Lacking Support Group

[Zoro]

I want to lay out my current situation for you and get your thoughts on my plans.

Currently I am living what many would call a very comfortable, stable, safe life in a quiet little suburb near the city.

I am thankful for the safety and stability my parents provided for me in my upbringing and their love and support.

However, this quiet, safe life is about as stimulating as a nap on the couch, and as such very uncomfortable for a man wanting to explore and experience the world.

Even the city I live near lacks life. I often call it a dead city, the main street is practically a ghost town, vacant buildings and corporate offices line what was meant to be a bustling pedestrian and cultural center.

I have dreams of travel. So far I have traveled to 3 different countries and each time my eyes and mind were opened wide.

I have plans to travel this summer and put a pause on school to travel into the fall. If all goes well I will also follow my mother to sunny Florida which will mostly likely be my new home base.

I often feel that my lack of motivation comes from my basic needs not being met (unsatisfied with living situation). Although I am safe, I am bored. It takes 20-30 mins to get to the city where I shop for food, meet women and attend events. This means time, money and energy spent just to get to a "dead city."

I have visited cities where a moments walk gets you to all of these. Along the way having opportunities to meet and mingle with people.

Travel, in my opinion, offers more for growth and learning than any classroom. My parents hound me all the time about my future plans. I tell them, "I do not know." I think even if I found my dream job, I would be so uncomfortable here that I would go mad.

My parents have scared me out of traveling once already. I had a make shift plan to visit a couple cities and stay with some family in Germany. They constantly cite the dangers of traveling and imply its foolishness, my foolishness.

For me, I believe the answers I seek are in exploration. The mind opening effect of traveling and the network of people I plan to meet is a world of more wealth to me than a degree in whatever I might pick for the sake of picking. I want to make something not work for someone.

I know there are many people who have done this before me and succeeded, most likely with many failures and risk along the way. This is something I am aware of. This is also something I feel such a burning for that while I keep sitting still in this environment I feel its heat. I can either be burned by it or use that passion as fuel which I have used in the past to great success.

So my issue here is a lack of support from friends, family and environment to do what I feel is in my best interest.

That is to experience the world, with all its risks and wonders, to open my mind and help figure out where best I shall live and what best I shall do.

I would like your thoughts on this because I feel you may be able to better clear up my thoughts coming from a similar desire of self growth and propose a better action plan than my parents, whose plan is to just pick something to study and then work up enough money to eventually to travel on holiday.

My plan is to live life by the horns to learn and experience while I am young and unrestricted by major responsibilities other than my own well being.

This plan needs work but that is where a support group may assist me.

This video partly helped me realize the importance of a support group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpe-LKn-4gM

P.s. Please feel free to lay on any criticism. I will more offended if you hold back!

 

[trashKENNUT]

J Wick,

Ar i watch this video. It's good. I believe we have a community here as well.

Zac

 

[Ross]

Everybody want to travel, ain't anybody that knows why they want to.

In the society we live in, people frequently do not know their place. To get a job? To travel around doing various jobs? Which is ideal?

That last question is something you're never going to answer. In this day and age, choosing your job isn't as simple as being taught a skill from birth. It's typically a series of events that lead you to go toward those things that are in demand so that you can provide value in one area so that you can receive value in many others.

To understand things, you need to look inside and understand your potential to change your situation. You live in a "dead city"? Bring some life to it. It's dead because people are off complaining that it is dead. Takes one businessman with the right knowledge, vigor, and strength to hoist a failing community and shape it into the place that he wants to see. Trust me when I say that there are definitely other people that are thinking the same thoughts as you, but nobody has decided to act. They are all okay with their lives, but every now and then they get these ideas that life needs to be something more. Something more than looking at Facebook or watching TV. But... no one has taken the action to make that happen.

Then, of course, there's the people that are seemingly completely content. But these people can be swayed as well. My parents are a prime example of this. When I tried to convince them to take me out of the house or go do something that I thought was fun, they would decline every single time. Of course, I felt like video games and sports were fun, and my parents disliked video games and made excuses to get out of exercising. Now, in move some neighbors, and boom, they are out all the time having fun, playing sports, and to my amazement trying out video games! This was such a shock to me in high school. Here they are, introducing the same exact activities that I did, and they are willing; hell, excited to try them. As I said with the businessman example - it's all about the right knowledge and approach to the situation.

So, J Wick, I suggest you look to make the experiences that you want to happen, happen. You've already told me what you want - exciting experiences. Bring your message far and wide. Talk to those people in your community and see if they want to see the changes that you want to see. If so, you've got your support group right in front of you. Talk to your parents about what businesses they'd love to see open up. You may be surprised to hear that they'd love it if a nice restaurant with a fun environment showed up - because they feel like the city is dead and needs some life.

 

[Zoro]

Hey Ross,

Thanks for your input.

I am a believer of what you say. That we are responsible for everything in our lives and to make changes if we so desire.

However, I am set on moving. Even if I were to bring some life into the city, the long winters would remain. I also have family, friends and babes with beach bodies waiting for me in South Florida. My hispanic blood longs for the tropics and to practice spanish with the locals (South Florida has tons of spanish speakers)

You do bring up a great point though. That the issue is not entirely on the city. It's on its inhabitants, including me. If I move with the mentality that everything will be better somewhere else, then I'm going to find the same issues because it was never an issue of location (unless we are talking about the weather and beach bods).

Everybody want to travel, ain't anybody that knows why they want to.

Interesting that you say this, perhaps I don't understand you correctly.

I know many people who know why they travel. It's the same reason I love to travel. Every new place and experience is mind opening and I learn more about the world from a few weeks of traveling than I can from spending years in a classroom or watching the news. I mean it. I've heard about Colombia all my life and then I went there and found a culture so rich that explaining it would be insufficient.

I want to travel so I can learn about the world. Otherwise, how can I possibly know what the world needs, what my value is to offer, and... I love foreign women.

(I like American women too, don't get me wrong.)

I want to thank you again for your input. This is exactly why I post to this forum. The community here keeps me on my toes, my head straight and thoughts flowing.

What you brought up I have thought about myself and I want to keep it in mind because as my mother says, "Wherever you go, you bring yourself with you." (She got that from somewhere I know.)

You've now got me thinking that there is practically a goldmine waiting for me on the main street to just open some pedestrian friendly businesses (cafe's, restaurants, cool shops, there's already a couple theaters and a functioning trolly car). Though, the thought of spending one more winter here gives me shivers.

-JWick