Introducing the MOVE System for Living Abroad

By Simon Payn, 23 May 2005

Let me tell you one thing I believe: we’re living at a time of unprecedented opportunity.

Never before has it been more possible to start a new life in another country.

If you read my predictions for 2006, you’ll remember that I said there would be a bonanza of jobs and opportunities – for people with the right skills.

To reiterate: there are two ways in which having the right skills is important.

1) Many countries that normally require work permits are going some way towards relaxing the rules for people who have skills that are in demand.

2) For other countries, never has it been more possible to make your own opportunities by giving yourself skills and tools that will allow you to earn money and live a life that is independent of where you come from, who employs you or what work you have done in the past.

This second point is so incredibly important that I will explain it further.

Thanks to a combination of modern technology, never-before-seen wealth, cheap travel and communications, opportunities are available that just 10 years ago would be been inconceivable.

Just think. This is what people are doing right now:

— they can carry on working for their same company but thousands of miles away from the head office thanks to the Internet and email. Distance has to some extent and for some jobs become irrelevant. People right now are taking this opportunity to move countries and keep working for their employer back home.

— entrepreneurship has been transformed. No longer do you need massive capital or a big bank loan to start a business. Thousands of people around the world are starting businesses on a shoestring – and making them work. And, thanks again to the Internet, that business does not need an office and staff and big, expensive clunky pieces of equipment that tie you down to a particular location.

You are freer than ever to create your own life – wherever you want.

So that got me thinking.

What precisely are the skills that you require to seize this amazing opportunity?

And how can I help people gain these skills?

So to make it easier, I developed a way to help put people on the road to a wonderful life anywhere in the world – a life they are in control of.

The system is called, appropriately enough, MOVE.

This stands for:

• Mindset
• Opportunity
• Venture
• Execution

Each step in the system is vital – and I will be writing about all in later articles.

But in brief:

Mindset: You need to lose some old, destructive ways of thinking. Stop being afraid, start being positive and realise you are in control of your life and 100% responsible for what happens to you. This is the first step, and without it, you won’t be ready for steps 2, 3 and 4. There are ways to change your mindset, if you will take the time to work on them.

Opportunity: Building a successful life for yourself is about creating your own opportunities. You realise that no-one is going to create opportunities for you – you have to do it yourself. You have to research your destination, your options for making enough money to survive, and what you need to learn and do in order to give you the skills you need. When you have these useful skills, you will be able to put yourself in the best position to take advantage of any opportunities to live abroad.

Venture: Everyone, to some extent, is an entrepreneur. This isn’t about being the next Richard Branson or Steve Jobs, but it’s about seeing your own life as if you are a one-person business. It’s about stepping up to the plate and selling yourself as the best person to do a job, or it’s about seizing an opportunity when it presents itself. It’s about striking out and going where you’re perhaps afraid to go; about going outside your comfort zone. For it’s in new places (both physical and mental) that the best opportunities lie.

Execution: Finally, there’s no point in thinking and planning and dreaming without taking action. Many people get ready but never do anything. If you’re going to create this wonderful life, you need to get out there and do it. And to do it well, you need to know about the practical steps that will help ensure success: everything from learning a language to managing your finances to settling in to life abroad happily.