That can happen. You're living in your own country. You're working like hell. But you keep on struggling. Nothing changes. No big money.

What can you do? Stay where you are and keep on working? Sure. You can. And with it you'll get real frustrated. You won't live long.

Is there an alternative? You bet there is.

Go to another country. And there start all over again. Get your life in order there.

I know. That's difficult. It's difficult to decide to leave you own country and go to another country. You're scared to go away.

You seriously think about going to another country. And then you come up with a lot of reasons why you can't do that. Why you have to stay.

You're thinking about your family, about the house you bought, or maybe about the car you have. Must you leave that all behind?

And then what's going to happen to you when you are in that other country? Can you live there or must you be afraid of gangster and other criminals?

And then there is your job. You're very much frustrated. But you've got such a good job. You've been in that job for many years.

Don't think. Just go away. Of course you find a lot of reasons why you can't go away. That's a human nature. But there is no reason for staying.

Think about it. There is only one good reason. And that reason tells you to go away. You are fed up. You're frustrated. You want to change that.

Is it difficult to go away? Do you need a lot of money to go away? Must you make a lot of preparations to go away? No, no, no.

It's not difficult to go away. Just step on a plane and fly to that other country. You arrive in that other country and have a look around.

Do you need a lot of money? That depends on the country you pick. But in most countries you come a long way with $ 300.

How long do you want to stay in that country? Six months? So for staying there six months you only need $ 1, 800. That's not much.

What preparations? Your house will not run away. Your car stays there. What is there to prepare? Insurances? Forget about them.

The only thing you must do is decide to what country you want to go. This is an advice I can give to you. Find a country different from your country.

Suppose you're living in the West. Then go to a developing country. That's what you can do still at home. Find a good country.

Find a good developing country where you can find a decent job. And where the standard of living is good. Go to that country.

Have a plan. You go to that country. At first you look around. You plan to stay there maybe six months. Go back to your own country after six months.

In your own country you can find a temporary job. There you can make some money. When you've got enough money then go again to that country.

Look further in that country. See what you can do. See whether you can find a job. See whether you can make a living there.

You have got a job in your own country. You've got a talent. Use that job, use that talent. And find a way to use it in that other country.

Believe me. That's all that it takes. Go to that other country. Find a job there. You will find a job there. And stay there.

Be happy in that other country. Don't make the same mistakes you made in your own country. In that other country you know how to avoid them.

This guy went to another country. And he's doing very well. He's doing even better than in his own country. Much better.

I was living in Holland. I had a job I didn't like. I didn't really make big money. I was looking for another job.

I know a lot about AutoCAD. I'm very good at programming in AutoLISP. I was looking for a job where I could use that talent.

But in Holland I couldn't find such a job. Maybe I was looking hard enough. Maybe I should have been more aggressive in my job search.

Anyway. I had enough of Holland. I stepped on the4 plane and I flew to the Far East. I was in Indonesia, in Thailand, and now I'm in Malaysia.

I live in Kuala Lumpur. I married a very sweet lady. I Bought an apartment here. I bought a new car. I've got a job as an AutoLISP programmer.

Now my life is much better then my life as it was in Holland. Now I do what I always wanted to do. Now I have the job I like to have.

Sure. The pay here is much lower than in Holland. Here I get maybe a third of what I would get in Holland. But who cares.

It's all about what you can do with the money you get. That's a lot more than in Holland with the money I get there.

In Holland how much interest do you pay on a mortgage? Is it eight percent? Is it even more? Here you only pay an interest of four percent.

I bought a car. I pay the car in installments. How much interest do you think I pay? You think 15%? Or more? No. Here you only pay 4. 25%.

And then the price of a car here. I bought a new car for less than $ 14, 000. The same car would cost at least $ 30, 000 in Holland.

OK. I must be honest. There is a disadvantage to working in Malaysia. In Holland they talk about working 36 hours a week.

Here they are working five and a half days a week. Here they work 45 hours a week. But if you like the job you're doing then that's no big deal.

Yes sir. Go to another country if you don't like the way things are in your own country. Look around and find a place to stay.

As I went to South East Asia I wasn't thinking of going to Malaysia. I was only thinking of going to a developing country.

In a developing country you can do a lot with your money from the West. But then you also want to make a living there.

I looked around and decided for Malaysia. Malaysia is the best country around here. And I started working with AutoCAD.

I think I came to the right country. Here they don't know too much about AutoCAD. So I can do a lot for companies here.

I think you can do the same. Step on a plane and fly away to another country if you don't like your own country no more.

Have a talent and use that talent. Start working with your talent and then find a job. Make plans and get started. Get a better life.

About the Author:
Jos van Doorn is an AutoCAD specialist, AutoLISP programmer and ACAD newsletter publisher. The newsletter is for people who want to learn more about AutoCAD and AutoLISP. It's FREE. To subscribe: mailto: acadnewsletter-subscribe@topica.com