I love the coding aspect. I love using my brain, solving problems, working with intelligent people. I can't handle sitting inside for 50 hours a week, and I can't handle business politics and nonsense.
So I quit my Software Engineering job and took 2 years to drive from Alaska to Argentina, having the time of my life. [1]
Then I worked for a bit again to save money, and quit again and just got back from 3 years driving all the way around Africa. [2]
I've decided I want to be a travel writer and photographer, because it makes me happy. I have way less money, but I'm happier than I've ever been. I have written a couple of books about my adventures, and I write for a slew of magazines now too.
Do what makes you happy.
[1] The Road Chose Me Volume 1 - https://amzn.to/2wkxceX
[2] 999 Days Around Africa - https://amzn.to/2H93IUH
I'm about to hit publish on a photo coffee-table book from my three years around Africa, and I'll write an Africa guide book and The Road Chose Me Vol 2 in the next 12-18 months.
* The Road Chose Me Volume 1: Two years and 40,000 miles from Alaksa to Argentina (https://amzn.to/2vfCYvn)
Stories and lessons from two years driving my Jeep Wrangler down the Pan-American Highway
* Work Less to Live Your Dreams: A practical guide to saving money and living your dreams (https://amzn.to/2OD6UtA)
An eBook about how exactly I can afford to take years off work to do what I want and live my dreams.
* West Africa Myths, Misconceptions and Misnomers (https://amzn.to/2veyQMt)
After driving the length of the continent, I collected a bunch of information that is extremely helpful to anyone else thinking of doing similar. The vast majority of the Western Worlds "knowledge" of West Africa is so out of date it's useless. My book is from info I learned during my drip from mid 2016 to late 2017, so it's relevant
I just published my first print book [1] with Amazon CreateSpace.
I learned a heck of a lot technically - I wrote it in LaTeX for ultimate formatting control, then ran it through PanDoc and a bunch of my own scripts to massage the epub how I wanted.
CreateSpace make it extremely simple, in all honesty anyone that has used facebook has enough computer skill to publish their own book.
I also learned a massive amount about writing, editing and so forth. Each new draft I kept saying it was "almost done", then would spend months re-writing entire chapters and paragraphs. Along the journey I read many fantastic books about how to write, and how to make my stories more engaging.
It was an extremely rewarding process. The first time you get a draft copy in your own hands is fantastic - it's staggering and the only thing you can say is "holy sh, it's a real book!" Haha.
I'm already working on my next books, and I plan to write for the rest of my life.
[1] The Road Chose Me Volume 1: Two years and 40,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina - https://amzn.to/2vo3S3G
Then I worked for a bit again to save money, and quit again and just got back this year from 3 years driving all the way around Africa. [2]
The people I met, the places I saw and the lessons I learned will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I personally love the life.
I've decided I want to be a travel writer and photographer, because it makes me happy. I have way less money, but I'm happier than I've ever been. I have written a couple of books about my adventures, and I write for a slew of magazines now too.
Do what makes you happy.
[1] The Road Chose Me Volume 1 - https://amzn.to/2wkxceX
[2] 999 Days Around Africa - https://amzn.to/2H93IUH