How to become a CEO in one month!

After reading tons of articles about ‘How I quit my job to travel’, I realized most of those people are not married, have no children, don’t have any loans to pay off or any rents (just like me!) So there I put in my papers without another job in hand and a handful of travel itineraries. A lot of people have asked me how I manage to travel without any income. Because I worked in advertising for several years and still managed to keep aside some savings!! Also, I never aspired to become the CEO of a company, my ambition in life is to travel the world and I do not travel to prove a point or to check places off a list. I travel because I explore a bit of myself with every new place that I explore.

Last month, I went on a photography trip with no knowledge of photography whatsoever and a camera that was not even my own (now it is). I came back with pictures that could give an ace lensman a run for his money only if they weren’t out of focus, over exposed or blurry. But I did learn a trick or two about Light painting, leading lines and Rule of Thirds. I tried my hand at photo manipulation and someone was kind enough to feature my picture on Photographers.of.India (yay!)

Quitting your job is no easy game, it comes with its share of challenges. Here’s a list of changes I have made in my life:

– I meet friends over coffee instead of drinks

– I have swapped my luxury brand of toiletries with an Indian brand

– I have stopped shopping at the mall, I shop online from a Chinese ecommerce site

– I do not go to ticketed events unless I get a free pass

– I have put the Euro trip on the backburner and sticking to South Asia only

And now the upside:

– I don’t need anyone to sign my leave applications

– I have ample time to catch up with old friends, walk in the park and sketch doodles

– I do not have to wait for the weekend to watch a movie or anything else for that matter

– I have no Monday blues

– No one makes me feel guilty about having too much fun

A lot of people also say that I could do it ‘cos I could afford to. Does that mean people these days can’t afford to buy their own freedom in spite of slogging for so many hours at their workplace? I believe that no one does you a favor by giving you that paycheck. You get paid for the work that you do unless someone hired you on face value and you must prove every single day that you exist. I saw a lovely quote somewhere that read ‘It’s not a privilege to get time off from work for a holiday. It’s your right.’ How true is that, then why feel all bad and guilty while putting in that leave application? It is your life and it is you who decides when you need a break!

Nothing in life is permanent and I may someday go back to designing and park myself on an office chair again but right now I love my life of Food and Travel, I love writing my blogs and absolutely love it when someone addresses me as Gnawmadic. I call myself its Co-Founder (sounds legit) and most of all I love being the C.E.O of my life. And for that, I did not need a promotion paper or any kind of official validation.

PS: I am ready to barter my professional services (designing, writing and creating itineraries) in exchange of free food and travel.