The Digital Nomad Revolution
Author: Makenna Taylor-Gonzalez
A brief re-cap of FlyingYak’s experience at the first DNX Global Conference
On July 24th, Ani Parseghian (our awesome Head of Product here at FlyingYak) took off for Berlin to attend the inaugural DNX Global Conference. The event, organized by the fantastic duo that is Marcus Meurer & Feli Hargarten, marked an exciting new wave in the Digital Nomad revolution. The Conference, which was held in Berlin at the end of July this year, assembled 500+ digital nomads from 35 different countries who spent an electric weekend together discussing this new way of experiencing life: working while traveling. The event-filled weekend comprised pre-conference meet-ups, pitches, BBQ parties, as well as an entire day of workshops, which offered tools for remote working, creating sustainable work schedules, and various marketing/business training tips.
Once Ani returned from her Berlin adventure, the whole FlyingYak team sat down and gushed over the incredible ideas, speakers and presentations as well as what the conference means for the future of digital nomadism; so we thought we’d share..
Who are you + what is your role at FlyingYak?
I’m Ani Parseghian and I am the Head of Product at FlyingYak!
List some speakers/companies that stood out to you. What were their main ideas?
I really enjoyed Till H. Gross’s talk titled “Comfort Zone Crushing: How to become more confident and rock your life.” It was a very high energy and super engaging talk. I highly recommend everyone to check out Comfort Zone Crusher to see his fun and unusual approach and complete one of his designed challenges to move you beyond your comfort zone! (You can see his full presentation here!)
My other favorite was Pieter Levels’ talk about the current status of the digital nomad lifestyle and the future of work, travel, education, and modern nomadic families. He is an incredible example of the fantastic life one can live as a digital nomad.
Did you notice a trend in the new products and ideas people were speaking about?
There were many speakers from various walks of life: from biking to India on a humanitarian mission to build toilets (Thomas Jakel — Guts For Change), to quitting a successful job to become a world-class travel blogger (Sabrina Lovino — Just One Way Ticket), to coworking on a boat (James Abbott & Karsten Knorr — Coboat), to traveling the world with a piano (Joe Löhrmann — My Traveling Piano). Each one with his/her own motivation and take on how to live the location-independent lifestyle. Despite the incredible diversity, all of the nomads I met shared a common trait:
A deep desire to create a life full of adventure, and the conviction to take the (often frightening) steps to bring their respective visions to life .
— Truly an inspiring group of individuals.
Are there any new ideas or sites you’re particularly excited about?
I am by far the most excited about the new digital nomad documentary by Youjin Do called “One Way Ticket”. I had the opportunity to watch a 15-minute-long teaser and it looks fantastic! Youjin has been working on this for 7 years and once it is released (early 2016), I can definitely see this becoming a great motivator for the next generation of digital nomads.
I am also very curious to see how the DNX Global Conference and movement impacts the future of ‘digital nomadism’. Marcus & Feli are two of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met. They are smart, driven, kind, and fun! DNX has expanded my global community of digital nomads beyond anything I could have imagined. I have already been invited to cruises, camps, and other digital nomad events across the globe. I highly recommend anyone looking to find their nomad tribe to join any DNX event.
The digital nomad movement and digital nomadism is a relatively new idea. If one looks at the history of the ‘traditional workplace’, the rise of the location-independent lifestyle has only taken off and proven to be successful and sustainable in the past decade or so. The concept of the 9 to 5, traditional office job is no longer the ideal, nor is it thought of as the only option. With recent technological advancements, especially in the last ten years, the location-independent lifestyle has become a viable option for more and more individuals around the world. This growing movement is not only revolutionizing the workplace, but also peoples’ views of the world and different cultures, relationships, families, and lifestyles. The DNX Global Conference only proves how quickly this movement is growing and that when like-minded individuals gather together, there is no limit to what they can achieve.
What do you think this conference is doing for the digital nomad movement and community?
One thing I heard people talking about, over and over again, was the ‘isolation factor’ that tends to come along with living a nomadic lifestyle. Often, this can mean little (or no) opportunity to create strong, long-lasting friendships. I think DNX is having an immediate impact; it has already created an environment for nomads to gather together, meet, inspire/share with one another, and help each other grow!
Can you describe the energy at the conference? What was it was like to be surrounded by so many fellow nomads?
The energy was absolutely EPIC! Have you ever been at a festival or New Year event where large groups of people were excited, joyous, and all dancing their hearts out to the same beat? That is how it felt to be at DNX!
Everyone was there to share their knowledge, to co-create, and to collaborate.
It was truly refreshing to be surrounded by so many young, driven, and heart-centered individuals. I have always believed that travel, by far, has been my greatest teacher in life — and I got to witness that within every person I met at the conference. The level of curiosity, tolerance, happiness, and excitement was very refreshing.
What do you think the future looks like for this growing digital nomad movement — do you think there is a ‘revolution’ around the corner?
Absolutely! Everywhere I turned, everyone I met, and every story I heard was a confirmation that the time for this movement has arrived and these inspiring, young, and fearless nomads are well on their way to form a global movement, ‘challenge the norm’ and disrupt what our collective societies have conditioned us to believe. We are the PIONEERS! This is BIG and the time is NOW!
We hope you enjoyed our brief re-cap of our time at the DNX Global Conference. Hit the ❤ to share with others!
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