This Pursuit of Happiness

A blog about changing your life, and living free.

I am a full-time traveler, blogger, podcaster and entrepreneur in search of a true life of freedom where the 9-5 does not exist, and work and play are all part of the same thing! Join in on my journey to get inspired, see some amazing sights, and explore both your outer world and inner self. Visit the Website or like my Facebook Page.

The Frontier Awaits

9-22-16

Have you ever wanted to change your life, but you were too afraid to do it? I think most of us feel this way at one point or another. Life has that tendency to grow stale, or routine. As if we suddenly found ourselves in the movie “Groundhog Day” with our alarm clock startling us awake at the same time, with the same tune, every morning. We climb out of bed, stumble into the shower, and wash ourselves clean of the tiredness and disappointment of how our life turned out. Like a zombie we start the car or board the bus on our way to our voluntary prison for the next 8 or 9 hours. Sound familiar?

What if life didn’t have to be this way? What if we could change course and head in a different direction?
I have decided to dedicate my new life to this cause. Through my website and podcast I hope to remind others that life is for the living, and that a new life is merely a few decisions away. ‘This Pursuit of Happiness’ is more than just an Internet brand, or a podcast title. It is part of a movement that I believe has been growing over the last ten years or so. I have seen many people, both online and in my life, who have taken to the Internet as the Pioneer took to the Wild West. For each person it takes a slightly different form. Some create online businesses, others create content, and some produce and distribute product. In all cases these individuals are able to make their own schedule, control the production of their work, and own the product of their labor. These individuals are just that, they are individuals. They are Pioneers of the 2.0 World, and they are killing it.

This isn’t to say that it will be easy. Certainly, anything worth anything will take effort, investment, risk and time. And for many, this is enough of a deterrent. But think about it. No matter what you do, you are exerting effort, taking risk, giving time, and likely making an investment (whether you realize it or not). Take an accountant for example. Certainly this accountant is making an effort every day to show up to work and do a good job. He is giving his time to his employer and taking a risk that his employer will ensure the accountant’s job. Maybe the accountant made an investment in his education; in today’s world that might be several tens of thousands of dollars. Maybe he invested in accounting courses to further his education, or test prep to become certified, and, in all likelihood, this accountant purchased several suits, ties, shoes an automobile, or mass transit pass in order to get to work.
I myself have done this before. Back in 2006, right after college, I found a job with an International office equipment manufacturer. I was an outside Salesman, which meant that I needed a mode of transportation, a suit for each day of the week, a dozen shirts and ties, and a couple pairs of comfortable leather shoes. Total investment was in the thousands. I also took the risk, although I might not have been aware, that my employer would like me and that I would like the job.

Not surprisingly I hated this job. I remember the exact moment I decided to quit. I was no more than 60 days in when we had a sales meeting. My sales manager, a fifty something, chain smoker, with a raspy voice and beer belly was in front of the conference room. He explained that our job as salesmen was to sell something to people who didn’t need it by convincing them that they couldn’t live without it. The manager continued with his tactics to avoid building security by hanging out with the smokers, usually at the loading dock or fire escape, and using the stairs to sneak up to the top floor as elevators usually have cameras… all this to avoid being removed from the premises for soliciting the building tenants. In that moment I decided that I needed to quit. Within a month, I put in my resignation.

I continued this pattern over the following decade as I worked for various employers, none of who really appreciated my ambition or new ideas. In an effort to double down I made a huge investment in a Graduate education in order to hopefully change my life yet again. Little did I know that I would find myself in the same situation but with a mountain of student debt, which required me to earn a minimum of 80K just to keep my head above water. This was NOT the American Dream that I had heard about.

Fortunately, I have a lot of energy and a desire to learn new skills. So during my time in graduate school I learned how to renovate homes. It was 2009, and the housing market in Atlanta, Georgia was prime for scooping up old run down homes for a fraction of their appraisal value. After four months of grueling work, and several lessons in how to sink or swim, I succeeded in renovating this home, and setting it up to rent rooms out to fellow students. I was set, living free with extra income from the renters. In time I saw the opportunity to sell the home, and turn a profit. But still I had not learned my lesson as I pursued outside employment.

I was currently employed as an Industrial Designer (my graduate education), and I was in the process of purchasing a new home. In addition, my fiancé and I were using the proceeds of the home sale to get married and renovate what would become our “dream home”. It was now December of 2014, we had just gotten back from our honeymoon and we had exhausted nearly all of the profits from our former home in the purchase and renovation of our new home. Then suddenly, my employment situation began to deteriorate. After a very successful year of developing new ideas and learning the ropes of the business, I found myself in constant disagreement with my boss. He was rather “old school” and I was trying to bring the company into the digital age by developing new products and markets for the online sphere. My desire to innovate, and refusal to maintain the status quo of the business model put us at odds. I was “let go” just before Christmas… so much for job security.

Finally, the lesson that I had been avoiding for the last eight years was starting to sink in, but like most I didn’t have the confidence to venture out on my own. Since I had renovated two homes, nearly by myself, I decided that I should follow my passion and work in the remodeling industry. My first job was with a new contracting company. I worked in the field as a carpenter. This job was surprisingly satisfying, and I took to it rather quickly. Before long I was swinging a hammer along side the pros, building decks, and renovating basements. Although it was exhausting, and the pay was below my potential it was certainly gratifying to see a days work standing before you. Soon after a new opportunity came about that would get me out of the field and into a higher earning potential. I took the job and for the next year and a half I learned to become a remodeling estimator and salesman. The truth is, this job was the best job I ever had. I enjoyed the work, and meeting new people. However, the stress of making sales and accurately estimating complex projects was taxing. Further, I was only awarded a small percentage of the overall profit of each project as a commission. I felt the pain that comes with making someone else rich. At this moment, I was finally ready to see the lesson that I had been avoiding.

Right around this time my wife expressed her desire to relocate across the country. I had a choice. I could continue to stubbornly bang my head against the wall of employment, or I could use this relocation as an opportunity to hit the reset button. As I reflected on the various employers that I had over the years, and the outcome of each experience, the choice became clear. I would begin making decisions to start a new life as an Internet entrepreneur. Not because it was easier, but because I would have control over my destiny.
A thought formed in my mind – I am too valuable to work for anyone other than myself. What I realized was that for years my issue was more about confidence in myself than about stubbornness or fear of the unknown. I just needed to realize that if I applied my energy and ambition to myself, I could accomplish anything. The fear of failure dissolved as I reminded myself that I would be there to get myself through whatever lay ahead. And so became my new life.

The next few months would involve placing our house on the market, selling all of our belongings, and starting a new life as full-time RVers. We would use the profits of this house more wisely by investing in ourselves, providing enough resources and time to develop something that we could call our own. For the first time in my life I felt the autonomy and freedom that comes with being your own man. Each day since, I have only gotten more confident in myself, and in our future. The frontier is our next stop.

By: Zach Lee Rubin
Full-Time Traveler, Blogger, Podcaster and Entrepreneur