After we left our friends in Seminyak after a couple days, Emily and I took off on our own for a genuine escape—a proper holiday away from the traffic, the crowds, away from the laptop and the wifi connections (for the most part)…

If you go to Bali, then the small village of Ubud is the place to be if you want to find amazing landscapes, quiet oases, fascinating arts and crafts (like the impressive batik wax-dyed fabrics we watched in the making, shown below), raw and vegetarian food, spas, and yoga retreats. They say Ubud is sort of the spiritual center of the Island of the Gods.

The last time I was in Ubud about two years ago, I enjoyed the attractive Teba House homestay, especially at the height of the Hindu Kuningan Day festival when the streets are just paved with special decorations, everyone gathers in the streets in traditional clothing, children are in the streets parading, playing music…

But this time we wanted something a bit more remote, quiet, and luxurious. I happened across a new boutique retreat through my friend Amber, the Soulshine Bali villas and retreat, which is nestled between the breathtaking rice field terraces on the outskirts of Ubud and the Agung river.

Surprisingly enough, I learned this amazing getaway was Spearhead frontman Michael Franti‘s place, founded and designed absolutely beautifully along with Carla Swanson. Soulshine is designed mainly for week-long yoga retreats, but we managed to squeeze in a regular booking between retreats (and actually had the place to ourselves), and it served as the perfect escape for a romantic, rejuvenating little holiday.

The Sound of Sunshine room where Michael wrote the song.

Emily made the most of the large rooftop sala, putting it to good use for some yoga practice, with an amazing view of the rice fields as her backdrop.

Carla put us up in their finest room—the Sunset Room—just like it says, with a sunset-view terrace, a gorgeous bedroom, and spacious, modern bathroom. The amazing thing about Bali is the incredible attention to detail, and it showed here.

We enjoyed the emerald infinity pool every single day. (Funny enough, although I live 10 minutes from the beach, I rarely go see it, so I desperately needed the tan!)

In the cafe, the friendly staff cooked us up all kinds of tasty morsels—a traditional Balinese feast, as well as all kinds of raw vegetarian delights and fresh juice smoothies. The raw cacao and coffee creations in Ubud are impressive (I’ll write more about that next week)—at Soulshine I recommend the tasty orange infused truffles, and prana energy balls, with dark raw chocolate, coconut, spirulina, and mint.

What I loved perhaps most about Carla, and their beautiful resort, was that, unlike many other spas and yoga retreats, there was no pretension, no funny attitude about purity, and we could still get our hands on beer and wine!!

We did go out on the town though for even more food marathon! While I definitely enjoy my share of veggie and raw food recipes, I’m certainly no vegetarian, and thankfully, in the heart of Ubud, one can get their fill of greasy, tasty meat as well!

We met my friend Stuart from TravelFish for some incredible BBQ spare ribs at the famous Naughty Nuri’s. Anthony Bourdain also says they have the best dirty martinis outside of Manhattan, so of course we had to test that hypothesis…

Then of course we had to pay our respects to the local hotspot Ibu Oka Warung, where every morning they roast a pig on a spit (sometimes two or three) and divvy out the delicious results. While seeing your food isn’t for everybody, you can’t miss the babi guling, or suckling pig, if you come to Bali! Again, Tony Bourdain agrees. (You must watch No Reservations!)

We also ate at the famed Bebik Bengil (the “Dirty Duck”), a beautiful restaurant that’s grounds are covered in ornate garden walkways and water features… we got our own dais(!), and feasted upon delicious Balinese crispy duck. They say the restaurant got its name when they were completing construction (back in the days before there was much development and they were still entirely surrounded by rice paddies), and one day a monsoon came, and a flock of ducks all came running into the restaurant, jumping on tables and tracking muddy footprints all over the floor. Apparently things worked out bad for the ducks… but tasty for the rest of us!

Although it certainly felt far away from the bustle of Seminyak and from the “real world”—wherever that is, back here in Thailand, on the interwebs, wherever—Ubud was actually a great spot to chill out with the laptop, enjoy the surroundings, the sunsets, and get a lot of solid writing done.

Ubud served as a perfect digital nomad oasis, as well as a romantic getaway, and a real culinary adventure (even well before the holidays, as you can see I was already gorging myself on all kinds of incredible Balinese and international food!) If you’re looking for your escape while you’re in Bali, I can’t recommend a few peaceful days in the mountains of Ubud enough.

If you want to see all my Ubud photos, go here. If you’re interested in yoga at Soulshine, check out their website for the retreat schedule, or I recommend you look into my friend Amber’s upcoming Raw Yoga Jedi retreat there in March.

If you’d like to take some time out and relax by the pool, but you’re not sure how you’ll break free from the office this year, then make damn sure you get your ass over to Digital Nomad Academy and apply for our official scholarship program. Do it now! What do you have to lose? I’m giving away two absolutely free seats in this $1,500 mentorship program. Applications are due no later than this Thursday, December 29, at 12 noon EST.

I’ll be back with more from our time in Bali soon… Stay tuned if you want to watch me drink cat shit coffee.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The Perfect Place in Ubud, Bali to Make Your Escape, Chill Out, and Write Your Masterpiece!

I’ll be back early next week with much more about our time in Bali, but I just wanted to thank everyone who comes to Thrilling Heroics for making 2011 a wonderful year, wish you Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and express my sincerest hopes for a very happy New Year. 2012 is going to rock!

Every week I get a load of great emails in my inbox from readers. A while back, I received this comment from Sam (edited for length):

Man you really inspire me. I read your website at least 3-5 times a week. Since I graduated from high school I’ve always said I wanted to travel the world. Unfortunate obstacles have led me to say ‘#@%& I want to do this’. I want to live my life on my on own terms. I’m saving money now to get started. I want to thank you, keep doing what you’re doing man.

You probably have no idea how frequently you guys make my day, with subject lines like “Wow! This site is incredible!” … “ridiculously inspired.” …and “Thank you for doing what you do.” Your gratitude, appreciation, and feedback are what makes this all worthwhile. I am incredibly excited and humbled any time somebody says that this site or my writing have helped to inspire in any small way.

I receive lots and lots and lots of great questions, and I try to respond to as many as I can. Lots of people who want me to get on Skype and help them with their business ideas. Even people who want me to do some nebulous consulting work with their companies (from small projects to one very large foundation even).

But there just aren’t enough hours in the day! There are simply too many insanely interesting people out there who want to live life on their own terms, or build some cool, useful resource or project and share it with the world. That’s why I started Digital Nomad Academy at the beginning of 2011, as a comprehensive learning center for aspiring online entrepreneurs, where I can focus my time and energy and multiply the benefits many times over to teach, encourage, connect, and support many students all at once. And it certainly has become the focus of my time this year, along with many other incredible collaborators who have generously shared their time as faculty instructors and guest speakers.

I wish I could help every single person who comes to me with questions one-on-one, but I’ve consciously decided to invest my limited time into building something scalable, sustainable, and that will help many hundreds or thousands of students over the next several years (hopefully many more years).

But my faculty and I can only teach you so much. We can give you the business “recipes” if you will, share the techniques and tools that work for us, and connect you to a larger network of like-minded, ambitious people, including successful experts who’ve done it already. But actually building a business that will help provide you with the lifestyle you desire still requires an immense amount of time, effort, and investment that only you can do.

If you’re one of those people who’s been dreaming of starting your own business, quitting your stupid job, and creating a lifestyle you’d really enjoy (hint: ideally, the business part needs to come first), or traveling around the world, but you keep putting it off because of the latest TPS reports that have landed on your desk, this week’s important final exam, or you’ve spent the last 4 months planning the family Christmas celebration, or whatever else keeps you busy… let’s make 2012 the year everything changes.

I’ve put almost all of my energies into DNA this year, to the detriment of most of my other projects. We’ve brought together an incredible community of teachers and of exceptionally bright, motivated students. Many of them have already quit their jobs, started up their own small businesses, started freelancing, gone on short mini-retirements to Europe, moved to the peaceful countryside here in Asia, or set out on epic trans-continental road trips down through Central and South America!

Digital Nomad Academy will continue to provide a stellar learning environment for a long time to come, and as we bring in more and more students, it creates increased opportunity to meet each other, partner with each other, trade services with each other, and together we all improve and build our businesses up. The admission fee is a significant investment, but I believe we will continue to over-deliver by far, and the lifetime value to everyone involved will be priceless.

But I know this is not within everybody’s reach. I’ve heard your requests, and I’ve thought a lot about a financial aid program for the Digital Nomad Academy.

For the holidays I was feeling especially generous and I wanted to do something to give back, after all of you involved here and at DNA have made my year such a fantastic one. I want to help provide a chance for you to join me, my entrepreneurial colleagues, and our amazing students in building a community like none which has ever been seen before.

So, I will be sponsoring two full-ride scholarships, all-expenses paid, to our mentorship and training program at Digital Nomad Academy, so you can come learn directly from me and my all-star cast of faculty and guest experts, and collaborate with our incredible cohort of ambitious students.

What a great way to ring in the new year, right!?

→ Full details and applications for the 2011 Digital Nomad Academy Scholarship Program ←

That’s a $1,500 annual value for two very lucky people. This is a huge opportunity for you, but also for me, and for all of us. 2012 will be a year of explosive growth and improvement inside DNA.

If you want a shot at one of these two seats, absolutely free, all it takes is to get off the sidelines and show us what you’re willing to bring to the table for our student community. Go here to apply.

I hope to get your application, and hope to see you on the inside at Digital Nomad Academy in the New Year.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas. And a happy New Year. Let me know where you’re spending your holidays in the comments below. I’ll be spending mine here on the beach…

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The $3,000 Holiday Giveaway: Get a Full-Ride Scholarship to Digital Nomad Academy

1,076,955 rupiahs – and that’s just what I spent on 9 drinks one afternoon at the pool!

About one week ago, my girlfriend Emily and I returned from a relaxing 2-week break on the stunningly beautiful island of Bali.

Being back on the ground in Indonesia reminded me how much I really love traveling to places like Bali, Cambodia, and Laos, with very high exchange rates to the US Dollar. Who doesn’t love to look at the ATM screen and see balances in the several millions?

According to today’s exchange rates, if you trade in 1 US Dollar you’ll get 4,005 Cambodian riel. That means that if you have $250 in the bank, you’re a millionaire in Cambodia.

In Laos, your dollar is worth 8,030 kip, so for every $125 you’ve got a million in local currency.

