The 2022 Van Adventure is Complete

Howdy from Greenville, SC,

Welcome to the 5 new subscribers from this past week!

I've made my way back to the east coast.

More on the conclusion of my 8-month long, cross country adventure below.

Onwards to Durham, NC.

My 2022 van journey is coming to an end.

As you read this now, I am currently driving to what will become my new home in Durham, North Carolina.

Bottom line up front: I'm keeping the van. I will be part-time nomadic, and I'll continue to send weekly newsletters.

Why Durham? It's the best place for me to build and serve in this season of life.

Friends and family close-by, startup community, minor league baseball, strong art/food scene, and access to the outdoors are the primary drivers.

The funny part is that you, the reader, helped me make the decision.

I wrote 2 pieces that outlined what I needed out of my future home:

1. "Where's the best place to build?" published on 4/21/2022 - the week after I had spent time in Durham (not a coincidence.)

2. "Where can I best serve and build equity?" published on 8/18/2022 after I began the search for a lease in Durham. The thumbnail for the piece was a picture of a sunset in downtown Durham (tried to subtly tell ya.)

So, Durham's the spot...but why? How come I'm getting off the road full-time?

I need stability to execute my primary 2023 goal.

The two pieces I wrote that helped me choose Durham as my homebase.

My 2023 goal: self-sustaining income independent of a corporation.

I started my career in a corporate consulting role. It was good in that it paid the bills, but it was difficult to find joy in what I did.

Think back to my definition of a life well-lived from last week's article - 1. Loving deeply 2. Serving joyfully 3. Exploring valiantly.

I hammered the heck out of #3 this past year. It's time for me to focus on #2.

I've been able to serve joyfully through various community organizations and churches over the past few years, but I haven't been able to serve joyfully while making a living.

I want to enjoy what I do. I want to provide people immense value, work with cool people, solve interesting problems, and support myself while doing it.

The initial intent was to develop streams of income while living on the road, but this lifestyle proved to be too volatile to get something off of the ground (hence me making the decision to get off the road.)

So, Durham has been my north star for some time now. When the going got tough, I knew I needed to soak it all in - even the lows - because full-time vanlife was temporary.

Photo of me getting a D.C. metro card after my first day of work in 2019. I distinctly remember being bummed that I had to cut my hair and confine to corporate culture - lol.

Reflecting on the van build + van adventure.

When I think back to the times I've explored valiantly in my life up to this point, 3 adventures come to mind:

1. Studying abroad in Shanghai

2. Working at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch in Montana

3. Building, living, and exploring in the van

The study abroad program had clear routine, cadence, structure, and friendships because it was an educational program provided by my university.

The ranch was a little bit more loose in that I had found the job and drove out to the ranch by myself, but the job provided routine, cadence, structure, and friendships once I got there.

The van remains the most adventurous of my expeditions because there was no structure, routine, cadence, or friendships built in. I had to figure all of that out on my own.

I had to teach myself how to build this van. I had to teach myself how to make it through the breakdowns. I had to teach myself about the mechanical issues I was facing.

I had to make my own structure, routine, and cadence. Perhaps even harder, it was up to me to make new friends.

The highs were high. The lows were low. It was all worth it.

Photo from April just as I was leaving my house in PA. Funny thing is that I left having completed ~80% of the van. There are a number of van ideas that I've yet to realize which I am PUMPED to dive into when I'm in NC.

What I think things will look like moving forward.

I'll continue to write this newsletter weekly. Don't worry about that.

In addition to building self-sustaining streams of income, I really need to have a homebase.

I'm from PA. I went to school in NC. I started my career in VA, then I moved to CO. Then, I built the van in PA and hit the road when it was finished. I've been all over.

I need to have a place to call home. Just as I'll be investing my time, energy, and money into a business, I'll also be investing my resources into making the Triangle home.

That way, no matter what life brings me down the line - like, say, future van adventures ◡̈ - I have a place to stay grounded in North Carolina.

I'm grateful for the past year of learning opportunities, new friends, and wacky stories.

I'm excited/anxious for the new adventures that are ahead in NC.

Most of all, I'm ready to rock on building my business ideas.

If 2022 was about wacky personal risks, then 2023 is about wacky professional risks.

I'll continue to bring you along for the ride each Thursday.

Signing off with a photo of Caroline the Cabin on Wheels in front of the Pacific Ocean. She really did take my tail from sea to shining sea.

Photo taken from the coastline of Olympic National Park in Washington state.

What I'm paying attention to:

• FTX Collapse with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong - the All-In podcast brings on Armstrong to detail the latest following the fallout of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX

• 1,000 True Fans? Try 100 - Li Jin details what the future of the creator economy could look like, particularly for niche creators that provide high value for a seemingly small number of people.

• The Long Game - Fellow creator Daniel Hunter of Hunter Labs details why respect, attention, and audience aren't the reasons that you should create. Instead, you should create to learn and to feed your soul.

Photos of The Week

Locations this past week: Tucson, AZ -> El Paso, TX -> Austin, TX -> Tyler, TX -> Tuscaloosa, AL -> Greenville, SC

Got to have breakfast with my Uncle Mike!

BBQ in Austin with my buddy, Matt.

Dinner with Cabin DAO in the Texas Hill Country outside of Austin - a collection of folks reimagining the future of co-living and creativity in the outdoors!!

The food Cabin DAO prepared was so dang good.

A Yogi tea quote that made it's way to me. It directly references last week's piece. Talk about meta.

Thanks for reading

Be sure to hit my line if you're in NC!!

Josh

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