The Joyage began with one thought – there must be more.

Life began to feel like a routine of responsibility that had been laid out for me. Not something I had intentionally signed up for. There was no time for the things I wanted to do because I was too busy doing the things I had to be doing. I was complacent, uninspired, and lacked the creativity and adventure I had long been craving. What is the point of this life if you don’t take the time to experience joy in it? Work is important in so many ways, but if you’re working to simply get by, you’re missing the opportunity to find purpose and contribute value to the world. Enough was enough. There had to be more! A way to create a life I wanted to participate in! A way to make decisions that allowed for more purpose to be found. To contribute to this world the things that mattered to me! But wait, the fearful what if…

The moment I knew I had decided to move to another country so many fears arose. I had moments where I called my brother, James, and experienced full blown panic attacks. I felt nauseous and overwhelmed. Then, he said something that changed it all, “You know you don’t have to go, right?”. My heart stopped beating all together. My tears almost froze. I was silent. “That thought is even worse!” I exclaimed. The feeling of staying in this slate gray that had taken over my life. The lack of inspiration I had been existing in. The sheer thought of remaining ankle deep in this stagnant shallow pool I had surrendered too?! There’s no way I could look at myself in the mirror. My anxiety subsided. I committed to walking through the fear and excuses of the unknown. I raised a proverbial middle finger to the what-if’s. And it felt good, real good.

The what if’s can create enough fear to stop any person in their tracts. Fear is an enabler of complacency and compliments your comfort zone all to well. Even if that comfort zone is too small for your potential. We must walk through fear. I had long lived my life surrendering to it. Talking myself out of whatever goal, dream or experience that sparked my interest. I missed out on so much because of fear. Fear is the thief of joy! It will grab ahold of your stomach, your throat, your mind, and the very fiber of truth that you can feel within your spirit and snuff out your life flame. If you let it, fear will suffocate all opportunities that God lays out before you to become who he designed you to be! Isn’t that a more frightening though? I heard somewhere once, that on your death bed, it is not the moments of safety and caution that will haunt you. It will be your spirits of potential. I see it this way: Your God given talents and gifts left untapped will stand by your bedside. Angry that you never breathed life into them. And as fear holds the pillow tightly to your face, those gifts will fade, one at a time. Until there is only you and fear fading into black. When you awaken with God standing by your side, he will show you who you could have been. Why he created you precisely as you were, and how you were meant to change the world. Paints a dramatic scene I know. Wouldn’t it be so much better to live, without fear dictating your moves. To try and know, good or bad, that something was meant for you or not. You might get a few more bumps and bruises along the way. But with that you will dive so much deeper into your purpose. You will get to experience so much more of your potential. To know yourself more. To expand who you thought you were and what you thought you were capable of. You get to surprise yourself! Wow, what a gift to excavate the divine connection to your true self!

I never thought of myself as a passionate person. I always danced from career to career, seeking fulfilment. I always liked what I was doing, and often did it for long periods of time. But I never felt particularly passionate about any of it. When I would hear of people who were doing something they were passionate about, they would speak of lost time and would spend hours upon hours pursuing, working, and talking about their passions. I never understood. I mean, I spend nearly 16 years in the dental field and was always happy to leave the office, where the day would promptly leave my conscious. I had experienced moments of fleeting time while creating a painting or wasting time on TikTok. But never on something I’d considered turning into a means of income. My eclectic resume left me thinking I was just one of those aimless wonderers. Was I going to always bounce around feeling halfway into settling and halfway into what’s next? Ugh, the thought wears me out even now. I spent days researching how to turn my art into a legitimate business and then spent days creating Lee Evanfall, my online store where I can now sell my own art and clothing. My first taste of passion. Being able to create a place others could purchase and experience my art was step one. I helped Jorden and Hope create their business, Candy Mountain Co. And enjoyed helping them as much as I enjoyed creating my own website. Then, came the thought; there being even more to this! If I could spend my free time creating something that I was proud of and help others to do the same, wow! The ideas of intentional living and co-creating my own life were planted. Time to water the seeds.

I was still working remotely in the mortgage industry when another thought occurred to me. I could take my job elsewhere! I could spend money on experiences as opposed to stuff and it could go a lot further! That began the research as to where in the world the place was to try that out. Safety was priority one. The cost. Then of course which experiences and climate were on the list. Bali, Indonesia checked all the boxes. The initial hesitation was distance. Literally, Bali is just about as far away as one can go from Colorado. However, nothing else could compare. I decided that was the place. Next steps were to tell everyone of my decision. Will full enthusiasm and vibrant belief in myself, I told my team! They were just as excited for me. Relief. The bubble only burst when I decided to tell the branch of my decision. For some reason, the idea that corporate wouldn’t be so keen on an employee being so far away never even dawned on me. There’s apparently rules on these things. Bummer. I was left with the decision to stay and slowly sink into the same routine I had just been inspired to escape or go anyway. I was tormented with this decision. Luckily, God aligns you with what is meant to be.

The very next week I was trying to get up the cojones to quit my comfortable, well-paying position -- to follow the sometimes no-so-obvious divine intervention on my life. And something wonderful happened. I was laid off. GASP! I know, how could that possibly have been a blessing? Well, I couldn’t fathom NOT going. I would have had to quit anyway. This little timely, and well delivered news was further confirmation. During covid, the mortgage industry thrived! If you didn’t refinance, man..you missed out. However, when everything calmed down and reopened, interest rates began to climb quickly. No one predicted the spike. We knew refinance business was on the outs but sheesh, our industry was getting rough. So, after a nationwide conference with the bigwigs, the branch managers had to hand down the decision to let go of multiple support rolls. I was both assisting the loan officers and was a producing officer myself. Though, most of my income was made through my hourly and bonuses generated form assisting. So, I was a few months away (if that) from loosing my job whether I had stayed or not.

This newfound freedom forced a surprisingly refreshing look at this opportunity. The seeds of intentional living and co-creating life began to push toward the surface and grow. I now knew what intentional living felt like. It was scary, I was uncertain at first. But I knew that this unclear, grown over path was the way forward. Two main fears appeared with intentional living: 1: I had to take responsibility for my own happiness (ahem, which you are responsible for at all times, regardless. If you didn’t already know) and 2: Am I capable and worthy of creating the life I envision? One way to find out.

If you know me in the least, free time is not to be wasted! Thus, The Joyage was quickly born. With the statement “There has to be more” in mind we (Jorden and I) began documenting the process of moving abroad and working through the fear of making big decisions. The name “The Joyage” came to me during that time when you are falling asleep, and thoughts begin to blur between logical and abstract. I heard it audibly in my thought. I knew immediately that was the name. It resonated perfectly with our idea: that life should be a voyage of joy! I have named all my previous businesses. That is the one thing I’m not sure I can take credit for. I meditate and pray on it and suddenly, it appears when I least expect it. Every time.

As we set out on our first stop, Bali, Indonesia this purpose is singing louder and more clearly in my spirit. I intend on living intentionally. Meaning, I will make choices in my life that align with both my vision and my purpose. I will be adaptable and open to guidance from source. I will participate in every day to co-create the life that I want to be living. I will show up on purpose in every moment to learn and get closer to my higher self. I aim to discover all my God given gifts. I will seek opportunities to help others along the way. It is important to me that The Joyage become a place to inspire you to start taking steps to create your own voyage of joy, too! I really hope our channel will become the motivation and community of support to help you walk through any excuse or train of thought that holds you back!