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Is Chris Hughes the Coolest Digital Nomad Alive Today?

If you flew to Panama with a lot of debt, a little cash, no experience and nothing but a plan to make money online, would you still play it cool?

A common theme of this podcast is to explore transition. No one gives permission to do this stuff. It takes a leap of faith to make it happen. I love to ask how the most successful people made it happen.

My guest today is Chris Hughes (@whosChrisHughes). We met at KoHub one night. I dive into that story in the podcast.

Lots of people say that building a business is like jumping off a cliff and building an airplane before you hit the ground. For Chris, that plane was a Duck Dynasty Facebook fan page. Duck Dynasty caught him before he hit the dirt. He’s still flying. It’s a crazy story.

“Do the stuff you’re supposed too, before you do the stuff you want too.” – Chris Hughes

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Travel Topics:

  • How Chris almost killed his friend [02:20]
  • Starting a life of travel [02:40]
  • The viral power of Duck Dynasty [03:35]
  • Using a Facebook Fan Page to buy a margarita [06:50]
  • Valet-parking cars for Orlando Magic [10:45]
  • Refusing job opportunities to keep your freedom [14:10]
  • Learning how to make money online [16:05]
  • On completing college for your parents [18:03]
  • Burning your ships and making the leap [22:38]
  • Being smart with your money [23:20]
  • Juggling for video games [25:20]
  • The benefits of Capitalism [29:05]
  • Leaving the surfing haven of Costa Rica [30:35]
  • Building systems for your business [33:30]
  • Making business work on Facebook [35:50]

Chris Hughes Talking Points:

Facebook | WhosChrisHughes

Music Credit:

Take Action:

What was your last important life transition?

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Marcus Meurer: Building a Better World for Digital Nomads

Compliments of V D’Rozario

Marcus Meurer and I have businesses that don’t involve location requirements. That empowers us and people like us to live in a new city every 1-3 months. It’s great for individual freedom, but what about community?

Marcus Meurer is the mind behind a lot of companies. He is now focused on the problem of community for the digital nomads. He is one of the founders of DNX, a co-working organization which sets up events, camps and a lot more for all these digital nomads scattered like glitter across the earth.

I met him on the island of Koh Lanta on the Andaman Sea side of Thailand. He was leading DNX Camp at the time and graciously offered a bit of his time to share with us how he is supporting the digital nomad community.

“Getting the first client and getting the first bill paid changed everything for me.” – Marcus Meurer (Tweet It)

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Welcome back to the show everyone.

Some of you may have noticed that Love Affair Travel got knocked out by a team of Chinese, Russian, Myanmarian hackers. It was a nightmare. The good news is, we’re back better than ever. The site loads faster, is more secure and just looks better. We’ve even added forums. My hope is that I can be of assistance to those who are listening to this show.

Just to catch you up, V and I have moved to a small island on the western coast of Thailand in the Andaman sea. It’s called Koh Lanta and we’re not alone here.

There is a large group of Digital Nomads here and one sect of them is the DNX camp headed by Marcus Meurer and his girlfriend.

In this podcast we discuss the nature of the digital nomad community, how it’s growing and what we can do to make the scene more vibrant for those new entrants.

Marcus Meurer Talking Points:

  • Working with other digital nomads
  • Transitioning from the 9-5 into the nomad lifestyle
  • The challenges of building and working with remote teams
  • On removing the barriers that you create when the business needs you to grow
  • What is Freedom Podcasting and what do we do?
  • Exploring loneliness, a significant challenge for digital nomads
  • Co-working and how to create a hub for the modern workforce

Lovely Links:

Twitter  | Facebook | Instagram

“Sometimes you have to NOT make a science out of everything. Get started and get the content out there.” – Marcus Meurer (Tweet It)

Music Credit:

Respond:

How to think about community?

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Jeffrey Chernick: Tours as a Rock Star Drummer, Grows an International Business and has lots and lots of Fun

Jeffrey Chernick is a Rock Star.

He started in big finance.

Got out before it all burned down.

Off to Barcelona. Off to Malaysia.

Playing sold out shows with his band Story of the Running Wolf.

Still going strong.

Say hello to the ever so charming, Jeffery Chernick.

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“Malaysia was awesome. I’d go partying and to really cool places backpack style, then put on a button down and go to meetings with 13 Malaysian businessmen.” – Jeffrey Chernick (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • 00.26 – Who is Jeffrey Chernick? What is his vision?
  • 03.15 – Transitioning for Lehman Bros to entrepreneur
  • 05.27 – How to learn the entrepreneurial skill set?
  • 08.35 – The ‘Big Phone’ call and what it sparked
  • 10.51 –  Backpacking in South East Asia and securing million dollar deals in Malaysia
  • 14.09 – Conference Events in Vegas and Barcelona
  • 17.08 – Cold Calling and it’s atlas like power
  • 19.30 – How to understand people and cultivate a persuasive message
  • 21.05 – Moments of awe for Jeffrey Chernick
  • 24.15 – Using an artistic mind to leverage powerful business moves
  • 29.40 – The power of thinking Big
  • 35.55 – How traveling has impacted the growth of Ride Amigos
  • 38.40 – Tips for quitting the job, building a business and traveling

Lovely Links:

RideAmigos | Facebook | StoryoftheRunningWolf

Take Action:

Do you think the artist in Jeffrey has helped him thru business?

