Even though you might assume from reading the glossy pages of this mouth-watering site that I just sit around idly on beaches all day, sipping sweet sweet coconut shakes, even the simple act of sitting on beaches burns up a tremendous amount of one’s precious time when you factor in all the travel planning, the frequent moving around, and the actual hard work it takes to get to the point of being able to visit so many beautiful places.

While 2011 might have been the biggest struggle for me both in business and personally, 2012 felt like the craziest year of my life. It was a load of fun, but also just insane and emotionally trying.

This post has taken me about five or six weeks to finally click the “publish” button on. It’s been an immense mental obstacle.

It’s actually been quite a weird, difficult trip—looking back over the last year, going through and editing up photos, retracing my steps to string some sort of a timeline together to share with my generous, lionhearted readers here.

Just over one year ago, my grandfather passed away. I wrote about it here. I realized, only afterward, how huge a role model he was in my life.

Also, towards the end of the year I broke up with my long-time girlfriend, causing just a mild bit of chaotic disarray in my life and plotting me on an entirely different course than the one I’d been planning.

Oh well.

In between all of life’s big changes and rollercoaster-worthy ups and downs, we had a tremendous amount of fun. Like, what’s probably illegal amount of fun in many states back in the US.

I was fortunate to reinforce relationships with my family, have some unprecedented new experiences with old friends, develop relationships with a wide array of new friends, and learn some important lessons.

As humans, we tend to want to cling onto things—people in particular, but possessions, places, our jobs, our identities… We tend to make the logical error of looking at most things as permanent, when nothing is. More and more, that’s one of the biggest lessons that life is teaching me, especially with my travels.

The paradigms of a weirdo

As a permanent traveler, I don’t have many possessions. My life pretty much fits in a bag, and aside from a few gadgets I replaced this year, I don’t really own things. I’m not particularly interested in buying things. (If you’re looking for someone to go shopping with, I’m certainly not the best company in the mall.)

I rent; I don’t own. I even struggle to maintain anything resembling a routine because I tend to move house every few months or so, if not completely changing location.

Even when you do stay in one spot for a few months or years, people come and people go. As a traveler or an expat, you get used to saying goodbye on a regular basis.

So I’m becoming accustomed to having a completely new living situation, life circumstances, work environment, activities, and friend groups quite frequently.

Nothing lasts forever; most things don’t even last long, no matter how much you pay for them. And you certainly can’t take it with you when you’re dead. That’s why I really don’t measure wealth in monetary terms as much as most people do, and certainly not in terms of the ownership of possessions, or toys…

Instead, I look at life as a collection of experiences, and I prefer to invest my resources in having new experiences, fun experiences I can share with the people I care about, and hopefully memories that I can file away in my virtual personal mental memoirs (don’t worry, one day I’ll write a book, when all parties involved are either dead or in prison).

Your memories of great experiences, and even the tough learning experiences, will stay with you and endure the test of time much longer than material objects will. And thankfully today we’re blessed with technology so we can easily capture a lot of our experiences in photographs, video, text and more, to help supplement our distracted, ADHD-riddled, faulty little minds.

That’s why I’ve been wanting (for quite some time) to share just a fraction of my experiences over the last year with you here through pictures. Click here if you can’t see the images above.

In 2012 I probably spent between $10 – $15K on airfare, conferences, hotel rooms, fancy villas, and condos. I traveled a total of 61,559 miles, and visited at least 23 cities in 7 countries.

I celebrated my sixth Christmas and New Year’s abroad…

I saw the Philippines and Vietnam for the first time.

And even though I’ve been location-independent for over four years now, I spent about six months solid living in hotels, which was fun, but too intense even for this nomad (I’m more of a slow travel guy).

And I completely failed to write much of anything about all of my adventures here.

(When you run your own business and travel as much as I do, as well as juggling relationships and all the daily things life throws at you, it means there’s little time left for blogging. As far as my productive time and energy, it’s all gone into my mentoring business for the last two years, and working with my students on five continents.)

So while we’re already well into 2013 (damn, how the hell did that happen already??), I just wanted to look back at the last year, where I’ve been and what I’ve learned. It’s been a long while since we’ve had a chat, and I thought I should catch you up on what’s been happening…

The tantalizing timeline

It starts with an icy snowstorm as I touched down in Seattle last January—the worst in several years I believe—as I was returning home to California, earlier than my expected annual visit, to attend my granddad’s memorial service. It was a sad time, and it had been very difficult in the last few days to know what to do on the opposite side of the world as he succumbed to Alzheimer’s.

On the bright side, I got to spend a lot of quality time with much of my family I hadn’t seen in a long time, my dad collected family photos and pictures, and we had the chance to celebrate his life as we all shared a very special evening together filled with many stories, photographs, laughs and tears.

I caught up with many old friends back home, spent time with my little sister and her fiancee, and was able to meet with Digital Nomad Academy students Timothy Juliussen and Emelina Minero in person. I crashed with my buddy Maneesh Sethi, system-hacker and DJ, in San Francisco for a few nights, finally meeting up with some new faces and a bunch of old friends again.

In February, I left the stormy weather behind on a jet pointed back to the tropics, where I met up with my cousin and a friend for a week just with the boys on the beaches of Thailand. They flew in from South Korea, where they live and play in a few bands, and spent a few nights jamming with local musicians in reggae bars. Then we traveled out to Koh Phi Phi, the island made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio. Overpopulated with tourists, we stayed in a peaceful luxury nature lodge on one of the more secluded beaches… we traveled out to the pristine Phi Phi Leh island where “The Beach” was filmed by day, and by night we partied into the late hours with the revelers in the heart of the backpacker trail.

We then took the ferry over to the more quiet, relaxed island of Koh Lanta, where Emily bussed in to join us, and I treated her to a luxury beachfront villa for Valentine’s Day.

Emily and I finally said goodbye to Ao Nang (where we’d been living together for two years) in March, made our way from the Andaman Sea across to the other side of Thailand’s southern peninsula to the Gulf of Thailand, where we lived for a little over a month on Koh Phangan. Infamous for its Full Moon Party (if you’re a 20-year-old gap year traveler), Phangan is actually also home to a lot of yoga, meditation, and good, clean, quiet living to many people’s surprise.

We enjoyed the beaches on the northwest side of the island, laying low to focus on a service to help others who want to move to Thailand and a few new business ideas, and I worked my ass off in anticipation for a big upcoming tour around Southeast Asia.

I conspired with a few of our friends back in Ao Nang to make a big party for Emily’s birthday in late April, taking her out to The Sanctuary Resort—an upscale but very relaxed spa, detox, and wellness retreat on its own private beach—where the two of us stayed in a treehouse bungalow perched up in the trees overlooking the gorgeous palm forest and the alluring protected cove of Haad Tien beach for a few nights (also a breathtaking spot for stargazing). On day two, we surprised her sandals off with a dozen friends who journeyed across the peninsula to visit her, and decked out one of the nearby beach bars on the next bay over for a special celebration.

Before we left Koh Phangan, my man Maneesh came out for a weeklong visit with us (though his silly brother Ramit was too preoccupied staying at the Ritz in Bangkok!) so of course we ended up going for the Half Moon Party in the middle of the night in the jungle to get some trippy DJ action. And we got to meet with my DNA student Tom Frearson and his girlfriend Elly, who had moved to Bangkok from the UK and were traveling around Thailand.

We spent three weeks running around the Philippines, where I attended the Startup Weekend event at the University of the Philippines in Cebu City with my man Chris Ducker the outsourcing king, my buddies Justin and Joe (the AdSense Flippers), DNA member Mike Stankavich and several other entrepreneurs… we got 5-star treatment from the Cebu City Tourist Police (a story I’ll share another time)… traveled to the opposite side of the island to Moalboal, where we swam with the stunning whale sharks—another experience for the history books—fish the size of school buses!

On neighboring island Bohol, we were treated to an amazing week at the boutique Amarela Resort, where the warm, welcoming owners have a white hot passion for the traditional artwork, beautiful antique furniture, and amazing local food and mix it all with 2 parts relax and 2 parts luxury on a gorgeous private beach on Panglao. We saw the unique furry little tarsier monkey things, the spherical green Chocolate Hills, the centuries-old churches, and many other sights and warm smiles of Bohol.

On Palawan, we stayed right on the beach at the Daluyon in Sabang beach. We made friends with an Aussie couple that oozed with character; Kevin used to have is own jazz combo in the 80s—like Rat Pack style stuff in nightclubs and lounges—and the hotel’s owner took us out for an epic night on the town at one of the local live music bars in Puerto Princesa for music and dancing where Kevin performed with some of the local Filipino band members.

We spent two days in Manila (which really didn’t excite me much as a city). But at least the Dusit Thani in Makati bumped us up to one of their fanciest executive suites and took amazing care of us, so no complaints there.

We spent a month living in the heart of Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City), where we rented a room from a friendly Vietnamese family via Airbnb right in the center of District 1 literally right next to the Bến Thành Market, ate cheap and delicious local pho noodles on the street almost every day, gorged on delectable juicy prawns and crab in the market (Saigon has the most impressive fresh seafood I’ve seen in Asia), worked our asses off, and spent evenings out frequently enjoying sushi, nightlife, and Saigon’s upscale bars with our new friends Jon Myers and Anna Calderone.

