What It’s Like To Leave Your 9-to-5 Job To Travel

It might come as a shocking revelation that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, more than 40 million of employees voluntarily (and, we presume, eagerly) quit their 9-to-5 job in 2018.

Why?

Reasons are many, and to name just a few – wanting to take control over their career, looking for a more fulfilling career, longing for a job that’ll be more meaningful and less stressful, or seeking freedom and room for personal development.   

Have you ever toyed with the idea of leaving your 9-to-5 job and becoming your own boss? And did you quickly cast that idea aside because you were afraid of uncertainty future brings?

Here at Domain.ME we are passionate about staying true to yourself and going after your dreams! In this installation of our .ME Success Stories serial. we are proud to have Gerry from TravelBirdie.ME here with us. She’s a successful young woman who stepped out of her comfort zone and was kind enough to share her journey and some key lessons her experience taught her with us. We hope you enjoy the story!

Q: How did you decide to leave your 9-to-5 job and start traveling around the world?

A: Actually, the decision was made quite fast, over a beer one Friday afternoon. I had just finished another dreadful week of work at my high-end corporate job, happy it’s the weekend, but feeling quite depressed. For 9 years I had worked so hard to get to this position, I had everything I needed and more, lived in the heart of beautiful Barcelona, and still, my life was in fog. The fact that I didn’t see real value in my work as a Quality Manager and didn’t enjoy the very long hours in the shiny office, brought me to a complete burnout.

For some time I had known that something had to change, and I was looking for other options, but the answer came to me that Friday afternoon. The friend I met for a beer was in a similar situation and suggested we just leave it all and get a one-way ticket to Bangkok. Unfortunately, the burnout syndrome and depression have become way too common nowadays, so my immediate response was:

“When are we leaving?”.

A month and a half later I was boarding my flight, no job, no flat, and all my life in a suitcase. It was really scary, but exciting as well, and definitely one of the best decisions of my life.

What we’ve learned from Gerry: You are the one who is in charge of your own life – you just need to listen to yourself. Don’t let the feeling of discontentment become so overwhelming that it consumes you completely. Once you realize it’s time for a change, be open to all the offers that may come your way, even those totally unexpected. Who knows – it may turn out to be a life-changing opportunity, just like it was for Gerry.

Q: Where did you find the courage to live your dreams?

A: Without a doubt, courage is always 100% within us. While traveling for 8 months I met a lot of people from all over the world who admired my bravery and who inspired me greatly with their own stories. I found out that we’re all a lot braver and stronger than we think, and we can make life how we want it. I believe we have the power to reinvent ourselves, transform our lives, and achieve anything we dream of. We just need to believe in our own abilities, work hard for our dreams and never give up.

People are often stopped by the fear of failure, but how can you fail if you don’t even try?

What we’ve learned from Gerry: Gerry’s story helps us become aware of a simple, but often overlooked truth – there’s no such thing as an insurmountable obstacle! We can achieve everything we set our hearts to, as long as we realize that we are the ones who have the power. And for this, you have to have faith in yourself. Once we step out of our comfort zone, we’ll be able to conquer our greatest fears, and by doing so there won’t be anything else standing in our way when it comes to fulfilling our dreams.

Q: Since your mission is to inspire others to travel and explore the world, tell us more about what inspired you to embark on such a journey?

A: At the time I decided to quit my job and travel, there were already a lot of stories about people who did the same and had the time of their lives. However, I left mainly because I needed a change, and I had zero clues about how greatly this journey would affect my life.

I didn’t plan to travel for 8 months, but once I felt the joy of exploring new places, meeting new people and immersing in totally different cultures, I didn’t want to stop. I felt a sense of belonging, freedom, peace, and bliss.

Travelling gave me the best education I’ve ever had, as it gave me invaluable experiences, taught me how to live fully, appreciate life and believe that anything is possible. This is how it became my mission to help more people overcome their fears, believe in themselves and make life what they want it.

