Today I’d like to highlight someone who’s definitely living a thrilling life—making a huge difference in the world and serving a great example of how to choose the path less taken. Dwight Turner is a close friend whose passion is to help the less fortunate in any way he can, and he runs an organization here in Thailand called In Search Of Sanuk, where he promotes worthwhile humanitarian causes.

Sanuk is a Thai word roughly translated as fun or enjoyment. Sanuk, however, is much more. This value permeates Thai society giving people a jovial, lighthearted outlook on life. We combine this aspect of Thai culture with our goals to help needy people. To us, sanuk is a lifestyle. This lighthearted outlook naturally translates to those we’re trying to reach and becomes a powerful mechanism of hope and healing for all involved.

Dwight worked as an English teacher in Thailand for about two years off-and-on, and he was my only contact in Thailand when I first came out to Asia in 2008. We currently both live in central Bangkok, and Dwight spends the majority of his time promoting good causes and organizing mixers and fundraising events to raise money for charity projects around Bangkok and throughout the region. I do my best to help him promote his events, but he’s the mastermind—the real passion and drive to create change around here. He has worked with Burmese migrants, Balinese orphans, refugees, and much more. He’s the real deal.

Doing Good and Having a Blast at the Same Time

Together, Dwight and I host monthly Bangkok Tweetups—tech-centric Twitter meetups for charity. People get together to have some dinner and a few beers, meet interesting new folks (expats and locals) from around Bangkok, and a portion of what they spend on food & drinks goes to support In Search Of Sanuk projects in Thailand.

Ryan, Dwight & the Lub D staff

To recognize World Refugee Day on June 20th, Dwight hosted a Taste of Sri Lanka dinner at the Lub D hostel, attracting people from our Tweetups, from Facebook, and Couchsurfing. Everyone mixed and mingled, had some delicious food cooked by Tuan, the cook at the local refugee center, and proceeds went to support the medical needs of asylum seeking refugees.

And just recently, along with the good folks at Green Networking Days Bangkok, Dwight co-hosted a huge nightclub event at Fraser Suites called LUSH, Bangkok’s Green Night Out. There were over 250 people in attendance at this spectacular upscale rooftop bar, everyone danced and drank and enjoyed the DJ music, and we were able to raise 35,000 Baht (over $1000 US) for In Search Of Sanuk’s Urban Garden Project to put vegetable gardens in the Bangkok Refugee Center and slums.

Cody, Pom & Mint at LUSH

ISOS’ events allow people (especially young people and travelers) to do things they’d already want to do—get together with friends, go out dancing, grab dinner and drinks, or attend music & art events—and easily contribute to making a positive difference at the same time. I think this is a world-changing idea, and I know Dwight will leave a big impact on the world.

I’m sure there are people doing this elsewhere, but I’ve never witnessed someone so dedicated to empowering others to make a change. I’m excited that my lifestyle gives me the time to invest in travel, hanging out with friends like Dwight, and participating in good causes.

Announcement: My Charity Commitment

For a long time, I wanted to contribute to something like 1% for the Planet, Kiva.org, or local charities. When I visited Cambodia, I really felt compelled to contribute to causes in this region. One day I realized, ‘Hey I know Dwight personally, I trust him, and he’s committed his life to doing good for others!’ So I decided to work more closely with him. We’re making plans to travel to neighboring countries across Southeast Asia every three months and volunteer for good causes wherever we go. And starting this week, 5% of my business profits will go toward ISOS projects. Anyone who signs up for my consulting and services will help us make a difference.

Improving a Broken System

Sadly, the state of philanthropy and volunteerism in Thailand is pretty convoluted and decentralized. Dwight works painstakingly to get non-profit organizations and NGOs throughout Thailand collaborating with each other and to turn volunteer opportunities into something more organized than they already are, so that people can more easily contribute and make a difference.

When I’m in the US, watching mainstream media, it feels like there is a 24-hour-a-day bad news feed directly into your brain. There is the war in the Middle East, the ongoing argument over global warming, shrinking resources and a growing population. Watching the news makes people afraid and helpless. In the face of this negative hype, I think most folks tend to retreat from the “real world.” We look for ways to escape (me included): You go see the new Terminator movie. You go get a drink downtown with your friends. You play online games for hours on end. You do your job, you go home… But we ignore the genocide, hunger and poverty going on around the world. We even stay selectively ignorant about the issues in our own backyard. Like Dwight says in a recent post, maybe we are Over Entertained and Under Challenged:

Consider what avenues exist to discuss helping the less fortunate or marginalized in your community. What are they? Are you a part of the discussion? I fear so few of us are not even having these discussions. When they do occur, it happens in niches so isolated that they’re inaccessible to both other groups having similar discussions or people who are not members of these segmented communities.

