Dear Friend,
I have to be honest. Since I started blogging several months ago, I’ve been struggling to discover my own, personal niche in this world. In fact, I think that I’ve been struggling all of my life to find that niche. Yet in my heart I have always felt that I well knew my place, and that I had a great deal to offer to my fellow man that was desperately needed and that was not being adequately delivered by others.
Getting my head to discover what my heart already seemed to know has not been easy. Mostly because, I believe, I have been “thinking” about this with my mind, rather than with my heart (which is the true well of wisdom in my life, and probably in yours as well).
I know that I love to inspire people to move beyond perceived limits in their lives. I am also inspired by and driven to emulate aspects of the lives of people who have discovered the world in all of its raw glory, not hesitating to go where many others might hesitate. It is the freedom that these folks personify that most inspires me. But I am also secretly jealous of their ability to pursue their passions without the burdens of everyday life that seem to thwart most of us.
One of the greatest hurdles that seems to stand in the way of most folks (including myself) who dream of a life of true liberty and self-directed freedom is the fact that we have families (in my case, a fairly large one) and the attendant responsibilities that come along with them. I imagine that many a man sits in a bar, secretly bemoaning the dreams and experiences of his youth that seem to be cut off forever by that screeching bundle of joy he just left with the wife back home. Such feelings also must contribute to a great deal of resentment and stress between spouses. I wonder how many divorces have, at their most fundamental root, a resentment by one or both spouses over their perception of a significant loss of freedom that their marriage and family brought to their lives.
I have been a student of this phenomenon practically all of my life. For some reason, I have always refused to accept imprisonment in any form. I have always believed that it is our own perceptions of reality, much more than reality itself, that limit our personal freedom to pursue our desired lifestyle. In particular I believe that it is our acquiescence to conventional, inside-the-box thinking, along with a desire not to challenge the expectations of extended family members and friends, that imprisons all of us and teaches us the false lesson that “grown-ups don’t have dreams, they have jobs instead.”
I also realize that there are very few realistic life models being provided to the world that include both family and freedom. We are given fairly rigid models for how our lives are supposed to be lived. Families live in the suburbs, we are told. Adventure is for college kids who backpack across Europe, sacking out in hostels. It’s time to grow up. Or, to run out on your family.
There has to be a better way. Family life cannot be a prison for those of us who refuse to live the Ozzie and Harriot lifestyle.
I admit that I am not some adventure junkie. In fact, I have yet to do one of those zip-line thingys during my five trips to Costa Rica (if you’ve been there then you know what I’m talking about).
I loved Tim Ferris’ book, “The Four Hour Work Week,” which described a very unconventional lifestyle of travel and adventure being lived by a 20-something, unattached genius overachiever. The book was a huge hit, in fact. However, it was written by a guy that almost no one can identify with. What the world needs, I believe, is a road map to freedom for the rest of us. And particularly for those great many of us who refuse to be imprisoned in the weighty shackles of conventional suburban lifestyles.
I believe that I was brought to this world to create that roadmap, and to bring it to you.
We are all in this life together, and many of us want the same thing. The freedom to live our lives as we choose. I propose that we help each other to achieve just that. Without the sacrifices that we fear. And while bringing our families along for the ride.
Such adventures may just be the greatest gift that a parent can give to a child. And the stresses of travel can create a solid foundation for a marriage just as easily as they can tear one apart. In fact, I believe that such stress can never cause injury to a relationship that would not eventually occur anyway. It just brings inherent flaws to the fore sooner.
I am The Passionate Warrior. I am a husband, a father, and a warrior for personal freedom. This is my quest. Won’t you join me? I can’t wait to get started!
All the best,
Hugh
