June 30th, 2011
Van Halen. RVs. And Getting Down With (a cute boy) Colin Wright
As I’m driving away from the home of the two kids I used to nanny for, Van Halen’s song “Right Now” comes on the radio. Now, I’ve heard this song a hundred times, and I never really like it much, and never paid much attention to the words, but tonight it hit me in a way that I think no other song in that moment could have. The opening line goes “Don’t wanna wait til tomorrow, why put it off another day?”
And this is a perfect soundtrack for what’s happening, right now (ok…pun intended).
Today I said goodbye to my life as I’ve known it for the entirety of the thing. I walked away from a value set I’ve had forever. One of security, stability, comfort, roots. All of my things are in storage. I have no idea when I’ll see my possessions again. And soon, I will be in an RV, going who knows where for who knows how long. Maybe or maybe not returning.
The thought of this, three months ago would have given me a heart attack. The thought of this one week ago gave me nausea and fits of panic. But the thought of it in this moment, right now, makes me feel unbelievably joyous and excited and (holy crap kinda) grateful for every single thing and person that has helped me get here. Grateful for every decision I made that had me meet the person that led me to the thing that led me to the next person that showed me a new way of life.
One of those people is my good friend, Colin Wright, who basically travels for a living whilst conducting radical lifestyle experiments. He has been a huge inspiration for this new lifestyle of mine. So I recorded a call with him as a special treat. We interview each other. And get silly. Check it here. And go buy his new book because it’s amazingly inspirational and awesome and smart and funny and sexy, AND only $2.99.
Sally Hope and Colin Wright Chit-Chat from Colin Wright on Vimeo.
Fear used to make me stay put. Being uncomfortable used to make me do whatever it took to be comfortable again. But now, everything is different. Instead of cowering to fear, I partner with it. Use it as a compass to dictate those things in my life that I definitely should be doing and facing. Where change used to scare me, I now welcome it with open arms. And want to give it a hug. (mostly…I mean, I’m still working on it). I still get scared and uncomfortable, I don’t think that’ll ever go away, but my relationship with those two things is now 100% different.
I just can’t believe this is my life. That tiny decisions I made along the way all led me to this. There was no way for me to know, ahead of time, I would end up here but I kept just following what felt right for me in the moment. That’s all any of us can do.
Don’t wait to have the kind of life you want. As Colin, AND Van Halen say, you have exactly one life to live, why put it off another day? Go for it. Right now.
Jumping into the fire, is what I’m doing. Wanna come with?
Leave a comment and let me know what fire you need me to push you into. I might just show up in my RV, at your doorstep, so choose wisely.
And here’s ANOTHER video of some pics from my time in Oakland. It’s been HELLA real, Bay Area. Peace out Bitch.
Hey! I didn’t know about you before I found this post, but I’m glad I did. Good luck with your trip and with finding the best possible life!
I met Mr. Wright in Iceland and I know how inspiring he can get just by being happy and in love with his own life. That’s what I learned about myself from speaking to him, that I loved my life more than I remembered.
I’m not planning any crazy travels or things like that for now, but I’ve been working harder on my music and pretty much every other idea that shows up in my head. That’s how I plan to be happy from now on…
Well, nice to meet you again. Good videos by the way ;) I’ll be reading about you!
(If you can, take a look/read/listen to http://www.MenacingDay.com and http://www.EdurneConZeta.com -the latter is in Spanish though-. There’s most of my most recent work) :D
Alejandro…I’m so glad you found me! That Colin…bringing people together. And yes, Colin is quite an inspiring guy, just simply by being who he is and living his life the way he wants. A directly indirect way to inspire. :)
That’s amazing that you’ve been inspired to work more on your music. Creative endeavors are extremely important, in my opinion. Thank you so much for sharing your links. I checked them out and am VERY impressed. I’ve been listening to your song “Dive-Outsider” all morning.
I’m glad we’re in touch and I hope it stays that way. Have a wonderful day.
Wow, that sure is a big day for you :)
I wish you all the best on your travels!
And if you happen to somehow manage to drive your RV over to Europe ;) – come to Germany and give me a kick in the butt as I guess it’s time for me to get going on doing this whole free life thing myself instead of just cheering on others from the sidenline ;)
Take care!
JJ
Hey JJ…thank you! A big day it was, indeed! But so exciting (and scary…but exciting!!) And you just watch out, I might be in Europe in 2012, and might just take you up on your offer to kick you in the pants. PLUS, I like to be fed, so I might expect that as well. :)
And yes my dear, no more living from the sideline. Let’s GO!
Thanks so much for your comment and I hope you keep in touch.
Best,
Sally
Alright, Deal! ;) Step by and enjoy some great German food and maybe even a beer or two ;)
OK!!!!!! :)
Hey, Sally
Welcome to Road Tripping! If ya show up in my city, give me a holler!
You know it Greg!
Sally, you are such a rockstar!!!! I’m so excited for you and the blogging material that is surely going to come up on the road =)
I find it interesting that you never had a real strong desire to be location independent, but are now stepping into the possibilities with so much strength/optimism! It’s been mah DREAM for a lonnnngggg time! One Euro-trip and a few women’s travel memoirs later, I was consumed by a desire to see the world and have exciting experiences that most people only see on TV. After shunning the corporate world post-college, I became OB-Freakin-Sessed with traveling the world to a fault. I wasn’t factoring in how my doing that was going to help other people, and I was looking for immediate gains. For these reasons and more, my first expat attempt in South America ended in a really expensive, unexpected plane ticket home. Even when I got back though, I was thinking of everything in terms of – how can I make quick cash to travel?!
I’ve since realized the errors of my mindset, and am now focused on putting in the work to create something sustainable that makes a significant contribution so that I can travel on my own terms, and feel good about doing it =) It sure has been a long path getting here though.
