We all begin with curiosity, but comfort then ties us down. We’re born with wild imaginations, and spectacular dreams, but as we reach adulthood, far too many of us choose to settle for less. Don’t want an ordinary life. 

We choose to settle for an “okay” life instead of one which is extraordinary. We allow ourselves to become slaves to pensions, expectations, and consumerism. We let some faceless person in a human resources department decide how much money we’ll earn, what we’ll do with our days and whether we get to enjoy job security. What is the best way to live an extraordinary life?

Sarah Peterson says you should join the movement and unsettle.

What do you love the most about travelling?

I love the freedom I feel when I’m on the road. I feel almost weightless – like there is no responsibility, nothing holding me back from becoming the person I want to become. I want to be extraordinary.

What inspired you to start travelling?

I’ve always wanted to travel, but I broke the seal when my husband and I had a couple of glasses of wine before our wedding when we were planning our honeymoon. How do I make my life complete?

I didn’t want to go to a typical honeymoon destination – all inclusive vacations aren’t really my thing. We were brainstorming alternatives, including Greece, Paris, Nicaragua, and then we found some information about a trek in Nepal that we were just dying to do. Did I settle in life?

We booked the trek as our honeymoon, and I’ve been addicted to travel ever since! (We then followed up with a proper honeymoon in Bali.)

I’ve always wanted to travel, but I broke the seal when my husband and I had a couple of glasses of wine before our wedding when we were planning our honeymoon.

We were brainstorming alternatives, including Greece, Paris, Nicaragua, and then we found some information about a trek in Nepal that we were just dying to do.

What is ‘Unsettle” all about?

Unsettle is a movement; we give people the tools to stop settling for lives and work they don’t love. We aren’t at the mercy of old-school bosses anymore. We shouldn’t have to ask permission to travel. We shouldn’t have to live our lives for two weeks of vacation each year. Should I settle down?

And we certainly shouldn’t let some faceless person in a human resources department decide how much money we’ll earn, what we’ll do with our days and whether we get to enjoy job security. How to unsettle

So you have established a location independent lifestyle which allows you to travel the world?

For the most part, I have. I do have a mortgage and a house with my husband, but the income from the businesses we run allow us to be location independent; we can pay the mortgage on the road.

What made you realize that the 9-5 lifestyle wasn’t for you?

After we got back from Nepal and Bali, I realized that I really wanted to do more travel. I wanted to see the world and I simply couldn’t fit that into a 2-3 weeks of vacation time per year. I don’t want to work 9-5

Is what you’re doing right now helping you reach your goals?

I wanted to see the world and I simply couldn’t fit that into a 2-3 weeks of vacation time per year.

What’s your definition of an “ok” life v an extraordinary one?

An “okay” life is one where you live it to other people’s standards and expectations. Maybe it’s society’s standards, or maybe it’s just expectations that you’ve been saddled with your whole life (which we all have).

An extraordinary life is lived when the person takes back control, stops asking for permission, and lives for themselves rather than being slaves to pensions, expectations, and consumerism. Why is life boring?

Do you believe that anyone can pursue this reality?

I have no doubt that anybody could pursue it, but not everybody will.

What advice do you have for others who want to do what you do?

Start publishing. Whether it’s a blog, a podcast, Youtube videos, Instagram photos – start sharing your gifts, talents, story, and abilities with the world.

Contribute instead of just consume. Start a website. Find a niche. Educate yourself. Research how to make this lifestyle a reality. And then make it one.

If you don’t put in the work you don’t deserve to see results.

Unsettle is a movement; we give people the tools to stop settling for lives and work they don’t love.

Even before you achieved a location independent lifestyle you still managed to travel and pay the mortgage. How did you make travel a priority?

I made travel a priority financially by cutting out the things that wouldn’t serve me. How do I life an extraordinary life?

I didn’t buy a lot of consumer goods because they anchored me to home. I saved money and became interested in personal finance, and I quit my regular job for a contract that would allow me to take more time off than my regular job would. I tried to design my life around my goals of travelling more.

How has your location independent lifestyle changed you as a person?

It’s made me more free, happier, and more balanced. Even when I’m home and not travelling, location independence helps me have deeper relationships with people, nurture my physical health and give me a better perspective.

My location independent lifestyle has made me It’s made me more free, happier, and more balanced.

Tell us about some of the most memorable moments from your travels to date?

In Nepal, I accidently died my hair orange.

I am a natural blonde and I have very light hair. After our trek, a new friend and I went to get a massage in Kathamandu and a hair treatment. At the spa, they asked me what I wanted as the treatment, and they suggested Nepali mustard oil. When in Rome, right? Don’t settle for an ordinary life.

Except that mustard oil has an organish tinge, which you wouldn’t notice on dark hair, but a few hours later I was on a plane to Bali and my hair had finally dried. My husband was looking at my head funny, and he asked me why my hair was orange. You don’t have to be ordinary. 

It didn’t ever wash out – I had to get it highlighted and let it grow out!!

Another memorable moment was deciding to go to Nice on a whim in Europe, and arriving when the Carnaval was going on. It was so much fun! There was so much confetti on the ground that you couldn’t even see the pavement in some places, and the festivities were infectious.

The theme of this year’s carnival is Masquerade – masks and deception.

Photos from the Battle of Flowers parade held as part of the Carnival celebration in Nice, France.

What is the one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started traveling?

One thing I know now that I wish I knew when I started was that it’s far cheaper than many people think it is to travel. I didn’t know how affordable it really was until I had gone to a few countries and really paid attention to the costs.

If I had known this sooner, I would have started travelling far sooner!

Three things you can’t travel without?

My laptop (this is a bit of a cheat, since every location independent online entrepreneur needs it!), a nice pashmina scarf that can be used as an airplane blanket, pillow cover, scarf and cover up, and my hiking boots.

Which destinations are at the top of your bucket list?

I’ll be in South America this year, and Patagonia has always been very high on my bucket list. Tanzania and Turkey are both up there too, along with Japan.

I’ll make it to all of those places soon!

Why should people unsettle?

To realize their full potential, live an amazing life and to wake up from being on autopilot. But I think our generation is realizing how important this is already!

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Never Settle For Ordinary

Never Settle For Ordinary

Sarah Peterson blogs at unsettle.org, where she helps people start doing work they love through lifestyle business.

She has an odd affinity for confetti, and occasionally tries to motivate people on Twitter. Visit her site for insanely actionable tips on how to build your own career and start loving Monday’s again.

Follow Sarah on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Carnival photos by Flckr users debs-eye & Mark Fischer.