My divorce was final.
I was committed to a hefty, non-modifiable, alimony payment for the next four years.
Then I lost a client that represented about 90% of my income.
I was not just screwed…
I was 1000% more screwed than I was just a month before.
I hustled twice as hard and slashed rates just to pick up new business and pay the bills.
Despite being a published author and expert in my field, clients came and went through a revolving door and it was a constant struggle just to stay afloat.
Finally, in the middle of the hustle of faking it for clients, pretending I didn’t DESPERATELY need to get their business…
I found an opportunity to get out of town for cheap.
So I went.
After all – If I’m already dipping into retirement funds just to make alimony & rent of my shitty little apartment where my bedroom doubled as my office so my kids could each have their own room, I may as well dip in a little more to take a little break from the hell I had been through for the previous two years.
It was great.
I cleared my head.
I met amazing people with so much pride for their country. Their broken English was far better than my broken Spanish, but we struggled through it and had a blast getting to get to know each other.
They taught me about their country and their culture. I had a standing invite to come stay with them any time I visited again.
When I got back, I’d get back to the grind and find some more clients to start paying the bills again.
A month went by.
Still no new clients.
But wait! A cheap opportunity to visit a friend in Hawaii when kids are with their Mom???
What the hell – I’m in.
Great for relaxation.
Great for profile pics on Match.com & Facebook.
NOT great for the bar tab, but oh well. You only live once.
Then…
A funny thing happened…
Prospective clients stopped asking about my skills at interviews.
They stopped asking for references.
They stopped grilling me to see if I knew what I was talking about.
They asked what I thought about my trip to Costa Rica.
They asked about the best spots to visit in Hawaii.
They didn’t give a shit about the advertising knowledge I was desperately peddling just months earlier.
We never even got around to the typical interview questions.
They just assumed I was an expert because of the places my Facebook pictures showed I had been.
Rather than negotiating my rate, they just hired me. Regardless of my rates.
They stuck around longer than any clients I had in the past.
Before I knew it, I was buried in business, and I had no choice but to raise rates to the highest I had ever charged.
I had no more expertise than just a few months earlier, but suddenly – I was an in-demand expert because I had a Facebook profile that indicated NOTHING about my business acumen.
All it demonstrated was that I traveled a lot in the recent past (but hey – anyone who travels a lot must be successful, right?)
The moral of the story:
Want to get a better job?
Travel more.
Want to have better stories at parties?
Travel more.
Want to have more interesting conversations on first dates?
Travel more.
Want to stop drooling over your friend’s Facebook pictures thinking “I wish I could travel like them”?
Stop fucking saying “I wish I could travel like them”, find a cheap trip, and travel there.
It doesn’t matter where.
Just get out of town.
When you come back and life doesn’t start to change in a positive direction…
Do it again.
Find a cheap flight and visit an old friend.
Go to a place you’ve never been before just because you found $150 flights
Take lots of pictures & post them online for your friends to drool over and ask you about when you get back.
Before you know it…
For reasons you can’t explain…
Life will just magically take a turn in a positive direction, and you’ll realize…
Travel isn’t the reward you give yourself after years of hard work.
It’s the fuel you continually need in order to give your all at work and in life.
The more you do it, the easier work becomes in the times between.
The more travel you do, the more fascinating stories you get to share with friends, with your kids, and eventually – their kids as they sit on your lap begging for one last bedtime story.
But you’ve got to do one thing first…
Stop thinking “after I do this one thing” and start looking for opportunities to Just Get Out Of Town today.