Working to Live vs Living to Work
For the past 3 months, since I arrived back in the UK I have been working full-time as an electrician to save up the money to be able to afford to document the next section of our Kombi Life project. My last decent sized paycheck was 2008, and so, as you can imagine, it was definitely time to top up the travel fund.
Unfortunately, this means that I’m not able to get the Hasta Alaska videos out to you as quickly as I would like. I had planned to produce a bunch of videos for you whilst I have good internet and a constant electricity supply, but despite working every day, I have not yet been able to produce the videos. Whilst I am physically on site working during the day, mentally I am in Kombi Life, scripting and editing the next video. The number of times I’ve been thinking about editing and had an electric shock is actually quite comical. But, as you know, after a full day on the grind, it’s hard to then come home and produce your best creative work. Quite frankly, after spending 2-3 hours every evening replying to correspondence from this website, I’m practical falling asleep in my tea and not at all in a suitable state to start creating videos.
To most of you, video editing is a foreign art form and therefore it’s hard to appreciate the sheer number of hours that goes into turning 100Gbs of footage, recorded by an ever changing eclectic mix of hippie travelers, into a 20 minute YouTUBE episode. However, it’s my passion and I love doing it, even if it doesn’t currently generate a significant income. (see previous article How Much Do I Earn as a YouTuber)
So, controversially I’ve decided to reduce the number of days of “real work” down from 5 days a week to just 3, to give myself more time to produce the Hasta Alaska videos. This is a tough decision to make, as I’ll now be focusing my time on an unpaid job, it will directly affect how far I can travel when I get back on the road.
8 years ago, I gave up a very good office-based career to go and live out of a backpack in places that, then, scared me to death.
Honestly, that was a hard decision to make, to give up what everyone else considered to be a “successful life”, to “drop out” of the rat-race and put my passions first! Going against the grain, and loosing the paycheck, the reputation, and the social stature was, at the time, a tough choice.
Now, 8 years later, I’ve had to make a similar decision. Whilst I am not this time sacrificing a career that took a lifetime to build, I am sacrificing the opportunity to earn a living, and that was the main reason why I am working a “Real Job”, to make enough money to live on. However, my heart is in sharing this adventure, even if my wallet is not in agreement.
I feel that it would be hypocritical for me to spread the message that we must all put our passions first and then go to work in a job where my heart is invested in something else.
I do honestly think that if you invest your time into something that you care about, it will pay off in the end!
If you enjoy sharing our adventures and you wish to help us continue to create these videos please consider joining our Kombi Crew on the Patreon platform.
These are the people who pledge a small tip towards our production costs of this project and these are the people who make it possible for us to share our adventure.
There are a bunch of cool rewards for joining the Kombi Crew, like:
Exclusive content just for you
Behind the scenes extras
Monthly private videos
Live hang outs
Early viewings
Postcards
Stickers
T-shirts
Not everyone is in a position to support our project, we understand, but we are still committed to uploading free entertainment and inspiration for all. It really is a lot of work, and it takes a great deal of personal sacrifice to make all this all possible, so if you can spare $1 or more, please join us on Patreon.
