“The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”

This Mark Twain quote holds true not only in starting a blog, or even the first sentence of the first post but in all of our actions; that first hurdle between planning to actually doing it, is often the most troublesome one.

Mariners’ Journey came to be for two reasons, first one being for our own souls,  as we love reading books and blogs; and in starting a blog about something we are passionate about, we got on the other side, which is writing. Writing has always been a sort of a “guilty desire” of mine, well, it was time to take action and just do it. And what better motivation for writing than to write about things that might inspire and help others?

And that brings us to second reason, which is to hopefully inspire everyone willing, as we ourselves were inspired. As we are embarking on this journey, we want also to share it. By sharing it, as well as the main drive behind it,  which is to create financial independence for our family, Sherry and I aim to create knowledge. Knowledge to be exchanged freely between us and our readers and friends. Knowledge that’s going to push us to set goals, and act. Get there where you want to get.

Wouldn’t in be great if you didn’t have to get up early 5 days a week, work on someone else’s schedule and come home tired to a few hours with your loved ones? Wouldn’t it be great if you woke up every morning feeling inspired and excited about your working day ahead because you are doing something you are passionate about and doing it on your own schedule? And perhaps best of all, you get to see the results. You are no longer toiling to increase profit percentage for your bosses but are working to create an income that will substitute the work that is taking your time, energy and focus from important moments, from your loved ones.

That, in a nutshell, is what financial freedom is. Be free from money, because money will come to you. And then use that freedom to enrich every or any area of your life you want to. YOU want to.

I have to admit, before meeting Sherry, I didn’t even take into consideration that there could be a better way, I was stuck in a habit of doing my job. And working aboard a cruise ship is a very specific job, hard but rewarding as well. I got to see and experience, albeit for several hours at a time, parts of the world I never thought I would, and got paid doing it! (Wonder if Mark Twain felt similar working on the riverboats in his youth?)

You work without a free day for months, and when you finish your contract, you are completely free for months. Sounds great compared to more “traditional” jobs, and the fact that you don’t have to pay for housing, bills or food while on board, allows you to save most of the money you earn. But then again, while you are “off”, there is no income coming in so you are forced to be using up the money you saved. And the hardest part comes when you do have to go, saying goodbyes to your loved ones and knowing you won’t see them for long months at a time.

I do enjoy my job, like many of you do as well, and there will be people out there who are utterly unhappy with their jobs and want to escape them completely. Regardless of the category you might fall under, all of us want to have the freedom to choose. I might enjoy it now, but will I still feel fulfilled with it in the future? With passive income and financial independence, those life decisions will become much, much easier.

If you are here, reading this, then that means you are on the verge of overcoming that first hurdle, that you are opening yourself to the possibilities and we welcome you to our Journey, our cruise to better places…

Let’s get started!