It’s my passion to change this where I can.

LUSH mixer at Fraser Suites, Bangkok

In Search Of Sanuk makes it easy for anyone to get involved and support good causes by making it fun! If you want to volunteer, Dwight makes it easy, but if you want to make contributions without having to go out of your way or spend a lot of money, we also host mixer parties, art shows, donation drives, and other fun events in Bangkok to raise money (and awareness) for local charity projects. If you’re not in this part of the world, you can still show support by following the ISOS blog, connecting with Dwight on Twitter, signing up for our services, and helping us spread the word.

Dwight is a shining example that you can have fun and make a difference at the same time! He’s a selfless, hard-working guy who genuinely cares about making the world a better place. He understands that not everybody is able to or willing to make the same commitment, so he does his best to enable others to contribute in simple and fun ways. Bangkok wouldn’t be the same without him.

Photos by Sascha Steinhoff.

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In this 10 minute video, I talk about:

• My experience working on the road since November 2008, as I’ve traveled to Hong Kong, throughout Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
• My motivations for wanting to free myself from location, be able to live out of 2 bags and run my business from anywhere in the world as I travel.
• The benefits of international travel: A lot of people simply want the ability to travel freely and continue to do their work from wherever they are. I find that slow travel is actually much cheaper than one might think. Why follow the deferred life plan and wait until retirement?
• Leveraging geo-arbitrage: For anyone who’s bootstrapping his own venture or building up their freelance portfolio, extended travel and living abroad can actually present some advantages if you choose the right location: I talk about the ability to earn in a strong currency while you live somewhere with a low cost-of-living.
• Freedom of location, time, choice: For many “LIPs”, a big motivating factor is the freedom to choose where you live, when you work, how you spend your time, and to be more picky about what projects you invest your time in.
• Personal growth: When you live abroad for an extended period of time, you change your surroundings, your environment, your inputs, and your outlook on life. Travel will spark your creativity, resourcefulness and self-reliance.

Check out the post on Viralogy to see the whole 10-minute video intro and learn a great deal more: What is this Location Independence Stuff? Or watch on my YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe for more fun videos of my travels, and future thoughts and insights on working and traveling anywhere.

Feature photo credit: Stuck in Customs

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• You Wanted to Know About Twitter…

A lot of people ask me what Twitter is, and it’s hard to describe, because so many people are using it in so many different ways. But, I recently saw this video, where Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, speaks at TED about the original motivations behind Twitter and how they compare to the unexpected uses that its members are using it to now.

Watch this. It’s remarkable how Twitter is connecting people around the globe: some people use it to share everyday thoughts with friends and family, some build professional networks, many use it to live report from tech and business conferences, some are helping spread breaking news about things like the California wildfires and the recent Iran elections. One way of thinking about Twitter is that it is slowly linking people in a sort of 3-dimensional, self-reporting search engine, giving web users detailed information about the world and events as they happen.

Click here if you don’t see the video above.

Additionally, if you’re thinking of seeing what Twitter is all about for the first time, TED’s founder Chris Anderson has some great tips on how to approach using Twitter.

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He’s been squeezing as much insightful value into each Tweet as he can (@UpbeatNow), and he’s compiled many of these thoughtful quotes into a great little pocket guide. Here’s what Raj says about his new Twitter-inspired book:

You can’t say a lot in 140 characters. Or, that’s what we thought until Twitter came along. Twitter set a new standard to communicate in 140 characters. Brevity is the name of the game. It is timely in a way as everyone in the world is moving at a breathtaking speed and would love to spend “as little time as possible” to get “as much insights as possible.”
This is where #Th!nkTweet: Bite-sized Lessons for a Fast-Paced World comes in. It is a collection of 140 bite-sized lessons that will help you learn and grow. FAST!

Some examples of my favorite tips from the book:

#10: If someone can copy your business by copying your actions, then there is a “structural” problem with your business.

#37: We value money as if we can NEVER get it back and we squander time as if there is an ENDLESS supply.

#42: Work and fun need NOT be mutually exclusive.

#46: While you are traveling the road less traveled, remember to light the path for others behind you.

