How To Hustle Your Way To Location Independence And World Travel

Laziness prevented me from traveling the world until my early 20’s.

Desire was not a problem. My insides were screaming to travel.

When my college buddies returned from a year abroad, I would salivate over their pictures and daydream about meeting people from all over the world and experiencing daily life in another country, just like they did.

I even got jealous on many occasions.

Pathetic I know.

My friends had rich parents, and I had no money. “Studying abroad isn’t an option for me”…was the story I told myself.

My mind was closed off to possibilities.

In reality, low interest student loans were already a part of my life. With a little investigative research mixed with some hard work, I’m sure I could have found a way to afford to study abroad.

I didn’t lack opportunity and extra money can always be earned.

What I lacked was hustle.

Putting it bluntly, I was a lazy piece of doo doo who didn’t want to go earn my ticket to see the world.

Even worse, I totally sold myself on the ‘poor college kid’ story, which put a short ceiling on what I could accomplish.

Since the stories we tell ourselves become our reality I was just a broke ass college punk with no exotic travel in my immediate future.

Boo, fucking hoo.

Eventually I solved the riddle, got off my ass and got a job that allowed me to travel.

After some incredibly fun years traveling while managing large events and tour managing a major band, I was ready to travel on my own terms, start a business and become location independent.

That’s when the next series of wonderfully fictional stories began entering my brain.

This time laziness didn’t stop me.

Fear of commitment stopped me from starting a location independent business until my 30’s.

These new stories emerged scarily fast.

Is this the right thing?

Do I want to do this forever?

Will any of these business concepts work and can I pull it off?

It took me years to act on any ideas even when I knew some were great and fit my parameters for location independence.

To get started I arranged a remote work agreement with my buddy, who happened to be my first big consulting client.

Then I got my side hustle on and actually began working on starting my first online business instead of over thinking it.

Equally as important, I started telling myself new stories and dismissing anything that didn’t support my goals.

This is a daily practice that constantly needs to be reinforced. Now, a quick question for you:

What stories are you telling yourself each day?

Really think about this.

Are these stories even true?

Are all of these stories supporting your goals?

I still tell myself some pretty tall tales. At the end of this article I’ll share the secret I use to win internal battles.

First, stretch out and get ready to strut, because you’re about to get your hustle on.

Two Types Of Work

There are 2 types of work that fight for your attention.

Passive work.

And hustle work.

Passive work is the type of stuff that makes you feel like you are working. Similar to comfort food, it fills you up with goodness in the short term but eventually makes you fat, slow and lazy.

Passive work examples include: answering emails, returning unnecessary calls, researching well beyond what is essential, and working in your business instead of on it.

Like a good detective, passive work can wear an elaborate disguise that makes it appear to be important work. Emotions surrounding passive work include: satisfaction, a feeling of productivity and a sense of accomplishment.

Hustle work is the stuff you usually want to put off forever. Things like creating, strategizing, cold calling, connecting with high level people, acquiring new skills, risk taking, spending money on your business and shipping your work.

As a hustler, you must engage in work beyond your comfort zone. This takes an emotional toll. Feelings like fear, nervousness, doubt and questioning your very existence on this planet (seriously) are fairly common.

Both types of work are necessary, it’s just good to be aware of what you choose to do and when.

Let me break it down with these complex mathematical formulas, channeling the spirit of my 7th grade Algebra teacher.

Passive Work = Maintenance and/or Negative Movement

Hustle Work = Growth 

What the hell does all of this have to do with Location Independence you ask? Read on…

Lifestyle Design and Location Independence

Creating the life you want is all the rage, and why shouldn’t it be?

The digital age is a wet dream for travelers. There are countless businesses you can start and most importantly, run from anywhere. Even many bricks and mortar businesses can be systemized and run virtually.

But know this…

Designing a lifestyle business that supports the traveling you want to do requires heaps of hustle, ladled over an open-faced hustle sandwich with a side order of crispy hustle and a hustle-shake to wash it all down. Warning: This may lead to indigestion.

Ready to start hustling or increase your current hustle factor dramatically?

Here are 7 things that can improve your hustle and help you build or sustain a location independence business that allows you to travel on your terms.

Hint, it helps to hum this song and imagine yourself in a work/life montage.

Surround Yourself With Other Hustlers

Everybody can use a push, a little healthy competition, advice or just some support, especially when you are swirling in the vast array of emotions involved with starting and running a business.  That’s why the first 3 things on this last involve getting around the right type of people.

#1 – Listen To The Tropical MBA Podcast

Dan and Ian drop serious knowledge nuggets weekly and their back catalogue is loaded with actionable material for beginner and advanced business entrepreneurs. Listen on iTunes and subscribe to the Tropical MBA newsletter where Dan shares interesting and helpful content regularly.

Start with How To Make Your First $1000 Online.

#2 – Join A Mastermind Group and a Community Working Towards Similar Goals

The idea of mastermind groups originated in Napoleon Hill’s classic (and must read) book Think and Grow Rich . Since joining one a couple of years ago everything I do has improved substantially.

Don’t know what a mastermind group is? Take a little time right now to hear Dan and Ian explain it or check out these 7 reasons to join a mastermind. You can form your own mastermind or ask around and find an existing one.

