Who doesn’t dream of spending their retirement on a Caribbean island? While it’s not the most expensive island in the world, it does take an adequate amount of money to live comfortably on any island if one is not going to work.

So how do you go about making that happen? Well you could play the lottery and hope that you purchased the winning ticket. You could toss some money in the stock marketing hoping the economy would change. You could buy a tiny house and live life differently, placing your money in various retirement accounts for safe keeping. Most of the options require you to have money to begin with, or at least a stream of it coming in. Many people that retire early in life got lucky somehow. Writers, movie makers, or business owners.

A Beach Less Traveled is a bit different story than what I am used to hearing when I hear of people moving to another country. I have to say I was completely captivated by it.

John Berglund and his wife Cyndi decided to leave the corporate rat race behind and follow their dreams.

And, they succeeded.

In perfume.

See what I mean about being a different kind of story?

Flip through a few issues of Entrepreneur magazine and the one thing you won’t see are a lot of people following the dream of perfume. But John did. This memoir is a detailed account of how he made that happen. He and his family were not overnight successes. They shared laughter and tears.  My favorite was Chapter 18 in which he speaks of “Repairs and Maintencance in a Third-World Paradise.” While NatGeo might show us what faraway destinations look like, and the Food Network will show us what people around the world might eat, none of that can prepare you for what it is like to move to a foreign country, no matter how beautiful. The sections of the chapter: Cistern Repair, Car Repair, Property Maintenance, Telephone Repair, and Snake in the Hold gave a first hand account of what it’s really like trying to make life work out of your comfort zone.

In the end, when they became successful, they did something else many do not.

They funded a church.

I adore stories where people become successful and give back.

I highly recommend anyone wanting motivation or inspiration. Where ever you are, no matter the stage in life or your career, this book can certainly show you another side.

The remarkable story of a happily married couple who abandoned the corporate rat race to open a perfumery and create their own custom lines of fragrances in the French Caribbean

What originated in a family vacation on the beach eventually became an unlikely but thriving business–a perfumery on the French-Dutch island of Saint Martin. Though he chose a career in law, John Berglund’s passion lay in the chemistry sets of his youth and his lifelong fascination with perfume. Berglund eventually built a full-fledged lab in the basement of his home in Atlanta, where he spent countless hours of free time experimenting with new concoctions. He began to dream of opening a perfumery in a tranquil island paradise and ultimately set out to make it happen–no matter what.

Berglund’s account of his Caribbean adventure is a fun-filled, factual tale of conflicts, contrasts, and celebrations. As he and his wife, Cyndi, embed themselves in the eccentric French-side community of Grand Case, they learn incredible lessons about business, success, and themselves. Their story may just inspire others, too, to follow in their footsteps, trading business casual attire for a pair of shorts and flip-flops.

 Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from  as part of a writers review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”