{"id":83528,"date":"2018-04-21T22:44:44","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T05:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=83528"},"modified":"2018-04-21T22:50:12","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T05:50:12","slug":"how-to-become-a-digital-nomad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/21\/how-to-become-a-digital-nomad\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Become a Digital Nomad"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Dear friend,<\/p>\n

If you’ve ever dreamed of living on the road and making a living from your passion, this essay and guide is for you.<\/p>\n

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First of all, I want to let you know that all the information here is based on my personal experiences being a ‘digital nomad’ from 2011-2018, and what worked\/works for me won’t necessarily work for you. However based on my experiences, I hope to give you some practical information I wish I knew before I started this uncomfortable and unpredictable lifestyle, lessons I’ve learned along the way, and practical ideas that can (if you desire) help you achieve your personal dream of becoming a digital nomad.<\/p>\n

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The (less) romantic view of being a digital nomad<\/h2>\n
\"Eric
Everything I need for my digital nomadic lifestyle. Osaka, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To start, what is a ‘digital nomad’? To me, a digital nomad is an individual who makes his\/her living from their laptop, with a wifi connection (anywhere in the world), drinks a lot of coffee, and makes a living (not necessarily a killing) from their passion.<\/strong> I think the misconception of being a digital nomad is that you have to make a bunch of money selling digital products (like selling ebooks, stuff online). Instead, I think you can also make a living as a digital nomad by selling your services (while living on the road), charging money for your labor, or you can be a digital nomad by just living off your savings.<\/p>\n

To me, the point isn’t to be able to brag that you somehow are able to make a living from your passion. Even if you don’t monetize your passion (but can still afford to live cheaply on the road), you are technically a digital nomad.<\/p>\n

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Why become a digital nomad?<\/h2>\n

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OK, let us consider that anyone can become a digital nomad.<\/p>\n

The first “digital<\/em>” part applies to all of us. If you have an email address, own a laptop, own a phone, tablet, and interact with the internet\/social media on a daily basis, you are integrated into the digital ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The second “nomad<\/em>” part means to not settle down in one place for the rest of your life. It is of my belief that it is in our human DNA to NOT<\/em> “settle down.” As humans, we are explorers, adventurers, risk-takers, and we thrive<\/a> the most when we are living a life of randomness, chance, uncertainty, danger, and fun!<\/p>\n

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Kyoto older woman, street portrait. 2018. Looking at this photograph puts a huge smile on my face!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I think we are the happiest when we live a non-settled, non-predictable ‘nomadic’ lifestyle. But of course, I don’t want to force this lifestyle upon you. There are a lot of people who can live happy and fulfilling lives settled in one place (consider that Odyssey’s journey in the Illiad was to return to his home in Ithaca, where he could die in happiness\/peace with his loved ones). But anyways, let us continue.<\/p>\n

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Step 1: Ask yourself, WHY<\/em> do I want to become a digital nomad?<\/h2>\n

\"Flight.<\/p>\n

Primo, don’t romanticize the lifestyle of being a digital nomad. To be frank, it is awesome but not romantic. Cindy and I work everyday, 12-14 hours a day, and live in constant uncertainty, instability, and (still) worry about finances.<\/p>\n

Being a digital nomad means that you’re not going to be able to have a ‘standard’ job. It means you will be away from your family, friends, and loved ones back home. However, the upside is that on a day-to-day-basis, you will probably have more fun, live a more exciting life; precisely because the nomadic life IS<\/em> unpredictable.<\/p>\n

\""The<\/p>\n

So first question,<\/p>\n

\n “Do you desire\/like unpredictability\/instability in life?”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also, do you like being uncomfortable?<\/p>\n

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I think a lot of us in modern-day living are spoiled by comfort, and desire comfort. We desire ‘comfortable’ luxury cars, we want soft\/comfortable beds, we want a “comfortable” income, and a “comfortable” lifestyle.<\/p>\n

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It is of my belief that comfort is the road to waste (old Roman saying). I think we start to degenerate, grow soft and flabby when we have too much comfort in our lives. My focus in life is to keep growing, to keep learning, and to keep augmenting my strength, intellect, and talents– in order to share these gifts with the rest of humanity.<\/p>\n

If you’re on board with me, let us continue.<\/p>\n

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Step 2: How can I make a “living” on the road?<\/h2>\n

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The point of being a digital nomad isn’t to become rich. Instead, it is cutting your expenses to the bare minimum, living below<\/em> your means, in order for you to continue living on the road.<\/p>\n

Therefore the mission is to simply make a “living” (not a “killing”).<\/p>\n

The easiest way to make a living from what you’re passionate about is 1) Reducing your expenses, 2) Earning an income, 3) Staying profitable, in order to sustain your lifestyle.<\/p>\n

1. Reducing your expenses<\/h3>\n