#79: It is easier to come up with an excuse to NOT pursue your dream than to put the effort into pursuing it.

#110: You cannot “stand out” by conforming. Non-conformance alone won’t make you “stand out” either.

#139: The classic dilemma: 1) Want to grow AND 2) Want to continue to operate in the comfort zone.

If any community members are interested in purchasing the book, you can sign up here and use the discount code “ADD12” to get an additional discount from Raj’s publisher.

This is just Book 1 in a series of thought provoking Th!nkTweet books that Rajesh is working on. If you like the advice in this one, more titles are on the way soon! Also be sure to check out Raj’s recent, full-length business book Upbeat: Cultivating the right attitude to thrive in tough times.

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Viralogy.com is a community that strives to highlight thought leaders and influencers in this global conversation. They are quickly branding themselves as the place to go when you want to find the authoritative bloggers on any particular topic, by ranking individuals’ online influence through the blogosphere, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Stumble, and Digg statistics.

Almost everyone has read the influential works of social media thought leaders like Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Leo Babauta, for example. But Viralogy co-founder Jun Loayza, as a member of Generation Y, wants to take a different approach to finding the authoritative voices on the web. “They have amazing content,” he says, “but at times it feels like I can’t relate with them. They’re in a position where they have reached success, and are now teaching us about how we can become successful, which may be the source of the disconnect. [But] I want to read about people who are in the trenches like me; I want to hear from people who haven’t made it yet, but are doing things the right way and can teach us how they’re doing it every step of the way.  I want to hear from the experts in my Generation.”

Jun and his team at Viralogy decided to create Viralogy Experts—a platform that will feature Gen-Y experts on a range of topics, including personal finance, business strategy, marketing & PR, and personal development. And Jun asked me to join their expert panel as a thought leader on location independence, so I’m excited and proud to announce my partnership with them for the launch of this new community! The five debut experts are:

• Adam Baker at Man Vs. Debt
• Steve Spalding at How To Split an Atom
• Stuart Foster at The Lost Jacket
• Derek Halpern at Prevential.com
• Cody McKibben (that’s me!) here at Thrilling Heroics

What we all share in common is that we are actually going through these challenges and transitions right now, so you can follow along with our journeys and know that our advice has been tested first hand. We hope to bring in a fifth expert on personal development and eventually expand to at least ten thought leaders, with the goal to help you separate the wheat from the chaff on the web and go straight to the blogs that give you actionable, step-by-step teaching from peers that you can trust.

Viralogy Experts launches today, so go check it out and please subscribe!

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We had quite a few submissions this month, so below are the best in each category. If you write something great this month about location independent and digital nomad life & business, please submit an article for next month’s edition which will be hosted at Get Paid to Write Online.

Tips for Location Independent Living

Jeanne D’Arc shares How To Travel The World as a Digital Nomad Family! posted at soultravelers3, saying, “We will soon be entering our 4th year as a digital nomadic family. 4 continents & 30 countries later, 86,000 miles later, we’ve learned a few things along the way. We want every family to know this is more enriching & affordable than most realize. We live large on $25K a year total.”

Steven K. Roberts shares First Steps to Technomadics posted at Nomadic Research Labs, saying, “I originally wrote this back in 1993, while inviting folks to join me on the Microship expedition. It was updated in 2004, and contains a number of timeless tips for getting decoupled from a fixed-based life and taking those first tentative steps as a nomadling.”

Lifestyle Designing

Cath Duncan shares How Location Independent Living Can Make You More Agile And Resilient posted at Mine Your Resources. “Whatever your reasons for being location independent, being location independent can help you to overcome the major obstacles to change, and help you to become more agile and resilient.”

Doing Business Abroad & Online

Thursday Bram shares 5 Warning Signs For Portable Business Ideas posted at Working Your Way Around The World. “Building your own business can be a good way to create an income that will support you while you travel. But finding the right business can be difficult.”

Lea Woodward shares Podcast Episode 1: Panama, Business Incorporation & Staying Connected posted at Location Independent. “I am chuffed to present the very first episode of the Location Independent Podcast – a new monthly podcast feature on the Location Independent site.”

Robert Alan shares Can You Build A Solid Virtual Team? posted at Sell It on the Web, saying, “Tips on how to start an effective virtual team for your home office.”

