This blog post is in response to Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan Blog Challenge Day 6

My Tribe. Day 6 of Natalie’s 10 Day Freedom Plan challenge is about something I consider essential. Not just to life on the freedom plan, but to life in general. Just consider the Zig Ziglar quote that  “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. Now imagine how incredibly important those five people are!

I must admit, the past year was extremely challenging for me when it came to my tribe. While many of our friends rallied around us, perhaps considering us a bit off our rockers, but nonetheless thrilled we were chasing our dreams. Sadly, a good number of others, including family members, remained unsupportive, making the challenges of selling it all and leaving behind what we loved that much more difficult.

Luckily, we got through that first bleak page, and are forging ahead, finding a new tribe. Oh, I am still loving my old tribe and email daily with many of them. Although I can no longer pop in for dinner, I feel as close as ever. They are true friends for life.

But recently, our greatest inspiration is coming from our new tribe; those other hearty souls out on the road, living a life less ordinary. In the end, it is always the people that are what is important; those we leave behind, and those we meet along the way. Connecting with new friends in person makes it all the sweeter.

In the next two weeks we will be reconnecting with several of our tribe that we last saw in Baja, SIX months ago already, and greeting some new faces. However, in order to truly embrace Natalie’s challenge for today, I need to look look outside my overlander community to think about who I truly consider mentors.

Those people who have been out there doing it, living the life nomadic, making a location independent lifestyle work. For one of my fondest dreams is to meet them somewhere along the road, and thank them for being such incredible inspirations to me.

First up, I would need to mention Simon & Erin from Never Ending Voyage. I have been following their blog for years, loving their style of blogging and the fact that they had been on the road for years, living all over the globe. They fund their travels in several ways, but most recently with their amazing Trail Wallet app that we have used for nine months. We love it for keeping us on track and budget, even when it yells at us for overspending!

Secondly, Amy & Andrew from Our Big Fat Travel Adventure. They, too, started out on an extended journey, and are now hell bent on making road life work longterm by using a variety of income streams. Although I believe they are a bit ahead of us in the game, they are probably the online friends closest to us in terms of where they are in making it work.

Third, Tony & Steph of 20YearsHence. We have also been in contact with them for years. After their round the world journey, they came back for their pups and hit the road to Mexico. Now living in Playa del Carmen, they have been endless sources of information and inspiration, and we can not wait to meet them when we are in Playa the end of the year!

When I finally meet these three, inspiring, couples, I will first simply thank them for having the courage to leave their tribe at home, to find a new tribe out in the world. Then, if I had but one question to ask them, I would ask something I believe I already know the answer to; Do you think it was worth it? If they had to do it all over again, would they toss societies constraints aside and create a life less ordinary? Well, that is two questions, isn’t it?

Having been in contact with all of them over the last few years. I am sure they would proclaim loudly that YES, it is all worth it. Worth the stress, the challenges, the loss of an original tribe. All in pursuit of a life lived on their terms.