Imagine the wind on your face, the sun reflected off the water. It is quiet. Life is simpler.
I want to go to that place!
But like most people, I live in a house with my family and all my stuff. I work hard to maintain all that ‘stuff’ that makes me feel successful. I worked in Corporate America for years creating and implementing plans and programs that advanced the corporate cause. I am proud of that work but it is exhausting and takes a toll. Like many people I dreamt of something else.
We are all one business meeting away from finding a new job. I know because I have been there. Now I have my own company, The Interview Doctor, where I work harder than I’ve ever worked before but I do that willingly to control my own destiny. With my business partner, Dan Toussant, we help companies and candidates organize job search better which helps advance our mission of helping people achieve their dreams.
Steve Jobs famously said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
We take that idea to heart! So effective this week, my husband, Kermit Ruegamer and I along with our cat, Jack, will be moving on our boat full time. Yes it is true!
We are making a huge Lifestyle and Life change.
I have been reluctant to talk publically about this. I don’t like to be the center of attention. I would rather focus on my clients. But I have become convinced that talking out loud about this change is an important way to pull the various threads of my life into one consistent message. I have been told our life change is inspirational. That makes me uncomfortable but if that is even a little true then I want to share my life changes so you can pull some confidence from me to live your own genuine life.
This life change is complicated. We have kept many balls in the air for many months preparing to move on the boat. We are renting our house. We let go of almost all of our possessions except those few things that fit into the storage closet under the stairs at home (mostly the paintings on the wall and family photos – not to mention my Kitchen Aid. I am not getting rid of THAT!) Most of our furniture now graces someone else’s home. Most of the clothes and “stuff” are available at our local Salvation Army store. Even the books were sold at Half Price Books.
Crazy you say? Yes, it is crazy. I know you have some questions so let me take a shot at answering a few questions that come up all the time.
Why?
We want to live a simpler, more genuine life without a lot of things. We want to travel and see the world from the water while we are young enough and in good physical condition. We want to demonstrate to our clients and friends that it is possible to get what you want.
Aren’t you scared?
Sure, a little. We tried this for 14 months in 2012 / 2013 when Kermit and I took our boat on the Great Loop, circumnavigating the eastern part of the US by water in our 36 foot powerboat. We loved it! We even loved being together 24 / 7 which shocked everyone who knows us. We have been preparing for this transition for over one year. We believe that all this preparation will make the transition successful.
What about The Interview Doctor?
I will run The Interview Doctor exactly as I have in the past, better I hope. I proved it can be done when I ran the business while on the Great Loop. I plan to return to northeast Ohio monthly for meetings and speaking engagements. We have several Interview Doctors who work with clients now. Most of our work is done on the telephone anyway. With a computer, smart phone and hot spot I can be in business anywhere! Who knows, we might uncover some great ways to utilize my travel to market The Interview Doctor in different ways and in different places!
What kind of boat do you have?
We have a Cruisers 4450 Express with twin Volvo diesel engines. This boat weighs about 30,000 pounds (15 tons) so it is not a row boat. We have a dinghy on the back for zipping around.
Our boat is named “Good Karma” because we want to live our life in a way to warrant good karma and because Kermit likes to respond to people hailing us on the radio “You’ve got Good Karma”!
Good Karma has three cabins (bedrooms) with queen beds, two heads (bathrooms) with separate shower stalls and a salon (the main room with a dining table, kitchen and couches). I even have a little office space in the aft cabin (the master bedroom in the back of the boat) with a desk and storage cubbies. We are exchanging our 3200 square foot house for 675 square feet of floating condo.
Good Karma holds 500 gallons of diesel fuel and 150 gallons of fresh water so we can be self-sufficient if we choose to anchor out and not go into a marina but we tie up at a marina most times. We use regular dishes, cook our own meals and enjoy the occasional bottle of wine just like regular people in regular houses. Our “house” just moves.
Where will you be located?
We are based out of a marina in Sandusky OH, a short drive from Cleveland, for the warm five or six months of the year. In mid-September this year we plan to take the boat east to the Atlantic Ocean and make our way to Florida and the Bahamas for the winter. I plan to return to northeast Ohio every month for my regular meetings and to see clients and contacts. We will take our Suburban to Florida and leave one car in Canton OH for trips home. In the spring we will travel in the boat back to Ohio for the warmer months.
How can we stay in touch?
The same ways you have in the past – by phone or email! I am still in business and still available for coffee and conversation. We just have to schedule a little differently. I will write about our adventure in The Interview Doctor blog, on Facebook and in our boat blog, goodkarmaloopin.blogspot.com.
Jimmy Carter said, “Go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.”