Photo Credit © Stephanie Dandan 

It's been a while since I packed a few clothes in a backpack and left my home country to travel the world. People are always asking me how I can travel so much and if I will ever come home. With the exception of a few short visits, I have actually never really returned.

One morning I woke up and realized that this wasn't a vacation anymore. This was my life. This is it. This is what I wanted to do for the rest of my days. I had no idea how I could turn traveling into a job, but I decided to figure it out on the way.

Let's skip to the present. Today. There are 2 anniversaries I'm celebrating right now:

• 5 years ago (in 2008) I quit my job and started traveling the world. 

... but who cares, the next one is more important:

• 1 year of blogging. 1 year of JustOneWayTicket.com.

Yes, my baby blog grew up. Speaking of blogging, it's amazing how far I've come in only one year. 

Let me brag a little bit: 

80,000 people visited my blog in November 2013. (Yes, I couldn't believe it either.)

I was mentioned in a list of the 50 Top Travel Blogs on the Internet.

I've written 16 blog posts in one year.

OK the last one is embarrassing. Let's not talk further about that...

 Photo Credit © Stephanie Dandan

In less than one year I've created my dream job. I became a travel blogger, and I can tell you, I'm not professional at all. All I do is have a passion. Passion for traveling - sharing my stories, photos and quotes. I wanted to inspire people.

After 8 months of blogging, suddenly my life changed. All the things I loved to do were right there in front of my face: Tourism Agencies were inviting me to explore their country, hotels were offering me free rooms in exchange for reviews, and even an airline offered to sponsor tickets to fly in exchange for some exposure. 

I'm overwhelmed by all this. And I never know where I'll be next month. Am I happy? You bet.

How was this all possible? Because I truly believed in something... Because I did something from the heart. I loved traveling to the point of madness, and I was able to channel that into a job. I'm no longer sitting in offices. I'm a travel blogger now who get to see places. Yay.

 Photo Credit © Stephanie Dandan

Let me tell you something. Once upon a time I lived a completely different life. I had a nice apartment, a car and a ton of clothes and shoes. I earned 10 times more than I do now. You think I was happy earning thousands of Euros every month? I was miserable. Counting the hours until I could get home, counting the days until the weekend. Always waiting for better times, long weekends, vacation, whatever. While I was waiting, I was a wreck.

"I don't want to earn my living. I want to live." 

(Oscar Wilde)

And now? I earn little from blogging, but I'm happier than ever. Money can't buy happiness. The income I earn from blogging doesn't make me rich, but it's enough to pay my room and food. I might live a simple life, but I can work from anywhere in the world. What do I need more?

I earned something that money could never buy: Freedom

And what most people don't know: You won't achieve freedom by making more money. No. You will find freedom by working less and spending less.

I'm not saying you should stop working, but I am saying you should work on something that you truly love. Blogging isn't work for me, because I love it...and every dollar I earn from it, I appreciate even more. It’s because I earn money by following my passion.  

It's a waste of time to do a job you don't like, 

purely on the basis of making money.

 Photo Credit © Stephanie Dandan

Less is more. Eventually you will find out that the best things in life aren't things you can buy. Enjoy every moment. Go out, experience nature. You'll be amazed how beautiful this world is.

"Simplicity is the key to brilliance." 

(Bruce Lee)

I sleep in every day. I have no schedules, no useless meetings, no deadlines. I just do what I love. I travel. I take photos. I write. I play with the street cats in front of the house. Talk with friends. Enjoy the sun. Sleep.

(I write this sitting in my bed).

 Photo Credit © Stephanie Dandan

Have you heard of Alan Watts? Unfortunately he died already 40 years ago, but he said something that I can’t get out of my head:

"If you say that getting the money is the most important thing, 

you will spend your life completely wasting your time. 

You'll be doing things you don't like doing in order to go on living, 

that is to go on doing things you don't like doing - which is stupid. 

Better to have a short life, that is full of what you like doing, 

than a long life spending a miserable way..." 

(Alan Watts)

For the full speech of Mr. Alan Watts watch this video. There is a very powerful message in this great little 3 minutes clip. 

CREATE YOUR OWN FREEDOM AND LIVE YOUR DREAM

It's time to wake up! Open your eyes! If it's not your passion to sit in an office from 9 to 5, you'd better quit. Nobody except you is holding you back from pursuing your dream. Don't settle, make a change.

"If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." 

(Jim Rohn)

Pursue your dream and turn your passion into a career. Yes, it's possible.

OK, but how can I turn a passion into a business, you might ask.

Think about the situations you enjoy the most.

What would you do all day if you didn't need to earn money anymore?

What makes you happy? What excites you? 

What do you love?

How would you really enjoy spending your life?

Ask yourself: What's your talent?

If you think you have no talent (everyone does) it's enough to have a passion for something.

Find your passion, become more knowledgeable about it, and become an expert! Learn by doing. Create a product or service and find people who are willing to pay for it. Think about what knowledge and skills of yours could be useful to others. It's important that you mix your passion with something that is useful for other people, because only if your skills are useful to others will you succeed.

 Photo Credit © Stephanie Dandan

Don't be afraid to fail, it will teach you even more...and you'll get better by learning from your mistakes.

The biggest failure is you never trying. Start today.

"Take up one idea. 

Make that one idea your life, think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. 

Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success." 

(Swami Vivekananda)

Say yes to your dream. Because life is short. Time runs out. No replay.

Enjoy every moment and DO WHAT YOU LOVE. 

I hope you start living the life you imagined.

 Photo Credit © Stephanie Dandan

There is so much more to say about creating your dream job. If you're ready to change your life and have a wonderful future, I can recommend you these books, they will certainly help you to live the life you're dreaming of. Some of the following links are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a small percentage if you make a purchase. Needles to say, I only recommend products I love!

More Blog Posts about the Living the Dream, Work & Travel

• The Best Travel Jobs – 50 Ways To Make Money While Traveling The World

• I Want To Travel For The Rest Of My Life - 15 Travel Bloggers Tell How To Do It

• How to Become a House Sitter, Travel the World, and Never Pay for Accommodation
• For the Wanderlust in You: How to Earn a Living As a Digital Nomad

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