location-independent living, long-term travel, and more

 
When I was three years old, my dad sent me to my room. He told me I had to sit on my bed until he said I could get up. So I sat on my bed—and stayed on my bed—while I shouted to him in the other room: “You’re not the boss of me! No one is!”

My parents have told this story many times over the years. I don’t actually remember the moment, but yet I have always felt it, deep in my core—this awakening of who I was going to be in the world. I wasn’t yet ready to actually get up off the bed in defiance, but I sat there, swinging my little legs back and forth, shaking my blond head and shouting: “You can’t tell me what to do! You’re not the boss of me!”

Over the years, sometimes I’d play along, and let other people be the boss (or maybe I was just letting them think they were the boss). But all along, deep in my heart, I’ve always known that I am the boss of me. And somewhere inside of me there was always that little girl, sitting on the bed, swinging her legs, silently shouting to teachers, friends, boyfriends, bosses, “You’re not the boss of me!”

Then one day I noticed how easily my feet touched the floor. I started to wonder what it would be like if I stood up. What if I didn’t just silently shout “you’re not the boss of me,” but actually stood up? What if I got off the bed to prove that no one’s the boss of me? Little by little, I tested out this idea, watching what happened each time I gave myself a promotion instead of waiting for someone else to give me one:

Go to college out of state. I’m working in the mailroom.

Move across the country. I’m in the secretarial pool.

Pursue the only career I ever wanted. I’m an assistant VP.

Declare my outrageous plans to travel the world. Executive VP.

Quit my job, strap on a backpack, and hit the road. I am the boss of ME.

It’s been seven years, and being the boss of me is the best job I’ve ever had. I choose where I will live, what kind of work I will do, who I will work with, who I will be friends with, what I will spend my time and money on, whether I will do this or that or the other thing… it is MY choice. No one is the boss of me but me. I do what I do because I want to be the boss of my life.

Are you letting someone else be the boss of your life? Are RULES your boss? The ones that say you have to go to college, study something “marketable,” get a job, work your ass off your whole life with two weeks of vacation a year, get married, buy a house and two cars and spend all your time paying for them?

I’m not saying you can’t or shouldn’t do any of those things—hell, I own an apartment and I’m getting married—but don’t just do them blindly because society or your parents told you to. Do them because YOU are the BOSS of YOU. You are in control of your destiny.

I’m tired of rules that say that there’s only one way to live. Tired of rules that say there’s a RIGHT and a WRONG way to do things. YOU find your own way—you’re the boss. When you’re the boss, you get to decide when to go to work, and when to take a break. You decide what you will work on. You decide what your business will focus on. You decide where the office will be located. You decide what kind of people you will work with. You don’t have to ask for anyone’s permission.

When you’re the boss of your life, you decide. You decide where you will live. You decide what kind of work you want to do. You decide IF buying a house is right for you, instead of going into crazy debt just because everyone else is doing it. You call the shots.

If you ever ask yourself why you’re doing something, and the answer is “because everyone else is doing it” or “this is the next step in life” or whatever, take a huge step back and reevaluate your decision. You are NOT being the boss of you. Society is being the boss. The status quo is being the boss. Your friends and family are the boss.

ENOUGH.

I’m giving you a promotion. You are the boss of you. Starting now.

 
I’ve been in the States for a few weeks now, enjoying a crazy mix of road trips, work deadlines, visits with friends and family, eating, and catching up on shopping, errands, and organizing.

Moving locations always upsets the equilibrium a bit—physically, emotionally, and in terms of routine and productivity—and it’s been a challenge to stay on track with my projects and goals. I guess I must be out of practice!

So you can learn from my mistakes, here are a few things I wish I had done, and that I’m now doing, to help me keep track of it all while traveling or otherwise not following my typical routine:

1) Automate as much as possible.
Set up an out-of-office autoresponder if you won’t be checking email frequently (or hire an assistant to manage it). Continue reading

 
This is a sneak peek of some copy I’m working on for the relaunch of my editing business. I’d love to hear what you think!

The buzz these days is all about gathering our tribe—our raving fans who will follow us, love us, and want to support everything we do. Sounds great, right? So how do we do it?

By finding what moves us, what pushes us to want to do great things. By being ourselves—our unique and interesting and fun yet professional and responsible selves. For each of us our tribe will gather, made up of people who are moved by what moves us (or who are simply drawn to the fact that something moves us!).

We’re trained to think we need to follow a certain model or fit a traditional mold in order to get a job, to get hired, to make money, to be successful.

We focus so much on trying to fit others’ expectations that we hide our true colors, the ideas and tattoos and dreams that make us stand out (and we really DO want to stand out!).

We fail to recognize that it’s exactly those unique things that make us who we are. They’re what make people like us, want to connect with us, and, yes, want to work with us. It’s so much easier to be yourself—your whole self—rather than compartmentalizing your personality into “work,” “play,” “family,” etc.

Showing up to everything you do as your whole self makes your work, your life, and every day completely authentic, completely in line with what’s important to you. As a result, your best work, using your best talents, will flow naturally.

Don’t be embarrassed. Don’t be ashamed or think you need to hide away some part of yourself. It might be the one missing ingredient that makes people understand you, appreciate you, and want to join your tribe—and that’s what we all want, isn’t it? An incredible group of people who get it? Who like us for who we are?

So, what moves you? Who are you? Figure out how to share all of yourself with the world, and go for it. Those that matter will love you for it.

What moves me? Having the freedom to create the life I want. It’s actually taken me a long time to fully embrace it, but the truth is that the word nomad is essential to my core values, my lifestyle, and my world view. What moves you may be different, but perhaps the philosophy behind it, the dedication to being your true self and living your best life (and creating your best work), is the same.