It’s 9,174 to the dollar if you’re buying Indonesian rupiahs, so it only takes $109 to be a Balinese millionaire.

And amazingly, in Vietnam you’ll get 20,833 dong to the dollar, so if you’ve got $48 pocket change, you’re a millionaire.

Of course economics, exchange rates, and cost-of-living are things that are constantly in flux, changing all the time, but for now Asia is where it’s at. The biggest corporations all flock here to keep their expenses down, and smart individuals are doing the same. There’s nothing immoral about going where the deck is stacked in your favor, seeking work and a thriving lifestyle where you have the best chances. So why shouldn’t you?

I’m not a millionaire in the typical sense of the word—in US Dollars. But in Thailand, I’d say I’ve lived like a king for the past few years, at a fraction of the cost I’d need to lead a similar lifestyle in San Francisco, New York, London, or anywhere in the West.

So many people I talk to think that a permanent travel lifestyle would cost a tremendous amount of money and that it’s out of reach for them—but it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Learn how Steve Kamb got his round-the-world tickets traveling 35,000 miles, visiting four continents, nine countries and 15 cities for just $418. Or read how Nora Dunn, one of our faculty members at Digital Nomad Academy, has been traveling full-time around the world for less than $14,000 annually for several years.

Money and toys and possessions are all fun and good, but I think in the West we have developed a serious societal disease—in the middle class at least, a majority of people mistakenly accept the fallacy that those things are an end rather than a means to an end.

What you do while you’re on this earth, how much enjoyment you get out of it, who you are, and the impact you make (on the world, on the people around you…whatever scale you want to operate on) matter far, far more than the things you own, and the material shit you collect.

“You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis.”

–Tyler Durden, Fight Club

They have you chasing all the wrong things, wasting your time working a job so you can pay for shit you don’t need, while they call all the shots.

We’re still a small minority, but I see more and more people “waking up” and realizing there is another way to live. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned living abroad is that you don’t have to play by anybody else’s rules, and you don’t have to do things the same way everybody else around you does them.

I boarded a plane in San Francisco on November 25, 2008, with a one-way ticket to Bangkok and a crazy idea to come out to Asia to bootstrap my web development business while I enjoyed a much lower cost-of-living than back home in California. I’ve now lived in several different locations around Thailand and traveled to at least seven other nearby countries here in the region on a regular basis for over three years. Actually, I’ve been living abroad and traveling for exactly 1,121 days now!

I’ve learned a tremendous amount in those 3+ years. A lot about myself, a lot about business, about the world, about other societies and cultures, I’ve met hundreds (if not thousands) of interesting people along the way…

The biggest benefit I’ve had on my side throughout all this time “offshore” has been my ability to leverage geo-abritrage in my business—working remotely with clients overseas (in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Singapore, South America, and more) where I can bring in strong currencies, while I spend in Asian currencies where my money goes much further, and I get to take advantage of a much lower cost of living in Southeast Asia.

My advice to anybody who wants to live the high life for less is you must come to Asia.

Tim Ferris said in The 4-Hour Workweek, it’s not that we really want to be millionaires, it’s that we want to have experiences we think only millions can buy.

While we were in Bali, we split an amazing 2-bedroom villa with private pool and gardens with our friends Chris and Hannah, definitely a four-star, truly luxurious experience that far surpassed most accommodations I’ve ever stayed in, for only about $150 a night.

Emily and I had a spacious, serene villa and retreat oasis all to ourselves for a few days—an interior designer’s dream, every detail crafted with care, a true sanctuary hidden away from the noisy chaos of real life around us, where we enjoyed the quiet, stunning views of wildlife, rice paddies and forests up in the mountains of Ubud.

We had a brilliant two-story family villa in Seminyak for a week with the parents, spent the afternoons catching up with friends, soaking up the sun in private pools…

We enjoyed cocktails, beers, and sangria at the swim-up pool bar at the Potato Head Beach Club, voted as one of Bali’s top restaurants and bars, and the kind of ultra-posh hotspot that would easily cost several hundreds of dollars (or possibly into the thousands) if you wanted to be a baller in Miami, Los Angeles, or even Ibiza.

We lazed on comfy bean-bag chairs of Bali’s beautiful beaches, taking in breathtaking sunsets that lit up the twilight sky with brilliant reds, yellows, and golds.

Definitely a million-dollar sunset.

I see more and more guys (and gals, and couples) selling all their possessions and choosing to travel and move abroad to experience a different kind of life. More people are “waking up” to the realization that it’s not about how much crap you accumulate or what your net worth is on paper, but life is more about how much varied experience you accumulate, how much fun you have along the way, and how happy you are.

Check out how my buddy Mark and his friends went island hopping in Palawan on their own boat with crew, eating a delicious crab feast on their own private beach, and how he felt like a millionaire, all for just 35 bucks (flight included)!

Dan Andrews, another collaborator of mine at DNA, has built an incredibly successful business here in Asia—he has a huge 4-bedroom house in the heart of Bali’s happening Seminyak area, with their own pool, and maids and gardeners, all for only about $1500 per month, where he brings interns out to live and work with him on the Tropical MBA (which I just think is the coolest fucking thing BTW), living a fantastic lifestyle, hustling and building a great business like nobody else I know, all while they have a great time too!

Back home here in Krabi, Thailand, my girlfriend and I have an immense, modern 3-story, 3-bedroom townhouse on the quiet outskirts of town that overlooks breathtaking limestone mountains and lush green jungles for just $575 per month. And that’s splurging for us, in a big way, so that I have a spacious office where I can be productive and so we can easily host a big happy family during the holidays.

I’d say that the value you get for your money is incredible here in Asia. If I’d been living back home for the last three years, I probably would be going out on the weekends with friends, but living on ramen noodles and sharing a small apartment with roommates to get by.

Instead, we get to have a wonderful, fulfilling lifestyle, live in abundance, travel frequently, spend a tremendous amount of time with friends and family, all while we keep our costs down substantially. That means we get to do a lot more of what we love here than we might somewhere else.

Making a move somewhere like Asia or South America might be a way you can also spend more of your very limited, precious time making memories you’ll cherish, having new experiences, and building something (preferably something of your own—a business, a charity cause, a legacy, what-have-you). You only live once, so don’t waste it.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How to (Literally) Be a Millionaire and Live the High Life on the Cheap

Today’s guest post is a thorough and insightful city report that comes from Erin at Never Ending Voyage.

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A digital nomad has the freedom to live and work wherever they choose. We make the most of this freedom by living out of a carry-on size backpack and travelling all over the world. A life of constant travel can make getting work done difficult though, and there are times when we need to settle down for a few months, rent an apartment and enjoy some home comforts and a solid internet connection.

We are always on the lookout for the perfect place to stop and work. We’ve tried Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Medellin, Colombia, but recently we have settled in a city that eclipses them all—Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The number of other digital nomads who have made this city in northern Thailand their temporary base is a testament to its appeal, and we’ve found that it has lived up to the hype. Here’s why…

Low Cost of Living

One of Chiang Mai’s biggest attractions is the high quality of life that’s possible for very little. With apartments starting from $160 a month, a delicious meal at the market for $1, a fresh fruit shake for $0.50, monthly motorbike rental for $60, laundry for $1 a kilo, and a large beer for $2, it is possible to live comfortably for well under $1000 a month, or even just $500.

Good Internet

Good internet is essential for a digital nomad, and it’s one of the reasons they flock to Chiang Mai. Most cafés and restaurants have free WiFi and the speed is good. It’s also very affordable to buy a local SIM card with a data plan.

Availability of Accommodation

There’s plenty of accommodation available to suit all budgets. The best thing to do is stay in a guesthouse for a few days and look around. Studio apartments without a kitchen (because eating out is so cheap) cost from $160-300 a month and WiFi and A/C is standard. A luxurious 1-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, pool, and gym costs $650 a month, although you’ll get far cheaper rates if you rent for 6 or 12 months. Electricity and water, and sometimes internet, is extra. We pay about $50 a month for electricity (using the A/C quite a lot), $9 for water, and $15 for internet (per computer).

Great Weather

From November to February the weather is perfect—clear blue skies with 30°C temperatures and low humidity during the day and lower temperatures at night. Things start to heat up in March, and the rainy season lasts from May to October—it doesn’t rain all the time though, and everything becomes lush and green.

Friendly People

There’s a good mix of Thais, expats, and tourists in Chiang Mai. It’s a university city, so there’s a youthful vibe and the education level is high with English spoken by many people. Unlike some more touristy parts of Thailand, the locals aren’t resentful of foreigners, there are no scams, and people are very friendly and helpful. We have had a flat tire on our moped twice and both times locals went out of their way to help us.

Delicious Food

Thai food is delicious, fresh and wonderfully affordable. Food stalls and markets are found all over the city where you can sample local dishes for $1 a meal. Thai favourites like pad thai and green curry are readily available, or try the tasty local speciality Khao Soi—egg noodles in a coconut curry soup topped with crunchy fried noodles [ed: this is perhaps the most delicious Thai dish of all! –Cody]. For vegetarians it’s heaven, with dozens of meat-free restaurants and even vegetarian stalls at some of the markets. If you get tired of Thai food you’ll find Italian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Japanese, Indian, American, and more to satisfy your cravings. International food is more expensive, but even a splurge meal at one of the city’s best Italian restaurants cost us less than $10 a person.

Fresh Produce

If you choose to cook for yourself the markets are wonderful with a diverse range of high-quality, cheap fresh produce including plenty of tropical fruit. Chiang Mai is ideally located with access to produce from both a tropical climate and the cooler mountains, so you’ll find more diversity here than in southern Thailand.

Digital Nomad Hub

Chiang Mai has attracted many digital nomads so there is a ready-made community to offer support and advice to help you settle in, and perhaps even work together on projects.

Cheap Transport

The old city is compact and walkable, so if you stay there you won’t need your own transport. Renting a moped is cheap and fun though, and we love the freedom it gives us. If not, rides in shared pickup trucks (or songthaew) cost from $0.65.

Beautiful Scenery

Chiang Mai has a beautiful setting surrounded by hills and you’ll find shimmering golden wats (temples) on almost every street.

Lots To Do

There’s plenty to do in your downtime. You could visit one of the many wats; learn a new skill: cooking, massage, Thai language, or yoga; go rock climbing, white water rafting, zip-lining, or trekking to hill tribe villages; relax with a $5 massage; and even get up close with tigers or elephants. It only takes 20 minutes to leave the city behind and explore the waterfalls and mountains of the surrounding countryside. Further afield there are plenty of interesting places to visit in northern Thailand for weekends away.

