I’m sitting here writing this from the most beautiful hostel I’ve ever stayed in. I’m in Tilcara, Argentina (North of Salta) and staying at the Malka Hostel.
The hostel sits on the edge of a hill overlooking the quiet traditional village that is Tilcara. The Malka Hostel is designed like a Spanish summer camp with cabins setup on different levels across the property with stone and log walkways to connect them. Each cabin comes complete with handcrafted ceramic and wood furniture and is decorated with art from local indigenous people. To top it all off I’m traveling with a beautiful Porteña who is smart, organized and down for whatever. Most people would be at complete peace in this setting.
However, my moments of peace are constantly interrupted with thoughts of this blog, my consulting projects and other revenue streams. I haven’t wrote anything in a week and it is driving me crazy (hence this post). To be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We stopped and talked to some hippies from Buenos Aires today while walking around Iruya and they told us that they had been traveling around Argentina for a few months now, stopping in small towns to live and hangout. They passed their time by making and ‘selling’ beads, drinking mate and playing the guitar. They looked relaxed, happy and bored out of their freakin’ minds.
I have nothing against the hippies, they have an interesting prospective on life and always have a unique energy (smell) about them. However, their way of life is not for me. Unlike the hippies, I want to find a way to balance all the things I love doing with the things I need to do. For me, It all starts with this blog. I have to find an efficient way to blog while I travel. In the last few weeks I have been to the Chilean coast, Iguazu Falls and throughout Northern Argentina and you haven’t heard or seen anything about it. In Buenos Aires it’s easier because I am usually in one place. However, if I choose to continue to travel I have to step up an efficient way to get stuff done while developing my income both with this site and other projects.
So the next question is… who cares? Why not just write when you feel like it? Why not get a regular job? And the only answer I can come up with when I ask myself this question is… me, I care. I’m trying to create something bigger than just a travel journal, I have plans to do a lot more with this site than just a chronicle of a wild year in Argentina. And the main reason for all this is… this is my dream. When I’m old and gray I want to be able to look back at my life and laugh as Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” plays in the background.
Within this lies my ultimate goal. Find a way to not just balance the things I want to do but to maximize them to the fullest. Anyone could spend an hour a day on a ton of different things and consider themselves ‘balanced’.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO ME:
FRIENDS/FAMILY – Continue to develop relationships. Also, I haven’t seen my friends and family back home in almost 9 months and I really don’t want to go that long again, but I don’t want to stop traveling deeper or living my dreams.
INCOME – Don’t spread myself too thin but monetize what I already have and know. More on this in Let’s Talk Money, Part II.
TRAVEL – Every new adventure drives me to see and do more. Income and time are factors. I also have a fascination with the lives and adventures of historical explorers right now.
BLOG – This has been great for friendships, tracking my travels, searching for new revenue streams, learning new marketing concepts and exercising my creative muscles. I’m thinking if I can shorten up the posts by breaking up the stories it might help maximize the blog a lot. This not only attracts more readers to finish a full story but will also gives me a little SEO boost as well. Wink.
HOBBIES – Right now it is Spanish, but I still have a few other big things to check off my life list as well.
EXERCISE – I can’t say enough about this. Being healthy dictates everything else. The more I exercise the better I feel and the more I can do.
PARTY – I really like to party. Going crazy helps me from going crazy.
If I’m going to grow with this travel blogging, independent lifestyle, I gotta step my game up and find a way to work on my consulting projects, constantly develop T2T and while continuing to enjoy my travels and the people in my life.
I figure if it was easy everyone would do it. So, I tip my hat to those who do it, while I continue to search for my own formula for success.
Stories & Photos Coming Soon…
- Valparaiso & Vina del Mar
- Iguazu Falls Full Moon Walk
- A Day of Adventure at Iguazu Falls
- Salta – La Linda
- Northern Argentina
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