My name is Kristin Wilson, I am 36 years old and I've been a digital nomad for over 10 years
My path to becoming a digital nomad started at a very early age back in elementary school or middle school
Where I used to tell my parents that I was going to invent my job someday because I couldn't find one
That would be perfect for me and what I like to do. Many of my classmates
Including my brother and my sister and my friends they all knew what they wanted to do when they grew up
But I didn't :( They laughed at me at the time, but I've actually never had a regular job
I've always worked for myself ever since I graduated from college
So I want to give you guys some tips on how you can do the same in your own life
The reason that people want to be location independent is because they want to have freedom and they want to be happy
Things started to clarify for me a bit when I turned 17 and
applied for a passport for the first time. So I actually left the country for the first time on my senior class trip and
I realized that I had to make travel an
Important part of my life moving forward so that I could personally feel fulfilled.
I actually studied abroad two times because I knew I wanted to work in a global business environment
And learn more about entrepreneurship in general because at the time it wasn't spoken about as much as it is today
for that reason I ended up choosing international business as my major in college and then going on to get an MBA but
instead of taking the traditional job path that my classmates were taking I decided to accept a job in
Costa Rica as a real estate agent in
2005. After seven years of real estate experience in Central America
I felt like I was ready to go out on my own and start my own business
So in 2011, I created my own online international
relocation company
So I started my career working for myself in real estate in Central America
And today I've owned a relocation company for the past seven years. I
Also run a travel blog and YouTube channel called Traveling with Kristin just for fun if you want to check that out as well
Over the years learning as I go
Helping my friends and clients relocate and work in foreign countries
there are four main things that I've noticed that our key factors for success and the
Location independent lifestyle and I'll share those with you guys today
So these are my tips for advice for becoming location independent and then sustaining it long-term
so the first way that you can be successful is to be clear on your why just know yourself really well and
This will basically help you get where you're going and stay on track
Once you're clear on who you are what you like what you're good at and your why for doing all of this
the second reason that I've been successful is that I monetized my personal skills and abilities, so
Monetize a skill that you already have everyone out. There is good at something and
You can make money using your talents and skills. If you don't have a skill set yet that can be monetized
It might just mean that you need to spend more time
searching or learning or practicing and working on those things. Offer your
Skills on a smaller level before you build it up to something that you're going to be doing full time to support yourself.
The third way that you can be successful is to work a lot
Everybody's familiar with their typical 40-hour work week and for many people it can be twice as much as that
So once you become location independent remember to just stay on top of your business,
work a lot
Prioritize work over travel and you can maintain this lifestyle for a lot longer
Now you don't have to travel to become a digital nomad
But if you are traveling then my tip is to just travel really slowly
Because it makes it a lot easier to get work done when you're not constantly moving from place to place
And my fourth main tip is to keep your goals and objectives both personally and professionally
Front of mind so set clear, realistic, attainable goals and then review them regularly
This means don't just set it and forget it
set your goals at the beginning of the year or any time during the year and then
Look at them daily review them monthly and track your progress
I do this in all of my life categories, and it's helped me to
Succeed in business, feel fulfilled personally, and just feel happy while I'm in this lifestyle traveling the world
so basically
monetize what you're good at, and then stick to a financial plan so that you can sustain this for a really long time if you're
slow traveling and budgeting properly
you should always have enough time to make sure that your business is thriving and
You should have peace of mind when you're not going between point A and point B
So often that you can just kind of relax into wherever it is that you are at that moment
This is super important if you're a remote worker or an online business owner, and especially if you're traveling
So that's my story and my tips for you guys out there
I hope it's helpful
And if you'd like to stay in touch, feel free to connect with me at Traveling with Kristin on all forms of social media