Accessible

It’s a one hour, $60 flight from Bangkok, an international hub with cheap flights available all over the world. Chiang Mai is also only six hours away from both Myanmar [Burma] and Laos which makes border runs possible as a day trip.

Visas Are Easy To Get

Many people manage to stay in Thailand indefinitely by doing visa runs, or leaving the country to renew their visa every few months. It’s a great excuse to explore neighbouring countries like Laos or Malaysia. Most nationalities get a 30-day visa exemption when they arrive by plane, but if you want to stay long-term it’s best to get a 60-day tourist visa available from many neighbouring countries—the nearest is Vientiane in Laos. A double-entry 60-day tourist visa will allow you to stay for six months by getting a 30-day extension at the immigration office, and then doing a border run after three months.

Relaxed Atmosphere

Chiang Mai has a relaxed atmosphere in stark contrast to hectic Bangkok. It’s very walkable, the traffic isn’t too crazy and it’s family-friendly—there are plenty of expats and travellers with young children here.

Everything You Need

Although it’s not a huge city (around 150,000 people), it has all the facilities you need including lots of good cafés (and yes, there’s Starbucks), shopping centers, cinemas, cheap markets, and (important for digital nomads) Apple Mac stores.

Quality Healthcare

Healthcare is of a high standard with many doctors trained in the US, but prices are very affordable. A visit to the doctor including a blood test cost me $22.

Culturally Vibrant

While life in Chiang Mai is easy and comfortable, it is still culturally rich and glimpses of the quirkiness of Thai life keep things interesting—teenage monks in saffron robes texting on their mobile phones, entire families (including dog) whizzing past you on a moped, and standing up for the national anthem before films are shown at the cinema.

Great Local Festivals

The local festivals add to the city’s cultural richness. It seems like there is always something going on—the Yee Peng floating lantern festival and the mass water fight Songkran are just two of the highlights.

Are there any downsides to life in Chiang Mai? Well, it’s not by the sea, so it may not live up to everyone’s image of Thailand, although there are cheap direct flights to the islands, and I find my apartment pool helps keep the tropical vibe alive. If you love huge bustling cities, then Bangkok might be better for you, and although there is plenty of nightlife, it’s more relaxed than Bangkok or the party islands in the south.

For us, we’ve found the perfect base to take a break from travel and focus on business projects. It may well be hard to leave.

Erin McNeaney and her partner Simon sold everything they owned and left the UK in March 2010 to travel the world forever. They run a WordPress web design business on the road and have travelled to Latin America, North America and are currently in Asia. You can follow their adventures at Never Ending Voyage.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 18 Reasons Why Chiang Mai makes a Perfect Digital Nomad Headquarters

Do you daydream about quitting your job and traveling around the world? What about taking it a step further and building a location independent career, so you can live and work wherever you want to?

I can remember the first time someone labelled me a “digital nomad” on a major blog… Two-and-a-half years ago these were the words of Corbett Barr—back when his site was still called Free Pursuits. Corbett listed me among the top 10 Digital Nomads to Learn From, alongside Tim Ferriss and Rolf Potts—two truly incredible writers who inspired me to follow my own path in life—as well as huge A-list bloggers Chris Brogan and Mike Elgan, and big names in the travel blogosphere including Christine Gilbert from Almost Fearless and Chris Guillebeau of Art of Nonconformity fame.

I wasn’t quite sure what I thought of the label at first, although I was immensely honored to be among such incredible company. I was excited! Reading Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek and Rolf Potts’ Vagabonding had been a turning point in my life—those two books opened my eyes to whole new possibilities and put a fire under my ass to create a life of my own design, and try my hardest to enjoy every moment of it.

Not long after in late 2009, Jonathan Mead used me as a case study in his manifesto The Zero Hour Workweek, which played off of the ideas in Tim’s book, but took them even further to encourage people to build businesses that basically allow them to get paid to be themselves. Soon I was being interviewed about my live-and-work-anywhere lifestyle, and people started calling my story inspiring, and asking me about my travel experiences and advice for overcoming travel obstacles.

Sometimes I’m a bit embarrassed by the buzzwords (digital nomad, location independent… and lifestyle design… there’s another one!) but eventually I embraced the title Corbett had bestowed upon me. Who’d have known that just two years later I’d be running a business course called Digital Nomad Academy with the help of Corbett himself and several other hugely successful remote-control entrepreneurs I look up to!

Like many people, sometimes I feel like the small (but growing) online niche we’re in is a bit too cliquey, too markety, and sometimes people get big egos, or they feel under pressure to maintain the appearance like they’ve got everything figured out and their lives are just so cool.

I know, because I’ve been there… but I’ll be the first to tell you, nobody has it all figured out. I’ve been broke as a joke many times along my journey, I’ve been stuck up a creek with no paddle many times on my travels, I’ve experienced immense business failures, I’ve been stabbed in the back, I’ve been discouraged. But, this is an incredible life we’ve all been given, and I’m grateful for the amazing adventures and obstacles I’ve experienced. I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything.

I’m even more thankful for the people around me who have helped fuel this adventure. It has its ups and downs for sure—I was defrauded and went through several down months. I wasn’t confident everything might not collapse at times. I took a break from blogging and let some of my friends use this platform to share their writing and their projects with you (I see no point writing unless I actually have something to say, but once I conquer the challenges laid out in front of me, maybe then I’ll have something of real value to share about them).

But despite the challenges of living an unconventional life, I have no plans to quit traveling, meeting new people, and having new experiences anytime soon, to stop experimenting with my own businesses, to ever go back to a 9-to-5 if I can avoid it, to move back home, or to stop blogging about this weird journey. Living life your own way, you will definitely be confronted with setbacks, and the journey will be more challenging than living according to someone else’s prescribed path. But it is absolutely, 100% worthwhile. 

My girlfriend and I are fortunate to live for now in one of the most beautiful regions in the world, in a three-story townhouse surrounded by forests and beautiful limestone mountains, all for a fraction of what it would cost back in California.

Emily and I recently spent a week in Singapore, and it was the most fun I’ve had in months! We were trying to decide what country to visit for a renewed visa and I decided I really wanted to visit old friends there. She teases me that I can’t travel anywhere unless I know someone there, and when I thought about it, I realized it’s not far from the truth.

Undoubtedly when most people think about travel, they tend to think of places, monuments and landmarks like the Acropolis of Athens, the Roman Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, London’s Big Ben, Bangkok’s reclining Buddha, Krabi’s mountaintop Buddhist temple, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Each of these are fantastic places I’ve been able to see on my travels. But what really has made my travels remarkable are the people I have met and the experiences I’ve shared with them.

I became very close with my French professor in high school, who was also a huge influence on me (as far as my interest in travel, culture, art, music and languages). The very first time I traveled outside the U.S. was a trip with some classmates to France, and what made it special was the wonderful family I lived with for a week on the Mediterranean coast in Cannes, as well as the time I spent with Mssr. Hodgins and my classmates wandering around Paris.

London is probably one of my top three favorite cities in the world to visit. Although I really enjoy wandering around on foot through London and sightseeing, it wasn’t the London Eye or the Houses of Parliament that kept me coming back… it was because I first traveled there on my own to visit my cousin Ian, who spent a year as an exchange student there, and it was the fun crowd of college students I got to know—James, the Toms, Sarah, Dav, Elaine, and many more—when I visited him for two weeks that made my experience so special.

I traveled to Spain for a three-week Christmas and New Year holiday with my friends Paul, Tim, and Ryan. Barcelona was a stunning city with great food, equaled by the gorgeous views and historical Old Town on Ibiza (and it’s nightlife), but what really made the trip special were the incredible friends we made—Meye and Barbara, two amazing women who took it upon themselves to show us all the best restaurants and pubs in town, introduced us to friends, showed us the parades and the local Catalans celebrations, and invited us into their homes for Christmas dinner!

Greece, Turkey, and Italy are infused with history, vibrant culture, and amazing sights (especially for someone who studied history at university) but what made my travels there special were the memories and time I spent bonding with family.

When I first arrived in Thailand, it was two Thai friends I met—Poon and Om—who spent three days driving me all around Phuket on their motorbike showing me the sights.

Bangkok is a huge metropolis with great nightlife, great food, a big flag on the backpacker trail. But what made it so much fun for me was the people. I got caught up there for a year and a half eating cheap street food all the time with Migration Mark, Joel, Ryan, May, Nalin, Bank, and Aum, going out partying, and running fun monthly mixer events and volunteering with Dwight Turner, Christina, Craig Gonzales, and others. I remember the first day Sean Ogle landed in Asia, and we went with my sister and my friends Chris, Ryan, and Nick to explore the ancient ruins and Buddhas at Ayutthaya, coworking with David Walsh and Derek Johanson, planning a TEDx conference with Rob, Greg, Andrew, Chris, Karla, Fluke, and more.

Travel puts me face-to-face with friends—many friends I’ve known for many years from school or work, but also many who I’ve met and become friends with through running my business online.

In Bangkok, mostly through Twitter and the Bangkok Tweetups that Dwight and I would put on, I also was able to meet in person with awesome bloggers Dan Andrews, Adam Baker, Benny “the Irish Polyglot” Lewis, Gary Arndt, Matt Goult, Jodi Ettenberg, Jonny Gibaud, Marc Gold, Ross Hill, Kevin Revolinski, Wes Nations, Ryan Martin, Mark Powers, and many more.

Warning: I’ve linked to a lot of people in this post! But I want to share each and every one of them with you (I’m definitely missing more than a few, too) not to gloat… not because I’m some celebrity, but because I’ve been blessed to meet so many truly cool people from around the world—each of them working on their own unique, interesting things—and each of them has at some point or another in my travels made a profound impact on my journey in their own small way. Because of that, I do encourage you to check out each and every one of these folks and discover how they’re making the world a more interesting place. I owe it to them to share what they’re doing.

In Bali I met Kyle and Bessie Crum doing yoga in the rice paddies, Stuart McDonald eating ribs at Naughty Nuri’s, Jez Tryner for a drink, and spent time with my friends Jerm and Vie at their lovely condo.

