Learn a Simple Strategy for Engineering Your Most Exciting Life Abroad

Editor’s Note: This story appeared on Live and Invest Overseas.

Mark Twain summed up the behavior this way:

“A cat, having sat on a hot stove-lid, will no longer sit on a hot stove-lid. But neither will it sit on a cold stove-lid.”

A cat reacts with its gut. You and I may think that decisions that come from the gut, from natural feelings and emotions, are sometimes ill-advised. We may think that we are better when we use reason, analysis, and reasoning.

But the truth is that we all make many decisions automatically, without thinking.

Decisions require effort

Consulting every step along the way is difficult. Go back to thinking alone and you may have trouble deciding what shirt to wear or whether your tea is the right temperature.

Thinking through all the questions requires a lot of time and effort. How do you decide what time to get out of bed on a lazy Saturday morning?

You can try to figure it out. You can review what you have to do or want to do or have to do. You might ask what you can gain by drinking more coffee or reading more in your news feed.

Before long you realize that listing what you need to think about to decide when you get up and when you go to bed can take a day. So instead of using your mind, you get out of bed when you feel like it.

It’s the same as deciding when and where to establish your life overseas. Making the right decision leads to knowing what makes you happy… and arranging your affairs to reach that happy state.

Let’s say what you want most is to travel the world, eat, drink, and be happy with the people you meet along the way. You want to enjoy the adventure along the way, to enjoy every random moment.

Given that, buying a mansion on the water wouldn’t be a good decision, would it? It takes you away from your goal, not towards it.

A big house comes with a garden, a leaky roof, animals, maintenance, taxes, and maintenance costs. You can’t go and chase adventure at will. You are tied up in your mansion.

Even if you think a house might be a good investment, buying it can be a mistake.

The opposite is also true.

Match your happiness with your investment

When my friend Wilbur celebrated his 50th birthday, his wife asked him what he wanted most in life. Wilbur said, “I’ve always spent my happiest days on Cape Cod. I think I’d like to buy a house on the water and a sailboat. I can teach my grandchildren to sail.”

Wilbur went out and bought a villa in Bass River. He bought a small boat. He sails with friends, and teaches his grandchildren to sail. His house fits perfectly with what he wants in life.

As it happened that house went up in value. Wilbur made money in a way that improved his life.

To make sure your investments are in line with what makes you happy, you need to decide what makes you happy.

I know that sounds cavalier. Research shows that most people have no idea what makes them happy. Ask someone about their purpose in life or what they want in life and they either shrug their shoulders or just say they want to be happy.

If you keep asking them what makes them happy, they’re usually dumbfounded.

I know. I still have trouble answering those questions. These are difficult questions.

So I came up with an easy way.

Engineer your better life

Instead of just thinking about what makes you happy, think back to your happiest moments. Think back to your worst moments. Do this over a month or so, and make a list. By the end of the process, you’ll probably have a good handle on how you like to live.

In my case, I decided that some of the worst moments of my life were related to traffic. I don’t like wasting time, and sitting in traffic is nothing but a stressful, frustrating waste of time. So I have organized my life to avoid traffic as much as possible.

When I’m in Paris, I can walk almost everywhere I need or want to go every day. Within 15 minutes of our front door are grocery stores, bakeries, wine shops, cafes, restaurants, bookstores, parks, gardens, museums, and my favorite place to shop for clothes. If I want to go beyond our quarter, I take the Metro.

When I’m in Los Islotes, Panama, I have a car but I don’t have to sit in traffic. This beach is free of all the worries and frustrations of modern life, including rush hour travel.

I have to deal with traffic when I’m in Panama City. I accept that because, while driving is one of my favorite things in life, building businesses is one of my favorite things. Live And Invest Overseas is headquartered, needs to be headquartered, in the city. There is no way around it.

In other words, maybe you can’t get rid of things you don’t like completely. Engineering your happiest life is all about compromise.

Remember the 80/20 rule. I accept that maybe 20% of my time is spent fighting traffic in Panama City because I have no intention of giving up on my business goals. They are the best in my life right now.

What stands out in your memory as the happiest moments of your life? Start there.

Before you begin your journey to live and invest overseas, take some time to get to know yourself.

Make choices and decisions based on your likes, dislikes, preferences. Adjust your new life to your true self, there is no other way.