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Brent Rose: Inside the Life of a Location Independent Tech Journalist

Wish your road trips never ended? For Brent Rose, they don’t.

Brent Rose is a freelance technology journalist who has spent the last 17 months living out of a van and road tripping around the United States. For Brent, what started as a year-long road trip has turned into an open-ended lifestyle.

Brent tells us about how he decided to start his van life, how he equipped his van to be able to work from anywhere, and what his nomadic life is like. He also gives us some pointers and great stories and information about his career as a tech journalist.

“I’ve been on the road for the last 17 months now. I’ve put about 35,000 miles on the thing. It was originally going to be about a year-long thing, and now I don’t know how or where to stop. I don’t know if I want to stop – so the adventure continues.” – Brent Rose

Travel Topics:

  • Why Brent decided to convert to van life [5:27]
  • What to look for in a vehicle for long term travel [8:19]
  • How to convert a van to fit your lifestyle [8:47]
  • How to get into tech journalism [10:18]
  • What is Gizmodo? [11:43]
  • What it means to be a good writer [13:39]
  • The transition from office life to van life [24:43]
  • How Brent’s location independence influences his professional output [27:03]
  • Kayaking from Cuba to Florida [28:47]
  • Benefits of a press trip [37:29]
  • Making that important decision… what do you write about?! [38:45]
  • Most memorable moments on the road [43:13]
  • How a pearl in an oyster can lead to a great pick-up line [45:35]

Brent Rose Talking Points:

Website | Instagram |  Facebook | Twitter

“I love the freedom it affords me.” – Brent Rose

Music Credit:

Take Action:

Brent drives his van on a constant road trip to balance work with adventure. What can you do to bring more adventure into your everyday life?

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Taylor Conroy’s Full Force Journey to Change the Fundraising World

Compliments of Taylor Conroy

Taylor Conroy’s energy for life is contagious! Currently, he is the co-founder of Journey, an organization that designs trips for volunteers looking to make a difference by building homes in developing countries.

In his role, Taylor is on a mission to revolutionize the way social change is funded. This is a great interview for travelers looking to make a difference in the world.

Inspired by his passion, we explored his past, where I learned that he has always been driven. Whether it’s high-finance real estate, bodybuilding, firefighting or international volunteer work, Taylor takes on life at full force.

“That’s what made me leave the fire hall, that love for thinking outside the box and creating things that don’t yet exist.” – Taylor Conroy

Travel Topics:

  • Taylor’s bodybuilder beginning [2:00]
  • Life advice… You got to put in the hustle and the heartbreak to get the reward [6:30]
  • The entrepreneurship itch [10:22]
  • How to find a personal guru [14:07]
  • Taylor’s passion for feminist projects [19:15]
  • Yorling’s story: The will of a teenage Nicaraguan woman [21:18]
  • Mr. Rodrigue’s story: A 100-year-old Salvadorian dairy farmer sees his new home [23:51]
  • The power of partnering with an established local non-profit [25:39]
  • What to expect on a Journey trip [26:08]
  • The difference between non-profit and for-profit organizations in the change industry [33:33]
  • Trip participants realize that ‘we, humans, are not as different as we think’ [39:14]
  • The Masai warrior’s four truths [41:07]
  • How to ensure volunteerism is sustainable for the community [44:26]

Taylor Conroy’s Talking Points:

  • Exclusive Love Affair Travel listener offer! Attend a 5-Day life-changing trip to Mexico in late September, build a home for a family living in a slum and connect with a community who wants to change the world. Enter “LoveAffair” into the Promo Code Box at checkout for a trip value of $990 (normally priced at $1,290). 
  • Taylor’s TedX Talk How to Build a School in 3 Hours
  • Taylor’s brainchild for peer-to-peer fundraising Change Heroes
  • Connect with Journey and make a difference:

Website | Facebook | Images

  • Connect with Taylor:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Music Credit:

Take Action:

Taylor found his drive by pushing himself out of his comfort zone. How can you challenge yourself today to manifest a better world?

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Sila Nur Isik: Remote Work and Around the World Office

Thanks to Sila for the Photo

Ever wanted to live and work remotely as a Digital Nomad?

Sila Nur Isik is an entrepreneur from Istanbul, Turkey currently living in London, England. She has a masters degree in Graphic Design, runs an advertising agency called Mind The Ad and was one of the first 75 people to attend Remote Year.

In this episode of Love Affair Travel I talk to Sila about her year with Remote Year, all of the joys of living and working abroad, as well as how she uses her ability and love for travel to help start ups across the globe.

