Neil Lemons’ Blog

I just got back from spending a week on the beach in the country of
Panama, Bocas Del Toro, to be specific (not Florida, but Central
America). That is a whole story to itself, but while I was there
I met my new hero. Before I tell you more about this guy, I need
to tell you what I feel he represents: independence, time wealth
(verses famine or being time broke), non-conformity to the
“American Dream” just because of societal and/or family
pressures. He has abandoned reliance on traditional western
thought “just because” instead of letting his background dictate
what he will do with his life.

Escape the Rat Race & Make Your Own Maze

This guy escaped the rat race by not participating
and playing by the rules. He has a true passion for living in the
global village in which we live and meeting his neighbors and being
closer to nature. How did he do it?

Work Hard with a Purpose

For six months, this guy works two-to-three
bartending jobs. Sometimes he’s is fortunate enough to
do some consulting for restaurant start-ups for a couple of
months at a time, which gets him where he needs to be faster.

While in the states he lives frugally and saves up enough money.
When he has enough money saved up he sets off for another
adventure where he surfs and takes boat rides and bus trips in
foreign countries with amazing beaches for six months to a year
solely on his savings.

What is a Job?

This all may sound indulgent to you, and it did to me at first
based on my programming. Why should one feel guilty about living a
full life not chained to desk. Not working, doesn’t mean you are not
active. What is a job? It’s a means to an end. It’s a reason to get
up in the morning. You gotta eat, pay the rent, watch crappy
TV shows and call it the American way. What if you didn’t
have to play by those rules?

You may not realize this, but you can live an extremely high
quality of life for 1/2 to 1/3 of what you are currently living
on in the United States in some countries. New Zealanders,
Canadians, Australians, do a lot more world travel than Americans.
Why?

This guy I met recently met a semi-consistent counter-part,
a guy from Tampa, Florida, without children, a wife, or an ex-wife,
who sold his $400,000 house and decently lucrative internet consumer
product business to travel through central and south America without
any tiedowns. His friend had been in Bocas for a month after
selling his business and, from my understanding, plans on traveling until
at least January. These two were on their way to Costa Rica, then
Columbia, after we left them on day four.

Job ≠ Identity

Americans are so closely connected to their jobs and spend so much
time working that we have made our jobs out to be our identities. I know
I have. What would you do if you didn’t have a job? You might get bored and
feel useless UNLESS you used that time to develop your real hobbies
and creative passions. A few months ago, I took the time to write
down all the things I would do that would add value to myself and
others that do not cost a lot of money and don’t involve having a desk
job. I’ll cover those in a future post to give you ideas. I’d love to
here yours as well.

I realized after this trip I now have my “reason why” to be successful
sooner. It’s not to work 30 years until I have a heart attack and die.
I ‘ve been accused of being a workaholic, but not everyone can see my
vision. I want to be successful in the short term so I can take mini-retirements
throughout my life take extended travel, create residual income, be able to
work form a laptop anywhere in the world, in order to experience how
God intended people to live.

What’s your reason why? Your kids? Do you want to travel? Have a nice
car? Time freedom? It’s important to have a reason why above
“just surviving.” If you don’t, you’ll never do what it takes to
live an extraordinary life, but only do enough to “get by.”