Patti’s Saga of an RV Rookie: “How to Earn Money RVing: Chapter 3: Retool, Retrain, Reinvent Yourself”

 

Maybe you’ve read articles about ways to earn money while RVing and thought, “Easy for her to say she can do that job from her RV; she has a degree.”  Or perhaps you thought, “Yeah, I could do that job from my RV, too, if I had his skills.”  Does this inner dialogue reflect your thinking? If so, may I be blunt? I have found working from an RV requires a positive attitude and a commitment to doing what it takes: maybe retooling, retraining, or reinventing yourself. It’s work, not magic.

For instance, let’s say you want to write for publication but grocery lists top your writing experience. So what?  Just because you’ve never written articles or blogs or books, does that mean you can’t write? Of course not! Consider taking an online writing course. Read any of a million great “How to Write” books. Study the hundreds of free writing tips on the internet. Get an online degree in something (you can get low-interest government loans for accredited online degree/certificate programs). Worried that you don’t have the discipline needed to reinvent yourself? I’ve written more about that on http://blog.study2u.com/706/do-you-have-the-discipline-for-an-online-degree/

Maybe you were a plumber (or whatever) for years and now would like to be a consultant. Get on line and research plumbing consultation.  Here’s a link I just found:   http://www.householdersguide.com/Article-Library/article.php?id=20088  Check out how to adapt consulting skills to the computer. Google all the ways you can adapt your former career to the online world.

Or maybe it’s been your lifetime dream to become a tax preparer (hey…we can dream). I know a guy who took the H&R Block course last year, got the certificate, and worked in one of their Idaho offices during tax season. He stayed in his 5^th wheel near the office. A few months later he worked in one of their Utah offices, staying in his 5^th wheel at a gorgeous park. He and his wife decide where they want to go RVing, and he applies at the H&R Block office in that area! Sounds like a good gig to me.  For  the record, I don’t know anyone at H&R Block.

 http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/planning/tax_courses/paid_preparers.html   

This guy had never prepared taxes or worked in that field before taking the tax preparer course. But he didn’t let that stop him. Seasonal tax work met his needs for flexibility and movement, so he went for it. Perhaps you’ll agree that our greatest limits can be self-imposed:  “I can’t move to another state, I can’t afford it, I’m too old, I’m inexperienced, I’m not smart enough, I don’t know how, I’m too busy, I’ve never done that, I’m too late, he won’t, she won’t , I’m afraid, what if, etc .” I think we can choose to stop that kind of thinking.

If you want to earn money living an RV life style, you can. It’s that simple. Unless you say you can’t. Then you can’t.  Researching ways to earn money is time-consuming, hard work. It requires perseverance and common sense. I’m a hard worker. I persevere. But common sense tells me I needn’t apply for Head of Thoracic Surgery at the hospital near my RV park!

So here’s the question:  Do you truly want to earn money from your RV? Enough to do what’s required? Let me know what you thinking. I’m on your side.

Happy Tales,

Patti