6 Life Lessons I Learned While Living in a Car
I just came back from Norway.
I was on the road for 13 days. And literally, on the road.
This was the 1st time I was living in a car.
The lunch view from my trunk
Always on other trips, I've had accommodation - apart from 1 hike when I had a tent with me.
This trip to Norway was spectacular.
But, living in a car alone had its massive downsides too.
Today, I wanted to share some lessons I realized from this time.
I thought you could find some of these lessons valuable. :)
-
Before we get started, I'd like to remind you that the waitlist for my LR Presets is open.
To be 1st notified when they'll be live, click the link below.
-
Lesson 1) Don't take a peaceful meal for granted.
Back home, every morning, at the same time, I have the same breakfast.
And I love it.
The sun is (sometimes) shining. It's peaceful. It's just me awake.
There's something magical. Nothing is distracting me.
But in Norway, this wasn't the case.
I didn't have access to the exact same breakfast.
I didn't have access to my butter coffee.
And - I shared my meals with bees and mosquitoes.
At times, I ran around with my food to avoid insects landing on me.
At times, I shut myself in the hot car to avoid insects- simultaneously getting a little dizzy from the hotness.
And every time, my meals were at different times.
And often, at a different place.
Sometimes, I could wash my cooking stuff.
Sometimes, I could not. (As I was close to natural water sources.)
All this combined was a huge pain in the ass.
I promised myself that I'd never take a peaceful meal for granted anymore.
And I don't think you should either.
Insects are bothering some people. But wars are bothering some people too.
If you can eat a meal in peace, be grateful. :)
Lesson 2) Making friends > Photos (well... sometimes)
On my last day in Norway, I went to a Café called Zapffe Cafe.
Before that, I considered whether to crank in another shoot before heading home.
I had already gone to my top spots. But I could've got in another one...
But I decided to go to this café instead.
I wanted to enjoy the views. Take it all in, for me - rather than trying to make a photograph that didn't appeal to me a ton.
I was sitting in this Café - being on my laptop working on my upcoming workshop on photography fundamentals.
And the German guy running the place came over.
He started the convo - asked what I was doing.
And we had a great time together when there were no new customers.
We talked on:
1) how beautiful this place is
2) why I should visit again in winter (him showing me photos)
3) my social media coaching program haha (click here to apply)
4) how the f*ck there suddenly are so many insects around, it being the 1st time ever apparently.
(Apparently, insects love me.)
5) dreams - and life overall.
It was a brilliant time.
I was at this Café for 5h+ - and I was so glad I didn't go shoot.
If I did, I would've missed out on making a new friend for a photo I would've not cared a lot about.
And... I would've missed out on 2 cups of free coffee too. (Thanks dude.)
Relationships are the thing that brings the most happiness to us compared to anything else.
We humans are social animals - even though many photographers are introverted. But we still are supposed to connect with people.
And when we do that, we end up feeling great. (Assuming, the person was like-minded.)
The main lesson:
Sometimes connecting with people is more rewarding than chasing a shot for the sake of content.
Lesson 3) When you make a should a must, you get stuff done.
"Turn your “shoulds” into “MUSTS", as Tony Robbins says.
At home, to be honest, sometimes I'm a little disorganized.
Sometimes, I don't want to wash my cooking stuff.
Sometimes, I don't want to do something else I don’t enjoy.
On this trip, however, I didn't have a choice than to do some stuff.
I did hate cooking at times - because of the insects.
But - I had to eat.
I had no choice but to cook anyway.
And well... so I cooked.
I didn't want to continue up a mountain. Nor did I want to go down. I was exhausted and scared of the hike.
But... I had to continue anyway.
There was no one that could help me.
This applies to all parts of life.
When you have no choice but to get something done, you'll most often get that thing done.
Think, about how you can apply pressure on yourself.
"How can I force myself to have to do this."
Could you tell a friend you'll do things X, Y & Z to bring more pressure?
Could you tell about it on social media?
