Destination Tree

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Home » Perfect is Overrated. A Little Crazy is Inspiring.

Perfect is Overrated. A Little Crazy is Inspiring.

by

This is the story of why we left behind our ‘perfect’ life in pursuit of an ‘imperfect’ future. A real-life “Choose Your Own Adventure”.

Sometimes in life, we chart a path and we set goals and then we never stop to see if we’re still going in the direction we want. But it can be hard to stop and re-evaluate. It can be hard to change.

Ah, change. We let ourselves believe that change is difficult. We get comfortable. In our routines, and our jobs and in the security we think we’ve built. Or, we allow ourselves to fall into the Busy-Trap. Busy with schedules. Busy with chores. Busy, busy, busy.

I’m setting up a scenario here that’s a good description of my own life. Go to school. Get a job. Get married. Build a career. Buy a house. Buy stuff. Be busy all the time. Those aren’t BAD things. I’m glad I did all those things. I WANTED to do all those things, and they made me very happy. It was very much a ‘perfect’ life.

But Matt and I reached a point where we started asking ourselves some thought provoking questions. What did our future look like? How were we spending our time? Were we doing things we were truly passionate about? Up until this point, we had been extremely satisfied with our trajectory, but after doing some soul searching we chose to outline a new plan.

First of all, we wanted to downsize. Our beautiful home and all of our belongings were more than what we needed. We also wanted to build our business full time. Matt was already on this course, but I knew I wanted to do more than part-time night and weekend marketing support. And lastly, we wanted to travel more. Call it wanderlust, but we crave new places and new adventures.

And so it began:
Outline a plan: Check.
Set a budget: Check.
Sell the house and 98% of our stuff: Check.
Research and buy an RV (big enough to fit a 6’6” man!): Check.
Quit my job (fear & guilt abundant): Check.
Hit the road: Check.

615
Part of the plan…good-bye house. Hello freedom on the road.

Think about it this way. Typically, you read a book from front to back. Page by page, chapter by chapter. But remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? The ones where every few pages you’re faced with a choice and you flip to the continuation of your story based on that decision? And you can take that story in any number of different directions because YOU CHOOSE what happens next?

Well, we’ve been moving forward in our book of life but we didn’t want to get to the end of the book and have regrets. So, we changed our genre to a Choose Your Own Adventure book. We stopped, gave ourselves some choices, and are steering the direction of our story. A new journey, a different destination.

So, our next adventure is two-fold.

  1. Build our online business: Destination Tree. We are passionate about the purpose and fulfilled in the process of creating inspirational driftwood artwork.
  2. Travel the US. Yup, a good ole’ fashioned road trip. We know we’ve seen a fraction of the natural beauty our country has to offer and so we’re taking a year to go coast to coast and national park to national park. And of course there will be some brewery and winery stops in between (we have to stay hydrated!).
Our "Horse & Wagon"
Our home, our workshop, our ticket to adventures across the country.

The two pieces of our adventure go hand in hand. Our mission with Destination Tree is to inspire each other to enjoy and appreciate life’s events, challenges and destinations. What better way to inspire ourselves (and hopefully others!) than to go on an adventure like this?

So, are you ready to quit your job and hit the road? No? Good. That’s not our intention (and that’s NOT choosing your OWN adventure!). Everyone is inspired by different experiences. Yet, we must all strive to live our life without regrets. So, choose your own adventure and don’t be afraid to change the course, or do things “now” instead of “one day”. Because “one day” may never come. Don’t regret the things you didn’t do, the things you didn’t say and the risks you didn’t take.

We are grateful and eager to embark on a journey of adventure and entrepreneurship. We’re not perfect. We might be a little crazy. But we hope as we share our journey via blog posts that you find some inspiration in our story.

Matt and Kristin Rogers...ready to leave a perfect life for an imperfect future.
Matt and Kristin Rogers…ready to leave a perfect life for an imperfect future.

I’ll leave you with a quote I find inspirational: “If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.” – David Viscott

Now, go choose your own adventure!

