How to Quit Your Job, Move to a Warm Tropical Country, and Change Your Life Simply by Washing Your Hair

Quit your job, say good bye to your friends and family for a year, move to another country and change your life for the better all by simply washing your hair.

Easy to say,right? Not so easy to do. I can imagine your answer right now.

“Quit my job? No, it’s impossible. I’ll never be able to afford it. I simply can’t quit my job. Say good bye? What about my mother? She’s old now and my friends and the rest of my family need me. And moving to another country? That’s a crazy idea. Change my life? Yeah, that would change my life alright! I’d lose everything and be out on the streets of Paris or Tokyo begging for money. No way! That’s a ridiculous idea. And what are you on about with this hair washing?”

Well, it’s fun to dream, isn’t it? But is it really just a dream? Let me tell you a story about how I changed my life by washing my hair.

Broken Dreams

When I finished my studies at university, I couldn’t get a job related to my field. I had to continue working as a home care worker. There’s nothing wrong with helping elderly and handicapped people in their homes and it’s usually a pleasant job; helping people to feel comfortable, keeping them out of nursing homes and seeing them smile. The problem was that it wasn’t my dream job. I wanted to teach and more specifically, teach English to adults.

It was impossible to quit my job. I simply couldn’t afford it. For the next 6 months I had nothing to do but go to work, pay bills and feel sorry for myself because I couldn’t realise my dream.

I really didn’t like the way things had turned out. Going to university was a mistake and a waste of time. The few joys I had, my family, my garden and a handful of kindly clients simply weren’t enough to boost my spirits. Depressed isn’t a strong enough word for how I was feeling about my life.

Then one day as I was driving to one of my client’s homes I heard a woman on the radio talking about positive thinking. Being in a completely unreceptive and cynical mood, I listened with a sceptical smirk on my face. I negated everything she was saying. “Yeah, Right!”, I yelled at the radio, “What’s there to be positive about?” I arrived at my client’s home and turned off the radio with an angry twist..

Mrs. Beattley, my client, suffered from an advanced stage of M.S. She was in a wheelchair and could do almost nothing for herself. My job with this particular client was to help her have a shower. She taught me just how valuable washing your hair can be.

Washing Your Hair?

Yes, strange but true. It’s all about washing your hair. or at least, your attitude towards your life when washing your hair.

That day, while I was giving Mrs. Beattley’s her shower, she asked if I would please let the water run over her hair for two minutes today instead of only one. She always insisted that I let the water run over her hair for exactly one minute. She had an egg timer in the bathroom expressly for this purpose.

When we were all finished and I had dressed her, I ventured to ask her why the two minute request. What she told me completely changed my life.

“I was wondering why you never questioned my request to let the water run over my hair for one minute exactly, so I thought I could prompt a discussion by asking for 2 minutes today. I love the feel of water running over my head. It is one of the only places on my body where I can actually feel anything other than pain. I’ve realised that I only need one minute a day of total pleasure to inspire me for the next 24 hours. Positive feelings generate more positive feelings. Unfortunately the same is true for negative feelings. You need to focus on the positive to keep the negative at bay. By focusing on one minute of positive energy, I can enjoy the rest of my day and live with the pain. That is my dream, and I realise my dream every day.”

I was impressed to say the least. Here was a woman who had pretty much nothing but pain in her body and her dream was simply to enjoy her day despite it. Washing your hair suddenly seemed so much more important than it had in the past. Well, I mistakenly thought, my dream is a lot different than hers. Then a little voice wormed its way into my head. It was the woman from the radio program talking about positive feelings. It said, “ The size and complexity of your dream is irrelevant. The strategy to realising your dreams is the same no matter how big, how small, how simple or how complex.”

Getting the Dream on the Road

I couldn’t remember the strategy, so I decided to use Mrs. Beattley’s idea. Setting an egg timer for three minutes,(I figured I had a bigger challenge!), I got into the shower and let the water run over my hair, focusing on positive feelings. There weren’t many positive feelings to focus on at the time so I chose a simple one, the water.

What I noticed was how good it felt, the soft sound it made, the soothing warmth oozing over my head. The timer rang. I did feel a bit better, I had to admit. But I was impatient. What about the dream? Hmm. Maybe it’ll come.