I made a few trips to Bangkok, visiting with my best friends—eating street food, and soaking up Vietnamese coffees and sandwiches at Dwight Turner‘s house—and a few stops into Singapore where we often stay with our friend Michelle on the outskirts of the town where she has an amazing 16th-story view of the beautiful forest that surrounds the city, and where I visited again with my friend Derek Sivers of CD Baby, one of the most financially successful, but more importantly most thoughtful, inspiring, and empathetic people I’ve been lucky to get to know on my weird entrepreneurship journey.

In July I finally made it up to Chiang Mai after four years in Southeast Asia! I spent six weeks in Chiang Mai on my own while Emily was back in France taking stock of materials for our new business. I found a nice room at Green Hill Place, with a pool and a view, spent a lot of time concentrating on work, going to my favorite cafe Ristr8to (Arnon has more passion for his craft than just about anyone I know), and getting to know many new friends—travel writer Ash Clark, Ian Borders of MergePay, Scott who runs a regular Biz Meetup here in CM, Doug of Efficient WP, Gabe of Maven Labs, James Clark of Nomadic Notes, and many many more.

Emily and I met back up in Bangkok and flew back “home” to Ao Nang for our friend Huw’s traditional Thai wedding with his long-time girlfriend Kung.

We returned to Chiang Mai together for a few weeks, where we stayed in an impressive serviced condo with floor-to-ceiling windows, a great balcony, breathtaking view of the lofty Doi Suthep mountain, pool and gym (and I actually tried to get back into a gym routine for once!).

We spent a month housesitting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, caring for two gorgeous Weimaraners and a two-story house in the “Beverly Hills” of KL, on the outskirts of town, where we worked hard building the website and finally launching Emily’s new ecommerce business French Antique Textiles where you can buy antique and vintage fabrics online.

We went for a romantic weekend on the river at the illustrious Casa del Rio in Malacca, enjoying the city’s rich history, a mixture of local, Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch culture, and tasty food.

In October we returned to Bangkok for a conference put on by Dan and Ian for their private Dynamite Circle community. I wanted to connect with a bunch of folks I’d known online for ages, to learn more about ecommerce from the masters, get some feedback on Emily’s new business, and make connections with guys doing manufacturing in China. It was a blast, with nearly 70 other nomads, presentations from my buddies Chris Ducker, Ian Borders, Derek Sivers, and others, and I got to finally meet a bunch of good folks like Brendan Tully the dadgum business genius, Edmund John of Flag Theory, and the mysterious Simon Black in person.

He does exist folks!

Anyways, two of my closest childhood friends came out on their first excursion to Asia to visit for two weeks. We spent a few nights in Bangkok, enjoyed my favorite VW van bar, then down south to show them around Railay Beach and Krabi, stayed in a few beautiful beach resorts, had a few fresh coconuts, a few cocktails, a few dinners on the beach, fed a few monkeys, and had lots of laughs.

In November Emily and I decided to part ways, and we spent our last few days together in Singapore just enjoying each others’ company and having loads of fun going out with our friend Michelle, who works for a food & beverage industry startup and loves to show us around all of SG’s fancy restaurants and nightclubs.

I flew back to Chiang Mai, where I met up with old friends, many long-time expats, and a lot of the Dynamite Circle crowd who had come up north after the Bangkok conference, spending a lot of time with friends like John Bardos of Jet Set Citizen, Stacey Herbert of Brazen Copywriter, Travis Jamison of Supremacy SEO, writer Elisa Doucette, Jenny Leonard of Where is Jenny, and building new friendships with web designer Yamile Yemoonyah, Matt Kress of Relate.ly, SEO genius Alexej Friesen, blogger Niall Doherty, sales copywriter Jurgen Dhaese, PPC consultant Alex Fredheim, Will Evans of Chiefs, and many others.

Many of us went and celebrated the fantastic Yee Ping Festival in late November, a mind-boggling display of light as thousands of candle-lit floating lanterns rise up into the night sky.

In December, I spent a week back in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, staying at Chris Zobrist‘s Start Center for Entrepreneurs in District 1 (with great, inexpensive rooms adjacent), hanging out with my old friend and foodie/journalist Jodi Ettenberg, sex(y) blogger Will Peach, and DNA member Barbara Adam, who took us for a nice Saigon street food tour!

I took a weeklong holiday in Bali again, where I met up with my student Tom Frearson after a six month hiatus, and he and his girlfriend (and his sister!) have just moved there and signed for a 1-year contract on a house! Tom is working hard on a great health, fitness, and grooming business and it’s great to see how far he’s come.

I’ve spent a lot of time coworking in cafes here in Chiang Mai, going out for dinners and drinks with new friends, getting to know my students Andre & Marta, Tim Wooten, and Scott Barrick, who are all based here now, and organizing several networking mixers for the huge community of nomads, freelancers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs here around Chiang Mai.

Later next week I’ll be working with John Bardos on his Unconference for Social Good here in Chiang Mai, bringing together nonprofits/NGOs and entrepreneurs to discover new connections. And at the end of the month I’ll be leaving Chiang Mai for now, and I’ll spend the month of March down south in Krabi before I move on to new destinations in 2013.

If you’re around, let me know.

Lessons that sucker punched me in the face

Many of these anecdotes I’ll flesh out into full-fledged stories at some point in the future, but to boil it all down for you here now, after all this, I found that working with ambitious people who really want to change their lives is immensely rewarding. I absolutely love getting on the phone and talking with my students, hashing out people’s business ideas, and just being part of the journey and watching/helping hard-working people create sustainable businesses, quit their jobs, and build lifestyles they truly enjoy.

I’ve watched so many people quit their jobs so far. Just in the last month, our members Eugene and Jason both left their employment to go full-time with their own businesses.

I’ve met with about 10 or 12 of my students along my travels, or here in Thailand (many have moved abroad already!), and I’ve watched stories unfold like Rodrigo’s, an ambitious young guy in El Salvador, who within six months built his own web services business, hustled hard and worked his ass off doing amazing work, and is already earning more from his new business than from his job.

I found that there’s a strange paradox, where when I’m with someone (in a romantic relationship), I have far more motivation to work my ass off to make money and provide a living. I just want to work all the time. Which is sort of counter-intuitive and weird. As nice as it all looks like from the photos, I probably should have spent a lot more time doing the fun stuff and being present, actually enjoying the places we were.

I also discovered that even when I do a crummy job of keeping up with my work, and spend a few months just burning through cash (i.e. traveling for six months nonstop and staying in plush villas and fancy hotels all the time), no matter how broke I got, something always works out and I’ve never gone absolutely bust.

I’ve certainly built up a lot of recurring income and resources over the years, so maybe I’ve just gotten better at business, and at generating value, but sure there have still been several times when I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay the rent. I guess what this year taught me though was that one way or another, I always overcome those obstacles even when I least expect it.

I discovered that being in one place for just three days is too hectic for me. While I saw a lot of new sights, spent time with tons of amazing people, and was fortunate to collect all kinds of fun experiences this year, I really figured myself out a bit, in that I truly prefer slow travel. I like to be able to find a spot I really like, settle in a bit, rent a house, apartment, or condo for at least 3 to 6 months in one place at a time, and experience the local culture, get to know people, and feel like I have a bit of a firm grounding. It’s much easier for getting things done and for maintaining a social life. I still think at this stage in my life, I tend to get tired of a place after a year and a half or so, and I’m going to want to keep exploring new countries and cultures for a few years to come… but I like to take my time.

Another lesson I’ve really taken in over the last 5 or 6 months here in Chiang Mai has been that your peer network is everything. I didn’t realize how much I missed having like-minded people, other entrepreneurs and web freelancers, actually physically around me on a regular basis. Chiang Mai is a hotbed right now for digital nomads, and it’s been great having so many inspiring, motivating people around to share good conversations with and bounce ideas off of.

I think my biggest takeaway from this tumultuous year was the lesson of impermanence; at this point in my life, my philosophy is that everything is temporary, and that it’s unwise to cling too tightly to anything, or to resist change. Our lives… the world around us… the universe is change. But we can have an irreverently good time in the face of that change.

If you want to embrace the change, if you’re someone who’s interested in living a digital nomad lifestyle like me, if you think you can put in the hard work and bear the ups and downs in order to experience the rewards we get to have on this rollercoaster ride of a life, you can read what my mentorship community is all about here.

Two years into this mentoring business—this training course, this community, or whatever you want to call it, it’s sort of taken on a life of its own—I’m starting to really see how important community is for people going it on their own. I’m starting to see how powerful a change this can make in people’s lives. It’s starting to gain momentum on its own, and I can finally see how all this effort and time I’ve put in are actually impacting people’s lives. It’s still got a long way to go, and it’s very early days for this consciousness shift in society at large, but there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing than giving a helping hand in transforming our working world and the way people live their lives.

Come join us!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 1 Year in the Crazy Whirlwind Life of a Digital Nomad

2012 so far has been quite an amazing ride:

• I closed a deal with the largest women’s cosmetic company in the US
• Launched my first e-commerce store
• Moved into a 1-bedroom apartment in San Francisco with my girlfriend Kim
• Left my internet startup after two and a half years to pursue a lifestyle business

When I first became an entrepreneur back in 2007, I dreamt of having a multi-million dollar exit with an internet startup that changed an entire industry. Over the past 5 years, I failed with one company, successfully sold two companies, and raised over $1,000,000 in angel funding. I haven’t had the multi-million dollar exit yet, but I’ve realized that I don’t need it; I left my latest internet startup because I’ve finally realized what makes me happy and what my 5-year and 10-year goals are.

