The location rebel

October 27th, 2011

Have you ever dreamt of quitting your comfortable job and just doing something completely different?

Well, two years ago Sean Ogle did exactly that. He quit his job, moved overseas, made a new life for himself consulting businesses and spent a lot more time doing things he really wanted to.

I have followed his progress over the past couple of years, and it is inspiring to see the positive change in his life that has come about from taking action.

Sean has set up Location 180 to give advice to others wanting to change their life, and I caught up with him to see how it’s all going.

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Tell me about Location 180, and how it came about

I began Location 180 a little over two years ago as a way to facilitate change in my life and get some accountability for the some of the things that I hadn’t been making any progress towards accomplishing.

It’s chronicled my entire journey from cluelessness about life, to leaving my job, moving to Thailand, starting a business, and finally seeing success in the business and enjoying my dream life. What sets it apart from other similar sites is that you can track every single aspect of the journey through the blog. It’s not like all of a sudden I was magically successful, you see the progress from beginning to where it now – and I think that really sets it apart.

Was there a particular thing that triggered your life change? Or was it more gradual?

In February of 2009 I used all of my vacation time to head down to Rio de Janeiro for Carnival. I was walking down Copacabana Beach on a Tuesday morning when it hit me, I should be able to do this more than just once a year at my bosses convenience.

I came back and found Chris Guillebeau’s blog, and actually met with him in person in Portland. From there Location 180 was born as a way to facilitate a major change in my life, and hold myself accountable for all of the stuff I really wanted to do in life (aka my bucket list).

To be perfectly honest, it was actually Project 183 that gave me the idea to do it – so thanks!

The next 6 months I made gradual steps towards leaving my job and living the life I’d been dreaming of.

What was the biggest obstacle to overcome to make the change?

The biggest obstacle was without a doubt my own uncertainty into my future. Everything had always been planned out, I always knew what would be next whether it was a new school or job – the thought of not knowing where I’d be or how I’d make money took me a good year to get over.

Once I started looking at the uncertainty as a positive rather than a negative, everything changed.

Do you miss your old life at all?

There are definitely times where I think, wow maybe it would just be easier if I got a real job – I think every entrepreneur thinks that from time to time. Then I think about everything I’ve done in the last two years and am reminded that it was the best decision I ever made.

I like to think I took the best aspects of my old life and carried them over to my new life.

What do your friends and family think?

Luckily my friends and family are extremely supportive – especially my girlfriend who many people think is crazy to let me go off galavanting around the world. I think both my parents knew I was unhappy before and they just want what’s best for me. I know they wish they did more traveling while they were younger, so I think they’re glad I’m having the experiences that I am.

What is a typical day for you now?

It really depends on where I am, but generally I’ll wake up between 7 and 8 and head to a cafe to work for the morning. I may go get some exercise in the early afternoon or take time off to go do something fun. I’ll usually work for an hour or two in the evening and then go out with friends or do do something else fun.

While that’s a typical day, on many days I’m also traveling around, golfing, skiing, or any number of other things I like to do.

What one piece of practical advice would you give for others feeling like they want to make a similar change in their life?

The best piece of advice I could give, is probably the same thing I’ve been telling people for two years: start a blog. I wouldn’t be here were it not for Location 180. The connections wouldnt have been made, the uncertainty would not have been overcome, and generally speaking my life would have taken a very different trajectory.

That said, if you want to facilitate change, start a blog and take it seriously. It will take time, but will pay off in ways you could never imagine!

Thanks for your time and tips Sean, and good luck with it all.

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To help others, Sean has also set up Location Rebel to help give practical instruction to people wanting to starting taking action and making change in their life.

If you want to find out more, head to the Location Rebel website (note, this is an affiliate link).