LIP Careers

Sean Ogle shares Cruise Your Way To Location Independence posted at Sean Ogle, saying, “This article was written for those that are interested in going location independent, but may be too intimidated by the risk of jumping in 100%”

Jonathan Woodward shares Illustration: An Ideal Location Independent Job You Can Do From Anywhere? posted at Zero 2 Illo. “How would you like to just get up from your desk and go for a walk on the beach with the sand between your toes one month and the next month be topping up your inspiration reserves with a stroll through one of the world’s most architecturally stunning cities?”

Technology & Gadgets for Digital Nomads

Sharon Hurley Hall shares The Portable Writer posted at Get Paid to Write Online, saying, “I no longer need to carry much with me to have an ultra portable writing business. Here are some of the items in my writing toolbox.”

Zoe Westhof shares Ingredients for Creativity On the Go posted at Essential Prose, saying, “Tips on cultivating the mindset for being creative while traveling or working abroad, and a list of tools to enable creativity on the go.”

Your Vagabonding/Travel Stories

Thursday Bram shares Interview: Nellie Huang posted at Working Your Way Around The World. “Nellie Huang, the blogger behind Wild Junket, has been all over the world — and written about most of it.”

Honorable Mentions

There were quite a few off-topic submissions unfortunately, so make sure you keep your submissions relevant to Location Independence folks! But there were several that talked about travel and business that were just too good to pass up, and I figured the LIP crowd would be interested:

• MoneyEnergy shares 10 Tips From Tim Ferriss, Guy Kawazaki and Keith Ferazzi on Lifeline Relationships and Mentoring posted at MoneyEnergy.
• Mark Sukhija shares 14 don’t miss things in Rome posted at MarksTravelNotes.com.
• Jason shares become an internet social media superstar! posted at jasonblogz.

That concludes this edition. Thanks to everyone who participated this month! Submit your blog article to the July edition of the Location Independent Blog Carnival using our carnival submission form.

photo credit: Stuck in Customs

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If you like the article round-ups, us lucky location independent professionals and digital nomads now have our own blog carnival too! With help and support from Lea Woodward, Cath Duncan, and Sharon Hurley Hall, I’ve established the first-ever “Location Independent Blog Carnival”, which will focus on the issues that we face as we attempt to live and work anywhere.

Writers from across the blogosphere can submit articles here for a chance to be featured. Each month, a different blog in the location independent community can host—the editor will review all the submissions and publish the cream of the crop in a monthly roundup post. For readers, it’s a fantastic way to dig up great, relevant content from all corners of the web and connect with some like-minded writers you may never have read before. For bloggers, it’s a really effective way to get your writing noticed and gain exposure with a new audience. I’ve already received a few great entries! Feel free to submit your own articles in the following subject areas:

• Tips for living location independent
• Locations/destination guides
• Technology & gadgets for the digital nomad
• Your travel stories
• Doing business abroad/internationally/online
• Lifestyle design
• Other (what categories do you think we should add?)

I’m extending the deadline on this first edition for one more week, so I hope you will submit your articles for the first Location Independent Blog Carnival by next Saturday, June 20th, and look for the published carnival roundup shortly thereafter!

Please help spread the word to your favorite writers and your fellow digital nomads!

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Please click over and participate in the survey between now and Sunday, June 14th. Corbett will compile and send a press release about the survey results to help raise awareness about our growing community. By July 7th, anyone who completes the survey will be sent a copy of the summarized results, which you can feel free to write about as you see fit.

If you’re location independent or live a nomadic lifestyle, join me and other cool bloggers like Web Worker Daily, Digital Nomads, Nomadness, Slacker Reform, Muselife, soultravelers3, Technomadia, Intrepid Lifestyle, Jet Set Citizen, Nomadic Matt, Exile Lifestyle, and Location Independent to help us understand the larger definition of location independence and lifestyle design.

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Adrian Koh said in a recent article:

“Whether you call it lifestyle design, life design, work-life balance, or enlightened self-management, the central idea is this: life should be lived consciously and deliberately, and not left to chance.”

Work-life balance and (attempts at) self-management are two of the most important elements of how I live my life. It’s important to me to spend my very limited time here doing things that make a difference and that make me happy, rather than simply sinking all of my time into a job and playing the normal game of “delayed gratification” like a majority of people do (I think they call it “retirement”).

Work-life balance, location independence, and other forms of freedom are a growing trend, but we are still a minority, and there are a lot of misconceptions and challenges that we deal with too.

