September 19, 2024 • 39 mins
sneak peek into our exciting plans for a multi-month sabbatical in New Zealand
Ever dreamed of exploring New Zealand in a van? In this solo episode, Sam shares show sabbaticals aren't just about travel; they renew your perspective and energy.
Takeaways:
- financial aspects of taking a sabbatical (how we’re navigating our nerves about pausing work)
- the 5 key pillars / goals we’ve set for this mid-career break Â
- our strategies for managing income streams and maintaining client relationships while on sabbatical
- how to leverage travel hacking and credit card points to make your dream trip affordable
- Our NZ bucket list: freedom camping, the Great Walks and Kiwi Burn
Get a sneak peek into our meticulous plan for our four-month adventure around the world, with stops in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Costa Rica.
Resources:
- Join the final cohort: Your Next 90 Days
- BOOK FREE COACHING CALL WITH SAM
- Camplify - RV and van rentalsÂ
- Aeroplan Infinite Privilege Credit Card (40k welcome bonus)
About the show:
Sam Laliberte - entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello, freedom Seekers, we are back.
It has been a few months sinceI've connected with you here and
I've truly missed it.
I'm coming off what feels likea season of just fully seizing
summer and capturing it.
I don't know about you, but forme, I'm always trying to find
that balance between making sureI have all the peak experiences
(00:23):
and big adventures scheduledinto my summer, the big things
I'm going to look forward to,the big moments where at the end
of the year, I look back on theyear.
These are the things I'm goingto remember but then also making
sure I have a lot of chillweekends, those Saturdays where
you look at it and you're like,actually I have nothing planned
today and someone invites youfor a random dinner and you can
(00:44):
just say spontaneously yes toplans like that.
This feels like the firstsummer where I actually nailed
that, and it's because I didn'tdo any international traveling.
In fact, I haven't left Canadasince my last work trip, which
was in April.
That's not true.
I went to Germany for one nightto see Taylor Swift for the
heiress tour that I really don'tthink that counts as traveling,
(01:06):
though that was just one verylong, epic day to go see my girl
Tay.
Another story for another time.
The point is is I found thatbalance and I think it's because
go figure, I stopped traveling.
Not traveling has meant thatI've had time to go so much
deeper in my friendships thatare in BC, in the community in
(01:28):
the town that I moved to a fewyears ago.
If I'm being honest, it wasfeeling like my relationships
were suffering.
I've been digital nomading andworking remotely now since 2017.
And when people would talkabout community and their
community, I didn't really knowwhat it meant.
I didn't know what that feltlike until I just spent more
(01:50):
time in Squamish and was justaround for these, like Thursday
night pickleball games or aFriday night dinner with friends
or an afternoon hike All ofthese casual experiences before
I would come home every fewmonths and the conversations
ended up having to be a littlebit surface level because so
(02:10):
much time had passed since I hadseen them last that you were
just exchanging stories.
You were just exchanging thehighlight reel.
You weren't really like gettinginto things.
But now that I've just beenaround more, I can just go so
much deeper with my friendships,like okay, tell me everything
about that.
What can just go so much deeperwith my friendships, like, okay
, tell me everything about that.
(02:30):
What were you thinking?
The highs, the lows like I wantto know a play by play of that
experience.
Because we got time right.
So I feel like I've loved thatand I wouldn't have been able to
do that if I had been travelingall the time.
Right?
Go figure, you work so hard tobuild this digital nomad
lifestyle and then you start tomiss what it's like just being
in one place, not traveling somuch has also meant that I could
show up better at work and formy clients.
(02:52):
I have now run two cohorts ofmy 90-day coaching program,
which I've talked a little bitabout on the podcast before.
But it's a 90-day program whereI help you either launch or
grow something.
And because this programinvolves having literally
unlimited access to meessentially I can't imagine
(03:14):
having to run this program whilealso navigating time zones and
flight schedules and making sureI have good Wi-Fi I've really
been able to go deeper with myclients and give them everything
and finding the freedom in that, finding my own freedom
lifestyle in being in one place.
And this has really just mademe come back to the whole
(03:34):
premise of this show, which isthe freedom.
Lifestyle is going to lookdifferent for everyone and it
might look different for you atdifferent times of your life,
like it gets to be fluid.
You can choose what freedom andflexibility means to you on a
month by month, quarter byquarter, year by year basis.
The whole idea is making youthe creator of your life.
(03:55):
You're the one driving thisthing, you're designing it and
you get to choose what freedomand flexibility looks like for
you.
Maybe you're going into a seasonwhere you're going to be
working 40, 50 hours a week, butit's very focused on something
that is important to you andmeaningful to you, and that's
freedom for you during thatperiod.
Maybe you're going on asabbatical into New Zealand
(04:17):
where you're not going to beworking for a few months and are
just going to be traveling andadventuring, which is ultimately
what I'm here to talk to youabout today, despite having such
a great summer and the fall inthe horizon where I'm going to
be soaking up more time in BC,not traveling, going deeper with
my clients.
Shoulder season is coming, therain, the snow, the cold and for
(04:41):
me that usually means it's timeto go.
I'm about to blow my life backup and go back into the chaos of
traveling, because jared and Iare starting 2025 doing a
multi-month sabbatical in newzealand, where we are both going
to be taking a break from ourjobs and just focus on our
relationship, our personaldevelopment, focus on the fun
(05:04):
and adventurous side of ourlives, and I want to talk a
little bit about that, becausethis decision to take this gap
of employment was not takenlightly.
Jared and I are in verydifferent situations.
I have my own business withmultiple revenue streams.
He's been working for oneemployer for six years.
(05:25):
It's a very different setup.
So I wanted to talk to you alittle bit about how we came to
this decision as a couple, howwe prepared for it so that we
could actually take this gap inemployment, and also what we
have planned Maybe give you alittle preview of what we're
doing on this trip places we'regoing, big experiences.
We're investing in coolresources that we've found that
(05:47):
are unique to New Zealand,because maybe New Zealand is on
your bucket list some point inthe future, or maybe it's in
your short-term itinerary andyou're listening to this episode
for inspo.
That is what I have planned foryou today Introduction to why
we're taking a sabbatical, howwe were able to do this in our
(06:08):
careers, what we have planned,what we're going to actually do,
where we're going to go, howwe're going to travel around.
You probably saw in the titlewe are going to be living in a
van for one month of it, sowe'll talk about that, and then
also what success looks like forthis experience.
Hopefully you leave feelinginspired to plan for your own
(06:28):
sabbatical one day.
Before I get into that, I willmention that if you're on my
email list, you probably alreadysaw an email go out this past
weekend about how this is goingto be your last chance to work
with me.
So I am running one finalcohort of your next 90 days.
Q4, starting October 1st will bethe final chance for you to
(06:49):
join the program.
This is going to be the biggestgroup I have yet.
I'm going all in with thisgroup of dreamers, giving you
everything I have, knowing thatit's going to be a while before
I can show up for my clients inthis way again.
So really looking for a fewmore dreamers who are ready to
end the year strong.
(07:11):
Everybody who's already signedup and showed early interest is
so committed.
I'm really excited to beworking with everybody.
I'm really excited to introducepeople in the program to each
other because I have attractedsome really cool clients over
the years.
So if you've been consideringworking with me or you had eyes
on this program, this really isthe time Starting January I will
(07:32):
not be working, which we'regoing to come back to and talk a
little bit about that, becauseI'm definitely nervous about not
working and taking a break frommy clients, so I'll also share
a little bit about how I'm goingto do that and keep them
engaged.
Clients so I'll also share alittle bit about how I'm going
to do that and keep them engaged.
But Q4, final 90-day sprint.
(07:53):
You can learn more about theprogram at whatsyourfreecom
slash next 90 days.
Book a free call with me.
We can chat about it, learnabout your goals, see if it's a
right fit, but quickly.
Service-based entrepreneurs youcan either be early stage or
more established who also have apodcast or are leveraging their
personal brand in some way tobuild an audience for their
business.
That is the group of people whoare in this program.
(08:14):
If you are either of those andyou have something that you want
to launch or something you wantto grow before 2024 comes to an
end.
I'm your girl, let's chat.
(08:35):
New Zealand as a destination forour sabbatical has been on the
bucket list and intention nowfor years.
We originally actuallyenvisioned doing it with a dog.
When we made our vision boardfor like a five-year horizon, we
pictured living in a van andactually having a dog with us
the whole time, and then we weregoing to bring the dog back to
Canada and that was going to behow we got a dog.
We are no longer involving thedog in our plan.
(08:57):
I'm sad to give up that part ofthe dream.
