Reshape the American Dream To Fit Your Desires

living our alternative 'American Dream' by living and working remotely

Reshape the American Dream To Fit Your Desires

One day, I was up after my husband who was already working. After about 4 hours of work, I stopped to make a delicious risotto lunch. It wasn’t until he got up to serve himself did I notice he was only wearing boxer briefs for bottoms. I poked fun at him and his response was “I’m hard at work”. ha! What a contrast from him having to wear dress pants, & button down shirt, even when it was 90+ degrees. So I guess, that’s one perk of working for ourselves. 😃

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A year ago I couldn’t have imagined what we would have been able to teach ourselves, and how our plans would expand and evolve the way they did.

Fear, insecurity, and laziness tempted us but didn’t stop us from pursuing our alternative American dream of trying to do something on our own and be location independent. And once you get past that hurdle and try, you will likely still face plenty of challenges. You could allow them to break you or continue on.

Our first year doesn’t look like how we planned it to go. We look back and realize how our original business plans evolved through learnings and many adjustments. We had offshoots spring from ideas that came to us on a whim. It’s amazing what can happen when your mind is refreshed and open to the many possibilities. 

Time gives you the ability to flex your creative thinking, to be more curious, to learn and develop different skills.

Traveling to places that have a lower cost of living, gives you the financial freedom to have more time to figure it out.

This process can really bring you pride and fulfillment. I feel like I can accomplish things I hadn’t previously considered. I’ve realized my own ability. Something I think I had figured out in high school and college, but seemingly limited during a decade in a bureaucratic professional structured environment.

I believe the modern odyssey is the process of discovering and innovating.

Cartisoara, Transfagarasan highway

Cartisoara, Transfagarasan highway

Reshaping the American Dream

As the graduation commencement speeches rolled out this year, one in particular, aligned so tightly with my own philosophy. It was delivered by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and a man of many talents, who is also an actor, author, and activist.

Reported on by the Huffington Post, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says:

“[I] hope students will tailor their ideas of fulfillment. Each generation must customize the American dream to fit their own circumstances and the realities of the world around them. Instead of promoting a generic dream, we need to encourage each new generation to prioritize their own values. Polls indicate that, as opposed to previous generations, millennials see travel as a major part of the American dream, as well as self-employment, and defining close friends as part of their family. This re-imagining is exactly what you should be doing.”

He goes on to remind us that:

“While I applaud your courage and intelligence in redefining the American dream to fit your personal vision of the future, it’s important that along with travel, self-employment and friends, commitment to championing the values of the U.S. Constitution be included, particularly the parts that condemn racism, sexism, homophobia and the exploitation of the poor. That is an American dream worth dreaming.”

And I highly recommend you pay attention to that last part, it applies no matter where you may be located in the world. As a digital/global nomad, you’re still representing the face of America to the locals and other travelers you encounter. Make a good impression.

So, if a house, car, and dog aren’t part of your dream right now, and living abroad or traveling is something you’ve had your mind on, that’s more than okay!  It’s your life, your vision, and it’s up to you to execute on it. Reshape the American dream to fit your own style and passions.

Do You Want to Change Up Your Environment and/or Work Remotely?

If you have a desire to work remotely while slow traveling or make a move to another city or country, there are many options…

– You might talk to your employer about working remotely from another city, or country. Or maybe you transfer within your company to one of their offices abroad.

– Maybe there’s a company overseas that you’re interested in and you apply. Or you’ve narrowed in on a specific location and want to find a job there – check out Jobbatical.com.

– Alternatively, you can explore independent contract work, freelancing or entrepreneurship.

As an independent worker, when you begin to ramp up your client base or your new business, you will most likely not have anywhere near the steady income you previously had. For this reason, choosing to slow travel or live in places with a much lower cost-of-living is important for your financial security. Also, consider the time zone you’ll be in and how that might positively or negatively affect the schedule you will need to have. And don’t overlook staying with family for a bit — it could be a great experience to bond and save a little money (still pitch in, though, you’re not a freeloader!)

living my alternative 'American Dream' by working for myself

me hard at work from my parent’s home

 

We also want to dispel any fears about it not being feasible. The technology to work remotely is so tried and true by now, you don’t need to fear. There are so many tools at your disposal: an abundance of locations with wifi, cloud storage, collaborative document editing + sharing, inexpensive, high-capacity flash drives, cloud software for your business such as Adobe Creative Cloud, customer support via live chat and reasonable global cell plans.

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UPDATE: check out this post about flexible work (freelance, independent contract, entrepreneurship, etc.) and how to go about it.

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What does your alternative American dream look like? 

Leave a comment below!

 

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Lauren Martins
laurenpmartins@gmail.com
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