First.
Go listen to this episode of the Dirtbag Diaries: A Successful Life.
Don’t get lost in the romance of quitting your job and moving to the mountains.
Then.
Think about what motivates you.
It might be living in the mountains at all cost like the protagonist of the story, or it might be making a living through a craft or a trade that can’t be practiced behind a desk. Or yet, it might be working at a desk, behind a computer doing what do you because you love it.
I listen to stories like this, or stories that involve people who make a living with a camera, a guitar or a paintbrush and its hard not to think, “wow, I just sit at a computer.” But those are other people’s dreams, other people’s talents plus their hard work.
Each of us is different.
We’re told that we should find a way to live passionately.
Okay then. How do you do that?
That might be moving to the city to pursue a job and leaving the mountains in the rearview. That might be pouring your soul into raising your kids the best you can. That might be quitting your job to strike off on your own doing what you know your soul requires of you.
The hook, however is this: live your own passions.
There are so many adds, marketing material and other people’s stories that its hard to filter it all out from what will work for us versus what looks good on and for other people.
For example, Patagonia's catalogs feature amazing photography of climbing, skiing, surfing etc. and to me the message from them is, “you should be doing more of these things.” That's fine, but not everyone lives that close the mountains or the oceans. The suble message that follows is if you can't do this, then at least buy the jacket… So the discontent generated from not doing those activities can be solved by buying the gear. Fair enough, seems to be working for them. Classic marketing at work.
However, You can’t buy off your soul.
Buying things or buying into other people’s dream’s won’t satisfy in the long run. Answering that call will never be easy and will require a lot of hard work. So don’t get lost in the romance of other people’s successes. Define you own and then don’t be afraid to follow after.
It might even mean living close the mountains, but in a city.