A couple of strange things I have noticed recently is that you sometimes realise that time passes and you haven’t really got anywhere. Allow me to explain. The presenter of the UK version of big brother, Davina McCall, was interviewed on a talk show the other night. Big Brother has been a painful fixture on the TV schedules for 11 years and I can remember the first series. It is not something that I waste my time with now, but I realised that it felt like only yesterday when the show started and it is insane to think that over a decade has passed. I think that it is worth taking a look at what you have and haven’t achieved in that time and contrasting where you are now to where you want to be. In another ten years will you have taken the necessary actions to get you to where you want to be or will you be looking back at another decade of your life that has slipped away whilst a poor TV programme has been recommissioned each year?

One to ponder…

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When I look at the Lifestyle Projects that people share on this blog, there is a common theme of wanting to quit the 9-5. People have many reasons for wanting to do this, and it is not necessarily that people don’t want to work, it’s more about escaping the confines of the 9-5 environment and being free to live anywhere, work when you choose and be your own boss. As I transition to travel based blogging, and look towards my own break away, I have come across a variety of phrases such as digital nomad, location independent or flashpacker. The bottom line is that there are all people who work (usually online), but on not confined to a single office, desk or even country.

So you’ve made the decision that you want to transition into such a lifestyle. Unfortunately it won’t just happen overnight. By choosing to become location independent you have already realised that you will be working whilst changing your home location. This is probably for a number of reasons, but mainly because you understand that you are going to have to earn money to eat, and because you want to run your own business and hopefully will enjoy doing it. Just because you can’t start the location independent lifestyle overnight, doesn’t mean that you can’t start to make progress towards living that lifestyle now.

Here are 5 ways you can begin your location independent lifestyle today.

1. Brainstorm Ideas.
You need to come up with a business that will support you. To do this you need to understand that the work you will be doing requires the need to be remote and be able to work around the globe with clients in different time-zones. I would suggest that you should see these elements as opportunities rather than constraints. With this in mind jot down all of your skills and take a look at what products and services your location independent business should be able to offer. Think about what you enjoy doing and where you talents lie.

2. Build your Online Presence.
There is nothing stopping you registering a domain and knocking up a quick website (or hiring someone else to do it for you on a site such as Elance), to get you started. This will enable you to do a few things. First there is the psychological edge that you have a business to run. It will enable you to start practising the elements of running the business without quitting your day job. Secondly, you will be able to test markets and any work you do take on will be an important lesson in time management which will stand you in good stead when your next meal depends on it.

3. Build your Business Plan.
Start your business plan today. A business plan – if done correctly – is an evolving document that not only sets out the framework for your business, but also evolves with it. Focusing on getting this important document done (which many business owners neglect) will focus your mind on what you want to achieve and enable you to start ironing out and issues and refining your business offering now whilst you have all the resources you need available to you.

4. Research Potential Locations now.
Start researching locations now, even if you aren’t planning to go there anytime soon. This will make you aware of how to research accommodation and the office facilities that go with them. Make a few calls, try and get used to communicating with other cultures and whet your appetite for the lifestyle you are working towards. Build up knowledge of where to find this kind of information and the things to look out for.

5. Be Frugal.
In the initial stages of your location independent lifestyle, as you build up a client base, and also later on with any changes in the economy or seasonal demand, there will be times when you have less spare cash. Adapt this way of thinking into your lifestyle now, so that it becomes second nature down the line. Once you take the plunge you won’t need many of the possessions you have now, so ask yourself if you really would want to carry that extra gadget etc. For an extreme exercise in this aspect of the lifestyle pack up all your belongings in a suitcase and set yourself a budget. Try and live within that budget and only use items in that suitcase for a couple of weeks and see how it takes your fancy.

Whilst your mobile lifestyle may not be here yet, you can certainly start living the lifestyle now and preparing for the road ahead.

What tips do you have to start your journey to independence?

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For various reasons – I’m keeping the post simple this week. The quote in the image above says all I want to say perfectly – so I thought I’d leave it at that.

Note: Whilst the quote in the above says ‘unknown’ as the source, a quick bit of googling attributes it to Mark Twain.

Have you regretted not acting on opportunities? Are you making sure you won’t regret not doing stuff in twenty years time? Let me know in the comments!

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• New Post on my New Blog: Sometimes you’ve got to be the tourist – hope you enjoy it!

Image by [Satbir] on Flickr via Creative Commons

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There other night I saw the new film Yes Man, starring Jim Carrey. This is based on a book by the writer Danny Wallace, although the film follows a different story to the book. The basic premise of the plot is that the main character leads a boring life. Since the breakdown of his marriage he has become an introvert and says “No” to going out with his friends and similar opportunities. He attends a cult-style seminar where a man describes to him the power of saying “Yes”. He is told that he needs to say “Yes” to everything, obviously with appropriate entertaining consequences.

