Travel

I am one of those people that wants so badly to travel the world . It is my dream to see new places and cultures. I’ve been thinking a lot about dreams just being empty words and how many people actually achieve their dreams. What is the difference between failing and succeeding? Money? Time? Determination? Attitude?

Natalie Norton, a photographer and someone I look up to in so many ways shared this on her instagram and it totally sunk in. Isn’t she amazing!

“A life without travel is no life for me. People often tell us they wish they had our life—primarily because they see all our travel, and it looks so dreamy and adventurous. My response is always the same. You want to do what we do? Then you have to be willing to live the way we live. We sacrifice a lot as it relates to fancy things, and sometimes, we go without what others would likely consider “necessities,” all together. For example, we’ve lived in our current home just shy of one year, and we still have no living room furniture because we’d rather spend the money on travel and simply sit on the floor. Also, when we’re out on adventures, seeing the world, it likely looks like we’re out frolicking, for weeks at a time, without a care in the world! The reality: we’re almost always still getting work done behind the scenes—pulling disgustingly early mornings to get important stuff done, meeting with local clients in between adventures etc etc etc. I only share this because I want people to know that very little comes as easily as we’re tempted to assume from the outside looking in. As humans, we’re prone to look at the lives of others and think, “If only I had the blessings THEY have. It’s not fair. Why are they so lucky?!” Friends, chances are, luck had little to do with it. They’re likely out there hustling, hitting roadblocks, being resourceful, making mistakes, getting back up, keeping committed and motivated… no matter what. We have been through our share of tough times. I get what defeat feels like. At one point, we were so poor that we had to recycle cans (at .05 cents a pop) to buy gas for our car. But here’s what every one of our most overwhelming of challenges has taught me: as long I am willing to work hard and sacrifice the things that matter least in my life, over time, I can make space (and find resources) for the things in my life that matter most! You really can intentionally create the life of your dreams!”