“I was really fascinated by how passionate everyone is, how enthusiastic they are about their projects.” – Sila Nur Isik

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Travel Topics:

  • Sila’s beginnings [2:01]
  • Starting her own agency Mind the Ad [2:47]
  • Pitching the Start up Project at Web Summit [5:28]
  • The Difference between Agency world and Web Summit world [6:55]
  • Connecting old businesses with new technology [9:39]
  • What is Remote Year? [10:42]
  • How to find accommodation for 75 people… Hint: It’s not easy! [12:39]
  • Becoming a “Tour Guide” in your home country [14:53]
  • How to live and work in a different country every month [16:11]
  • What do you do when a volcano erupts in SE Asia? [17:13]
  • The work Sila did during Remote Year [18:42]
  • What is Startup Weekend? [20:39]
  • What is Startup Malaysia? [21:09]
  • What is an Agency? [21:57]
  • Selling books online in Argentina [26:50]
  • The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro [31:18]
  • The emotional experience of completing the Remote Year journey [33:12]
  • Sila’s overall impression of Remote Year [35:02]
  • Personal development [36:25]
  • Having the courage to travel [38:36]
  • The Nomad Cruise experience [39:59]
  • What is next up for Sila? [44:24]

Sila Nur Isik Talking Points:

  • Startup Malaysia is a not-for-profit organization that aims to help increase the number of fundable startups through its various programs.
  • Startup Weekend will set up the ideal environment for you to be successful and learn as much as possible in just 54 hours.
  • Wallpaper magazine has been covering everything from architecture to motoring, fashion to travel, interiors to jewelry sonce 1996.
  • Web Summit has been called “the best technology conference on the planet”. Attendees, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to the world’s most exciting startups.
  • Interested in living and working abroad? Check out Remote Year!
  • Sila’s Blog at Medium and Remote Year
  • Connect with Sila:

Mind The Ad | Instagram | Facebook

“In our country [Argentina], no one has ever bought a book online.” – Sila Nur Isik on the challenges of helping start-ups in South America

Music Credit:

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Miles Beckler: The Intersection of Meditation, Freedom and… Angel Encounters?

Property of Miles Beckler

Want to start an online business?

After meeting Miles and Melanie earlier this month on the Nomad Cruise, I caught up with Miles while he was in Sintra, Portugal.

Miles Beckler and his wife Melanie provide online information products, meditations and spiritual development courses. Miles is a wealth of knowledge and Melanie is also an incredibly driven entrepreneur. Together they own Ask Angels and The Angel Solution as well as traveling long term since 2013.

We’ll be talking about traveling full time, the Dark Night of the Soul, meditation, social media growth, funnel marketing and the emotional element of entrepreneurship.

“Trial and error has been my greatest teacher.” – Miles Beckler

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Travel Topics:

  • Sea legs [02:13]
  • What is it like to travel full-time? [04:49]
  • Slow internet and running an online business [07:30]
  • How Ask Angels began [09:36]
  • What is the Dark Night of the Soul? [12:33]
  • Social media growth [20:10]
  • Engineering a funnel marketing campaign [26:15]
  • The emotional elements of entrepreneurship [34:44]
  • The importance of raising your prices [35:50]
  • Awe moments from Miles’s world travels [43:31]
The 4 Page Website/Simple Funnel
simple-funnel

Miles Beckler Talking Points:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

“We value ourselves a lot less than what others value us.” – Miles Beckler

 

We went hiking

Music Credit:

Take Action:

Have you ever wanted to sell everything and start traveling? What is stopping you?

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Dani Heinrich of Globetrotter Girls: Joys, Pains and Tips for the Aspiring House-sit Connoisseur

Compliments of flickr.com/Globetrottergirls

Imagine moving to a new city and living rent-free for months… or visiting a dream destination and staying in a luxurious home with an equipped kitchen and furry pets to keep you company. Today more and more people are traveling as house sitters.

House-sitting has changed the way I travel and live my life.

Blogger and author of Break Free: The Ultimate Guide to House-Sitting, Dani Heinrich has been taking care of homes and pets for years. I had her back on the podcast to lay down detailed tips on how to land the best housesitting gigs.

Listen to this one if you have a location-independent business and want to authentically experience a destination and save money at the same time.