Live life inspired,
Kristin
(& Matt, my better half, & our two crazy pups, Dobie & Lucy)

Comments

  1. Stubs says

    I am proud of the inspiration you two are bringing to those who are following you and those who will follow in the future. Also I am proud knowing that you are inspiring all those that you are meeting on your adventure. We are very happy to be a part of your adventure!
    Love you guys! :o)

    • Kristin says

      Thank you so much! We’ve grown so much on this journey and are proud to share our story and hopefully inspire others along the way!

  4. Trent Schulz says

    Wow! I can’t wait to keep following you guys and see what’s next. And congrats on going full time Destination Tree, Kristin! You guys are awesome!

    • Kristin says

      Thank you, Trent! It was a big step to go full time, but we are excited. Cheers to you and Frekol! We love how you’re following your dream too and helping others share their passions and talents. We think you’re awesome too 🙂

  5. Woody says

    Best post I have read in a long time. Hope you find your wanderlust on this new wonderful adventure.

    – Woody

    • Kristin says

      That’s a wonderful compliment, thank you, Woody! We’re off to a great start, and I’m optimistic this will an incredible adventure.

  6. Laura Wright says

    INSPIRED! Thanks for taking risks and sharing your story with the world. So proud of you crazy kids:). Enjoy every minute!

    • Kristin says

      Thank you, Laura!!! You helped shape me into who I am today and I’m grateful we traveled part of our journey together. We will absolutely cherish every moment of this adventure. We’re in Indian Lake, NY right now, and I do believe we need to circle up to Indian River, MI and coordinate a meetup with you guys!! 🙂

  7. Alex Mazey-Pfister says

    I am so excited to her about your journey! Congratulations to you both for learning what really matters and following your dreams!

  8. Wendi Fournier says

    I am so proud of you both and look forward to following your travels. Life is a journey, not a destination…leave it to me to work in a song lyric! Enjoy your new chapter my friend…make it a good one!

    • Kristin says

      Thank you so much, Wendi! I’m proud of you as well…following your dreams is an easy thing to say and a harder thing to do, and I love that you’re doing it as well. Cheers, my friend!

  10. Katie says

    Beautifully written!! So proud of you guys for creating your own adventure! Can’t wait to hear about your amazing experiences!

  11. Janayè says

    Congratulations! I’m happy for you two and proud of you both! Safe travels! Keep in touch bro!

    • Kristin says

      Ha! Thanks, Dan! We are fortunate we have such good friends (YOU AND KATIE!) who made sure we had adequate hydration to start our journey 🙂 Cheers!

  13. Tammy Luhta says

    Congratulations on your new adventure … how very exciting … wishing you all the very best !!!

  14. Scott Rendall says

    That is awesome, Kristin and Matt! But then you guys and Destination Tree are awesome, so I’m not all that surprised! 🙂 Can’t wait to meet up with you again. In the meantime I’m just gonna live vicariously through you and your travels.

    • Kristin says

      Thank you, Scott!! You’ve been so supportive and we appreciate it so much! Heck yeah, come along and meet us somewhere along the way too!

  16. Christine says

    Great post! Follow your dreams, believe God will make your path and take the leap! Cheers to you and Matt on your adventure!!!!

    • Kristin says

      Thank you so much, Christine! As we take this leap, it’s encouragement like yours that helps boost our confidence!

  17. Lindsay says

    Congrats to you! We have had the best adventures in our RV and live the freedom of life on the road. Enjoy and Best Wishes!

    • Kristin says

      Thank you, Lindsay!! If you have any tips or advice for RV’ing we are open ears! Appreciate the support and wishes!

About Us

At Destination Tree we create handcrafted driftwood signs, collages and centerpieces. Each piece of artwork is completely unique and inspired by your story.

Our Mission

To create handcrafted, meaningful artwork that helps tell the story of your journey, one destination at a time.

Connect With Us

PO Box 156, Petoskey, MI 49770
info@destinationtree.com