The next day Mrs. Beattley said, “You tried it, didn’t you? You’ve been washing your hair”. I was shocked. How could she know? “I can see it in your face”, she affirmed. “You don’t want to help people wash their hair for the rest of your life, do you?”, she asked. I agreed. She continued, “Your next step, Veronica, is to imagine yourself somewhere in your dream. Don’t chose the beginning, because it’s too close to now and you have no idea how to go from now to there. Just chose anywhere in the middle. Where will you be? What will you be eating? What’s the weather like? Simple things. Imagine it. It’s your dream after all so you must have a few ideas.”

Getting into the Groove

And that’s how I did it. The next day when I washed my hair, I imagined myself in a fairy-tale version of a warm tropical place, eating spicy food. I did this every day for a month. My hair was very clean. Soon, an idea started to grow. It started with the first obstacle.

How could I quit my job? Well, the easiest solution was to replace the money I earned with another source. Could I qualify for a bank loan? No, I couldn’t. Ok, no problem, let’s keep dreaming. Could I save enough in my impatient state? No, I couldn’t. OK, wait a minute, too many negatives coming on here! Time to was my hair.

Money….Well, I was going to get a job in the new country so that settled the living expenses. How to get there? I could save a little bit in six months, maybe half the airfare. I could sell my car before I left, tutor piano lessons on the side, ask for an extra hour or two at my job…hmm… It was all starting to gather momentum. It wasn’t a fixed plan, but it was worth further consideration and thought. There were ways to make a bit more money.

I continued this way for a month, only focusing on the number one issue, money. I soon had a plan and things were going well. Time to tackle issue number two. My friends and family, such a central part of my life.

Getting the Ego Out of the Way

How could I leave them. They needed me…Or wait a minute.. Was it the other way round?… I went to Mom’s for dinner one evening and watched how everyone was interacting. I took a back seat and realised that life without me wouldn’t really make much of a difference. They had each other. And I wouldn’t be gone forever.

OK, I realised, it was me who needed them. I wouldn’t really be missed. Once again, my huge ego was distorting the facts.

It made me think about my friends. I didn’t need to go to dinner with them to figure it out. It was easy enough to imagine. They didn’t NEED me either. You also have to remember that when this was happening, there was no internet, Face Book, messenger etc. The only contact I was going to have with family and friends at that time was phone calls filled with over-seas static and snail mail.

Not Wasting Away in Margaritaville

I listened to Mrs. Beattley’s advice, “ Keep washing your hair!” The next issue, was to get a job in the foreign country. I hadn’t even pick out a country yet! How could that be? I realised that I really didn’t care which country I moved to. In my hair-washing imaginings, I had been in a warm tropical place, so I figured I could start there. I got the old atlas from under the coffee table and started looking through it. Since money was a bit of an issue, I looked for countries that were close, (cheaper airfare) and had a low standard of living. I was in Canada so Japan was out for both reasons.

I started to make lists and my country-choices were all in South America because of proximity. The more I researched these places the more disappointed I became. The cost of living was very low but so was the pay for English teachers. I would never be able to sustain myself on an English teacher’s salary in South America. Back to the drawing board! Or should I say time to wash my hair again!

I expanded my search and discarded the proximity factor. After all the airfare would only be a one time expense. I discovered that many countries in Asia paid pretty well and also had a low cost of living. This worked well with my plan. Remember, I had no internet so I had to do all this research the old fashioned way. I went to my university and asked for information about schools in Asian countries. My professors had lots of suggestions and I went home to sort through my information.

Warm Tropical Country, Here I come

I found it! Jakarta, Indonesia. Average teacher’s salary, 1,500 US per month, average cost of living for a humble teacher, 500 US. Sounded too good to be true. Now how could I apply to places so very far away and get results quickly? My letters wouldn’t arrive for at least two weeks. They would probably sit on someone’s desk for another two weeks, and possibly, just possibly be answered and sent back in another two painful weeks. It could well be over 2 months before I even had a rejection letter! Never mind…, time to wash my hair.

You’ve probably realised by this point that what I was practising is often called mindfulness. I prefer to call it washing your hair.

More research at the university and some conversations with classmates in the pub revealed that there were hundreds of what, in the English teaching profession, we call ‘Cowboy Schools’. They’ll hire anyone who can speak English pretty much on the spot. They probably can’t and won’t do much about a work visa and the pay is lower than average, but still in the ‘keep-you-head-above-water’ range. Just go and show up. Oh my, that sounded far too risky for me. No, I would think of a better solution.

Oh Woe That Sinking Feeling

The next time I went to wash Mrs. Beattley’s hair she commented on my less than radiant face. I had taken her into my confidence some weeks ago and told her about my latest research. “What’s the problem with these so called Cowboy Schools”, she said.