The location independent dream

I’ve greatly admired Cody ever since I first met him back in 2008. I want to travel the world like him and live and work wherever the wind takes me. But I chose a different career path, the path of the internet startup, because I was drawn to the hype of building the next Facebook. If I were single, I’d be on a plane right now to meet up with Cody in Thailand and build my lifestyle business on the sweet sands of Hua Hin. But I have a loving girlfriend who I’ve committed to stay with in San Francisco for at least a year. I therefore have a year to complete my goal:

Build a lifestyle business that generates $5,000 in monthly profits that will allow Kim and I to travel the world

Why I’ve moved away from a fashion e-commerce store

I recently spoke with Cody about how I built and launched an e-commerce store that generates more than $10,000 in revenue per month. The upside of an online fashion store is amazing; however, there are many moving parts and obstacles associated with a fashion brand. I’ve made the decision to have my girlfriend run the store on her own time while I pursue a different venture.

Obstacles I faced with an online fashion store:

1. Need to constantly launch a new catalog: every season needs a new catalog with a large selection. In fact, Summer needs multiple catalogs to keep shoppers coming back to the site. Catalog shoots are expensive and time consuming: find a model, hire the photographer, rent a location, and accessories for the shoot. With so many moving parts, it’s extremely difficult to remove myself from the equation and build systems that will allow me to minimize my work hours.

2. SEO is less effective with a fashion brand: I’m amazing at driving traffic to a website; however, my skills in SEO and adwords are less effective with a fashion brand because women don’t search for “green maxi dress” on Google; instead, women go directly to the websites of their favorite brands and stores to search their new catalogs. In order to succeed with a fashion e-commerce store, I need to spend the time and energy to build a strong brand that resonates with women – something that I just can’t do.

3. Returns can be a headache: clothing can be difficult to sell online because women can’t try it on in a fitting room before they buy it. We therefore had quite a few returns because the clothing just didn’t fit or because it didn’t fit the way they wanted it to. To maintain a strong brand, we accepted all of the returns, but it greatly cut into our margins.

4. Traffic is generated through expensive advertisements: the vast majority of our traffic came from ad placements on fashion blogs and fashion online magazines. The ads drove good traffic and we had about a 2% conversion rate on sales, but the cost of the advertisements greatly cut into our margins. $10,000 in revenue a month quickly disappears when you take cost of goods, ad spend, cost of hiring models, and photography into account.

5. I don’t have a passion for fashion: ultimately the decision to give my e-commerce store completely to Kim came down to the fact that I just wasn’t passionate about women’s fashion. I can’t inspire women through my sense of style because I don’t have one, leaving me at a disadvantage when it came to branding the company. Though we’re still making money, I realized that I need to focus my efforts elsewhere for longterm success.

How to figure out what your lifestyle business should be

Startups are an endless roller-coaster ride, full of ups and downs that will give you the highest highs and the lowest lows in your life. It’s absolutely critical to correctly position yourself and your company from the very beginning to optimize for success.

After five years of building and running startups, I’ve found the formula to give myself the best chance to succeed.

Use your current strengths and stay away from weaknesses

Do NOT be a jack of all trades. Specialize your skills and become the best in the world at something.

Mistakes I’ve made in the past: I’m terrific at closing deals, but I absolutely hate cold calling and cold networking to try and get business. During the early days of my startup, I focused a lot of my energy on cold calls and cold emails that were not effective and sapped a lot of my energy and morale. It took me more than 6 months to realize that instead of cold calling, I needed to focus on becoming an expert in our industry and getting potential clients to come to me. I therefore created a consumer loyalty blog that generated 30 inbound leads per week for us.

My greatest strength: I knew that for my next project, I needed to focus the business model completely around my proven ability to drive relevant, targeted traffic to a website and then monetize the traffic.

Solve a pain for your current network

It’s not enough to solve a pain in a hot industry; you need to take it a step further and solve a pain in a hot industry for a group of people that are currently in your network.

Mistakes I’ve made in the past: the technology we built with the startup that I recently left was by far the best in the industry. We had a terrific product; the problem was that our clientele was 50 to 60-year old restaurant franchise executives – a group of people that were not in my current network. We therefore had to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to sponsor conferences and trade-shows around the country to meet franchise executives and close deals. Though I was successful at doing it, we spent a lot of money to get the leads and a lot of time to get the potential clients through the pipeline and to a close.

My current network: I analyzed my current network and realized that all my friends from high school and college are around the ages of 25 – 28, have a lot of money saved up, have a lot of vacation-time saved up, and are looking to travel the world for their 2-week vacation.

Furthermore, I spent more than 30 days researching and communicating with tourism agencies to book a package to tour Machu Picchu this fall – it was such a pain to book a tour in another country.

I therefore realized the pain I was going to solve for my current market: I’m going to make it easy for 25 – 35 year-old young professionals from the US to book a tour online.

Focus on profitability from the very beginning

While internet startups focus on gathering a ton of users to raise funding, a lifestyle business needs to focus on profitability from the very beginning.

Mistakes I’ve made in the past: one of our earliest startups was Future Delivery, a virtual world that made this world more productive. Our goal was to raise $10 million dollars that would allow us to build the technology, get users, and then finally sell sponsorship deals with brands. There were just too many if’s in the equation that went wrong and we attacked a market that was not validated. We believed that the virtual world market would become mainstream in 2008; we were wrong and paid the price for it.

The business model for my lifestyle business: travelers that have booked a flight to a country are ready to spend money on tours. I validated this market when I booked a tour for Peru. Furthermore, tourism agencies need to get connected to travelers and will pay a commission to those who make a successful referral.

My lifestyle business

I’m using a skill that I currently have to solve a pain for my current network and have established a revenue model that is validated.

I’m driving traffic to my website that makes it easy for 25 – 35 year-old young professionals to book a tour online and making money when I successfully connect a traveler to a tourism agency.

My progress so far

Progress has been terrific. I launched my MVP (minimal viable product) back in May of this year and marketed it solely to my close network: friends, family, and colleagues. I’ve booked over 20 tours in the past three months, established partnerships with agencies in over 8 countries, and am making an average of 10% commission per booked tour.

The first three months were spent establishing partnerships with agencies, building quality content and links for SEO, and getting customers to post testimonials on my site.

The next three months will be focused on press, Google Adwords, and more press.

If all goes well, my girlfriend and I will be relaxing on the beaches of Thailand alongside Cody in a year.

—

Jun Loayza is the founder of Tour Woo, the easiest way to book a tour online. In his startup experience, Jun has sold 2 internet companies, raised over $1 million in angel funding, and lead social technology campaigns for Sephora, Whole Foods Market, and Levi’s. Reach out to Jun at anytime at me [at] junloayza [dot] com. If you want to learn directly from Jun and dozens of other hugely successful entrepreneurs and digital nomads, join us here.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Why You Should Build a Lifestyle Business Rather Than the Next Facebook

[Note from Cody: This is a guest post from my buddy Maneesh Sethi over at Hack The System – a site where Maneesh shows you how to hack travel and get free airline tickets and all kinds of goodies. Enjoy! ]

Last night, I went out to a bar in New York City. A drink cost $14.

For that price, I can get 2 drinks in Italy. Or 6 in Berlin. It’s just a matter of location.

How is it that the prices can vary so much? It’s a tactic called currency arbitrage – increasing your net worth by taking advantage of the differences in currency costs.

Over the last four years, I’ve been traveling the world, building online businesses while visiting countries that I’ve always wanted to see. As a Thrilling Heroics reader, I’m sure that you have thought about leaving the US and moving to a foreign country. I’ve been checking out locations all over the world: following is a list of the best places I’ve experienced to live and work as a digital nomad.

Check it out—Here are the 6 best locations for a digital nomad to work from. I’ve gone ahead and provided a cost estimate of each city, based on New York as the standard. The price estimates come from Expatistan.com.

Digital Nomad destination #1. – Berlin, Germany

I’d been hearing about how amazing Berlin is for years—everything from the music, the nightlife, the cheap prices, and the people. I moved to Berlin last year for six months to become a DJ, and discovered a digital nomad’s paradise.

As the cheapest capital city in western Europe, Berlin combines everything a digital nomad is looking for – fellow entrepreneurs, excellent weather (in the spring/summer), cheap rent and food, and excellent internet access. It’s also extremely easy to travel. both within the city (thanks to the excellent metro), and all throughout Europe because of its central location.

Oddly enough, the most popular article I’ve ever written was ‘7 reasons you should move to Berlin today‘ – check it out for a more in-depth look.

Digital Nomad destination #2. – Buenos Aires, Argentina

The steaks, the tango, the opposing seasons (so you don’t have to waste a winter being cold), and the quantity of other expats who are working on businesses – all of these point to Buenos Aires as an amazing digital nomad heaven.

I lived in Buenos Aires 3 years ago and found it an eye-opening experience.  I’d never eaten such good meat before! I’d never seen such pretty women.  I’d never pet a lion before.  All dreams that came true when I accidentally bought a plane ticket after a very drunken night

BA has a very good subway system and taxis are very cheap.  When I lived there I lived like a king and spent $1100/month on everything.

Unfortunately, Argentina suffers a high rate of inflation, so it has gotten more expensive in the meantime. Still, it’s far cheaper than neighboring Brazil.

