A Little Inspiration – What Happens When You Design a Life?
Last week I posted about designing a life using the teachings from Zig Ziglar. I would like to share some inspiration to assist those that are here at Wealthy Affiliate and just getting started. Perhaps you are in your twenties or thirties. Maybe you are reaching retirement.
Either way, if you focus on what you want out of your business efforts, take focused action every day, celebrate the successes, learn from the setbacks, and never give up, success is inevitable.
I started my entrepreneurial journey back as a twenty-something. After a few job experiences, I knew I could never work for anyone, so my own business was the only option!
My first attempt was okay. I learned a lot, but I did not achieve the success I wanted. Oh well, it was a learning experience. I quickly jumped in again with another idea as an opportunity presented itself.
With what I learned from my first attempt, including lots of personal development from people like Zig Ziglar, the second business attempt was much better! From that point, I knew I could start to design a life that I wanted to live.
My ultimate goal was to buy a nice RV, call it home, and travel the country doing business as I journeyed and write off the travel expenses. We had many nice homes along the journey but being in fixed locations was not our dream.
This was my dream RV in 1986
Fast-forward thirty years, and that’s exactly what happened. All the planning, dreaming, and envisioning of my ideal life translated into reality. Now I have been living the full time RV life since 2008 and running my latest business since 2014.
But, in 2023 this happened!
This summer in the US has been very hot, so I spent it in the northern part of the country, where the temperatures were much cooler. Since my home is on wheels, I can pick any location I desire.
I was able to spend the summer enjoying the beauty of the US and working when I wanted to.
Last week we did a little more touristy stuff and visited the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie is only a stone's throw away from Canada. I’ll have to say that the Soo Locks are very impressive! Ships going west through the locks need to travel from Lake Huron west to Lake Superior.
The only problem is that the water level is twenty-one feet higher. Enter the Soo Locks. We watched a three-hundred-yard-long ship go through the locks and rise twenty-one feet to enter the waterways toward Lake Superior.
It’s all done with gravity. Water flows in at one and a half million gallons a minute to raise the ship traffic. The reverse happens when ships head east. We were able to take a boat tour that took us through the locks. It was awesome!
Here's water flowing into the lock. It took about fifteen minutes to side the twenty one feet so we could exit the lock. Three other tour boats were in the lock with us.
What's my point to this post?
When you apply action to a business vehicle that could set you free, you can live your ideal life, one that you designed for yourself.
So, focus on what you want to do once you can do what you want to do, have pictures of what that would look like, and focus on that daily while you are taking action.
Perhaps my brief story will help you realize that anything is possible if you focus on designing the life you desire and act accordingly.
Well, it's time to move the RV again! We're off to Shipshewana, IN, and the Elkhart area, the RV mecca of the world.
Blessings and best wishes for an incredibly designed life to you all!
PS - the header image is our fur-kid, Winston, enjoying an afternoon hanging out around the Mackinaw Bridge in Michigan, US.
Recent Comments
36
Wow, good for you!!!! Seems like a lot of people are doing this. It sounds like a dream!! Keep it going...............
~Debbi
Hi Howard
You’ve created the lifestyle you wanted. What could be better than that? 😃
Congrats! 👍👍😎
Frank 🎸
Thank you, Sir, and thanks for stopping by and reading my post, Frank!
Have a blessed weekend!
Love it Howard! I only lived the (very small RV) lifestyle for a year or so about 20 years ago when travelling around Europe, but.... I have been thinking a lot about returning to it recently!!
Take care buddy and enjoy a wonderful weekend! :-)
Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Jessie!
Today's RVs are so much better than even 20 years ago. Technology has made them to be nice and comfortable no matter the class of RV.
You have a blessed weekend too!
Technology has certainly changed Howard... I used to travel around in a converted 1986 Volkswagen LT35 which my mate and I bought for £400!!
Oh the memories!!! :-)
My first "sort of RV" was a custom 1994 Chevy Astro Van. We treated like an RV. It had a queen bed but no services.
It sounds like your VW was similar. Those were pretty cool in the day!
Nice!! We had a couple of beds, TV, DVD player, games console, fridge for the beer and a portable barbie for cooking on!!
👍🤣🍻🥩
Absolutely no idea buddy!!
This was 20 years ago before I got married.... I have been married for about 18 years now!!
The wife would never travel around in an RV... she likes her home comforts and five star hotel accommodation if we go anywhere!!
My father did convert a 1960's Landrover ambulance into an RV a few years back though!!
My Mother put up with it for a few trips around Europe, but no more I think!!!
