Ken, the hipster, is a recent coaching client who sought my advice to bring his “escape from America” dream to life! After a single session, Ken, who was born and lived all his life in New York, embarked on his first-ever trip outside the United States to experience Japan! He enjoyed it so much that upon his return, he immediately booked a flight to Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan is a rugged Central Asian country along the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean) where he is now living out his dream life!

Readers of my own Jamaican in China blog know that I’ve written a few books to help people discover their passions, escape from America, and live a nomadpreneur lifestyle. So, I asked Ken which of my books was most instrumental in helping him escape!

Ken, replied,

[begin] “Hmm, This is a really tough question. I do not think there was one particular book/concept that inspired me more than another. ALL your books and concepts had great value in giving me the confidence in escaping the west. It was more like a combination of everything!

“However, if there were any books in particular that set me off to escape…..hmmm…… I probably would have to say there were two.

“The first one was certainly, Jamaican in China for a couple of reasons. Going to Asia has always been one of my number one destination goals. Back then, it didn’t matter which country it was as long it was East Asia (because at the time I was ignorant of the distinctions between South East and Central Asia). Although I did choose Japan as my number one destination, I was always still curious about China and maybe even Korea.” (Download my Jamaican China adventure in ebook form here)

“One powerful reason that your Jamaican in China inspired me so much is because it was a non-biased testimony of your experience while traveling there. It was one of the most authentic experiences I have ever read on the Internet. You talked about the friends you made, a little bit of your romance life, the different foods, HOW you traveled and got to places even though you did not speak the language, the different ways of life and much more. Your books and other articles about your experience in China and other parts of Asia, even today, are of much better quality than most other written works! There’s no similar story of what other people’s experience was like when they were in China or another Asian country that does not “tear down” that country. Many other writers resort to “fear validating” (meaning they validate what our news media and TV shows project on to us about other countries). Even those writers and travelers who may have enjoyed their experience abroad always have to have some sort of negative tone or exaggerate aspects of the culture to dissuade others from having a genuine interest in visiting that country.

“In every forum I read, there is always some sort of one sided bias about China. It’s always a rant, complaint, or whining about certain things that the writer doesn’t like and thus they will end up dissuading others from having genuine interests of visiting that place themselves.

“However, you had a very balanced experience in which you explained all aspects of life in a fair, just, unbiased way so that a reader can have a fair assessment and form his or her own opinion in the matter if they are interested in going there or not. I loved reading about your experience on how you made a lot of friends, how friendly people were, and most importantly the interpersonal relationships that is present in the relationships between people. It is the kind of story that many of those who are stuck in the US, can relate to and would love to experience what you did if they knew what kind of life one could live if they were able to read something that is bias filtered.

“(Living here for one week in Kyrgyzstan, I can say for one thing, that even though it is a different culture and a different ethnic group from China, although they look almost exactly the same as Han Chinese, my experience here almost parallels your JIC book and your blog posts/articles from Laos, Singapore and other places in Asia. For an example, people do indeed stare (out of curiosity), are very hospitable, very authentic, have shown me lots of support, friendly etc. In fact many people have even gone out of their way to introduce themselves just to shake my hand. I’ve had girls actually follow me around in a mall just to have the courage to ask me for a picture with them! It is almost like reading your book was reading some sort of prophecy about what I would experience in Asia. Hence the reason why I am now inspired to write my own book about my life in Kyrgyzstan)

“However, the book that I would say REALLY inspired me was certainly How to Become a Nomadpreneur. The reason most folks cannot travel most of the time is because we are employed. If we do not go to work, we lose our income. So, in order to experience the freedom to live freely anywhere in the world without being chained to an employer it is necessary to freelance or start your own business as an entrepreneur. That way you are free to go any where you want, set your own schedule and be free from being chained to one location. Having an instruction manual on HOW to find ways to make income without the good ol’ American Dream pathway, in going to school for a loooong time, being in debt and finding a “job”, is surely one of the best ways to find freedom.

“The thought of making an income, even if it is not much as what a white collar makes, while being independently located somewhere where you are FREE to dress how you like, eat when you like, work when you feel like, and so on, is the ultimate happiness I can certainly find while nomadpreneuring. Seeing the long list of ideas and plans that were described and explained in the book gave me reassurance that there had to be something I could do to make enough money to live on without wasting my life and years going to a prestigious school just to be chained to a another prison. While thinking about what my life would have been like if I stayed working a job and then comparing it to a livable income and living the way the Jamaican in China lives, I ended up saying “That does it!! I’m outta here!””

Hope that helps!

Ken, the Hipster
https://www.kenthehipster.com

p.s. the other two books that also helped influence my decision to escape were Masculinity 2.0, and Turn Your Passion Into Profit, for similar reasons above. [end]

Thanks, Ken, for sharing your experience and the value of my coaching and books! Let’s start a movement! If you, too, would like to “escape” from America (or any other place you feel trapped), and want to request some coaching help, visit www.passionprofit.com/coaching

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