I think it was maybe a littlebit too ambitious, but
ultimately we have a cat and Idon't think the cat is ready to
share space with a dog.
So we are postponing our dreamsof getting a dog, my husband
and I but we are saying yes to2025 being the year that we do
the sabbatical and we live in avan.
(09:20):
So ever since we moved toSquamish in 2020, we have really
become educated on van life.
That is a big part of theculture here.
We have friends that own themakerspace in town and they have
an entire program where you cango there with your van and
learn to outfit it and how youcan live in your van.
We have campgrounds all aroundtown that are free for people to
(09:40):
live in their vans.
There's even drama around theWalmart parking lot in town
because people who live in thevans were like living in the
parking lot and like peeing inthe parking lot and people
didn't like that and honestly,that's kind of fair.
So I know a ton of people thatlive in their vans and we just
have always been so curiousabout that, about this idea of
(10:02):
just living in your car,essentially, and where do we
want to sleep tonight or wheredo we want to go?
Or sometimes we'll be at thepark for like a slacklining
meetup and we'll say like, oh,do you live in squamish?
People would say I do right nowand say what do you mean?
Well, my van's parked on thisstreet this week and I don't
know what I'm doing next weekand maybe in a couple months
I'll be up here and it was justalways so fascinating to us.
(10:23):
And so, go figure, we're gonnaliterally fly to the other end
of the world, from Canada to NewZealand, to do something that
people literally do on thepublic street near my house.
But that's okay, we haveaccepted that.
That is our plan, as silly asit sounds, new Zealand is also
pretty similar to Squamish andBC especially.
We're going to be mostly in theSouth Island, which I'm going
(10:46):
to talk a little bit about thedifferences and how we chose
which one.
But the decision to live in avan really got sparked when we
came to Squamish in 2020 and welearned a little bit about that
lifestyle.
We knew that every six, sevenor so years we would be ready,
jared, let's be clear.
Jared would be ready to take abreak from work.
(11:07):
So we last took a big breakfrom our work in 2018.
We did a four month backpackingtrip across south america where
we were not working and weloved it.
Of course, going on full-timevacation with your husband
traveling, traveling the worldSounds pretty good.
It is pretty good, and so,while we don't have the trust
(11:28):
fund to do that indefinitelyalso, we probably wouldn't be
satisfied by that we knew thatwe'd be ready for something like
this again in five, six or soyears.
So the time is now.
Jared feels ready to take abreak from work.
He's had those conversationswith his employer.
They have approved it.
I'll go into some of thenuances that I feel comfortable
(11:49):
sharing on his behalf in asecond.
But we got the okay to moveforward on that idea and when we
thought about living in a van,we thought about just renting
from one of these companies.
When we went to Burning man, weused Cruise America and very
quickly found out that 90% ofpeople who go to Burning man we
used Cruise America and veryquickly found out that 90% of
people who go to Burning man useCruise America.
We were a little embarrassed,honestly, driving around in this
(12:11):
van that had just the brandingall over it super basic, super
templated experience, also quiteexpensive, with a lot of rules.
So I just kind of accepted thatthat would be my fate in New
Zealand until we found thiswebsite, camplify, which is
essentially a peer-to-peerdigital marketplace to connect
(12:31):
people who have recreationalvehicles or RVs with people who
want to rent them.
And an RV is just, I think, abroad term.
When I picture an RV, I picturelike a big motorhome kind of
we're going to be renting just avan.
There's not going to be like ashower or a full kitchen in it,
um, so much smaller, not reallysure how to describe it yet, but
(12:53):
I am going to include somepictures on social media and if
you're on my email list, youalready know the exact van that
we rent in.
But this website I'm talkingabout Camplify.
It exists in New Zealand,australia, spain and the UK.
I was so excited when I saw that, because not only could we get
something that was a lot moreaffordable, but also something
that was super cute.
(13:14):
Ours is a 2011 Mazda Bongo andit's named Fernando, and it's
totally outfitted to be able tolive in it and make your own
food.
We have a kitchen in the backwith just a sink, a two burner
gas stove, a small fridge, evenhas a toilet in it, which really
gives it this status that'simportant in New Zealand, which
(13:37):
is a self-contained status.
So if you have a vehicle that'sconsidered self-contained in
New Zealand, you could takeadvantage of freedom camping,
which essentially is this ruleand legislation in New Zealand
that if you have self-containedvehicles, you can pretty much
camp for free or at a veryminimal cost in different public
(13:59):
areas, different beaches,different forests or other
scenic spots.
Okay, so freedom camping is areally fun and cool, unique way
to take in New Zealand's beauty,and it's regulated, so it still
protects the environment andall the local communities.
But this is something that wethought was really interesting
and a way that we wanted toexperience New Zealand.
(14:22):
We also felt like, okay, we'rein our mid-30s now.
Every year, I'm getting moreand more picky, more and more
particular.
30s now.
Every year, I'm getting moreand more picky, more and more
particular.
Realistically, how much longerdo I have where I'm going to be
in this phase of life, where I'mwilling to actually live in a
van and live in this type ofenvironment?
So the time is now.
We're super excited about this.
(14:42):
We got the van booked, we havea bit of a route picked out,
which I'm going to talk a littlebit about in the episode.
But one key event that we'relooking forward to, that we're
going to be bringing the van to,is Kiwi Burn.
So Kiwi Burn is New Zealand'sregional version of Burning man,
which I've talked to you abouton the podcast.
(15:03):
I've talked to you about whatactually happened last year when
we attended.
It's a little R-rated.
If you haven't listened to thatepisode yet, please don't
listen to it with your parents.
But this is an annual eventthat happens in New Zealand that
has those same principles.
So self-expression, communityart, self-reliance leave no
trace.
And it happens to take place inJanuary when we're going to be
(15:26):
there.
It's going to be on the NorthIsland.
I had a friend that has goneand said really great things, so
we hope to go.
I say hope because what'sdifferent about this regional
burn is that it's almost 100%volunteer-based, and next year
they're actually going to makeit 100% volunteer-based.
So this year there's only about400 tickets that are being sold
(15:48):
in the lottery, similar toBurning man.
If you want to buy a ticket togo to Burning man, you have to
enter the lottery and see if youget lucky.
Both times I went to Burningman, I got lucky and got tickets
to the lottery, but no one elsein my group did so it does
really feel like not guaranteedthat you're going to get one,
and even less so knowing thatthere's so few for the Kiwi Burn
.
You might be thinking, sam, whywouldn't you just volunteer?
(16:11):
Like, don't you lovevolunteering, putting on
workshops and giving back?
I really hope to.
I'm trying to investigate that.
If you have been following me onInstagram, you know that this
summer, jared and I launchedConscious Kitties, which is a
new brand that we're operatingunder that brand name when we
offer ourselves up as eventfacilitators and workshop hosts.
(16:33):
So this summer was the officiallaunch of conscious kitties.
We got booked to deliverworkshops at a few different
pretty big festivals here incanada, including base coast,
and we have three solid offersthat we're now shopping around
to different festivals.
We would love, love, love togive a workshop at Envision
Music Festival.
That's definitely on our dreamlist.
There's a really cool event inPortugal called Boom.
(16:55):
That would be very fitting forus, definitely like conscious
music festivals and Kiwi Burn.
If they'll accept that as avolunteer role, we would love to
do that.
So we're navigating it.
But right now we've planned forthose five days to be at Kiwi
Burn with Fernando, our van andour home.
For the first month or so thatwe are in New Zealand, we're
(17:17):
lucky to have some friends inthat area of the world, which is
pretty cool.
So we have some friends thatlive in Christchurch in New
Zealand and another friendthat's going to be in Nelson,
and then we have friends inAustralia actually who that's
going to be in Nelson, and thenwe have friends in Australia
actually who we're going tostart the trip in Australia and
they're going to come with us.
But if you're thinking aboutgoing to New Zealand, the big
(17:37):
spots that are on our radar aredefinitely Queenstown, wanaka,
milford Sound, christchurch andNelson definitely want to make
it to Wellington.
I think that's closer to whereKiwiburn is.
That's probably as north aswe'll go, but we're really going
to focus on the South Island.
I think if you're going to NewZealand, that's one of the first
decisions you want to make.
If you have a short period oftime, am I going to go to the
(18:00):
North or the South Island of NewZealand?
They really differ in geography, climate, population.
So the North Island isdefinitely more populated, more
tropical, lush landscape, has,like major cities like Auckland
and Wellington, a lot ofgeothermal activity.
Versus in the South Island,it's more rugged, very alpine
(18:23):
scenery, cooler temperatures,fewer people, more of a hub for
outdoor adventures hiking,skiing, wind sports.