In Kuala Lumpur I met Nomadic Matt Kepnes while wandering around hostels, Dwight and Mark and I met our travel buddy Agnes (who drove us at lightning speed at 11pm one night to see the cozy little town of Melaka, on a whim!) through Couchsurfing, and I met Hani Khaursar, Vishen Lakhiani, Brian Wong and others on a subsequent trip when I spoke at a conference.

Phnom Penh has been home to my two friends Brittany Sims and Caron Margarete who, along with some of Cambodia’s footballers showed me the town and made me feel right at home.

Here in Krabi, I spent considerable time climbing and beach partying with my friends Alicia, James, Vanessa, Peter, Jane & Toto, and I finally met in person with my blogger buddies Carlos Miceli, Colin Wright, Adventurous Kate McCulley, Backpacking Matt Kyhnn, and Shannon O’Donnell, who’ve all stopped by on their travels.

When I traveled back to the States this year, in Austin, I met up with Markus & Ashley, Nick Reese, Jenny Blake, Ridiculously Extraordinary Karol Gadja, Where is Jenny Leonard, Andy Drish, Andrew Norcross, Thursday Bram, Technomads Chris & Cherie, and many other good folks for a week of awesomeness while South by Southwest was on.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to a host of inspiring folks like Ramit Sethi, Corbett Barr, Amber Zuckswert, Charlie Hoehn, Lorna Li, and serial entrepreneur Rajesh Setty (and I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Chris Ducker there, who usually plays an Englishman in the Philippines).

Los Angeles is or has been the stomping grounds of my very good friend Ryan, entrepreneur Jun Loayza, blogger Jonathan Mead, dating coach Jordan Harbinger, my friends Dariane Nabor, Laurenne Sala, and many other cool peoples.

In past trips to Singapore, I’ve met other cool nerds (like myself) Adrianna Tan, Ziqi Koey (who also just visited us here in Krabi!), Guyi Shen, and many more.

This trip, Emily and I had an incredibly fun time together…  we did all the touristy stuff: we walked all around the city on foot, stayed on the beautiful riverfront in Boat Quay, gorged ourselves on amazing delicious food from all around Southeast Asia and beyond, we hung out at the marina by night and took in all the city lights, wandered all around the big fancy new Marina Bay Sands resort and casino, went to a Salvador Dalí exhibit, to the cinema, briefly to a concert hall, and much more. But our time together there also reminded me that one of my biggest motivators is the people I get to share it with.

It was seeing my friend and singer Shimona Kee for her birthday and enjoying the hip young local music scene, having a lovely homemade dinner with Michelle at her impressive 16th-floor apartment, having a drink, a shisha and a catchup with my old friends John Berns and Martin, and getting to meet Derek Sivers in person (the very down-to-earth, engaging, but brilliant and wildly successful gentleman who founded CDBaby) to chat about travels, businesses, failures, and planting multiple flags (BTW you absolutely must watch this fascinating, short 8-part video series by Sivers). Getting to interact with, have fun with, learn from, and learn about all these fascinating people that are all doing their own interesting things—that’s what makes travel so much fun for me.

Running my business online has meant I’ve built friendships with people all around the world. Interacting with people through Twitter alone has connected me to dozens and dozens of new people that I’ve actually become real friends and done business with.

The point is, I’m just an average dude—but because of the way I choose to live my life, the way I run my business, and the way I reach out to connect with other people out there, I’ve had an extraordinary experience making new friends all around the world. The tools I’ve used to build an international network of friends and colleagues are also available to you.

Being location-independent, running a business online, and being on the move—living my life this way has opened many doors to people and experiences I wouldn’t have back in my “normal” life, that I would have never dreamed I’d have. My passion and what drives my journey is the interesting people I meet… making new friends and having fun new experiences with them, learning from them, and growing with them. Your interests, what drives you, and the life you want to have may look entirely different to mine, but whatever they are, there are millions of people you can connect with out there in this small little world of ours. The amazing journey I have had, like many others, is only an example of what anyone could do. You only need to start opening doors.

What journey are you on? What are the people, places, and experiences that have meant the most to you along your path?

If you found this interesting, and if you’re anything like me, click here to get some incredibly awesome (and completely free) stuff to add to your toolbox and learn more about my philosophy. You won’t regret it→

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Setbacks, and What Motivates Me to Keep Exploring & Experimenting

This guest article on finding business ideas comes from friend of Thrilling Heroics, Patrick Lockton. If you’re not savvy about what Krav Maga is yet, it’s an Israeli self-defense martial art you can learn more about here on Wikipedia.

“There are no original ideas. There are only original people.”

–Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

Mobile Entrepreneurs are the perfect idea hunters

Think about it. How many people have the time and opportunity to engage with a wide range of ideas from different cultures and individuals in a meaningful way? Great idea hunters put themselves in a position so they will collide with great ideas and then adapt and apply those ideas in a new part of the world.

Mobile entrepreneurs wake up every day with a high likelihood that they will be hit with a great idea.

The value of ideas

Ideas stimulate innovation, create business opportunities, growth, and have the ability to change people’s lives. Well known Stanford economist Paul Romer has a theory that the world is much better off than it was 100 years ago because we keep coming up with new ideas.

Hunting for ideas is a very productive use of one’s time, given the role that ideas have in progress. With no ideas, there are no advances or innovation.

According to the book The Idea Hunter, “the best ideas are results of combining old ideas and existing ideas.” Most great ideas arise when someone finds an idea and repurposes that idea to create something brand new. The research conducted by the authors of The Idea Hunter came to the conclusion that there is a genuine and tangible value in the ability to find ideas, and it has nothing to do with genius or intellect.

How do you come up with good ideas?

A lot of successful entrepreneurs get their ideas from one part of the world and recycle them elsewhere.

Walt Disney would go around and look through trash cans to find out what ideas were being discarded. Springwise.com and coolbusinessideas.com have built entire businesses on recycling and spreading news of new ideas for businesses.  They scan the globe for the most promising business ventures, ideas, and concepts that are ready for regional or international adaptation, expansion or cooperation.

Improve on existing ideas, don’t just copy them

I read about a guy who read The 4-Hour Workweek and decided to copy Tim Ferriss’ original nutrition supplement business.

He managed to find a supplier that provided the supplements he needed and the guy on the phone said: “wait a minute, are you calling because you read The 4-Hour Workweek as well?” Apparently he wasn’t the only one that decided to copy the idea.

There’s a 99% chance any business you start will be a derivative of another business already out there. Your goal, if you want to be successful, is to find ideas through your travels and experience, improve upon them, and apply them within a new location or a new context.

Think about it. NetFlix (founded in 1997 in the USA) led to LOVEFiLM in the UK (founded 2002) and was recently sold to Amazon for more than $300 million. Peet’s Coffee in Berkeley, California, led to Starbucks. The list goes on.

My Own Experience

My recent experience in New York City has taught me that travelling and improving on existing ideas can be one of the best ways to succeed as an entrepreneur. You already have a successful product or business model, and it has already been market-tested.

I have been practicing Krav Maga from a very young age and have been an advanced practitioner for years, so one of the first things I did after arriving in NYC was to try and find a place to train. I was enthusiastic and passionate, but I soon discovered something very surprising—the modern form of Krav Maga that had become so popular in Europe was nowhere to be seen. The options available were very different and comparatively expensive.

Modern Krav Maga seems to induce a passionate following wherever it goes.  I am not sure why. Perhaps it is the fact that it is a very practical and modern form of self-defense that constantly develops. Perhaps it’s because it has been battle-tested by Israeli Defense Forces, MOSAD, law enforcement professionals (as seen in the Jason Bourne films and Casino Royale) or that it’s ridiculously effective, functional, logical and easy to learn.

Whatever the reason, it was astonishing that the most deadly and effective modern fighting techniques in the world hadn’t really arrived in New York.

I decided to start teaching Krav Maga part time and at affordable rates.  I trained like mad for months and months and completed a grueling instructor’s course. Within 3 weeks of launching a Facebook page, I had received over 300 enquiries. I didn’t even have a website—the response was phenomenal!

The Krav Maga Institute NYC was born in June 2011.  It’s still in the early stages, but things are looking very positive. We are cheaper, more modern and convenient than the other schools. I am loving every minute, so money is just an added bonus.

Innovation isn’t about genius. Knowing this should empower and motivate mobile entrepreneurs to realize the ideas are out there to get, absolutely for free.

In a way, it’s liberating that we can all become great idea hunters and we can all make a difference in what we’re trying to do. Whatever our goals and objectives are, the ideas are there to be found.

Becoming a great idea hunter is learnable, it’s repeatable, and it’s something any entrepreneur can work on every day.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Mind the Idea Gap: How Mobile Entrepreneurs Can Find & Repurpose Great Ideas

Sometimes I’m such a perfectionist that it keeps me from actually publishing anything (or even writing anything sometimes)! This time it’s been over a month. But today, I finally just want to share this incredible interview with you.

I recently spoke to Brian Johnson all about his thoughts on conscious entrepreneurship, optimal living, his lifestyle business, and how people can change the world. Brian is the creator of Philosopher’s Notes (which are short Cliff’s Notes-style summaries of all the lessons from teachers like Socrates, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, and the Buddha, all the way up through modern positive psychology books), chief evangelist at en*theos, and author of A Philosopher’s Notes.

He considers himself a modern Philosopher, or Lover of Wisdom. Brian is absolutely dedicated to inspiring the world with wisdom, and empowering people to live their greatest lives, and what drew me to him is his painstaking commitment to his mission. He’s perhaps the most productive and prolific guy I’m aware of—my polar opposite lately! Questions that drive him are:

What Makes Great People Great? How Can People Create Extraordinary Lives that Make a Difference in the World?

Brian dropped out of law school, and instead, eventually settled into the tech startup world as a founder/CEO, raising several million dollars for his businesses. But it was his decision to travel through Israel, Turkey, Greece, and more, and study philosophy, that paved the way for the path he would take. In 2004 he created the social networking site Zaadz, integrating his interests in philosophy and entrepreneurship, and creating a place for people interested in topics such as conscious living, yoga, meditation, and making a difference.

Working with investors like Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, Brian grew passionate about the idea of conscious business—that it’s about more than just the “bottom line”—and became convinced that you can get paid to do what you love to do.

He set about on his journey to earn his own “PhD in Optimal Living”, as he describes it, studying and condensing 100 classics, a project that evolved into Philosopher’s Notes. And now Brian and his wife Alexandra run a handful of small businesses under the banner of en*theos, a community who’s name stands for “radiant enthusiasm“, including Philosopher’s Notes, Rock Your Goddess Life, Optimal Living 101, Blissitations, and more.