Whining back at her, I asked, “But what if even they don’t hire me, what if they do hire me but I can’t get a work visa, what if…”

“Hold the phone!” She commanded, “Haven’t you been washing your hair? C’mon now! After we wash my hair, we’ll continue this conversation”.

We washed her hair and I concentrated on the warm water running through my hands. When we had finished she began what today I call, ‘Mrs. Beattley’s answer to everything’.

The Plan

What she told me next was so simple and clear and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of it myself. This is what she said:

Put aside your doubts and try to imagine being there. Let’s take it from the top. How long can you stay in Indonesia on a tourist visa?

“Only two-months”, I replied glumly.

She smiled and gave me my plan:

OK, the tentative plan is to take a holiday in Indonesia for 2 months. The long term plan is to live and work as an English teacher in Indonesia for one year. If you can only stay for two months as a tourist, then I’m pretty sure you have to have a return ticket. Book a ticket for a two month return with the option of extending the return part. Then book a 2 star hotel as close to the city centre as possible. Make sure the hotel has a phone that you can use.” (This would be today’s equivalent of saying, make sure they have internet. Mrs. Beattley had no idea of how much easier this would all be in 2018.)

Imagine the Dream

She organised my first few days with a simple wave of her wand!

Now, let’s imagine being there. Go to your hotel, check-in, shower, (don’t forget to wash your hair), eat and prepare yourself for exploring the neighbourhood. Ask the hotel staff where you can find a city map, transportation map and if they don’t have one, a phone book. Using your maps and phone book make several routes for searching out English schools. The next day, phone every English school in the phone book. You’ll surely end up with at least 3 interviews. Now, because you will have studied your maps, you’ll be able to intelligently agree to a time and date for the interviews.

Three possibilities exist here. One, you get hired at a school that is well established, pays well and takes care of visa requirements. That would solve everything, because you’ll then be able to sign a year’s contract, be legal and with luck extend your return ticket. The return ticket is the least of your worries right now, so don’t give it a second thought.

Scenario two is that you aren’t immediately hired by a reputable school, but you are hired at a cowboy school. Now you have an opportunity to earn some money, gain experience and continue applying to the reputable schools. You have less than two months, but the good news is that you’ll have got a foot in the door.

Scenario three, you don’t get hired anywhere. What’s the worst thing about this? You have to come home in 2 months. Is that really so bad? A trip to Indonesia for two months?

Quitting the Day Job

Well, I stopped washing Mrs. Beattley’s hair two weeks later. We had a heartfelt good-bye and she gently reminded me, “Never stop washing your hair”.

I took a flight to Jakarta, stayed in a 2 star hotel and found a job at a cowboy school within a week. While working for the cowboy school, (which by the way didn’t have the resources for getting me a work visa), I continued to apply and knock and knock again on the doors of the schools I really wanted to be employed by. The amount of advice and information I gathered just by being there was beyond valuable. It came from all sides; hotel staff, locals while grabbing a bite to eat, even the dreaded taxi-drivers had a nugget of information now and then. The teachers at the cowboy school took me under their wings and showered me with companionship and their accumulative knowledge about life in Jakarta.

I learned very quickly that I could buy a return ticket to Singapore, (before my tourist visa expired), and get another two-month extension. That immediately solved the time frame problem.

They also helped me to find a place to live. I rented a room in an Indonesian family’s house close to the school for much, much less than I was paying at the hotel. It was all falling into place, just as Mrs. Beattely had said it would.

The Dream Come True

I also learned which schools were considered ‘the best’ to work for. Within 6 weeks I was working part-time for the cowboy school and part-time for a reputable school. I was getting nervous about the tourist visa and decided to ask the director of the reputable school, who was more than generous, what my options were. He told me that he had seen enough of my teaching abilities to offer me a full-time contract. The school would send me to Singapore to obtain my work permit, with all the documents in place and all I needed to do was to show up at the immigration office, get a quick stamp and I’d be legal with a year-long contract.

Maintaining good relations with the people I had met at the cowboy school, director included, I said good-bye, and started my full-time job as a qualified English teacher with a reputable school in a warm tropical country.

The money was enough that I could kiss the return ticket good bye and extend my contract for another year. My friends and family didn’t miss me, they just wanted more mail. I sometimes missed them, but not for long because this was just too exciting. I’d see them again soon enough and they knew the same.

Since then I have lived and worked in Mexico, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland and Spain and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have met so many people and learned first hand about so many cultures. And that is how you can change your life by simply washing your hair.