We decided we're going toprimarily focus on the South
Island.
We really want to do a lot ofhiking because in New Zealand
they have the Great Walks.
I think there's 10 of them, butthey're officially titled the
(18:44):
Great Walks of New Zealand andthey're a collection of premier
hiking trails that all have justincredible scenery, really well
maintained paths, very diverselandscapes.
They're often multi-day hikes,so hikes where there's going to
be huts set up for you partwaythrough where you can sleep in
or do backcountry camping, whereyou actually hike with your
(19:05):
tent which is our plan andactually just pitch a tent along
the way for yourself.
So there's 10 of them.
Definitely, one that we'vealready booked and are planning
for is the Routeburn track, andthat one's a three-day track, so
we'll be sleeping for twonights in the Alpine just
bringing our tent hiking with it.
We still need to get a newtwo-person tent and invest in
(19:29):
some gear, but we're reallyexcited about that.
So kind of chose the southisland to have a trip that's
more focused on adventure,activity, nature.
Another thing in the southisland is they have a town
called nelson.
They're really known for theirwater sports.
Jared has been kite surfing foryears.
He's gotten really good.
(19:49):
Honestly, I'm so proud of him.
It's very sexy watching yourhusband excel at a sport and be
so strong and athletic and, dareI say, masculine, if you know.
You know so he's very good atkite surfing, but I have no
desire to become a kite surfer.
It's very challenging.
He's so good at sports and thisis probably the hardest thing
(20:12):
I've ever seen him have to learnhow to do.
So I can't say I'm really thatdrawn to it.
But when we were in Italy inLake Como last summer, we ended
up just finding ourselves at anarea of Lake Como that was
really known for wind sports andthey had wing surfing, also
known as like wing foiling.
(20:32):
It's basically a sport whereyou are using a handheld
inflatable wing, so kind of likea kite or a sail, and you're
holding it and you're using thatwing to catch the wind, while
also standing on a board, and sowe tried that in Lake Como on
just like a paddle board.
That was what our lesson waswith.
(20:54):
I think it's easier to learn onthat and I felt like I got it
right away and it was really fun.
I felt badass in my wetsuit andjust so sporty and athletic and
it was cool to learn a sportthat takes advantage of a whole
other part of nature.
Like living in Squamish, I do alot of mountain stuff, but we're
on the ocean and I never godown to the ocean front and do
(21:15):
sports down there, like kitesurfing has just been Jared's
thing.
So we think wing surfing canbecome our thing and we found
this town in Nelson, which haslike proper camps where you can
learn and go to the camp and getinstruction every day and they
videotape you and you watchyourself and just make a lot of
improvement in a short period oftime, which is what I need.
(21:37):
I think that if I'm going to doit, I want to commit and I want
to go all in and this kind offeels like the time to do it Not
really working, living in thevan, waking up in Fernando,
heading down down to I thinkit's a lake or an ocean I got, I
got to learn that, but I knowI'll be using the wind.
That's the plan in terms of keythings we really want to do
(21:59):
kiwi burn, doing some of thegreat walks, doing a sports
experience like wing surfing,where we just like set up in a
town and just live and breathethe sport for that period of
time, and those are like the keyadventures that we're going to
do.
We're going to bookend the tripwith Australia to start, so
(22:21):
basically arrive just in timefor New Year's.
December 28th is our flightfrom Ontario, so we'll do
Christmas in Ontario and thenhead to New Year's in Australia,
hang out there for about 10days with some friends, do New
Zealand for a couple months, onemonth living in the van, and
then we'll end that experienceby, I think, going to Fiji,
maybe doing some surfing in Fijiwe have some friends that might
(22:44):
be there then and then endingin March in Costa Rica, going to
Envision Music Festival andthen spending six weeks after
that in our all-time favoritespot in the entire world, puerto
Viejo, costa Rica.
At this point you've heard lotsabout this will be our sixth
year returning to the jungle andseeing our friends there.
(23:04):
So that is the plan for thewhole four month journey.
One of the ways we were able toafford this trip, which we're
going to talk a little bit nowabout how we are able to pull
this off, is through credit cardpoints, and I have been talking
about this a lot on the podcast.
I've had some great episodesabout travel hacking where they
get very detailed on this, but Iwill say we found the best deal
(23:30):
I've ever seen on a flightpoint offer ever 54,000 points
to fly from Sudbury, ontario, toBrisbane, australia, on
December 28th, one of the mostexpensive times to fly.
So that is three flightsSudbury to Toronto, toronto to
(23:50):
San Francisco, san Francisco toBrisbane for 54,000 points.
To put it in perspective, thatcan easily be a round trip
flight within Canada.
So the fact that we found thatwe were just so stoked as soon
as we saw that we took the dealright away.
If you are not collecting creditcard points yet, you are
(24:13):
missing out.
This is literally free travelmoney.
This is investing in yourfuture digital nomad freedom
lifestyle adventures.
As a canadian, my favoritecredit card for this and I get
nothing for mentioning this, I'mliterally just having your back
is the aeroplan visa infinitecard.
They have infinite privilegeand just the regular infinite.
(24:36):
I have both but the regularinfinite.
They have this amazing welcomebonus.
I've done it a few times.
I'm looking at the websiteright now.
It is live the first year.
You don't have to pay for thecredit card and you get 40,000
Aeroplan points.
So 40,000 aeroplane points justfor signing up.
(24:56):
It was 54,000 points for me tofly all the way to Australia
from a very small town inOntario where it's already
expensive to fly to Seriouslyget on this.
I'm so glad I had some travelhacking mentors that reminded me
of this potential, because whenyou're not going to be working
for I don't know, three, fourmonths, we'll see what I decide.
I'm pretty fluid.
Jared has a specific plan mindand me of this potential,
because when you're not going tobe working for I don't know
three, four months, we'll seewhat I decide.
(25:17):
I'm pretty fluid.
Jared has a specific plan, solet's get into how we were able
to take that time off.
Jared is doing a formalsabbatical.
He works for a company thatalready had unlimited vacation
as a perk for working there,which is pretty amazing.
But because this is going to bea longer period of time off, he
(25:37):
needed to do a propersabbatical.
Essentially, that's like anextended period leave from work
Typically lasts several monthsto even a year.
It allows that person to take abreak from the regular job for
any type of personal, academic,professional growth, and it's
becoming more and more popularbecause it really allows your
(25:58):
employees to take that time forthemselves to come back to work
refreshed, excited, having freshperspectives, new energy, being
excited about their job, which,if someone's been working at
your company for long enoughtime to be eligible for a
sabbatical In Jared's case itwas about six years you could
probably be pretty burnt out.
(26:19):
So the alternative is you losethat employee altogether and now
you have to replace that person.
So I think it's a no-brainer.
It's a win-win for the employerand the employee.
Not all sabbaticals are paid.
Some are unpaid.
Some employers do partial orfully paid sabbaticals.
I'm not going to get into allthe details of Jared's
(26:39):
arrangement because that's verypersonal, but I will say he's
going to get paid to travel,right?
I, on the other hand, do nothave an employer who is going to
be paying me, so I need to relyon my savings and passive
income streams.
So when it comes to passiveincome streams, a huge one for
(27:00):
us has been renting out ourtownhouse on Airbnb.
I did an entire solo episodeearlier this year on how we've
been able to be so successful onAirbnb.
If you haven't listened to it,go listen to it.
I also share some funny storiesabout things that have gone
wrong, but our townhouses aregoing to be available for five
months, so having someone rentthat out so I don't have to be
(27:23):
paying my mortgage as well aspaying for my van Fernando as
well as the various Airbnbs thatwe'll be staying at is huge.
We just like, literally in thelast two weeks, locked in a
lovely couple who is going to berenting out our place for the
entire five-month period.
That is the longest time we'veever had one consistent guest.
(27:43):
Before that it was three months, which we were thrilled about.
But to have someone committedfor five straight months where
there's no turnover, notworrying about cleaners, not
worrying about welcome guides,not worrying about unpaid, not
worrying about welcome guides,not worrying about unpaid days,
while you have a naturaltransition, is incredible.
And it gets even better.
They agreed to watch ourfirstborn Bagheera, our
(28:05):
wonderful cat.
So Bagheera is going to get tolive in her home and be cared
for by these cute people wholoved her when they saw her and
we feel really good about herbeing in their company.
So that's amazing.
That is going to be one revenuestream that I have coming in.
Another thing that's really inmy control, that's different
from Jared, is yes, jared hasthis stability and security with
(28:29):
one employer who pays him everymonth.
What he doesn't have isuncapped income employer who
pays him every month.
What he doesn't have isuncapped income.