Brian is a stellar example of someone who’s transitioned from startup business, raising millions and working with investors and large teams of employees at the height of the dot-com boom, to a highly successful lifestyle business that allows he and his wife to do meaningful work they truly enjoy, to make a huge difference in people’s lives, and to have a very enjoyable lifestyle, living in places like Bali, Indonesia for a year, and now in Los Angeles.

There are few conversations that will open your eyes a bit and permanently alter your outlook on life, but this was one of them for me. This interview was recorded in its entirety for our students at Digital Nomad Academy, so if you’re one of our members, make sure you log in here to listen in on the full 50-minute, in-depth interview with all the gory details!

Listen in to this abbreviated recording below to learn about:

• What it means to follow your bliss.
• How you must have a willingness to fail if you want to succeed.
• Why a Lifestyle Business is not about getting big quickly, it’s about sustainability and simplicity.
• The Multiple Stakeholder Model, and the importance of creating value and making contributions to your community.
• Why entrepreneurship is the major engine to change the world.
• What is Conscious Capitalism and the Multiple Bottom Line?

Download the MP3 here to listen on your own computer (right click and “Save As”)

Also listen in to learn the universal truths that Brian discovered across all of his studies of psychology, philosophy and optimal living. While most people focus on external motivators like fame, wealth, and beauty, learn how focusing on these principles is what will actually lead you to happiness and flourishing:

1. Optimism
2. Purpose
3. Self-Awareness
4. Goals
5. Action
6. Energy
7. Wisdom
8. Courage
9. Love
10. En*theos

Brian discusses what the ancient Greeks called arete—excellence, virtue, or striving to be your best self—and how when you overcome what he calls integrity gap and realize your full potential, there is no room for anxiety, stress, or depression in your life.

If you want to learn more, visit en*theos, and explore the 100 mini-chapters in Brian’s book A Philosopher’s Notes. Digital Nomad Academy students also get exclusive access to the full interview which includes:

• Brian’s Six Fundamentals of Creativity
• Productivity Tips: Three In-Depth Keys to How Brian Produces So Much Great Content
• A discussion about the Intersection between What You Love to Do, What You Are Really Good At, and What People Are Willing to Pay For.
• An answer to the question: How Do We Create Something that Truly Benefits Society?
• And much more!

If you want to get full access to this interview and many more like it…

…make sure you click here to sign up for our notification list at Digital Nomad Academy to be the first to learn when we open up our doors again soon for more students!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How to Make a Difference in the World with Conscious Entrepreneurship: An Interview with Brian Johnson

Everyone wants to make a living doing what they love, but very few are ready to put in the effort that is required to make it happen.

You see, you are in charge of your life. You are responsible for how your life looks today and what your future will look like.

Now, I’m not saying you can control every aspect of your life, but I think you know what I mean. We are all responsible for what we do and don’t do in our lives.

One of the best decisions I ever made was to find and go after my passion with relentless determination.

It’s very simple, but not easy.

If you’re ready to take one single step every day, you can reach your goals and live the life of your dreams.

1. Get Clear

The first step towards turning passion into profit is to get clear about what you want.

For me, this means setting goals that are specific, realistic, and that have a deadline.

What do you truly want from life? Do you want to contribute to humanity with your art? Or do you want to travel the world, experience new cultures, and share what you’ve learned with the rest of us? You can create whatever you decide.

There is always a way to turn your passion into profit if you’re determined enough to make it happen.

2. Take Action

Next, you need to be willing to take massive action. You need to be willing to take steps every single day towards achieving your goals.

If your goal is to travel the world, find out exactly how much money you need, what you need, and how you need to do it. If your goal is to travel to Thailand and live there for a year, find out how much airfare is, how much the cost of living is, and everything else that’s essential.

Then ask yourself what you have to do to make it happen. Start executing even if you don’t know exactly how it will all work out.

Something magical happens when you take action. Never underestimate the power of the universe.

3. Model People

One of the most powerful tips I can give you is to model people. What I mean by this is to find people that are doing exactly what you want to be doing, and do what they did.

If you do what successful people have done to become successful, you will become successful. It is inevitable.

This may mean emailing someone and becoming their friend. For some people it may mean joining a training course where you can get access to people that are already living the kind of life you want to live.

Whatever it is, avoid making excuses and take action. There will be no perfect time to go after your dreams, so you might as well start now.

4. Destroy Your Obstacles

Once you have a very clear goal of what you want to achieve, take a clean sheet of paper and write down the obstacles you think you will face on the path toward your goal.

What this does is it anticipates the bad stuff that will happen, and it lets you come up with solutions before you even bump into the obstacles.

This usually eliminates most of the obstacles right away, and makes the whole journey smoother.

5. Face Your Fears

Going after your passion is not a walk in the park. If it was, more people would live a life of passion and fulfillment.

Facing your fears is a simple as being determined to get to your goals with fears or no fears.

You can either succumb to your fears and live a life of mediocrity, or you can face your fears and live a life of true freedom. The choice is yours.

6. Baby Steps

Most people underestimate how much progress they can make in a few years just by taking one small step every single day towards their goals.

When you have your plan, and you have your obstacles in front of you, it’s time to brainstorm ideas of what steps you can take today to get closer to making a living doing what you love. Nothing remarkable needs to happen; you just have to start the journey toward your dreams.

7. Patience

This journey takes a lot of patience.

You will run into a lot of obstacles, you will have to face your fears, as things probably won’t go as smoothly as you’d like them to go. It’s all a part of the journey. And none of it really matters when you love what you do.

Turning your passion into profit is something that everyone can do, but not everyone has the determination or willpower to make it happen.

It is up to you to decide whether you want to live up to your full potential or not.

Henri Junttila writes at Wake Up Cloud, where you can get his free course: Find Your Passion in 5 Days or Less. And if you liked this article, you will enjoy one of Henri’s top articles, 33 Powerful Ways of Overcoming Fear.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 7 Simple Steps to Turn Your Passion Into Profit

Last week I made a painful 35-hour journey from Bangkok to Tokyo to Los Angeles to Texas. I spent a nerve-wracking 8 hours in the Narita Airport waiting out a fresh new earthquake just days after the one that caused extensive damage (and tsunamis) across the country, and a few aftershocks. (Impressively, everyone was all smiles in Japan, very very friendly and helpful, considering the incredible tragedy the country has just gone through.)

The moment I boarded the American Airlines flight to the U.S., I was reintroduced to American standards of customer service (piss-poor compared to Asia), cultural sensitivity (now I’m being completely sarcastic), and security checks. At LAX, I refused the backscatter X-ray machine and was the lucky recipient of the up-close-and-personal new pat downs the TSA is graciously giving out.

Welcome back, Cody!

Finally, I arrived in Austin, Texas, for the tail-end of the South By Southwest Interactive conference and the start of the city’s immense music and film festival that attracts tens of thousands of people from across the country and the world every year.

For four days, I had the great fortune to hang out with friends at The Monarch apartments in Austin, right in central downtown, with a great view of the city, meeting several faces I’ve known for years (but only online), catching up with a couple old friends, and interacting with several fascinating new folks. Here are just some of them:

Markus Urban is without a doubt, one of the most profoundly inspiring people I have ever crossed paths with. He unapologetically pursues what he desires and follows his every instinct and passion (he calls this Living on Impulse). He has an incredible, sometimes startling ability to connect and relate to others, pierce through all the things that typically distract us from being completely 100% authentic, and turn the seemingly “impossible” into reality. He currently uses his superpowers to bring awesome people together into the same environment, collaborate on exciting projects like the upcoming DMAD.com and I Want to Travel show, and generally create fun everywhere he goes.

Ashley Spiker found the perfect niche for herself online when she combined her love for designer shoes and blogging at ShoeRazzi. Ashley and Markus are digital nomads that have been traveling across timezones together for the last year+. We met for a brief time in Krabi, Thailand, last year and they made a profound impact on my life, even in such a brief time. The two of them were generous enough to invite me to stay with them at the brilliant condo they rented in Austin for the month—the Superhuman Loft! It’s largely because of the two of them I was introduced to dozens of motivated, ambitious, interesting young folks all working to change the world in their own ways.

Will Hutson produces awesome television and video, including A Drink With Dave (with MTV’s Dave Holmes), among other things, and heads up Unscripted, the production company working on the upcoming I Want to Travel show mentioned above. He also shares cool and funny stuff at thehipsterdiet.

Nick Reese is a passionate young entrepreneur, affiliate marketer, and nomad. He’s recently released an impressive project with Chris Brogan, the book How to Turn Traffic and Trust into Sales, and explores what sets some people apart from the crowd at Becoming Bold.

Jenny Blake is a Career Development Program Manager and internal coach at Google, and has just recently published her book Life After College: the Complete Guide to Getting What You Want. A passionate young woman with a personal growth obsession, find her at Life After College.

Thursday Bram is a prolific freelance writer who’s done tons of impressive work for CNET, GigaOm, Lifehack, and many other publications. She’s also runs Hyper Modern Consulting, and is a really friendly gal to bounce business ideas off of over lunch, as I discovered with Jeanie Witcraft (see below).

Karol Gajda is my Polish-American, vegan, digital nomad friend who’s about a foot taller and even more dynamic in person than I imagined! He’s on a mission to help 100 people achieve Ridiculously Extraordinary freedom and he’s setting out on a tour of every roller coaster in the U.S. Karol is also the author of How to Live Anywhere: The Official Guide to Ridiculously Extraordinary Freedom.

Jenny Leonard is a skater chick and a courageous young soul who’s taken some huge risks recently to completely reboot her life, overcoming health challenges and other obstacles, selling all her belongings, and leaving everything behind to start traveling the world. Jenny, Markus, and I shared some cool, deep, vulnerable conversations. She’s always been self-employed and supported herself with her graphic design and creative freelance work. Find her at Where Is Jenny for now.

Andy Drish is someone I’ve been following for a very long time, since the beginning of my time online, so it was great to finally meet him face-to-face, albeit brief. Andy has worked extensively in corporate leadership development, social media marketing, and sales development and shares his knowledge through speaking, training, and workshops.

Benny Lewis is a multilingual Irishman who’s been traveling for almost a decade. He speaks at least 8 languages fluently and constantly relocates to new locations around the world to embark on new language-learning missions and become Fluent in 3 Months. It was especially good “craic” (fun) hanging out with the nondrinking, vegetarian Irish Polyglot for my favorite holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re into travel and languages, check out Benny’s extensive Language Hacking Guide.

