Guest Post by Mary Bartnikowski

Mary Bartnikowski At the Beach

http://www.vagabondtravelmag.com/

Mary is an author, award-winning photographer, world citizen, educator, mother of a maverick son, and publisher of Vagabond Travel Photography Magazine.

Have you ever wanted to fly free and do your own thing? Yes, you can travel the world and work from a laptop. Or teach English, do massages, take photographs, and write.

Here is my list on how to do it

Save up some cash. $3,000 to $5,000 is good. Yes, you can do it.

Stop buying cashmere/clothes, going to parties at pricy restaurants, and sell your car. I did.

Go to Thailand. Live in Chiang Mai or Loei in the Issan area.

Don’t pay for training to teach English, just get hired at a school. If you are a native speaker, they will hire you. They will help you with your Thai visa. If they don’t, sayonara.

Want to work from your laptop? You can do affiliate marketing, selling products from companies you like.

Or

What I do is empower people to take stunning photographs with any camera they have. I lead fun photography retreats for individuals or small groups. And I write books.

I live simply in Hawaii on Kauai.

Many people say it’s expensive to live in Hawaii. They don’t live here. They don’t know how to do it.

Here’s how: You buy the lettuce, kale, ahi tuna from the sea, and papayas that grow down the street. No, this is not expensive. Farmers markets are popping with freshness everyday here: bananas, mangoes, starfruit, kale. It’s an extravaganza of abundant produce.

I am a lettuce addict. And now that I am making my smoothies with fresh kale, I am also full of energy.

Mighty fine beef comes from the grass fed cows here. No shipping.

Mary With Her Friends in Burma

Here’s The Secret

Choose how you want your life to be. Don’t come up with excuses. Yes if you are raising children and want to keep them in their schools you may have to wait. I did.

When I lived down the street from Steve Jobs and was shooting photographs for $500 an hour in the heart of Silicon Valley, I was creatively inspired and booked up months in advance. I rewarded myself with big ticket vacations for $500 a day and relaxed every night with wine, whiskey, or champagne, usually not all three.

Yes, I was doing yoga and meditating but I did not have time to simply enjoy my life and be with my family and friends. I was anxious much of the time even though happiness lurked under it.

Yes, my business was successful in Palo Alto. But I noticed I had an eye tic.

I don’t anymore.

This is what being location independent can do for you. You can take life slower in a country that only charges you $200 a month to rent a house (Thailand and Cambodia) and work from home.

You can also travel and work as you go from your laptop.

I love writing about my world adventures discovering how it feels in the sacred vibration of Machu Picchu, a temple in Burma, or in the high Himalayas of Ladakh. Or what it’s like to photograph the Dalai Lama and ride an elephant bareback in Nepal.

Yes, I was almost crushed when 3 elephants got in a fight.

It’s been 7 years now since selling my belongings in Palo Alto and kick starting my never ending world adventures.

I’ve gone from the land of silicon chips to swimming with wild dolphins.

It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done to change my life.

If you want to do it, you can start with baby steps now and move towards lift-off with preparation and work.

Want to Join Us in March on Kauai to Learn How to Take Amazing Photos with Any Camera?

vagabondtravelmag.com/2014/08/amazing-kauai-photo-safari/

Mary’s 4 Books on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ3QOC

Mary TV – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSbSvTMZ4NXg7WuL1MkIXow

Get My Free eBook! Secrets of Stunning Photographs – www.bartnikowski.com