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Introduction

Do you ever get the feeling that your life isn’t panning out quite the way it was meant to? Do you ever feel as though you’re perhaps not taking full advantage of your freedom, of your health, of your youth?

For many of us, life can feel like a long gauntlet of different tasks and responsibilities, punctuated by long periods of sitting around bored.

We read stories, watch films and play computer games that feature brave and bold heroes venturing into unknown lands, facing challenges and generally living lives filled with excitement and exploration. Meanwhile, our own lives consist of sitting in an office all day getting shouted at by our boss, coming home on the train during a busy commute and then sitting in at home on the couch not doing much at all. Or maybe washing up. Our bodies are literally wasting away from a lack of movement, our minds are starting to decay from a lack of challenge or interest and in general, we are no longer challenging or pushing ourselves.

And the most excitement we typically have is choosing which film to watch on a Friday night…

But there’s a whole world out there.

We often have dreams and we have plans to get out and see the world, or to start living a lifestyle that we’d actually find engaging and rewarding. But too often those plans seem just out of reach:

perhaps we don’t have the money to afford to travel. Maybe we have too many responsibilities and can’t take our children out of work. Maybe we’re progressing too far in our current jobs.

Maybe we’re just too tired, too stressed and too depressed to really take the effort to actually change our lives.

Maybe you work the job you work not because we’re passionate about it, or because you find it exciting; but rather because you needed to start earning an income fast and this was the first place that you could do so.

Maybe you thought you’d change careers at some point but then you met your partner and settled down. Or maybe you started to progress up the ladder and moved out into rented accommodation.

Either way, you now feel trapped. There’s no way out. And no way to have that fulfilling and exciting life that you dreamed of.

But every now and then, you see an image from a friend on Facebook, or perhaps from an advert or a blog, showing people who have found a way out of the rat race. People who seem to spend most of their time on beautiful beaches, cocktails in hand.

People who are pursuing work that they care about and feel rewarded by. But more importantly: people who work primarily as a way to fund a lifestyle that they actually feel excited about.

How?

They became digital nomads. And with this book, you can do the exact same thing…

What is a Digital Nomad?

So just what is a digital nomad?

Essentially, becoming a digital nomad is your way out. This is how you escape the rat race and start to see the world. A digital nomad is someone who works online and who uses that style of work in order to be able to travel, see the world and live a life of adventure.

Sounds too good to be true right?

But it makes perfect sense. Today, travel is cheaper than it has ever been. Budget airlines make it incredibly affordable to visit countries all over the world, while trains and coaches connect land within continents.

Then you have things like AirBnB and Couchsurfing – sites that make it even cheaper to find accommodation abroad and to really live as a part of the country you’re in.

Meanwhile, more and more people are starting to earn a living online. Many businesses are allowing their employees to work remotely, using tools like video conferencing software and collaboration software in order to stay in touch and continue working as part of the team.

Those with an entrepreneurial streak meanwhile can just as easily make money from selling services online as web developers, writers, photographers or coders. Or they can create their own businesses that can be run from anywhere in the world: blogs for example, or affiliate marketing schemes.

And when you marry these two developments, it means that there is no longer any need to work from a small crowded office. You can take your work with you on the road and that road is open to more people than ever before.

Nothing is keeping you trapped in your current lifestyle. Nothing is stopping you from throwing on a backpack and heading out that door, to begin a lifetime of adventure and travel.

Of course there are going to be a few challenges and struggles along the way. How do you travel if you have a family for example? How do you transition to working online? And how do you ensure that you’re able to stay productive when you’re lost in another country?

We’ll be answering all those questions in this book, so sit back, grab a cup of coffee and let’s spend the next hour or so learning how you can become truly free again.

Just as you were always meant to be.