The Long Version:
Hi! My name is Walt F.J. Goodridge. For the last several years I’ve been living what I call a “passionpreneur” and “nomadpreneur” lifestyle of money AND mobility! In other words, I make money doing what I love while having the mobility to travel and see the world at the same time!
It wasn’t always like this, however. For several years, I worked as frustrated employee suffering the slings and arrows of unfortunate fortune.
This is my story of how I went from being a frustrated civil engineer who hated my job to successfully turning my passion into profit and escaping the rat race! I now live on the tropical Pacific island of Saipan, from where I visit China, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries around the world!
Like I said, it wasn’t always like this. Many years ago, after I graduated from Columbia University with my Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, I was, like many people, destined for a career in my “chosen” profession. I say “chosen” because I wasn’t really the one who chose it! Like many people, I only ended up in engineering because my counselor in high school said I should do it, and being a good student, I listened. (I love you, Ms. Charlotte Huey!)
” W i t h i n t h e f i r s t f i f t e e n m i n u t e s . . . . “
Immediately after graduation, I accepted a job in the Design Division of the Port Authority Engineering Department on the 73rd floor of World Trade Center One. Within the first fifteen minutes of that first day of my first job in corporate America, I realized, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I absolutely hated it!!!!
I saw the future in the eyes of several of my co-workers, and, let me tell you, the prospect of working a monotonous and restrictive nine-to-five job for the rest of my life, scared me to the core! I wanted freedom. I wanted the freedom to wake up when I’m finished sleeping (and not a minute before)! I wanted the freedom to go see movies in the middle of the afternoon! I wanted the freedom to see the world!
C h a n g i n g t h e G a m e
So, from that moment (the sixteenth minute on), I did everything I could to escape and create the freedom I desperately desired.
Unfortunately, no one in my family could offer me any real solutions to that desire. And my friends? Most of my friends were in the same situation, themselves. I knew I wanted to do something that was my passion. But no one had ever asked me
“what is your passion?” or
“What do you love to do?” I had to ask those questions of myself. To find the answers, I thought back to my college days. I had been a radio deejay on WKCR-FM, and I loved music. So, I went in the direction of
that passion and first did some graphic design for an album cover, then became an artist manager, then a record label owner, until, by a stroke of chance, I found my true calling for sharing information and wrote
Change the Game. Through the success of that single book, I was able to match my civil engineering income and walk away from my career to become a full-time “passionpreneur”–a phrase I coined.
Want to know how I was able to walk away from a “good” civil enginering job into the uncertainty of being a passionpreneur? Want to know the fears and thoughts that went through my mind and how was I able to justify the decision to leave? Well, check out Ducks in a Row??? How to find the courage to finally QUIT your soul-draining, life-sapping, energy-depleting, freedom-robbing job now…before it’s too late..and live passionately ever after!
I then went on to write several more books on the music industry which you can check out at
HipHopEntrepreneur.comC o m e s t h e P r o p h e t
Based on the effectiveness of the information in those first few books, people started asking me to consult them to start businesses and launch their own passionpreneurial ventures. In time, I realized my life’s mission (
“I share what I know, so that others may grow!”) , and when the internet came along, I took that mission online, providing “information, inspiration, ideas and instruction to help people succeed!” I do that through my books, coaching, workshops as well as my own brand of motivation I called “
Life Rhymes. (Every week, for nine years I sent my Walt’s Friday Inspiration emails to tens of thousands of subscribers. I’ve now resurrected them in 2018!)
As time went on, I developed my experience and expertise in website development, internet marketing, and living true to my self, and put it all into a belief system and “Passion Profit Philosophy and Formula” that anyone can use to change their reality just like I did. I launched dozens of websites, created more unique products and developed a coaching and seminar practice as the “Passion Prophet.”
In 1999, I published the formula in my “how to”
Turn Your Passion into Profit which, with yearly updates, has consistently sold in the top 50 in home-business books on Amazon.com. (They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. So, I consider myself flattered that several authors followed my lead with similarly-titled books of their own!)
(Also available as a six-CD audio.)
Over the course of the years since escaping from corporate confinement, I’ve written more than 25 books, over 400 articles and almost 500 motivational poems, and have dozens of websites that I manage!
However, there was still another escape I had to achieve!
