You've Got A Plan
What if you could sidestep the angst going on in many places around the globe right now and restart your life in a place where the closing figure for the DOW and the dollar-euro or dollar-yuan exchange rate aren't the primary topics of conversation...where you don't have to worry how the government's next "bailout" brainstorm might impact you...
Because you've got your own plan.
Because you've got a plan to restart your life... reinvent your career... someplace new and beautiful and exciting and fun...where family still matters and evenings are spent with friends and neighbors indulging in that forgotten art called conversation...
Where you can settle (retire?) and live comfortably...in a safe, friendly community...with a dramatic and expansive mountain view from your bedroom window...or the gentle lapping of the sea upon the sand just beyond your patio or deck.
Where you can enjoy (afford) help around the house or maybe someone to tend your garden for you every day...
Where, in fact, you can live and work in style and better than you do now, on your terms.
Sound too good to be true? Why?
Because when you are surrounded with people who don't dream as big and bold as you do, your dream and your plan can get knocked down.
What to do? Three things:
Surround yourself with likeminded people, people who are moving abroad and want to work in their dream destination (or are already).
That could be friends, new connections who reside near you at home, mentors, speakers, books, blogs, newsletters, magazines. They could be people you meet online, at conferences, networking, or introductions into your chosen new jurisdiction.
- When I mentioned the business I want to set up in the Caribbean
(island still undecided at that time), one Embassy representative
started gushing how easy it would be to get set up in his country.
- I met a couple at a Boston home show who were selling real estate
in an expat development in Central America. I'm still on their mailing
list because they are an example to me, an inspiration.
- Just recently in Virginia, good friends introduced me to someone
who just bought a vineyard in Argentina and a bought into a teak
forest in Panama.
2. Plan your move and your business.
Plan the steps and timeline for your move. Plan the steps and timeline for your business. Then put them together strategically.
Break down every step into all the individual tasks to be done. Be realistic about how long some things take. If you are not selling a home, you can pack a suitcase and catch a plane.
But if you need to set up an office with phone and internet or apply for licenses or bank accounts, to establish your business and function, that may require a long lead time in some jurisdictions.
Indeed, if the business you want to establish requires licensing, introductions, contracts, or translation services, these take time.
Investigate and seek alternative workarounds for every aspect of your business. Murphy's Law says you can't assume anything will work the way it does in the States. Seek out support, advice, experience and expertise to help you.
3. Work your plan and stick to it.
Once you plan your work, work your plan. Don't second guess yourself. It's time to act.
Don't let Fear or Procrastination take hold. Your dream needs to be big, bold and audacious so you will do it anyway.