A friend has been trying to interest his girlfriend in living aboard a sailboat full time. She was getting quite interested in the prospect. Then along comes a lady who tells her that in no circumstances would she ever live on a boat, and proceeds to tell my friends girlfriend why she should not do so either.
When I hear stories like this I would at times like to turn it around and say that under no circumstances would I ever live in a house. But sometimes taking the high road is the better alternative.
Many people cannot see things any differently than they have seen them their entire lives. In other words they cannot see things outside the Box (literally). Most people have been taught all their lives that they have to have the house with the two car garage, 2.4 children, two jobs, and be visiting the shrink once a week to deal with the stress.
There is nothing, no laws, no instructions in the Bible, Koran, or any other teachings that tell us we have to live our life in a house and be doing like the Jones’es next door. But yet like a herd of animals we do exactly that. We all talk about and want to be different, but when it really comes down to it about as different as we ever get is to buy a Volvo instead of a Ford.
Why is this? The answer is simple, we are deathly afraid of what others will think of us. Amazingly this is one of the most debilitating fears than most of us will ever have to face. When my wife and I first started to Full Time we faced the same thing from friends and Family. True some of them would say good for you, but then there would be the comments about not investing in a house, or the dangers on the road. It took me a while to realize that it was them that were afraid of Full Timing and trying something different. The reason they were trying to stop us was the fact that they would look bad if we succeeded at something that they were afraid to try. They were afraid of what others would think of them (tables reversed).
This realization was liberating. It came down to the fact that the problem was theirs and not ours. This realization freed us from the herd mentality and let us start to live life on our own terms. We broke free.
Another realization that happened very quickly afterward was the fact that we were not alone in our dreams. An estimated one million Americans and Canadians now live Full Time in their R.V.’s. We soon found that we had a new group of friends that thought just the way we did, and really supported us in our endeavors.
Many people would think of Full Time RV’ers as trailer trash, but this is really not the case. Granted there are a number of this type of RV’er and almost every city has an RV park full of them, they are analogous to the slum dwellers in any city. But just like a city has premium housing also, many Full Time RV’ers are very affluent. They are starting to be referred to as the “Affluent Homeless”. These people have a lot of money in the bank, own properties, have investments and generally are well off. They are also the type of people who created this wealth by thinking outside the box. They have no trouble moving into an RV and enjoying their life.
One of the really interesting things that happened to us was the fact that the family and friends that tried to stop us at first were now asking a lot of questions and wondering how they too could start enjoying the lifestyle that we were enjoying. It is interesting that people will do something once someone else has succeeded at it. Sometimes you just have to be the first one. You have to be the leader, torpedoes be damned.
I have touched on this subject before in my blogging as well as devoting a section of my book to it. It is the one area that stops more people from breaking free and really enjoying their lives, instead of trying to be like everyone else and pretending they are having a great life.
George Bernard Shaw commonly stated that “Two percent of the people think, three percent think that they are thinking, and ninety five percent would rather die than think”. It is this ninety five percent that are your neighbors, family, and friends. These people let other people do their thinking for them, and are subsequently trapped in the same lifestyle as the people they are listening to, who usually are not thinking either.
Our RV On The Beach In Mexicl
Before you listen to others about what you should be doing with their life, take a really good look at the results these people are getting in their lives. Are they successful, are they really happy, do they have everything they ever wanted and are they where they really truly want to be? If not, why are you listening to them. You are the best judge of what you really want and what is right for your life. Step into your power and we will see you on the road or maybe on a beautiful Mexican beach.