Like the title of that book :thumbup1:

Well, a year ago I was still employed and made good money.
Last year they proposed to pay me out of the company.
As it was quite a big amount I signed.
I was supposed to leave the company end of June 15.
But I broke my leg in Morocco in May...I was lying on my couch until 31st aug. 15, and was pid almost my normal salary by the insurance.
From 1st of oct. I was paid by the government (we have a mandatory unemployement insurance in Germany!!)
In Sept. I was riding through Spain, France and Portugal.

I can tell that I didn´t like my job, but it was worth it.
Now I have my chance for a long term trip on my beemer.
Secretly I started to rebuilt it in the past few years, and it´s prepared to start.

Now I´m looking forward to start either in Canada or take a ride to Japan.

It worked out fine for me, I am really max. relaxed and as long I can pay my expenses it´ll stay that way.

So, no I didn´t like my job and no I won´t do that again.:nono:

Some people have all the luck!! Good for you ... life has a funny way of giving us what we really want. Happy riding!
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...es/scooter.gif

In german there ist a telling which says "the sun shines out of my axx ("the south exit" :cool4: )
I feel very lucky, also to have a wife who is fine with my plan to ride the world, at least for 18 months...

But it still was hard to achieve what I got now. But still I´m very lucky.
I can´t tell how lucky I feel, but I was and still am ready to work for evrything, although there is no need to right now.
Maximum relaxation:D:D

Number or people working their dream job is higher than I thought. Just as many as those that hate their work. Interesting.

Still.......NO!!!!

In 44 years of employment I can safely say that I enjoyed less than 10% of that. Made redundant at the end of 2012 I took a three month contract as a project manager with a large IT company, and hated it... I'm fortunate that I get a modest pension, so terminated the contract and started my own small gardening business: no ambitions to expand or even make "living wage", I take on jobs that I enjoy (and customers that I like) and earn just enough to run my bike and have a couple of weeks touring each year.

Yes!
 

Yes I like it because it let me take some time to go biking :thumbup1:

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones then lol, I've worked most of my life in heavy transport mostly as a SPMT operator on projects all over the world, benefits are seeing new places and playing with adult sized remote control cars, and beer now on a project 30 days on 30 days off, that means 30 days on the bike with the wife meeting/ flying to me on weekends beer

I can say that i am happy and not happy with my jop. I run my own transportation company and represent a German company, i have two partners and my working hours are very flexible. When i am bored i ride where i want to (short rides)... But i can not say this for my profit :) i am lucky i don't have fixed working hours, but i am not happy i can not earn enough money i am not happy cos my jop is full of stress...

Am i lucky or...?

:)

The Adventure Begins
 

Well I've gone and done it. Finished work as of the 2nd of March. I collected all my stuff together, laptop, phone, ID etc and handed it all over. Considering it constituted 30 plus years worth of "stuff" I felt next to nothing. I thought I may have some regrets, anxiety, fear, sadness. But no. Apart from every day that goes by I'm starting to figure that I don't have minutes to cram hours worth of thinking/work into a day. I'm absolutely de shi##ing my mind as well as my life.
Anyone want a pile of work clothes? Wow that felt good, going through the wardrobe and removing anything remotely "corporate" I will NEVER wear a tie again, maybe not a suit either. You should never trust a middle-aged man in a sharp suit :-)
We've bought this, so the adventure begins. How does "The White Van Plan" sound?
2016 Europe and maybe Morocco if we have time.
2017 South Africa. Then who knows. It won't be your standard rtw trip, we'll still have family and business commitments in the UK.

I'm really pleased with it so far.

For the petrol heads it's:

Selectable 4wd by pushing a button on the dash. Not quite as basic as a mechanical lever but that's progress. This is the configuration I wanted. They do multiple variations, some constant 4wd. Only down side is that it doesn't have the low range transfer box. But the engine is very flexible and torquey so shouldn't be an issue. At the end of the day it's not an extreme off road vehicle.
OM642. 3.0 V6.190bhp, 440Nm. Goes really well, very flexible. Don't know the economy yet, I've only done 300 miles or so.
6 speed manual. They do a 7 speed auto but that's pushing my confidence in MB electronics too far :)

So the conversion will start the end of this week. It looks like we will have enough space for a permanent double bed, compact kitchen unit and a toilet/shower cubicle (luxury :) )

Only issue to date is that my wife struggles to get in and out, jeez it's high! See the photo, for perspective I'm around 6ft 1.

Congrats RussG!! Have fun and live it up!

I hate my job. I think I am absolutely wasting my life there, it's utterly pointless and useless and meaningless and just plain inhumane. People should be exploring the world and themselves, and discovering things and people, and be free, and enjoy sunrises and fresh air and unlimited bloody horizons rather than be sat at a desk in front of a computer!!

That said, I can't really see a way out just now, so I'm going to stick it out, but it's absolutely soul destroying, and what's even more terrifying is that 99% of my colleagues think it's perfectly fine and normal way for humans to exist - in fact they think I am the freak for wanting to ride my bike around the world.

I'm sitting at a desk in front of a computer at this very moment, looking outside and dreaming of taking off as well. Although understanding your comment about it all being pointless, I try to see it as a way to provide a roof, food and some amenities for myself as well as securing my financial needs and family responsibilities. Do I like my job? It's not so bad. I'd rather be out riding for sure. My work still has the advantage of making it possible for me to take off for a few weeks at a time. As I'm doing this, I'm slowly able to shed the needless stuff in my life, the kids are starting to fly on their own and I am reaching a period in my life where I can be less dependent on a steady income. This being said, it's still a big step to take the leap of faith, chuck the job, sell everything and take off for the ultimate road trip. The endless " What if "questions are never too far away. My hat goes off to the people who have taken that leap.
As for the "normal people", I think that society has "trained" us to become caged hamsters and tricked us into thinking that the norm is to grow up, get a job, find a mate, make more hamsters, and die. All this for ensuring our way of life. Most people are willing to give up their liberties in order to feel safe and secure. The endless tragedies that are shown in the media keep the population in check and scare them just enough to remain sedentary.
The world being brought closer through technology is still a very big place to discover and it's a shame that people have lost their sense of adventure because there are so many beautiful areas and experiences to be discovered.

Funny coincidence as I was scanning the posts ... I came across a post I made in 2016. Ever since, I had sold my house and gotten rid of my unnecessary "stuff". I managed to get a year-long sabatical to take off and do my dream trip. I was supposed to leave in May 2020, but the world turned sideways with a planet-wide pandemic before my start date. I'm still planning on taking off next spring. You know what they say about planning .... I guess s**t happens. Looking on the bright side, I've still got my health and piling more cash towards the trip.