Buenos Aires was my first instance of currency arbitrage. I wrote more about Buenos Aires in my article ‘How to Quadruple Your Income in a Six Hour Plane Flight‘.

Head down in October and stay until April . The weather is beautiful and the nightlife is awesome.

If you’re ready to start your Argentina adventure check Expedia Buenos Aires to accommodate every budget and lifestyle.

Digital Nomad destination #3. – Medellin, Colombia

I’ve visited Medellin twice and was awestruck by the strides a single city could make in just a decade.  Medellin used to be Pablo Escobar’s cocaine capital, but times have definitely changed – the city is now much safer and an incredible place for a digital nomad.

Medellin is known as the ‘city of eternal spring’ because of its constant perfect weather. The city lies on the equator and is nestled between rolling mountains, so its temperature doesn’t vary much. It stays between 72-78 F.

And the women: holy crap.  Because it’s just getting famous as a tourist destination, and the friendly disposition of the “paisas”, you’ll love Medellin if you love beautiful people.  I swear, take my word for it. Or watch me get slapped by 50+ Colombian women. The hottest girl is at 4:42 .

Colombia is very cheap to get to.  I’ve seen one-way tickets at about $300 on Jetblue from NYC to Bogota.  Or you can fly directly to Medellin for about the same price with Spirit Airways.

Digital Nomad destination #4. – Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is one of the classic digital nomad locations. Its cheap prices and excellent food has driven thousands of expats there over the years. It’s also very close to amazing beaches. Cody and I spent a week together in Koh Phangan, a few hours from Bangkok.

Some of the drawbacks are the weather (super hot) and visa restrictions (you have to travel outside the country every few months, but this can be done in a day).  On the plus side, you’re well connected to all of Southeast Asia by the extremely low cost AirAsia airline.

[from Cody: if you're new here, you can learn LOTS more in our Thrilling Heroics travel guide to Thailand here.]

Digital Nomad destination #5. – Shanghai, China

I’ve never been, but several of my friends have lived in Shanghai as expats. The stories they tell me are awesome.

The expat scene is excellent—there is even a website to connect expats.

The nightlife is awesome, with a range of clubs, all types of music. The expat scene there is multinational, and they are very open to foreigners working in the city. It’s also a very safe city.

Digital Nomad destination #6. – New York City, NY

New York isn’t much of a distant destination for us US-dwellers, but it (and, perhaps, San Francisco) is the birthplace of the location independent subculture.

Everyone in NYC is doing something cool and has plans to change the world. If you are trying to network and meet people and entrepreneurs with similar ideas to you, you will find no better place. Even better than San Francisco, in my opinion.

It’s very expensive, but the opportunities make up for it.

Thanks for reading! At my site, I show how anyone can hack travel and get plane tickets, anywhere in the world, for almost free.

Head to Hack The System to get your free international plane ticket and free office. Thanks for checking it out.

If you want to learn directly from Maneesh and dozens of other hugely successful entrepreneurs and digital nomads, join us here.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 6 Countries You Should Move To As A Digital Nomad (and their Cost of Living)

Have you ever really pondered on all the time, money, and energy you’ve put into something, and began to wonder if you’re even going the right direction? I have…

I came across a fantastic presentation by Jullienn Gordon at TEDxYouth that challenges young people to take the wheel and drive.

If you’re in the stage of your life where you’re looking at going to college, or you’re a parent encouraging your kids to apply to universities, or maybe you’ve already got your degree and you’re looking at going back for more—for a Master’s degree or a PhD, your law degree or MBA even… this is a hugely valuable 12 minutes to watch.

Jullien’s talk pretty accurately captures my perspective on higher education. He discusses why the linear model of success we’ve been using since the school systems were developed in the early industrial era is now obsolete, and why a balance between book smarts and street smarts is more crucial than ever to succeed in today’s economy.

If you are looking to further your education, there are so many options to choose from—for example a Master’s degree or a PhD, healthcare management or law degree even, this video could help you determine which direction to go in.

I surely appreciate the huge value of formal education, but I agree with Jullien that there are many ways to earn an education, and that students are not getting the return on their investments in higher education that they did just 1 decade ago. I’m certainly not discouraging you from pursuing a degree. Looking back, of course I value my university experience, the things I learned in my degree programs, during my time on campus, and working for the College of Business, but if I knew what I know now I would almost certainly go back and do things differently.

It’s funny he mentions he’s a graduate of Stanford University’s GSB, which is where I once daydreamed of sneaking my way into for an MBA degree. A school like that offers an amazing experience and a success-oriented peer network that are hard to find elsewhere. But I personally changed gears when I realized I was already networking with a lot of those same people outside the classroom, in my web development business I was already working with clients on multiple continents, and I had the ability to relocate and start living the life I wanted already.

I’m not gonna try to tell you what to do. I won’t pretend that I know the answers. They’re different for everyone. But I think this quick presentation brings up some very good points about the misconceptions we’ve passed down for generations regarding university degrees. And it certainly brings up some hugely important questions to ask yourself before diving in to such a big commitment, where you’ll invest at least four years in college, and likely at least $12-$20,000 dollars in student loans just to get started…

Is it what you really want? Are you prepared to make that investment? And will you ensure you make it worthwhile? Only you know what’s right for you.

What are your thoughts about higher education today? What about you college graduates, are you happy you got your degree?

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Generation Why and the Lie of Higher Education: The 4.0 That Really Matters

You’ve read Tim Ferriss’ articles about Shopify time and again. You’ve probably got a friend or two who got into the wholesale business, or dropshipping, or moved to China and started shipping whatever-have-you overseas with their own online ecommerce store.

But is it really as easy as it sounds?

Two weeks ago I did an amazing webinar for my Digital Nomad Academy students with my old cofounder and good friend Jun Loayza, and we decided to open it up publicly to show people a little taste of what our community is like, and also to help spread the word about Jun’s new lifestyle business Minted Republic. He prepared an impressive, insightful presentation for us about how he’s managed to create a hugely successful e-commerce store just since February that now generates over $10,000 per month in revenue!

He started with no past experience in ecommerce, no technical knowledge, and he built this as a side, muse business, in his spare time. Sound like something you’d like to do? Well then read on…

Jun is a young serial entrepreneur based in San Francisco, California who has now raised over $1M in funding for his startup RewardMe, and closed deals with Sephora, Whole Foods Market, LG, Levi’s and Activision. He has successfully sold 2 internet startups, and failed at 3. Jun balances his professional life with his personal life and a long-term committed relationship, and on this webinar we’ll break down how he recently launched his new lifestyle business Minted Republic on the side. Here’s what you’ll learn:

• How to build an e-commerce store in your spare time
• Finance side: all the costs involved in starting up Minted Republic
• Technical side: the platform, design, photos, models, manufacturer
• Marketing side: how to drive traffic and sales for your online shop

Listen in to this incredible presentation below:

Here’s the presentation to follow along with the audio (I recommend you hit play on the audio above and then expand the slideshow below and scroll along with us):

A few important takeaways and mentions:

• Don’t be afraid to mimic good ideas, and copy existing business models from one market to another…
• Jun used Rafflecopter to run giveaways. I’ve also used & recommend Contest Domination plugin for WordPress.
• Minted Republic encourages users to leave reviews and uses them to increase sales.
• It’s incredibly easy and quick to get started building your first e-commerce site on the Shopify platform, with plenty of apps & widgets for almost any purpose you’ll need.
• The key to Jun’s $10K per month success though, is in the details of his negotiations with wholesale manufacturers & the logistics of their dropshipping arrangements. Pay close attention!
• Listen in to the audio and you’ll also learn the importance of closing deals and getting buy-in from important partners when Jun shares his story about how he pitched Sephora with no product.

Download it here: Minted Republic E-commerce Webinar with Jun Loayza

And if you enjoyed this great webinar, that’s just a little taste of what we do inside my student community nearly every week!

If you want to get direct mentorship from Jun Loayza and dozens of other hugely successful entrepreneurs and digital nomads, join us here. Come visit us at Digital Nomad Academy where I will show you exactly what it means to build a lifestyle business, and clue you in on some of the secrets I use to live near beaches, in mountains, and on islands.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The $10K/month Lifestyle Business: How to Launch a Successful E-commerce Site with No Experience

236 years ago today, Thomas Jefferson and the Second Continental Congress unanimously declared the sovereignty of the thirteen united States of America from the British Empire and asserted an individual’s natural rights.

On the 4th of July, we celebrate freedom. I believe that no matter where you come from, you and I are entitled to the same natural rights the founding fathers described in the Declaration of Independence now more than ever.

In order to achieve true freedom, you have to be able to make money, control your time, and eliminate the mindset that you are subject to any higher authority.

The truth is, you don’t have to be a slave to geography anymore—you can live where you want, how you want. You can take control of your time and spend it how you want, not how others tell you.

You can live a luxurious lifestyle overseas at a fraction of the cost you would pay in your home country.  You can make money anywhere—whether it’s China, Panama, New Zealand, or online… and you can break into any network of peers you wish, to mix and mingle with the elite if you desire.

For some people, corporate life and the pursuit of the white picket fence are enough. But for others, this template lifestyle can become an oppressive system that breeds complacency—it tells you to “be realistic” about your dreams, what you want to do, be, and have in life—and it can begin to feel like a prison cell.