What we’ve learned from Gerry: Don’t worry if you don’t have everything under control and if you haven’t had the chance to plan every single detail of your future endeavors. More often than not, you won’t be able to predict what awaits you right around the corner. You won’t be prepared and you won’t have everything figured out. However, that doesn’t mean that you won’t end up finding what you were looking for. On the contrary – you might be surprised what treasures, truths, and revelations lie ahead. That’s the true beauty of life.

Q: You managed to join your love for the ocean and appreciation of Mother Earth and natural products and start your own business. Please, tell us more about your Ocean Nation online store. What does it take to become an Eco Warrior?

A: While traveling I tried scuba diving and I instantly fell in love with it! It opened an entirely new world to me which fascinates me! However, traveling and scuba diving also showed me how greatly we’ve damaged our beautiful planet. Virgin tropical beaches covered in trash, pristine waters full of plastic… The sight of this saddened me deeply and I wanted to do something about it. I’ve participated in numerous beach clean-ups and clean-up dives, but it wasn’t enough for me. Creating an online store for eco-friendly alternatives to plastic and raising awareness of plastic pollution just made sense to me.

I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, and I believe that all we need to do to make a change is just make a difference. This is what being an Eco-Warrior means – do anything you can to preserve our beautiful planet, as this is our legacy to the future generations. Something as small as picking up a piece of trash from the beach, making more sustainable daily choices and spreading the word will make a huge difference.

What we’ve learned from Gerry: It’s essential to set some time aside for doing things you love. Things that relax you. Not only that it can help you grow as a person and acquire first-hand knowledge and experience, but it can also lead you to the career path destined for you. If it does, embrace the given opportunity and start your own business. Once you are doing something you love and deem purposeful, you’re sure to feel more dedication and persevere in making it work.

Q: Would you say that your personal blog TravelBirdie.ME helps in encouraging people to buy eco-friendly products?

A: Definitely yes. It’s not easy, but if you put hard work into something you believe in, it will work. I’ve built trust with my readers and followers, as I only promote products I have personally tried and I’m happy with. I carefully choose the best affordable products, which are not only eco-friendly and sustainable but better for health and adding value to people’s lives as well. This is why I’m currently developing an eco-smoking section of Ocean Nation, which will replace the polluting buds from the toxic cigarettes with electronic cigarettes and CBD vape juices. Everybody wins.

What we’ve learned from Gerry: If you want to touch other people’s hearts, keep in mind that honesty, consistency and dependability are vital for building trust and a lasting relationship with others. Be true to yourself – your followers are sure to recognize and appreciate that.

Q: What do you think helps promote a cause? Is it the fact that you make it feel more personal through sharing personal experiences, opinions and impressions? If so, is that the reason you chose .ME domain for your TravelBirdie.ME blog?

A: I believe that being honest is the best way to promote a cause, and part of it is sharing your personal experiences. We have created a digital world where people only share the Instagram perfect stories, no matter if they’re true or not. Nowadays people need more than ever to hear the truth from the real world without sugar coating it and relate to like-minded individuals. As subjective and unique as personal experiences might be, they seem to bring us closer together and build trust.

My best reward and satisfaction is all the support and fantastic feedback from the people who trusted me and followed my footsteps. Without them, all of this would seem in vain.

What we’ve learned from Gerry: As Gerry said herself – people need to hear the truth these days. And what better way to make your words resonate with people and to make the truth feel almost tangible, then to let others see the world through your eyes. To make your tale personal, do just like Gerry did. Your blog is a place where your story gets written, so ensure you pick a name that embodies your voice, your passion, and your perspective. That’s the greatest value of a carefully chosen .ME domain – it’s about as personal as it gets.  

We are really proud that such an inspiring, successful and capable young person decided not only to use our .ME domain as a place to tell her personal story. But also that she took the time to answer our questions and share her experience with all of us! Big thank you from us!

As for you our dear reader, we hope that Gerry’s story will serve both as an inspiration that’ll set you free from the fear of change. And as an encouragement to finally take your life and career into your own hands.

Whether it be leaving your 9-to-5 job to travel, or else – own your dreams. Whatever they may be!