👍🤣
That's so awesome, that you are able to fulfill your dream, and live a life of what you enjoy.
Hey Howard
Your most welcome! Nice to have the boost of inspiration to the day. I think it helps alot of us to keep pressing forward to a brighter future.
Thank you Howard! Cheers!
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Thank you for another great post, Howard.
It's always interesting to hear how people started out in life and how their life has changed, etc. Like you, I am now unemployable! I used to carry out small garden jobs for people before I left school, although I always wanted to work on a farm from the age of 4 years old. When I was 16, I started working on a farm, but quickly realised that the pay was not brilliant; it's much better now. So I continued doing my garden type landscape jobs and have been self-employed since 1983!
It's great that you kept pushing forward, Howard, despite not achieving the success that you really wanted. At least you learn from your experience, which is something that we should all do. It's great that your second attempt was much improved and you're able to design a life that you want to live; that's fantastic!
How wonderful that you fulfilled that dream! I have to say that your RV looks very impressive. Can you drive that on an ordinary car licence? Here in the UK, someone of my age can drive anything up to 7.5 tons, but I believe for younger people the law has changed.
How amazing to be able to pick the type of weather that you like, I guess that's a huge benefit of owning an RV. With America being so vast, I'm sure you can find the right temperature even in the middle of winter! It sounds like you have visited some amazing places.
I appreciate the really motivating post, I'm sure it will inspire many members on the platform.
Have a great day.
Roy
Hi Roy!
Thanks for stopping by!
Driving a 44k gross vehicle weight rating RV here in the US does not require a special license. Pretty surprising, right?
Good for you, being self-employed since 1983. That's exactly when I discovered I was also unemployable.
Yes, for winter time we flock with the Canadian Geese and head to the southern states. Surprisingly enough, over one million people in the US live full time in an RV. Even more car camp not having a home to go to.
Again, thanks for stopping by, Roy.
Have a blessed day!
Good morning Howard,
It's a pleasure, Howard!
That's very surprising that you don't need a special licence for your RV. I have a friend who had an RV that was converted from a mobile library van or truck really. The library vans that we have here are like large removal vans, but I could drive one on a normal licence, providing it's below 7.5 tons.
Some of us I just not meant to work for other people it seems! I have never liked the 9 till 5 lifestyle, with all its rules and regulations!
It's wonderful that you can go off to different places and find a temperature that you can enjoy. That's a lot of people living in RVs out of about 360,000,000, I believe.
There used to be another member on the platform who was a truck driver; he became successful online and went around the US in an RV with his dog. I don't think he is on the platform any more, but he certainly had an interesting story!
It's fascinating how people live life; I mean that in a good way!
Have a great day.
Roy
Hi Roy!
I don't remember that WA member but it would have been interesting communicating with him.
Since I retired from my business, I have more time to connect with fellow WA members than I have in the past ten years, so I might have missed his posts.
Yes, there are a lot of different niches along with the RV niche when it comes to how people live. Tiny homes are a big thing in the US these days because people can't afford a $412k house which is the median cost in the US.
Our RV cost more than that, but at least it can change locations! LOL
You have a great day as well!
Good morning Howard,
I have a list of successful members on Wealthy Affiliate; I found Steve's profile below. He was actually successful before he joined the platform.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/afftraining/profile
I know where you're coming from, Howard, we can't do everything. There have been and are some interesting people on the Wealthy Affiliate platform.
I can understand why people live in RVs, Howard, the cost of living is so expensive. I have actually thought about it, but I might move to a smaller property, as I would like to work online full-time and have more freedom. The time I have at the moment is limited, due to my offline business, but I know I can scale the online business if I am given the time.
I'm not surprised, Howard, when I looked at the specification of your RV and the features it had, it really was quite remarkable! A very fine piece of engineering which looks like it has been thought out very well!
Have a great day.
Roy
Good Morning, Roy!
Thanks for sharing Mike's profile! He has not been active in a while, but I will still reach out to him to see what he's upi to. His last post was two years ago.
Thanks for checking out the RV. Can you imagine it driving around the UK? 😂🤣
Have a great day, too!!
Good evening Howard,
My apologies; I actually meant to mention that Mike hadn't been active for a few years when I put his profile link into the comment. I never quite know what happens when a member stops subscribing to Wealthy Affiliate, whether they are reachable with a free account. Maybe you could reach Mike through his website.
The RVs in America fascinate me, Howard! I've always liked the idea of having a caravan, but I have never actually owned one! You have so much more space in the US than what we do here in the UK. I'm thankful that I live in a village, where it is much quieter. However, per acre, we are highly populated here.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Roy