“I wanted to prove to others and to myself that our life circumstances should never hinder us from going after our dreams.”
My “how I quit my job to travel” story is different. I’m from a developing country with a “powerless passport” — as a Philippine citizen I can only visit 60 countries visa-free — and I was brought up to believe that world travel is a luxury meant only for the privileged, the rich or the retired. Yet, in my early 20s, I’ve visited more than 15 countries in two years, all while building a profitable and stable online business that funds my lifestyle and enables me to work less than three hours a day.
It all started two years ago in a dingy cafe in Makati, Philippines. I was 21 years old, and was working for a big investment bank, earning very little money as a new graduate and with little to no time for socialising.. As I joined my friends at our usual table, three strangers asked us for directions to their hostel. We started chatting, and ended up talking for the rest of the night. They were full of travel stories, and I was captivated by the way their eyes lit up as they talked about their adventures. They had an excitement for life and a confident aura that I hadn’t previously encountered — they seemed to believe everything was possible.
Meeting those nomads inspired me to take my own leap of faith. That same year, I quit my job to travel the world.
My family and friends thought that I was out of my mind. I had little to no money – definitely not enough to travel through wealthy European countries or in the US – and I’d been brought up to believe that a corporate life was the only way to secure a future. I also knew that getting visas would be a challenge.
The odds looked bad. But that’s what pushed me. I wanted to prove to others and to myself that our life circumstances should never hinder us from going after our dreams.