My Crazy Nomad Year + My Goals!

Since I became a digital nomad so many amazing things have been happening every day. For me it is the best lifestyle ever. It is super exciting and just doesn’t get boring. Just in the past year I lived and worked in many different countries in Central-, South America, and Europe.

I learned tons of new things, got out of my comfort zone, met a lot of amazing people, saw so many beautiful places, escaped the winter (which is very important if you have your “homebase” in Berlin), grew as a person, and took my businesses to the next level.

Even if not everything is easy, it changed my life for the better, and I am really grateful for that.

From time to time I stop and ask myself:

• What did I accomplish?
• What are my goals for the future? Is everything going in the right direction?

Some things I accomplished in the last year:

• Became a PADI rescue diver on Utila in Honduras

• Improved my Spanish skills in Antigua, Guatemala
• Traveled to Italy for the first time in my life and worked & lived in Bologna. Really liked it:

• Drove a Ferrari in Maranello in Italy. Here is the video.

• Did a press trip with a group to Gargano, Italy. I will NEVER do a group press trip again in my life.
• Checked out the Surf Office on Gran Canaria. Check out the video here.

• Learned how to kiteboard in Jericoacoara in Brazil

• Built my blog to over 45,000 unique readers a month and 6,000 newsletter subscribers

• I earned up to 1,600 € a month through affiliate marketing
• Worked with tour operators, airlines, & tourist boards
• Sold 150 leather luggage tags on my blog (my first own physical product ☺)
• Finally overcame my fear of running out of money while being self-employed…
• Went completely offline for a few days in the Amazon Dschungel in Brazil

• Got interviewed in a huge German TV show called “STERN TV” with nearly 3 million viewers. It was about minimalism. Read here how I became a minimalist.

• Checked out the startup scene in Medellin, Colombia

• Made new friends and met tons of like-minded people all over the world
• Changed people’s lives through the work I’m doing
• Lived in 5 different flats for sublease in Berlin in 4 different districts. This is one of them:

• Worked from the Caribbean island of Curacao. The internet connection is brilliant there!

• Attended a panel discussion at the world’s largest travel fair ITB Berlin

• Started to meditate 15 minutes each day with “Headspace”
• Served 16 clients all over the year with website building & online marketing consulting together with my boyfriend Marcus and our location independent team.
• Started my own Youtube Channel and learned how to cut videos

• Put all my belongings in a storage box. That was a lot of fun:

• Offered & held seminars for Female Solo Travelers in a cool hotel (25 hours Hotel)

Founded and organized two DNX events with overall 600 participants. The english speaking version takes place in summer: DNX GLOBAL

• Nearly bought a cheap piece of land in Belize. This idea was not the best one because the land is on an island that will probably be gone in the future because of the sea-level rise.
• Got featured in a German business magazine as well as an airline magazine

• Set up a team of 9 location independent freelancers supporting me
• Invested my savings in ETF’s (MSCI World & DAX) so that they are not devoured by inflation
• Structured my daily morning routine
• Started to write an e-book
• Lived more in the moment
• Tried to give more back to others
• Got a personal business coach
• Said “No” to some offers that didn’t align with my goals
• Became an actor in the movie “Germany Moves Out”

So what’s next? Here are some of my next goals:

I want to become a Kitesurfing Pro!

I really fell in love with this sport. It’s the feeling of ultimate freedom. That’s why I decided that my next destination has to be a kitesurfing spot. I already booked my mid-May flight to Malaga in the south of Spain to go to Tarifa from there. The good thing is that there are also some digital nomads hanging around, such as kitesurfer Johannes from WebWorkTravel. From there, I might go to Barcelona where folks of the Dynamite Circle are hanging around this year.

Later in the year I want to pursue my kitesurfing career in Boracay, Philippines. I really want to go back there because the Philippines is one of my most favorite countries in the world.

By the way, here is a cool article “Why does kitesurfing make you happy” where Richard Branson and others explained their love for kitesurfing. I totally agree.

I want to make less decisions!

The digital nomad lifestyle can become very challenging if you have to face too many choices each day. I try to eliminate as many of them as I can ahead of time. This means I also have to plan my travels in advance (but that doesn’t mean that the plans can’t change).

I just take a calendar and put my plans for the whole year in there and try to give each journey a purpose. Are there friends around? Is there an event I want to attend? Can I kitesurf? Do I want to check out a coworking space? To have a plan in mind is better for my head.

I want to better keep in contact with friends & family!

Yes, I am not the best at keeping in touch via Skype, Whatsapp… Until now I was always lucky that people still liked me, even if they didn’t hear from me for a while. Now I want to change that.

But at the same time I want to surround myself with fewer people — but the right people. It sounds a bit crazy but I already made a list. Of course, I am also open to make new friends at any time.

Work smarter not harder!

Well, this one is tricky. I started already with the help of different tools. Right now I try to track what I am doing all day and to ask myself after a while: What am I not good at? What could someone else do better? It took me a while to invest money to give work away to others, but I think this is the only way to grow. I also try to work no more than 4 hours in a row.

After that, I go to cook something, workout, or whatever. After that I am refreshed again. I had a habit of forcing myself to work when I couldn’t anymore. I’m dropping that habit. Now I am much faster in doing work. Well, and tools like “Self-control” help me to not procrastinate with social media or other shit.

Finish my e-book!

It was really hard for me to start because it is a big project. I asked my blog readers what topic I should write about. I want to finish the e-book mid-2015 to increase my “passive” income. I want to write 40,000 words, and I have half of it already. The cover design is also ready. So for now I have to gather the missing 20,000 words and start to promote it. But whooo, it’s really hard!

So, that’s it for now. Setting too many goals at one time, to be honest, overwhelms me. I think it’s good to write them down, but I’d rather think in terms of 3 months ahead only.

As you know, the Digital Nomad Life is unpredictable. But I fully believe in doing the right thing.

Thank you so much for your time and taking part in my Nomadic Journey.

How everything began: More about my life of travel: What I learned and why travel is not everything.

Say hi on Facebook or write me to feli@feliciahargarten.com