We recently connected with Chris Englert and have shared our conversation below.
Chris , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
My purpose found me in second grade. Little did I know that submitting my novel, a 5-page masterpiece about my dog, Rocky, would win the best book award. I remember thinking about how the story of finding Rocky was heartwarming–everyone would want to read it–and that I had to share the story with my classmates. The book included hand-drawn pictures. Afterall, Rocky was a stray that my parents’ friends picked up and named him after their favorite actor, Rock Hudson. At 8, I didn’t know who Rock Hudson was, but two years later, Sylvester Stallone would reframe the name, and my dog became a star in the neighborhood.
That writing morphed into my role as the family stenographer of road trips. Every year, my Mom and Dad would stuff my sister and me into the backseat of the family car and we’d roll from Point A to Point B as fast as Dad could drive, Mom fretting the entire way while my sister and I squabbled in the back seat. I’d do my best to record the family drama and the price of gas in my spiral-bound, college-rule notebook. We’d zoom through the landmarks of the US–Grand Canyon, Sequoia National Park, the St Louis Arch–where I’d collect post cards and mental images of the best of the US. The day’s end always found us swimming in the hotel pool, where my inner mermaid danced in the deep end.
Nonetheless, writing captured my heart, and my fingers have forever felt the need to release the words in my brain and heart. Despite a full-time career that detoured me from writing yet kept me in the publishing industry, my purpose continues in my post-career life as a full-time traveler. Now as I savor the world as a slowmad, traveling one month at a time along borders and oceans, mountains and deserts, my fingers joyfully tell the story in books, blogs, and youtube scripts of two corporate America retirees living their life to the fullest.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
In May of 2021, my husband and I emptied the nest. Fully. We sold our house, our car, and everything in them, and hit the road full-time to travel the world indefinitely, During that time, our friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike asked us questions about insurance, logistics, safety, health, family, cell phones, and everything in between. Simple answers never sufficed, as our curious life prompted insatiable conversations.
First, I began a blog (www.EatWalkLearn.com), giving hints and tips for how to become a nomad. Exactly how do you tell your family? How do you get rid of a mattress? Where do you get your mail? How do you vote?
The blog wasn’t enough, so I wrote a book, Two Carry-Ons and a Plan. It hit number one at Amazon for weeks, and people had more questions.
So I started a youtube channel, and the questions continued. People actually wanted to live the life we were living and wanted to know more. Where do we buy tickets? Get our ideas for travel? Sleep? Negotiate with Airbnb?
The questions moved from logistics and how to launch a nomad life to how to life a nomad life. So I wrote another book, The Nomad Life, to tell the tale of our first 2 1/2 years on the road. What’s it really like to live out of a suitcase? Housesit other people’s homes and pets? Get credit card points? Change beds so often? Eat vegan food around the world?
My purpose jumped for joy because not only could I write about it (my passion of writing), I could join it with my passion for travel and for sharing. My post-career life has become a beautiful nexus of my passions for life, and the good news is, I do it on my own time and schedule. I hope anyone reading will find hope in disrupting a typical retirement life, will grab a carry-on suitcase, and will jump into full-time travel with as much passion as I have.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I have three people in my life whom I care about deeply; one is just graduating college, the other is at the point in her career between entry level and mid management, and the third is in his late 30s, reworking his career. All three of them are struggling with their vision and focus. They believe they want to do one thing, but external pressures are tainting them to do something else.
My advice is to ignore the external pressures. Stay true to what you really want to do. Adjust your life around what your passion rather than your passion around your life.
Don’t know your passion? What did you like to do in 2nd grade? That’s it.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Travel writing books capture my imagination and show me how to live a life of adventure. The list is long, but a few recent books I’ve embraced include Kate Evans, Wanderland, Kim Dinan, The Yellow Envelope, and Rita Golden Gelman, Tales of a Female Nomad.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eatwalklearn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatwalklearn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatwalklearn
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisenglert/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/eatwalklearn
Image Credits
Steve Goodfriend
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
