February 21st, 2011

Monday February 21st, 2011, was a day that changed my life. Literally. It was such a small thing, but to me it was huge. One email that changed everything.

I was at work, sitting at my desk working away when I received my usual Monday morning email from my favourite blog, www.escapethecity.org. Escape the City is an online community that advertises amazing and very unconventional job and or volunteering opportunities, many of which are abroad, and also works as a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs to find one another on etc. It was started by two guys, Rob & Dom, who quit their corporate jobs in London in the hopes that they could do something more exciting with their lives and start something amazing for themselves. Well I can confirm that they definitely have. I read about them in the Evening Standard on my way home from work about a year and a half ago and I was instantly hooked on their idea. I subscribed to their blog that same evening and I have followed Escape the City closely ever since. If you subscribe to their blog, every Monday morning around 11am ish they will email you their ‘Top 10 Escapes of the Week’. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I look forward to this email every Monday morning! It comes at a time when, if you work in a 9-5 job, you really need it the most – mid-way through horrible Monday morning. There have been loads of really cool looking jobs, expeditions, volunteering opportunities etc. on the website in the past and I’m always intrigued by them but, for one reason or another, I’ve always had a reason not to apply for one of their opportunities. Monday February 21st, 2011 was different. The ‘Top Escape of the Week’ that day was an opportunity that I felt was designed for me. It was called The Tropical MBA, Semester III.

The Tropical MBA (www.tropicalmba.com) is an amazing concept developed by Dan Andrews. Dan is a guy who, much like Rob & Dom, decided to quit his job and start something different and inspiring. Dan realised that in the start-up world, it is hard to live in an expensive place like Southern California (where he is from). It is much easier to make $’s or £’s AND to live in a part of the world that is very cheap, like Southeast Asia. So Dan has set up camp in Bali, Indonesia and has learned how to make $’s online. Dan is my new God. The Tropical MBA is Dan’s way of giving back. It is his internship program. He’s done so well for himself with his online marketing businesses that he’s decided to teach other people how to do the same with a paid internship. The interns will work for Dan’s businesses and learn the skills necessary to start their own projects, and Dan teaches and helps them every step of the way.

One of the perks of his business (in my opinion), and also one of the pillars, is being location independent. Location independent. Those two words have changed my life. Of course, everyone in the world must want to be location independent. Who wouldn’t want that? To be able to live and work from anywhere on the planet. That’s what I want. That’s what I’ve always wanted. Before Dan though, I really didn’t know that such a thing was possible! I thought that unless you were a best-selling author, you’d have to accept your shitty lot in life, buckle down, and take a dream killing 9-5 job, chained to a desk somewhere. What Dan described in his explanation of The Tropical MBA was a way to learn how to make money online through online marketing techniques so that the only ‘office’ you’d ever need was your laptop and an internet connection. This was the key that could unlock the door to the world I’d always longed for!

Having gone to an international school in London for most of my life, being born in the US and growing up in the UK, I’ve always struggled to decide where I should live and where ‘home’ is for me. My family has gone back and forth between the USA and the UK several times in my life, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have travelled quite extensively. Being stuck at a desk in the same place for the better part of year is one of my biggest fears. Having only a set number of holiday days, reporting to a boss, and asking permission to have to leave the office for a f*ing doctor’s appointment makes me feel like a loser and incredibly claustrophobic.

When I read about Tropical MBA, I realised that my greatest ambitions are to be location independent and to work for myself, and since that moment, I have completely changed the way I think. It is the most liberating feeling when you realise that you really can do whatever you set your mind to. I’m no longer afraid of what people will think, worried about how little money I may have, or how I’m going to do this. I just know that I’m going to do it. I’m taking things one day at a time and I am going to do this! Although I was not selected for the Tropical MBA III, I still emailed Dan and told him that he’d completely changed my life. His story has inspired me so much and I’m beyond excited for all that lies ahead for me. No more will I wait around for the ‘perfect opportunity’. I’m going to create it for myself. I’ve started reading every book and blog about location independence and start-ups I can get my hands on, I’m networking with as many like-minded people as possible, I’ve started freelance writing, I’m planning on leaving my 9-5 office desk job soon, and I’m already making plans to possibly go to Southeast Asia to teach English for a while. And I’ll definitely be applying for Tropical MBA IV.