Reinventing your life is a dream for many women. We’ve featured a handful of them in our pages over the last year: Sarah Murray in “Leaving my life to Live It,” Sunita Palakar in “Tea and Transformation,” and Shannon Galpin in “Moving Mountains.” After a divorce, facing an empty nest, and after the death of her new love, 44-year-old writer and traveller Barbara Singer did it too. Her new book, Living Without Reservations, is a how-to manual for a lifestyle of freedom, adventure, travel, and romance.
The real goal in life, says Barbara, is to collect experiences and enjoy people, not just to go shopping and buy and collect stuff. But you’ve got to confront yourself and make choices that are right for you:
Would you rather have a plane ticket or a mortgage?
Would you rather have a backpack or walk-in closet?
Would you rather live your dream or watch it on reality TV?
“Once you make the decision,” she says, “your view of the world changes.” Barbara’s book offers up insights into what decisions need to be specifically addressed as one works through the adventure of personal discovery. Here is a tiny preview of her roadmap for making a major personal transformation, don’t be shocked at the cut-and-dry nature of her advice… her audience is women who are serious about making a change:
- Get Ready Mentally. Be acutely aware of how you are spending your time and money. There are NO neutral actions. You must believe in why and what you doing with all your heart. You are no longer marching in step with everyone else. You are choosing a different path and will be making daily decisions that others will question. Don’t listen to anyone who is negative and begin to plan your strategy.
- Liquidate your home. Rent it or sell it. The goal is to travel light. You will be renting a room from someone else somewhere in the world (perhaps even several times a year in different locations), so all your possessions need to fit into a bedroom.
- Get Rid of Your Car. Stop your car lease or car payments sell it then buy something under $5,000 and put the minimum insurance required by your state. You will cut 2 bills with this one move. Most of the time, your car will just sit, unused while you are out of the country.
- Stop all re-occurring monthly charges. If you don’t spend it, you won’t have to earn it. Stop all services like cable TV, lawn care, pool care, cleaning service, car detailing, beauty treatments, all memberships, and classes. You will have plenty of time to do these things yourself because you are not doing any of the old time wasters of the past
- Forget about Security and Responsibilities. Security doesn’t exist. It is a big lie. All kinds of unexpected events can change our lives in second- like a heart attack, car accident, getting fired, or divorced. Live today joyfully rather than spending time, energy and money on days that may never come. You will handle what actually happens.
There are a handful of other steps she details: plan to work overseas, get a post-office box, put all your bills online… but her advice all boils down to this: Hit the road. Go ahead. Decide to meet new people living incredible lifestyles. You will blow your mind and eyes wide open.
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Barbara Singer’s new book, Living Without Reservations: A Journey By Land and Sea in Search of Happiness ($19; Hear Me Roar Press) is available in bookstores nationwide and online at www.BarbaraElaineSinger.com.
