Tag: around the world

Showing up as “hard”

Robin 0 Comment writing , , ,
Money in - money out = money left over.

Yesterday I spoke with an amazing woman. While I was busting up my filter around moola, she said to me “I assert that you think it has to be hard to be free from worrying about money.” She also said “you don’t have to take a whole bunch of time to get this, you can get this now, and start living your life differently now”.

Huh. Like right now?

Yep.

I was told once that people would rather talk about their sex life than talk about their money situations and money full stop.

So I choose now for money to be easy. For it not to be a “thing”. For it not to run my life. It’s really simple and flat and not give a shit.

She said “imagine what you and Luc could do when you’re travelling around the world if money wasn’t something that you had to think, worry, stress, fill in the blank about at all.” If I’m being honest, that’s really hard. I told her, I started this program and my coaching practice in order to make money while travelling.

I started out wanting this to be a back up money making business while I travel to subsidize my travelling costs. I can work and travel and this is the job that would do it.

But now I’m in a different place. I’ve actually found a job I ADORE. I’m excited to meet so many different people from around the world who will share their humanity, stories, dreams and goals with me. Who I will without a doubt make a difference in their lives and the lives around them. That’s what I’m excited about. It actually has nothing to do with the money anymore.

I choose a life free from the constraint of money. That doesn’t mean I’m going to be irresponsible with my money. I’m not going on a spending spree. I am shedding the story that I have that I need save for some date in the future. What? Retirement? Life is now.

I bought flowers the other day for myself (and my family but really more for myself). Something I don’t do ever because flowers are frivolous and they die and it’s a waste of money. Well, I did it because I wanted them and I wanted to give myself something beautiful.

It doesn’t have to be hard. It is easy. I chose to be free from my money story now.

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OnFocus Journey

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Footprints

Today I share a piece of unperfected writing that I will submit to Island Parent for consideration for a monthly submission for the next 20 months. I’ve never considered myself a writer, hence never thought myself good enough. It’s with fear of failure, trepidation, and feelings of not good enough that I write this – and will submit it anyway. Please share any feedback you have to make this article great. The idea is to have a monthly article posted in Island Parent of the journey our family is taking both from a worldly standpoint and from a inside-out perspective.

My phone bings. I look at it. It’s Trello being updated by my husband. Ahh the sweet sound of our 5 year-in-the-making, 1 year trip around the world coming closer to a reality. (Trello is a sudo project management app that is helping to keep our unquestionably complicated journey in check.)

5 years ago, after living 5 months in Switzerland while I was on maternity leave, Luc (my Dear Hubby) and I decided that we would come back there on a more permanent basis after our eldest daughter graduated high school. 2 years ago, that idea turned into a trip throughout our world. And now we’re 9 months away from leaving.

A lot has happened in that time, I became a personal life coach, we have both approved leaves from our jobs, and our dreams of where we want to explore have grown and expanded. We are discovering what it means to “slow-travel”. AND it all hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows – oh no! I remember wondering what are we going to do with our house (still a bit of a question mark to be honest). There was one particular planning session with Luc that went wildly sideways (I might have said “forget it let’s abandon this trip altogether” – not a shining moment). Our daughter graduated and then left for 4 years of university across the country to follow her dream (yep we’re going without her). And the thought of homeschooling our soon to be 7 year old sends me running as fast as I can to the interwebs.

While I explored my dreams and goals with my coach, I knew that the only thing between me and my dream was me. It’s all possible. It’s also completely outside of my comfort zone. That little voice in my head tells me still “oh this is going to be a lot of work. Why would you want to do this HARD thing. It’s going to be scary out there. Just stay right here where it’s super warm, cozy and you already know how it’s going to go.” Got it. Thanks. And I’m going to chose something different and something unknown.

One of the first things that people say to me when I tell them we’re going on a 1 year holiday “I would too if I won the lottery”. Know this: you 100% don’t need to win the lottery. There is a crazy big community of families that have been living for years on the road. Giving up their jobs and making money while travelling. There are resources out there that can make travelling cheaper (house sitting, buying plane tickets with points, and budgeting to name a few). Coaching can also help to dissolve your relationship to money – it’s definitely helping me.

What I will provide over the next 20 months: many many resources to help families like us, see that this can be a reality. Inspiration to people to live the life that they dream. Courage to show that it can be done. Reality of what life actually throws at you and the humour that surrounds it. The journey that we as parents are on in this world and in our lives.

Our itinerary so far: New York, France, Switzerland (where our home base will be for 5 months and our youngest will go to school in French), I will walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain, Italy, Germany, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Bali, Australia and Fiji.

My journey to get me to where I am right now has been one of self love, self reflection, giving up suffering, control, right and wrong, tapping into who I am, humanity, time and money. I have by no means perfected any of this, it’s a work in progress and I will be working on this until I die I’m sure of it.

This has and will be a journey. I look forward to the journey with you.

Robin Howe is a mother to two beautiful smart daughters (18 and 7), wife, public servant and a personal life coach exploring what it means to be human and what this great big world has to offer. Follow her journey at OnFocusCoaching.ca

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Around the world

Robin 2 Comments Podcast , , , ,
The world

I have finally released the info that I’ve been holding for over a year now: Luc, Violette and I are going on a 1 year leave of absence from our government jobs and travelling the world. I can finally be authentic in my speaking and sharing. There is so much freedom and excitement in that.

So what does this mean? Well, I can speak about my coaching business in relation to my travelling the world. The reason I started my coaching practice was to create more financial abundance while we travel. (Instead of spending all our money without an income coming in.)

Looking at how I relate to money about this trip and in life is my next blog post.

The work of a life coach is: partnering with your client to help to create and manifest their project, goals, desires and dreams. Travelling for a year with my family is also a dream of mine. Who would I be to not live my truth? How could I be a life coach if I also wasn’t living my dream?

I get it. It’s hard, it’s scary, it’s waaaaaaaay outside your comfort zone to live and breathe your dreams. Every day I’m getting closer to my dream, seeing what it’s going to take to get us there, constantly moving through comfort to uncomfortable. And I have no doubt that it’s going to be so amazing, so back to my being, so soul filling, so much adventure, growth, peace, angst, love, desire.

So where are we going? Well it seems to change daily (thanks hubby for helping make it impossible for me to plan :P) Here’s what we have chosen so far:

  • Leave mid-July 2018
  • Fly with one way point tickets to New York
  • Get cheap flight from New York to Switzerland (CH)/France (undetermined where exactly currently)
  • Try to be in CH for Aug 1 (national holiday)
  • Cote d’Azure to visit family in Aug
  • Violette starts school in CH mid-August
  • Robin leaves for Camino de Santiago beginning of September
  • Luc meets Robin for last 100 km.
  • 2 weeks of holidays for Violette Oct (Germany/Italy)
  • Leave for Sri Lanka/Maldives first week of January
  • Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia (not in that order)
  • Phillipines, Bali
  • west coast of Australia, great barrier reef
  • Fiji
  • Home July 2019.

Now we prepare to leave. UPDATE: We just bought our first one way tickets! We’ve bought our backpacks, getting the house ready to convert our level to an Airbnb, finding someone to look after our rentals, passports are in the works (France), renewing other various ID, researched vaccinations (thanks Kim!), worked out a budget, where we need to get visas, and started a fabulous TRELLO board (well many actually) to keep track of the project. So much more to go. I can’t wait.

The world

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