From Cubicle to Costa Rica: How Ryan Mellon Crafted His Digital Nomad Dream
Are you ready to break free from the 9-to-5 grind and embrace a life of adventure and freedom? In this eye-opening episode, I sit down with Ryan Mellon, a digital nomad who has mastered the art of location-independent living. Ryan shares his inspiring journey from working gruelling 14-hour days to travelling the world while building multiple businesses.
We explore Ryan’s transformation and the pivotal moments that led him to embrace the digital nomad lifestyle. From his first solo trip to Costa Rica to his current sailing adventures, Ryan offers invaluable insights on how to create a life of purpose and flexibility.
Key Takeaways:
- How to transition from a traditional career to location-independent work
- Strategies for overcoming common obstacles in the digital nomad journey
- The importance of networking and building connections while travelling
- Practical tips for managing loneliness and security concerns on the road
Embracing Adventure and Personal Growth
Discover how Ryan’s experiences have shaped his perspective on life and work:
- The power of stepping outside your comfort zone
- How travel can accelerate personal development
- Balancing work and exploration in exotic locations
Building a Sustainable Digital Nomad Lifestyle
Ryan shares practical advice on:
- Creating multiple income streams to support your travels
- Leveraging real estate and other investments for financial freedom
- Adapting your skills to remote work opportunities
Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Opportunities
Learn how to navigate the ups and downs of nomadic living:
- Dealing with unexpected situations in foreign countries
- Finding community and connection as a solo traveler
- Maintaining productivity and focus while on the move
This conversation is packed with actionable insights for anyone dreaming of breaking free from the traditional work model and creating a life of adventure and purpose. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or just starting to explore the possibilities of remote work, you’ll find valuable guidance to help you on your journey.
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain a fresh perspective on work, life, and the pursuit of personal freedom. Tune in now and start giving a heck about creating a life that aligns with your deepest desires and values!
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Chapter Summaries(Full Unedited Transcript follow):
00:00:02
From Corporate Grind to Digital Nomad: Ryan Mellon’s Journey
Ryan Mellon shares his transition from working two demanding jobs to living a life of freedom and adventure as a digital nomad. He now spends six months a year traveling, working on his schedule, and building multiple businesses while exploring 23 US states and 23 countries.
00:02:20
Breaking Free: The Catalyst for Change
Ryan recounts his journey from high school dropout to working grueling jobs. A solo trip to Costa Rica inspired by “The 4-Hour Work Week” became the catalyst for major life changes, leading to a year-long RV trip across the US and eventual transition to international digital nomad life.
00:33:00
Overcoming Obstacles and Embracing the Digital Nomad Lifestyle
Ryan discusses common challenges digital nomads face, including loneliness and safety concerns. He emphasizes the importance of networking, staying in co-living spaces, and joining group activities to combat isolation. Ryan also shares a harrowing experience in Brazil to illustrate potential risks.
00:43:13
Breaking Down Barriers to Becoming a Digital Nomad
Ryan addresses common misconceptions about becoming a digital nomad, particularly regarding finances and job flexibility. He emphasizes that travel can often be less expensive than living at home and that people can leverage existing skills to transition into remote work, regardless of age or background.
00:51:58
The Freedom and Fulfillment of Digital Nomad Life
Ryan and the host discuss the benefits of location independence, including the ability to work from anywhere while exploring new cultures. They emphasize the importance of finding purpose and fulfillment in work, even while traveling, and encourage listeners to seize opportunities for adventure and personal growth.
Full Unedited Transcript:
[00:00:02 – 00:00:47]
Good day and welcome to Give a Heck. On today’s show, I welcome Ryan Mellon. Ryan Transitioned from working two demanding jobs 14 hours a day, six days a week to living a life of freedom and adventure. Now he spends six months of the year traveling, working on his own schedule and building multiple businesses While working from 23 US states and 23 countries and still counting. Ryan is currently based in B. He offers one on one coaching, helping others design their dreams lives by achieving location independence. I’d like to welcome you to the show, Ryan. Thanks so much for agreeing to come on and share with us some of your life journey.
[00:00:48 – 00:00:51]
Thanks so much for having me. Really excited to have the conversation today.
[00:00:51 – 00:02:19]
Yeah, I am too. As I as before we hit record, as I mentioned, for those listeners that have been with me for a long time, you know, I’ve had only one person on in regards, I’ve had multiple guests on in regards to other subjects. I’ve only had one on in regards to being a digital nomad. And when I seen Ryan’s request to wanting to be on the show, I was intrigued. And when I researched more, this guy is gonna. If you’re really interested in learning about the lifestyle of a digital nomad and how you can start, how you can succeed, how you can excel, I think Ryan’s going to be that person for you. I’m excited to learn things that I’m not even sure about, even though I have a good friend that’s a digital nomad and quite a few actually that are digital nomads. So let’s get at it. Ryan. One of the things I like focusing on at the Give a Heck podcast is a person’s origin story. You know, basically rewinding that clock, going back to your earliest recollections of why, you know, things happened the way they did. You know, a lot of people I found that are successful can literally tie things back to their earlier years, right all the way back to grade school, college, high school, whatever, whatever you feel like sharing. I’d appreciate it if you could share, you know, the good, bad and indifferent. Exciting, whatever you would like to share that got you where you are today.
