If you hate your job and dream about coming to Thailand. I didn’t even realize I hated my job until I met René; I thought I was just stressed and needed a vacation. I had read the ‘4-hour Workweek’ on the plane over but never thought, for a second even, of actually moving to another country – especially not Thailand.
I’m sure René got asked many questions all the time and was sick of answering them but, luckily, I was persistent. If only a my blog like this existed back then, he could have just pointed me to the website and told me to read it. “Read ‘12 Weeks in Thailand’ then decide for yourself”, he could have said. I found a piece of paper and a pen and disappeared to the front of the ship writing out a list of the pros and cons of moving to Thailand and a list of everything holding me back from doing so.
Thailand Map – Map Of Thailand Photo Gallery
I factored in the cost of living, visas, health insurance, everything I could think of. An hour later I ran back up to René, who was happily drinking an ice cold beer on the top deck, ecstatic to show him my list and tell him that I’ve made my decision to move to Thailand. He wasn’t as excited as I imagined he’d be. In hindsight, I doubt he believed me as I’m sure exactly 20% of his students say the same thing and none of them actually go through with it. Well, I guess I was the exception! I wrote the following letter to my business partner (and room-mate at the time) setting it all in stone, planting the seed that would sprout into a forest – one that couldn’t be undone.
Here’s the actual letter I wrote, setting it all in motion. Written – Oct 22, 2008 Subject: Private Letter to JT (important and confidential). JT, This last year and a half has been an amazing journey. I think that us meeting has been fate, and we’ve mutually complemented each other so well in our strong suits to balance each other out. We’re both at a much better place than we were before we met: our careers, community standing, and lives. We have both tremendously helped each other in uncountable ways. When you said to me the other week, “Johnny, thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.” that meant a lot to me and I want to tell you that I couldn’t have done it without you either. But internally, I’m burnt out. I want to step down from helping you run the company as your Vice President. For the last 18 months I’ve been doing a tremendous workload, a lot of which goes unseen. Life feels too hectic and I feel like I’m wearing 30 different hats and I don’t have time to dedicate myself to any of the roles to its fullest potential. I don’t know what I want.