So I have the ability to turnon more income when I need it
right, and so I now know I'vegot another 90 days before my
trip.
Q4 is coming.
I am ready to turn on moreincome.
I'm planning to makesignificantly more money in
(28:51):
these three months than I madein the previous three months,
which means intentionally sayingyes to opportunities that I
maybe would have said no to,because in the past I've been
trying to work less than 30hours of work per week, so
that's like an obvious one butalso just getting really good at
launching new offers to myexisting clients, upselling to
(29:13):
my existing clients and justseeing what I can do with the
people who are already in myfunnel and who have already
worked with me in the past.
I've been an entrepreneur nowsince 2017.
So I have thousands of peopleon my email list, hundreds of
clients who have paid to workwith me in the past.
How can I reach out and engagethat group to turn on more
(29:34):
income, launch things that maybedidn't exist before and just
really turn up that dial onincome?
Knowing that I'm going to beworking less in January, which
is another reason I'm doing sucha big push for this 90-day
program I am worried aboutlosing this momentum, though I
think it's a real fear.
(29:55):
As somebody who has thisamazing client base that I've
been nurturing, that I love like.
I don't want to lose them.
A perfect example of this is Ihave been producing the podcast
for Brave for over three yearsnow.
I love this team.
I love the host.
I love the internal team.
I love the content.
It's such a good fit.
I love this team.
I love the host, I love theinternal team.
(30:15):
I love the content.
It's such a good fit.
I feel respected, they respectme, and it's just been a really
incredible consistent incomesource and just stable project
that I've really been able toown and leverage for three years
now.
I don't want to lose that for afour month trip and adventure
and so for them.
I'm thinking really creativelyabout how can I hold on to that
(30:36):
client, how can I batch content,do more work in November,
december, so that in the newyear we have a bunch of content
scheduled out and maybe that canwork and I can keep my contract
with them entirely.
You know, similar to mycoaching clients, I have some
really amazing people in mycohorts that I've been working
(30:56):
with who stayed on until the endof the year, which is amazing.
Like everybody who was in thefirst cohort renewed not only
for another cohort, theyactually signed on for six more
months.
So I have these amazing peopleI'm going to just support until
the end of 2024.
I don't want that to be goodbyeforever.
So I'm thinking about, okay,what is an async product?
(31:17):
So a product that doesn'trequire me to be live on a call
with them, that I can sell them,that can start in January, that
keeps them engaged with me,keeps them getting value, keeps
them feeling supportive, alsostill bringing in revenue for
myself, but, most importantly,keeping those relationships so
that when I do come back I cankeep that momentum and I have a
(31:38):
lot of exciting projects thatI'm returning to.
Because a big reflection pointfor me and kind of a point of
tension between Jared and I inthis trip and like an area of
resentment I realized was kindof starting to build that I
needed to just address or it wasgoing to ruin the trip was the
fact that I really don't need avacation.
If I'm being honest, thissabbatical is more for Jared.
(31:59):
Like I, I kind of live thefreedom lifestyle.
I'm always working part time.
Things are good, projects comeand go, clients come and go.
There's a natural ebb and flowto my work that just leaves me
in a state of always feelinglike I have abundance of time
and excess.
I don't feel burned out versushim, can't really speak for him.
(32:22):
I'd like to but I won't.
He has been with one companynow for six years and that's a
long time.
To have that mental load on oneconsistent company, project
vision team Like that's a lot ofweight to be carrying and be
going full speed for six years.
So he really deserves a break.
It's time for him to, you know,get quiet about what he really
(32:46):
wants for this next phase of hislife and his career, return to
the job with a lot more clarityand fresh perspective.
So this is definitely for him.
For me, I'm really doing thisfor our relationship is what I
realized.
Like Jared and I thrive whenhe's on vacation shocking, wow,
what a big insight, right.
(33:06):
But seriously, I'm so lookingforward just having those few
months with him where we're justdoing nothing but enjoying our
lives and prioritizing all thethings that make ourselves happy
physically, mentally.
The number one priority eachday is like what kind of
adventure do you want to go on?
What do you feel like doing andjust designing each day
(33:28):
together, like he's my bestfriend.
And ultimately, if it meantlosing all the progress and
momentum I've built in mybusiness over the last several
years just to have thisadventure with him and have this
time for a relationship.
I would choose us.
I would choose us, and hehasn't taken time off like this
(33:50):
since our backpacking trip in2018, so I'm excited to go on
this journey with him and reallymake lifelong memories that I
know, will just be another corechapter in our relationship
journey and our lives together.
I also have confidence in myselfthat if I absolutely needed to
start over, if I came back toliterally no business and no
(34:12):
clients and no revenue and I hadto start from zero, I could do
it right.
I've done it before.
I can turn back on the momentum.
I'm the one who did it thefirst time.
So if I need to, I can do itagain.
And at mid 30, I still got a lotof life to live.
I am going to be working for awhile still Four months in the
(34:33):
grand scheme of my career.
If it's a four month periodwhere my bank account is going
down instead of going up, that'sscary.
It is, but it's so temporaryand if we really zoom out on the
income line, it is barely goingto be noticeable.
And so I'm having to do a lotof mental work, a lot of like
(34:53):
money stories and relationshipswith money and being okay with
this and being okay withindulging and just enjoying
myself, maybe doing somethingthat feels hedonistic or
indulgent or radical, and justbeing okay with that and not
labeling it as any of thesenegative things, but instead
taking my own advice, which islife is meant to be lived and
(35:16):
life is meant to be enjoyed.
And if you have a business thatyou can pause to go on adventure
with your husband and a timewhere he really needs it and is
inviting you to go, and you canpause that business and say, yes
, that's amazing, that issomething to be really proud of.
And so, just trying to look atit that way but it's it not
(35:36):
always easy I am scared and itfeels like a lot of pressure.
It also feels like, okay, well,I'm going to be giving up a lot
in my career and my businessfor this trip.
It better be worth it, jared,which is also not fair.
So, also trying to check myself, we're very clear with what
success looks like for this trip.
We kind of have these five keypillars we're focusing on.
(35:57):
Let's see if I can name them.
So okay, experiencing van lifeand really feeling like we did
that and we had that fullexperience, pulling out new
insights about ourselves.
So, taking the time to just bequiet with ourselves, journal,
do some self-improvement,personal development,
inspirational podcast, just deepthinking, pull up some new
(36:21):
insights about ourselves, mastera new sport.
So wing surfing, wing foiling Ithink is going to be that we
really want to leave thisexperience with a new sport.
The relationship so have apleasurable time together and
make core memories that we lookback on in our relationship.
(36:42):
And then what was the fifth one?
Oh yeah, animals.
I was like I'm not going toaustralia without being immersed
in kangaroos and animalexperiences, being in the
wildlife.
So, yeah, wanting to have somepretty cool animal experiences,
which I think we're gonna do, Ifound this area.
It's, uh, north StradbrookIsland or North Strati, they
(37:04):
call it.
We are going to be camping on abeach where the kangaroos come
for sunrise and sunset.
So, yeah, that's another biggoal is like animal and wildlife
experiences and that's what wewant to get out of the trip and
we're not going to put so muchpressure on it to be anything
other than that we're not goingto be able to do it all like
already we're kind of FOMOingwhere we're like oh my god, two
(37:25):
months is not enough in NewZealand, we want to go here, we
want to go here, we want to gohere, but we also don't want to
be like running from one placeto another, completely frantic
and not being able to enjoy it.
It's like also just acceptingthat you can't do it all and
just making the most of theexperiences, but remembering,
like, what you're trying to getout of it, and so if the
experience doesn't check off acouple of those five pillars,
then we're not going toprioritize it and we're just
(37:47):
going to prioritize maybe beingin a spot longer so we can be
more chill, pull out moreinsights about ourselves,
connect more deeper as a couple.
Yeah, so that's how we'rethinking about it.
I hope this inspires you toeither look at New Zealand or
consider planning to take sometime off, either on your own or
with your partner.
I think it's so healthy to do,whether you're feeling burnt out
(38:10):
from your job and you want somenew perspective, or you want to
transition from one thing toanother rather than just jumping
into the next thing.
Plan to have that break.
I think is so invaluable, andthen you know, even if you don't
need a break, but maybe yourpartner does, how can you invest
in co-creating that experiencetogether and making it work for
(38:31):
both of you.
I think it's so healthy and Idon't think this is going to be
our last 2018, and then 2025.
We'll see when the next one is,the next time we need it or
want it or desire it.
The world is big.
I want to be doing more thanwork, even though work can be
pretty fucking cool sometimes.
So I'll leave you there.