[00:02:20 – 00:09:30]
Yeah. Well, I’ll take you back to high school. I was a high school dropout. I dropped out my 12th grade year. Always hated just the being in the institution and always having to report to somebody and follow by everyone else’s rules. And I dropped out of high school and I just went straight into working. I worked fast food and I worked for UPS, two jobs for 14 hours a day, six days a week for over a decade, all of my 20s and it was grueling but I was just happy to be done with school and working and I bought my own house and started doing a little bit of traveling here and there. But after a while I really realized that I just went from like wanted institution of school to now working two different jobs with two different bosses and still having to play by their rules and be there and certain days and times and all that. And I, I really just wanted more freedom in my life. So about 2016 I booked a solo trip to Costa Rica by myself. This was inspired by reading the four hour work week by Tim Ferriss and Begavaning by Rolf Potts. Really inspired me to do a solo travel trip. Just get out there and try it. So I got my both my jobs to agree to two weeks off at the same time, which was a huge negotiation and I got on a plane, I went to Costa Rica all by myself, didn’t speak any Spanish at the time, didn’t really have any game plan. I booked my first stay in a hostel. I had never stayed in a hostel in my life. And I met some of the most amazing people and other solo travelers had just such a great adventure for those two weeks all over Costa Rica, on both the Pacific and Caribbean coast in the zip, lining through the jungles, climbing volcanoes, swimming in their crater lakes, hanging out with new friends, having a good time and meeting other people from all over the world in the evenings and exploring during the day. And I came back from that trip not like refreshed from having a two week vacation, but I came back like wow, I really need to make some major changes in my life. Travel is something that I really want to integrate into my life. So I told both my jobs, I said I’m out of here in a year. And I don’t think they believe me. And I didn’t even really have a game plan for being out of there in the year. I just knew that I really wanted to do some more traveling because I met some people on this trip that were traveling for weeks and years which just blew my mind. I didn’t even know that was possible. So about six months after that I was having some drinks with my best friend and his wife one night and they were talking about when they retire they want to get an RV and do a one year road trip to the U. S And I was like why are you waiting to retire? Let’s do this like now, as soon as possible. Let’s do it. We, we had, they had Pets. We both had houses and cars that we had to figure out what to do with. But we’re like, let’s set a date. Let’s save as much money as possible, let’s rent out our houses, let’s get an rv, let’s do a whole year the US and worst case scenario, we come back, we just get our jobs back or we start new jobs or whatever. So we did exactly that. We set a date, we saved up enough money not to work for that whole year. And then we set out on the road trip, October 2017 for one year. And we did 23 states. And it was an absolutely epic experience seeing the US just slowly, you know, going, driving maybe three hours every three or four days. And we left in the fall and we went down to Florida and the Keys and we tried to stay in the warm weather as much as possible through the winter. But in the end we did 23 states in that one year. But about halfway through that one year, I started to realize like, this thing is coming up, the end is coming up very quick. I’m loving the travels, but like I don’t want to go back to work in fast food and warehouse work, you know, I’d just given up my seniority at ups of 12 years. I would be starting over. I could go back to either of those, but didn’t want to. So I also have my real estate license. I had done a couple little bit of deals with helping find investors, rental properties and flips to do as a real estate agent. And I had a good friend, Lori, she was buying tons of houses and flipping them and building a portfolio rental property. So I called her, I said, is there any way I can help you build, build your business by finding you deals while I’m on this road trip? And she was like, absolutely, I’ll take any help you can give me. So I ended up helping her buy like 20 to 25 deals on that last six months of the road trip. And that’s when I realized, wow, I’m working just from my computer and my cell phone. That was, you know, I was just hot spotting from my phone. This was before Starlink or any real good mobile WI fi for the RVs. And I was, I realized, wow, like I guess I’m a digital nomad now because I, I’m working, I’m doing deals and I do it from anywhere. So after that one year road trip ended, my friends went back to work and I took a couple month pause, saw family and friends and then I launched into doing eight countries in Six months from doing deals in real estate. And that’s when I was like the international side of my digital nomad journey started. Started was after that road trip. And ever since then I’ve been traveling. You know, I’ve been a digital nomad for about seven years now and fallen in love with a lot of places. I just was living in Bali for the last six months and stopped off in Amsterdam on the way home. And right now I’m living on my sailboat. I’m here in Virginia in the summer. I, I, I’m a hybrid digital nomad, which I, which is someone who splits their time between multiple locations. So every time it gets cold, I go somewhere warm. And then I’m home in the summertime on the sailboat and just really enjoying the travels in the winter and being here during the summer.
[00:09:30 – 00:12:45]
Wow, you’re living, living the dream life that many people listening probably wish they could live. Because I like how you talked about your friends and said, why are you waiting? And the reason I picked that out as the first thing I want to focus on is because 22 years of being a lifestyle coach and a financial planner for people, I help people goal set a lot and I help them, you know, budget and get their lives in order so that they can have what they want to achieve. And I hear that all the time. Oh, when we retire, we’re gonna, we’re gonna get a trailer, we’re gonna truck, we’re gonna get a motorhome, we’re gonna travel across North America, we’re gonna, you know, across Canada to go down to the States and we’re gonna do that. And I’ll look at them and say, you know, and this is, over the years, obviously the answer gets a little bit more in depth because now I’ve got more history, more clients, and I’ll say, you know, I have a client that wanted that, that’s what they wanted. They dreamed and they aspired and I didn’t push them. And they go, well, what do you mean you didn’t push them? They passed away at 62. They didn’t even hit retirement. They never got to do that dream motorhome trip, right? Passed away. The wife had to sell the motor, sold the motorhome because that was his dream. She liked doing it, but he did all the work, right? So she liked enjoying the, but he did, he did all the physical. He was the, the person that was going out and if you’re gonna have a separation or it’s going to be, go out and get fresh fish for that night or whatever. Right. And most people don’t realize that life’s in session. This isn’t a dress rehearsal. So you looked at your circumstances and your story was very well, well presented. You’re a good storyteller because at the end of the day, many of the things I wanted to ask you were already answered good. Half of them from, from that story. There’s more details I want, but the generalization of, of your journey and what frustrated you, what made you, you know, you answered those questions and it was, it was amazing. So kudos to you to convince your friends to put in the effort and to step outside of your comfort zone. Listeners, people watching on YouTube, he stepped outside of his comfort zone, quitting a job of 12 years seniority. Come on. Like, you know, this guy Ryan is somebody that you should aspire to, want to know more and get help if this is the type of lifestyle you want. Right? And then to get into the real estate stuff and the realizations of, hey, I’m a digital nomad, like that’s just those. You’ve obviously told this story a few times, but you key on the right things. And that is, that is important in being a good storyteller and building our brands. Because even being a digital nomad is a brand, right? You’re presenting a form of a brand. It may not have a name that’s specific to you, but at the end of the day it’s a journey and it’s an adventure that you’ve stepped outside of your comfort zone. And even if it hadn’t worked initially, I think your type of personality. Could you tell me, have you always been a tenacious person to, when you put your mind to something, never give up until you succeed?
