Reddit mentions of The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World (Perigee Book.)

I don't think it's optimistic to want to be passionate about what you do. I also don't think you're foolish for deserting something wanting to move on to something different, something that fits you better.

You have to decide what kind of life you want, starting today. Not what kind of life you think you should want or what kind of life you think others want for you.

You say you love working with your hands -- that's great! A lot of people don't know what they want, and knowing this puts you at a good advantage.

Is there a way you can drop down to 3 or 4 days a week and start building your own business, or working part-time somewhere else or start attending a trade school? This would ease you in and may be be easier than quitting your job completely and starting fresh. It would also make your debt repayment a little easier, because it definitely is something to consider.

I read The Art of Non-conformity last year and it was good. I like all of Chris Guillebeau's books.

I think that people discount what their true talents are and what they're really here to do as sentimentalist fluff. Maybe we all just think we should be doing whatever the safe thing is, or what everyone else is doing, or what the market says we should do. But I don't think a lot of people are happy or fulfilled with that.

Lastly, I will say I was in your position 15 years ago. I started a job as a programmer right out of college, and almost immediately I knew it wasn't right for me and I ended up quitting. I'd like to say that right after I quit, I figured everything out and I'm blissfully happy today, but the truth is that life is a journey with lots of ups and downs. I don't regret quitting, for sure, but I'm still trying to find my way in the world. When you follow what you're "supposed" to do, the rules are pretty clear. But when you know that's not for you and you try to break your way out and find something different, you'll find (or at least I found) that it's not always easy or clear. That doesn't mean it's not worth it, though :).

Good luck to you!

Let's continue to refine it together. I need a few more weeks to finish a few things I'm focusing on but then we can really dive in and see how we can break it all down and make it easy to digest.

I definitely want to dive into the social community aspect more and the identity side, two components which I believe are very strong in why we play.

For Bali (or travel in general...) it's all about perspective. A villa in Bali is around $300-400/month and food is cheap (like a dollar for a bowl of Pho). It's completely realistic to live in Bali for $10/day. To live really well (like a King) it would be less than $1000/month.

So if you want to go and not work for six months all you need somewhere between $1800-$6000 + flights (one way from Vancouver to Bali is about $500).

Now the benefit I have is that I'm still able to work while I travel (I have a few streams of income:

• Coaching through Kingpin Lifestyle (been doing that for over six years)
  
• Freelance/Web design. I outsource projects I find through friends/family. I also write for addiction.com and get paid for it.
  
• I have a food blog with my mom called Wheat Free Mom. She does recipes I do everything else.
  
• A friend puts on an event called The Higher Purpose Project and I've helped him out with finding attendees for a referral fee.
  
  It all compounds. Thankfully I've been doing this for awhile so it comes more naturally now, but it's something you're definitely able to figure out if you dedicate time and effort towards it.
  
  The key is to develop different skills you can offer to people as a service. This is the difference between a friend of yours saying they need a website and you saying: "Ya... a website is something good to have." compared to you saying: "Oh ya? I could probably help you with that.." The next thing you know you've sold a website for $2000 and by outsourcing the project you end up with $1000 for sending a few emails and overseeing things. :)
  
  Here are a few good resources to start with if you're interested:
  
  
• The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau.
  
• The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
  
• The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
  
• Tim Ferriss' Blog
  
• Chris Guillebeau's blog
  
• Sean Ogle's blog: Location 180
  
  

The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau

It really made me think about what I am doing with my life and how I am spending my time.