It's your choice.
Yesterday I had a choice to make. I went with a friend to her gym to work out quick before we explored wineries in California’s Shenandoah Valley. She thought that she could get a guest in for free, but the manager at the desk told me it would be $15 to come and work out as a guest. I was only going to be there an hour, and the thought of spending $15 on one hour was a hard thing to swallow for my budget.
I thought about it for a bit, and decided that I would save the $15 and simply run outside. Sure- it was very hot out and I didn’t really know the area, but I didn’t feel that using a treadmill was worth $15. After all, my Meet, Plan, Go! business partner had just created this cool graphic about the cost of $15 at home and abroad and I decided I would save that $15 for my next trip!
Ever since returning from the Mongol Rally, I’ve been frantically preparing for the 2nd annual Meet, Plan Go! events that happen this Tuesday in 17 cities.
Plain and simple, the events are about getting more people out traveling.
Are we going to tell you that it’s easy to leave your job and plan and big trip? No.
Are we going to tell you that it’s possible to leave your job and take a traveling career break that will benefit your career? Yes.
Are you spending time putting up barriers to why you can’t take a career break?
The economy is in the toilet
I’m worried about the gap on my resume
It costs too much
I have a family
Maybe you should be choosing to use that time in a more productive manner and start to determine how to overcome those barriers and move in a positive direction. That’s what the Meet, Plan, Go! events can help you do.
It’s all a question of how badly you want it. How badly do you want to make changes in your life (like budget and lifestyle), go against the status quo and take the necessary steps to follow your desires to travel and see the world.
Life is about choices.
You can choose to go out on a limb, or you can choose to do nothing, which effectively means you’re choosing to stay.
Yesterday I made the small choice to save my $15 and put it towards my travels. I choose to go.
For all of you who read my website and think, “I wish I could do that.” I have one question for you.
What will your choice be?
RSVP for Meet, Plan, Go! in 17 cities October 18th, 2011.
Austin | Boston | Chicago | Denver | Honolulu | Las Vegas | Los Angeles
Minneapolis | New Orleans | New York City | Orlando | Portland
San Francisco | Seattle | St. Louis | Toronto | Washington DC
By Warren Talbot October 17, 2011 - 8:49 pm
Sherry, great message and wonderful post. We cannot agree more with the idea that life is about choices. We can take control and live the life we want, but it requires a conscious decision.
We’ve been on the road now over a year and are truly living our dream. Once we made the choice that this is the life we wanted, everything else fell into place.
Have a wonderful time tonight at MPG. We’re so excited for the second edition and to getting the word out to more people to follow their dreams.
By Charu October 18, 2011 - 9:39 pm
Your friend has to work on her/his negotiation skills. Been there many times-they always try extort $15 for a guest’s workout and I always point out that I have been paying them $80 a month for the last 144 months or so, and I am sure that the management has a stack of free guest passes and that they should be happy to give a couple of them to a loyal member who has spent a lot more on his gym membership than an average year rent based on 2007 census ($750 a month, really? Where are those rentals located?)My convincing arguments always work and a friend gets a free workout or two…Life, incidentally, is, indeed, all about choices. Even if you decide not to choose, you still make a choice…that’s the beauty of it all…
By Charu October 19, 2011 - 11:46 pm
Sherry, by the way, I forgot to add…congrats on a HUGE success of Meet, Plan, Go! you should be very proud. Kirsten tells me how hard you worked to make this happen. So happy for you, and happy to have met you at the mixer!
By Sherry October 20, 2011 - 1:15 am
Thanks so much! It was such a rewarding night! Now I’m dealing with the fact that it’s over! Boo.
By Nora Whalen October 30, 2011 - 1:55 pm
You are so right. Life is all about choices. I absolutely love the graphic and saving your $15 for 21 beers or a whatever else you choose seems like it was the right choice for you. The graphic so clearly illustrates that everything is a matter of perspective and travel is such an amazing way to re-adjust your thinking. Can’t wait to see what you do with your $15! Follow up post?! 🙂