[00:12:46 – 00:14:05]
Yeah, yeah, I’ve always been kind of entrepreneurial even, even since I was a kid, you know, I was like door to door selling things like out of magazines to housewives, you know, candles and stupid trinkets and to get points, to get things that like things out of another magazine that you could get like a, a cool boat, like a small rowboat or something. And I had like a gumball. I had gumball machines when I was a kid and my mom worked at the hospital and so we got my gumball machines into the waiting rooms and the place I took guitar lessons, they had my gumball machine and in their music store. And so I’ve always been entrepreneurial. I’ve always been thinking outside of the box. And I. And even though I did, you know, like 10 years of two jobs and very corporate roles, 12 years at UPS, I can fit into that mold. But just being able to do my own thing and having that freedom has always been there. And now I have really the ultimate freedom because I have both location independence and I have financial freedom as far as income coming in to. To handle my monthly costs.
[00:14:06 – 00:14:33]
Right on. Who inspired you? Who inspired you? Was your family entrepreneurial base or was there a friend, an uncle, aunt who. Who was. Who is somebody that you can think of that you would think, well, that’s pretty cool. Someday I want to be in business, someday I want to be my own person. So taking it outside being a digital nomad, was there anybody, anybody or maybe people that inspired you along your journey or even mentored you?
[00:14:38 – 00:14:53]
No one comes to mind, to be honest. In the entrepreneurial part of it. I will say that for the travel part of it, reading the four hour work week was a pivotal game changer for me.
[00:14:53 – 00:14:59]
How about your friend that reached out, you reached out and talked about the real estate in the last six months of your trip?
[00:15:00 – 00:15:01]
Yeah.
[00:15:01 – 00:15:05]
Did she inspire or help you at all in regards to that journey?
[00:15:05 – 00:16:14]
Absolutely. Oh, absolutely. In the real estate journey, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today because not only did she help me learn the ropes in real estate, as I was working for her as an agent and she wasn’t playing the investor role, I learned what the investor role looked like and I’ve transitioned into an investor. So I still have my real estate license. I do a handful of small or a handful of real estate transactions as an agent now, but I own a portfolio of rental properties that covers my monthly expenses that I built over the years while still traveling six months out of every year, I built that portfolio up. Thank you. And. And got into wholesaling and helped her do a lot of transactions. So yeah, seeing her journey and how much she built and the amount of time she built and the amount of wealth she built quickly was definitely inspiring and very helpful on that, on that journey.
[00:16:15 – 00:17:03]
And you know, at the end of the day, that is important though, what you said and over the. It took you years, people listening and watching, you know, truly stable entrepreneurships, no matter what it is, it takes time. It takes effort. You might skin your knee, you might put band aids on you made, you might hit roadblocks that will slow you down. But you know, you got to put time in, time in the game. Did you have any major obstacles that happened to you that you’re willing to share and it doesn’t have to be just being a digital nomad, just be on your entrepreneurship or your real estate. Getting into digital Nomad, were there anything that really slowed you down or was it just came naturally to you now?
[00:17:03 – 00:17:32]
I mean, there’s been at least like three to two to three times where I’ve almost just absolutely quit real estate, where it just, I was working and working and working. It just wasn’t paying off. It just, I kept hitting, having headaches, having problems. I wasn’t making as much money as I thought I’d have. Deals that I put together and worked super hard on and then they fall apart at the last minute. And as you know, in real estate, you only get paid when deals get done.
[00:17:32 – 00:17:36]
So my industry too, brother. I’m commission based too.
[00:17:37 – 00:19:02]
Yeah, exactly. So, you know, you can, you know how it feels to put a lot of energy into something and sometimes they don’t pay off. So there were many times where I almost gave up, but usually I, I learned now, looking back, when I’m about to like, want to just like break down in tears and give up, usually I just need to give it 5% more. And then something big is just right around that corner. And then you get wind in your sails and you’re off to the races and you’re like, all right, we got this and you’re up to the next level. So it’s, it’s taken a lot of trial and error. And then also just having that network around you. I did a lot of networking as a younger investor, making lots of connections, going to meetings, making, making friends with people. I’ve been doing this for 20, 30, 40 years. Because when you get down and you’re getting your teeth knocked in by a tenant, that terrible tenant or a contractor or something like that, you can call them up and just vent to them and they understand you and they can help get you out of that hole. Right. Where maybe your friend who is not in real estate or maybe can’t relate as easy and might not have the best advice for you.
[00:19:03 – 00:19:36]
So it’s good to have a strong support network. I like to hear that from you. I like to hear. And yes, people, it does take time to build a network. Sometimes people can have luck on their side and be introduced into a network of very influential people. But luck does not solve that problem. You have to work on yourself six inches between your ears to do like you said, to have that extra 5%. Is there anything that you recommend that you’ve utilized or you continue to utilize to have that extra 5% so you don’t quit.
[00:19:38 – 00:20:48]
I think it’s really important to have the end goal in mind. Like, what’s, what’s the next level for you? What does that look like? Is it, is it a number, Is it a number of additional income in the bank that you want to get to? Is it for me, a newer, bigger boat to, to live on when I’m home? Is it helping so many people transition or change their lives? Do I want to, how do I want to be traveling? You know, I started in hostels. Now I’m flying first class to places. You know, it’s, it’s a very big difference from my first day backpacking and doing the cheapest possible thing to where I’m at now and living in Bali. And so it’s just like, what’s the next level? And just reminding yourself that, you know it’s worth it and to keep going because, you know, you need, you need that to stay motivated. You need that to visualize what’s next. And you need to always be growing because if you’re, if you’re not growing, you’re dying.
[00:20:49 – 00:21:39]
Well, yeah, at the end of the day, so many people don’t realize that, you know, they look back. And you talked about the fact of looking back and you’re backpacking now, you’re first class traveling. And most people have a hard time goal setting for the future because they’ll say, well, I can’t envision that. Well, part of being a success is being able to visualize, you know, being able to goal set and say, this is what I want. And no matter what happens, what challenges, I’m going to utilize my network for support. If I don’t have that support for this, because they’re not part of that, I’m going to research it. It’s always pushing ourselves past that little 6 inches voice between our ears that’s going, you know, oh, just sit back and relax. You know, you don’t need to push yourself. Ryan, what are you doing? Right.
[00:21:39 – 00:21:40]
Yeah. So, yeah.