Are you taking your pup with you?
Best wishes on your journey Sally!
XX =)
Oh and if you ever want an excuse to venture down to the Austin/San Antonio area, you may come kick my butt!
Girl…Austin is DEFINITELY happening. In September. So watch your ass.
Ashley…I LOVE YOU GIRL!! You’re such a badass and I love that you are so determined to have the kind of life you want, full of travel and experiences. It’s so important to learn from all our experiences and it seems like you did just that in this situation. AHHHHH! I want to help you get there! SO BAD!! We must hang out when I come to Austin.
Sally,
Best of luck to you and your future endeavors. YOU WILL ROCK THIS NEW CHAPTER OF YOUR LIFE!!!!
I’ve come to realize the only thing standing in my way of being awesome is myself. And sometimes that is the hardest hurdle to get over. Working on it. But if you’re ever in Seattle, feel free to stop by and give me a good, swift kick in the pants.
Best of Luck!
Kimberly
Hey Kimberly…YOU ARE TOTALLY RIGHT!!! We are the only ones (ever) in our own way. And it’s totally normal to feel fear about wanting to change your life, but that’s what coaches help you get past. CALL ME GIRL!!!!!
As for Seattle…it’s VERY likely that we’ll be rolling through. So send me an email with your contact info and I’ll add you to my list. WEEEE!!!
Sally, Really looking forward to reading about your travels! Hope you can travel out my way sometime soon. In addition to videos, you need a photo gallery of pics from the road in future posts. :-) Hugs to the puppy dog! (Or maybe I should say Road Dog.) :-D
GYM!!!! We are DEF coming to Texas in September so I better see you. And I love your idea of the photo gallery. YES! Great suggestion. Thanks for all your continued love and support. Me and Road Dog thank you.
Congrats girl! Colin is an awesome sauce person, so glad he helped give you that final nudge to go out and live it!
Hey Shannon!! Agreed…Colin IS awesome sauce. It’s been fun having him as a friend during this time. He literally gives the best advice EVER.
Tell me about YOU girl!
Love you so much Sally! My compass for life is, if it scares me, that’s what I should be doing. Sounds like you are on the same road. I’m 5 years in, and I gotta say, this road is WAY more fun than the safe one. Scary to be sure, but exciting, fulfilling and the ONLY way to live.
While you’re out on the road, if you ever find yourself near Northeast Indiana/Northwest Ohio or even southern Michigan, you give me a call, cause we need to have a drink together.
xoxo
Amanda!! Love you back girl. And was thinking about you today. :)
I absolutely agree that running to fear is a WAY better way to live. So much more rich. And it’s so funny because once you do whatever scary thing, you then realize that it was no big deal and your scary bar has been raised. It’s been fun to look back and see how the things that I think are normal no big deal things now, used to be things I thought I’d NEVER do. I love it. I’m so excited what scary things we’ll do next. FUN! We should start a club.
And don’t you worry my dear. You are ALREADY on my list of people to visit if we head out that way. Drinks must happen.
Loves,
Sally
We do need to start a club…
Um…let’s do it. I’m not kidding.
Sally.
As always.
As ever.
You rock my fucking world.
I needed this post.
I am moving to Los Angeles.
And in so doing, more inspired by you than ever.
RV it to LA please.
Love.
Wolf Larsen
ps:
Sorry about the hail Mary fail.
OH SNAP. I think you’re IN LA RIGHT NOW. (watching your video now)
I mean: I’d love to find you. I’m in Echo Park.
Xo
Girl. Oh my god. MUST GIVE ME DETAILS ASAP!!!
I’m not in LA, or else I’m come to Echo Park and slap you silly. Or wait…hug you. Yeah, that’s what I meant. And no worries about the Mary. I’m still agreeing to stay alive and not cancel my email account. I trust that you will do what you need to do, when you need it done. You’re amazing. Don’t fucking forget that.
as always, you inspire me. i relate to so much of what you write about. and i am feeling like taking off. . . maybe to europe for a few months. but i have fear. it’s kept me from so much in my life, but when i can relate to people like yourSelf, it helps me move past the fear. to “partner” with the fear, as you say. that’s brilliant. you are incredible.
Hey Vanety…thank you so much. You know…I’m afraid ALL the time. Like, just today, I cried my head off being so scared about this RV trip. But yeah, it’s what we do with that fear that’s important. Time for you to become friends with yours, it seems, and don’t let it stop you. Europe sounds amazing. DO IT. BUY THE TICKET…NOW!
Ironically, you seem to be right about where I am in my life – your last couple of blog posts have been everything I needed to see/hear to validate my life, my fears, my leaps. Thank you!
Girl thank YOU for writing in. I want to hear more about what’s going on for YOU!? What’s resonating and where you’re at. Cool time, eh?
Right in girl!!!
enjoy yourself, I know you will
HEY TC!! Yeah! I think it’ll be a blast! And I’ll be writing TONS about it all. I miss you guys!
I’m back from my vacay and had to read your post right away + watch your Oaktown finale video. GIRL! I’m SO excited for you right now. I know you’re already a week+ on the road to your new life + new adventures, but BON VOYAGE my friend!
I am so freakin’ inspired by all that you do, all that you have created for your life and the bravery with which you embrace life.
Reading your post I realized how tied up with fear I am – the majority of the time. I REALLY need to remember your words ‘o wisdom – run towards the fear – if you’re scared, it means you should do it.
Sometimes it’s hard to know what’s fear and what’s me pretending to be fearful. Sneaky ‘lil bugger. :)
Excited to follow your travels ~ and see where the road takes you. I adore you, love you mucho and WILL see you along your route at some point.
Oakland misses you already.
xoxo