The Problem of Definition

The first challenge I deal with is that most people will never really understand what it is I do and how I do it. The concept of location independent entrepreneurship isn’t something you can easily explain in a few short minutes at a cocktail party. The lifestyle choices are a huge part of how I define myself, but for most people I meet I’ll simply tell them I’m a web consultant and developer. A lot of folks don’t understand the concept of being “on holiday” at the beach but also simultaneously being on call and putting in a few hours of work each day; or my wacky schedule staying up all hours to work with clients on the other side of the globe. But that’s okay, they don’t need to understand what I do for me to keep doing it!

The Problem of Impermanence

There’s a Buddhist lesson in here somewhere, but when you live a mobile lifestyle you realize how transient so many things can really be: location, friends, routines. It can be difficult to maintain relationships while you’re on the road. If you choose the truly nomadic path of “slow travel”—spending a few months to a year living in different places around the world (or around your country)—you will make a lot of friends, you’ll likely set up a temporary homebase and settle into local routines. You’ll find out how easy it is to build very close friendships with other travelers and expats in a very short time, but you will frequently have to say goodbyes. But if you are lucky, the people you meet on the road will be close friends for life though who you will eventually meet again in other parts of the world.

The Problem of Not Being Omnipresent

All this travel and all these close new friends means you will get wrapped up in things. A lot of opportunities will present themselves to you: opportunities for great travel experiences and fun social occasions, new friends will send work your way and want to partner with you on projects, you’ll meet people who’s stories touch you and you’ll want to help and make a difference in the communities you become a part of, albeit short-lived. There are too many opportunities to take advantage of when you meet people at this rate, and you can’t be everywhere at once. But do your best to stay on top of your own entrepreneurial ventures and travel consciously and you’ll get the chance to do some great things you’d never imagined.

The Huge Upside

Creating a business I can operate from nearly anywhere has given me the freedom to choose where I live, when I work, and it has enabled me to travel and invest time in great relationships while working at the same time. Living this lifestyle teaches you that traveling is easier than you think: with a little resourcefulness, the ability to do a proper Google search, and a little effort at making new friends, you’ll be amazed what sort of great experiences you can have for free or very cheap! You will see some incredible things that will change the way you think about the world.

To share a little taste of what the Location Independent Lifestyle is like with others, I’m going to start posting more videos from my adventures. I won’t bore you with the work side, but you’ll get to see some of the fun people I get to meet, great places I get to visit, and cool projects I get to be a part of. Here are a few videos from recent adventures, but stay tuned for more travel videos, and hopefully some insights into the good projects we’re working on at In Search Of Sanuk.

In late March, I took a brief trip with friends Alysia and Carla to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and then to Siem Reap to see the ancient temple ruins at Angkor Wat. Watch for sunset at the temple, stunning/eerie photos of the ruins, and watch as we get the special opportunity to witness a Buddhist monk ordination ceremony atop the summit of a steep temple:

Can’t see the video above? Click here.

In April, I flew home to the US to roadtrip with friends Megan, Sam, Nicole and Carmen to Indio, California to attend my third Coachella Valley Music Festival. Come witness this awesome 3-day concert in the California desert and see folks like Paul McCartney, The Killers, M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, Franz Ferdinand, The Crystal Method, Michael Franti, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in concert:

Can’t see the video above? Click here.

Upon my return here to Thailand, I was fortunate to spend some time with Vanessa in Krabi province. We spent a weekend in beautiful Railay Beach, caught up with Alysia and Brooke, made some great traveler friends (James & Dennis) and took our new little buddy Sahat (who lost his family in the tsunami) on a snorkel trip. Watch for cheap accommodation suggestions, a longtail boat ride-along, incredible poi dancing, and feeding monkeys on the beach:

Can’t see the video above? Click here.

Want more Thrilling Heroics? Follow Cody on Twitter

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Today’s awesome video post is by guest writer Matt Wilson, co-founder of Under30CEO.com. Matt’s mission is to lead people to go out and do what they are passionate about instead of falling into the rat race and playing by corporate America’s rules. You can follow him on Twitter @MattWilsonTV

You Can Be Whatever You Want When You Grow Up

We were all told we could be whatever wanted when we grew up. So why isn’t anyone doing it?

Are you designing your life so it’s fun and exciting? If not, quit! Or at least make it exciting!

Life is about the accumulation of stories. Are you writing your story? If your story is boring now, it will probably be that way for the rest of your life.

Sit and think—what am I passionate about?! How can I turn this into viable cashflow. There are people out there doing it now and it’s because they struggled with this question day in and day out. Most people don’t think it’s possible, so they don’t bother.