Behind the easy watching of the film is a real message that good things happen if you start to say “Yes” to things. How many opportunities have you passed up on because you are stuck in the rut of your current job or group of friends? Remember the last time you did something truly spontaneous? I bet you had a great time that you weren’t expecting.

Before I get in to the reasons why you should say “Yes” more, I feel that I should justify this in the context of some of my previous writing. When talking about maximising your time and making sure that you have control of your time and not letting people steel it from you, I have talked about learning to say “No”. The point of this is that you should say “No” to things that do not get you towards the places where you want to be, or those that add to you already endless to do list and give you no real reward.

Reasons to say “Yes”

1. Learn something new
If you say yes to something that you wouldn’t normally, chances are you will learn something new. Everything we do is a learning experience, but if we repeat the same routines over and over again then you will start living you life on auto-pilot. Saying “Yes” to something new is a great way to open your eyes to a whole new world of experiences and opportunities.

2. Operate outside of your comfort zone
Often we say no to new experiences because we are afraid (either consciously or subconsciously) of what the experience will bring us. Operating outside of your comfort zone teaches you deal with difficult situations. “Do something everyday that scares you” Eleanor Roosevelt.

3. Choose your destiny
You are where you are today as a consequence of the decisions you have made up to this point in time. By saying yes you are making a conscious effort to have a positive influence on the direction your life is taking.

4. Help others
Do you really spend enough time helping others? When was the last time you said “No” to a friend and missed out on something great. Say “Yes”, help and spend time with others. This is something that you will only regret if you don’t do it. Life is too short to say “No” to everything. When was the last time you had the opportunity to help someone else but refused? Say “Yes” and make someones day, as well as your own.

5. Help yourself
It’s not just opportunities and other people you may want to think about saying “Yes” to more, but also yourself. How many things do you censor yourself from doing? Think back to something you said “No” to in the past and now regret. Don’t live in regret, allow yourself to say “Yes”.

Obviously this is the “Yes” side of the argument, but I think you should give it a try. Start saying “Yes” to more opportunities (not pointless tasks) and see where it takes you.

What do you think? Will you give it a try?

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I know that a lot of my readers (judging by the Lifestyle Projects people have been leaving – thanks!) are interested in running and fitness. I myself enjoy am a (very) amateur triathlete, and I like to support charity. Therefore when I heard a few weeks ago about TrainforHumanity.org I thought it was a great idea. I also thought, how the hell does Leo execute so many good ideas! (I think that the point is that he does take action. It’s all very well having ideas but what makes people successful in their pursuits is taking action on those ideas).

Here’s the blurb, I hope you will support in any way you can.

Over the past five years, 200,000 civilians have died due to violence, malnutrition, and disease in Darfur and an additional 2.2 million people have been displaced. We want to do something about it.

Fed up with watching humanitarian crises on the evening news and not doing anything to help, a group of bloggers (most notably, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits) have created and founded the non-profit Train for Humanity, which is an online humanitarian awareness and fundraising organization.

Over 150,000 new blogs are added to the internet everday. Train for Humanity’s mission is to utilize the web, social media, and blogging, in tandem with athletes in training, to support organizations that help prevent suffering and alleviate the pain of children, orphans, and refugees who have been displaced due to genocide or internal strife and war within their country.

Quite simply, they believe – getting fit + social media + blogging = social good

The three pilot project athlete-bloggers, Mark Hayward, Dan Clements, and Leo Babauta are hoping to raise awareness for the current crisis in Darfur and funds for the organization Darfur Peace and Development. All three are training for endurance events of varying distances ranging from a triathlon to a marathon.

They hope to show people that with a little creativity and innovation, anyone can assist and make a difference in the world. If you would like to learn more, have a look at the Train for Humanity website and please consider sponsoring one of them or spreading the word.

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“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.” Carol Welch

I’m doing well with my Healthy Living Plan (which I am currently researching and experimenting with, but hope to turn in to posts and an eBook later). Part of this plan involves exercise (as you would expect). Everyone knows that they need to exercise. In fact most people probably need to do far more exercise than they currently do. With the Olympics starting today, maybe that will motivate you to dust off your running shoes and venture out.

There are plenty of good reasons to exercise.

1. Health Benefits. OK everyone knows this, but hard though it may seem to start,  you will soon look and feel better and that will motivate you further.
2. Get out. Exercise is a great way to get away from your computer, your phone and the distractions of life. You can just focus on the one activity and that is a rare situation for many people in the modern world.
3. De-Stress. Exercise releases hormones that reduce stress and relieve tension.

There are issues with exercise that people find difficult.

Starting

This could be starting to exercise (i.e. stopping being a couch potato), or starting a run because it is raining. I find that it is best in this situation to just do it, don’t think about it, JUST DO IT! (see my blog post about this here.)

