This is a story about an international couple raising and home educating three young boys on a small island in Japan, half living in buses, engaged in organic, self-sufficient farming in the middle of a mountain forest while dealing with climate, cultural, and personal challenges. These pages are about pretty much anything and everything all guided by our family motto, Taking Chances, Making Changes, Being Happy. Thank you very much for joining us on our ongoing crazy adventure.

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How to be Happy in this Crazy World

I am not a therapist, psychologist, philosopher, or motivational speaker. I am simply someone who has been through a lot of good and bad times and has learned much along the way. For me at least, happiness depends on three things. Without them existence can become pretty dull and boring and that's not the way things need to be. If you are miserable and feel like you cannot find a way out, realize that you are in control of your destiny....at least to some extent. Sure shit happens and you might get knocked back a few times, but you need to pick yourself up and keep going. Ah....back to the three things.
 
Three Things 4 Happiness
 
1. Taking Chances - Nothing is more important than this first step. How many times did you want to change something about your situation? A new house, a better job, a nicer girlfriend (boyfriend)....hehe. Changes cannot happen without making the choice to take a chance. For us this meant me giving up a successful real estate appraisal business and retiring at 40 years old, returning to college to study Japanese, getting married, creating kids, and living in a foreign country.

2. Making Changes - All right then, you decided to take a chance....now what? Well now you need to make changes to implement your new decision. This is the time consuming part. Changes can take place over a matter of days, weeks, months, or even years depending on the new road you're now traveling. This was the tough part for us including 4 moves in 10 years, 3 of which were international, buying, repairing, and selling, multiple properties, and simplifying all aspects of our situation.

3. Being Happy - This is the most difficult to achieve or to even realize. Many people do what's known as satisficing, ie. settling for less than what you really want. This generally doesn't translate into happiness. You made the decision to take a chance, you made a lot of changes, and now it's up to you to turn all of this into happiness. We are constantly finding new ways to make the most of every day, living simply, staying positive, and enjoying being together.

For many years I took many chances, made a lot of changes, and found ways to be happy. From changing professions and moving abroad, to achieving basic self-sufficiency and leading a healthy lifestyle. I learned many things, and continue to learn, from people I meet along the way.

Happiness is not merely a state of mind, it's a way of life.