Dreamers Only Dream
Doers Make Things Happen
Dad isn’t a hassle. Our siblings are self-sufficient. But it’s our mothers and our children who we fret over most.
Or so you said in my poll last week when I asked which family member keeps you from leaving for full-time travel.
I hear you. I get it. Family is hard. Having the chance to travel abroad and return to family is a privledge. Some simply cannot do it. Or they won’t do it.
Instead, they dream.
They dream because they must have a wish to look forward to to overcome the life they feel they can’t improve. Dreams make tolerating life possible.
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming. In fact, I encourage it. Afterall, dreams provide hope. Especially for those who find their lives need to be escaped.
But there’s a giant step between Dreamers and Doers.
Dreamers don’t become disappointed.
Dreamers don’t spend money.
Dreamers don’t leave family members.
But Doers, on the other hand, do.
Doers start with a dream. They wish, conjole, fantasize and draw. Their auras glow. Doers turn dreams into plans. They find a way to make their dream come true and can turn a dreamed life into real life.
Not one nomad didn’t dream her current Nomad Lifestyle. The dream may have started in the first road trip with her family in the backseat of the family sedan on the annual two-week vacation. Or perhaps it started as a whisper turned to a roar once the kids went off to college. Maybe it was last week after reading an invigorating substack.
And obstacles stumbled into those dreamy paths—employers who wouldn’t allow digital nomads, ex-spouses who refused co-parenting options, adult children we’ve helicoptered perhaps a bit too long.
But somehow, these Doers kept the dream alive and turned it into action. They researched the efficiencies of Nomad Life and pitched it to their bosses, they hired mediators to rework the co-parenting schedules, they had heart-to-hearts with adult children about thriving and failing.
They stayed true to their Nomad Life dreams and figured out how to make them work. They refused to let family, money, or logistics keep them from finding the Nomad Life where they could thrive.
The Gap
So let’s say you’re here: in that gasping spot between Dreamer and Doer, where you’re dreaming about your Nomad Life. You want flexibility, adventure, freedom. You want one week in a Paris cafe, the next in Greek olive grove, and the third on a Thai island.
But life’s obstacles keep banging on like hail on a tin roof. You just have to do one thing.
One simple thing.
Circle a date on the calendar.
Pick an anniversary. A favorite holiday. Two years from now. Three weeks. Don’t know a date? Flip the pages of a calender, scroll through the screen, ask ChatGPT. It doesn’t matter which date you pick. Just pick one.
Circle it big. Circle it in Red. Put hearts all over it. Or airplanes. Or an Eiffel Tower.
And I promise you. I PROMISE you. The cosmos of the world will feel you do it. They’ll organize and magically, MAGICALLY, things will start falling into place. The obstacles will resolve. Baby steps start walking toward your Nomad Life. It will NOT happen how you think. But it WILL happen.
Yet there’s just one caveat to this one step.
You MUST be willing to move from DREAMER to DOER.
Which are you?
Such a great topic (and solution). I swear those of us out there posting all the gradients of "Living the Dream" -- the ups, the downs, the doldrums -- carry a heavy load. As if our luggage is packed with all the folks who "wish" they could too...wish they could "up and leave" (as if any of us have floated away on the wind so easily, without pining and planning and stressing and booking and all-the-things, ha!). But the ever-present reason (dare I say excuse?) holding them back keeps them seat-belted into that travel armchair, watching from the sidelines, hollering, "Please keep sharing your journey" as they live vicariously. I hope all who truly desire an adventurous, hell-even just a low risk/predictably safe, life of travel figures out the rules they play by are all made up. Not to say there aren't responsibilities; just to suggest that so many are held back by imaginary boundaries that, if crossed, they'd find that life goes on and really, no one cares all that much. No one is fussed. The hamster wheel spins whether you're on it or not. Here's to breaking boundaries, to the coveted escape. Circle that date, y'all! See ya in the wild world.
Chris, I love the clarity of this.
There really is a moment where a dream either becomes décor… or a decision.
You’re right — every nomad started as a dreamer. No one wakes up mid-flight over the Atlantic thinking, “Huh. How did this happen?” There was a whisper first. Then a plan. Then an uncomfortable conversation. Then a ticket purchased while slightly nauseous.
I’ve lived both sides.
At 53, when I chose this life, there were plenty of raised eyebrows. People quietly wondered if we were making a mistake. We had adult kids, aging parents, a house, responsibilities. We weren’t 25 with backpacks and nothing to untangle.
But here’s what I’ve learned: The shift from dreamer to doer isn’t about bravery. It’s about clarity.
Once you’re clear on what you’re optimizing for — time, health, curiosity, autonomy — decisions start to line up behind it. Not magically. Logistically. Spreadsheet-ly. Conversation-ly. Sometimes painfully.
I agree with you on circling a date. Deadlines create gravity. But I’d add one layer: before you circle the date, define what you’re actually leaving for.
Adventure? Reinvention? Simplicity? Escape? Those are different engines. And they fuel very different journeys.
Because becoming a doer isn’t just about departure. It’s about sustainability. The “after” matters as much as the launch.
So to answer your question — yes, I’m a doer. But I’m also a recalibrator (is that a word?). We still adjust. We still renegotiate. We’re about to spend six months in South America starting later this year — and even that is a designed chapter, not a permanent identity.
My question back to you: Have you ever circled a date that didn’t lead where you expected — and had to redefine the dream midstream?
That pivot space between dream and reality is often where the real work happens.
Either way, I love that you’re nudging people toward movement. Just… with eyes open. 💛 Kelly