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| Cover of 'Leap of Faith - Quit Your Job & Live on a Boat' |
Whatever my state of mind, it must have been that 'live on a boat' part of the title that caught my eye. Now, before we dive into Ed Robinson's tale, I should let you all in on a little something; 'Leap' represents only the fourth book I've read in my 50 years on this planet. Don't get me wrong, I actually read quite a bit, but my attention span is for more of the bite size chunks, something that I can get through in one sitting. So, to say that I actually read this book from cover to cover really speaks to the strength of the author to keep a reader like me engaged, entertained and ultimately, inspired.
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| Photo: Ed Robinson. |
Ed refers to himself in the book as 'the luckiest man in the world'. Quite a statement and reason enough to read on to find out why he can say that . . .
Like many of us, he began to feel trapped in a never ending rut of going to work, coming home to bitch at the wife about the day's stresses, go to bed and start it all over again. And again. And again. As he says, it was sucking at his soul. It wasn't as if he was struggling with a lower paying job that was stressing him out, but rather that he had a management position, bouncing between babysitting staff and kissing a** with clients.
Sounds all to familiar with my own experiences.
Beyond the work related stress, he found himself increasingly frustrated with the endless BS he was bombarded with in the news. Crap that seemed to be piling directly on top of him; political fighting, financial crises, American Idol and all the rest of it. There is an entire chapter on the madness of the world that we live in that is more akin to an extended rant. I found myself reading this chapter in a hyper fast way, not missing a beat - I could have wrote it myself!
You can now see how I was drawn further into his tale . . .
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| Photo: Ed Robinson. |
Don't worry, it's not all bad news. In fact, apart from those two segments, you'll find it increasingly uplifting as the story moves us past the virtual despair and frustration and into hatching a plan to move Ed's life forward and away from the madness. Initially, escape came in the form of the musical storytelling from the likes of Jimmy Buffet and all those great Trop-Rock singers. Songs of passing the days in hot tropical climes, palm trees and boats. I mean really, who wouldn't find escapism in a song that spoke of ice cold Corona beer and sunsets on the beach?
Did I mention I was really getting drawn into the book?
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| Photo: Ed Robinson. |
Now that these visions of a new life in flip flops and Hawaiian shirts had planted themselves in his mind, the next thought was how he would make it become a reality. Naturally, any sane person would come to the conclusion that selling everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) and moving to a boat full time would be a logical course of action. . . Or not. Apart from his wife, Kim, pretty much everyone around him thought he was crazy. Perhaps not only because he didn't have a boat, but that he also had a big debt load to overcome before saying adios to his job.
How would he move the plans for his wife and himself from a fantasy of tropical escapes to the reality of living feet up on a boat in the middle of south-west Florida? It was very simple, actually; make a firm plan, and work it with disciplined resolution to see it through. The carrot on the end of the stick would ultimately become a goal of not running Away from a world that was crushing his spirit, but rather running To a new life of utter contentment.
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| Photo: Ed Robinson. |
Even if chucking it all and living in the shade of palm trees isn't your speed, this book offers compelling and practical insights as to how any one of us can better our current financial standing and enjoy the freedom that being debt free allows. That said, I might offer a word of warning before you read the book yourself. You may end up being so moved by the enticing world they have discovered that you could find yourself perusing online ads for boats that could one day become your own piece of paradise :-)
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| Photo: Ed Robinson. |
The book is available at Amazon.com - both in print and Kindle e-reader versions.
A big thanks to Ed for being good enough to allow me to
share some his beautiful photos in this review, all of which have been
taken during his enjoyment as 'happiest guy in the world'.