Why I Returned to Maui, Hawaii

The journey back to Maui has been a crazy one. I’m writing this post to you from a cafe that’s across the street from the ocean. The weather is absolutely perfect and I feel like I’m home. There’s an energy and tranquility that makes Maui a very special place. I came here for a very specific reason.

2016 was a hard year–maybe the hardest of my life. I started the year with incredible momentum from what happened in 2015. My lifestyle business was making $30,000 a month consistently and I had opportunities to speak and consult coming out of the woodwork. 2016 should have been a slam-dunk year but I got derailed by the relationships (romantic) in my life.

Relationships

My 17-year marriage ended. One month later, I entered into a long-term relationship with a woman in Medellin, Colombia that lasted almost a year. It was rocky, to say the least, and it hurt my personal self-development. During that relationship, I lost my motivation and the drive to chase my dream to the next level. I let opportunities slip and I couldn’t muster the energy to do the basic work in my lifestyle business. I don’t blame anyone but myself.

Towards the end of 2016, I thought the relationship ended for good. But, as had happened so many times before, we got back together for two more weeks. It was during that two-week period that I woke up for the first time in 2016. I could see every bad decision that I had made and every way I had done this to myself. I bought a ticket to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I hoped on a flight the very next day completely broken.

I spent Christmas with my friend Edgar and his amazing family. They welcomed a stranger into their home and made me feel loved. I will be eternally grateful for the kindness they showed to a broken man. During my time in Florida, I could hear Maui calling me. It was saying, “COME HOME.” Every day I could hear the call to Maui even louder. I listened and bought a ticket.

The Dream

If you have followed me, you know that Maui, Hawaii was one of my biggest dreams. In 2014, I made the move here and spent two amazing years here. Maui was the place where I experienced the most growth in my life. I came back here to reconnect with my dream. I came back here to get reconnected with where I started. I came here to dip my feet in the ocean and cry it out. I came here to get my mind, body, and soul back. I came here to ring in the New Year and start my year right.

I have been here for four days now and I can honestly tell you that I made the right decision. I feel better. I feel stronger. It feels right. I have been running every morning, eating right, and praying at the ocean. I have been working consistently again. The opportunities have also started to come. I booked a consulting gig in London while here. It has been just what I need for my life right now.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m out of the woods. I still have love for the woman in Colombia. I still think about her and get tempted to go back. I still struggle to keep the motivation to work. I still have to put out some fires that I set over the last year. This will be a work in progress but my eyes are opened and I’m ready to work. My one-word for this year is growth. I will grow in every area of my life. I will overcome all of this and come to the end of 2017 even stronger. If you know me, you know I mean what I say.

I tell you all of this because I promised you and myself that I would always keep it real with you. I don’t want to give you the polished online version of my life where you only see me traveling to cool places and living the good life. I want to be real about the entire lifestyle business journey. REAL stuff happens no matter how much success you’ve had. And, when you do experience success, you become a target in a lot of ways.

Freedom

The other thing I hope you take away from this post is how important freedom is in your life. A lifestyle business isn’t about making millions while sipping martinis in Bora Bora. It’s about creating a life of freedom. The freedom to control your schedule, income, and how you spend your time. I’m able to pick up and fly to all these places because I’ve spent the last five years creating this kind of freedom. Strive to create freedom in every area of your life.

Freedom means that you are free from financial stress. You create a lifestyle business that supports the kind of life you want to live. For years, I didn’t believe this was possible for someone like me. I didn’t think a blue collar dude could do the online thing. I had to conquer those self-limiting beliefs so that I could actually make money. You will, too.

I know so many people who have been working super hard for a long time but haven’t made any money. Just because you haven’t doesn’t mean you can’t. You can and should. And, when you make the money, realize that it’s to help you create freedom. I look forward to continuing what I started here and growing. No matter where you are in your lifestyle business journey, know that this is possible for you.

Is what you’re doing leading to a life of freedom?

We live in an incredible time where three billion people log onto the Internet every day. Today, you can take your knowledge, something you’ve researched, or a topic you’re passion about and monetize it.

You can create digital information products that you sell passively, write a book about a topic, book paid speaking and consulting, and build a lifestyle business around a topic you’re passionate that supports you and/or your family.

At the end of 2012, I was able to quit my day job because I had built a lifestyle business that was consistently making $5K a month. Since then, the business has exploded and allows me to travel literally all over the world while making a good income. I’d like to teach you how to build a business and lifestyle around something you’re passionate about.