If you’re reading my site, my guess is you fall into the latter camp.

You dream big.

I’ll bet you want to grab life by the horns, find your passion, chase after wild goals, and reach your full potential, don’t you?

And you’re interested in creating more freedom for yourself, aren’t you? More financial independence, more free time, more liberty to choose what projects you work on (and to develop your own creative projects!), and more freedom of location.

Doesn’t that sound like the kind of freedom you want in your life?

Well, what are you doing to declare your own independence?

Before you read on, stop, and imagine having the ability to choose when and where you work. Imagine being able to choose what projects you work on, based on what you’re passionate about and what gets you excited.

Imagine being able to partner with fun, interesting people…

Imagine creating your own business—something that gets you excited to wake up in the morning, something you’re proud and excited to create and offer to the world.

What does your own business look like in your head? What value do you want to offer to the people around you?

Imagine having the ability to live anywhere in the world you choose. Being able to pack up a few bags and spend a month in Mexico, a month in Bali, a month in Europe…

Imagine traveling anywhere in the world and instantly being able to connect with new friends, have incredible experiences like you only see in the movies, and feeling like a local…

Wouldn’t it be great if you were in control of creating your own financial freedom, time freedom, and location freedom? Doesn’t that sound like something you’d love to be able to do?

What does this kind of individual liberty mean for you? The freedom to do what you want to… to be what you want to be… to go where you want to go… and to live where you want to. What would it feel like to have that independence? Where would you go? What would you build?

I think you’ll agree that liberating your mind from the shackles of conventional thinking, of traditional work and the template lifestyle, is the first step in bending the rules of reality to your will—envisioning and creating the lifestyle that you truly want—not the one your parents, your boss, your teachers, or the TV tell you that you want.

This Matrix has rules. And just like Morpheus said, some of these invisible rules can be bent. Some of them can be broken. But first you need to learn to see the Matrix, you need to learn the rules before you can change them. And you need guidance from people who’ve been there.

This IS the thrillingly heroic lifestyle… the freedom lifestyle. Most people think it’s SO much harder than it is. SO much more expensive than it is.

But once you learn that the rules can be broken… that what you’ve been told all along—how hard it is, how expensive it is, that what you want is impossible—once you learn that these things aren’t necessarily true… it will become much easier to pursue your ideal lifestyle…

You’ll learn you can do the “impossible”.

A lot of my friends and I have broken the rules. We’ve built startups that bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, we’ve published books, we’ve created blogs that attract thousands of visitors and subscribers, created online businesses that allow us to work when and where we want, made friends around the globe, gone vagabonding around the world, taken month-long mini-retirements in tropical jetset destinations, and much much more.

If YOU’VE been struggling to create your own online freedom business, build a successful blog, build your reputation and personal brand, create a location-independent career for yourself, work as a digital nomad, and basically create more income, free time to be with friends, family, or work on your own projects, and have more freedom to be wherever you want to be, you can easily learn from the mistakes and successes of accomplished mentors.

People like us—we want to share our experience and our knowledge with you, because these ideas are too powerful to keep to ourselves.

What are YOU doing to declare your own independence?

If you’re someone who wants a life free from the tyrannical oppression of the office, the corporate life, of being enslaved to work for someone else, on their terms, then two places you can start are here and here.

If someone offered you access to life-changing mentoring, education, and interaction, and told you it could cost you less than three dollars a day, you’d feel pretty silly saying no—less than you spend on beer!

In November, I was interviewed by the team at Income Diary for an incredible new project they’ve put together. If the above resonates with you, then you’re going to LOVE what Michael Dunlop and Brian Moran have been working on for you! 

I was HUGELY honored to be a part of this project along with 19 other impressive guys. Web Domination 2.0 is a great, low cost training program in which we share our experience to help you achieve three things: more time freedom, more financial independence, and more freedom of location. If you want to achieve more freedom in these three areas of your life, I definitely cannot recommend this enough.

So stop spending all your money on beer, and start investing some of it in your future… in building your freedom business, and your ideal lifestyle!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Freedom in an Oppressive World

Do you use LinkedIn? 

I literally spent all day perusing LinkedIn today, adding dozens of people I interact with frequently over email, and seeking out interesting people in my networks.

LinkedIn is sort of the forgotten social network, but it’s still the one network that I recommend to all of my friends who are serious about networking or about their careers, because it is entirely focused around business networking. Think of it as the Facebook for adults.

Sadly, all to often, I do come across the unfinished and abandoned profiles of people who set up an account and did nothing after that. But the only reason it wouldn’t work for someone is because they didn’t put in the effort and they haven’t really learned how to use it properly. LinkedIn does work, and it works extremely well.

I always make an effort to connect with my colleagues, my students, current and past clients, and to find new leads, people who might make potential partners in one fashion or another, or be able to help me spread the word about the projects I’m working on. I’ve used it to seal new contracts, to get great business advice from some very high-level players, to connect with several PR folks, and to establish relationships with marketing managers who’ve set me up with some pretty sweet deals here and there on my travels. And it has regularly been a source of lots of inquiries from reporters and led to lots of press for my projects!

But so many of the profiles I come across are virtually empty! A lot of people don’t even add a photo of themselves, or they don’t provide any context about their skillset, what their company specializes in, or why I should do business with them…

I really didn’t know how to make the most of LinkedIn either until I started learning from Lewis Howes.

Lewis has made himself the go-to expert on all things LinkedIn. While many people think of LinkedIn as nothing more than a resume site, Lewis has been building a massive online business all with LinkedIn. His story is pretty impressive, just read his recent article on Forbes, which tells the story of how he went from pro football player to completely broke after a bad injury, and how he completely turned his life around and leveraged LinkedIn to build a thriving 7-figure business in just three years!

When I started implementing what I was learning from Lewis’ site a few months ago, I started to see my rankings and my connections rocket up. When I learned how to really target specific keywords with my profile, it started to rank at the top of the LinkedIn search results for my niche. (Your LinkedIn profile can also be one of the strongest search results when employers search for your name in Google or other search engines, so learn to use it right!)

Suddenly, my LinkedIn profile was showing up in search results alongside best-selling authors like Tim Ferris, Ramit Sethi, Chris Guillebeau, and awesome bloggers like Leo Babauta, Corbett Barr, Colin Wright and Danielle LaPorte! I found myself in amazing company. Just check this out:

How fuckin’ cool is that!? When I learned the secrets to really making the most of LinkedIn, it basically transformed my profile into a high-ranking landing page that brings loads more relevant traffic to my door. For anybody who is still struggling to “crack” the social media marketing code, LinkedIn is definitely the place to focus your efforts, rather than wasting all your time reading your aunt’s cat’s updates on Facebook.

If you’re not on there yet, create a profile on LinkedIn.

A few LinkedIn tips that I always share with clients and friends: 

• Fill out your profile, bio, specialties, and company descriptions as completely as you can, and make sure you upload a photo(!), because that’s how you brand yourself and how others will relate to you. Check out Guy Kawasaki’s profile extreme makeover for a good example.
• Complete your online resume with details about each job you’ve had, each company, and the difference you actually made in each role. This isn’t just a quick laundry list—show us explicitly how your work affected the bottom line, or how many clients you helped, and give concrete examples.
• Then start asking questions in the LinkedIn Answers area—there is a wealth of knowledge there, and I have made many contacts through asking and answering questions. I’ve gotten incredible advice and insight from CEOs and authors by asking simple questions about business.
• If you’re someone who already has an established business or expertise, this can also be a great place to show it off by answering other people’s questions. LinkedIn Answers is quite possibly the most underrated element of the site—it can be a great platform to build authority and get people chasing you for your skills and knowledge.
• Lastly, be picky about who you connect with or recommend on there—remember that each individual reflects back on your reputation. Click here for more about connections, recommendations, groups, and getting more out of your profile.

If you want to finally learn how to get the most out of LinkedIn for your business, check out Lewis Howes’ new Linked Influence 2.0 course that he’s just relaunched. Lewis has some truly incredible videos that will show you how to drive massive amounts of traffic on autopilot, how to increase your search ranking and basically get loads of business leads for free, how to generate a huge email list that builds itself, and how to find your dream job, or your best customers through LinkedIn.

Seriously, Lewis has become my “go-to guy” when it comes to Linked In. There’s a good reason why he’s been featured in publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, the New York Times, and Business Week. He knows how to get results.

7 Simple Strategies to Profit from LinkedIn (Free Webinar)

If you’re interested to learn more, Lewis has even offered to put on a FREE, last-minute, private webinar TONIGHT where he is going to show you a few of the ways he uses LinkedIn to get more business for himself and his clients.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How to Connect with Major Influencers: The Most Important Social Network for Your Business

Grant asked the question “Why do so many of us WILLINGLY compromise our dreams and passions in exchange for a routine, scripted life?”

Adam, Grant, and their camera crew set on a two-month cross-country trip touring around the U.S. to explore “complacency” in everyday life, and talk to dozens of regular (but very inspiring) folks who’ve broken out of the routine, scripted, template life that has dominated Western life for the last hundred years.

I’m Fine, Thanks is a new, feature-length documentary about complacency. It’s a collection of stories about life, the choices we all make, and the paths we ultimately decide to follow.

We examine the factors that motivate and drive our major life choices. And, most importantly, whether or not the path we follow through life – and the habits we form based on that path – are truly connected with who we really are as individuals.