If you want to work together,whatsyourfreecom slash?
(38:52):
Your next 90 days is going tobe the last chance to join this
cohort of dreamers.
You will have unlimited accessto me.
We will work together.
We are going to end the yearstrong.
I'm also going to be launchingthings.
I'm also going to be growing bythe end of the year.
So I'll be on your team.
I need this just as much as myclients do.
I hope to see you there.
Let's chat, let's see ifthere's a way for us to work
(39:14):
together in Q4.
And until next time, freedomseekers, enjoy your freedom.
Hello, freedom Seekers, we are back.
It has been a few months sinceI've connected with you here and
I've truly missed it.
I'm coming off what feels likea season of just fully seizing
summer and capturing it.
I don't know about you, but forme, I'm always trying to find
that balance between making sureI have all the peak experiences
(00:23):
and big adventures scheduledinto my summer, the big things
I'm going to look forward to,the big moments where at the end
of the year, I look back on theyear.
These are the things I'm goingto remember but then also making
sure I have a lot of chillweekends, those Saturdays where
you look at it and you're like,actually I have nothing planned
today and someone invites youfor a random dinner and you can
(00:44):
just say spontaneously yes toplans like that.
This feels like the firstsummer where I actually nailed
that, and it's because I didn'tdo any international traveling.
In fact, I haven't left Canadasince my last work trip, which
was in April.
That's not true.
I went to Germany for one nightto see Taylor Swift for the
heiress tour that I really don'tthink that counts as traveling,
(01:06):
though that was just one verylong, epic day to go see my girl
Tay.
Another story for another time.
The point is is I found thatbalance and I think it's because
go figure, I stopped traveling.
Not traveling has meant thatI've had time to go so much
deeper in my friendships thatare in BC, in the community in
(01:28):
the town that I moved to a fewyears ago.
If I'm being honest, it wasfeeling like my relationships
were suffering.
I've been digital nomading andworking remotely now since 2017.
And when people would talkabout community and their
community, I didn't really knowwhat it meant.
I didn't know what that feltlike until I just spent more
(01:50):
time in Squamish and was justaround for these, like Thursday
night pickleball games or aFriday night dinner with friends
or an afternoon hike All ofthese casual experiences before
I would come home every fewmonths and the conversations
ended up having to be a littlebit surface level because so
(02:10):
much time had passed since I hadseen them last that you were
just exchanging stories.
You were just exchanging thehighlight reel.
You weren't really like gettinginto things.
But now that I've just beenaround more, I can just go so
much deeper with my friendships,like okay, tell me everything
about that.
What can just go so much deeperwith my friendships, like, okay
, tell me everything about that.
(02:30):
What were you thinking?
The highs, the lows like I wantto know a play by play of that
experience.
Because we got time right.
So I feel like I've loved thatand I wouldn't have been able to
do that if I had been travelingall the time.
Right?
Go figure, you work so hard tobuild this digital nomad
lifestyle and then you start tomiss what it's like just being
in one place, not traveling somuch has also meant that I could
show up better at work and formy clients.
(02:52):
I have now run two cohorts ofmy 90-day coaching program,
which I've talked a little bitabout on the podcast before.
But it's a 90-day program whereI help you either launch or
grow something.
And because this programinvolves having literally
unlimited access to meessentially I can't imagine
(03:14):
having to run this program whilealso navigating time zones and
flight schedules and making sureI have good Wi-Fi I've really
been able to go deeper with myclients and give them everything
and finding the freedom in that, finding my own freedom
lifestyle in being in one place.
And this has really just mademe come back to the whole
(03:34):
premise of this show, which isthe freedom.
Lifestyle is going to lookdifferent for everyone and it
might look different for you atdifferent times of your life,
like it gets to be fluid.
You can choose what freedom andflexibility means to you on a
month by month, quarter byquarter, year by year basis.
The whole idea is making youthe creator of your life.
(03:55):
You're the one driving thisthing, you're designing it and
you get to choose what freedomand flexibility looks like for
you.
Maybe you're going into a seasonwhere you're going to be
working 40, 50 hours a week, butit's very focused on something
that is important to you andmeaningful to you, and that's
freedom for you during thatperiod.
Maybe you're going on asabbatical into New Zealand
(04:17):
where you're not going to beworking for a few months and are
just going to be traveling andadventuring, which is ultimately
what I'm here to talk to youabout today, despite having such
a great summer and the fall inthe horizon where I'm going to
be soaking up more time in BC,not traveling, going deeper with
my clients.
Shoulder season is coming, therain, the snow, the cold and for
(04:41):
me that usually means it's timeto go.
I'm about to blow my life backup and go back into the chaos of
traveling, because jared and Iare starting 2025 doing a
multi-month sabbatical in newzealand, where we are both going
to be taking a break from ourjobs and just focus on our
relationship, our personaldevelopment, focus on the fun
(05:04):
and adventurous side of ourlives, and I want to talk a
little bit about that, becausethis decision to take this gap
of employment was not takenlightly.
Jared and I are in verydifferent situations.
I have my own business withmultiple revenue streams.
He's been working for oneemployer for six years.
(05:25):
It's a very different setup.
So I wanted to talk to you alittle bit about how we came to
this decision as a couple, howwe prepared for it so that we
could actually take this gap inemployment, and also what we
have planned Maybe give you alittle preview of what we're
doing on this trip places we'regoing, big experiences.
We're investing in coolresources that we've found that
(05:47):
are unique to New Zealand,because maybe New Zealand is on
your bucket list some point inthe future, or maybe it's in
your short-term itinerary andyou're listening to this episode
for inspo.
That is what I have planned foryou today Introduction to why
we're taking a sabbatical, howwe were able to do this in our
(06:08):
careers, what we have planned,what we're going to actually do,
where we're going to go, howwe're going to travel around.
You probably saw in the titlewe are going to be living in a
van for one month of it, sowe'll talk about that, and then
also what success looks like forthis experience.
Hopefully you leave feelinginspired to plan for your own
(06:28):
sabbatical one day.
Before I get into that, I willmention that if you're on my
email list, you probably alreadysaw an email go out this past
weekend about how this is goingto be your last chance to work
with me.
So I am running one finalcohort of your next 90 days.
Q4, starting October 1st will bethe final chance for you to
(06:49):
join the program.
This is going to be the biggestgroup I have yet.
I'm going all in with thisgroup of dreamers, giving you
everything I have, knowing thatit's going to be a while before
I can show up for my clients inthis way again.
So really looking for a fewmore dreamers who are ready to
end the year strong.
(07:11):
Everybody who's already signedup and showed early interest is
so committed.
I'm really excited to beworking with everybody.
I'm really excited to introducepeople in the program to each
other because I have attractedsome really cool clients over
the years.
So if you've been consideringworking with me or you had eyes
on this program, this really isthe time Starting January I will
(07:32):
not be working, which we'regoing to come back to and talk a
little bit about that, becauseI'm definitely nervous about not
working and taking a break frommy clients, so I'll also share
a little bit about how I'm goingto do that and keep them
engaged.
Clients so I'll also share alittle bit about how I'm going
to do that and keep them engaged.
But Q4, final 90-day sprint.
(07:53):
You can learn more about theprogram at whatsyourfreecom
slash next 90 days.
Book a free call with me.
We can chat about it, learnabout your goals, see if it's a
right fit, but quickly.
Service-based entrepreneurs youcan either be early stage or
more established who also have apodcast or are leveraging their
personal brand in some way tobuild an audience for their
business.
That is the group of people whoare in this program.
(08:14):
If you are either of those andyou have something that you want
to launch or something you wantto grow before 2024 comes to an
end.
I'm your girl, let's chat.
(08:35):
New Zealand as a destination forour sabbatical has been on the
bucket list and intention nowfor years.
We originally actuallyenvisioned doing it with a dog.
When we made our vision boardfor like a five-year horizon, we
pictured living in a van andactually having a dog with us
the whole time, and then we weregoing to bring the dog back to
Canada and that was going to behow we got a dog.
We are no longer involving thedog in our plan.
(08:57):
I'm sad to give up that part ofthe dream.
I think it was maybe a littlebit too ambitious, but
ultimately we have a cat and Idon't think the cat is ready to
share space with a dog.
So we are postponing our dreamsof getting a dog, my husband
and I but we are saying yes to2025 being the year that we do
the sabbatical and we live in avan.
(09:20):
So ever since we moved toSquamish in 2020, we have really
become educated on van life.
That is a big part of theculture here.
We have friends that own themakerspace in town and they have
an entire program where you cango there with your van and
learn to outfit it and how youcan live in your van.