Maintaining

1. Don’t skip more than one day without exercise. Make this a personal rule. If you miss a day of exercise (excluding one rest day per week that you should have), make sure that you exercise the next day. No excuses.
2. Reward. Give your self a reward for hitting a exercising target or goal. Perhaps best to make it something constructive rather than a big cream cake (that would kind of defeat the object of healthy living).
3. Take Little Steps. There is the saying “Don’t run before you can walk”. Build up gradually otherwise you will get too tired or injured and lose you motivation. Set realistic but challenging goals, and don’t increase by more than 10% per week (that’s time, intensity or weight lifted etc).
4. Accountability. Make yourself accountable for your exercise. Sign up for a 5k run or a super-sprint triathlon. If you are fitter but need to keep your motivation going, sign up for something bigger like a marathon. Make yourself accountable to yourself and others.
5. Training Plan. Put together a programme for yourself or find one online. If you plan and set out a training plan it will be easier to maintain. Also it is a good idea to keep a record of your progress as a motivator and to look back on your achievements.

Finding the time.

Set up getting fit (or staying fit) as a personal goal, simplify your goals and eliminate what you don’t need to do. Bring it forward in your consciousness and make time (put it in your diary as an appointment you must attend). If it is important enough to you, you will find the time and make time. Maybe you need to force yourself a bit? Get a training partner or sign up to a local club or group.

GO FOR IT!

Here are some links you might find useful:

Leo’s Tips on Minimalist Fitness – fresh off the ZenHabits press (note I drafted my post above in a meeting yesterday before Leo’s posted this morning!)

Cool Running Couch to 5K plan

Tim’s Geek to Freak Programme

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Thanks for reading.

I hope you enjoyed my post. I’d love to hear your comments below or get a Digg or Stumble!

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If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up. J.M.Power

I have some content to Post on Goal setting. However, I just wanted to put a post up about my own personal goals (accountability is a great motivator). I expect that my goals with ultimately drive a lot of the content on my blog.

I have spend time eliminating, simplifying and deliberating over what my goals are in my life. I will talk about this separately, but for now I just want to get my current goals posted (I’ve limited it to three, with explanations).

1) Generate Income Without a 9-5 Job

Why is this goal important? Well, for me there are a number of reasons. Firstly, I don’t like working for other people. I am good at my job, and I do work hard but it I don’t want to be the employee, I want to be the employer. Ever since a young age I wanted to be an Entrepreneur. I used to experiment with business ideas, but as I grow older I put too many negative thoughts in to starting any ventures. THIS WILL CHANGE. You have to be in it to win it! Watch this space.

This goal will allow me to achieve my ambition to move abroad etc.

2) Be in a Band

I’m not talking about the next big thing here. Just a covers band to have fun. I’ve played the guitar for over ten years now. I think I am good, but I’ve always wanted to be in a band. It’s just ‘finding the time’ or ‘finding the right people’. I need to eliminate my personal obstacles and Just Do It!

3) Maintain Fitness

I’m quite fit, but my exercise routines vary greatly. I took up triathlon’s once and way very dedicated for a season. It was a time where I had a job that allowed me to finish on time and get my training done. Then it just fizzled out! I did the 62 mile charity bike ride this weekend. I’ve always enjoyed keeping fit, and feel better for it. So my goal here is to maintain it constantly, rather than having short peaks, and long troughs in my training.

So there are my BIG goals. I do have short term goals, but I find that I can’t do everything and need to just do the ones that if I was sat on my death bed I would regret not doing.

More to come…

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“He that can’t endure the bad will not live to see the good.” Yiddish Proverb

I got the idea for this post whilst out on a 3 hour bike ride the other day (I’m in training for a 100k charity ride this weekend). It was raining hard (which is not unusual in the UK!) and as I was cycling along I was thinking about why I was out in the rain. I enjoy cycling and like to keep fit but not in the rain, however I had to ‘Just Do It’ as I needed to get the training in for my upcoming ride.

Sometime you have to ‘Just Do It’. OK, it makes for the most recognisible tag line for a brand going, but also makes for a good mantra – especially when you are faced with things that you don’t want to do. We all face these kind of things, whether it be at some admin you don’t want to do at work or a social gathering you don’t want to go to. Sometimes you have to ‘Just Do It’.

Tips to ‘Just Do It’

1. Start - i.e. Just Do It. Don’t think about it too much. If you know it is something you have to or need to do. Then most times it is easier to ‘Just Do It’ than to put it off or make excuses.
2. Enjoy – I think that you should always try and make the best out of any given situation. If you can’t do that in the ‘now’ of doing something then set yourself a reward up for ‘Doing It’.
3. Move On – Get it Done, finish it, then you don’t have to worry about it any more.

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