As I headed off to a  recent trip to San Miguel De Allende, Mexico, I received many well wishes from friends with the comment, 'Enjoy a margarita on the beach for me' or 'be safe'.   Every time it was said, I felt as though I had to explain that Mexico is more that white sand beaches and margaritas and safer than most major American cities that the general population visit.

San Miguel is in central Mexico. It is 6,000 feet above sea level in the beautiful mountains. The temperature drops to 40F  in the evening.  We wear jackets and scarves. Some even wear winter coats.  San Miguel is an art and cultural hub with many international educational workshops and conferences. I would walk down the streets alone in the evening and never question my safety.

It got me to thinking how often our well meaning comments are somewhat ignorant. Born and raised in Canada and living on the border city of Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. , we often hear people ask us about our skiing or cold weather. Meanwhile the city I am from is the same latitude as the northern tip of California. If I were to cross the border into Detroit, for an evening in the downtown core (as I did in San Miguel) I feel not nearly as safe. Until we actually visit the countries and cities, we then can base our opinions from what we hear in the media.

In my opinion, traveling is the best education, hands down. It changes perceptions. It is tactile. It  also bring us all closer
together as one.

It is man who created borders. When an astronaut looks from space he/she does not see borders.
I encourage everyone to travel more (including myself!).

The video below is a art opening in one of my favourite Mexican cities, Merida, Yucatan. Is this what you think of when you
think of Mexico? I know I probably have preconceived ideas of many other places across this wonderful globe....and I look forward
to the world changing it!

To more wonderful travels,
Floydilou

Have you ever wondered how you can create your dream life?

Fifteen years ago when starting my first business with the direct sales company, Arbonne International, I was introduced to the concept of writing down my 'why'. The first step in starting the business was to write down 25 reasons why you wanted to be successful. Number 1 on my list  was to be able to live down south. Ever since that day, I  persistently took actions towards that vision. 8 years later and I was able to buy that beach condo on the Pacific Coast in Mexico. I wasn't quite able to move there permanently as I needed to make the beach condo into an income source via vacation rentals. Having a vacation rental property is a fun way to grow your income source and portfolio. Fast forward  another 8 years to my current standing. Today  I am on a fact finding trip to move to Mexico. I love my home country but it is time to do something new. It has been my dream for so long to live on the ocean in the tropical sun. To explore a different way to live. To create a career that did not own me while at the same time a business that could be as flexible and ever changing as I was.
 
Over the past 15yrs, I have worked towards this goal choosing jobs and businesses that gave me that flexibility. I have taken many workshops and courses that all led me here. I know in my deepest heart I had  to be near the ocean in a warm climate year round and to make it happen. One way to do that was to create a passive income stream and also a laptop business I could do from anywhere in the world where WIFI was available.

Do you have a dream that you are working towards. Is travelling one of them? Living in another country part-time or full-time can be done by creating a simplified laptop lifestyle and business. It took me 15 yrs to get there. Would you like to shorten that time span to under 5 years? Take advantage of one of my sizzle sessions or upcoming mastermind marketing workshops. (HINT: a beachfront workshop is in development )

Here are 5  steps to get you started: 
1) Write down 25 reasons why you want to be successful in your business. Dream big....really BIG and read it daily. 
2) Take one of your dreams and discover how it could create an income for you....example....Vacation Property
3) Take your current skillset and passion and turn it into a niched online service or product
4)) Create 3 levels of income.  Active. Leveraged and Passive. Understand the difference. 
5) Surround yourself with people who have already accomplished what you want and participate in mastermind groups.

Tell me what your laptop lifestyle looks like.  How are you making it happen?