Dream Dialogue
A Vaguely-Remembered Discussion That Ultimately Led to the Biggest Decision of Our Lives
Jake stands in the kitchen, probably making a quesadilla. Jess stands at the edge of the counter, looking at Jake. On the couch sits Jaycine, mother to Jess. She sits as if mediating the conversation…
Jess: I need to go. My soul is craving to return to South Africa. It’s affecting my spiritual, mental, and now even physical health. I have to do something.
Jake: Okay, so we’ll go in February after the holidays.
Jess: No. That’s too far away.
Jake: Well then when? Do you want to cancel our New York trip?
Jess: No. I still want to go to New York. But I need to do something about South Africa. Something is waiting for me there. I know it.
Jake: How do we get there then?
Jess: I don’t know. It seems impossible. I’ve interviewed with all of those companies in Cape Town, but no one will hire me because the visa application is ridiculous. Getting a job with a South African company clearly isn’t the way to go.
Jake: Okay, okay. Would you be fine with spending at-max 90 days in Cape Town and Durban?
Jess: As long as we can go back every year. I can’t ever leave South Africa again without knowing when I’ll come back. But our jobs won’t pay for that much time off.
Jake: Then you’ll create your own job.
Jess: What?
Jake: Freelance. Then we could be in SA for a few months, come back to the U.S. for the holidays. After that we can keep going and travel wherever we want.
Jess: Run my own business? No way. I’m not an entrepreneur. That’s way too much stress.
Jaycine: Why not? You already do it for a few companies. You could get more clients.
Jake: Plus I’d help you. I’d help you run the business and write about it. I’ll document our travels and show other people how to do what we’re doing.
Jess: I suppose I could work as a freelancer and do social media consulting, copywriting, and digital marketing. I’ve read they actually make more than typical 9–5 jobs. I already have the skills and there are tons of courses out there to help me get organized.
Jake: So how about September then? That gives you enough time to set up a website and get a few clients right?
Jess: Well yeah, but we have the lease on this apartment, two cars, all our stuff, our family, and your friends here. Plus it’s hard living in another country. I’ve done it before and I don’t want you to have to go through that.
Jake: I’m fine with paying to get out of the lease and our WiFi. We can sell our cars and whatever else we need to for a buffer. And I’m up for adventure. I’d rather have to deal with big problems like homesickness than worrying about mediocre things that don’t even matter to me. You in?
Jess: Surprisingly…yes.
Jake sits up on the counter, getting in his groove…
Jake: That means having a sustainable business by the time we leave. I say if you have 2 to 3 clients on the books by my birthday, we will buy the tickets and go. Sound fair?
Jess: Yes. Let’s do it! But we can’t start telling everyone. I don’t want everyone else’s opinions messing this up.
Jake: I totally agree. We’ll only tell the key players. We can tell everyone else after we’ve already bought the tickets.
Jess: And what if I don’t get clients when we’re down there? What if we end up in the worst case scenario?
Jake: I’ll create a budget for us before we go so we can save enough in case we end up making no income at all. But I know you. You’ll get clients.
Jaycine: And it isn’t all about the money. What would you rather have? Money or South Africa?
Jess: South Africa 100%.
Jake: Then we’re going to get there. I’m all in and I’ll throw everything I’ve got at this because I know you will too.
Jess: Ok. I’m all in too!
Jess smiles tearfully and Jake hugs her. Jaycine smiles in the background.
We had that conversation — or a loose variant of it — in March. Since then, Jess has started her business and is in the process of obtaining clients. I have started this blog and have decided to do life coaching and action planning for individuals once we achieve our Cape Town goal. The key players at home and abroad know the plan and are on board. We are prepared to deal with selling cars and terminating insurance, leases and subscriptions. Jess looks daily at apartments in Cape Town (I think it’s therapeutic for her) and we have set a goal budget to have for a year of travel in 2018.
All that’s left is building a following and getting quality clients that are wonderful to work with. Both take time, so we have to hurry up and wait. But we have trips in between now and September to keep us sane and hopeful. Plus we have complete faith in ourselves to accomplish this.
The only hiccup is this: It’s a big risk. I mean HUGE RISK. What if everything falls through? The family and friends that scoffed in our faces saying it would never happen and that security is the way to go would be right and we’d have to move back here and find something to make a living. It’s the exact opposite desire the previous generation yearned for.
Generation X = White Picket Fences & 401(k)s
Generation Y (Millennials) = World Wide Web & World Wide Adventures
Don’t get me wrong. I know the importance of saving for the long term. I know that a family is on the distant horizon for me and that one day (maybe) I will have to settle down in a specific location.
However, the world is changing: Heaps of articles are claiming that brick-and-mortar, 40 year jobs are quickly going extinct and the Age of Freelance Entrepreneurship is fast approaching. We have grown up with the Internet and almost anything can be monetized.
What’s the risk then, really?
The risk to me is not taking the plunge. If you don’t act on your desires and passion, then you are risking years of bland mediocrity and repetitive bullshit. That’s not what life was built for.
We figured out what we truly wanted by simply having a conversation. (In truth, it has been countless conversations that have transpired throughout the year.) What’s stopping you from getting to the bottom of your dream life and your “why”? Talk it out with yourself and your significant other or anybody who can listen without having a hidden agenda. End those talks with an actionable task, such as getting clients by a certain deadline. Talk the talk, then dammit WALK. THE. WALK.
Our walk is going to take us to South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Europe, throughout the United States and beyond. Where is your walk taking you?
Adventure Awaits…
Thank you for reading my Journey Journal. If you found value in this post, please hit share. To join our adventure, follow me on Medium. More content coming soon! #vagaBOND
