After years of consuming information and pondering theoretical situations, I am finally going to do something very concrete:

On January 8th, 2012, I am moving to Asia.

Asia?  Yes, Thailand to be specific.

But why Asia?

My Passion for Travel

For as long as I can remember, (whether to Timbuktu or to the moon) I’ve had the desire to travel.
In this past year, I was blessed to be able to visit and spend a short amount of time in seven different countries on three different continents.  Also, this past summer, two great friends and I went on a cross-country road trip that explored the majority of the USA (covering more than 25 states and one Canadian Province).  Needless to say, these were some amazing, life-changing experiences.  It is clear; I love to travel!  Experiencing Asia has always been a dream of mine, but one that seemed more like a fairytale than a reality.

However, since my recent Decision to Withdraw from College, I’ve inherited a massive wealth of time and a greater freedom to command its disposal.  This has provided me with the opportunity to more effectively pursue my passion for travel and to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine.

Cheap Cost of Living

Charleston, South Carolina isn’t exactly the cheapest community to live or start a business.  Sure it is nothing like New York City, San Francisco or London, but in relation to most destinations in Asia, it isn’t very budget friendly.   Seeing as how I will be showing up with nothing more than a backpack, my computer and an intense entrepreneurial drive, I am ready to invest less into my living expenses and more into my business ventures.

Community

Throughout much of the “Non-Western World”, there are many communities of entrepreneurs and business owners who are taking advantage of their location independence to live and work from anywhere in the world.  Many of these different hubs are filled with very talented men and women who have a results-oriented track record of living a rich lifestyle (more on what that means later).  By becoming more connected with these circles, I will be able to surround myself with many like-minded individuals who share the same passions of travel and entrepreneurship.  South East Asia is a gold mine for these different communities.  Essentially, the opportunities are infinite.

New Challenges

By moving overseas, I will be faced with a variety of challenges each and every day.  The simple process of ordering food or traveling around town suddenly will become a much more difficult thing to do (something many of us take for granted-myself included).  However, I know this will allow me the opportunity to experience tremendous personal growth in a variety of different aspects of my life.  By moving forward on an unconventional route and pursuing “the road less traveled”, I believe I will be able to live a more fulfilling lifestyle and to impact others in a more positive and inspiring way.

You could ask me for more details than what I have stated, but that pretty much sums it up.  I have some general ideas of what I would like to accomplish and where I plan to go, but I plan on improvising all of the finer details.  It will be much more interesting, fulfilling and exciting this way!  So, if you have any suggestions for places to see or things to do, PLEASE leave a comment or send me an email!

It is official.  I have formally withdrawn from Clemson University.  The past few weeks have been some of the most overwhelming times of my life.  They have been filled with uncertainty, inconsistency and a high level of variability surrounding current and future plans.  However, I am now relieved and at a greater peace.

I have known for a long time that obtaining a college degree and pursuing a 9 to 5 job was not my life calling.  I know that my passions lie elsewhere, and I desire the freedom to pursue them on a regular basis.   Simply put, college (or public education for that matter) is not for me.  After experimenting with self-education and learning through real-world applications, it is clear that it is much more effective for me to rely on a results-driven approach rather than a degree-driven approach.  I have been mentally separated the public education system for quite some time now and officially withdrawing from Clemson University is primarily a nominal event.

Many have asked why I decided to withdraw right in the middle of the semester, rather than completing it.  In response, I felt that I didn’t need to waste any more time pursuing items that were not fulfilling and fully aligned with my long and short-term goals.  By taking the plunge and making it official, it prevents me from making any more excuses for not using my time to its maximum potential.  Who knows, perhaps I would have pushed off living my life for a couple more years by squandering my time in the comfortable and safe environment that college offers.

During these past few days, I have experienced a freedom like never before.  It is really quite intimidating.  I have the power to utilize my time in any way possible, which means there is no room to mess around (Ok, well maybe just a little bit!).  But seriously, if I don’t make an effort and create my own opportunities, I will not be able to pursue this lifestyle effectively.

Overall, the main purpose of this is to encourage you to not let your life slip away.  Do not allow the mystery of the unknown intimidate you and prevent you from living the life that you desire.  It may seem wild, but radical results require radical actions!

For a long time, I have been thinking about the day where I could finally write this post and share these ideas with you from experience.  I can now tell you how it feels to make a huge step of faith, not knowing where you are headed or what exactly the future holds.  It is a fairly scary feeling, but also comforting, as I am faced with a choice of nearly infinite opportunities and possibilities.

I have never felt so certain, yet uncertain, about anything in my entire life.  I can’t wait to see what God has is in store!