[00:21:41 – 00:21:49]
Were you a person that. Do you believe in, in gratefulness, gratitude exercises? Do you journal? Do you do any of that sort of stuff to help you?
[00:21:49 – 00:23:09]
I do all of that stuff. So I have a very regimented morning routine. So I do, I do meditation first thing in the morning, like after coffee, once I’m awake so that I don’t fall back asleep. So once I’m awake, coffee, meditation, I do gratitude. What am I grateful for in the last 24 hours? Has to be recent. So I’m always framing recent events as gratitude. And can’t be the same things like every day. So you gotta really dig and think. And then I do a visualization of where I see myself next, like in great detail, full color video like Tony Robbins would tell you to, to do it. And, and, and I sometimes I’ll listen to some very inspirational music that just really gets me amped as I’m listening, as I’m visualizing what’s next. And that’s a really good way for me to start my day. I feel pumped up for it. And then at the end of the day I’ll do some journaling and I’ll write down some wins for the day so that I’m looking at even if the whole day wasn’t the best. You know, we all have days that go sideways. We feel like we accomplish nothing, but there’s always wins somewhere in your day. And so I do journal in the.
[00:23:09 – 00:27:23]
Evenings as well, which is fantastic. I love, I loved hearing that. I wasn’t sure what the answer was going to be, but I was sure it was going to be, you know, about pushing forward and always appreciating and along with that appreciation, pushing forward, people listening or watching. Ryan worked at a job where they controlled him, right? They controlled what he did, they purchased his time and he was a tool for them. Now Ryan is on his own. He’s a, he’s an entrepreneur, a serial entrepreneur. Because of what I can tell you, you got more than one thing that’s been going on and the theme is, is when your time is your own time, what are you doing with that time? What are you associating with? Ryan listens, listens to positive things. He does different things to, you know, motivate, elevate himself with meditation, with gratefulness, with journaling. What are you doing? So you go to your job 9 to 5 and then you have free time after the fact. What do you do with your free time? You can start out as a part time entrepreneur, but you have to start somewhere. You have to be willing to sacrifice binge watching a show on Netflix or hanging out with the boys in the backyard, cracking a beer and just sitting in, BSing and complaining about life. Instead you need to be doing different things. Is your current associations and patterns getting you what you want, if not rewind to listen to what Ryan does or if you’re a loyal listener of the show? You’ve heard me talk many times about the importance of putting in effort to appreciate where you’re at, to analyze. I don’t know how often you do it, but I’ll do it throughout the day, especially at night. I’ll think to myself, just like you were talking about, it has to be something current. And I’ll think, you know, I’ll be, let’s say for an example, tonight I’m laying in bed, I’m a Christian, so I’ll say my prayers, and then I’ll start doing other things and be grateful. I’ll think, you know, what did I really learn from Ryan today? What did Ryan teach me? What? Ryan’s body language. You know, like, I’ll think about all of that and I’ll. And I’ll be thankful that you invested your time with me so that I could support and serve others along with your mission. So now our missions are overlapped because we, we just want to help people. Yes, we need money to survive. We need money to retire, to move forward in life. But if our mission is always to serve, I think it, it comes when we need it. Right. I’ve been in that valley despair you talk about where I was ready to quit. Right. 22 years of doing what I’ve been doing. Prior to that 10 years, I wanted a computer consulting firm and a retail store. You know, I look at all that past and that control. When you’re a true entrepreneur, whether you’re a nomad, like digital nomad, like you, or you can go to where the weather is warm, which sounds so exciting, I just love that we have to realize that it takes sacrifice and you’re going to have months where maybe you don’t have as much money as an entrepreneur. Yes. At your job, you have the same hamster. Wheel it back. Go to work, go home, get paid. But do you have true freedom and those that are working that job, if you’re happy and you’re listening to this show and you just wanted to learn about more about Digital Nomad, I’m not here to criticize you. You do you, I’ll do me. So will Ryan. But at the end of the day, if you have that spark to want to be an entrepreneur, that spark to be a person that travels, you need to have people like Ryan in your life if you’re an entrepreneur and want to help. Obviously, I coach and do lifestyle coaching for 22 years, so I can help as well. But in regards to doing it and being a digital nomad, there’s always somebody that’s an expert. Right. And we got one right here on the show. We’re blessed with that. So I appreciate what you’ve shared thus far, Ryan. Did you have any form of imposter syndrome or limiting beliefs. Throughout your journey from starting that, that state trip to going international, was there anything that, that really bothered you or things that were said to you that made you believe you weren’t what you were representing to the world?
[00:27:25 – 00:29:44]
Yeah, I think it’s quite common even, you know, starting as a real estate agent or starting as a real estate investor and getting in that world and then networking with all these people that have already built huge ports, portfolios and have done six hundreds of successful deals and flips and wholesales and they’re lending their lenders and they’re, they’re this, they’re that, they’re buying and selling notes, they’re doing all the million bajillion different types of investing. I think that I’ve all. There was a quite a bit of time that took me like it’s always like, you know, fake it until you make it with all these things when you’re starting out, like you’ve got to just get in and get the reps and, and you’ve got to learn it. And it took me years and it wasn’t until I looked back and saw all the deals that I’ve done and all the properties that I’ve accumulated and the success that I’ve had till, till that imposter, imposter syndrome has faded. And then I, you know, I start a new business, I get into coaching and then you start, still come up against that same imposter syndrome. Even though I’ve helped people go from zero to digital nomads, but it’s still something new. And until I’ve helped probably thousands, I don’t think that will go away. And you know, it’s just getting out there and trying to help more and more people. I’ve done it myself. I’ve been a digital nomad for seven years. I know tons of digital nomads and like you said, I’m an expert on the subject. I’m building a huge course right now that is extremely comprehensive that people can do like a self transformation step by step with the modules and video course and worksheets. And so I’m really, the more that I put time and energy into this business and the more I, I learn as I teach that imposter syndrome fades. But I think it’s something that all entrepreneurs deal with and it just takes time to really for that to kind of fade.
