It’s only Wednesday. I’m trapped at a desk. I’m anxious. Boxed in by computer screens and some hipster glass conference rooms. Long 8 hour days. Everyone else is working. I hear loud chatter in the background from a sales specialist talking about how our daycares are the best ever. I look down. One of the office dogs is staring at me. He wants some food. Maybe if I get a dog, I won’t mind being here. Red Hot Chili Peppers is playing in the background. I take a deep breath…. sigh.

What have I done?

Transitioning from the Island Life to A Normal 9-5 Job

Imagine you can do anything you want to do. What do you choose? Move to an island and relax. Happily ever after. Or is it?

For the past 2+ years, I’ve been floating around and living life day by day. I’ve been traveling. Trying out different careers. Divemaster. English Teacher. SEO. Permanent Traveler.

SEO

When I decided to quit engineering, I called the two people I knew that could help me. Matt and Robert. We were all electrical engineering majors. But not the typical nerds. We all wanted to do something different. Matt and Robert read Four Hour Work Week and quit their jobs a few years before  me. I looked to them for guidance. Robert gave me a job / internship to learn about SEO. Matt called me every week to coach me on how to start over. Over a few months I learned the ropes and moved to Thailand to learn how to do SEO solo. I created my own company. My bestie helped me find customers. I networked. I worked. I became a Digital Nomad. I became a cliche macbook pro user at a coffee shop.

I do SEO because I like to see the results. It’s all on me. I’m my own boss. Some days I struggle. Stress. Worry. I’m constantly learning more about balancing work and life. The money let me live where ever I wanted. When I want to travel, I go. When I want to go home. I fly to California. Thankful SEO gives me that flexibility.

Working Remotely

There are no days off. Yet, everyday can be a day off. The best part of having my own company is being able to work anywhere I want. Budapest for 10 days. Tour during the day. Work in the afternoon. Out again for dinner and drinks. Rinse and Repeat.

The Downside

Some Days I don’t want to be that tourist. Some days I want to watch Netflix with friends. Lay on the sofa with them and reminisce about how crazy we were in college.  Hang out. Face-time is a substitute, but not the same. I’ve been fortunate to make friends in every city. But that doesn’t replace my best friends. There were so many times I felt alone.  Missing the casual days where I  would sit there watching my friends cook in the kitchen. Having them poke at my non-existent love life.  Talk to me about nothing and everything at the same time.

The Pitch to Join a StartUp

Initially when my friend Jesse messaged me asking if I would work for him. I responded flat out NO. No way! I’m done working for the man. But as he started explaining his company I became more and more interested. Maybe this is something I can get into. The more we talked, I could feel myself get more excited to be part of a team. To make something bigger. Would this be the same? I would be the program manager, have equity in the company. Provide guidance. Challenge myself.

Selling Out

Returning to a 40 Hour work week? Have I lost my mind?

Let me think about this…

Pros Cons
Seeing Friends again in LA and California Lost Ability to Work from Anywhere
Being Part of a large Team that could change the childcare – preschool industry Endless Amounts of Vacation
Showcasing my Program Manager Abilities Loss of Low Rent  // No Longer Living in Europe
New Job Will Force Me to make my own company Efficient – > Hire New Employees Lose my Spanish
Making New Friends with Similar Entrepreneur mindset Being Forced to work M-F 40 hour schedule
Try the Experience in a Startup Loss of Free Time

Regretting My Choice

I didn’t think the cons were a big deal. Loss of free time and remote working. I was wrong. The first week in an office I felt extreme anxiety and caged. I felt like a feral dog brought into a home.  Maybe this was going to be harder than I thought. Learning everything about this new company. After work I catch up on my own company and balance with unpacking and settling into LA again. Each day I feel anxious. How do I explain what I’ve done to everyone?  It shouldn’t matter, but I don’t want to disappoint anyone.

Is it about the money?

Spain is cheap. LA is not. Rent in Seattle was $1400, $400 in Tenerife and here its over $2000. I added more salary with this new job, but I feel like all the extra money goes to the cost of living. I tell myself I’m working for the experience and not the money. Its about feeling rooted. Seeing my friends. Coming back to America. After I got my first paycheck, I realized its definitely not about the money. American taxes and corporate life really do make you pay.

Good Bye Solo life and Hello Wolf Pack

Goodbye digital nomad life. We had a good run. See you later.