The New Nomad

How many of you travelers can attest that staying fit during your globe-trotting journey is challenging? When you hear "digital nomad", the first thing that comes to your mind is a person enjoying the sun on a tropical beach somewhere, maybe sipping on a delicious cocktail. The reality is digital nomad is a lifestyle that takes time (and tears, sweat, and blood) to achieve. Besides the usual grinding on our laptops, our weapon of choice, it takes discipline and routines to stay healthy living this lifestyle. Eric Lashun, the curator of The Freedom Lifestyle blog, can attest to that.

A good assistant is simply heaven-sent, a remote assistant moreso. A virtual assistant provides various services to entrepreneurs or businesses from a remote location. From digital marketing tasks, scheduling appointments and managing events to personal errands. You can make a virtual assistant do almost anything. Jamie Jay, the CEO and Founder of Bottleneck Distance Assistance believes that virtual assistants, or distant assistants, can make your life easier - you have more time to do the things you’re great at while delegating the nitty-gritty tasks.

As technology allows us to become more and more connected with the world digitally, new possibilities for the way that we can live our lives have sprung up. With the internet becoming so much more accessible and comprehensive, safety is just a tap of a finger away. Anthony “TC” Williams, Area Vice President Multinational Benefits & Human Resources Consulting - Great Lakes & Heartland at Gallagher, a digital nomad whose mantra is always be prepared when traveling.

Technology has changed almost everything about the way we live, from how we travel and navigate to the ways we share information and take photos. For those of you who are in your 20s (and older), I am sure you noticed significant differences in traveling in this day and age. Some things disappear, some things get invented. Modern technologies, smartphones and the internet mean tasks that once took days, weeks or months now happen instantly, at the press of a button or swipe of a screen. Being Microsoft’s Global Director of Travel, Transportation & Hospitality, Shane O’Flaherity is tasked to lead the technology that we enjoy today to make traveling easier and organized.

When you hear digital nomads, you automatically think of people who have all the time in the world to travel yet earning a sustainable income. You think of flexibility. You think of FREEDOM. What most people don’t realize is that it takes a lot to be a digital nomad. As a laptop-wielding warrior, traveling to different countries means that you deal with timezone differences. You deal with safety concerns. Your ultimate weapon is to educate yourself of the risks in this lifestyle. And that’s where Ben Bader comes into play.

There’s a reason why professionals from almost every industry have jumped onto the bandwagon of internet marketing. It’s because they realized the ability of the internet to build brands. There was a time when only celebrities or big companies had personal brands. A time when famous singers, musicians, and actors got all the attention. A personal brand isn’t that much different from a business brand. Instead of marketing a store or product, you’re marketing yourself. Christina Voll helps people build their personal branding and increase traffic to their sites and pages.

We’re living in the digital dystopia and all that we, working travelers, want to do now is TRAVEL. We’re currently seeing the rise of digital nomad visas worldwide as well as entrenched communities of remote workers and ex-pats settle in hotspots and hubs across the globe. Many destinations are hoping the remote work visas will generate income to help make up for lost tourism revenue due to the pandemic but laws in most countries are not set up to deal with this new class of modern nomads who are living and working remotely around the world. And that’s where Dave Williams comes in, as the founder of NomadX.

We all like music, one genre or the other. I don't believe there's a single person that actually dislikes all types of music. Some people love music to a concerning degree like it's the only thing they think about and want so constantly that it feels like an addiction. It's far more than a want, it's a need. Ultimately, music has changed our lives and still changes us every day. That same passion drove Kia Orion to where he is right now - running Beat School and teaching how to create cool music. In this episode, Kia joins us in exploring the world of beats and what it took to thrive in it. From making 10 years’ worth of mistakes and failed tries, Kia finally pursued his passion for music by creating and teaching his students good ole’ ground thumpin’ beats. Our trio of nomads also discussed the challenges in this niche and tips on how to be successful in it. This is a fun-filled (and music tips-filled) episode that you wouldn’t want to miss. Really.

For remote employees and digital nomads, organizational abilities can make or break offsite work experience. Without physical supervision, peer pressure, and the experience of walking into the office, even small tasks can seem daunting, and motivation can plummet. How you structure your remote workday has a huge impact on how you spend your day and thus, how much you get done. And that’s what Chase Warrington has been really passionate about - keeping a remote worker’s day organized and structured.

Whoever said that a community is a way of life could never be more correct. As human beings, we need a sense of belonging, and that sense of belonging is what connects us to the many relationships we develop. Communities are also rich in resources, that is where their collective aspect comes into play. No matter where you go, there will always be a group of people who share the same passion and interests. If there is none, build one! And that is exactly what Gonçalo Hall does. He builds communities and helps them thrive in remote work life.