Unexpected Shift Changed Everything | 2018 In Review
Our 2018 in review is one filled with happiness strewn with tears and an unexpected shift that changed the course of our lives…
At the time, we weren’t sure if what happened was for the better. Were we going to hang it all up and go back to ‘jobs’?
We’ll get to that in a moment, but first…
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Exploring 4 Countries
The year started off strong as we enjoyed New Years in Ontario. We had about enough of the snow, so we headed down to Texas to reset our travel bags with warmer weather clothes.
Our plan consisted of chasing summer, beaches, jungle, exotic animals in the wild and experiencing what our beautiful Earth had for us.
“Your lifestyle is a result of where you place your attention, effort and time.”
– Brian Garcia
Heading down to the interior of Mexico in Oaxaca was quite a treat. Throughout our travels, we have seemed to gravitate towards beach towns in Spanish speaking countries and this was no exception, except…
Interior Mexico is WAY different than beach towns.
The elevation in Oaxaca is 5,102 ft above sea level. This means the terrain is more mountainous.
Where there are mountains, there’s the potential for earthquakes.
On February 16, 2018, there was a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Oaxaca while we were hanging in a hammock under the patio awning.
“The windows are shaking…” I said to Erin as we jumped out of the hammock and ran out from under the covering.
“I want to feel this with my bare feet…” I exclaimed as I kicked off my flip flops.
As the earth shook, pottery inside the Bodega we were staying in was crashing down throughout the house while the foundation split down the middle.
After having enough excitement in the mountains, we headed down to the quaint beach town of Mazunte, Mexico.
There we enjoyed soaking up the sun every day on the beach. But there was a problem…
Now this problem isn’t normally an issue if you were just on “vacation…”
Being that we run our business online, this was a BIG problem…
The internet was so slow that we had to get out of Mazunte. Our search was on to find a bigger city where (hopefully) the internet would be fast enough to get work done.
Entering Our 2nd Year As Full-Time Travelers
After assessing the map searching for a cheap flight to anywhere but Mazunte, we found that Costa Rica could be a good solution.
Without hesitation, we booked our flight to San Jose!
That’s when things started to turn around. Being that San Jose is a bigger city, there just so happened to be a cool condo in Santa Ana (a richer side of the city) that also hosted a co-working space.
Perfect!
Erin and I got to work.
All this time we have been earning income on affiliate products and services.
When you’re starting a business online, one of the easiest ways of doing it is by:
- Decide on WHAT your brand will be about
- Look to see if anyone else is doing something similar
- Figure out what they are offering (to make money)
- Launch your idea
- Set yourself up to make money from affiliate products
The reason this is often the easiest way to go is because companies will pay you a commission if your special link is clicked, resulting in a sale.
You didn’t have to create the product.
The service offered wasn’t performed by you.
All you did was create a brand that relates to the products & services offered.
Brilliantly simple.
But there was something missing…
Helping Others Launch Online Businesses by Creating 4 eCourses
Although we love the ease of offering referral products & services, there was a void in BE Adventure Partners that needed to be filled.
Both Erin and I are creators.
With her love for art, cooking, hair styling and enhancing the mind, Erin has always been getting her hands to work passionately.
Also being a creator, building things with my hands, capturing images with the camera and teaching complex topics in a simplistic way anyone could understand has been some of my passions.
This lead us to looking at each other and saying, “We have to create a strong foundation of eCourses and a membership site to serve everyone who has been contacting us wanting to travel & live an extraordinary life…”
While at La Aborrea Condos in Costa Rica, we did what we knew best.
We headed to the art supply store and bought the biggest Post-It Note pad we’ve ever seen with big fat markers spanning the colors of the rainbow.
The goal was to chart out a library of eCourses that would accomplish a few goals.