W a l t ‘ s E s c a p e F r o m A m e r i c a
However, as much as I felt fulfilled by helping others realize their dreams, we “passion prophets” have our own dreams, too! In 2006, through a friend who had visited and raved about his experience, I “discovered” the little-known US commonwealth island of Saipan, booked a one-way ticket, and
escaped from New York to begin living out my own nomadpreneur dream life on the Pacific island paradise of Saipan!.
J a m a i c a n I n C h i n a . . . . a n d B e y o n d
Moving to Saipan ranks as one of the top three decisions I’ve made in my life, but the urge to see more of the world keeps calling me! So, I set my sights on China, and went to live there for 6 months. You can follow my adventures in China, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand and other destinations on my
“Jamaican In China…and Beyond!” blog!
Want to know how I did it? Well, check out
How to Become a Nomadpreneur: A pocket guide of income strategies, travel jobs & survival tips for expats, vagabonds, techies and rat race escapees who want to see the world AND make money too! Click hereT h e J a m a i c a n o n S a i p a n
My Saipan-Specific “Resume”
As a transplanted resident of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) since 2006, I have embarked on several projects to make a difference and to help improve the quality of life here on the island.
Since relocating here, I have:
► conducted several “Turn Your Passion into Profit” workshops and writer workshops on Saipan as well as the neighboring islands of Tinian and Guam for the Chamber of Commerce and US Navy.
► launched the “We Love Saipan” website/blogger movement then 20 additional sites devoted to showing the world the often overlooked images and impressions of Saipan and the CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).
► started a Food Co-op/Buyer’s Group as well as a GoogleGroup for vegetarians, vegans and other health-conscious residents.
(Screenings of health documentaries are being planned in order to raise the health consciousness on island!)
► written over 300 empowerment articles for the Saipan Tribune newspaper in my weekly Saipanpreneur Column which ran for five years.
► written for The Marianas Variety, Guam Business Journal and Marianas Business Journal,
► I’ve also written several books about Saipan, including:
(9)
Drinking Seawater, a Typhoon Soudelor memoir with Commonwealth Health Corporation (CHC) nurse, Riza Ramos.
► conducted numerous “Little Flights of Fancy” writer workshops for other published as well as aspiring authors. View www.saipanwriters.com.
► Launched DiscoverSaipan.com to provide all-day, personalized tours of the islands to visitors interested in the history and culture.
True to my dream, I actually do give tours to pretty girls (and everyone else)!
► Launched SaipanBookings.com
to help visitors experience the best of Saipan’s accommodations and activities,
But, wait, there’s more!
► I’ve been asked to provide location management for visiting film crews, coordinate logistics for research teams, arrange interviews with local resident for authors, and even participate in documentaries about the Northern Mariana Islands:
► I’ve been interviewed by authors writing books on this US territory (See The Not Quite States of America by Doug Mack)
► I’ve been featured as an expert in the documentary, “American’s Forgotten Colonies” (77,000 views as of this writing)
“America’s Forgotten Colonies: Saipan” featuring a tour guide you might recognize!
► I launched a Change.org campaign to encourage Crayola Crayons to name their new blue color “Saipan Blue” in tribute to the amazingly blue waters that surround the island! SaipanBlue.com
► I launched a successful GoFundMe campaign to help certain victims and survivors of the category 5 super typhoon YUTU,
R e c o g n i t i o n o n S a i p a n
► A significant milestone achievement took place in 2007 when I was recognized by official CNMI
Senate Resolution No. 15-54
for my contributions to Saipan, its residents and economy.
View it here► been recognized by American Memorial Park (National Park Service) for my efforts to increase visitorship through my tours
https://www.saipantribune.com January 11, 2018 See: Photo in Marianas Variety newspaper
I s h a r e w h a t I k n o w , s o t h a t
o t h e r s
m a y g r o w !
As much fun as it is to share the details of my life, I know you’re not reading this just for fun. You want to know “what’s in it for YOU!!!” Well, everything, including my fun adventures in China, are offered to the world in order to prove a point: to show that we can all make different choices; to show that when it comes to changing the direction of your life that it can be done; and to encourage you to do the same. In other words, I share what I know so that others may grow! That’s my life’s purpose.
Beijing Hooters girl dance break! Do you mind? I’m trying to work over here!