Recently, I gave a speech on the value of living an entrepreneurial lifestyle and what it truly means to walk in this practice.  Preparing and reflecting on this event led me to challenge many of the items in my life that were preventing me from completely carrying out the principles that I had suggested.  My philosophy of entrepreneurship greatly varies from many of the common misconceptions that people believe about it. Primarily, I believe that entrepreneurship is a lifestyle that requires constant practice and continuous refining to perfect, rather than any single action or event.  But what exactly does living an entrepreneurial lifestyle look like?

Through my personal practice and my observations of others, I have categorized the practice of entrepreneurship into three distinct sections: the Idea, the Creation and the Implementation phases.  In my definition of entrepreneurship, I did my best to classify the phases as simply and straightforward as possible.  Please keep in mind that each phase contains many items and each will be more thoroughly broken down in future posts.  Overall, the combination of the idea, creation and implementation phases, when put into practice, exemplifies the nature of living an entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Idea Phase

The first major phase of entrepreneurship is the idea phase.  The idea phase is the most basic and fundamental component of living successfully as an entrepreneur.  This phase consists of constantly brainstorming and generating new ideas, which will allow you to assess many options and pursue the most promising ones.  One way I come up with new ideas is by looking at the problems or difficulties that are present in the areas of my life; then I think of possible solutions or alternatives to these issues. From my experience, I brainstorm on a daily basis, as this is the easiest phase for me.  It is easy for me to spot difficulties or lacking problems as I simply observe my environment as I go through life.  In my opinion, keeping a prepared mind is a priceless characteristic that every entrepreneur must exhibit in order to be successful.  Overall, a valuable idea is one that solves a specific problem or a need in a unique way.  By keeping a prepared mental state an entrepreneur will always be on the lookout for opportunities that they can potentially market and sell.  Furthermore, after you believe you have a unique idea that solves a problem or a societal need, it is necessary to move on to the next phase of entrepreneurship.

Creation Phase

The next phase of living an entrepreneurial lifestyle is the creation phase.  The purpose of this phase is to turn your idea into reality.  In the creation phase, now you must develop the website, code the mobile app, or manufacture the product that you will be selling.  Do not worry, if you have a wonderful idea but are lacking the skills to transform it into an actual product, there are many resources available that will make it possible for you to develop it.  (Many more future posts will explain this concept in greater detail.)  Next, once you have a functioning product, it is necessary to “stress-test” it, which means to vigorously test the device and search for any weaknesses.  This can be accomplished through quality assurance testing by releasing a beta product in order to get large amounts of feedback in a short amount of time.  After testing and debugging your product, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses and do your best to eliminate its weaknesses and improve on its strengths.  This may seem like an extremely obvious concept, but you would be surprised how many products I run into online that I believe were rushed into release and not thoroughly tested sufficiently.  Once you have a working product and you have done your best to make it as effective as possible, it is time to actively release it to the public.  This leads us to the implementation phase.

Implementation Phase

The implementation phase of entrepreneurship involves actively selling your product.  This component is sometimes overlooked, because many believe that after they have spent much time on developing a great product that it will simply sell itself, which is not typically accurate (initially).  Having a wonderful product will make it much easier to sell, but at the beginning, all products need help to gain consumer recognition- ultimately selling itself.  One very powerful way to build a client base is by regularly networking with people.  The purpose of this is not simply to go out and meet as many people as possible, but rather, build strong and lasting relationships with a core group of people that are dedicated to the success of your product.  The aforementioned concept applies to networking online as well as in person.  Networking online can be accomplished through social media websites as wells as personal blogs.  Either option, or a combination of both, have a large impact on establishing credibility and creating an online identity for yourself, which will ultimately help you get valuable feedback about your ideas and products.  For example, my overall goal for this blog is to establish a community where people, in my position now or in similar scenarios, will have access to resources aimed at helping entrepreneurs succeed.  I am still in the early stages of the journey, but I hope that I can learn as much from you (or more) as you learn from me.  The previous description is an example of Social Media Marketing, which I believe to be the most valuable method on the Internet for marketing a product or an idea (going into further detail is well beyond the scope of this post- will explore at a greater depth soon).  Therefore, it takes time to build a dedicated client base and it is a continuous, long-term process.

Summary

Overall, entrepreneurship is a lifestyle that must be practiced and implemented on a daily basis.  The previously stated sections, the Idea, Creation and Implementation phases are all items that should be pursued very frequently and not treated as a single action to be completed once.  I do my best to consistently apply each of the principles of the Idea, Creation and Implementation phases, daily, in order to effectively live an entrepreneurial lifestyle.  When you first begin, the entire process may appear difficult, but with some old-fashioned discipline and a passion to learn, applying the principles of living an entrepreneurial lifestyle will be developed into healthy habits.