Focus on your goal. Whatever it is that you want to do, dream it, live it, do it. Stick to your plan and execute.

If you can’t see the video above, please click here.

Under30CEO’s newsletter HelpAnEntrepreneur.com allows anyone to ask a business question and get answers from real people in their inbox or Twitter feed.

Feature photo credit: Dr. Pat

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Kareem Mayan (@kareem)

Location: Vancouver, Canada
Web: How’s the Wifi?
Bio: “Freelance technical product developer. vet of ESPN & FIM, co-founded eduFire, now working on what’s next.”
Cool Recent Interview: How To Work While Traveling Like A Business Nomad

Daniel McClure (@DanielMcClure)

Location: London, England
Web: Intrepid Lifestyle
Bio: “Young Entrepreneur from the United Kingdom with experience in Online Travel & Internet Marketing.”
Cool Recent Post: 10 Awesome iPhone Apps for Digital Nomads

Christine Gilbert (@almostfearless)

Location: Leon, Nicaragua
Web: Almost Fearless
Bio: “Fortune 500 manager quits job to travel the world. Read about it at almostfearless.com”
Cool Recent Post: Becoming a Digital Nomad: Options for Working Remotely from Anywhere

Chris Dunphy & Cherie Ve Ard (@Technomadia)

Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Web: Tales from Technomadia
Bio: “We are technomads (technology based nomads) – mid 30s couple (@serolynne + @radven) plus kitten (@kikinator) traveling the US in a solar 17′ geeky trailer.”
Cool Upcoming Project: Nomads at Burning Man Have a Place to Call Their Own

Cath Duncan (@CathDuncan)

Location: Currently in London, UK
Web: Mine Your Resources
Bio: “Evolutionary, traveler, creator, biker, Resource Miner, coach of Agile Living Strategies”
Cool Upcoming Seminar: How to Be Independent, Free & Flexible by Creating a Location Independent Lifestyle with Lea Woodward

Jeanne D’Arc, DaVinci & Ms. Mozart (@soultravelers3)

Location: Spain
Web: Soultravelers3.com
Bio: “Family traveling world since ‘06! Edu/adventure/photos/endless vacation!29 countries,4 continents,2.5 million+Youtube views so far!”
Cool Recent Post: How to Travel the World as a Digital Nomad Family

Brooke Ferguson (@BizBackpacker)

Location: Krabi, Thailand
Web: BusinessBackpacker.com
Bio: “Live Your Best Life NOW! Work from anywhere and live the lifestyle of your dreams.”
Cool Recent Post: Traveling Solo, Going it Alone

Jonathan Woodward (@jonwoodward)

Location: Currently in the UK
Web: Zero 2 Illo
Bio: “Location Independent Creative” Husband of Lea Woodward & co-founder of LocationIndependent.com
Cool Recent Post: Blogging For Illustrators, Part 1: Why Should An Illustrator Blog?

John Bardos (@JetSetCitizen )

Location: Japan
Web: JetSetCitizen
Bio: “Lifestyle Design at the intersection of work, play and travel.”
Cool Recent Post: 8 Reasons Why You Should Work in a Foreign Country

Mark Weins (@migrationology)

Location: Indonesia
Web: Migrationology.com
Bio: “I like to travel and eat, alot…why vacation when you can migration…”
Cool Recent Post: Wonderful Things in Sumatra

Zoë Westhof (@zoewesthof)

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Web: Essential Prose
Bio: “Exploring creativity and telling stories.”
Awesome New Ebook: Free Booklet: How to Make Your Own Creative Mini-Retreat

Amber Zuckswert (@EpicSelf)

Location: Melbourne, Australia
Web: Epic Self
Bio: “A dance machine, pilates instructor, health blog writer, traveling gypsy and sun worshipping environmentalist wrapped into one tall fabulous package.”
Cool Recent Post: Living Out Of Two Backpacks

Matthew French-Holt (@AdventureSome)

Location: Maynooth, Ireland
Web: Adventure-Some
Bio: “I love pursuing the daily adventure in my life & helping others do the same. Never live a dull life; live your life to the fullest!”
Cool Recent Post: Define Your Life

Additionally, you can track the Location Independent conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #LIP, and track down awesome travel discounts & deals with @travelhacker. And of course, you can follow me directly on Twitter too: @codymckibb

Feature photo credit: maistora

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Since I moved abroad six months ago, I’ve been really fortunate to live the dream: I run my own small business and get to choose the projects I work on; I live in Thailand where there’s plenty of adventure to be had, gorgeous beaches, and the cost of living is low; I put in a lot of time partnering with other cool folks to work on projects that I’m passionate about but that don’t necessarily earn me income.

