Vagabond Life Lesson #3 — Flexibility

It’s been almost a year since finishing my six-month Vagabond Adventure throughout the U.S. and Canada. I’ve had time to reflect on this incredible experience which surfaced 10 life lessons along the way that have stuck with me. Previously, I wrote about my experience with Generosity and Connection and their impacts on me.

There I was, Wednesday morning on a busy rooftop of the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan dragging my suitcase and laptop while frantically attempting to establish a WiFi connection. I had been looking for a quiet workspace to park myself for a few hours and found an empty chair. I pulled it over to a corner of the deck and proceeded to set up my laptop in order to connect with my first coaching client for the day — a program manager for a large Canadian bank. About 10 minutes after we started our video session, a security guard interrupted us and told me that I had to put the chair back at the table where it had been.

Ugh, how embarrassing. I excused myself for a moment to return the chair and then found a different place to sit down on a small concrete ledge with my back up against a railing. Once again the same Security Guard interrupted and said that I couldn’t sit there. I just needed a quiet place to work that was somewhat private (i.e. away from noisy chatter and wandering eyes for client privacy)

After a third time and a veiled threat to kick me out while I was coaching another first time client, I finally found a spot to stand. While the WiFi connection was very weak there, I was able to use my phone as a hotspot to stay connected. Eventually, my battery died and dropped the call. Needless to say, it was not the experience I imagined when I had scoped out the location the day before with my dear friend Leslie who lived in the the city. My clients were great sports though — we had a good laugh and made the best of our circumstances.

This had only been the second day into my Vagabond Adventure and foretelling of things to come. That the best laid plans…could change faster than a New York minute. A chance encounter with a fellow vagabond traveler on a NYC subway, Andrea, gifted me with some great advice that served me well during the next six months of my journey. When asking her about lessons she had learned during her 2 1/2 years of traveling the country, she advised:

Pack light and hold your plans loosely.

Andrea went on to explain that being light and flexible enabled her to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities as they arose.

While there were countless other occasions where the unexpected popped up and required me to improvise, there were also wonderful surprises and spontaneous adventures such as the time when I discovered an Alpaca sanctuary in Couer d’Alene, Idaho. I had been visiting my best friend in Spokane, Washington and decided to take a last minute day trip to Idaho.

I received a wonderful private tour from one of the owners, Sonia, who runs the Seven Stars Ranch with her husband. Much to my delight, they had many rescues including Alpacas galore, each with their own funky personality. 🦙 Plus there were also a few llamas, horses, miniature horses🐴, chickens 🐓, goats, 🐐 wild turkeys 🦃, dogs 🐕, and cats. 🐈‍⬛ The scenery was amazing too!

How Flexibility impacts me today

Whenever I encounter a situation that doesn’t go as anticipated or planned, I remind myself to not dwell on it and get stuck there. Asking myself “What’s my next step? Or “What can I do or will I do now?” I also strive to remain open to pleasant surprises and will ask myself “What exciting, new opportunity will present itself instead?”

For example, when I wrapped up my Vagaventure, I decided that I was going to find a two bedroom place in Encinitas, CA to settle down. Unfortunately, this was in the middle of an unprecedented rise in rental rates combined with hardly any available apartments to lease. After accepting the reality of the situation, I recognized that I would need to be flexible and geographically expand my search.

I decided to check out Oceanside an old military town somewhat removed from the rest of San Diego and known for its bars, tattoo parlors, gangs, and red light district. To my pleasant surprise, Oceanside had transformed in the 10+ years since I had last been there — lots of new restaurants, resorts, and cultural events downtown by the pier and much safer.

After talking to my son (a freshman in college at the time) and explaining the situation, he indicated that he would be fine sleeping on the couch when visiting instead of having his own room as I had intended. As a result, I found a wonderful one-bedroom apartment in a cute, older 9-unit complex with a nice, grassy courtyard and clear view of the ocean from the living room and bedroom. I was ecstatic and love living here.

How about you? Where in life would you benefit from being more Flexible?