As many of you know, I’m slightly enamored with the lifestyle of the super-rich. It’s a fascination that I’ve had my whole life, and I’m not entirely sure where it stems from.
That said, no matter where I go I always seem to have my “luxury bucket list” in the back of my mind.
Just a few of the things that I’ve ticked off the list over the last couple years:
- Lunch at Porcao in Ipanema
- Cocktails at Bamboo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental
- Staying at the Sowden House in Los Feliz
- Staying in a 5 star suite at the Lebua Hotel in Bangkok
- Daybed lounging at the W Hotel Bali
Now, this is all fine and good, with one giant exception. I don’t have that much money! You won’t see me $200 bar tabs, and $500/night hotel rooms.
Not even close. Even if I did have the money, I wouldn’t be dropping it on these things. I’m way too “financially responsible” for that. 🙂
Rather I think half of the fun is being able to experience the tinges of luxury for free, or much less than the typical person might spend.
If there’s one fundamental mindset shift that this lifestyle has given me, it’s that of “anything is possible.”
It doesn’t matter how crazy things seem, how expensive, outlandish, untouchable – after this past year, I believe you can do anything you want if you want it enough.
Last week I read about my friend Steve Kamb’s escapades in Monaco, and I couldn’t help but start thinking about possibilities. I’m here living in one of the most exotic and luxurious places in the world, and have an opportunity to see just how accessible this lifestyle can really be.
So I just started exploring.
Earlier this week I went to go work outside at the W Hotel Bali.
Want to swim in the pool? That’s 150,000idr ($16.50). Now $16 seems extremely steep just to go sit by a pool, especially when the ocean is literally steps away.
Well, we quickly realized we could go get a beautiful daybed in the bar overlooking the ocean for FREE. We spent hours hanging out, working away on the free wifi and all it cost was about 8 bucks for a couple of Bintangs.
If you find yourself in Bali (or many high end destinations) there is usually an inexpensive local beer you can grab at a bar. It can be much more affordable to go that route than to take the hotel up on some of their other services.
I essentially had the same experience as the guests at the hotel that were paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars more than I was.
How about Potato Head? This is probably the hottest beach club in Bali.
What does it cost? Well if you want a day bed there its a 500,000 ($55) minimum spend. If you want to go jump in their beautiful infinity pool?
Free.
You can hang out all day in the pool and place your towels on the beach, and not spend a dime.
So what’s the point of all of this? No it’s not to be cheap, and no it’s not to come across as arrogant (which I hope I don’t). The point is two-fold.
The first:
Everything is More Attainable Than You Think
I don’t care what type of lifestyle you wish to have, it’s more achievable than you probably think it is. Maybe you won’t be living in a 10 million dollar mansion next month, but if that was something meaningful to you, I bet you could build a relationship with someone who could turn that dream into a reality.
I never dreamed in a million years I’d be able to afford to hang out at the W Hotel in Bali on any day of the week – yet here I am.
The second point:
Being Resourceful Will go a Long Way
Why don’t most people get to live out their wildest dreams? Quite simply put: they don’t try. It either seems to be too much work, or they don’t believe it’s possible, so they don’t try at all.
Since most people won’t try, there’s that much opportunity for the person who does.
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ve made it a goal to live the high life in Bali on the cheap. I’ve reached out to various people on the island, tried to leverage the brand I’ve built for mutually beneficial arrangements, and time will tell if it works out.
Are many of my goals a long shot? Sure. But at least I can I say tried, and if it works out, then I’ve got some pretty killer stories.
So how have you lived the high life for less?
If you’re interested, check out more of my adventures on my video blog. You can also see a replay of the webinar I did with my friend Derek Johanson earlier this week called “5 Essential Components to Building a Laptop Business.“
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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13 comments on "How to Live the High Life in Bali"
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Definitely sounds like you’re enjoying yourself Sean!
I think that the most insightful bit here, and what people should really take away, is that “Since most people won’t try, there’s that much opportunity for the person who does.”
I’m finding this to be the case in almost every aspect of life. People are either afraid to shoot for the moon, or simply lack the self-confidence to think that the moon is a reasonable goal. As a result, the door is left wide open for ANYONE who is just willing to TRY.
A really petty/insignificant example from my every-day life, which I think actually helps to illustrate the point even better, is the parking situation where I work. Basically, it sucks – there’s just not enough parking for the thousands of people that work in my building. I get there at about the same time as every one else – who all head directly toward the back of the lot to fight over the few remaining spots. “Since most people won’t try [for a good spot when everyone else is just trying for any spot], there’s that much opportunity for the person who does.”
Whoops, I left out that instead of battling over the few remaining crappy spots with everyone else, I head straight to the front of the lot and often easily find a great parking spot.
I am so with you on this Sean! I am staying at an incredibly beautiful villa/retreat center in Ubud, Bali. I have an amazing room, a luxury bathroom complete with outdoor shower, a staff that makes my meals and cleans my room whenever I need, people that pick up and clean my laundry, an infinity swimming pool, relatively fast and totally reliable internet service, all surrounded by a LUSH tropical setting. It is beyond a dream. It would have cost me over $4000 just to stay in this place for the month and a half that I am here. My cost: about 5 hours of “work” a week, teaching yoga in the 3rd story open air yoga studio, allowing me ample time to continue bringing in the cash while running my business online! This all came about simply because I took the initiative to ASK!
Very Four Hour Work Week like. Tim would definitely approve!
I just stayed in 4 Million € Finca on one of the Spanish islands for 5 days. My room (one of 6) had it’s own living room and bathroom. And of course there was an infinity pool with a great view. It usually costs 3000€ to rent it for a month but I went there with a bunch of friends and we split the costs. It cost me less than 20€ a day, including food (here are some pics: http://bit.ly/nQSgUJ). While sipping a Margarita in the pool, I first thought it would be awesome to own a place like this but then it occurred to me that I did not really want all the responsibility that comes with it (cleaning the pool, doing the garden etc.). It’s much better to just rent these places for a month with friends and then find another great house to stay in somewhere else on the planet. Right now I’m searching for sth. similar in Medellin , Colombia for January. Anyone wanna join? 🙂
The only thing I don’t envy is the beer :-p
-David
What camera are you using Sean? Is it waterproof and /or beerproof? LOL
haha I have 4 with me: A Canon HF200 HD Cam (used mostly for sit down interviews or areas where I need the external mic), a Canon Elph 500 point and shoot (does 80% of all the video), and two Kodak Playsport zx5’s which are water proof 🙂
Have you seen or heard about the Go Pro? You should really get one! http://gopro.com/ – you wear it and it’s HD and waterproof! No affiliate link, I don’t even have one but I think it’s way cool!
I’ve definitely seen one – they were actually going to send me one for this trip, but didn’t get it organized fast enough 🙂 Oh well, next time!
Hey Sean,
Love how you are starting to mix things up by adding a Youtube channel. Looking forward to watching more. One thing I’m interested in hearing more about are the actual costs, that ways viewers can start grasping how much certain trips costs, how much it would actually cost them to live there etc. It’s tough finding up to date info on the net IMO… especially geared towards guys like us.
Hope the launch of LocationRebel lived up to your expectations.
Hope to meet you soon buddy, although you will probably be back home by the time I arrive in the Philippines (oct 26).
Cheers mate.
My girlfriend just won a 7-night stay in an expensive boutique hotel on Ibiza! For two persons! I think the point of living the high life on a budget is getting into the mindset of a rich person, which in turn attracts riches. Law of attraction! I missed that in your story.