Running The Empire

The “Portable Empire” experiment is going very well.   In fact, I’ve been far more productive here in Thailand than I was in San Francisco!

Not sure why this is–  I think it’s probably a result of increased energy and inspiration as a result of a dramatic change of environment.   It’s so easy to get in a rut at home.  Mental and emotional ruts are the bane of the Hobopoet life.

Another factor is that I have much more time here.  This is also a strange phenomenon.   Why should I have more time in Thailand?  All I can say is that life just seems to move more slowly here.   In SF, I’m constantly bombarded by phone calls, appointments, and projects.

Moving to another continent has a way of weeding out all that’s non-essential.  Nobody is going to call me here unless it’s VERY important.   Also, because I must go to a coffee shop or internet cafe to do email…  I do it less often for less time.  In SF, I’ve got 24 hour access in my apartment and it’s just too damn easy to jump on the internet anytime I feel the least bit bored or restless.   Here in Thailand, I go for a walk, or get a massage, or sing, or go for a run.

And when I work, I do productive work-play rather than waste time surfing the web.   Today, for example, I wrote two articles, recorded two podcasts, recorded & edited two videos, and wrote a marketing email & published it.  All that in just a few hours.

Today I also went for a run, sang for an hour, played guitar, wrote in my journal, listened to music, and emailed friends.   And I’ve still got plenty of time on my hands and in no way feel rushed.

In fact, this is one of the most marvelous things about The Portable Empire experiment:  I’m “on vacation” in Thailand, yet I’m doing far more “work” (business and personal) than I ever did in SF–  for both my business and my personal projects I’m doing as much in one day as I did in one week back in the States.

On top of that, despite still paying rent on my SF apartment… I’m spending FAR less money while here in Thailand.  I’m “on vacation” and yet am saving a lot more money.

It’s hard to think of a cooler system!  Especially compared to the usual wage slavery way of making an income.  As a wage slave, I worked much harder, I had 2 paltry weeks of vacation a year, I was MUCH LESS productive (slaves aren’t usually very productive), and I almost never saved money (because I spent every available penny in a futile attempt to compensate for the boredom of work).

So The Portable Empire works from both the Hedonistic perspective, and the Productivity perspective…   a perfect system for both the slacker and the capitalist!   More time. More energy. More inspiration.  More fun. More created.  More accomplished.   All with less work, in less time, with less money.

The experiment, so far, is a remarkable success!