«» Travel Notes 016: To Go From Chasing to Receiving
Taking lessons from the pitch to life, business, and travel
HELLO. I’m Atom, and you’ve received my Travel Notes, which I send out once a week, every week:
→ On the weeks I travel, I share stories, reflections, and lessons.
→ On the weeks I stay home, I share tips, tools, and templates.
My goal here is to bring you with me to all 82 provinces of the Philippines. Solo travel can be thrilling, but I enjoy my travels more when I have someone to share it with.
Last week, I played on Manila's first rooftop football pitch, a polished and brightly lit field on the fourth floor of an obscure parking lot.
We organized ourselves into three teams with seven players: six on-field players and one substitute player. Following a round-robin system where each team would play two 10-minute games before resting, I expected to play 6-8 rounds.
I lasted for one and a half.
The problem was that this was my first time playing after months, so I was not used to my shoes and was out of shape. Five minutes into the first game, I started to feel dizzy from the game's intensity, and my toes began to hurt from digging into my shoes.
One thing I must add before moving on is that my greatest asset in football is my ability to run. I'm relentless. When my team is not in possession, I will chase after the defender in control of the ball. When my team has possession, I won't hesitate to make runs upfield to create openings. I'm the guy who didn't stop running until the game ended.
At least, I thought that was still me because only two games in, and I noticed my movements were extra heavy, and my mind wasn't as sharp.
On one goal-scoring opportunity, I ran so fast to chase the ball, only for the keeper to reach it first. I stopped hard to avoid colliding with the keeper, but in doing so, I felt a sharp pain come from my left big toe.
I limped off the pitch immediately, then plopped myself on the ground to examine my toe, which was black and numb from digging into my shoes. I knew I was out.
But stubbornness was the theme of the night.
Because I was paying 300 pesos to play for two hours, I found it a waste to play for only 15 minutes and not anymore. So I rested. Then got back on the pitch.
But I promised myself I wouldn't run.
I expected to be a sideline player, but the most interesting thing happened. Despite not running (as my usual strategy) and informing my teammates of my injury, I received the ball way more than I would with perfect fitness.
For some reason, by running less, I was receiving more.
I share this because two years ago, I decided I wanted to live a life of travel: I wanted to travel for as long as I wanted, whenever I wanted. For that to happen, I needed to find an income stream I could work on anytime and anywhere.
Like in football, my strategy was to run wherever I could. I started reading business books and writing in a journal because I heard these were good habits to build. I started writing online on Medium and Substack because I heard you could earn through subscriptions. I started posting on Instagram because I heard influencers received great sponsorship deals. I had all these "shoulds" and daily "must dos" listed down. Yet, I saw no progress, no paying subscribers, no sponsoring brands, and no additional income.
It was from this place of frustration and desperation that I was writing in my journal one night in Romblon when AJ came up to me.
At first, I wanted to rush through what he needed so I could get back to "productively" writing in my journal. Instead, I decided to share with AJ what I was struggling with. In doing so, he shared with me some business problems and ways I could help. I didn't think much of it until a week later when another friend spontaneously expressed frustration around problems similar to what AJ was facing. I said I'd help them both out. I had something, I realized. And it found me.
The crazy thing is that if I had ignored that conversation with AJ and insisted on burying myself in "hard work," I would never have stumbled upon this idea.
There is such a thing called running too much. If you aren't getting what you want despite trying so hard, then it's trying so hard that it's getting in the way of what you want. Instead of chasing and running, maybe try walking and observing. This isn't the same as being lazy, I realize. It's about being attentive and patient. It's about trusting your current position. In the words of Charlie Munger, "The big money is not in the buying or the selling, but in the waiting."
Sometimes knowing where you want to be is enough.
Try this as an experiment: Forget your goals for a week. Put it aside and let it go. Instead, do something goofy and fun. See how long you can last until ideas begin to find you. When that happens, I urge you to hold on and resist the urge to act on any. Store them and keep them until the pressure of excitement becomes unbearable.
Happy travels!!
Atom
P.S. If you have a business with 2-3 years of unused data or if you know someone running a business, I’d love to get in touch with you!
Are you interested in exploring the 82 provinces of the Philippines too? Here are some ways I can help...
Easy-peasy: let’s get on a call. I’ll save every Sunday 3:30-4:00 PM (GMT+8) for anyone serious about making it happen. Send me an email, and I’ll send you a link.
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