[00:29:44 – 00:32:18]
Having belief in ourselves to get past that involves for me, you know, getting past that as I have to always, you know, well, this didn’t work today. I’m down to valley despair. I have to remind myself, well, yesterday wasn’t like that. Last week wasn’t like that. Right? I can get back to that. You know, I’m self talk. I can, I can accomplish anything. Look what I’ve done. Oh, so today sucked. This week sucked. This month sucked. Whatever. I know I’ve got, I’ve got the tools up here in my 6 inches and I can, I can do it. I can. You know, positive self talk isn’t. People say it’s foo poo, but it’s not. If I can’t look at the mirror and I’d be happy with what I see and say to myself, you know what? I’ve had a bad day, but I’m still a winner. That took me years to get to the point where I like seeing myself in the mirror. I don’t know if you ever had that issue, but I did, right? I look at people like Jack Canfield. I went on to. I was at a conference of his and he was talking a lot about that and he taught us mirror lessons that last, you know, shouldn’t last more than two minutes. Just looking in the mirror and, and you know, talking out loud to yourself, holy goodness, that’s uncomfortable. What do we want to stretch ourselves? And I, I hear that from you. And that’s, that’s a resounding theme of people that or entrepreneurs, they literally are willing to stretch right. And grow and have that bad day and they network. Back to what you said earlier. You have a network. We have to have a network. I have a network of people. I don’t know if you have this where I can reach out to them and say I just need to, I need to vent to somebody just to listen. I know I need to vent and get some advice from you. Right? And I have friends like that. They won’t say crap. Even if they agree or disagree. They’ll just sit there and let me vent. Sometimes I’ll tell them I just want you to listen. They’ll say at the end they’ll say, you know, maybe because I’ve vented, I do want advice now. And they’ll say, do you want me to say something or you just events good enough. And I’ll sometimes I’ll say, you know what? Give her. Go ahead, tell me what you think. And they’ll help ground me to reality. Back to reality. Sometimes we don’t need it. It’s not, we need that. It’s not because we. Or be, you know, bitching and complaining about life and that we’re negative. Sometimes we need to release that inner tension to get out of the valley of despair or stop us from falling into it. Wouldn’t you agree?
[00:32:18 – 00:32:32]
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I think having a networking, having some support around you, other people that are doing similar things when you, when you’re just getting down and you can call them and get that extra boost, it’s super important.
[00:32:33 – 00:32:59]
Absolutely. So let’s talk a little bit more about the digital. Being a digital nomad, has there been any moment that has happened right from the start where you went on that, you know, that tour with your friends over the States and then went to the countries and stuff where that you were really tested mentally or emotionally and if there’s not, that’s fine.
[00:33:00 – 00:34:26]
Yeah. I would say sometimes, you know, I am a solo traveler. It can get lonely sometimes if you don’t put yourself out there and network as a digital nomad. But there’s ways of fixing that. Go to the co working space, stay in a co living space space, go on group tours solo. There’s a million ways to make friends when you’re solo traveling. So I would say loneliness is something that a lot of solo digital nomads have. Some times where they go through that, that is a little bit of a struggle. But I’m also an introvert, so it’s one of those things that is nice because I can turn it off or turn it back on. You know, if I want to just be in my space and I want to just get work done, I can go and go back to my Airbnb and just do my thing. But if I want to be social, I can go to those events or go to that co working space to meet people. So it’s something that you can turn on and turn off. I would say that’s the most common thing that comes up.
[00:34:28 – 00:35:01]
Is security ever an issue? When you’re a digital nomad, do you ever feel you ever had a circumstance or felt that, you know, this is kind of unsafe? I’m staying in this hostel, I’m staying in this joint accommodation circumstance. And the reason I ask that, because I’ve had people ask me that before, hey, do you know, I’ve thought about doing this, but I’m kind of fearful. I’ve heard horror stories because obviously people share negativity more than they share positivity. So what’s your take on being a digital nomad and feeling safe?
[00:35:02 – 00:38:26]
Yeah, it comes up. I have many stories of situations that, you know, that were less than desirable. But one that comes to mind is me and My ex partner were on, we were traveling together and we were on a bus in Brazil that was supposed to be a three hour bus ride. And it was pouring down rain in the evening and it started to get dark. And what ended up to be a three hour bus ride. So what happened was the road. There was a, a landslide that came out, came down and washed out the road in front of us like completely, like with boulders, not cars, into the ocean. Everything completely knocked out the, the road. So now we’re stuck and we’re still, still on this huge hill by the ocean. There’s like the ocean to my right, us on the road and this huge hill beside us with more land that can come down at any time. And so we tried to navigate backwards out of it, but there was traffic blockage. And then we got, then another landslide happened behind us. So now we’re stuck in a bus in between two landslides, blocking us going forward and blocking us going backwards. And then the bus toilet stopped working, I don’t think because they weren’t expecting this to be like a long trip. Right. The bus started leaking water in from the ceiling. It’s coming in. And my partner was the only other, was the only other person that spoke English on the bus other than me. You know they speak Portuguese in Brazil and so that was a whole experience in and of itself. But long story short, they just shut down the bus. We spent the night on that bus in the storm, in between the two landslides for like 21 hours. We had boarded the bus with like two beers, two waters and a thing of Pringles because it was a three hour bus ride. And then in the morning I had to go use the toilet out in the woods and the pouring rain. We had some locals that lived nearby, saw that we were stuck. And one of the things you have to be worried about in some parts of Brazil is a bus full of people. Being immobile is a really good target for thieves. Just come at gunpoint and just rob the whole bus and what are you going to do? You’re just stuck there. So there was always that worry in the back of your head. But luckily that did not happen. And in the morning we had locals come down actually with like almost like a gas can full of coffee and some bread, some slices of bread to give us some like food and, and coffee in the morning to get us through. And then eventually they got some equipment out there and made enough of a dent that we could continue to our destination. We’ll continue on our journey. The three hour bus Ride to our destination ended in a completely different place like 21 hours later.
[00:38:26 – 00:38:27]
Wow.
[00:38:27 – 00:39:02]
So they just dropped us off at a different place and we ended up getting a hotel there and staying there for like three days as it continued to pour down rain. But the whole country was experiencing landslides. So you do have things like that that just are out of your control and a little bit scary. But I would say overall 99% of it, you know, if you’re smart about where you’re going and knowing how to behave in foreign countries and where to be and where not to be, it’s, it’s very safe and you find good people everywhere.
