Breaking the Mold: Why I Quit My Job to Travel the World
Why did I do it?
Because I wanted to.
It’s really that simple. This is what I wanted to do. I wanted to go explore so many places I had only heard about or seen pictures of. I wanted to create my own stories and have memories to share. Traveling seemed to be in my blood given that my grandpa is full-blooded Tamil Malaysian, my mom was born in Malaysia, my dad traveled to dozens of countries with missionary basketball teams, my parents served in Bolivia for the better part of a year, and short term mission trips with my church were the norm growing up.
The most beautiful mosque I’ve seen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
I think it raises a lot of eyebrows when people ask what I do for work and I say, “Um. I do nothing.” It sounds ludicrous, reckless, and fascinating all at the same time. When I start actually explaining it to people though, the reaction is almost always the same. “Wow, I wish I could do that!”
Well. You can. If you want to. Just do it.
Quitting my Job
I feel like this at least deserves a little section just so you know my thought process behind all of this. Two years ago I was a college baseball coach at a Division-1 school. A damn good college baseball coach at that (sorry for the not-so-humble brag). For a guy who was recruited by dozens of D-1 schools, then to get hurt and play NAIA, then to prove my worth in coaching to actually get to the D-1 level just three years after graduating, that was a big deal. I went from coaching 15U games the summer I graduated college, to coaching high school the following spring, to coaching NAIA ball the next fall, to coaching Division-1 baseball two years later. I was on a fast track. I had the previous year’s NCAA Division-1 National Championship coach calling me once a week about a pitcher of his I was coaching. In short, my foot was all the way in the door.
Just me and giant fish named Donut in the Great Barrier Reef. I didn’t name him.
But the mountain top wasn’t really as high as I thought it’d be.
During the few years I coached college ball, I started to slowly realize the lives of all of these coaches I was around. With the exception of a few (including my own college coach), the vast majority of these guys seemed eternally miserable. They always had to go recruit, go watch another meaningless high school game, go talk to another high school coach, run a camp, do office work… It was a 51 week schedule every year, with many days running upwards of 9-10+ hours. In order to be successful, it couldn’t just be your job. It had to be your life.
And that’s what bothered me.
Coaches with kids were barely ever home for dinner. Coaches seemed happier off the field than on it. Coaches had to name drop and measure up to everybody else they encountered on a field. It wasn’t just a game anymore. It was a trap. It was as though it demanded their life to be successful and in the same punch took life from them. I began to realize that if I was one of them in 20 years, sacrificing every ounce of everything to be successful at a high level, I’d probably take my car off the nearest bridge (is that too gruesome?).
It no longer seemed worth it.
So I quit.
Sunrise at Mt. Taranaki on the North Island of New Zealand!
The Not-So-American Dream
I think I have a relatively unique perspective on the American Dream. With parents involved in ministry, their schedules were more flexible than most 9-5ers. We had far more “family time” than most, I think. Our family vacations weren’t just to Orlando to go see Disney. When I was five, we went to Singapore and Malaysia. When I was eight, I went the Dominican Republic with my dad. When I was 14 and 16, we went to Kenya for two weeks. My parents prioritized experiencing cultures, people, and the world, and that’s not normal. But because we didn’t have the standard American Dream, working crazy hours and all that, I feel like I can view this from a different perspective.
The American Dream is to go to college, get a great education, go get a great job, work really hard to provide a comfortable living for your family so your kids can go to college and get a great job. Then if you’re REALLY successful, you stop working when your kids start working and you go sit around in the sun all day waiting for people to come visit you twice a year.
Anybody else feel like there’s a problem here?
We work, so that our kids can work, so that their kids can work. It’s a cycle.
Now, I’m not saying you should just quit your job to stop the cycle. That’s not what I’m saying at all. My point is that many of us sacrifice truly living, sacrifice the fun stuff so that the next generation can get a great job and do the fun stuff. Except when the next generation gets a great job they’re already thinking about the following generation and they too sacrifice the living and the fun stuff. I think there’s a way to do both – to protect the dreams of the next generation, live wisely, but also live to the absolute freaking fullest.
Hiking in Hawaii on the Stairway to Heaven. Probably the coolest hike I’ve ever done!
Nike: Just Do It
I’m not trying to create some generational revolt against working or something like that. What I AM trying to do is get you to prioritize what you want to do, the passions God has instilled in you, get you to prioritize truly experiencing life to the fullest, a phrase we so often say yet so often fail to attain.
Like I said before, most people’s response to me when I tell them that I’m traveling the world by myself is something along the lines of “Wow! I wish I could do that!” My response? “Then do it.” No job is worth sacrificing the enjoyment of life for. If you quit to go do something you’ve always been passionate about, there will be another job when you return. You can always make more money. Why not go do something you’ve always dreamed about? Why not go do something God is nudging you towards, even if it’s crazy?
When people hear my reasoning, their eyes open wide as though they have a mask of some lie society has been selling removed from their line of sight. But 99% of the time, they don’t let themselves truly believe they can do it and be okay.
Now, I didn’t just up and leave every source of income without being at least a little bit prepared. I saved up, created avenues to travel as cheap as possible, and made sure I had a back up plan. Then I did it. Don’t be reckless. But don’t be held back by fear either. If you want to do it, figure it out, prioritize it, then as Shia Labeouf said in that psycho YouTube video, “just… DO IT!”.
Sitting on the steps to the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
What’s Your Dream?
My dream was to travel the world forever. It’s still my dream. If I can do it, I’m not sure I’ll ever stop. To me there are too many cultures, too many views, too many experiences, too many unmet people that God has created that would be left on the table if I stopped. But this doesn’t have to be your dream. What’s your dream? Do you wish you had more time at home with your kids? Then do it. Go get a different job and be home with your kids. That next promotion isn’t worth your kid’s childhood memory of dad never being home. Maybe it’s having a six pack for the first time in your life. Awesome. Do it. Stop buying Oreos and get after it. Be a beast. Set a schedule. Make it a priority.
I believe each of us has something in us that we want to do. Something that God has put on our hearts for a reason. There’s something in our mind that we aren’t doing because of work, or because of fear, or because of some obstacle. My hope is that you can rethink why you’re not doing that thing. And figure out how to just freaking do it. You’ll never regret trying. Plan, be prepared, and just do it.
You never know. Maybe it’ll work out.