It’s January 5th, 2010 and I’m sitting at the Portland airport about to board a flight to San Francisco.
From there I’ll fly to Seoul, and finally land in Bangkok, Thailand. My new home for…I have no idea how long.
To say the last week (and past few days in particular) have been a whirlwind would not be doing me justice.
Between trying to see all of the people in my life who will not be venturing across the world with me, and tying up countless loose ends, I’m ready to hop on a plane and just sit. For a long, long time!
As I’ve been thinking about my imminent departure, I’ve realized that this could be labeled a defining moment in my life. You know, one of those moments where you make a decision that you know will affect how you live the rest of your life.
I am almost ashamed to say that I haven’t had many of those in my life. As I have written in the past, my life has been pretty easy. I’ve always known what’d be next.
Well, I have no clue what’s next.
I’m arriving in Bangkok at midnight on Wednesday/Thursday and don’t know where I’ll be staying or going from there.
This is the coolest and most terrifying thing I have ever done.
As scary as it is though (my stomach has been in knots for the last few days), I didn’t have much of a choice. Had I said no, rather than yes, I would have always wondered “what if?” What if I hadn’t went to Thailand to pursue my dreams? What if I hadn’t left my job? What if I failed to take risks when opportunities presented themselves?
Then I would be like 95% of the people in the world who don’t go after their dreams.
I couldn’t live with that.
Life will present you with opportunities to make decisions that will define how you live and what you do. Maybe it will come in the form of a new job opportunity? Perhaps it’s a decision to leave a current job with no plans for the future. At one point or another, you’ll have a tough decision to make, and it will probably scare the crap out of you.
Embrace it.
Me sitting at the airport about to leave for Thailand. This was the moment my life would change forever.
As difficult as it is, learn to embrace the change and I promise you that you will be better off for it.
The only things that I regret in life, are the things that I didn’t do. For instance, when I had the opportunity to study abroad during college, I didn’t take it. There really weren’t any insurmountable reasons why I couldn’t have, it was just easier not to.
Looking back, I feel like that is one of the biggest things that has led me down my current path; I guess I’m making up for the missed opportunity!
Or how about the time earlier this year when I had the chance to learn how to sail, for free, in the Caribbean for three months. Instead, I decided to stay at a job that I knew I wasn’t happy with, and to this day I can’t believe I passed on the chance. Those are my regrets.
I don’t think I’ll regret the decision to travel.
UPDATE: It’s now 5:17am PST and I’m sitting at gate E5 in PDX finishing up this post. To say that the feeling is surreal would be an understatement to say the least.
If you have been following Location 180 for awhile, you know how long I have been working towards this moment. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m proud to think about how far I have come.
I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me over the coming weeks and months. As I mentioned in the last entry, I’m hoping to get a few more posts written while in transit about both my packing list, as well as a recap of everything that happened in 2009.
Again, I also wanted to thank you for sticking with me over the past week, as I know I have deviated from my posting schedule. To be honest, preparing to leave kicked my ass more than I ever expected it to, but now that everything is taken care of I find myself in a state of groggy relaxation (also forgive me if this post makes no sense, as I said, it is WAY earlier than I am used to being awake!).
Here’s to a fantastic 2010 that already holds more promise than any year in recent memory!
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Sean Ogle
Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.Join over 40,000 people who have taken our 6 part freelance writing course. Sign up below and let’s do this together.
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31 comments on "Embrace Life’s Defining Moments: The Scariest Move of My Life"
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Best of luck to you!! What an excellent way to start off a new year! I look forward to your upcoming posts on your Thailand adventure.
Congrats Man!!! You have made some major positive changes to your life (and blog) since first meeting you back in August/September this year. I am happy to see you fulfilling some dreams and hopefully able to carry out the lifestyle you want and have always dreamed of.
David Damron
LifeExcursion
Yes! I’m super excited for you. Hope your flight(s) go smoothly.
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!
So excited for you, brother! You’ll look back on this as a turning point, but it won’t be THE defining moment because you have so many more just on the horizon.
Keep up updated! Woohoo!