[00:39:02 – 00:40:20]
Well, that’s good to hear because, you know, let’s be real. Social media glamorizes being a digital nomad and everybody’s all, you know, all this fluff and poof. And they don’t really talk about the fact that you might be in a hostile host and you could be robbed. You could be, you know, because I know people, just travelers, not even digital nomads that have been robbed in hostels every time. My one daughter loves traveling. She’ll have a double backpack in the front, on the back. She’s, they’re huge, man. I was just like, okay as a little girl that can carry that crap. But anyway, she likes, she just, she just was in, in February, her and her, her doctor boyfriend went to three weeks to Thailand, in one week to Vietnam. And I’m just like nice nervous dad because I, I know other people that have done the same stuff and had challenges. She didn’t have any challenges. So people listening, watching, you never know. That’s the adventure of life, right? Are you an adventurer? Digital nomad Lifestyle is going to be great. Like you said, 99 of it’s fantastic. The odd time you run into a roadblock, but you can live in your own country, state, province, city, local community and have crap go on.
[00:40:20 – 00:40:32]
So yeah, you can walk out your front door tomorrow and get robbed. So nowhere is safe. Yeah, nowhere is safe. So you might as well have some adventure along the way.
[00:40:32 – 00:41:34]
Oh my God. You know, I wish I would have started sooner. I don’t know if that’s something you ever thought about. Like you said you worked 12 years I think for UPS. I, I personally wish I would have started earlier, but I was a single dad. I’m still a single dad, but I was a single dad raising five kids full time. I eventually got full time custody of my, my kids. One was gone. I still had four and I didn’t have the time to travel. And I used to sit at home when I, my business was successful, I was raising my kids and I’d long for travel. I, there was one period of time I hadn’t been on a plane in over a decade. I hadn’t gone anywhere. I just, you know, it just wasn’t in the cards financially or mostly time wise. And I really wished I could have started sooner. Right. So the reason I bring that up and ask your opinion, there’s people listening or watching that their, their dreams aren’t being realized. They think that time is on their side and really time is in session. It’s not on their side. What advice would you give people to just carpe diem, to seize the day?
[00:41:35 – 00:42:50]
Yeah, I would say if you’re interested, you need to just start today, start right now. Just tell you, you know, make that decision that you’re gonna figure out how to, how to do whatever it is that you want to do. Fortune favors the bold. You’re not gonna get, get what you want. Just continuing your daily, your daily habits and something amazing is going to change. You need to decide, like what, what’s that perfect day look like? What, what is it? Are you a digital nomad? Are you traveling? Are you living the dream that you, you want and then figure out how to get there? So I always, when I, when I’m coaching people, I always start with their perfect day. What does that look like from the time they wake up till the time they go to sleep. And we figure that out in great, great detail. And it’s not, it’s, it’s good to keep mo them motivated towards that goal. When, like you said, when things get tough and we, we want to give up. But also just having and visualizing, there’s a lot of power and visualization to help, you know, connect the dots somehow in the universe when you’re working towards a goal. So.
[00:42:52 – 00:43:12]
Absolutely. So in your, in your experience, when people want that type of freedom and you, and you find out what their perfect day is, what’s a common mistake or mindset block that you find with people that stops them from being able to fulfill that perfect day?
[00:43:13 – 00:43:37]
Yeah, I think money comes up a lot. I don’t think I have enough money for it. Travel’s expensive. I don’t have a remote job right now or my job that I’m doing doesn’t, doesn’t. It’s not a computer job. So how am I gonna work remotely if I’m, you know, a plumber? Right. Which is totally understandable. Right.
[00:43:37 – 00:43:39]
Well, there’s Certain things that don’t fit the mold.
[00:43:39 – 00:45:14]
Just, just it’s not. But the thing the thing is, is that you have done jobs or you have schooling or you’ve raised children or you have life experiences and you have built a lot of skills. So I help people after we know like what their perfect day looks like and they have these hang ups, we can use those skills to get them into a new career or new into, into something like freelancing, Pivoting. Yeah. With the skills that they already have and just also just showing people how inexpensive it is. So like for example, like if you’re making you, you’re, you’re coming from a country that, like the U.S. for example, that where you’re earning U.S. dollars, it has a high, high income in general, high cost of living. And then you go and travel places that have a very low cost of living. You need a whole lot less to travel and live in those countries than you do to live at home. So it’s actually a lot more inexpensive than people think. And so just getting the nitty gritty and getting those budget numbers and how much it actually costs to live and travel in a foreign country, I think that’s definitely something that people don’t realize. They think we’re all just rich and we make a lot of money and that’s how we travel. But it’s keeping can be done way less expensive than living at home.
[00:45:15 – 00:46:18]
I love the fact that you brought up. I was going to ask this but again our conversation is just great. It’s just flowing perfectly in my opinion. You talked about the fact of people being a one career and, and I, and I mentioned that it doesn’t fit the mold, but you added something that I really liked. Okay, well, you want to be a digital nomad. What skills do you have the. Figure it out how you can be a digital nomad, how you can live that current career and maybe you’re miserable at that career or you’re a current business owner, you don’t want to do that anymore. So it is possible, right? It is possible for people to pivot into the lifestyle if they really wanted. Would you say there’s. And I know what answer I’d say, but I want to know what your answer is. Is there a perfect age range for a perfect person to be a digital. No matter. Do you think it’s possible for somebody that’s in their 60s for an example? Let’s say they retire early and they just want to. They can consult or they can contract out their experiences, but they want to do. They still want to work, but they want to travel. Do you see there being an age issue?
[00:46:20 – 00:47:49]
No, not at all. I have clients of all ages. I would say a majority of clients are like 25 to 40. But I do have people that are in the retirement age and they want to travel, but maybe they don’t want to just be on the beach all day doing nothing. They need that sense of purpose. They need something to do during the day, maybe part time. I just interviewed someone on my podcast last week. Her and her husband are sailing their sailboat in the Mediterranean and she got a job. They don’t need the money. They have retirement money and they’re living frugally on their sailboat. But she works 10 to 15 hours a week as a virtual assistant to keep her mind busy. And she loves it and it gives her purpose and it helps bring an extra income in. And she says she can’t understand how she could do without it. She couldn’t just do the boat life and not have something to do during the day, you know, so. And I totally get that. I don’t think that I could 100% retire and just have nothing to do all day. I think I will always still be doing something part time, whether. Whether it’s helping people with coaching or staying somehow involved in real estate. I totally get that. So it’s, it’s for anybody. Anybody can do it any age. It’s never. It’s not too late to start.