This is a movie about the moment people realize the life they’re living is not the life that’s true to their heart… and, as a result, what they decide to do about it!

They’ve interviewed dozens experts, bloggers, authors—as well as everyday families and people they meet along the way—in person,  including our friends Josh Kaufman, Max Spiker, Pam Slim, Nick Reese, Jonathan Mead, Erica Douglass, Steve Kamb, Jonathan Fields, Chris Guillebeau, as well as Scott Dinsmore, Johnny B. Truant, J.D. Roth, Charlie Gilkey, Tammy Strobel, MJ DeMarco, Lewis Howes, Pat Flynn, Derek Halpern, Danielle LaPorte, and many more.

Go watch the trailer and support their Kickstarter project – I just pledged $100 because I want to see this come to fruition and reach as many people as possible! (If you don’t know what Kickstarter is, click here for an explanation of how it works.)

In the few weeks since they launched this trailer, they’ve already earned support from over 1,815 individual backers (Crazy!), had more than $49,000+ pledged for post production on Kickstarter (nearly 50% of their goal), and gotten 6,700+ Facebook likes on the trailer!

There’s just 17 days left to go still, and if they keep it up, they might become the most backed documentary in Kickstarter history (most people backing it)!

They still need your help to make this documentary a reality!

You can follow the unfolding story of the making of “I’m Fine, Thanks” by reading these posts on MvD:

• I’m Filming a Documentary… And Need Your Help!
• The Making of “I’m Fine, Thanks” (Part One)
• The Making of “I’m Fine, Thanks” (Part Two)
• The “I’m Fine, Thanks” Trailer is Live!
• Our Movie is Blowing Up!

They’re working overtime to get the movie ready for its premiere scheduled for July – and I can’t wait to see the full movie next month! 

Click here to see their full Kickstarter campaign, and all the pledge levels for becoming an early “backer” of the film! Go “Like” their trailer, pledge, and share with your friends if you want to help bring this story to the world too!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Why Do So Many of us Willingly Compromise Our Dreams and Passions?

If you’ve ever read my stuff before, you know I’m a firm believer in remote working and virtual business. Hell, I’ve spent the last year and a half helping people build location-independent businesses they can run from anywhere on earth.

Although a few people have done it, simply handing in one’s notice at work and quitting your job after reading some random bloke’s silly little online journal for the first time isn’t always the most prudent option on the table.

For a lot of people, it’ll take some time to transition out of employment and into entrepreneurship, and for some, working for yourself may not even be what you want or need. Being self-employed ain’t for everybody.

That’s why it’s also important to encourage companies to embrace remote work and telecommuting. The world is changing… the economy is changing… the way we do business is changing, borders are fading, and geographic location is less and less important.

The companies and the players who are going to win are the ones who embrace this change, who adapt… the ones who value results over face-time in the office… who bring together diverse teams of skilled people, no matter what their location, and allow those people to have more freedom and flexibility to enjoy a better lifestyle than our precursors had in the industrial era, and in the commute-an-hour-each-way-to-the-office era.

80% of telecommuters report a better quality of life. Employees who work remotely from home have 25% less stress, they’re up to 20% more productive, and are much more willing to put in extra time on work. And that’s not to even mention all the time saved, the amount of money saved on filling up the gas tank, and all kinds of significant positive environmental impact companies can make by allowing their employees to work from home.

If you’re looking to spend more time at home with your family, or have better work-life balance, then ask your employer to experiment with letting you work from home at least one day a week. And if you are an employer, consider allowing your team to telecommute every Friday.

Thanks to Splashtop, this infographic promotes the new movement to work from home on Fridays, and it illustrates many of the surprising benefits of remote working:

In Other News:

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Infographic: Telecommuting Facts & the Benefits of Remote Working from Home

Sharing Sangsom buckets and bear hugs with the local mob boss before he rides off on his Harley…

Meeting multi-millionaires to talk business over coffee, celebrating Christmas on sailboats, and on Krabi’s beautiful mountainous beaches, watching fireworks in three directions and witnessing thousands of floating lanterns take flight, and New Year parties in the 18th story luxury riverside penthouse…

Getting rammed sideways off a motorbike in the darkest hour of night and attacked by nefarious bandits with machetes…

I’ve shared a few very strange travel experiences, but there’s still a load of crazy weird stories I’ve still never divulged here.

Working for secretive Hong Kong corporations headed by international men of mystery…

Getting screwed out of thousands of dollars by asshole affiliate merchants and ex business partners…

Island hopping, half moon parties, and spending months at a time in tropical paradise on Koh Phangan…

The story of how I was detained by Singapore airport security…

I’ve been off the radar for a while here at Thrilling Heroics. And not just because I’m avoiding SG airport security… but more importantly because I’m a guy who really can only focus on one thing at a time if I want to do it well, and I’ve spent the last year and a half putting nearly all of my time and energy into helping my students at Digital Nomad Academy start their own sustainable internet-based businesses… I’ve poured my heart and soul into creating a world-class community, and the best content for people who want to have the freedom to experience similar adventures.

Eating everything from deep-fried bugs and salted snakehead fish on street corners to the finest duck confit served in a giant fishing boat mysteriously dropped down in the middle of the tropical jungle…

Hosting charity mixer parties at Bangkok’s luxury hotel rooftop pool bars, drinking and dancing until the sun comes up on a regular basis…

The story of how my beautiful, courageous rescue-diver girlfriend pulled a big hardcore Mancunian off a speedboat propeller and saved his life during the filming of a Russian mafia-funded action film…

Staying in breathtaking 4-star resorts, shithole backpacker hostels, boutique hotels, creepy sexy rendezvous motels, and in our own beautiful private pool villas…

Diving with bus-sized whale sharks, attending startup events, having the Filipino police personally escort us around town, track down my stolen iPhone via GPS, and take us to the culprit’s front door…

I’ve always been absolutely transparent – the digital nomad lifestyle isn’t all butterflies and roses. Anybody who tells you that running a business, traveling, and living abroad are easy is full of shit. There are plenty of challenges and setbacks. But there’s also a load of fun, plenty of learning and growing experiences, and even the worst days will eventually make great stories for the grandkids one day.

Now Emily and I have packed up our backpacks and our laptops again…

We’re on the move for the next few months, traveling full time, living out of hotels, bungalows, villas, resorts, homestays, guesthouses, housesits, and possibly friends’ floors, exploring new uncharted territory where we’ve never been, and having plenty of fun, weird new experiences. There’s certainly never a dull moment, and I’ve already got tons of new anecdotes to share with you here soon.

So I’ve decided I want to share our current unfolding journey in new ways you’ve never seen before on Thrilling Heroics, and publish a lot more of these never-before-told, gritty real life stories from the last few years, to give you the real dirt on expatriation, business, and investment opportunities in developing Asia.

To learn about these and many other adventures as we travel through Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Burma, and more… and to be the first to learn about the BIG developments I’ve been working on in my business, some news I’ll be sharing soon… make sure you’re signed up below to follow our journey.

Tim Ferriss reads Thrilling Heroics! Do you??

7 business lessons from charity:water: thrl.in/charitywater

— Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) March 30, 2012

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The Real Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Follow our Jetset (Mis)Adventures

Ever feel like everyone’s trying to do the same thing, and it’s near impossible to break away from the pack and distinguish yourself?

I sure know from experience—as someone who’s been labelled a “lifestyle design blogger” especially—it frequently feels like we’re all in one big echo chamber together and everybody’s competing for the same things… everybody’s doing things the same way.

We got into this to break away from conformity. We didn’t get into this to start a new “norm”.

Read on for seven actionable insights that will help you set yourself, your business, and your blog, apart… to shine… and to rise above the rest. Today’s incredible guest post is from Logan Marshall, creator of the upcoming blog Free Life Project (Check out his video trailer) and offers 7 in-depth insights you can glean from one of the most innovative social entrepreneurs out there.

(And if you’re into social entrepreneurship, or if you want to try and sneak a cheap seat into my Digital Nomad Academy program so you can get a head start building your lifestyle business, remember to make a donation to In Search of Sanuk for my Birthday Gamble and you just might be a lucky full-ride scholarship recipient. Help me raise $1,000 for refugees and underprivileged kids in Bangkok! See the details here, and check out what DNA student Tim has to say about how crazy you’d be to pass up this opportunity.)

But I digress. Enter Logan:

Deep in the heart of the Central African Republic, hundreds of people wait anxiously as the drill lurches to life, thrusting into the red African earth.

After five failed attempts and weeks of waiting… this is the final shot. The last stand.

The machine roars, echoing through the rainforest as it plunges deeper and deeper underground, desperately searching for water.

As the drilling progresses, time seems to slow. The once enthralled villagers now look on with disappointment and skepticism.

One hour passes… two hours.

And just when all hope appears to be lost… it happens.

Crystal clear water erupts from the ground like a fountain, blasting from the earth and glistening in the afternoon sun. Children leap from their mother’s laps and sprint into the water, dancing and laughing as the clear liquid rains from the sky.

In an instant… their lives are changed forever.

This is the work of charity: water, one of the coolest non-profits on the planet.

If you haven’t heard of charity: water, go watch this video. It’s SO FREAKING AWESOME! (Sorry, it makes me excited).

Not only are they helping millions of people get access to clean and safe drinking water… they are also marketing geniuses. Seriously. They’ve taught me so much.

