Stage 10. ACTION - the decision

From Silves to Monchique - 32.1 km

• Once you have defined a vision and put together a plan that could transform your life, it is time to address THE decision to move or not move forward. All the previous steps were necessary but without taking any action, your situation will not change. An idea, a vision, or a plan is not worth much if it is not followed by decisive action.

• Are you still hesitating? Why wouldn’t you move forward? Because of uncertainty, lack of confidence, the burden of responsibilities?

• These considerations are all too common. They boil down to fear, your perceived fear of the unknown, and of giving up what you seem to have. But what about the fear of missing out, of not realizing your dreams, of being full of regrets in your old age?

• Everybody must wrestle with this equation. And each one of us will reach a different conclusion at different times. We move forward when the loyalty to our own life and desire for congruence overcome the fears that are holding us back.

• In my example, I had a lot to lose in the short term (a very good salary, large expatriate benefits in an expensive city, and a clear career progression…) but I also had a lot to sacrifice in the long term by not changing my path (family life, free time, potential regrets of having been a wimp…).

• This is the equation I was facing:

• Pros of staying:

• Predictable path

• Social status

• Reaching my wealth objective over 25 years

• Cons of staying:

• Life of stress and much travel

• Limited family and free time

• Being pushed out in my 50s

• Regrets of what could have been

• Pros of leaving:

• Acting in congruence with my aspirations

• Living a transformative adventure

• Achieving financial freedom and free time in a just a few years

• Being present for my kids as they grew up

• No regrets

• Cons of leaving:

• Lack of predictability

• Financial discomfort for a few years

• Setback in my financial planning

• Having to rebuild a career path

• The worst case scenario was that the venture failed, that I would take a significant loss in my financial planning, and impose some discomfort on my family. If it reached that point, I was confident that I would eventually be able to secure a new job (maybe not as good as the one I currently had) that would help me get back on my feet and close to my financial objective over 20 more years.

• There certainly was the potential for a serious downside. Everything is possible in life, but it was clear that the possibility that my family ended up hungry was unlikely. We often tend to exaggerate the worst-case scenario by giving undue consideration to scenarios with very small probabilities. We should not dismiss their potential occurrence, but it is important to keep the risks in perspective.

• The best case scenario was that I would work as hard as I was currently working for 3 additional years, develop a venture that would generate passive income, and transform my family life with more free time and control.

• Perhaps I was atypical but I clearly thought the sacrifices I would make by staying in corporate were more important than the losses I could ever experience.

• If after thoughtful consideration you decide not to move forward with your plan, do not feel bad and fully embrace the decision. It just means that the idea or the time is not right for you. This also happens to businesses: they consider new projects, analyze them carefully, put a plan together, and sometimes decide to ditch them until something better comes up.

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TRAVEL UPDATE - STAGE 10

Distance: 32.1 km

Cumulative Elevation: 1,718 m

Time: 8 hours

Weather: Cloudy