12 Months of Travel
Saying Amanda ( https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/amanda ) and I like to travel would be a little bit of an understatement. We're essentially living our lives between trips. I wanted to share a few of the photos I've taken from our trips this past year. These are some of my all time favorite pictures.
I didn't start out with this much freedom and flexibility though. I put my time in upfront. I didn't take shortcuts, I took pride in my work, and I never expected something from nothing.
In the end, I'm now getting to live the life I've always wanted. I'm not stuck behind a desk, trapped in a cubicle farm, underneath florescent lighting for the next 40 years of my life.
Here's what our 2015 looked like instead...
January
January was actually a little slow. (Hell of a way to start of a travelbrag post, yeah?) We were still recovering from the holidays and our biggest trip, of course, was the 2015 WA Affiliate Conference.
Nothing beats getting to press that giant 'Sky Lofts' button and moving to a part of the casino that most people don't even know exist.
February
February was the real start to our travel year. We were able to take a trip out to San Francisco and drive down the PCH through Big Sur all the way to LA.
March
In March, we set out for Maui. We were lucky enough to spend two weeks over there. We escaped the harsh cold winter to enjoy the warm Hawaiian sun.
Plus, it's Humpback Whale season. Whales head to Maui to birth their young and teach them all the necessary skills to survive. They breach just off the coast pretty much 24 hours a day. The next picture is by far the best picture I've ever taken.
I don't know if you've ever experienced a 40 ton humpback whale breach 50 feet away from what could only be classified as a raft. Let me tell you, my hands are still shaking from the shot of adrenaline I received.
April
We spent some time in Washington DC visiting friends and to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom!
April also included our first trip out of the country for the year. A trip to Niagara on the Lake was in order to help a friend celebrate 30. That's Toronto just on the other side of Lake Erie.
May
May was a busy month. It started with a trip out to West Virginia to meet a red panda.
Followed by a flight down to Puerto Rico.
Then a 7-day cruise around the Caribbean.
June
This was our quiet month. We needed some time off before the next few months. I did get to partially finish my home office though.
July
Yosemite was July. I have about 1400 pictures that I could easily share and they're all phenomenal. Instead, I'll stick with the basics and give you Yosemite's iconic tunnel view shot.
August
Lake Tahoe started out August for us.
Followed by a trip up to Victoria, BC for some poutine.
And we did run into some familiar faces while out there...
And a couple of killer whales.
September
New England was the target for September. We were able to hit Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island all in one trip.
We had our obligatory lobster roll.
Saw the mansions from the Gilded Age. Here is The Breakers.
And, naturally, went on another whale tour.
And saw a humpback, mouth open wide, gathering some dinner.
October
Texas was up for October. We flew down to meet Ian. He goes by the username Pribs here at WA and is a familiar face at the affiliate conference each year. The goal of this trip was to watch Texas beat the Sooners. (Success!)
And to absolutely gorge ourselves on every kind of fried food imaginable. (Double success!)
November
The fall is football season in our house. Every available weekend was spent either on the couch or driving out to catch a game.
And I should be packing for our next trip out to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving, but instead I'm writing this post.
December
As of right now, our December is wide open. We have no trips planned and it's looking to stay that way as time off from travel is needed at this point. Something may pop-up however and a weekend trip somewhere warm is starting to sound like a good idea now that snow is in the forecast.
Why share all of this?
Outside of wanting to just showcase some of my favorite pictures, I hope this post lends a bit of inspiration your way.
I wasn't in a position to travel like this the first couple years of my business. I pushed through the hard times and worked my ass off. I didn't let failure or even the fear of failure hold me back. I gave myself time to achieve success. I committed to building something that would allow me to live the life I wanted.
And honestly, with the Black Friday deal just around the corner, now is as good a time as any to make that same commitment. Commit to building something great and the life you want.
Here I am, a few years later, with 2016 nearly booked up with exotic travel plans.
I'm quite looking forward to what the future holds.
Recent Comments
112
Wauw, you live life to the fullest:) I enjoyed your photos. Traveling has not my priority, although I would really like to visit Scotland once in my life, I have something with the Scottish Highlands. We all need a bucketlist:)
Steve,
Thank you for sharing and show us that it is all possible.
You have inspired me to work even harder to get where I want to be. I am looking to hopefully be able to quit my job in the next 6 months or so.
Thanks
Sheila
Great stuff, truly inspiring. All praise to having youth on your side to really live life. Thanks for the virtual tour ~keep the photos coming. Larry
Congratulations! Travelling is my greatest motivation to succeed... I have already traveled a lot but I then I had to abdicate of a career and also my financial stability. I got used to it, so now I plan to get my finances sorted with an online business to keep this lifestyle.
Thanks for giving hope this is really possible. I am willing to work 10 years here with WA in order to get to where you are now.
All the best and enjoy! you deserve!
What a great post! This is what I am working towards. I want to be able to travel with my husband and kids! Thanks for sharing.
And that's what the Affiliate Lifestyle can give you my friends. It didn't happen over night. Steve put in his work and continues to do so. He didn't calculate how many hours he put in before he can see his first pay check. He didn't give up when things got hard or didn't see any results. He continued to believe in what is taught here and apply it until he started to see success. And he has scaled it up. So feel free to share this post with anyone that doubts if WA works or if people here are actually making money. Most successful affiliates don't yap about it because they're too busy living the life they built or running their business. But Steve has been kind enough to give back in this post. So let it marinate folks!
Thanks for the support Eddy! Yeah, we get to vacation a bit, but I'm still working my ass off each day. It's a business and I treat it as such. Anything less and this all goes away.
You certainly do not like the grass grow under your feet,I believe this year will finish me here.I cannot still think that the people here who are making the big money and are educated in the marketing world knows something that the others do not.
Was is such a coincidence you met with Kyle and Carson,I am a little sceptical of that,I doubt whether I will ever make any money here.
There have been people here when I started February 2014,I think they have all dropped off the course of the earth,where are they now?
Thank you for this inspiring (and graphically appealing) post! This is what most of us envision for ourselves. I especially appreciate hearing that you "pushed through the hard times" and didn't expect "something from nothing." I hope to one day be in that Vegas elevator. PS - I highly recommend visiting Puerto Rico (and other Caribbean destinations) in December when the temperatures are more pleasant.
It wasn't too unbearable yet in May, but yes, heading south for the winter is always a good idea :)
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Even if I didn't get to travel, I would love to achieve a nice home, paid for and be able to accomplish things I've always dreamed of, even though I'm now aging. That one spike in sales I had in 2013 that I have never been able to repeat is what keeps me. This year has been one of transformation. So was last year Lots have improved tremendously, but not business yet. Still too many things which I am now knocking off one at a time. It is my effort to focus down and simplify my life so I can focus.