I’ve lived in Chiang Mai, Thailand for three years.
A city with a consistent flood of western tourists.
People who should be happy, after having spent the bulk of their year planning and saving to fly out to “paradise” for a week.
And yet they aren’t.
I had a lot of time to study people on vacation, outside of young kids getting f$#ed up at night, the majority of travelers are walking around with a permascowl on 10.
Here’s why:
Why Vacations Don’t Make You Happy
1) You’re out of control
Being out of control, especially as you get older, often works against you.
Occasionally, un-control will give you some new, amazing experiences, I found motorbiking in the mountains to be one of those…
But by the time you’re an adult you usually know what you like.
And you also need a lot more to be comfortable, you can’t just get drunk every night and sleep on couches and be cool with it.
On vacation you’re out of control and the bulk of your uncontrol experience are not motorbiking through the mountains on sunny day with a cool breeze behind you.
The bulk of your un-control experiences are things like:
- Being on a 24 hour flight with a crying baby
- Not getting the right foods (and possibly an upset stomach)
- Being hungover
- Being jetlagged with a f#@ed up sleep schedule
- Being hot and sweaty and tired from walking around in the heat all day
- Getting lost and having the GPS on your tourist sim card not work properly
- Having problems with your hotel
- Fighting with your girlfriend because of the above
2) You Can’t Take A Vacation From Yourself
A lot of people don’t like themselves, I see them everywhere, and I can tell by the look in their eyes.
I know the look because there was a time in my life where I didn’t like myself or my life.
People think a vacation will solve their self-hatred and self sabotage…
It won’t, because you can’t take a vacation from yourself.
And if you could, you wouldn’t be able to afford it.
You need total commitment to personal development to make your dreams a reality.
The only way out is through.
3) You Know You Have To Go Back To Work
2 days to fly in and get settled in, there for 7 and another 2 days to fly back out and get settled in at home.
And all the while, you know you have to go back to that cubicle and the fluorescent lights and the TPS reports.
And that’s hanging in the back of your mind.
And every day that goes by is one day closer to you having to go back to the office.
And by the time you get back to work, in the middle of February, with snow on the ground, you’re worse off than when you left.
Because you tasted freedom but you didn’t even get to finish your meal.
1 week a year is not freedom.
2 weeks a year is not freedom.
Freedom is never having to be chained to a cubicle and a chair again.
Your entire life you had parents, teachers and bosses telling you what to do…
Is that how you want to spend your life? I sure is hell don’t.
Total freedom, total ownership of your revenue, that’s the play.
And I promise you, it’s worth it.
4) You Spent 20% of Your Net Worth
Most people in the west live lives they can’t afford.
Debt strangles their dreams.
From the house payment to the car payment to credit card debt…
The average guy lives paycheck to paycheck, even at $70,000 + a year.
Many guys don’t even have savings because they don’t spend wisely.
But even at $50,000 in the bank, dropping $10,000 on a vacation is 20% of your net worth.
20% of your net worth on a week with nothing to show for it after!
But 20%, is a conservative estimate.
Some guys drop everything, or even worse, use credit to pay for that vacation…
Insanity!
That mentality will keep you chained to a chair and a cubicle for life.
Instead you could have bought a perpetual money machine and left the 9 to 5 jive forever.
And in this economy, you can build that money machine online and live anywhere you want.
I live where people take their vacations, and you can too, if you want to do the work.
Instead Of Blowing Your Cash On A Vacation
- Stack your cash and invest in yourself
- Invest in personal development products and level up your life game
- Learn how to sell
- Build a perpetual money machine, also known as a service business
- Get that money online so you can live anywhere and geoarbitrage your income
- Build a life you don’t want to escape from where you’re living your ideal day every day