The way I prioritize work and live my lifestyle has allowed me to see a lot of the world: Paris, London, Spain, Bangkok, Laos, Phuket, Krabi, Cambodia and much more. The way I run my small company has allowed me to conduct business from Silicon Valley, Wyoming, and Missouri, to Canada, France, Australia, and Colombia. And just for fun, I get to take time out to do things like the Coachella music fest in the California desert with friends, and contribute to projects like Dwight Turner’s In Search of Sanuk mission (helping promote humanitarian causes and people who do good), Brooke Ferguson’s Business Backpacker site, and our new Bangkok Tweetups for Charity (bringing interesting expats and locals of all walks of life together).

I’m not telling you this to toot my own horn. Rather, my whole mission is about getting others to realize that anyone can have this lifestyle!

Location independence will become an increasingly mainstream way of life. As the economy continues to fail us, big companies continue to lay off thousands, job security disappears, and the traditional workplace fails to meet individuals’ needs, you will see more and more people choosing to take their careers into their own hands, and opting to leverage technology that allows them to work from where they choose.

You can live and work anywhere—whether you choose to travel and work abroad, work remotely in a small quiet town, or even simply work from home with your family—and you can cultivate more free time to spend on the things you care about, if you take actionable steps to make it happen. (Existing business owners and freelancers, see my article “How to Go Location-Independent” at Business Backpacker.)

I have been writing more frequently about my “location independent” lifestyle, and a growing community has quickly sprung up around the term in recent months. So what is Location Independence? It can mean many things depending on who you ask: the location independent community is made up of all kinds of different people:

• Entrepreneurs who run their businesses remotely via the web
• Location-Independent Professionals (LIPs) who may do freelance work for clients around the globe
• “Digital Nomads” or work-from-home folks who might work remotely but still be employed by a company
• Permanent Travelers (PTs), vagabonders, flashpackers, backpackers, and people who like to take Tim Ferriss-style mini-retirements

The release of Ferriss’ book The 4-Hour Workweek in 2007 was likely the first mainstream conversation piece that got people thinking about the world in these terms, but there are many individuals who’ve been doing it since long before Tim Ferriss made the work-anywhere lifestyle cool.

Meet Jonathan and Lea Woodward

Two such folks are Lea and Jonathan Woodward of LocationIndependent.com. The couple left their UK home in early 2007 to set upon a round-the-world lifestyle and work from the road. Lea has a strong background in management consulting, and Jonathan is a talented corporate graphic designer and illustrator, and together they now run Kinetiva, a diversified mobile company which provides career & lifestyle coaching, graphic design services, marketing, technology, and strategy consulting.

In their own words:

“Being location independent is a concept, a lifestyle and a mindset. It’s a life based on freedom, choice and flexibility. We are Location Independent Professionals (LIPs), working from anywhere in the world we choose (with an internet connection).”

Over the past two years, Jonathan and Lea have already spent considerable time living in varied locations like Panama, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Dubai, Thailand and South Africa. Their sites offer extensive resources for people interested in or already living this lifestyle. Notably, they are the authors of X Marks The Spot: The Indispensable Guide To Living & Working From Anywhere You Want, and they provide a range of Little LIP Destination Guides to some popular spots for remote workers in Thailand, the Philippines, South Africa, Australia, and more. Each guide provides valuable information for LIP types which is often very different the tips a typical tourist needs—internet availability, long-term accommodations, remote office options and so on.

About the Location Independent Blog

Their Location Independent Living blog is one that I’ve been wanting to highlight for quite some time. Lea and Jon share a tremendous amount of valuable insight about managing business remotely, lifestyle design, travel tactics, and finding the right technology to empower your business online.

