Book Review: How to Live A Life of Travel By Derek Earl Baron

Every single week, I get countless e-mails asking me “how can you always travel?” and “how do you afford to travel so much?”. To be honest it used to annoy me a lot, as the people asking me were clearly not in the right mindset for travel. I remember getting a Facebook message from someone on an iPhone asking how I can afford to travel and they can’t. My response was simple: “sell your iPhone for a start!”. This expert book by prolific traveller, blogger and nomad, Wandering Earl will help you on your way…it’s called “How to live a life of travel“.

Another e-mail I got recently asked me “how can you get a job in Australia?”. When I suggested bar work or farming work and proved how it easy it was, that person e-mailed back with “I can’t do that type of job”. And therein lies the problem. Don’t limit yourself and then get jealous or angry that others travel and you don’t. These days however I like to help people as much as I can to travel the world, as long as those people are willing to accept that travelling means a change of lifestyle. Gone is your iPhone and the same bed every night. Say hello to night buses, the odd night of luxury, being offline for weeks, working in a job that’s much better than your boring mundane office job and welcome to a new life of endless fun!! Some people think travelling is expensive. I’ve proved it’s not. I spend less money every month than my childhood friends who have settled jobs, families and houses. The truth is if you want to travel you can, and it’s easy. And it’s cheaper than most people think. Enter Derek Earl Baron…

Today, I have the perfect book for those iPhone owning people, those that actually own a bed, a car or a flat. EVEN if you have all that, you can still travel you know. This e-Book is 220 pages long and is a detailed account of how to live a life of travel. The book is written by expert traveller, blogger and all in all top bloke Derek Earl Baron, AKA Wandering Earl.

Like myself, Earl went travelling once. Just once. That once was in 1999 and he has been working, travelling, backpacking, sightseeing, moving ever since. That’s 14 years. Amazing eh?! In that time Earl has worked in jobs such as cruise ships, teaching English and online marketing. Earl has blown the myth completely that you can’t travel. You can. Anyone can travel. I really hope those of you reading now that think you can’t travel, actually buy this book, make the first step and head off into the world. Nobody ever says they regret travelling. If you do buy this book and head travelling, message me back in a few years and tell me it was all worth it, please!

So this book “How to Live a Life of Travel” is split into 6 key parts:

1. The Motivation

2. The Money

3. The Logistics

4. Pre Trip Preparations

5. Things to Consider

6. The Resources

And that in a nutshell, covers the lot. I’ll speak a bit about each chapter but ultimately just touch on the surface of how this book can actually get you in the mindset of a traveller, be it short term, gap year, long term, or just a holiday maker.

Chapter 1 – The Motivation.

Earl shares the reasoning behind why you want to travel and the idea that it’s in your own hands. You have decided you want to travel, so get yourself in the mindset of a traveller. There’s no looking back. Paul Weller said it “it’s never too late to make a brand new start” and you might just be at that crossroads in life waiting for something to come up. Make it happen.

Chapter 2 – The Money.

I love this chapter and it’s a topic close to my heart. I rarely worry about money when I travel. You can find a job anywhere. You can sleep rough for a few months. You can sell stuff. You can work hard. You don’t need a lot of money to travel. Enough for the first flight and a month or so should be enough to start you off. Earl also started off with just $1500 USD. I remember when I first landed in Australia I had only $200 AUD to my name and got a job within a few days. While a lot of people believe that money is the most important thing to travel, I can assure you IT’S NOT. Having the right mindset and belief and self confidence and attitude are more important. The money will come if you want it and you want to work hard for it. Those that leave on a “round the world trip” with loads of money are usually the ones that don’t last the pace. They just travel and spend all their money, then return home. Those with less money know they need more money, so they find a job, they immerse themselves into a new culture and they never return home. Earl and I are both of the second mindset here. But whatever you’re way of thinking, this chapter outlines all the money issues you may think you have and helps put some myths to rest. You’ll hopefully be convinced you can travel after reading this chapter. It’s all about the mindset, here’s a great quote from this chapter.

“For example, imagine if you wanted to travel from Sofia, Bulgaria to Istanbul, Turkey. You could take an airplane, then take a taxi from the airport in Istanbul to your hotel. This would cost around $350 USD. Or you could do the entire trip for $50 by taking a bus, buying snacks for the trip at a supermarket and taking the tram from the bus station in Istanbul to your hostel.

With the second option, you would save in just one day enough money to travel for an extra week!”

This quote from Earl sums up the money aspect to travel to mind: “It’s not about the money. The money will come. It’s about the determination, you believing 100% in yourself and your willingness to not only be creative but open-minded as well. If you can hack all of that, there is nothing stopping you from living a life of travel as well.”

This chapter also includes a HUGE amount of travel resources for getting a job on your travels. If you read Chapter 2 and still are convinced that money is a problem, then you need to re-think. I echo every sentiment of Earl’s opinions on money, as I’ve been through the same thing myself. Anyone can travel.

Chapter 3 – The Logistics

This chapter will take you through the logistics of travel, from booking flights and hotels to tours and equipment needed. This is a very extensive section and once you’ve read it you will be so enthusiastic about travel, you won’t ever look back! Earl also gives tips on how to get cheap accommodation, what things to do when negotiating taxi fares and how to settle in a new place. His ideas are all gained through his own travel experience and as I read this chapter and was going to myself “yes I’ve done that”, “yes, I agree”, as it’s only global nomads that know some of these things.

Chapter 4 – Pre Trip Preparations

Earl helps you get everything sorted ahead of your journey. For first time backpackers it’s essential to be prepared. Earl will take you through everything such as visa issues, accessing money abroad, travel insurance, what to take, what offers to look out for, vaccinations.

Earl is extremely thorough here – he includes links to a load of websites you should use if you want to travel. These websites can be visa sites, advice on injections, working abroad, banking and basically EVERYTHING you’ll need before you set off on your journey.

Chapter 5 – Things to Consider

This is very much Earl’s own take on things and he gives good tips and wisdom from his own adventures to help you get ready to go out and see the world. Trust him – he knows his stuff. Earl recently reached the 5,000 day mark of his travels which is amazing! Yes, that’s 5,000 days since he had a permanent home. Astounding!

This section includes stuff like safety, including safety for female travellers. Also covered are the aspects like social life, relationships on the road and the thought that “worst case scenario – you just go back to where you started”. The feeling that you literally have nothing to lose by taking the plunge. Something I also talked about on my Sunday’s Inspiration Series.

Chapter 6 – The Resources

You’re sorted once you read this section called Resources – a nice way to end a perfect travel guide book. Quite simply a list and range of all sorts of useful resources you will need on your travels. You can tell that Derek has taken time to compile this book. He wants other people to travel, just like me.

So if you want to live a lifestyle of travel like mine, or Wandering Earls, it’s an idea to buy the book, which is very cheaply priced at $27 US Dollars. This could be the best value product you’ve ever bought. But be ready for it – travelling the world is addictive…

Buy Earl’s Book by clicking here – you can buy it immediately.

Get reading, get travelling, and if there’s anything I can do to help, you can always e-mail me too – jonny (at) dontstopliving (dot) net.