As I sit in my safe house and read about your adventures, I’m holding my breath (well, metaphorically) to see what happens next. If you attain great financial, career and other success, wonderful – you will inspire us to take more chances and to live. If you fail horribly (by external measures) – strangely enough, I think you will still succeed because you will learn and we will learn by following you. But you won’t fail – because, by making this leap of faith – you have already succeeded.
There is no try. Yoda out.
Why didn’t you sort accomodation before you left? When I fly I either make sure I arrive during the day so I can scout around the city, or have something pre-booked.
Oh well… looks like it’s Khao San Road for you 😉
Congrats Sean! Sounds like the unknowns in your adventure are what will bring you the most excitement. I can only imagine all the things going through your head right now, but I’m sure that a sense of absolute freedom is one of them. Good on you for avoiding the “what if?” and taking the plunge… excited to see how this journey shapes up.
Best to you, Sean, as you start on this new chapter of your life. Years from now, when you look back on this time, you’ll be amazed at how it changed you.
Take Care,
Jill
This blog has officially reached a new level. Ladies and gentlemen, he’s off!
Glad you’re finally on your way. Have fun!
That’s great Sean! Good luck to you! Have fun! 🙂
Congratulations! Such exciting times, I love it! I’m looking forward to following your progress!
Awesome, dude!
Congrats on your flight to freedom and adventure. Wish you the best.
Rasheed
I demand a postcard.
@Neil, Khao San Road is part of the hazing process.
Your are off to an awesome start in 2010. Hopefully, we can have a chance to meet up in Thailand very soon!
Hey Sean, thanks for sharing that moment. It’s funny really, I follow quite a few lifestyle design blogs in my rss-reader but yours is the only one where I regularly check out the comments as well 🙂
Have fun and tell us about it!
Cheers from Hamburg
Till
P.S. SEAN—- Don’t forget to smile every once in a while (see your pic) while you are exploring and dominating the world….
HAHAHA
David Damron
LifeExcursion
Congrats and good luck. I made the move here to Thailand about 6 months ago and it has been one of the best decisions of my life. If you make it up north to Pai or Chiang Mai, I’ll buy ya lunch 😉
Much love Sean. P-Town will miss you and so will your homies. See ya later this year.
-Nick
YAAAAAY!!! I’m so tremendously stoked for you Sean! Since we didn’t meet up in Portland it looks like I’m going to have to head to Bangkok….
I really cannot wait to read about this journey for you!
why do you look so mad in your picture? hopefully you are waking up in Thailand all excited with a smile!
very, very, very proud of you – and i don’t even know you! i wish a safe and EVENTFUL experience. don’t forget to call! don’t forget to write! =)
Congrats on this major step!
Congratulations Sean! I’m so excited for you and can’t wait to read what will be next on your journey. Have fun 🙂
Good luck, Sean!
Hey Sean – Well done with showing up in BKK without knowing where you’re going to sleep! That’s definitely the best way to start your exciting adventure…
Good luck with everything!
I’m a big fan of doors closing/windows opening. Just think…if you HAD gone on that study abroad you might not have the fire in your soul to go on the adventure you are going on now.
I hope you had a safe flight and find all sorts of fun and adventure and even more than you were looking for in Thailand. Enjoy!
Hey everyone, thank you SO much for the comments! I have read each and every one, and I just wanted to apologize for not being able to respond individually. The last few days have been a total whirlwind in the best way possible, and I was just now able to find reliable wifi. Once I get down to Krabi and my routine settles down a little bit, I expect to be spending a LOT of time in front of my computer, I mean, afterall, I did come out here to WORK 🙂
Thanks again for the support, and expect some good posts in the future!
You guys rock.
Congrats, Sean!! So excited for you…. can’t wait to read more updates of your adventure. Keep ’em coming, and have fun! 🙂
I’m a little late on this. Saw your site on LifewithoutPants. This post gave me goosebumps though. What a great motivation – life life in the present and take risks, do things you want to do. I love it and I love the trend toward this present-living style of life. Looking forward to more posts.