Who is Walt?

The Short Version:

“Once upon a time, there was a Jamaican civil engineer living in New York who hated his job, followed his passion, started a sideline business publishing his own books, made enough money to quit his job, escaped the rat race, ran off to a tropical island in the South Pacific, and started a tourism business so he could give tours of the island to pretty girls every day….and live a nomadpreneur’s dream life.”


The Long Version:

Hi! My name is Walt F.J. Goodridge.
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.

So, 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. However, within the first fifteen minutes of my first job in corporate America, I realized, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I absolutely hated it! I saw the future, and the prospect of working a monotonous and restrictive nine-to-five job for the rest of my life, scared me to the core!


So, from that moment, I did everything I could to create the freedom I desperately wanted and to escape. But no one had ever asked me “what’s your passion?” or “What do you love to do?” I had to ask those questions of myself. While in college, 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, then became an artist manager, then 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. I then went on to write several more books on the music industry which you can check out at HipHopEntrepreneur.com



Based on the effectiveness of the information in my books, people started asking me to consult them to start businesses and launch their own passionpreneurial ventures. In time, I developed 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 and ideas to help people succeed” through my books, as well as my own brand of motivation I called “Life Rhymes. Every week, for nine years I sent my emails to tens of thousands of subscribers.


Over the course of that time, as I developed my experience and expertise in website development, internet marketing, and living true to my self, while helping others do the same, I launched dozens of websites, created more unique products and developed a unique “Passion Profit Philosophy and Formula” and a coaching and seminar practice as the “Passion Prophet.”


In 1999, I self-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.)

E s c a p e   F r o m   A m e r i c a        

But, as much as I felt fulfilled by helping others realize their dreams, “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 for myself, booked a one-way ticket, and escaped from New York to begin living out my own nomadpreneur dream life on this Pacific island paradise.

J a m a i c a n   o n   S a i p a n        

Once on the island, and wanting to be a part of the re-branding of Saipan’s image,
I launched the WeLoveSaipan.com website, 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).


For five years, I wrote a weekly business column for the Saipan Tribune entitled “The Saipanpreneur Project.”




I’ve also written several books about Saipan, including

(1) Jamaican on Saipan!.

(2) Doing Business on Saipan
to further encourage entrepreneurial activity on the island, and….


(3) Chicken Feathers and Garlic Skin:
Diary of a Chinese Garment Factory Girl on Saipan
, co-authored
with former garment factory worker Chun Yu Wang, and


(4) Saipan Living! A comprehensive guide for moving to, finding a job,
working, living or vacationing in the Northern Mariana Islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota
.

I also co-founded Destination Saipan Marketing, Inc., a tourism company to help visitors experience the best of Saipan’s accommodations and activities.


One of my proudest moments came when was recognized by official CNMI Senate Resolution No. 15-54
for my contributions to Saipan, its residents and economy.

As you can tell from the title of my website, I’m originally from the beautiful island of Jamaica, and, you can read about my first year and impressions of life on a different island paradise in the book Jamaican on Saipan!

Over the course of the years since escaping from corporate America, I’ve written a total of 20 books, over 400 articles and almost 500 motivational poems, and have dozens of websites that I manage!

But wait! There’s more!

J a m a i c a n   I n     C h i n a        

Saipan was a great experience, 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 now follow my adventures on my “Jamaican In China! blog”, and also check out the (kindle/nook) book, Guess Who’s Coming to Dim Sum! My mission through this blog is: To create an alternative travel narrative to encourage people who identify with me to break free and see the world fearlessly (and inexpensively)! Most importantly, clicking the red “subscribe” button on the Jamaican in China Youtube Channel will the most to help me fulfill this mission!

I    s h a r e    w h a t    I    k n o w ,    s o    t h a t  others   m a y     g r o w !    


Everything I do serves my life purpose (“I share what I know, so that others may grow!”). The PassionProfit™ mix of products includes creations and guidance from my own journey discovering, developing and turning my own passion into profit, as well as the products of others who are doing the same. They contain “Information, inspiration and ideas to help you turn YOUR passion into profit!” Just the fact that a Filipina nurse created a children’s book based on her son’s school assignment, or a Chinese garment factory worker can write and share her experience with the world, (See “Best of Saipan” department) for example, represents an idea to inspire you to do something similar.

Everything, including my fun adventures in China, are offered to you to prove a point–to show that we can all make different choices–to show how and that it can be done, and encourage you to do the same.
Yes, freedom is achievable!

Even so, I’m always humbled by just how much impact my own fun adventures has on others:

“Hey Walt,
When I first heard your personal story of the experiences that led you to the path of the passion pursuit, I knew you were achieving what many people think is out of their reach. You made me see that achievement had never been out of the reach for me. After attending your seminar and purchasing your book, I knew that the passion within me could only be profitable once I decided to take the necessary steps to success. I saw you as someone I was able to connect with and it made me think, “If he can do it, so can I.” I am currently turning the passion I have of creating artwork, photography and dance to that next level. No longer are these just hobbies but a way of life that is invigorating, challenging and fulfilling. I feel a deeper connection to the purpose of this life path I am on. By focusing on this passion of creation, I am liberating myself from the limits of doing something I had no passion for. Getting Turn Your Passion into Profit was one of my first steps to acknowledging my own purpose, power and freedom. Thank you! And this comes straight from the heart because that is where passion truly lives. Peace and blessings!”
Nicole Woo, DC

To learn my PassionProfit formula, visit www.passionprofit.com. To learn about different Nomadpreneur strategies, visit www.nomadpreneur.com

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Pursue Passion! Break Free! Cross boundaries! See the world!