its way to becoming a resource for travelers around the world.
I am new to blogging, and have a lot to learn. I know the basics, but that only gets you so far. So this year my New Years Resolution is to invest in myself. Work on my self, and produce the self I want to see in a year. Which hopefully is bossless financially independent individual somewhere in South America with Kota & my dune buggy. One can dream right? What are your goals for 2018? What were your New Years Resolutions? Leave them in the comments below!
Happy New Years everyone, I hope you follow through with your New Years resolutions, and the New Year brings you everything you want.
