Building My Dream Lifestyle: A Note From 2016

Present Day

In 2016 I was invited to speak at a Pecha-Kucha 20×20 presentation. These events follow a format of 20 slides in 20 minutes, and you present on your area of expertise. At the time, I was four years into my freelance business, without the support of any other income, and finding ways to continue to support my travel lifestyle.

I was just flying back from a trip to Costa Rica, and balancing paid clients with fun trips and interesting opportunities. My main goal in life was to visit 50 countries before I turned 30 (and in 2018, just a day before my 30th birthday, I crossed Sweden off as my 50th country, crossing the bridge over from Copenhagen with my dad).

But work-wise I remember feeling a little bit of a fraud, since most of my income was still coming from clients based in Canada, and my travels were mostly fun and paid for by my “real job” of event photography. There were some amazing clients and work that happened along the way, but I was far from where I am now. I was still feeling the pressure and the guilt of living a life that most deemed unattainable, or a dream. I felt strange having figured out that time is the most precious asset, and that money, to me, didn’t really mean much, other than the ability to live the life I want.

I wish I could have told myself that I just needed a little more patience, and that the time would come. Now, four years later, I am reminded of the journey that got me to where I am, fully living how I want to, where I want to, and with clients and opportunities that pop around the world.

So let me share with you what 28 year old Sam had to say about this dream life that I’ve been building for as long as I can remember.

Costa Rica 2016

2016

Two days ago I was sitting with a new friend on a beach looking at the stars when he asked me: Is photography your passion?

People always ask me how I decided to become a photographer. For a long time, I kinda wish I had a breakthrough moment to tell people about. Like a special first camera, or an incredible influence. But the truth is that it just slowly kinda happened. It made sense. I have always been a visual person and after studying film in university, photography was a natural transition. Photography suited me because it was something I could do on my own, and all I needed was a camera. But also it suited me because the idea of regular hours and an office job never seemed like the right fit for me.
But after graduating again in 2011 I got a pretty unique opportunity to work a full-time photography job. I got a 9-5.  I did that for a year and a half, and then I knew for sure that I needed something different.

I’m the kind of person that needs to follow her own path, at her own pace. Stability, routine, and economic stability in a profession like photography can be hard to come by. They are wonderful things, but they weren’t the right things for me. I didn’t love my job, and I didn’t choose to be a photographer just so I could end up not loving what I do. So in 2012, with a mortgage, and a bunch of fear I quit my job almost cold turkey. And then I bought an open-ended ticket to Nyc. It might have been a bit drastic at the time, but the point of that trip was to fuel up with inspiration, get a feel for the fashion industry, and just live for a little bit a city that I love.

Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue USA – New York Fashion Week 2012

After two months, I came home to start running the business I still run today, and in the three years that followed I learn the ins and outs of being a freelance photographer, and a business owner. with all the benefits, and all the drawbacks that come with it. I am going into my 4th year of business and I have managed to reach the clients I’ve dreamed of, and build a portfolio I am proud of. 

So back to the question. Is photography my passion? I love my job so much. But it’s not only the photography itself that I am passionate about. I am passionate about creating my own life.  About changing it as my goals change. And traveling. That’s what I am truly passionate about. Passion is something I feel when I get the perfect shot, or when a client loves their portrait. But passion is also something I feel about exploring the temples of Angkor wat in Cambodia, about spending the night with a family of northern Vietnamese tribe, without running water or electricity, or trying to stand on a surfboard in Costa Rica. And yes, photographing everything along the way. 

The hardest part for me has never been figuring out what I want to do. It has been accepting that what I want is different than most, at times unrealistic, and that most people around me, seem to think I am out of my mind. I experienced guilt, fear, confusion, and detachment for a big part of the last 6 years. But I have learned to respect my thoughts and feelings and follow my gut. I am fortunate to have had amazing parents who thought I was insane, but supported me even when they thought I was making mistakes (oh hey dad!).

So my dream is to visit 50 countries by the time I am 30. This is as arbitrary as wanting a million dollars, a corvette, or anything else.

But why not? Dreaming is free. Plus, the first step to realizing Your dreams is actually having them.

So here are a few things I found to be important while chasing your dream life 

You have to be honest with yourself, don’t fill your time with work to avoid having to figure out what you like. Your goal should be to work as little as possible to have exactly what you need to live the life you want. Work for work will never pay off. Once you know what you want, you have to prioritize it to make it happen.

Play your strengths

I am fortunate to have a freelance job that allows me to have free time, but when I am not here I am making no money; no paid holidays, or stats, or vacation. no sick days, no guarantees, no benefits; my lifestyle isn’t perfect but I make it work.

I take advantage of my strengths and work around my weaknesses. I travel mostly in the winter when work isn’t as busy (who wants to be in the cold anyway) and book jobs around other job bookings, to maximize my available free time and group all my jobs close together.

If you want to travel, for you, your strength might be knowing someone somewhere and having a free place to stay, or the fact that your holiday time is paid no matter when you leave, so find the cheapest time to fly to where you want to go or the cheapest place to go when you wanna leave and book your time off. What I am saying is, if you wish you traveled more, then just find a way and do it. If I didn’t have the time or the money, I would find a way to make more money, or I would quit my job and move somewhere, for example, Australia for a year, and make the money to travel through Asia.

This is my situation, but no matter what it would be, I would make it work one way or another. Because I make travel my priority.  

Accept and honour where you are at, and the decisions you’ve made

I spent a lot of time wishing I wasn’t in Winnipeg. and I realized that Winnipeg was what allowed me to be able to live my lifestyle and be surrounded by my friends and family while building my career. Once I accepted that, things started to look differently. 

And lastly… Don’t focus on someone else’s journey, we all have our own struggles, and often things aren’t what they seem. If someone is living the life you want, ask them how they do it. 

A while ago I reached out to a travel photographer I admired. I asked him how he managed to work as a travel photographer. I realized his money didn’t come from the images he shot while traveling, but through workshops he taught, client work, and endorsements back home. He was no different than me, I was making my money back home, and shooting the images that I wanted while abroad.

I realized at that time, that your job, or what you do to pay your bills, doesn’t have to define you, you are more than just your work. In the end, and trying not to sound too dramatic, life is really short. if you save the things you wanna do for later it might never come. Sometimes you need a wake-up call to realize that you must live the present and do what you love today.

No guilt, no pressure, no excuses. So I dare you to find out what kind of life you want to live, and make it happen now.