Goal #1 – They had to help other couples ALSO create a business online (so they could BE where they want, when they want)
Goal #2 – The business needed to be slightly hands off so people could take the eCourses on their timeline (no longer trading time for money)
Goal #3 – People taking the eCourses can expect to have a fully-functioning business set up by the time they finished applying what they were learning (the system teaching our Tribers must be completely step-by-step)
There has never been any individual platform we’ve seen that walks people through turning their ideas into a business online (like what we created).
In less than 3 months, we not only created the foundational eCourses…
People started becoming Tribe Members & were building their businesses online because of our eCourses!
We were rounding into our second year of traveling full-time together. Being on top of the world, we didn’t think things could get any better…
Until our hearts were nearly ripped out of our chests…
The Realization That Nearly Made Us Quit
All of a sudden, we had this HUGE epiphany…
Spending nearly two years pumping content into Facebook, being dedicated to Facebook LIVEs and building an engaged community over there an unexpected shift took place…
This realization made us question everything we were doing in our business…
No matter how much effort we put into Facebook, the content will NEVER be the result of a search in Google (or any other search engine on the World Wide Web).
Our hearts sank…
The thoughts of finding a job crossed our lips in conversation… Until…
On July 11, 2018, fighting the depression that suddenly encapsulated us, Erin ran into a channel on YouTube called Video Creators.
This guy, Tim Schmoyer, on there was teaching how to turn the next 30-days into a better YouTube Channel
In the near recent past, we had done a ton of video on Facebook – all talking heads stuff (you know… boring videos of heads flapping their jaws)
One thing that I can remember Tim saying was something to the effect of how when people are searching on Google, your videos can come up organically without running ads.
WHAT???!!!!!????
Are you kidding?
That’s part of what caused a bit of depression (the other part was spending two years creating content that would NEVER be shown on YouTube).
So we pulled up our socks while wiping the tears from our cheeks…
With a new sense of hope, we bought his YouTube ebook 30-Days to a better YouTube Channel and started to learn storytelling through video & editing.
Come to find out, using YouTube mixed with your Blog is a circular organic strategy because they both feed each other traffic.
BINGO!
The holy grail of online business!!!!!!
Well… At least part of it…
In Steps 2019
As 2018 came to a close, we attended Tim’s 8-week Video Labs workshop where our talking heads videos were ripped apart to the point that vultures turned their beaks from the carcass.
This unexpected shift created a callus within us…
The aftermath was us learning more about ourselves as humans & a couple together…
Even better, how much MORE we could positively impact other couples’ lives through our content.
Another unexpected shift is that we added travel vlogging YouTube Channel & video editing onto our résumé.
With unexpected shifts in your life, look for ways you can grow as an individual or even as a couple together.
You never know what life is going to dish you but being flexible will help you keep your sanity while increasing your positive life experiences.
Only a couple days to spare, we made it to Bogotá, Colombia where they have no organized New Year’s Eve festivities.
I bet you didn’t know that.
In Conclusion
Unexpected shifts changed everything in our lives. Growing. Strengthening. Becoming more resilient. If there’s anything in this 2018 year in review that we can impress upon is that YOU have the power within yourself to either QUIT or focus on each curveball to see where you need to pivot in order to hit a home run. Because if you don’t swing, you can still strikeout.
Become part of the Tribe today. We’ve built a community designed to help you focus & achieve beyond your wildest dreams if you put in the work & apply yourself. Both Erin + I are here to push you to grow as we grow and learn alongside you.
Until Next Time!
Adventure On… Adventure On!
– Brian Garcia
Did This Help You? If so, we would greatly appreciate it if you comment below and share on Facebook, or any of your favorite social media pages!
Brian Garcia + Erin Nicole Bick are full-time location independent, online business owners. Brian’s background is in firefighting, digital + photographic imaging, and web development. Erin’s background is in professional hairstyling, social intuition, personal development, creative writing, and brand identity development. Together, they create eCourses, high-end online business development coaching, and social media marketing strategies. They go by… BE Adventure Partners!
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