Would you like to grow an International Business?

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Dan Andrews: Build a Business and Live the Dream

The new rich has arrived and their leader is Dan Andrews.

He’s a leading force in the development of micro multinational businesses.

No one knows about lifestyle business like Dan does.

Want to travel the world and make money?

Building a business is the way to get there.

If you want to get there fast you’ve gotta hear this interview.

Here he is, Dan Andrews.

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“I would rather be the captain of a canoe than a midshipman of a cruise ship.” – Dan Andrews (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • Being inspired and learning from the best
  • When is the right time to quit the 9-5?
  • Using courier flights for cheap travel
  • Surviving without doing ‘traveler jobs’
  • The #1 factor that’s changed the world of micro multinational organizations
  • Saftey comparison of South East Asia and USA
  • Taking control of your life
  • What is success?
  • This your resumes will get you there
  • A great how to strategy
  • How to Build a Business

Lovely Links:

  • Connect with Dan:

Tropical MBA | Twitter

Music Credits:

Special Thanks:

  • Jonathan Baille Strong, Karen Asprey and Chris Jones for the production

Take Action:

Do you have a goal that you want to accomplish?  Who is the best at doing this?  Try to make contact with this person-what can you learn from them?

 

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Kat Dugas: One Girl Solo Bikes Around Thailand and Work Travels Australia

She went to South East Asia.

She bought herself a bike.

She travelled around Thailand.

She built houses from mud in Burma.

Now she is travel working in Australia.

Planning her next adventure.

Welcome, Kat Dugas.

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“Thailand is a paradise of a country for bike travelling.” – Kat Dugas (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • Traveling around Thailand by bike
  • Female solo traveling
  • Thailand on a budget
  • To fold or not to fold… Best bikes for traveling Thailand
  • Brick building near Burma
  • Staying at the homes of locals
  • The mechanics of an Australian Working Holiday Visa
  • Changing your life by traveling and living abroad
  • How she Work Travels Australia

Lovely Links:

Travel Tools:

  • Check out Love Space – A conscious community space for the cultivation of creative expression, yoga, workshops, classes, music, group activities, meditation and gift exchange.
  • Travellingtwo.com is a great bike Podcast
  • Connect with other couchsurfing bike travelers on Warmshowers.org

Music Credits:

Special Note:

Kat also sent us this after the show:

“Right after I hung up I realised, dang I should have told a story about that website! I didn’t use it on my trip but hosted four French bike travelers in Melbourne through it, awesome guys who are doing a 3 year around the world journey. English Solid Dream are very inspiring guys who even incorporated some crazy things like sailing to Antarctica and kite-biking across the outback on their trip. The four of them reminded me exactly of another group of male friends that I have, 4 American guys who were about to take off on a trip through Australia that I convinced to do it by bike (met them hiking the grand canyon) and they also stayed with me on their way through Melbourne! You can find them here on Facebook.

Take Action:

Do you have any ‘crazy’ travel ideas? Write them down and then do some research from other people who have had similar ideas to see how possible they actually are.

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Jacob Sokol: Taking on the World to Find True Happiness

Jacob Sokol thought he had it all.

Yet something was missing.

His search took him to South East Asia.

Now he helps turn other people’s pain into purpose and power.

It’s a pleasure to introduce, Jacob Sokol.

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“Travel is a vehicle to learn who we are, what’s important to us and what’s possible in life.” – Jacob Sokol  (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • How traveling helps self-understanding
  • Why not having it all figured out can be liberating
  • How understanding other people’s pain can lead to a high quality life for you
  • Why quit a 6 figure salary job to travel the world
  • Why it is realistic to be unrealistic 
  • How Jacob got Tim Ferris to take him to a Jets game with Gary Vaynerchuk
  • How travel has helped to create meaningful true happiness…. by understanding the world
  • Recreating the thrill of travel at home

Lovely Links:

Sensophy | Twitter | Facebook

Music Credits:

Take Action:

Take a look at your environment and relationships around you at the moment – are these conducive to the changes you want to see in life?

Let us know in the comments.

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Wandering Earl: Kidnappings, Entrepreneurship, the Taliban and 14 Years on the Road

Image Property of Wandering Earl

He likes to travel to the least visited places on earth.

His first trip was 14 years ago in South East Asia.

It was only supposed to last for 3 months.

Today he is still on the road going as strong as ever.

He’s a hero in the long term travel space.

Please welcome, Wandering Earl.

