“A butterfly won’t be a butterfly if it remains inside the cocoon forever, one day it has to come out to show its true colours”
I being a citizen of a developing country cannot expect much from the fast-paced world. Belonging to Pakistan, and acquiring a powerless passport it’s not easy to bag big dream, travelling is one of them. Unlike the developed nations, a country still struggling to find its mark in this competitive world makes its citizens less fortunate when it comes to choosing the options of the future. My story behind quitting my job on the cost of pursuing my dream is quite interesting. While reading this memoir some of you might get an inspiration as how I became successful in beating the stereotypical image that a citizen like me holds.
Travelling for me was always a passion. This is what I always dreamt of while growing up but, this dream gradually became a fantasy while growing up and a time came when it faded away. I always used to believe that travelling is only the hobby of the rich and affluent. Either you have the money or you are retired with a handsome amount in bank to follow such an interest. Nevertheless, this concept was only a façade and I soon realized it. I did not belong to the privileged class and even I am still in my twenties, I managed to travel to fifteen different destinations in the world. This happened due to my dedication to my dream and the online business that I handle wherever I go. Only three hours of work is providing me with enough stronghold, that I can now afford my lifestyle and my hobby together.
It was two years ago when I was twenty-one and had a corporate job. Being a banker, I was unable to concentrate on another thing other than my work. My life was circling around a big investment bank and the workload that it was putting on my shoulders.
Although I had a very little time socializing but one day I met some of my friends in a dingy café in my locality for some evening snacks. While I was, having my conversation with my companion three strangers interrupted me. They were asking for some help in finding the direction to their hostels. We started chatting about casual things but their travelling tales were so captivating that the conversation lasted the night long. They told me about their adventures, their exciting stories and how travelling makes them more buoyant. While discussing their endeavours they all seemed so satisfied as if, for them nothing is impossible.
These travellers were the first inspiration that hit me to realize my dream. I decided to quit my job and accept the challenge of proving to myself that I have that potential to do anything. My family and friends were not on the same page as I. They thought that I was living in a fool’s paradise and I would soon realize my mistake of leaving that job. First, because I had no money, secondly in countries like ours, the having a good job itself is a big problem, and if you luckily find one then it is taken as a blessing in disguise because having a corporate job is considered as the only mean of survival. Third, acquiring visa of developed countries itself is not a piece of a cake. There are many formalities involved and the rejection rate is high. Even having all doubts I wanted to push my limits because I believed that nothing is impossible if we have the passion of it.
Planning the invincible
My belief is that only struggle to achieve your goal is not enough, struggling in the right direction with the right attitude is necessary to fulfil your dreams. The first step to reach for your dreams is to plan smartly. As I had very little money so, it took me two months to plan for the future prospect and then I resigned from my job. I explore my abilities to know what I was good at, as my skill set were appropriate for web designing and online marketing jobs so, I decided to use them to get me some online work.
I gathered information about how online businesses are run and what are the fields that I can penetrate. Therefore, after a lot of deliberation and efforts, I got hold of a Swedish online branded merchandise company, which was willing to pay me well for my services. Being their marketing manager my job was to promote their brand in international markets, especially in Europe, America and Japan while ensuring the quality of their product listing and coming up with more innovative ideas to make them better.
This job provided me with quite a handsome cash flow in my first year after the resignation from my banking job.
Building a concrete base for the future
Rather than relying on short-term goals and ideas, I prefer planning to achieve long-term goals. After planning, my foremost priority was to build a concrete base on which I could form my future. As I was worried about acquiring a visa to destinations like Europe and America, I started visiting, visa-free destinations. Hong Kong and Thailand is my favourite for their diversity and culture were the first on my list. I love the flavour of their food and the attractions they offer to the visitors. During my visits, I kept a record of all my financial dealings, tax documents, earnings and bank statements, in case I need to show my affluence in the future.
Therefore, I planned to visit Europe after fulfilling all the necessary requirements, so that me being a citizen of a developing country does not come in my way in case of overstaying.
I work tirelessly for a year and developed my own travel blog to share my stories and adventures with the world. The success of my blog helped me in making good contacts with travelling, tourism boards of various countries, and thus I ended up getting full-paid trips and in some cases added up remunerations. I made partnerships along my way with online travelling equipment dealers and started working on my online business of selling travel and outdoor products online. Although this business is quite risky and demands a lot of pain due to managing inventories and shipping I managed to outsource my processes. I mostly worked with Amazon, which was a great relief as it took some pressure off my shoulders by providing guaranteed product deliveries. In no time, it became quite a success in the US and Europe.
My business plan worked and now I am capable of handling and operating my work remotely with enough cash flow to support my lifestyle. I now own an apartment in Belgium, which I also use as a base office where I make plans for further expansion of the business. In future, I am looking to enhance my business to Japan and Germany as well.
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My struggle taught me one important lesson in life that is, if I compromised my dreams and kept on living the way I used to without getting out of my shell, I would never have achieved all this knowledge and success. Therefore, it does not matter who you are and from where you belong, it is in your own hands to make your destiny. Lastly, be your own judge and do not let the state of affairs in your life decide what you are supposed to be.
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