In this post I’m going to dissect their “business” strategy and give you 7 key lessons that you can apply to your own online ventures.

Regardless of your goals (philanthropic or otherwise), these lessons will help you ignite a firestorm of support, stand out from the crowd, and change thousands of lives for the better.

Let’s dive in.

Lesson #1: People Want To CARE About Something

Over the past few years I’ve noticed that there’s an “epidemic” ravaging the western world.

No, it’s not obesity or technological addiction..although these are both equally dangerous.

It’s a lack of meaning.

A “fulfillment deficit” that is leaving people tired and depressed… deprived of one of our most basic human needs: purpose.

To take this a step further, I believe that deep down all people want to make a difference. To change the world. To make their lives amount to something worthwhile.

This is why charity:water can attract such raving support so fast. This is why they can get almost 1.5 MILLION Twitter followers. They are a “meaning vehicle.” They give people the satisfaction of knowing that they are (even is a small way) making a difference. And that is powerful.

You see, everyone wants to be a part of something great.

A movement.

A community.

People want to CARE.

With this in mind, here’s my question to you:

Why should people care about YOUR business?

If you don’t have a clear answer, take the time to formulate one. If YOU don’t care about your business… you can’t expect others to either.

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

Okay so you understand that people are hungry for meaning… and will jump at the chance to fill this emotional void.

But how can you apply this knowledge to your own lifestyle business?

Well, the answer is simple.

You give people something to care about.

How?

I’ve identified two main ways:

1) Incorporate GIVING into the CORE of your business model.

Make helping others the primary focus of your existence. Connect your readers to a meaningful vision that is bigger than any of you. Something worthwhile. Something worth caring about.

If you can be a medium through which people can solve their pressing problems AND make a positive difference in the world, attracting a community of raving fans will be considerably easier. Instead of fighting through the tangle of look-alike blogs, do something that fundamentally contradicts your business intuition: give.

Read that last paragraph again. This is incredibly important.

While few online businesses are embracing this “giving based model,” here are a few offline businesses that are making a difference (and a killing) right now:

• Toms Shoes
• Feed Projects
• Method Products

2) Create a “superstar story.”

This is a term I made up. All by myself

What’s a superstar story?

Well… In essence, a “superstar story” is a unique, remarkable and easy to remember STORY that differentiates you from your competition and sparks frenzied interest and support from your audience.

It’s a goal, mission or objective that people naturally want to rally behind and share with everyone they know.

Chris Guillebeau uses this by “visiting every country in the world.” So does Steve Kamb with his “Epic Quest of Awesome.” So does Scott H. Young with his “MIT Challenge.”

Base your existence around a (near impossible) goal that you’re trying to reach, a ridiculous experiment that people will CARE about… and watch your business skyrocket.

Lesson #2: Stories Are The Key To Connection And Engagement

If you didn’t watch the video at the beginning of this post, watch it now.

Pretty incredible right?

Besides the beautiful footage and professional editing, why was that video so engaging? Why was it so powerful?

The answer is simple: Because it was a story.

It took you directly into the lives of the Bayaka people and made you FEEL their pain… and their hope for a better future.

You see, the human brain is hardwired to seek out and appreciate good storytelling. It’s human nature. As Robert McKee puts it, “Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact.”

Stories are the key to spreading your message.

Here’s how to use them…

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

You understand the power of stories. Now let’s get practical.
Before we dive into the “nitty gritty” of incorporating stories into your business, there’s something I want to share with you. It’s from an article I recently read by the infamous John Carlton.

In the article he writes…

“So the main rule for writer/marketers is this: Learn what kind of story appeals to your audience. If you don’t know, you’re taking a risk with anything other than a paragraph-long tale.

Don’t pretend to know how to weave a story that gets listened to. Instead, learn the craft. (Just as you would never pretend to be able to play guitar if you wanted to impress real musicians.)

There are no shortcuts… but you can get hip to good storytelling fairly quickly if you apply yourself.”

He goes on to say…

“You gotta tailor your tale to your audience. That’s the primary lesson. A story that bores the bejesus out of one person, may dazzle the hell out of someone else.

And you should get good at knowing whether you’re bombing or scoring quickly (so you can change course if necessary).”

Such great advice.

Storytelling is one of the most important skills you can develop as an entrepreneur. And the only way you’re going to get better at it is to practice. To sit your BUTT in a chair and write like a writing fiend.

Storytelling is an art. Take the time to master it.

Okay… back to the matter at hand. How to incorporate stories into your marketing.

Here are my top 2 ways:

1) Center your business around a story.

At the heart of all great businesses is a remarkable story.

As Blake MyCoskie (founder of Toms Shoes) writes in his phenomenal book Start Something That Matters, “A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors. It is a key not only to starting a business but also to clarifying your own personal identity and choices.”

So true.

Regardless of how big your business is… you need a story. A story about how you got started, what you’re about and where you’re going.

Make it short. Make it inspirational. Make it easy to remember.

Here are a few examples:

• charity: water: “We’re a new kind of charity dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to every person on the planet.”
• Toms shoes: “With every pair you purchase, Toms will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for one.”

What’s your story?

If you don’t have one. Find one.

2) Infuse storytelling into your marketing

Go back to the beginning of this post and read my introduction. See what I did there? I used a story to suck you in to the post and get you to keep reading.

Stories aren’t just for all-encompassing mission statements. They’re a TOOL to be wielded daily when communicating with your audience. A tool you can use to break through noise and capture attention.

Use them in your blog posts.

Use them in your follow-up sequence.

Use them to make people CARE.

Lesson #3: Video is the MOST Effective Medium

If you don’t know already… video kicks ass.

It’s the most engaging, valuable and effective content medium out there. No question. Hands down.

YouTube rivals Google in traffic-driving power, videos are shared more than any other form of content… and video sales letters can literally TRIPLE your conversion rate overnight.

Jon Morrow used video to gain 1,740 email subscribers in seven days. The Invisible Children KONY 2012 video has been viewed over 80 MILLION times in less than two weeks! No blog post in history has ever come close to this.

Yet, despite this mountain of evidence… very few people are utilizing the power of video in their business.

But Charity Water does… and they’re experts at it.

Charity: water introduces each of their projects and promotions with a specially created video. Videos like this and this. Inspiring videos. Videos that give viewers an intimate connection to the organization.

And as their thriving YouTube channel and MASSIVE impact illustrates… it’s working wonders for them.

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

While video can literally be incorporated in all aspects of your business, here are three high-impact areas you can address

1) Create a killer homepage with a trailer or welcome video.

My guess is that your BLOG is on your homepage. Am I right?

Personally, I think this is a BIG problem.

Here’s why:

By leaving visitor experience to chance and not strategically crafting a homepage that is proven to convert… you are leaving SO many opt-ins on the table. An absurd amount of subscribers.

Here’s the deal:

The average conversion rate on a well crafted “squeeze page” is around 35%. But most blogs convert at less than 5%. With this in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to OPTIMIZE your homepage in order to maximize conversions?

Yeah, I think so too.

Want some examples of this strategy in action?

Clay Collins and Brendon Burchard know what’s up.

2) Drive Traffic With an “Army” of YouTube Videos

Not only is video a killer conversion and sales strategy… it’s also a great way to drive automated traffic. All year round. Like a boss.

By creating video content and syndicating it around the web you slowly build up an “army” of videos that can be leveraged to build your list.

People watch your videos, enjoy your content, then follow your call to action and join your list. Simple.

3) Trade out the long-copy sales letter

I recently heard an interview with Jon Benson, the creator of the “Ugly Video Sales letter.” You know the ones with nothing but plain text…

… .yeah, I thought they sucked too.

But here’s the thing:

In a series of rigorous split tests (Both from Jon Benson and Ryan Deis)… it’s been proven that these bland, “ugly” sales letters actually convert 3X better than the conventional long form sales letter. THREE TIMES!

Crazy cool stuff.

If you’re selling any kind of product and aren’t getting the conversions you want… I HIGHLY recommend you switch to video.

At least try it out. See how it goes. You can always switch back.

For more info on how to create killer video sales letters I recommend you check out Lewis Howes’ interviews with James Wedmore.

Lesson #4: People Will Follow a Leader With a Vision

Scott Harrison (founder of charity: water) is an inspiration.

In 2004, after spending years promoting top nightclubs and fashion events… living selfishly and arrogantly by his own admission… Scott decided to make a change.

He signed up for volunteer service aboard a floating hospital called Mercy Ships and embarked on a new journey that he hasn’t looked back from since.

Today he has a mission. A vision for a better future: To bring clean and safe drinking water to every person of the planet.

When you watch his videos you can hear the authenticity in his voice. The passion bubbling through the computer screen.

Scott is a leader.

Over the past few years, I’ve had a realization:

People are hungry to be led. They WANT to follow someone who has a bigger vision than they do.

As Seth Godin puts it:

“Human beings can’t help it: we need to belong. One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group of like-minded people. We are drawn to leaders and to their ideas, and we can’t resist the rush of belonging and the thrill of the new. … We want to belong not to just one tribe, it turns out, but to many. And if you give us tools and make it easy, we’ll keep joining. Tribes make our lives better. And leading a tribe is the best life of all.”

Do you have what it takes to lead a tribe?

If so, here’s how.

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

There isn’t much to say for this one. If you want to gain a loyal “tribe” of followers… you must be a leader. You must highlight YOURSELF in your business, be upfront with your objective and passionately convey your vision for the future.