Sean Ogle is a good friend that I spent several months with in Bangkok, so it was great to spend time with him again after some time. Sean quit his finance job to travel the world and work with Dan at the Tropical MBA, picking up a wide range of entrepreneurial skills along the way, and now he travels freely, working on several cool projects with some of the biggest names online. He recently put out a great course about Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty, and you can follow all his unconventional adventures at Location 180.

Ryan Martin recently finished a ridiculously epic full year of travel. A close friend of Sean’s who I met back in Thailand, they should be somewhere between Las Vegas and Portland right now. Ryan will soon be working as an adventure tour guide all across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Check him out at Follow Me Everywhere.

Andrew Norcross was one of our partners when we started up Untemplater, so it was really fun to finally meet him in person for the first time in Austin! Norcross is an incredible developer, always helping solve my technical problems, and a stunning web designer (if you need a site redesign, I highly recommend you hire him). As he says, his ’personal brand’ is a combination of Camel Lights, tattoos, his son, and the word ‘fuck’, which is hilarious.

Adam Baker was another cofounder of Untemplater. We met while he was on his worldwide travels with wife Courtney and their young daughter through Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand, and this year the Baker family is on an RV journey across North America. Baker is author of Unautomate Your Finances, Sell Your Crap, and provides tons of great personal finance and life advice at Man Vs. Debt.

Chris Dunphy & Cherie Ve Ard are two technology-enabled nomads who have been traveling full-time since 2006. They started as RVers wandering across the U.S., and this year they’re living on the US Virgin Island, St. John. I only got to hang out with them briefly at the HP Trailer Park at SxSW, where they showed off some of their cool iPhone/iPad apps made for travelers based on needs they’ve addressed in their own travels (app one and app two). You can follow their travels at Technomadia and grab their book Answers to Common Excuses Not to Travel Full-Time.

J. Money is a lively, good-humored, punk rock kinda guy who learned a tremendous amount about personal finance when he got married and bought his first house and now shares it in an exciting, sexy way at Budgets Are Sexy.

Nate St. Pierre wants to change the world, by focusing on giving hope to people on an individual level, one at a time. He and J. Money work together on a truly inspiring project called Love Drop. Check out how you can make a difference in the world in just 15 minutes a week at ItStartsWith.Us.

Jeanie Witcraft has worked as a mental health therapist and is just starting to build a radically new life doing work to change the world sustainably, balancing different spheres of time, focus, and life, and connecting with people one-on-one to help in healing society’s ills.

Monica O’Brien was another of our cofounders when we started Untemplater in 2010. It was fantastic to finally meet her face-to-face, although entirely too brief (we’ll have to do it again soon). Monica is the marketing director at Braintree, and author of Social Pollination, and just recently released her first fiction work Silver Smoke.

A huge thanks to all these folks, and especially to Markus and Ashley who put a lot of us together in one place and made a ridiculously cool mashup of minds possible. It is indeed true, when you surround yourself with insightful, ambitious people, you up your game. I hope to release some interviews and videos with a couple of these folks soon…

Also, credit to Markus Urban for most of the photos on this page.

Please share your South By Southwest experience in the comments!

Finally, a side note: today is my birthday! If you want to help make my year, please consider contributing or helping me spread the word about my 5-week tour across the U.S. I’m seeking a sponsor to make one of my biggest, most ridiculous dreams come true, and I hope to host a big personal development and entrepreneurship summit in April (or next year if we have to, but we will make it happen!) Please help me spread the word by sharing on Facebook or sending a Tweet to your followers. Sincere thanks!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 20 Inspirational, Superhuman Folks I Hung Out With at South By Southwest

Alright, so it’s official!

I’ve purchased tickets halfway around the globe and I will be traveling the U.S. for about five weeks, between March 14th and about April 21st, 2011. I’m very excited about this trip, because it will be my first venture home in two years, and because I’ll have the opportunity to visit several cities and meetup with old colleagues, blogger friends, clients, DNA students, friends and family.

(Read on to see my rough itinerary if you’d like to meet up in person in March or April.)

So here’s the slightly crazy part (every entrepreneur needs to be a little bit insane, right?):

I’ve already invested in airfare, I’m covering travel expenses myself, and no matter what happens, I will be visiting several conferences & events throughout Texas, Arizona, and California for five weeks. But I would love to find a corporate sponsor to help me make the most of my 2011 Whirlwind Thrilling Heroics U.S. Tour and fund some BIG ideas I have for my time there.

If I am going to spend just 5 weeks in North America out of every 2 years, then I want to do some huge, impossible, ridiculous shit while I’m there. I’m confident this can be a massive win-win-win situation for the right company or startup that shares my vision for making a change in the world.

Here’s what I’m about in a nutshell: I am tired of the world some of us grow up in and I want to shatter any notions that people have to settle for “normal” life. I want to truly convince people that they CAN in fact do anything with their lives. They can be anything they want. They don’t have to fit into anyone else’s cookie-cutter expectations, they don’t have to do the same thing everyone else does. I want to help crush people’s fears, and the self-imposed limitations that hold us back. I want to encourage more people to spend a LOT of time to figure out what they’re sincerely interested in and passionate about, to CREATE more, to start up their own small businesses, their own global microbrands and projects to leave their impression on the world, and to have more control over their own time, happiness, and freedom. I want to encourage more people to travel, to live abroad, and to have a wide range of experiences that will make them more informed, compassionate members of the human race.

I believe these things are the future. We won’t make the world a better place ensuring everyone studies calculus in school, by increasing spending year after year on stupid government “solutions” without ever looking at results, or by taxing everyone so we can go murder women and children on the other side of the world, all for control over resources.

No. The future—if our species is to have one for very much longer—requires more creativity (not destruction), more curiosity (not fear), more connectedness. We need to remove as many of the rules as we can—no more white picket boxes—we need to encourage young people to follow their passions, not money. We need billions of people all doing things they love, creating goods and services of real value for each other because they care.

If I sound like a raving lunatic, then you should probably leave now. If these crazy ideas sound like they align with your beliefs, if your company could benefit from working on some interesting projects along these lines, and connecting with a network of remarkable people who believe similarly—people who are actively working to make the world a better place—then read on.

There is a lot of crap out there. But I know for a fact there are thousands (maybe millions) of passionate entrepreneurs out there, creatives, and small organizations that truly seek to make a transformational change in people’s lives and change the world for the better. If what I have to say here on Thrilling Heroics resonates with you, with your worldview, with your company’s mission, then I truly believe there is an opportunity for collaboration that would both make sense commercially and make a difference—it would increase your visibility, get you connected with changemakers, and create a lot of excitement.

Who the Hell Am I to Sell Out Like This?

I’ve spent the last three months pouring myself into building Digital Nomad Academy with my two cofounders Brooke and Milt. In that time, I’ve not taken on any new paying clients for my development and marketing consulting business, no big new projects, other than DNA, which is a personal passion project to help more people create meaningful online businesses (that will also help them travel and live wherever they want). We had a hugely successful prelaunch, and now we’ve got roughly 60 students all going through our course for the first time and helping us ensure that everything is top-notch, and being patient with us as we sort out all the technical aspects and get things running smoothly.

We’re reinvesting a large portion of our revenue back into the business, into the infrastructure, into software to create the best membership site and deliver content in the best way possible, into marketing plans and tools for our official launch the next time around…  And I’m investing the bulk of my time now with our students, ensuring we get the best teachers involved each week to speak with them, answering questions on weekly live phone calls, combing through our peer forums, listening to a lot of feedback, making improvements to the site, and generally trying to ensure Digital Nomad Academy reaches its full potential and that our students are successful in making the life change they desire.

So naturally I was living on savings as we got DNA ready for consumption, draining most of the TH coffers for now…  And I’m investing several thousand dollars now in airfare, travel and living expenses, to get halfway around the world for five weeks and be at several big events.

Like I said, no matter what happens, I will be visiting several conferences & events throughout Texas, Arizona, and California in March and April, but with your support I hope to make this time absolutely remarkable, to plan several gatherings and at least one big retreat, and to connect with as many people as I can and make the biggest impact with my time as humanly possible.

With that said, I am certain if people are interested, I’ll have interest from some organizations that aren’t the best fit for Thrilling Heroics. I will carefully review anyone who applies, speak at great length with the best applicants to ensure that our vision aligns, brainstorm exactly how we could collaborate together on a case-by-case basis, and guarantee that we can create a win-win-win situation together. This is not an invitation to just any company; I only want to partner with someone if it’s a genuine fit.

The 2011 Whirlwind Thrilling Heroics U.S. Tour Schedule

Alright, so here’s my tentative itinerary for my five or six weeks back in the States so far:

• South by Southwest Interactive, March 14–18. I’ll be hanging out in Austin, Texas, for the tail-end of SxSWi and the beginning of the film & music festival. I’m already confirmed to hang out with Benny Lewis from Fluent In 3 Months (who’s generously hosting several bloggers for the week), Karol Gadja from Ridiculously Extraordinary, catching up with my old cofounders Adam Baker from Man Vs Debt, stellar web developer Andrew Norcross, and author Monica O’Brien, as well as Gary Arndt, Sean Ogle, Markus Urban (Mr. Impossible himself!), Chris & Cherie at Technomadia, Charlie Hoehn, Tyler Tervooren, and several others.
• Phoenix, Arizona, March 18–23. I’ll be visiting my little sister and spending time with family for my birthday on March 20th (btw if you want to help me make my biggest birthday wishes come true, please contribute), but would love to meet with entrepreneurs and blog readers in the area. I’ll also be in Sedona, AZ, on the 21st.
• Sacramento, California, March 24–? This is home for me. I’ll spend a few weeks here catching up with friends and working overtime on Digital Nomad Academy, interviews, and other projects for Thrilling Heroics (gotta make use of the blazing fast internet at home while I can!). But if you’re in the area, feel free to let me know.
• San Francisco, California, April ?? At some point, I will be heading to SF to catch up with my old friend Jun Loayza, gen-y serial entrepreneur, visit several friends, and hopefully several other bloggers and readers. Time for a Tweetup!
• Los Angeles, California, April ?? When I head south, I will definitely pop in to check up on my good friend Ryan Lei (recently relocated to the U.S. by the UN Refugee Agency), Clay Boeschen, possibly the Tropical MBA guys, and others. Tweetup time again!
• Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Indio, CA, April 15–17. This is a tradition with a few close friends of mine. I’ve already got my VIP tickets and would love to catch up with any readers who will be there. This is a great festival to see artists from across the region and meet many creative types who flock to Southern California for great music in the middle of the beautiful Coachella Valley desert, surrounded by palm trees, mountains, and gorgeous sunsets.