We have campgrounds all aroundtown that are free for people to
(09:40):
live in their vans.
There's even drama around theWalmart parking lot in town
because people who live in thevans were like living in the
parking lot and like peeing inthe parking lot and people
didn't like that and honestly,that's kind of fair.
So I know a ton of people thatlive in their vans and we just
have always been so curiousabout that, about this idea of
(10:02):
just living in your car,essentially, and where do we
want to sleep tonight or wheredo we want to go?
Or sometimes we'll be at thepark for like a slacklining
meetup and we'll say like, oh,do you live in squamish?
People would say I do right nowand say what do you mean?
Well, my van's parked on thisstreet this week and I don't
know what I'm doing next weekand maybe in a couple months
I'll be up here and it was justalways so fascinating to us.
(10:23):
And so, go figure, we're gonnaliterally fly to the other end
of the world, from Canada to NewZealand, to do something that
people literally do on thepublic street near my house.
But that's okay, we haveaccepted that.
That is our plan, as silly asit sounds, new Zealand is also
pretty similar to Squamish andBC especially.
We're going to be mostly in theSouth Island, which I'm going
(10:46):
to talk a little bit about thedifferences and how we chose
which one.
But the decision to live in avan really got sparked when we
came to Squamish in 2020 and welearned a little bit about that
lifestyle.
We knew that every six, sevenor so years we would be ready,
jared, let's be clear.
Jared would be ready to take abreak from work.
(11:07):
So we last took a big breakfrom our work in 2018.
We did a four month backpackingtrip across south america where
we were not working and weloved it.
Of course, going on full-timevacation with your husband
traveling, traveling the worldSounds pretty good.
It is pretty good, and so,while we don't have the trust
(11:28):
fund to do that indefinitelyalso, we probably wouldn't be
satisfied by that we knew thatwe'd be ready for something like
this again in five, six or soyears.
So the time is now.
Jared feels ready to take abreak from work.
He's had those conversationswith his employer.
They have approved it.
I'll go into some of thenuances that I feel comfortable
(11:49):
sharing on his behalf in asecond.
But we got the okay to moveforward on that idea and when we
thought about living in a van,we thought about just renting
from one of these companies.
When we went to Burning man, weused Cruise America and very
quickly found out that 90% ofpeople who go to Burning man we
used Cruise America and veryquickly found out that 90% of
people who go to Burning man useCruise America.
We were a little embarrassed,honestly, driving around in this
(12:11):
van that had just the brandingall over it super basic, super
templated experience, also quiteexpensive, with a lot of rules.
So I just kind of accepted thatthat would be my fate in New
Zealand until we found thiswebsite, camplify, which is
essentially a peer-to-peerdigital marketplace to connect
(12:31):
people who have recreationalvehicles or RVs with people who
want to rent them.
And an RV is just, I think, abroad term.
When I picture an RV, I picturelike a big motorhome kind of
we're going to be renting just avan.
There's not going to be like ashower or a full kitchen in it,
um, so much smaller, not reallysure how to describe it yet, but
(12:53):
I am going to include somepictures on social media and if
you're on my email list, youalready know the exact van that
we rent in.
But this website I'm talkingabout Camplify.
It exists in New Zealand,australia, spain and the UK.
I was so excited when I saw that, because not only could we get
something that was a lot moreaffordable, but also something
that was super cute.
(13:14):
Ours is a 2011 Mazda Bongo andit's named Fernando, and it's
totally outfitted to be able tolive in it and make your own
food.
We have a kitchen in the backwith just a sink, a two burner
gas stove, a small fridge, evenhas a toilet in it, which really
gives it this status that'simportant in New Zealand, which
(13:37):
is a self-contained status.
So if you have a vehicle that'sconsidered self-contained in
New Zealand, you could takeadvantage of freedom camping,
which essentially is this ruleand legislation in New Zealand
that if you have self-containedvehicles, you can pretty much
camp for free or at a veryminimal cost in different public
(13:59):
areas, different beaches,different forests or other
scenic spots.
Okay, so freedom camping is areally fun and cool, unique way
to take in New Zealand's beauty,and it's regulated, so it still
protects the environment andall the local communities.
But this is something that wethought was really interesting
and a way that we wanted toexperience New Zealand.
(14:22):
We also felt like, okay, we'rein our mid-30s now.
Every year, I'm getting moreand more picky, more and more
particular.
30s now.
Every year, I'm getting moreand more picky, more and more
particular.
Realistically, how much longerdo I have where I'm going to be
in this phase of life, where I'mwilling to actually live in a
van and live in this type ofenvironment?
So the time is now.
We're super excited about this.
(14:42):
We got the van booked, we havea bit of a route picked out,
which I'm going to talk a littlebit about in the episode.
But one key event that we'relooking forward to, that we're
going to be bringing the van to,is Kiwi Burn.
So Kiwi Burn is New Zealand'sregional version of Burning man,
which I've talked to you abouton the podcast.
(15:03):
I've talked to you about whatactually happened last year when
we attended.
It's a little R-rated.
If you haven't listened to thatepisode yet, please don't
listen to it with your parents.
But this is an annual eventthat happens in New Zealand that
has those same principles.
So self-expression, communityart, self-reliance leave no
trace.
And it happens to take place inJanuary when we're going to be
(15:26):
there.
It's going to be on the NorthIsland.
I had a friend that has goneand said really great things, so
we hope to go.
I say hope because what'sdifferent about this regional
burn is that it's almost 100%volunteer-based, and next year
they're actually going to makeit 100% volunteer-based.
So this year there's only about400 tickets that are being sold
(15:48):
in the lottery, similar toBurning man.
If you want to buy a ticket togo to Burning man, you have to
enter the lottery and see if youget lucky.
Both times I went to Burningman, I got lucky and got tickets
to the lottery, but no one elsein my group did so it does
really feel like not guaranteedthat you're going to get one,
and even less so knowing thatthere's so few for the Kiwi Burn
.
You might be thinking, sam, whywouldn't you just volunteer?
(16:11):
Like, don't you lovevolunteering, putting on
workshops and giving back?
I really hope to.
I'm trying to investigate that.
If you have been following me onInstagram, you know that this
summer, jared and I launchedConscious Kitties, which is a
new brand that we're operatingunder that brand name when we
offer ourselves up as eventfacilitators and workshop hosts.
(16:33):
So this summer was the officiallaunch of conscious kitties.
We got booked to deliverworkshops at a few different
pretty big festivals here incanada, including base coast,
and we have three solid offersthat we're now shopping around
to different festivals.
We would love, love, love togive a workshop at Envision
Music Festival.
That's definitely on our dreamlist.
There's a really cool event inPortugal called Boom.
(16:55):
That would be very fitting forus, definitely like conscious
music festivals and Kiwi Burn.
If they'll accept that as avolunteer role, we would love to
do that.
So we're navigating it.
But right now we've planned forthose five days to be at Kiwi
Burn with Fernando, our van andour home.
For the first month or so thatwe are in New Zealand, we're
(17:17):
lucky to have some friends inthat area of the world, which is
pretty cool.
So we have some friends thatlive in Christchurch in New
Zealand and another friendthat's going to be in Nelson,
and then we have friends inAustralia actually who that's
going to be in Nelson, and thenwe have friends in Australia
actually who we're going tostart the trip in Australia and
they're going to come with us.
But if you're thinking aboutgoing to New Zealand, the big
(17:37):
spots that are on our radar aredefinitely Queenstown, wanaka,
milford Sound, christchurch andNelson definitely want to make
it to Wellington.
I think that's closer to whereKiwiburn is.
That's probably as north aswe'll go, but we're really going
to focus on the South Island.
I think if you're going to NewZealand, that's one of the first
decisions you want to make.
If you have a short period oftime, am I going to go to the
(18:00):
North or the South Island of NewZealand?
They really differ in geography, climate, population.
So the North Island isdefinitely more populated, more
tropical, lush landscape, has,like major cities like Auckland
and Wellington, a lot ofgeothermal activity.
Versus in the South Island,it's more rugged, very alpine
(18:23):
scenery, cooler temperatures,fewer people, more of a hub for
outdoor adventures hiking,skiing, wind sports.
We decided we're going toprimarily focus on the South
Island.
We really want to do a lot ofhiking because in New Zealand
they have the Great Walks.
I think there's 10 of them, butthey're officially titled the
(18:44):
Great Walks of New Zealand andthey're a collection of premier
hiking trails that all have justincredible scenery, really well
maintained paths, very diverselandscapes.
They're often multi-day hikes,so hikes where there's going to
be huts set up for you partwaythrough where you can sleep in
or do backcountry camping, whereyou actually hike with your
(19:05):
tent which is our plan andactually just pitch a tent along
the way for yourself.