Where is your movement going? How can people help? Who is the enemy?

Steve Kamb does a great job of this. So does David Siteman Garland. So does Pat Flynn.

To quote Seth Godin one more time, “Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.”

Lesson #5: Design Matters

Charity: water’s website is a work of art. It’s beautiful. It’s clean. It’s sophisticated.

Just check out the animation and graphics on this page.

Whether you like it or not, you will be judged based on how your business “looks.” While content is king… design is a strong and equally formidable queen. Especially in today’s blogosphere.

Yes… you can succeed with a “hack job” design. Some do.

But as the competition online continues to increase, your chances of “making it” with an out-of-the-box design are getting smaller and smaller.

This doesn’t cut it anymore. This does.

Scott Harrison’s original (and current) objective is this: Bring clean drinking water to 1 billion people, make sure 100% of public donations go directly to funding projects, prove to donors where their donations are spent, and in his own words, “not suck at design!”

Design matters. Don’t neglect it.

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

Again, this lesson is pretty self-explanatory. If you want a killer design, get a killer designer. Learn web design or invest in a custom site, get an “eye popping” logo, focus on first impressions, keep it clean.

Want a few examples?

I’m glad you asked. Here you go:

• Nerd Fitness
• Word Lens
• Serene-Naturist

…Okay, the last one is a joke. You caught me.

Lesson #6: Innovation is Critical

Let me introduce you to Water Forward. It’s Charity Water’s brilliant new idea for how to raise money by harnessing the power of social media. And it’s brilliant.

Watch this video to see how it works.

Pretty cool huh?

Charity Water is harnessing social media, reciprocity, and social proof (three key marketing tools) to raise thousands of dollars for clean drinking water.

Personally, I think it’s genius.

But not only have they created this completely automated way of raising money… they’ve also built My Charity Water, a free interface where you can start your own fundraising campaign and track your results in real time.

So cool.

If you hope to stand a chance online, you have to be different. All that “basic” stuff has been covered. People have heard it all… ten gazilion times.

In order to break out of this tangled web of conformity, you gotta innovate. You gotta sit down, get creative and “rethink” long held assumptions.

As Milan Kundera puts it, “business has only two functions: marketing and innovation.”

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

As you know, innovation is CRITICAL to your online success. It’s the key to standing out. It’s the secret to rising fast and avoiding pitfalls.

Understanding this, here are three ways to replicate Charity Water’s ingenuity.

1) Nail down your “Motif.”

You’ve probably heard the common advice: “You must find a killer Unique Selling Proposition.” And while I agree that this is important, I’ve recently realized that you can achieve the same effect with what’s called a “motif.”

In essence, a “motif” is a unique and intriguing “experience” that sets you apart from your competition. This “experience” can be based on your personality, a common theme, an intriguing story, or even a simple idea.

For example, Naomi Dunford’s “motif” is her personality and “colorful” language. D Bnonn Tennant’s is a cowboy theme.

To get a better understanding of what I’m talking about, check out this article.

2) Create the “Ultimate Experience”

Imagine for a second that you’re surfing the web when you see an interesting link. Intrigued, you click it and are instantly directed to a website on YOUR topic. A website very similar to yours.

In order to capture your full attention and get you to take action, what would that website have to do? What would it say, what would it offer, how would it look?

What would the ULTIMATE experience look like?

Take the time to nail this down. Then go create it.

3) Break all the rules

My final tip is this:

In every niche, people EXPECT to be treated in a certain way. There are a set of “Industry Norms” for how things are sold, priced, delivered, marketed etc.

For example, in the blogging/lifestyle design niche people have come to “expect” good content, a free e-book for subscribing and little or no free advice. With this in mind, I have consciously positioned my business AGAINST this raging river of conformity.

I have purposefully created something different than what people expect.

In charity: water’s case, the used their 5^th anniversary as a way to try something new. Over the course of one week, their entire staff made 250 personal video thank your messages for donors large and small. The videos were customized for each individual donor and they were made with enthusiasm and fun. Check them out and think of ways you can break the mold as well.

Bottom Line

I know I’ve given you a ton of information in this post… but hopefully you’ve gotten at least a few key takeaways.

In all of this, there’s one thing I want you to understand.

And that’s this:

There are lots of organizations raising money to build wells. People have been doing it for years. But no one has done it better, smarter, or more creatively than charity: water. They’ve taken an unoriginal idea and built a new and REVOLUTIONARY movement around it.

Scour their site, fundraise for them, see how it’s done and then… go do it too.

The world needs us all.

So what are we waiting for?

Logan Marshall is on a mission to help aspiring entrepreneurs change the world with their message. If you’re one of them, check out the cinematic trailer to his upcoming blog.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 6 Key Lessons Charity Water Can Teach You About Building a Thriving Lifestyle Business

Vishen is the founder of Mindvalley, a world-changing firm in Kuala Lumpur, and the not-for-profit Awesomeness Fest events. I immediately found his company fascinating when I learned about it, as he’s led by a solid vision and desire to improve people’s lives. He spent a few years working in Silicon Valley, then took what he’d learned there and returned to his home country of Malaysia, where he built Mindvalley up as a model company that both improves the local economy and provides an incredible experience for their employees, who come from all over the world.

You can learn more about his mission to build the world’s greatest workplace and get enlightened ideas out to 500 million people by the year 2050.

Mindvalley serves as an amazing example for entrepreneurs around the world. You need to have, as Vishen calls it, a noble mission. What’s your big vision for the world?

So what’s really exciting is he has decided to “open source” his entire business, and even let us in on closed-door meetings that reveal Mindvalley’s financial data, metrics, insights into their copywriting, design, marketing strategies, and more. Why are they telling all? Watch here:

There is nothing for sale, you don’t even have to submit an email address for access. It’s all free, and truly open-source. You can see all the latest trainings on analytics, branding, copywriting, design, entrepreneurship, customer service, building traffic, launching products, and more here at Mindvalley Insights.

I know I’ll be checking back here and putting some of these resources to use in my business, and I just thought this was such a cool development that I wanted to share it with all of you. A few of my favorites I’ve watched and read so far:

• On building the world’s greatest workplace.
• How they made nearly $1 million on a niche blog in 18 months.
• 20 minutes on how to double your site traffic.

The Birthday Gamble

One more rotation around the sun! Yes, for those of you who noticed, March 20th, like every year, is my birthday. For anyone here in Thailand, we’ll be having a little soirée at our local pub here in Ao Nang, Krabi.

If you feel generous and want to do something for my birthday, then please consider making a small donation to In Search of Sanuk, the volunteer project run my my good friend Dwight Turner in Bangkok. You can learn more about him and his mission helping at-risk families and refugees in Bangkok here. Or you can also see the part In Search of Sanuk had in changing our friend Ryan’s life, as one shining example.

Help them hit their “Fun-Raising” goals for 2012 by making at least a one-time donation here through PayPal. I suggest you send in at least $28 (as it’s my 28th).

To sweeten the deal, if we hit $1000 in donations before midnight April 7th, then I’ll open up my Digital Nomad Academy for a few more completely full-ride scholarships again (as I did for the holidays). This time around though, it’s much simpler, if we bring in $1000 or more combined donations by midnight on the 31st, then the free spots will go first to those who make the largest donations (of $100 or more), and secondly to anyone who is also a past scholarship applicant who makes at least a $28 donation.

If you’re feeling generous like I am, then let’s share with In Search of Sanuk to help them continue the good work they’re doing to improve lives in Bangkok. And above all, have fun!

Go here to make a donation.

**UPDATE: I’m extending this opportunity for an extra week so that hopefully a few smart folks get the chance to do some good and sneak their way into DNA for significantly less than the going price of admission (minimum $750+). You have until April 7th.

Also check out Rodrigo’s review of his experience inside DNA—a past scholarship recipient—and what Tim has to say about how crazy you’d be to pass up this opportunity.

Other Bits and Bytes

I also wanted to share a few recent links and pieces of press, to say thanks.

John Bardos over at Jet Set Citizen recently compiled information from 14 digital nomads, bloggers, and online business owners to really answer the question: can you make money with a travel blog? John and his wife have just finished up a short location-independent trip to Chiang Mai, and are on their way through Australia, Japan, and back home to Canada. I hope we get the chance to finally meet in person next time! But, I think this is a great round-up that really addresses one of the biggest misconceptions many people have about how people like me and many other nomads and lifestyle designers make our money. Check it out here: How to Really Make Money from a Travel Blog – An Overview of 14 of the Biggest Names in the Industry

Florian over at 4-Hour Workweek Success Stories recently interviewed me about my “4-Hour Workweek” (more like a 4-6 hour workday really, but listen in to the interview to learn more about that!). Check it out here: The “Sexiest Lifestyle-Design Blogger” Cody McKibben Talks About His 4 Hour Workweek (and just to clarify, that is a joke from my About Page, voted by all the ladies of the world!

Also, a few friends have already spotted my cameo appearance in the latest issue of Business Punk magazine, one of the coolest web-entrepreneury mags in Germany. This month’s issue features Darth Vader on the cover, and a Q&A about me and my Digital Nomad Academy project. Big thanks to Christoph Stockburger for the article, and to founder/editor Nikolaus Roettger. And a warm welcome to any of you new readers from Germany!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: A Noble Mission, An Open-Source Business, and a Birthday Gamble