This site is a must-read for folks who don’t like to follow the traditional rules of work & life. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or just getting your start, they have a cool way of splitting up the blog for new readers into two categories:

1. The Not-Yet-In-Business starter guide: for rat race escapees, recent graduates, vagabond travelers, and the recently retired. Start here →
2. The Business Owner’s starter guide: for freelancers, online entrepreneurs, bloggers, and internet marketers. Start here →

Some of my favorite posts from the Location Independent blog:

• How To Put Your Business On Autopilot Whilst You Travel The World As A Digital Nomadic Web Worker
• Is A Nomadic Location Independent Lifestyle Cheaper Than Living In One Place? A 12 Month Breakdown for 2008
• 5 Things That Will Help You Settle In Quickly When You Lead A Nomadic Lifestyle As A Web Worker

A Growing Community for Location Independent Professionals

Lea and Jonathan have consistently made themselves the go-to authorities on the location independent lifestyle and working as a digital nomad, so naturally I wanted to establish a strong relationship with them and partner with them. They’ve been very busy developing resources and communication channels to connect LIPs around the globe and I’m excited to be a part of it! For people who are interested in learning more about location independence, becoming a digital nomad, or promoting this lifestyle, here are three new developments:

1. If you’re already a successful Location Independent Professional and you want to actively help us promote the lifestyle, we’ve organized some “street teams” to spread the word about the LIP lifestyle and promote the LIP community. I’m really excited to have been chosen as an ambassador for the community alongside Cath Duncan, Amy Palko, and Sharon Hurley Hall. I’ll be a Team Leader focusing on Bloggers and Online Entrepreneurs.  You can get in touch with me or ask for an invitation to become a team member of our private Community Outreach Team.
2. If you’re seeking more info about the Location Independent lifestyle or about becoming a Digital Nomad, there is also a free, open forum—the Location Independent Clubhouse—which is quickly becoming a thriving community for LIP discussion. This social network offers members a place to have general discussions, and get the support of like-minded folks who are either already location independent or are also on the journey. (Also make sure you follow the #LIP discussion on Twitter!)
   
3. If you aren’t an LIP yet, but you are serious about developing a business that you can run from anywhere, Lea and Jonathan have recently put together a fantastic course for Building a Location Independent Business. Chris Guillebeau of Art of Nonconformity has officially teamed up with them to promote the course and describes it below:
   

   “Lea calls the study course Location Independent. The course is ideal for anybody who wants to build a real business for themselves which supports and enables the lifestyle of their choice – whether that’s a life of permanent travel, occasional travel, or simply being able to spend more time at home with family.”

   I was one of the first students to enroll in the course early on. I’m only about halfway through the study materials, and I still hope to write up a full review soon, but I love it so far. It’s little bit of an investment, but I wouldn’t promote it if it didn’t provide a tremendous amount of value.

I want to encourage others to pursue freedom—the freedom to live and work anywhere, and to live life beyond borders and limitations, so I highly recommend the Location Independent blog, the free Location Independent community, and their Location Independent Business Course. If you’re interested in becoming a digital nomad or taking your business location independent then also be sure to read my recent guide How to Go Location-Independent.

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UPDATE: I Want to Make You A Rockstar Contest Winner!

I recently clarified my mission to help as many people take their business online, or go location-independent as I can this year. To help people take back control of their careers in this poor economy, I am offering special social media consulting for new clients this month, as well as discounted blog development services for non-profits and do-gooders. And I asked you guys to help me promote my mission by offering a free Introductory Blog & Social Media Consultation to one lucky participant.

Well, the promotion has been a great success! I’ve had more people requesting services than I know how to handle, and I will probably have to bring in an extra web designer/developer to help all these folks establish their personal brands online or promote their organizations.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to help me spread the word about my mission, whether you told your friends, Tweeted about it, or submitted an entry to the competition. Here are the final five blog post entries I got:

• Daniel Hoang: Social Media Consulting
• Julie Christiansen: I Just Entered a Contest – You Can Too
• Matthew: Become a Rockstar
• Britpol: Feeling the Credit Crunch? Become free…
• Curious Jessica: Talented young thing: Cody McKibben

Announcing the Rockstar Winner:

I put all five people’s names into a hat to draw at random, and the winning pick was reader Daniel Hoang—Investor, Lifehacker, Technologist, Analyst, Careerist! Daniel, I’ll be in touch with you via Twitter/email soon and we can arrange a time for your free 1-on-1 consulting call.

I only wish I could help all five of you, but you can feel free to enroll in my free support forums and stay tuned for future tips. Thanks go out to all of you guys!

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Related Articles at Thrilling Heroics:

• Participate in the Location Independent Survey
• Get Your Blog Some Exposure in the New Location Independent Blog Carnival
• Video Introduction to the Work-Anywhere Lifestyle
• Viralogy Interview: How to Live Free and Become Location Independent
• Consulting & Web Services