The WA Dream: Do Everything, or Nothing at All

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Updated 6 years ago

Ever since I was a little kid, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Well, maybe not exactly, but philosophically. Though rather than phrase it like that, the 8-year old in me probably would have said something like, "stare at clouds."

Teachers routinely screamed at me for doing just that. But when I was engaged, I was a smart-ass ... which resulted in more screaming, and usually my name on the blackboard. With numerous checkmarks next to it - a not-so-subtle indicator of how many times I was caught staring at clouds. Or being a smart-ass.

I couldn't win!

Which is why, even at an early age, all I really wanted to be, was retired. Well, that or Indian Jones.

Fast forward 20 years. I'm 28, newly graduated with a degree in journalism, which I knew I would never use, at least not in the striving-for-objectivity sense of journalism. (Don't even talk to me about objectivity. If you want to talk about things that don't exist, I'd prefer to talk about dragons! Or maybe democracy.) And yes, it took me a while to get my "stuff" together, but as Tommy Boy (aka: Chris Farley) once said ...

"There are a lot of people who go to school for 10 years."

"Yah, they're called doctors!"

Anyway, as soon as I graduated, I bought a one-way ticket to India, where for some reason I brought a mountain bike ... to ride up and over the Himalaya ... no biggie, right? I mean, I hadn't ever done ANY cycling that involved carrying weight other than myself, or longer than a few miles. (Damn you, Indian Jones!)

So I nearly died twice in a three-day period, which really isn't suprising. Death and India are intertwined like various Kama Sutra poses, even when you're not doing anything stupid. If you're afraid of getting horribly ill, ridiculously injured, or dying, maybe don't go to India. Go to Nebraska. Anyway, I ditched the bike.

There's a point, I promise. Hang in there, and you may be rewarded. Or be lulled into a wonderfully restful slumber. Either way, you're welcome!

One night, in the town of McLeod Gang, also known as Upper Dharamsala, also known as the home of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, who I saw twice (how's that for name-dropping?), I returned to my room after a long night of drinking.

Beers that have names like Turbo XXX and Godfather, and contain ingredients also present in embalming fluid are both strong and nasty, and I drank more than I had realized.

So after I finished throwing up, I ran over to my balcony, leaned over the railing, took in a scene that combined a full moon with colorful Tibetan prayer flags draped from building to building, and screamed, "I WANNA DO EVERYTHING AND NOTHING AT ALL!"

There's just one problem with that. Yes, it's a four-letter word we're all familiar with: WORK! The most insidious of all four-letter words.

Americans always talk about how many weeks vacation Europeans get. But I say, that's still not enough time to canoe the length of the Yukon river. (Seriously, F-OFF, Indian Jones!)

So for me, just like all of you, I wanted not just a mobile income, but a passive one. One that would allow me to get horribly ill (again) in some far-off place normal folks don't even consider going. Or ridiculously injured (again) doing things sensible people can't even imagine from an armchair. Or even (gulp) go to far and ...

You know that movie, 127 Hours? The one where James Franco (well, his character ... he's not DeNiro, who would have actually thrown a boulder onto his arm as preparation for the part) spends 127 hours working up the courage to saw his arm in half?

When everyone you know says they thought of you while watching it, you know you're destined to get eaten by something very large, while hiking alone in the middle of nowhere.

But ... at least I'd be living (however briefly) ON MY TERMS. And isn't that the whole point of what we're trying to do here at Wealthy Affiliate?

A life worth living is a life lived well, however you define that. So kudos to you all, for having the courage to at least TRY, when others are too scared to do so. A better life does exist, for all of us. And the key, for me, lies at the feet of the holy grail: A Passive Income! (I know, a grail doesn't have feet. It's called creative license, or something ... perhaps a mixed metaphor.)

So whether you want to simply stare at clouds. Or go too far in some third-world crap-hole, with your last thoughts being, Oops!, the strategies to do so, are right in front of you.

PEACE, OUT! (drop the mic)