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Are you going to be in any of these locations?? I would love to meet you! Let me know in the comments below, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Be a Thrilling Hero and Help Me Make My Impossible Dreams a Reality

I’m doing this either way, to the best of my ability. But with your help, I could network with the A-listers, organize several events in three states, and hopefully run a large retreat that will transform people’s lives. For the right sponsor, this could be a ridiculously cost-effective way to reach thousands of people.

Major Opportunities:

#1: As described on their website: “The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conferences & Festivals offer the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW is the premier destination for discovery.”  I don’t have a badge to attend the official SxSW events, but being in Austin while nearly 30,000 people converge for the event still offers plenty of opportunities to meet & greet. For now I’m just crashing the unofficial events, meeting up with tons of people for coffee & after parties, and hopefully organizing my own meetup or two, but if I partner with a sponsor who can help cover the conference costs, that might change, and I’d have the opportunity to attend several keynotes, events, workshops, and private parties, and multiply my impact while I’m there.

#2: If I get full funding, it’s my impossible dream to host an entrepreneurship, personal development, and lifestyle design summit—a sort of unconference & retreat with inspiring, like-minded people who want to create radical change in their lives and build meaningful businesses. Host a group of 15-20 for a series of talks, workshops, trainings, and networking in a beautiful venue for 3-4 days—a place where a group of motivated, creative people can hang out with other like-minded folks to encourage and support each other, probably either in LA or San Francisco in mid-April. Originally I had wanted to plan this in conjunction with Coachella—spend the week sharing inspiration & knowledge, and collaborating together on business ideas, and then spend a fun weekend together at the festival, but my early proposal didn’t get accepted for funding. You can see it here for more details. If not this year, then definitely we will make it happen in April 2012. Do you want to be a part of this??

Thrilling Heroics has over 5,000 subscribed readers, approximately 11,000 members in our larger social media community (on networks like Twitter & Facebook, etc.) and about 15,000 unique visitors per month. This is a relatively small, but very loyal and engaged audience of passionate, motivated, creative, entrepreneurial people who are curious about the world, travel, and building things that make a difference. According to Twitter, when I share about one of my colleague’s product, or a hotel I recommend, or a trip a take, my messages reach at least 50,000 people in my expanded network!

With other communities I have helped build (Digital Nomad Academy, Untemplater, Business Backpacker, In Search Of Sanuk, see here for many of my clients and companies I’ve built online platforms for), it’s nearly impossible to measure the reach of Thrilling Heroics online, however of all websites online, TH currently ranks #56,426 for traffic in the U.S., and is within the top 65K most-visited sites worldwide.

And imagine how those numbers will go up after I rub shoulders with the big wigs at South by Southwest and across the U.S. this year!

So how much would it cost to help make my 5-week U.S. tour Thrillingly Heroic and expose your company to thousands of motivated world-changers?

I am looking for 1-3 unique, remarkable companies to sponsor me with about $5,000–$6,000 US. This will help me cover all transportation and accommodation, conference fees, and startup costs for my big in-person retreat. If you think you would be a good fit, please send me an by email at cody at thrillingheroics.com and we can discuss further possibilities and how to make this a huge success for all of us.

6 Things You Get If Your Company Sponsors My Trip

1. A major sponsor that aligns with my philosophy and my audience’s interests will get prominent adverts across ThrillingHeroics.com site for all of 2011 (probably the only adverts you’ll see on TH anymore).
2. Major thanks and exposure in multiple blog posts, emails to my growing list, and social media updates throughout the year (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Building communities is what I do. If you have something that I believe in and trust, then let’s talk about how I can help you present your service, product, or message to my community and create a win-win-win.
3. Here are just a few people I hope to interview in the next few months: Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, Brian Johnson of Philosopher’s Notes, and Vishen Lakhiani, founder of MindValley. Want your name or logo attached with interviews like these? Get recognition on any video interviews or podcasts I make for Thrilling Heroics this year.
4. Recognition and thank-you, as well as your banner or slide prominently displayed  at any events I coordinate this year, like my dream retreat. Help me orchestrate a killer major event and come participate in-person and present your business directly to attendees if you want!
5. Get access to my network of friends and colleagues on five continents. If there is a possible partnership or collaboration that benefits you both, I am happy to connect you to entrepreneurs in Asia, awesome developers in the US, assistants in the Philippines, affluent world travelers, sailing enthusiasts, underwater basket weaving experts, whatever!
6. Again, if it’s a fit, potentially promote your product, service, or message to customers of my other companies & projects elsewhere.

Make a Donation to Help Me Reach My Dangerously Ambitious Goals

As I said above, my birthday is on March 20th, and if you want to help me make my biggest birthday wishes come true this year, please do it by contributing to my 5-week 2011 Whirlwind Thrilling Heroics U.S. Tour! Individuals can make a small contribution through PayPal if you want to support my trip. Here’s the deal:

• If enough money is donated ($5,000+) and no company sponsors me, I’ll go to SXSW and write about it here to share what I learn with you, and I’ll do as many interviews as I can to help expose you guys to the coolest, most remarkable entrepreneurs out there, ad-free! Also we’ll have seed money to set up my personal development retreat for this and/or next April in Southern California.
• If a sponsor fully funds my target amount, I’ll donate all reader contributions to The Girl Effect and In Search Of Sanuk (my friend Dwight’s charity project in Bangkok).

Please click the donation button at the bottom of this page and make a $25 donation (that’s my suggested amount, but please feel free to make any contribution you feel comfortable with), or you can become a recurring micropatron if you love what I share here on Thrilling Heroics.

Help Me Spread the Word About My Impossible Dreams for 2011

Please help me seek sponsors and spread the news about my impossible goals by sharing this story on Twitter, Facebook and anywhere else you can. If you know anyone who works at a company you think would align well with my mission here at TH, or in an ad or PR company, please email them the link and tell them my story. If we make this happen, hopefully you can count on meeting me inside South by Southwest and there will be a HellaCoachella retreat in April!
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6 Damn Good Reasons to Help:

1. You love what I write here at TH and want to give back for the time & energy I’ve invested here for the last 5 years.
2. I’ve helped motivate or inspire you to make a major change in your life.
3. You’d like to meet me in person at South by Southwest Interactive.
4. You like to support a hard-working entrepreneur trying to make a little dent in the world in a very unconventional way.
5. Help me grow the Thrilling Heroics community so I can make a bigger impact to help you live the life you want.
6. You want to help me make my idea for a fun entrepreneurship, personal development, and lifestyle design summit a reality.

If you’d like to help me make the most of my 5-week trip Stateside, I will be truly appreciative for any generous contribution you can make. Just click here to make a donation. And if you will be in Austin, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, or Indio in March and April, let me know so we can try to meet up in person!

Thank you for your support!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The 5-Week Thrilling Heroics U.S. Tour: Help Me Make the Most of It!

Today’s article comes from Dan Andrews, host of the Lifestyle Business Podcast (an incredible MUST-have resource!) and one of our core faculty members at Digital Nomad Academy. Dan and his business partners are currently offering their third Tropical MBA internship here in Southeast Asia, perhaps a great opportunity for one of you to move abroad, have some income rolling in, and learn some entrepreneurial skills along the way.

You and Your Laptop Can Be a Multi-National Corporation: 7 Ways Location Independence Can Make You Cash Money

The incredible cocktail that Skype and the Four Hour Work Week has created, and the resulting proliferation of location independent professionals and entrepreneurs has been a total game changer for many. For me, it’s meant the chance to travel the world while I grow a business. A dream come true. 5 years ago I didn’t know this sort of thing was possible, and in many ways it wasn’t. There weren’t the Cody’s of the world showing how it can be done, internet connections in developing countries sucked… I mean SkypeOut was launched in 2006!

A lot of people think blowing off to Thailand to run your consulting business is faddish. A flash in the pan. More of the same.

Bullshit.

Because the costs to re-location and globalization are trending, at a very fast pace, towards zero, businesses and entrepreneurs will more and more focus on optimizing their location. It’s a question I’ve started to ask myself more often as the years go by: am I in the right place? (How deliciously existential!)

I’m assuming most of us are are all sold on the incredible personal advantages of living a location independent lifestyle, but what about the incredible business advantages? Multi-nationals have been taking advantage of offshoring for decades, and now you can do it, by yourself, with your laptop. Here are some key ways being location independent can help your business.

1. An extra 40K in personal income. WHAT?! (For US citizens) Did you know that if you can keep your pretty buns outside of the USA for all but 30 days in a calendar year (and establish some sort of permanent residence overseas recognized by the IRS) you don’t have to pay taxes on your first $91,500 of earned income? Hot damn that’s HUGE! Saving money is easier than making money, and this is a huge opportunity to save a bunch. [Cody: remember we're not lawyers or tax professionals here, so start with this article from the IRS and consult a professional.]
2. Personal sustainability. If you are on this site and you’ve got an itch to explore the world—to do something exciting—but instead you decide to “pay your dues” and start a business that doesn’t consider your passions, you won’t be getting your best, most enthused, most productive self on a daily basis. Despite what people say about automation and processes, you are more than likely the most critical element in your business. Get yourself excited and passionate about your lifestyle, and I believe you’ll see it on the bottom line.
3. Set up corporations in tax-friendly countries. Tax rates in countries like the Philippines are much lower than in the west. Why not run your operation from overseas? Even if your main entity is in your home country, you can use your foreign corps to increase your spending and reduce your tax load. (If you are interested in the nuts and bolts of how this works, subscribe to my blog, I’ll be showing how I do this in the coming months). This is the type of financial landscaping that was previously only realistic for rich dudes and big corps, now you can implement it in your business.
4. All your travel is 35% cheaper. YEP, that’s right world traveler. If you are traveling on your business, every single line item is up to 35% cheaper (depending on your tax rate). That’s because you are spending money before it’s taxed by your government. That’s balla!
5. Insource your talent. Universally, travel is one of people’s biggest desires. Tap in to that by offering intelligent people a seat next to you on that train. If you are living a remarkable lifestyle, and running an interesting business, people are happy to be compensated with experiences rather than cash. This can help you scale your business faster, and I promise you’ll have tons of fun in the process. Check out my Tropical MBA internships to see how this can work.
6. Outsource your talent. You are probably well aware of how outsourcing to places like China and the Philippines can help your business by keeping your labor costs much lower as you scale. Why not go meet those people? Make them a part of your business and life. It’s fun, and you’ll learn a ton and be exposed to opportunities you can’t predict.
7. Cash Runway. Got an idea? Got a buddy? Got some programmers? Ready to make that start-up happen? If you are sharp, you can survive for 6 months in Southeast Asia on $5,000 bucks in relative luxury. To an entrepreneur, runway is freedom. It’s the chance to be creative, work hard without distraction, and build something great.