[00:47:50 – 00:48:24]
I love that because my, my, my book is Give a Heck how to Live Life on Purpose and not by accident. Right. So intentful living and purpose is something you plan out long term, too, because even into retirement, I’ll say to people, well, now what are you going to do? Okay, so you going to get the motorhome? Are you going to do this? Are you going to do it yearly? Are you going to travel and live out of it? Are you going to sell your home? What are you going to do? And, oh, you know, and then I talked to some of them that do do that, and they’re bored senseless because their purpose was always their work. Right?
[00:48:24 – 00:48:25]
Yeah.
[00:48:25 – 00:51:11]
And I’ll say to them, why did you quit doing that? Well, we, you know, you think about societal pressures and what we’re taught. You got to go to work, go home, get paid, work for 40 years to retire on 40% and hopefully last 20 years before you die. Right. Like, where’s the adventure in that? I like the idea. I’m going to work. People laugh at me, Ryan. I say to Them I’m going to work till the last day. I take a breath and they’ll go, why would you want to do that? How are you enjoying life? Because my purpose is to help people live on purpose, and not by accident, because I used to be that person and sometimes I still am. But I’ve got so many tools in my arsenal and so many great networks and mentors and supporters that I don’t want to miss that. Why would I want to just shut that off and. And go into retirement? Bliss. And people wonder why, you know, some people don’t live long and some people do. I look at their lives, what they did and how driven they are. Still in retirement. Are they still fulfilling a need? If they’re a person like that lady you mentioned, she wants to still fulfill a mission. She wants to help other people, whether it’s BA or whatever it is. I can do my business anywhere in the world. And I have. I was in. In. PEOPLE laugh but it’s 2023. I was in Rome, right? And I was. And I flew there. I flew to London, actually. I spent three weeks in Europe and I had a buddy of mine that owns a business, he’s Hawaiian, he flew in. We’ve met at conferences, we just became close friends. We’ve traveled before together, flew into London. We spent the next three weeks going between the uk, we went to Portugal, we went to Spain, Italy. Like, we had a blast. But I’m in Rome and he’s going to bed. It’s around 11 o’ clock at night. He says, aren’t you going to bed, man? We got a big day tomorrow. Tomorrow is we’re going to the Sistine Chapel. We’re doing all this stuff. I said, yeah, I do, but I got stuff to do, right? I got things to do. I told you. That’s why I was. Because I man all my laptop all around Europe. But, hey, whatever, 11 o’ clock at night, he comes out, yeah, because I’m sitting in this kitchen area, this Airbnb, in an older part of Rome, because I wanted to be in the thick of it, I didn’t want to be in the touristy part. And he goes, you’re still up? It’s one o’ clock in the morning. I said, yeah, aren’t you tired? I said, a little bit. What are you working on? And so he sat beside me and I’m showing him the stuff I’m doing because I always. I did all the booking of Airbnbs and I’d reach out to them and say, I need to have good quality WI fi. I don’t need cheap, shitty WI fi. It has to be good because I’m, I’m at that point in time really. So I’m not a full time digital nomad, but I’m a digital nomad for three weeks. I need to take care of.
[00:51:11 – 00:51:11]
Yeah.
[00:51:11 – 00:51:53]
Client reaches out to me, I just respond to my cat today. Right. But I can in this time frame and I’d be honest with them. I’m always right. I’m on, I’m on a holiday right now, but I can still take care of your needs. I’ve got access to everything. But time restrictions are going to affect things. And I did stuff. Right. I’ve done that for years. I’ve done stuff in, in different states in the U.S. you know, I just, I laugh. I even, even when I was in Greece and I met up with a bunch of group of people, I flew into Greece for two weeks. Same thing. What are you doing? We’re going to go to the pool. I got to go back to the room. Why? Well, I got to do a couple of things for some clients. Well, you’re on holidays, so I enjoy what I do.
[00:51:53 – 00:51:54]
Yeah. Yeah.
[00:51:54 – 00:51:57]
Doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m on a journey. Right.
[00:51:58 – 00:51:58]
Yeah.
[00:51:58 – 00:52:00]
So it’s all about mindset, right?
[00:52:01 – 00:52:03]
Yeah, absolutely Right.
[00:52:03 – 00:52:32]
So I’ve had lots of fun. Not to the level you have. I’m in my later 50s and I love it though, right. If, if somebody wants to travel and they’ll say to me, well, how soon can you travel? If, if we discuss things like how you have to let people know. No, I’m, I’m independent. I’m a self employed. I, I run my own brokerage. I can do what I want. I just let a couple people know and in a week from now I can. Bye. Bye. Let’s go. Where do you want to meet? What are we doing? Right.
[00:52:32 – 00:52:57]
How many other people can take. Yeah, how many other people can, you know, go to Europe for three or four weeks at a time? You know, especially in the US with the vacation that we get here, it’s, you know, one or two weeks time comps and that’s it. And oftentimes they don’t let you take it consecutively. So you’re right, you know that you being able to, to be able to do that is huge.
[00:52:58 – 00:54:56]
I, I was in, it was another evening in. I don’t know where we were in Italy. Maybe we’re in, I don’t know if maybe we’re in Milan. I can’t remember. And I was. My podcast went live in North America and I had to put posted up a snippet. And my buddy goes to me, because this was an earlier evening, we decided to have a lighter evening so I didn’t have to stay up late to do it. And I’m working on this podcast stuff and I go to post it up and I’m sitting there and he’s sitting in. We’re drinking. What’s it? Limoncello. Limoncello. I can’t remember what that stuff’s called. Interesting stuff. I’m shooting, shooting this stuff. And I’m going, holy crap. He goes, what? Come over here. And I posted just a reel about a podcast. And then. And the views and likes were going up. It was. All of a sudden it was at 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and all these likes. And he goes, holy crap, man. I said, yeah, dude, we’re in Italy and this is happening across the ocean. And he just starts laughing. Wish I could do my business that way. Because he owns a company that does binyomin. Like, not just vinyl wraps, but he does, like, he could come in and do these kitchen cupboards. He could wrap your. He can do all this. What do they call that? Industrial. I can. Anyway. Can’t really do that as a digital nomad. Right. And when we were in Europe for that three weeks together, he’s trying to deal with this deal with his stuff on his phone, with his staff. They’re doing jobs and stuff. And. And I thought, geez, I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about that. I got to worry about clients because I care about them, but at the end of the day, they know me. They’re going to get taken care of. Unless it’s 91 1, I don’t care where I am in the planet. I’m picking up my laptop, I’m going to make sure I have good wi fi, and you and I are going to deal with one another and I’m going to help you. Who cares if I’m sitting in Rome right now? We’re doing this.
