The Pivot – From First Responder to Lifestyle Designer
[seek⌁mas] 8 minute read ⌁ May 17, 2026
Playa La Ropa, Zihuatanejo
In December 2019, I visited Zihuatanejo for the first time - a sleepy fishing village in Guerrero, Mexico. I had only heard of it previously from the 1994 movie, The Shawshank Redemption.
The Ritual of Playa La Ropa
My morning doesn’t start with a ZOOM meeting or morning commute; it starts five minutes from the Pacific Ocean in a loft located in Playa La Ropa, Zihuatanejo, Mexico (pronounced zee·waa·tuh·nay·how). My routine is the foundation that keeps me grounded and present as I spend a few minutes of my life, living in a foreign country. It’s been nearly two years now that I’ve called this place my home.
A Different Kind of Alarm
My alarm clock is a four-legged local named Mustafa. He’s a Mexican street dog who has “adopted me” as the locals say, and right around 7:00 AM, he makes sure I know it’s time to get up as he lunges on to my bed and yawns tiredly above me.
The first few minutes upon waking are about recalibrating. I skip the phone and reach for the daily essentials:
Water (rehydration is non-negotiable). When you live in a loft with no AC, you wake up dehydrated, always.
Electrolytes (the fuel for what’s next). Lucky to have been able to bring 10+ tubes of NUUNs to support the daily sweat.
Black Coffee (the catalyst). From a french press to a simple moka pot this usually keeps me moving throughout the day.
Morning Steps to Reduce Cortisol Levels
Then, I’m out the door. I walk barefoot with my SHOKZ headphones (which allow me to hear the waves) as I listen to a podcast on my 5 minute commute to the beach. As I step onto the sand, my shirt comes off and I begin a three-quarter to a mile stroll along the shoreline before the midday heat kicks in. It’s a beautiful, quiet transition period. I pass the "regulars"—the locals and expats who move with a quiet purpose—while the first wave of tourists begins to filter into the sleepy fishing village.
It’s a global mosaic out here. You see the expected snowbirds from Canada and the U.S., but lately, there’s been a surprising influx of travelers from Asia, all drawn to this specific corner of the coast.
Car-less in Mexico? No Problema!
After the walk, it’s a quick rinse; wash the sand off my feet, shave, and shower, and I’m back out the door to catch the Combi across the street from my place.
In this part of the world, the local bus, or Combi is a Toyota HiAce—a boxy, blue-and-white striped workhorse with a massive "LA ROPA" decal plastered across the from windowshield. Seeing it always hits me with a wave of nostalgia; its silhouette is strikingly reminiscent of the white Chevy Astro Van my neighbor Mario had parked across the street when I was growing up. It’s loud, it’s iconic, and it’s the heartbeat of local transit. I pay my thirteen peso fare to Miguel, the driver, and hop into the back with a Buenos Días to the other passengers.
911, What’s Your Emergency?
As a first responder, every day is different and dynamic, you never know exactly what call you will be dispatched to: the great camel rescue of 2023 - full story here.
Emergency Tones as a Wake-Up Call
If my current alarm is a dog jumping on my bed, my previous one was the piercing, metallic scream of emergency tones, guaranteed to make your heart jump a few extra beats and take years off your life.
I’ve spent nearly a decade as a first responder, serving in multiple departments across California. It’s a career that has gifted me the greatest sense of purpose I’ve ever known, but it’s also a career that demands everything you have, and more.
The 96-Hour Grind
Picture this: It’s 4:00 AM. I’m currently at the tail end of a 96-hour stretch, having bounced between three different stations to cover shifts. The tones go off for another medical emergency, vibrating through the walls and into my bones.
At this point, the "First Responder Fog" is thick. It’s a hazy cocktail of chronic fatigue, mental exhaustion, and just enough caffeine to keep me awake. I loved the work, but I was hitting a wall. I didn't just need a vacation; I needed a fundamental shift in how I existed.
The Art of the Shift Trade
Despite the grueling hours, the fire service gave me a secret weapon: The Shift Trade. In our world, if you work a day for a coworker, they owe you one back. If you play your cards right and stack those trades, you can turn a standard schedule into weeks—or even months—of freedom. This "hack" became my gateway to the world. Using that system, my life looked like a highlight reel of global exploration:
Thailand: Two weeks weaving through Phuket on a motorbike and booking the most amazing stays for dollars.
