Make Your Box Bigger

“There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say,
"Yes, I’ve got dreams, of course I’ve got dreams." Then they put the box
away and bring it out once in awhile to look in it, and yep,
they’re still there. These are great dreams, but they never
even get out of the box. It takes an uncommon amount
of guts to put your dreams on the line, to hold them up
and say, "How good or how bad am I?"
That’s where courage comes in.”
– Erma Bombeck

In Issue #223

Main Essay: Make Your Box Bigger by Monica Day

I knew by how nervous I was before I left for a short 5-day trip to Prague that it had been too long since I’d traveled abroad. That kind of anxiety only comes when my box gets too small for too long.

In my heart of hearts, I am a nomad. In some other lifetime, I would have little responsibility, lots of friends all over the world, and the time and leisure to flit from one to the other indefinitely.

While that is not what I’ve chosen for this lifetime, I appreciate the chance to taste it every now and then. That feeling of freedom, of my box getting bigger.

On this trip, I found myself at a table of seven, with only two of us American. The rest of the lot were a mixed bunch – one German, two Lebanese who had been raised as Brits, one British Jew, and one Aussie. And we ranged in ages from 25 to 55 – but sat together as peers. A couple were married, a couple recently engaged, another couple were gay.

Wars have been waged throughout history – and even today as I write this – on fewer differences than ours. But at our little table, in a residential section of Prague, the only dissension between us was whether we had ordered too much food and not enough wine for our respective appetites.

I felt much like a plant who has not gotten enough water. Soaking up the conversation, the subtle differences in humor, the unique experience and perspective each person brought to the table. And the way that people who travel and marry and love across borders know how to argue and love each other with respect.

I may not be able to ditch it all and go nomad – much as I might like to. But I resolved on this trip to keep expanding my box. Stay in touch with friends abroad as much as I do those on my block. Look for excuses – and cheap flights – so I can head out again soon. Maybe most important, start taking my children with me – so they can have bigger boxes than I did at their age.

Copywriting, internet publishing, and being a self-employed entrepreneur give me a freedom that most don’t have. But only if I use it.

Luckily, several other members of our little group also have such freedom – and I got a chance to pick their brain on how they exercise it. One was a retired entrepreneur who made enough money to support he and his wife for the last 15 years. They value their freedom more than their possessions – so they live well while making their cash stretch.

Another couple work together as – you guessed it – a copywriter and research team – The Copy Protégé’s own Richard Conero, who wrote How To Find The World’s Best Ideas. Richard did what he always does – blew my mind with his ability to climb deep into the web and live a life of luxury on a fraction of what others spend. He told me about his free phone service and invited me to call anywhere in the world. Shared with me tips for flying first class but paying only economy fare. And other tips that will make it much easier for me to keep expanding my box without expanding my workload to support it!

And then – he laid out this brilliant business idea for us to work on together in the coming year! An idea that you will love too, since it is going to show you how to get all the goodies that Richard knows how to get on the web – even if you’re too lazy to get his book and learn how to do it yourself. So stay tuned.

I was reminded once again why I love this business. It’s really not the money – although the money isn’t bad at all. It’s the freedom. And the dedication each person who is drawn to this business has to living their dream – and showing others how to live theirs.

Resource Referral: The World At Your Fingertips

It will be a few months before I can fully unveil what we are cooking up. But you don’t have to wait!

Sure, How To Find The World’s Best Ideas will show you how to develop the kinds of Big Ideas that sell multi-million dollar packages. But that’s not all it’s good for! This course literally hands you the keys to getting anything you want on the web.

Cheaper fares, better deals, hidden opportunities, little-known locations, easier access to high end living – it’s all there for the taking. But most people don’t know where to begin.

We should have called it How To Find The World – period. But we didn’t. So that makes it our secret. Check it out for yourself and see what I mean. You’ll thank me.

Quick Life Tip: Unplug Once In A While

I didn’t mean to fall through the cracks last week. Honest, I didn’t.

I rented a flat in Prague that claimed to have internet access. I was hanging out with some of my most connected friends – they work on side-by-side computers and have managed to rig up free calling to anywhere in the world. I even decided to travel with my new computer, and the Blackberry, even though I was told expressly by my Verizon Wireless representative that it wouldn’t work abroad.

Still, it happened. I disconnected completely for days.

I wandered the frigid streets of Prague all day long. I stayed up until the wee hours and then some eating and laughing and singing with friends. I wandered out of a dance club at a time when decent folks were heading to work, then languished in a bubble bath and snoozed until lunch time. Only to get up and do it again.

Yes, there are internet cafes all over the world. You can plug into your life, your family, your friends, your work, from anywhere.

But that doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes, you just have to get off the grid. You’ll see. The world won’t stop while you’re gone. You’ll just wish it did.