[00:54:57 – 00:54:59]
Yeah, exactly.
[00:54:59 – 00:55:35]
Right. You’re in Virginia, you said, Right. Isn’t the power of digital technology and the digital nomad lifestyle, it excites me. That’s what I want for my retirement. I want to be months on end in different countries. Or I’m just sitting, you know, I’ll work in the morning. I have a friend of mine, they’re in their. Their 60s. They work in the morning and by noon, done rest of the Afternoon and evening is her husband and her life. He doesn’t work anymore at all. He care less. But she needs to have that, that fulfillment. That fulfillment is that word to feel.
[00:55:36 – 00:55:57]
I think it’s a little different for everybody, but. Yeah, fulfillment or purpose or just to keep you, you know, sharp and, and keep your. You thinking and keep you happy. Really, it’s. Everyone’s wired a little bit differently, but I think it’s. It’s a good thing, you know.
[00:55:57 – 00:56:30]
Absolutely. Well, this has been a fantastic conversation. I got a couple more things. We’re going to wrap up the show. Ryan, this is something that a lot of people don’t realize, but in order to succeed in life, you have to have something to hold on to. So what would you say? What would be one final message that you would take? Tell my listeners, my viewers, who inspire them to truly give a heck about their lives and to never give up, no matter what obstacles they face.
[00:56:32 – 00:56:45]
I would say that you only get one shot at this life that we, we know of for sure. So, like, make it happen. Do. Do everything you want to do. And tomorrow is not guaranteed.
[00:56:46 – 00:57:04]
Absolutely. It’s not. Like I said to people all the time, life’s in session. This is an address rehearsal. You know, taste the. Taste the. Taste the food. Drink the drink. Like, I’m not saying be an alcoholic, but, you know, if you want to try some, try something, try something. Right?
[00:57:04 – 00:57:05]
Yeah.
[00:57:05 – 00:57:50]
Don’t always be that meat and potatoes type of person. That North American mentality where we eat the same thing all the time. Carpe diem. Seize the day. Go out and try new things. Take that risk. I told myself years ago I’d never be a single traveler, that I’d never go out and do stuff. I’m not to the same level as you. I’ve never stayed in a hostel or anything like that, but just being able to jump on a plane and fly to different locations to speak in the US over the years or go to conferences or go around, around the world to, to travel in the last decade, it, you know, I never, ever thought I’d do that. But, you know, like you said, you can meet great people. And then because of that, I’ve met great people at different events. And now I fly and I meet groups of people. Right, right.
[00:57:51 – 00:57:52]
Friends.
[00:57:52 – 00:58:28]
Yeah. All over. All over the place. Right. I’ve literally had people meet up with me from the US or I meet them at different things and we’ll have just a retreat event where it’s not even really. It’s just us getting together. To hike and to do different things. Whitewater rafting, all this different. You know what I mean? It’s just. It’s a community of people that don’t live in the same community. They live on a global community, and they’re not afraid to meet up with one another. And, you know, like, I’ll meet up with a group. People say, well, you probably spend your whole time with your group. You’re not really traveling by yourself. No, I always plan days where it’s just me.
[00:58:28 – 00:58:29]
Yeah.
[00:58:29 – 00:59:05]
Even the group. Even the group that I’ve traveled to, there was four other people I met up with in Greece for two weeks. I had three different days where I said, I’m going to do this. I’m gonna go do this. I’ve already got it planned. Can you, you know, one of them, of the three days, the group says, oh, yeah, you know, can we come? Sure, not a problem. But most of the time they wanted to go sit at the pool or go to the beach. That’s not my life. I’m not against anybody that does that. I like adventure, I like art, I like history, I like museums, I like hiking. You know what I mean? Life’s too short just to sit at the pool for me. Right?
[00:59:05 – 00:59:07]
I hear you, man. I hear you.
[00:59:07 – 00:59:07]
Right on.
[00:59:07 – 00:59:08]
Love it.
[00:59:08 – 00:59:14]
So our time is up. I want to respect our listeners in your time, brother. What’s the best way that people can reach Ryan?
[00:59:15 – 00:59:46]
Yeah. So the digital nomad coach.com. i’m also the digital nomad coach on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. And I have a podcast, Digital Nomad Nation. So if you want to get inspired by hearing others people’s stories who became digital nomads, who have overcome various different things and do very different jobs, and their story and how they got started and where they travel are all so different. So it’s a really great place to get inspired as well.
[00:59:46 – 01:00:42]
Right on. For those new to the Give a Hack podcast, go to give a hack.com go to the top hit on podcast. You’ll go in and you’ll actually see a picture of Brian and. And you’ll be able to read the show notes. They’re detailed show notes. I’ll make sure all the links are in there for social media, his website, so you can easily access them so you don’t have to pull over and write this down. Freddie just said just go to the website and you’ll be able to access. And plus there’s also chapter summaries about the show in there as well as I also include the full unedited transcript because, you know, sadly, strangely, happily, whatever you want to look at. Some people like doing that. I know myself. I’m an audible person. I’d rather not have to read a show. But, hey, if that’s you, I give it. All right. I appreciate you being on, brother. Any last closing message before I wrap up the show?
[01:00:44 – 01:00:51]
Get out there and book that plane ticket and go see the world. If there’s any way I can help you, I’m. I’m here.
[01:00:52 – 01:01:04]
Yeah, you bet. I appreciate you being on the show, Ryan, and, you know, and sharing some of your experiences so that others, too, can learn. It is never too late to give a heck.