Have you ever heard of a digital nomad? What about the location independent lifestyle? In a nutshell, this means, you have the ability to live and work anywhere in the world you choose. You are not tied to any single location. Or even single country. You are truly free.
In the past, the only people who were able to live and work anywhere were authors. And maybe artists, and a very few other jobs. But all that has changed.
With the dawn of the internet and digital communications, this lifestyle is available to more and more people. And many people are taking advantage of it. But, there are even more, who don’t think it is possible. Even when it is.
Does the thought of waking up on a romantic beach in the Caribbean excite you? Or is being able to work in Paris one day and Argentina the next is what gets you going? If so, you need to consider the possibility.
You need to evaluate your current job. It may be possible for you to embrace the digital lifestyle. And you may not even know it.
The first thing to do is sit down in a quiet place with a pen and paper. And write down everything that you do on a day to day basis. Be specific. Write down every little thing that you do every day. Once you have cranked out that list, think about the things you don’t do every day, but you do, once in a while. And write those down as well.
At this point, its not important whether you can do these remotely or not. Just write them down.
The next step is to look at each item in the list and answer one question. “Do you need to be standing in front of another person to get this done”? Put all the no answers to one side. Put all the yes answers on the other side. You will visit those ones first.
For each item in this list, you need to ask yourself 2 more questions.
- “Can I delegate this job to someone else, or remove it from my responsibilities”?
- “Does this interaction need to happen in my home town and on a regular basis”?
If you answer yes to any of question 1, or no to any of question 2, put them in the other pile.
Unfortunately, if any of your answers to question 1 is no, or question 2 is yes, your job is probably not suited to location independence. Obviously if you are a sales clerk, or in any position that needs to deal with the public on a day to day basis, you have to make a choice. Do you want this job? Or do you want the freedom to live and work anywhere. The 2 are not compatible.
The good news is there are many opportunities for you to step outside your current job. But only if you want it bad enough.
If all of your answers are in the first pile, you are well on your way to embracing the digital nomad lifestyle.
You have to go through each item in this list and decide how each item can be done remotely. With today’s technology, meetings can be held online using teleconferencing. If you talk on the phone to all of your clients anyway, a US phone number can be carried with you anywhere in the world through VOIP. Files can be stored on a central server and accessed from anywhere.
Maybe you only need to visit the office in person once every few months. This can be done.
In addition, who is to say that you need to be the actual person doing the work? Virtual assistants and outsourcing companies can take much of the load off your back. Especially those jobs that you don’t like to do.
Many outsourcing companies only cost a couple of bucks per hour, so it pays to have them do much of your work.
The final step is selling the plan. If you own your own business, this is easy. You just need to tell yourself to go for it.
If you work for someone else, it’s not quite as straight forward. But it is possible, and there are people all over the world doing it. You just have to figure out a way to sell it to your company.
As new technology comes out every day, the digital nomad lifestyle is getting more available. This “dream” is coming true for more and more people. It just takes an honest appraisal of your situation, and some creativity to get it done. The most important thing is a strong determination that nothing is going to stop you.
Take a few minutes right now and evaluate exactly what it is you need to do. Determine if it means changing how you do your job. Or doing a different job.
If this is something that you desire, make the decision and make sure nothing gets in your way.
The internet has made it easier than ever before to embrace the location independent, digital nomad lifestyle. The opportunity exists for almost everyone. And many of you won’t even have to leave your current job or business to do it.
Glen Kowalski is a digital nomad [http://www.ultimateoffshoreliving.com] who travels between Panama, the US, Canada and where ever else he wants to roam. Through his book “How to Live Abroad – The Ultimate Offshore Living Program”, his company Freedom Offshore, and his other writing, he helps empower others to live overseas, gain freedom and privacy, open offshore bank accounts and become sovereign.
