Why did I become a digital nomad?
Watch this video to discover why I became a digital nomad.
Video by Kennet Timmers and music by Alex Napier Holland.
Where am I now?
I’m at Hubud co-working space in Bali, having quit my corporate career 15 months ago, while living in Sydney, Australia.
Since then, I’ve worked as a freelance copywriter for technology companies, moved to Bali, and recently launched GorillaFlow – my content strategy agency for technology companies.
Our lives here are full of adventures, learning and building on ideas.
I work hard.
And I have a LOT of fun!
So why did I become a digital nomad?
All I have ever dreamt of is ocean, mountains, adventures with friends and electric guitars.
I went to university by the ocean and shortly before graduating, made this post on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree travel forum – asking ‘How do you balance a career and travelling?’
None of the answers provided the solution I needed.
And in eight pages, ‘digital nomad’ wasn’t mentioned once.
In the absence of the technology and knowledge that – unknown to me – was quietly developing, I decided to be sensible.
And… does being sensible make anyone happy?
Seven years later, I had a nice city-centre apartment, BMW coupe and plenty of international travel, with a well-paid technology sector job and great colleagues – but I was miserable.
I would wake with fire inside me and the desire to build something great.
And each day, I’d have those feelings chipped away by routine and repetition.
I felt trapped, like a tiger pacing inside a cage.
I became fat, started drinking heavily and spent thousands on holidays, expensive food and alcohol, to try and console my feelings of emptiness.
I was lucky to have international travel and a kind manager at the company I worked for, who let me enjoy my trips.
And it was while in Singapore in 2015 that I felt excited and alive again; my imagination captured by the warmth of the Asia-Pacific and Singapore’s incredible architecture.
Feed your hungry soul.
I felt raw hunger to change my lifestyle and feed the insatiable desire I have to experience new things (I have ADHD) – and so I set the goal to migrate by the end of 2016.
And fortunately, my ever-supportive girlfriend was keen!
We left one month late, with one-way tickets to Sydney in January 2017.
Sydney. But freedom?
Deep down, I knew that I would be closer to the ocean and adventure sports that I love, but limited in my ability to experience them by my corporate career.
In our first month I was in the ocean every day and loved surfing.
Reality hits home.
But then I had to find a job.
Sure enough, the awesome salaries in Sydney came with promises of 60+ hour working weeks, with limited opportunities to do anything I enjoy outside of the weekends. I knew this would end badly.
On April 18th 2017 the Australian government made my decision for me, by removing permanent residency as an option for almost all jobs in Australia – which freed me from having any incentive to work for an employer there.
So I went freelance.
Freedom begins in waist-deep mud.
I got a job on a building site two-three days a week, shovelling mud and cement, while rejecting phone-calls from recruiters offering me six-figure sales jobs in the impressive skyline I could see from my window.
I lived hand-to-mouth, but had discovered freediving – and was captivated by the freedom, challenge and deep feelings of being under the ocean.
Failure was not an option.
And with a breadline income, I HAD to succeed with my hustle.
I spent six months working on luxury homes overlooking the ocean, while imagining how I will build mine – then going home and learning about SEO, sales funnels and digital marketing.
I found my first clients at entrepreneur meetups and pitched a slick digital marketing agency in Sydney, who took me on two days a week and gave me great opportunities to develop my knowledge.
To Bali – and the next adventure.
At the end of my Working Holiday Visa I headed straight to Bali and kept building my client base, before launching my new agency model.
Today, I combine my copywriting skills with my sales expertise and knowledge of the technology sector, by consulting with clients and designing content strategies that drive traffic and sales for their businesses, which I outsource to talented writers and edit before publication.
To life. And freedom.
I live in hotels with swimming pools and room-service, wake up whenever I want, hang-out and work with super-smart and interesting people, wear shorts 24/7, ride scooters through jungles – and have plenty of pool-parties and road-trips to surf and freedive.
I’m learning more useful skills and making friends more quickly than at any point in my entire life.
And was eating shit and shovelling mud for six months worth it, to spend a lifetime doing whatever I want, whenever I want?
Definitely.