Until this past weekend, I had no idea the term “Digital Nomad” existed. Turns out, earning a living through a digital medium, like photography, and living on the road or in a nomadic style, makes you a digital nomad. Low and behold, I can call myself a digital nomad. Thank goodness I have another box to fit within! As I scrolled through the wiki page, I realized the box which fits me best is a sub-category of nomads called Van-dwellers. For some odd reason, I like the term van-dweller more than van-lifer. I wonder if anyone else has these same thoughts? Anyways, I digress. I wanted to share some tips and tricks I’ve learned as I dawn this fancy new Digital Nomad title from these past 4-years of roaming.
Be an autonomous learner
Unfortunately, there is no guide map nor “how-to” when it comes to envisioning, designing, and building your life. So, in the beginning, you will have more questions than answers. If you are able to understand how you learn best, answering these unknowns will provide relief. This relief comes from a build-up of confidence. Now, you may notice there is a cycle between knowledge and confidence. With each turn of the cycle, better choices happen to allow you to execute your goals. At times not knowing can be scary and even daunting, especially in the beginning, however, once you understand how you learn, you can teach yourself anything, building your confidence and relieving your worries.
Less you have achieved, before starting, the better
With a beginner mindset, you will be more open and free of routine. This allows an innate level of curiosity that will narrow and specialize as you design your lifestyle. If you are accustomed to living in a house or apartment, reducing your belongings, that have now become trappings, is difficult. Letting go of your things which showcased your successes hurts, but, in the end, it is worth it. On the contrary, if you have nothing, it is easy to leave, but the financial stress may be high. Setting goals, finding creative solutions, and building confidence can help in both cases.
Create your lifestyle, then find the right job
Understandably, this seems like backwards advice, but hear me out. If you are trying to design your life, but you do not know what you want to do, that is perfect. If you knew, you would already be doing it. Since you are taking the chance to learn through the school of hard knocks, you have the opportunity to find what is right for you. Life can take you in all sorts of directions; if you are open to learning the process—as an autonomous learner should be—then having a career, in the beginning, will only distract you. As your journey unfolds itself, you will learn what you need and what you want. At that point, you ask yourself, “How can I do this for the next three years?” Or, if you are one of the lucky ones, “How can I do this for the rest of my life?”
Have a vision, write it down, don’t be afraid to change it with time
A vision can be VERY vague. To give you an example, my initial vision was, “How can live within nature?” That question I asked myself became my life. I wrote it down and learned how I could spend every day outside. In my second year on the road, I slept under the stars over 200 nights and the rest were spent sleeping in a car that was too small for myself. That was as close as I got to the goal, but then things changed. I asked myself another question, “Could I become a photographer and still be under the stars?” Fast forward a few years, here we are, I am a photographer and I am loving the ups and downs!
Now that I just talked about myself too much, here are some bullet points:
-Dream up something, make sure it scares you a little. If it doesn’t scare you, it isn’t big enough!
-Write it down on a piece a paper, ideally a place you can see it multiple times. The dashboard of a car or the inside of a computer is a great place!
-As time goes on, ask yourself if your dream is still correct for you. If not, pivot. If you have achieved your goal, ask yourself, “How can I push this further?”
Final Take Away
With all this said, the key to success as a digital nomad, a van dweller, an entrepreneur, a family person, or anything in life follows an outline. Be able to learn anything. Decide what you want to learn. Build a life around what you are learning. Make sure to dream big, get started, reassess, and persist. I wish you the best in your journey and please reach out if you have any questions. I enjoy hearing from you all.