In my experience as a digital nomad, I have become a very efficient traveler.
So here are my Top Five Tips for traveling while pursuing your nomadic career:
1. Do not Get Tied Down – Let's face facts: Having a nomadic career – in other words, having the ability to make money from anywhere – is easier if you do not have a lot of personal responsibilities. If you have a wife and children, it becomes more complicated to pull up stakes and head off into the wild world. Not impossible, mind you. Just more complicated.
It has less to do with age than it has to do with commitment. Someone who is older and unattached has more freedom than somebody fresh out of college who is married and who has a child on the way. When other people are depending on you for their livelihood, it limits your freedom.
2. Beware of Material Possessions – Things are nice. People like things. They like to own nice things, like houses, fancy cars, expensive clothes, jewelry and so on. But when you are pursuing the nomadic lifestyle, the more things you carry around with you, the less freedom you have.
When it comes to material possessions, the more things you own, the more those things own you, in my experience.
For example, if you have a nice car, you want to make sure you take care of it. You may take it to the car wash every week. You are extra careful when driving it on busy city streets so it does not get scratched or dented. You will not let people eat or smoke in your car so that it does not get stained or get smelly. After a while, you are no longer the car owner, but almost like an employee of that car. You are working for it, rather than the other way around.
For the nomad, the only possession you really need is liquid assets such as money or access to money. Everything else can be bought along the way.
3. Keep Moving – There's a whole world out there just waiting for you. Along the way, you will always discover beautiful new places and exciting experiences. Keep moving so that you can see as much and experience as much as possible within your limited time here on Earth.
A nomadic career can provide you with the means. It's going to be up to you to provide the ways.
4. Keep Your Mobile Devices Charged – This can be more complicated than it sounds, particularly if your travel takes you to some of the more remote regions of the world where a dependent power supply is not guaranteed.
My advice is to invest in a portable power supply that you can keep charged all the time. That way you can plug your smart phone, tablet or laptop in so that you never lose power – and connection – with the source of your nomadic income: The Internet.
5. Follow Your Happiness – The whole point of pursuing a nomadic career is to do the things you want to do and be in the places you want to be.
But happiness is not a destination or an activity. It's a state of mind. Follow the paths that make you the happiest and avoid those that cause you anxiety and frustration. Simple advice that almost nobody follows. Exception nomadic warriors like you, that is.
Recommended Resources:
- The Family Freedom Project
- TheMinimalist.net
- ALLPOWERS ™ Portable Solar Charger
- The Zen Habit Happiness Guide