So there's 10 of them.
Definitely, one that we'vealready booked and are planning
for is the Routeburn track, andthat one's a three-day track, so
we'll be sleeping for twonights in the Alpine just
bringing our tent hiking with it.
We still need to get a newtwo-person tent and invest in
(19:29):
some gear, but we're reallyexcited about that.
So kind of chose the southisland to have a trip that's
more focused on adventure,activity, nature.
Another thing in the southisland is they have a town
called nelson.
They're really known for theirwater sports.
Jared has been kite surfing foryears.
He's gotten really good.
(19:49):
Honestly, I'm so proud of him.
It's very sexy watching yourhusband excel at a sport and be
so strong and athletic and, dareI say, masculine, if you know.
You know so he's very good atkite surfing, but I have no
desire to become a kite surfer.
It's very challenging.
He's so good at sports and thisis probably the hardest thing
(20:12):
I've ever seen him have to learnhow to do.
So I can't say I'm really thatdrawn to it.
But when we were in Italy inLake Como last summer, we ended
up just finding ourselves at anarea of Lake Como that was
really known for wind sports andthey had wing surfing, also
known as like wing foiling.
(20:32):
It's basically a sport whereyou are using a handheld
inflatable wing, so kind of likea kite or a sail, and you're
holding it and you're using thatwing to catch the wind, while
also standing on a board, and sowe tried that in Lake Como on
just like a paddle board.
That was what our lesson waswith.
(20:54):
I think it's easier to learn onthat and I felt like I got it
right away and it was really fun.
I felt badass in my wetsuit andjust so sporty and athletic and
it was cool to learn a sportthat takes advantage of a whole
other part of nature.
Like living in Squamish, I do alot of mountain stuff, but we're
on the ocean and I never godown to the ocean front and do
(21:15):
sports down there, like kitesurfing has just been Jared's
thing.
So we think wing surfing canbecome our thing and we found
this town in Nelson, which haslike proper camps where you can
learn and go to the camp and getinstruction every day and they
videotape you and you watchyourself and just make a lot of
improvement in a short period oftime, which is what I need.
(21:37):
I think that if I'm going to doit, I want to commit and I want
to go all in and this kind offeels like the time to do it Not
really working, living in thevan, waking up in Fernando,
heading down down to I thinkit's a lake or an ocean I got, I
got to learn that, but I knowI'll be using the wind.
That's the plan in terms of keythings we really want to do
(21:59):
kiwi burn, doing some of thegreat walks, doing a sports
experience like wing surfing,where we just like set up in a
town and just live and breathethe sport for that period of
time, and those are like the keyadventures that we're going to
do.
We're going to bookend the tripwith Australia to start, so
(22:21):
basically arrive just in timefor New Year's.
December 28th is our flightfrom Ontario, so we'll do
Christmas in Ontario and thenhead to New Year's in Australia,
hang out there for about 10days with some friends, do New
Zealand for a couple months, onemonth living in the van, and
then we'll end that experienceby, I think, going to Fiji,
maybe doing some surfing in Fijiwe have some friends that might
(22:44):
be there then and then endingin March in Costa Rica, going to
Envision Music Festival andthen spending six weeks after
that in our all-time favoritespot in the entire world, puerto
Viejo, costa Rica.
At this point you've heard lotsabout this will be our sixth
year returning to the jungle andseeing our friends there.
(23:04):
So that is the plan for thewhole four month journey.
One of the ways we were able toafford this trip, which we're
going to talk a little bit nowabout how we are able to pull
this off, is through credit cardpoints, and I have been talking
about this a lot on the podcast.
I've had some great episodesabout travel hacking where they
get very detailed on this, but Iwill say we found the best deal
(23:30):
I've ever seen on a flightpoint offer ever 54,000 points
to fly from Sudbury, ontario, toBrisbane, australia, on
December 28th, one of the mostexpensive times to fly.
So that is three flightsSudbury to Toronto, toronto to
(23:50):
San Francisco, san Francisco toBrisbane for 54,000 points.
To put it in perspective, thatcan easily be a round trip
flight within Canada.
So the fact that we found thatwe were just so stoked as soon
as we saw that we took the dealright away.
If you are not collecting creditcard points yet, you are
(24:13):
missing out.
This is literally free travelmoney.
This is investing in yourfuture digital nomad freedom
lifestyle adventures.
As a canadian, my favoritecredit card for this and I get
nothing for mentioning this, I'mliterally just having your back
is the aeroplan visa infinitecard.
They have infinite privilegeand just the regular infinite.
(24:36):
I have both but the regularinfinite.
They have this amazing welcomebonus.
I've done it a few times.
I'm looking at the websiteright now.
It is live the first year.
You don't have to pay for thecredit card and you get 40,000
Aeroplan points.
So 40,000 aeroplane points justfor signing up.
(24:56):
It was 54,000 points for me tofly all the way to Australia
from a very small town inOntario where it's already
expensive to fly to Seriouslyget on this.
I'm so glad I had some travelhacking mentors that reminded me
of this potential, because whenyou're not going to be working
for I don't know, three, fourmonths, we'll see what I decide.
I'm pretty fluid.
Jared has a specific plan mindand me of this potential,
because when you're not going tobe working for I don't know
three, four months, we'll seewhat I decide.
(25:17):
I'm pretty fluid.
Jared has a specific plan, solet's get into how we were able
to take that time off.
Jared is doing a formalsabbatical.
He works for a company thatalready had unlimited vacation
as a perk for working there,which is pretty amazing.
But because this is going to bea longer period of time off, he
(25:37):
needed to do a propersabbatical.
Essentially, that's like anextended period leave from work
Typically lasts several monthsto even a year.
It allows that person to take abreak from the regular job for
any type of personal, academic,professional growth, and it's
becoming more and more popularbecause it really allows your
(25:58):
employees to take that time forthemselves to come back to work
refreshed, excited, having freshperspectives, new energy, being
excited about their job, which,if someone's been working at
your company for long enoughtime to be eligible for a
sabbatical In Jared's case itwas about six years you could
probably be pretty burnt out.
(26:19):
So the alternative is you losethat employee altogether and now
you have to replace that person.
So I think it's a no-brainer.
It's a win-win for the employerand the employee.
Not all sabbaticals are paid.
Some are unpaid.
Some employers do partial orfully paid sabbaticals.
I'm not going to get into allthe details of Jared's
(26:39):
arrangement because that's verypersonal, but I will say he's
going to get paid to travel,right?
I, on the other hand, do nothave an employer who is going to
be paying me, so I need to relyon my savings and passive
income streams.
So when it comes to passiveincome streams, a huge one for
(27:00):
us has been renting out ourtownhouse on Airbnb.
I did an entire solo episodeearlier this year on how we've
been able to be so successful onAirbnb.
If you haven't listened to it,go listen to it.
I also share some funny storiesabout things that have gone
wrong, but our townhouses aregoing to be available for five
months, so having someone rentthat out so I don't have to be
(27:23):
paying my mortgage as well aspaying for my van Fernando as
well as the various Airbnbs thatwe'll be staying at is huge.
We just like, literally in thelast two weeks, locked in a
lovely couple who is going to berenting out our place for the
entire five-month period.
That is the longest time we'veever had one consistent guest.
(27:43):
Before that it was three months, which we were thrilled about.
But to have someone committedfor five straight months where
there's no turnover, notworrying about cleaners, not
worrying about welcome guides,not worrying about unpaid, not
worrying about welcome guides,not worrying about unpaid days,
while you have a naturaltransition, is incredible.
And it gets even better.
They agreed to watch ourfirstborn Bagheera, our
(28:05):
wonderful cat.
So Bagheera is going to get tolive in her home and be cared
for by these cute people wholoved her when they saw her and
we feel really good about herbeing in their company.
So that's amazing.
That is going to be one revenuestream that I have coming in.
Another thing that's really inmy control, that's different
from Jared, is yes, jared hasthis stability and security with
(28:29):
one employer who pays him everymonth.
What he doesn't have isuncapped income employer who
pays him every month.
What he doesn't have isuncapped income.
So I have the ability to turnon more income when I need it
right, and so I now know I'vegot another 90 days before my
trip.
Q4 is coming.
I am ready to turn on moreincome.
I'm planning to makesignificantly more money in
(28:51):
these three months than I madein the previous three months,
which means intentionally sayingyes to opportunities that I
maybe would have said no to,because in the past I've been
trying to work less than 30hours of work per week, so
that's like an obvious one butalso just getting really good at
launching new offers to myexisting clients, upselling to
(29:13):
my existing clients and justseeing what I can do with the
people who are already in myfunnel and who have already
worked with me in the past.
