I’m on the verve of starting over in a new city and thought it was about time I told my story. My journey of deciding and then taking action didn’t happen overnight. It has been about four years in the making. I’m excited, a little bit nervous, and so ready to go!
Before I jump into my story, I don’t want you to get too fixated on this as a story about the love of travel. You can insert just about any dream or life change into this journey. It’s about how to start over or pivot when the opportunity or need arises. Whether life throws you a curve ball or you are ready to take action, having a vision helps to inform your next step.
How it Started
I’ve always loved to travel. Other than traveling across the border to Mexico from my home town in San Diego, my first big trip abroad was for a month after my sophomore year in high school. We visited 13 countries. I was inspired by the different cultures and the food – the food! Then I studied abroad in college in northern Spain and after graduation lived in Madrid for a few months. I had a few other great trips after that but yearned to immerse myself in another culture again.
And then I had kids.
Not that you can’t explore with kids, it’s just gets more complicated, especially when you have extended family who want to be a part of their lives. So, we went about our lives in the US. I had a big full-time job in the technology world and tried to be the best mom I could be. Not always the mom I wanted to be, but that’s another story.
The Beginning
As my sons were becoming more independent as teenagers, we started to think about this idea of moving abroad. We weren’t planning to leave forever, but maybe a few years. While our boys were both in college and then recent grads finding themselves, we would go explore. We’d pick a country and stay for about a year and then do it again, starting over again in a different country. We’d keep that up until the boys, or at least one of them, was ready to settle down. But we knew we needed flexibility with our income streams in order to make that happen.
At the same time, I realized that my corporate career was so structured that it didn’t allow for the unplanned moments with my teens that I wanted. That’s where most of the connection happens! I wanted to get to know them better before they left for college and I needed more space to support that. I needed to be the person they needed me to be rather than someone who was trying to control everything. I’ve documented everything I’ve learned from myself and my clients about the 7 Essential Traits of High Achieving women in my free guide.
In Q2 2019, after I received a larger than typical yearly bonus, my husband and I decided that I would come home. I was starting over in my career after twenty five years and wasn’t 100% certain what that would look like. I was working with a direct sales company at the time and poured myself into that. It didn’t go the way I’d planned. Then we entered a pandemic. Shortly into that I switched direct sales companies and things took off. Then I was encouraged to write a book, so I did. I was also asked by a few women to be their coach, so I became a coach, too. I was trying a ton of new things and it was a lot of fun!
Start and Stop and Start
Late in 2021 we had a major family crisis and almost everything was put on the shelf. At that point, achieving our dreams was not as important as healing ourselves, individually and as a family. My book promotion was non-existent. My coaching client base was not growing. We were just focused on getting through each day. After 6 months we slowly started to emerge and move forward again.
As my youngest finished his sophomore year in high school we picked up our dream of moving abroad. We had our vision so we weren’t starting over, but took stock in what we needed to do to make our dream a reality. We focused on the income streams we needed and the housing requirements. With our oldest now in college, our home (which had always been too big) was way too big. We decided to capitalize on the housing market at the time and sold our home a couple of years earlier than we would have otherwise. This forced us to downsize more than just our home. We got rid of close to 2/3 of our belongings with the move.
And now we’re less than eight months away from moving to Spain. We’ve rented an apartment for two months to get us started. The rental is non-refundable, so it’s happening! We just need to see our kid graduate from high school, take a family senior trip, get him off to college and go to parents weekend – then we’re off!
Conclusion
Our move abroad would not have been possible if we hadn’t set our vision. This vision allowed us to seize opportunities and not worry about starting over when things didn’t go to plan or we had to rest our priorities. It also allowed us to adjust the outcome – more on that in another post – as we learned more. Life doesn’t always go the way you want and it certainly won’t if you don’t have a clear vision for where you want it to go. Everybody has ups and downs in life. There’s no avoiding it. Having a vision not only allows you to get back on track more quickly, but gives you the inspiration to keep going.
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I’ve been coaching people to be their best for over twenty years and love seeing them thrive as they adjust the lens they’re looking through. As a mom of teengaers, I realized that I could use my talent to help moms feel less frustrated, isolated and defeated as their kids navigate the challenging teen years. Helping my clients improve their relationship with themselves and honor their needs is my superpower. You’ll love how your energy shifts and your interactions become more positive after working together! I’m excited for you to experience more peace and confidence and live the life you’re meant to live.