Peru: A month-long bus tour traversing the country: Lima, Paracas, Huachachina, Nazca, Arequipa, Puno, and Cusco.
Indonesia: Two months of island hopping, living like a local rather than a tourist - booked entirely with Agoda and Klook.
The "Short" Trips: Countless 10-to-14-day stints in Japan, Spain, France, Costa Rica, Mexico, and many others.
Dreaming of Lifestyle Design
It was during one of those trips to Mexico that everything changed. I picked up a copy of The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss - a book that truly gave me perspective on travel and location freedom.
Sitting on a beach, soaking up the sun, I couldn't put it down. Two concepts burned themselves into my brain: Lifestyle Design and Global Arbitrage. I realized I didn't have to wait for a "retirement" that might never come or rely on shift trades to see the world. I could build a life where my work and my wanderlust weren't at odds—they were the same thing. BOOM!
Digital Nomad Life in Mexico
“Work" looks a lot different on your own terms, with the ability to work from home, the beach, or a café.
The Pulse of Centro & Building the Dream
I hop off the combi at the Mercado Municipal in Centro, the downtown hub of Zihuatanejo. This is where the idyllic beach town gives way to raw, unfiltered everyday life - a mixure of sounds, smells, and the local culture - blended together in a few blocks.
Fitness + Nutrition
I walk a block to my local gym. It’s on the second floor, completely devoid of AC, and overlooks the bustling street below. Between sets, I watch the carnicerias and local tiendas come to life. There’s a gritty authenticity to it—watching butchers haul massive sections of beef and pork from the back of a box truck on their backs, while I put in my own physical work above.
Post-workout, I hit the mercado to grab my weekly staples: tortillas, eggs, fresh chicken, fruits/vegetables, and locally ground coffee.
Therapy in Motion
Wandering past the local fishermen sorting their morning catch, I decide to skip the combi and take the 20-minute walk back to my loft. Walking has become my daily therapy out here—a dedicated window to throw on an audiobook, be a student of the world, and keep my mind sharp. Here’s a list of the books I’ve listened to or read countless times.
Life as a Digital Nomad
Once I'm back home, I open the laptop, and the "work" part of this lifestyle begins. Location freedom requires an engine to fund it. After grinding through a digital marketing certificate program from Google, I took those skills and optimized my own agency, Rise Above Media. Now, my days are spent building out campaigns and specifically targeting the clients I want to work with: big hospitality chains. I traded the emergency tones for mexican song birds and mid-day siestas.
The Pivot, the Change You NEED
Changing direction deliberately when things change. It means adapting to new challenges while staying true to your core values. Pivoting isn’t quitting; it’s growth, resilience, and realignment.
The Wind Down
Sunset is a few minutes away. I take my evening swim here in the Pacific and return to my book on the beach as the last rays of light hit the horizon. I’m currently reading the physcial book, A Prisoner in Paradise, a true story covering the life of Owen Lee, an adventurer who found his forbidden love here in Playa Las Gatas - really a must read if you’d like to know some history on Zihuatanejo. Life in Mexico is very different, and something I don't think I could have ever imagined.
A Place with No Memory
In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) tells Red (Morgan Freeman) that the Pacific Ocean has "no memory.” He envisions living in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, a warm, peaceful place where his traumatic, unjust prison life can be forgotten. It symbolizes his hope for a fresh start, free from his past - much like the transition my life has taken here.
The Mini-Retirement
I used to use travel as an escape from my job, but what happens when you no longer have to work for money, or for a life that others around you dream of their entire lives?
The takeaway: the mini-retirement, sabbatical, or long vacation allows you a chance to live the life you dreamed, but not having to wait until you're fully retired, frail, low energy, senile, etc. I will begin to share ideas on how you can make this reality.
What's Next
This blog will begin to explore topics around all things travel, health, and fitness-related while living every day as you choose on your own terms—fully optimized and alive. Check out my free guides - with paid guides coming soon!
Live bravely, love endlessly, and travel fearlessly. - Jorge
Full Transparency: in this blog, if you purchase anything through my links, I’ll earn a small comission at no extra cost to you - this allows me to continue sharing the value of my experiences for all to read, for free!
