You can’t listen to anybody.

Most of the time, the people closest to you love you and want the best for you. They might be more experienced and may have done very well for themselves.

That doesn’t mean you should listen to them.

They may care about you deeply and they will tell you what they honestly believe you should do. And they will often have very reasonable arguments.

My dad did not think that moving into a van was a good plan. Neither did my mum. They had good reason for believing so.

When I was 12, my dad saved up enough money to take us to New Zealand for a month. We stayed in a campervan for two weeks. An idyllic experience that we were very lucky to have. At the time, I didn’t think so. I complained the whole time and all I wanted to do was play Cut the Rope on my iPad (yes I was a loser). He took us to the epic Mt Cook and we were going to hike a short distance up the trail. I refused and went back to the van, and my mum had to come with me because she couldn’t leave me alone. Although, I suspect she would not have liked a hike had we done one.

Nevertheless, that’s just one example of times I have staunchly avoided adventure.

Hopefully, that illustrates why my parents thought it was a terrible idea for me to move into a van. Very reasonable.

Thankfully I didn’t listen.

2 years later, I can safely say that is in the top 3 best decisions of my life.

What the van has given me and my loved ones in terms of memories and experience is well worth the “inconvenience”, occasional discomfort. and the money I’ve spent on it.

My dad did actually come around to the idea once he saw I was serious about it. And while he didn’t give me any funding (thankfully I didn’t need him to), he gave me guidance and support when there were issues.

The best decisions of your life will sometimes look ridiculous to others.

A few people close to me also told me I was crazy and that it was a bad idea, others supported the idea. You must not be swayed either way. Trust your gut.

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