Or - could you do something else?
Many of us have a choice whether to do a thing or not.
But when it becomes a must, you'll get it done.
Lesson 4) Life moves fast.
Have you ever dreamt of your next trip while being on one?
At least I have, lol.
And while dreaming about where to go next, I realized... "if I keep this pace up, I won't have enough time to visit all the locations I want."
Currently, I'm going abroad on average 3-4x a year.
Assuming I live healthily until 81 (hopefully longer though), I'd get to do 178 more trips.
That might sound a lot... but in reality, it's not a lot.
When you think a country has many locations one wants to explore. And you could have multiple visits to that place.
The lesson here:
Notice realistically how much you could have left (of your healthy years).
Write down what you want to do and don't wait around.
Book that trip.
Do that hike.
Go explore.
You don't know if there's a tomorrow.
That's why I've started to plan a trip I've always dreamt of doing for next year.
For many years, I had continued to postpone it for a later date.
Why?
Because I've seen this as a major highlight for myself that "I've accomplished life", lol.
And doing it at 21 would've felt a bit weird.
But, then again, who knows what happens.
Will I be here at 23?
Hopefully. But I'll try to accomplish my dreams before it's too late.
And I hope, you will as well.
Lesson 5) Greet more people
This might sound a bit weird.
But a few years back, I didn't greet people as much. Especially on hikes.
And well... for Finns I guess that's kind of normal.
Many Finns are quiet and don't greet strangers.
In fact, it can be seen as weird.
But, I've started to greet more people. Especially on hikes.
And it feels really good.
Sometimes, I don't get a "hi" back. But, I know I've been polite.
The thing is, when you do something nice for others, you'll feel good as a result.
No matter whether they've returned that effort to you.
Of course, a greeting isn't a huge thing.
But it does make you feel good - and others too.
There's not a time I've regretted saying hi.
But there are times when I've not said hi that I have regretted.
The same thing with thank yous.
Rather say thank you when you don't know should you thank them.
At times, I'm a little insecure about whether to thank or not, lol.
I don't wanna "f*ck up" so to say.
But... nobody minds a thank you or a hi.
Just do it.
It's rewarding.
Lesson 6) It's all about perspective
At home, I've been not as content as I was on this trip.
At home, I wanted to achieve things X, Y & Z to feel my best.
Such as making brilliant short-form vids and hoping they do well.
But when they haven't done well, I've felt less or more bad.
But in Norway, this was different - and it surprised me.
I had scheduled content for the entire trip. So in theory, I wouldn't have had to visit IG nearly at all.
And I did spend much less time on there.
I found myself literally not giving a sh*t how a post did.
I was just happy.
I was stoked about getting a coffee, eating breakfast, and completing a hike.
I was stoked about just getting a little snack I felt I had deserved.
I was stoked when I got to read a few more pages of a book I loved.
At home, that used to go unnoticed.
I'm trying to retain some of this perspective while being now at home.
I've now seen happiness is a lot about:
1) perspective and
2) being grateful for the little things.
It's crazy how much a small snack after hiking can bring good vibes.
Wrapping it up
I hope you enjoyed reading this Letter, my friend.
You can expect a loooot of Norway content coming to IG in the upcoming weeks.
There's a lot of stuff I photographed and filmed.
If you did enjoy this Letter, feel free to forward it to a friend.
If you were forwarded, you can subscribe here.
-
Till next Saturday, my friend.
Hugo
P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 5 other ways I can help you:
#1: Ready to crush it on social media in 2024? Click here to apply to my 1-1 Social Media Coaching Program.
#2: Have you seen my YouTube channel? I've put stuff out there too. I bet you'd find it valuable. Check out my latest videos and come give me a like and subscribe. :)
#3 Have you already joined my Lightroom Presets waitlist? If not, join here.
#4: Want to learn what exact gear & tools I use? Get my Free Photography Toolkit here.
#5: I have a lot of free resources out there. Read the past Letters here.