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“The overwhelming number of people on this planet are nice, good people.” – Wandering Earl  (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • How a short trip to South East Asia turned into a 14 year travel lifestyle
  • How blogging helped to focus Earl’s travel driven entrepreneurship
  • Why desperation is a useful tool for a travel lifestyle
  • The tools Earl used to build his first business on the road (hint: pens and paper)
  • How to start a language training business in any (non-english speaking) country in the world
  • Earl’s stories of traveling in Pakistan, Yemen and getting blitzed with the Taliban
  • How Earl was kidnapped in Bangladesh
  • We go on a tangent on how to learn to surf in Mexico or Australia
  • All about Romania and how it is the friendliest country in the world
  • Comparing the cost of living in Australia with that of Romania
  • The opportunity for a Working Holiday in Australia for those under 30
  • Advice for those that want to live a permanent travel lifestyle
  • Developing an open minded approach to making money while traveling
  • Independent traveling with the support of small groups
  • All the other Lovely Stuff

Lovely Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Music Credit:

Take Action:

Now it’s your chance! Share this show on twitter.

Everything you need to know about the Australia Working Holiday Visa

Have you ever had a job on a cruise ship?

Do you find interesting ways to maintain your travel lifestyle?

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Jodi Ettenberg: Tales of a Lawyer Turned Slow Traveling Global Adventurer

Image Property of Jodi Ettenberg

Sometimes life requires something more.

One can have an excellent job in a prestigious place.

Yet the call of exotic lands can be too much to bear.

After realizing this Jodi turned that passion into a powerful journey.

She has been on the road for five years and has only just begun…

Please welcome, the founder of Legal Nomads.

The lovely, Jodi Ettenberg.

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“Opportunities come your way and you either go with them or not.” – Jodi Ettenberg  (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • Jodi’s excellent packing guide
  • Explaining her lifestyle of living in SE Asia half the time and USA the rest
  • How Jodi went about leaving a well paid position at a law firm to travel the world
  • The transition between a lawyer turned slow traveling global adventurer
  • How 5 years of travel has led to a career she never expected
  • How to budget for travel on a per year basis
  • The origins of LegalNomads.com
  • How her passion for writing almost accidentally turned into a profession
  • On the importance of authenticity
  • The long term, community driven way to make money online
  • Why providing value is essential to entrepreneurs
  • On the value of sticking to what you care about
  • What captivated her about the Trans Siberian Railway
  • On the joys of being bench-pressed by giant Russian men
  • Her magnificent story of a “non-space view of the overview effect analog”
  • How slow travel works
  • Why Jodi made the decision to stay in Bangkok during the riots of 2010
  • How to question engineers as to the direction they placed their sniper wire
  • Even as a lone female traveler, she feels safer walking around at night than in much of North America
  • We discuss safety on a deeper level than I ever have before
  • How travel safety instincts can develop with time on the road
  • The value of avoiding attention when in a foreign country
  • On the challenge of being sick in a foreign country
  • How having a backup plan to a lifestyle of long term travel is a smart decision
  • On how building a worse case scenario and preparing for it can give you more confidence in your travels
  • Jodi’s entrepreneurial plans for launching food explorations of cities based on colors
  • Her plans to create a travel site to help those travelers with Celiac Disease
  • Advice to those who know they want to travel but are unnerved by taking the first step
  • How Jodi uses Twitter
  • All the other Lovely Stuff

Lovely Links:

LegalNomads | Twitter | Facebook

Travel Tools:

  • Planning a trip? Get Jodi’s preparation guide.

Music Credits:

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Niall Doherty: Social Media Blackmail, Circumnavigation, a Wealthy Mindset and a Quantified Life

Image Property of Niall Doherty

Niall is a man with a mission.

He is traveling around the world WITHOUT FLYING!

How is this even possible you ask?

Listen in to find out how possible the impossible really is.

Our first inspirational guest on the Love Affair Travel podcast.

The man, Niall Doherty.

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“Once you’re lucky, twice your good.” – Niall Doherty (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • Niall’s journey so far: Ireland > England > Amsterdam > Around Europe > Romania > Turkey > Iran > Dubai > India > (5 months in) Nepal > India > Thailand
  • How impossible it is to go from India to Sri Lanka without flying
  • The challenge of traveling from India to Thailand without flying; how he solved this problem by “Making them an Offer they couldn’t refuse.” Hint: It involves some social media blackmail.
  • His trials and tribulations whilst seeking a Pakistani visa
  • The finances of a round the world journey in which he was to begin in $3,000 dollars in the bank
  • How Niall’s path to successful entrepreneurship has run in tandem with his global journey
  • Why Niall is focusing on a high level wealthy mindset now
  • How his Bangkok roommates helped him to identify limiting beliefs
  • Tales on hacking free travel and cash to boot
  • How Iran was the PRIME example of an amazingly positive moment in Niall’s journey
  • How to survive in Iran on $100 for 10 days
  • More about the amazing hospitality of the Iranian people
  • Meditations on irrational fears
  • How to cut out the risk of traveling by yourself or with friends
  • Niall’s take on privacy and how he lives his life as if the whole world could be watching
  • How he plans to cross the Pacific Ocean
  • A story of the guy who burned 10,000 pounds in South East Asia
  • Plus, much more…

“You can’t have an adventure if everything goes to plan.” – Niall Doherty (Tweet It)

Lovely Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Music Credits:

Travel Tools:

“You don’t overcome your fears and then go do what it is that you want to do. The way it works is, you go do what you want to do in spite of the fear and then while doing it, you overcome it.” – POWERFUL Niall Doherty!