I’m out of reasons… those of you doing this overseas, what other advantages have you come across? I’m taking notes!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 7 Ways Location Independence Can Make You Cash Money

[Note: In case you're wondering, this post is a FOLLOW UP TO THIS POST which resulted in well over 200 comments & survey responses from all across North America, and as far as Australia, Hong Kong, Sweden, Argentina and South Africa! I try my best to respond to as many comments as possible, BTW].

The Story of How I Became a Vagabonding Entrepreneur

As most of you know from reading my site or my free Digital Nomad 101 guide, I left California in November 2008 with a one-way ticket to Asia and no plans to return for at least a year.

My desire to travel abroad started as a bit of an escape—to start fresh somewhere new. I’d had a nasty breakup, found myself bored in my 9-to-5 office job, stagnating in my personal growth, followed by another messy relationship. I was ready for change.

I’d lived in my hometown for 24 years and I was ready for new scenery.

Like Neo in the Matrix, I didn’t know what it was, but always knew that there was something wrong with the world. I looked around at everyone tied to their cubicles, plugged into the Machine, slaving away chasing some “dream”, but really just feeding the System: a system that encourages the status quo, conformity, mediocrity, stagnation, and submission to the same groups that have always held power in our society.

But I digress…

How This Whole “Digital Nomad” Thing Started

I remember the EXACT moment I decided that I was going to follow MY intuition when it came to how I live my life, where I live it, and what I make of it.

Rather than waiting for retirement to do what I wanted with my life, I decided to quit wasting time going down the template life path and start working on doing the things I dreamed of doing NOW. Even if it means I fail a few times before succeeding.

It sounds so obvious once you start thinking differently than they tell you to think about your “career”, but technology now enables us to collaborate from opposite ends of the earth, and build 1-man businesses that span the globe on the internet. What many folks don’t realize is that means you’re no longer tied to one place, geographically.

Digital nomads are the savvy professionals who leverage technology to work from anywhere they want—from home, the coffee shop, on the beach, or from the other side of the world! With a laptop, an internet connection, and a little resourcefulness, you can hire assistants in India or the Philippines, manufacture in China, and sell products to customers on the opposite side of the earth!

From the time I was toying with the idea of sneaking my way into Stanford Graduate School of Business, I’d already built an online platform to share my ideas about business, technology, and social entrepreneurship. And with my growing web development business, I’d already worked with clients in Canada, Australia, France, and beyond. Why couldn’t I run my business from anywhere?

I was smart enough. I was good enough.

There were naysayers who said I’d fail… that I’d go broke and come home with my tail between my legs. I had many moments of doubt (and still do, that’s part of being an entrepreneur!)

But here I am still after more than 2 years, while they sit in their cubicles…

… living near my favorite beach in the world, working on my own creative projects, meeting tons of cool entrepreneurs and travelers, and free to go out for dinner and drinks with friends any night of the week!

Creating a business that I could run remotely from anywhere in the world has given me the freedom to choose: where I live, when I work, and it has enabled me free up more time to put into relationships, writing, volunteering, and many side hobby projects.

And being able to travel frequently and spend extensive time abroad (I’ve traveled to another 8 countries in the last two years) is perhaps the most impactful and meaningful facet of the lifestyle I’ve been able to create. I can’t imagine any better way to learn about yourself, your values, and worldview, than interacting extensively with a wide range of people who will show you their many different diverse cultures, traditions, values, religious beliefs, and more (not to mention their food and parties!)

I used to get emails from friends of friends, or referrals from my clients. People started to notice the way I was living my life.

Now I get hundreds of emails every month from people who are interested in traveling or moving to Asia, or who are striving to build their own freelance businesses so they can have more time freedom and location independence.

When I started, there wasn’t anyone in the trenches with wannabe Digital Nomads like me.

“Lifestyle design” has of course been around for ever. And as you all know, there was Tim Ferriss’ book The 4 Hour Workweek… which was a major wake up call for many of us. And there have been a lucky few who have been working “telecommuter” jobs for the last 15 or 20 years I suppose.

But the Digital Nomad lifestyle is really a paradigm shift. It’s still a new idea in the workplace, still in its infancy. At the time when I got my start, there was nobody out there to mentor me or supervise me or even to brainstorm with me when it came to actually taking my small business mobile.

There were no authorities on the subject who were accessible.

There were no training programs…

So I researched and read and taught myself along the way, taking bits of knowledge from business mentors, internet marketers, travel gurus, social media “experts”, remote workers, and more. And I actually became a part of the early Lifestyle Design/New Rich/Digital Nomad community that was just starting to grow (and still is growing).

My passion (and flat-out obsession at times) for living life on my own terms, and for helping others achieve the same freedom, is what kept me going, and keeps me going, even when things get tough.

In The End, After Tons of Work… All My Passion and Drive Has Worked . . And in a BIG Way.

Back when I began doing all of this (all alone, working until 5 in the morning, pull my hair out some nights) I never would have dreamed that…

• I would have a hugely successful blog—with an audience of thousands of worldly, ambitious readers—and that lets me connect with hundreds of brilliant online entrepreneurs, accomplished authors, and intriguing travelers from around the world in person!
• That I would have millionaire globetrotting clients, and customers on 5 continents!
• That I’d co-found a company (with friends, just for fun!) that would get us in the New York Times
• That my story would be featured in books, or that I’d be interviewed by ABC News or countless business & travel sites
• Or that I’d be speaking at (and helping organize) international business conferences
• Or be able to help underprivileged and orphaned children with my friends at In Search Of Sanuk

But In Addition to Being Humbled By the People I’m Able to Interact with Every Week and the Impact I’ve had, I’ve Also Been Fortunate to Have A Very Gratifying Lifestyle (My Friends Call It Amazing… I Just Enjoy Having Choices).

For example, I get to work FROM HOME (wherever that is this week) on the web with individuals all over the world, and know that I’m making real and meaningful connections with people (and that my interactions with clients and friends can create dramatic changes for the better).

I never would have dreamed that I’d get to set my own schedule (so I have more time to spend with friends, in relationships, and getting to know new business contacts).

And I never would have imagined that I would be able to jet set around so many beautiful destinations and stay in such luxury as I have at times… It doesn’t cost as much as you might think to live a rockstar lifestyle abroad, by making a few savvy choices and using a couple smart geo-arbitrage principles.

So Here’s What I’m Getting To… Here’s What I Feel Compelled To Do…

So here’s the deal. Things have changed since I got my start a few years ago.

There is a TON of demand from people who want to know how to build a business that lets them live like this, way more than I can keep up with (like a thousand times over). And with each passing day, there are also more and more people who are successfully DOING IT. There are a lot of bloggers talking about “lifestyle design” or “location independence” who are just locked up in their dorm rooms—who haven’t actually traveled anywhere, and whose only “business” is their blog, but in the last two years, I’ve gotten to know dozens of people who are REAL success stories, many of them in person. These folks are the real deal. So I feel that our community is being compelled to step up to the plate.

The time has come for a central place to gather all these successful Digital Nomad authorities in one place where those of you who need guidance and encouragement can learn from them directly.

It’s time for some of you to stop living vicariously through what you read here and elsewhere online…

… and I’m on a mission to bring many of my friends and several of the big names online together to take you by the hand and actually TAKE ACTION to move towards the life you want. In my heart of hearts, I want to empower every one of my readers to have the same freedom and choices that I have. I’ve wanted this for a long time. And this is way overdue.

It’s time for Digital Nomad Academy

Last week I asked if there were many aspiring digital nomads out there who’d be interested in my complimentary resources guide.

I’m a lazy procrastinator, and I didn’t want to make the thing if you guys didn’t want it… so I made an interest list to gauge the interest.

(If enough people joined the interest list, I promised you I’d compile the free guide).

Well… um… enough people joined.

I was blown away! Over 600 people signed up for the interest list. I’ve been really humbled by the buzz surrounding the Digital Nomad 101 guide. I even got enthusiastic responses from authors Seth Godin, Rolf Potts, and Sam Carpenter, who I featured in the guide!

And there has been A LOT of interest in the coaching program that I talked about POTENTIALLY developing. So we’re doing it. DNA will become a reality in early 2011.

We’ve already secured commitments from some of the biggest Digital Nomads online to be faculty members at Digital Nomad Academy, and we’re in talks with several more. I’m going to bring as many of my friends as I can into this program to share their success stories, and so you can ask them your questions directly—a wide range of people from all different backgrounds, running different kinds of businesses, traveling and living in different countries.

AND we have an incredible curriculum we’ve spent a LONG time developing for you to go alongside the premium access to the experts. More on that later…

The Final Call

Starting tomorrow, only people on the Digital Nomad Academy early bird list will receive insider information on the upcoming coaching program and receive the free content we’re creating for you (If you’re on the list, you’ll get that free resources guide, and next I’m working on a case studies report, because that’s what many of you asked for).

(I’m not here to hard sell you, and some readers are only here to read my travel stories or my thoughts on web entrepreneurship, not because they want to live the same way I do… so I want to be considerate of them and make sure that they don’t get bombarded with information they don’t want or need).

So if you want to get the free resource guide, and the all the good stuff I’ve got coming your way, I highly suggest you join the Digital Nomad Academy early bird list below now:

That’s It For Now

Well, I’m off to figure out where I’m meeting my diver friends for New Year’s Eve barbecue tomorrow night!

But rest assured that if you’re on the DNA email list, I’ll be hooking you up with lots of great resources and information…

Have a GREAT New Year’s weekend, and remember to check back for your regularly-scheduled programming here next week!

–Cody McKibben
Dean, Digital Nomad Academy

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Digital Nomad Academy – We’re Doing It!