I've been an entrepreneur nowsince 2017.
So I have thousands of peopleon my email list, hundreds of
clients who have paid to workwith me in the past.
How can I reach out and engagethat group to turn on more
(29:34):
income, launch things that maybedidn't exist before and just
really turn up that dial onincome?
Knowing that I'm going to beworking less in January, which
is another reason I'm doing sucha big push for this 90-day
program I am worried aboutlosing this momentum, though I
think it's a real fear.
(29:55):
As somebody who has thisamazing client base that I've
been nurturing, that I love like.
I don't want to lose them.
A perfect example of this is Ihave been producing the podcast
for Brave for over three yearsnow.
I love this team.
I love the host.
I love the internal team.
I love the content.
It's such a good fit.
I love this team.
I love the host, I love theinternal team.
(30:15):
I love the content.
It's such a good fit.
I feel respected, they respectme, and it's just been a really
incredible consistent incomesource and just stable project
that I've really been able toown and leverage for three years
now.
I don't want to lose that for afour month trip and adventure
and so for them.
I'm thinking really creativelyabout how can I hold on to that
(30:36):
client, how can I batch content,do more work in November,
december, so that in the newyear we have a bunch of content
scheduled out and maybe that canwork and I can keep my contract
with them entirely.
You know, similar to mycoaching clients, I have some
really amazing people in mycohorts that I've been working
(30:56):
with who stayed on until the endof the year, which is amazing.
Like everybody who was in thefirst cohort renewed not only
for another cohort, theyactually signed on for six more
months.
So I have these amazing peopleI'm going to just support until
the end of 2024.
I don't want that to be goodbyeforever.
So I'm thinking about, okay,what is an async product?
(31:17):
So a product that doesn'trequire me to be live on a call
with them, that I can sell them,that can start in January, that
keeps them engaged with me,keeps them getting value, keeps
them feeling supportive, alsostill bringing in revenue for
myself, but, most importantly,keeping those relationships so
that when I do come back I cankeep that momentum and I have a
(31:38):
lot of exciting projects thatI'm returning to.
Because a big reflection pointfor me and kind of a point of
tension between Jared and I inthis trip and like an area of
resentment I realized was kindof starting to build that I
needed to just address or it wasgoing to ruin the trip was the
fact that I really don't need avacation.
If I'm being honest, thissabbatical is more for Jared.
(31:59):
Like I, I kind of live thefreedom lifestyle.
I'm always working part time.
Things are good, projects comeand go, clients come and go.
There's a natural ebb and flowto my work that just leaves me
in a state of always feelinglike I have abundance of time
and excess.
I don't feel burned out versushim, can't really speak for him.
(32:22):
I'd like to but I won't.
He has been with one companynow for six years and that's a
long time.
To have that mental load on oneconsistent company, project
vision team Like that's a lot ofweight to be carrying and be
going full speed for six years.
So he really deserves a break.
It's time for him to, you know,get quiet about what he really
(32:46):
wants for this next phase of hislife and his career, return to
the job with a lot more clarityand fresh perspective.
So this is definitely for him.
For me, I'm really doing thisfor our relationship is what I
realized.
Like Jared and I thrive whenhe's on vacation shocking, wow,
what a big insight, right.
(33:06):
But seriously, I'm so lookingforward just having those few
months with him where we're justdoing nothing but enjoying our
lives and prioritizing all thethings that make ourselves happy
physically, mentally.
The number one priority eachday is like what kind of
adventure do you want to go on?
What do you feel like doing andjust designing each day
(33:28):
together, like he's my bestfriend.
And ultimately, if it meantlosing all the progress and
momentum I've built in mybusiness over the last several
years just to have thisadventure with him and have this
time for a relationship.
I would choose us.
I would choose us, and hehasn't taken time off like this
(33:50):
since our backpacking trip in2018, so I'm excited to go on
this journey with him and reallymake lifelong memories that I
know, will just be another corechapter in our relationship
journey and our lives together.
I also have confidence in myselfthat if I absolutely needed to
start over, if I came back toliterally no business and no
(34:12):
clients and no revenue and I hadto start from zero, I could do
it right.
I've done it before.
I can turn back on the momentum.
I'm the one who did it thefirst time.
So if I need to, I can do itagain.
And at mid 30, I still got a lotof life to live.
I am going to be working for awhile still Four months in the
(34:33):
grand scheme of my career.
If it's a four month periodwhere my bank account is going
down instead of going up, that'sscary.
It is, but it's so temporaryand if we really zoom out on the
income line, it is barely goingto be noticeable.
And so I'm having to do a lotof mental work, a lot of like
(34:53):
money stories and relationshipswith money and being okay with
this and being okay withindulging and just enjoying
myself, maybe doing somethingthat feels hedonistic or
indulgent or radical, and justbeing okay with that and not
labeling it as any of thesenegative things, but instead
taking my own advice, which islife is meant to be lived and
(35:16):
life is meant to be enjoyed.
And if you have a business thatyou can pause to go on adventure
with your husband and a timewhere he really needs it and is
inviting you to go, and you canpause that business and say, yes
, that's amazing, that issomething to be really proud of.
And so, just trying to look atit that way but it's it not
(35:36):
always easy I am scared and itfeels like a lot of pressure.
It also feels like, okay, well,I'm going to be giving up a lot
in my career and my businessfor this trip.
It better be worth it, jared,which is also not fair.
So, also trying to check myself, we're very clear with what
success looks like for this trip.
We kind of have these five keypillars we're focusing on.
(35:57):
Let's see if I can name them.
So okay, experiencing van lifeand really feeling like we did
that and we had that fullexperience, pulling out new
insights about ourselves.
So, taking the time to just bequiet with ourselves, journal,
do some self-improvement,personal development,
inspirational podcast, just deepthinking, pull up some new
(36:21):
insights about ourselves, mastera new sport.
So wing surfing, wing foiling Ithink is going to be that we
really want to leave thisexperience with a new sport.
The relationship so have apleasurable time together and
make core memories that we lookback on in our relationship.
(36:42):
And then what was the fifth one?
Oh yeah, animals.
I was like I'm not going toaustralia without being immersed
in kangaroos and animalexperiences, being in the
wildlife.
So, yeah, wanting to have somepretty cool animal experiences,
which I think we're gonna do, Ifound this area.
It's, uh, north StradbrookIsland or North Strati, they
(37:04):
call it.
We are going to be camping on abeach where the kangaroos come
for sunrise and sunset.
So, yeah, that's another biggoal is like animal and wildlife
experiences and that's what wewant to get out of the trip and
we're not going to put so muchpressure on it to be anything
other than that we're not goingto be able to do it all like
already we're kind of FOMOingwhere we're like oh my god, two
(37:25):
months is not enough in NewZealand, we want to go here, we
want to go here, we want to gohere, but we also don't want to
be like running from one placeto another, completely frantic
and not being able to enjoy it.
It's like also just acceptingthat you can't do it all and
just making the most of theexperiences, but remembering,
like, what you're trying to getout of it, and so if the
experience doesn't check off acouple of those five pillars,
then we're not going toprioritize it and we're just
(37:47):
going to prioritize maybe beingin a spot longer so we can be
more chill, pull out moreinsights about ourselves,
connect more deeper as a couple.
Yeah, so that's how we'rethinking about it.
I hope this inspires you toeither look at New Zealand or
consider planning to take sometime off, either on your own or
with your partner.
I think it's so healthy to do,whether you're feeling burnt out
(38:10):
from your job and you want somenew perspective, or you want to
transition from one thing toanother rather than just jumping
into the next thing.
Plan to have that break.
I think is so invaluable, andthen you know, even if you don't
need a break, but maybe yourpartner does, how can you invest
in co-creating that experiencetogether and making it work for
(38:31):
both of you.
I think it's so healthy and Idon't think this is going to be
our last 2018, and then 2025.
We'll see when the next one is,the next time we need it or
want it or desire it.
The world is big.
I want to be doing more thanwork, even though work can be
pretty fucking cool sometimes.
So I'll leave you there.
If you want to work together,whatsyourfreecom slash?
(38:52):
Your next 90 days is going tobe the last chance to join this
cohort of dreamers.
You will have unlimited accessto me.
We will work together.
We are going to end the yearstrong.
I'm also going to be launchingthings.
I'm also going to be growing bythe end of the year.
So I'll be on your team.
I need this just as much as myclients do.
I hope to see you there.
Let's chat, let's see ifthere's a way for us to work
(39:14):
together in Q4.
And until next time, freedomseekers, enjoy your freedom.
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