“This is how I established my love for New York City… Before when I was staying in hotels there, I didn’t connect with the city as I did when I house sat and I got to know the neighborhoods.” – Dani Heinrich

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Travel Topics:

  • How Dani’s last visit on the show introduced V and I to the wonders of house-sitting [01:13]
  • An Overview of “Break Free: The Ultimate Guide to Housesitting”, a book written by Dani and her co-author Jessica Ainlay aka The Globetrotter Girls [01:52]
  • The secret to great house sitting is…. being personable [04:50]
  • How to find secret neighborhoods, truly local food and cafes of New York City through housesitting [07:00]
  • Two greatest advantages in landing a housesitting gig are great references and an ability to meet with the homeowners in person [09:52]
  • Important Note: Not everyone is trusting of house sitters right off the bat [10:31]
  • Why house sitting is an amazing way to move to a new city without paying rent for the first few months [13:45]
  • Tips for first-time house sitters [14:20]
    1. Show your trustworthiness, personality and transparentness
    2. Bonus: Be an animal-lover!
    3. Be honest with yourself about what you’re comfortable with
    4. Include references from other experiences like Airbnb and house sitting for friends
    5. Horse lovers, you are wanted! [16:35]
    6. The most important strategy is to apply right away. Do so, by setting up daily alerts [20:30]
  • How to write the ideal application letter [21:29]
  • What to do when house sitting experiences go wrong [24:14]
  • Tips for getting great house sitting reviews: [30:20]
    1. Clean before the owners return
    2. Cook or bake something and leave it in the fridge for the owners return
    3. Send plenty of pictures, texts and email updates to the host—Ask first!
    5. Make friends with the neighbors…. it will get you more jobs!
  • You don’t have to be the perfect gypsy housewife to be a great house-sitter. Just be yourself! [34:11]

Dani Heinrich’s Talking Points:

Website  | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Music Credit:

Take Action:

Dani tells us housesitting can open your eyes to hidden worlds wherever you may travel. By taking the trail less worn, what will you see?

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Nick Onken: Life Baller Travel Photographer and Philantrophist

He works with top celebrities.

He works with top brands.

This all only started recently.

He believes 100% is possible 100% of the time.

Here is the story of a Life Baller.

A leader in travel photography, Nick Onken.

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“Photography leans towards different ways of making income.” – Nick Onken (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • The benefits of basing your creative entrepreneurship from California
  • Traveling Britain as an ‘Induction’ to world travel
  • Tibetan Monks and the Everest Base Camp
  • The powerful perspective change when experiencing different cultures
  • Building a business around your favorite things
  • Professional work to financing worthwhile causes
  • How to help charities and travel the world
  • Shop Talk Radio as a leader in creative entrepreneurship

Lovely Links:

Website | Twitter

Music Credits:

Special Thanks:

  • Kanniga Ponpiboon: Episode Art
  • Karen Asprey: Show Notes
  • Chris Jones: Sound Engineering
  • Jonathan Baillie Strong: Audio Architecture
  • V: Slave Driver
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Johnny Ward: From a Medical Research Lab Test Subject to a New Rich World Traveler

From a poor family in Ireland to an enterprising business.

With no technical knowledge.

This successful entrepreneur builds teams to grow his own businesses.

All the while enjoying the long term travel lifestyle.

Please welcome, Johnny Ward.

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“Being broke is not an issue. There’s always a way.” – Johnny Ward  (Tweet It)

Travel Topics:

  • Money making as a medical research lab test subject
  • How Johnny managed to backpack for 2-3 years on little or no income
  • Why 99% of travellers give up and go back home
  • Johnny’s moment of realisation of how he wanted his life to be
  • How to grow a technical business, without technical skills
  • How to outsourcing works
  • Why being broke is powerful
  • How his passion got him to where he is today…. The New Rich World Traveler

Lovely Links:

  • Connect with Johnny:

Onestep4ward | Twitter | Facebook

Travel Tools:

Music Credits:

Take Action:

Write down a list of skills you can teach.

Now look at what tuition opportunities are in your local neighborhood.

Is this something you could earn a living from abroad?

If not, whats a better idea?

Let us know in the comments below.

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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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Whitianga, New Zealand: Weeklong Stay at the Batch

We’ve spent the last few days in Cooks Beach, New Zealand.  Its surprisingly quiet in this little scenic suburb.  It feels a bit like that movie 28 Days Later; heaps of well maintained homes without a soul around.  I heard it gets crowded around Christmas and New Years, but it sure isn’t crowded now.

To get goodies and internet access we bike from Cooks Beach to Whitianga.  We load our bikes onto the ferry to cross the bay to town.  It’s fun taking a boat to get to town.

On the way back, we stopped at Shakespeare Cliff.  This is a tiny hike out to the point where you can look over the stunning Cathedral Bay.  I found a cool rope swing down on the beach

When the swell picks up we drive across the peninsula to surf at Hot Water Beach.

Hot Water Beach is a sand bar beach break.  It breaks left and right.  The right generally shapes up better than the left.  It seems to me that it works best at low to mid tide.

It’s called Hot Water Beach because during low tide everyone digs into the sand and chills in the warm spa-like water.  It’s a cool touristy beach scene.  If you’re looking for a good place to park your van for the night and sleep near the beach, go to the Surf Beach parking lot.  It’s got a toilet and its far from the road.

Thanks for reading.  Feel free to leave a comment.