A quick shout out to my mastermind peeps…Emilie, Ethan and Jon aka “The Dude With The Hair” thank you for inspiring me weekly and lifting me to greater heights. Here is a picture of us getting geeky together at a mastermind retreat in Vermont in early 2104:

Online communities are another great place to connect with like-minded hustlers. Freaks like us need to go somewhere to find other freaks that ‘get it’.

Two people in my mastermind run communities. Emilie’s Puttytribe helps people combine their passions into a business. Ethan has a Facebook community for Tiny House builders and owners.

Want to travel cheaper, deeper and longer on your terms? Join the Zero To Travel caravan by signing up right now at the top of this page in the sidebar!

#3 – Go To Events That Are Aligned With Your Goals and Values

Sure events can be expensive, the ticket, the accommodations, your time, food and the beer!

However, cost must be weighed against value. One juicy nugget of information can pay for your investment 20x or more over the course of your life.

Seminars, talks and breakout sessions aside, the best part of conferences are the people you meet.

Amazing souls that can become close friends and even trusted business partners, both of which I’ve experienced through attending WDS and Podcast Movement.

Next time you are debating about going to an event that you have a good feeling about, just go.

Do The Work

#4 –  Get Unsexy

Hustle means doing unsexy things like manually entering 10,000 pieces of data to create a 10 million dollar business or staying up until the wee hours, messaging your entire personal network to build a $1000 business in 24 hours.

There are other advantages to doing dirty, unattractive work when your business is a newborn. You’ll have a clearer vision of what systems to implement later, what strategies work best, and numerous other little takeaways that will help you scale when the time is right.

Whatever skin you have in the game, make sure it’s utterly filthy in the early stages.

Note: Always make time to chat with your customers, whether you think it’s sexy or not. Never forget whom you are serving and make decisions based on their needs.

#5 – Identify The Important Tasks, Then Do Them

Passive work makes us feel like we are getting stuff done, and that feels good. That’s why it’s so easy to dive headfirst into these types of tasks when you sit down to work. We end up like cocaine driven lab rats repeating the same destructive cycle daily.

Huge mistake.

Every morning, do your hustle work first.

Not in the mood? Too bad.

Don’t feel creative? Tough.

I wish I followed my own advice, but as I’ve already mentioned it’s honestly a daily struggle. Facebook is just a click away and I want to see what that cat did!

What helps me is starting the day with a To Do list, identifying key tasks and moving them to the top. I also use these 10 tools to own my time.

How do you know if a task is ‘important’?

Usually it involves thinking, conflict, tough decisions, money, a feeling of nervousness or a cocktail of all these elements. Recommended pairing: A moderately spicy hustle small plate.

Need some inspiration to do your important work? Check out one of my favs Do The Work or The War of Art. Both must reads for hustlers.

Guarantee The Work Gets Done

#6 – Deliverables + Deadlines + Accountability = Getting Shit Done

For the last 3 months I’ve been gambling.

My buddy Mike and I laid out a series of exercises we must complete daily for each month (deliverable).

The exercises must be completed before we go to bed each day (deadline).

We are fined $5 for each day we miss (accountability).

I’ve exercised for 60 days straight (getting shit done!).

Why does this work so well?

You can bet your sweet tushy I don’t want to fork over a fiver to Mike because I was too lazy to get up and do something.

This formula is powerful, and the key to success in business building.

When we launched The Paradise Pack, having an awesome business partner kept me pushing forward. I didn’t want to let him down.

Now we have our own $5 bet, virtually guaranteeing I’ll meditate 5 minutes every day.

If self-imposed deadlines on deliverables don’t work for you, find some accountability through online communities or friends.

When in doubt, put some money at stake and see how fast you start getting your hustle on. Trust me, it works. Stickk is a great tool to help manage this.

Want to make a bet? Leave it in the comments and maybe we’ll get something going, I’m always up for a good challenge.

You Are The Key

#7 – Invest in Yourself

The only way to improve your hustle skills is to hustle even when you aren’t hustling.

TV, video games, and idle entertainment are cool when used as a treat, not a way of life.

What do hustlers do with most of their free time?

Hustlers read.

Hustlers take online courses.

Hustlers study other hustlers and implement.

Hustlers constantly build new skills and improve on existing ones.

Hustlers take action, especially on things that scare them.

Investing Time and Money

I’m always amazed at how much money a person will spend on a generic college course then turn around and flip out over the price of a conference, online course or ebook specific to exactly what they want to do.

Information and knowledge has never been so accessible, paid or free.

Spend your time and money wisely, but don’t skimp out too much on things that will help you accomplish your goals.

The Secret : Become a Master Storyteller

I did promise to share the secret to winning the inner game of hustle, and it’s one word:

Awareness.

Being aware of the stories you tell yourself gives you the power to hustle when all you want to do is be safe.

We all fall into self-loathing, and I get wicked cases of imposter syndrome almost daily.

When the internal chatter gets too negative, having self-awareness helps to recognize what is happening.

Ask yourself: “Is this thought/story/idea helping me or hurting me?”

Tell yourself stories that support your mission.

Want a life-changing book on how to manage your mind? Check out The Untethered Soul.

Go Forth Hustler

Well, if you made it this far you must be a hustler!

Whether you are trying to build a freelance career, full-blown business or something else, hustling is imperative to success.

I’ll leave you with this challenge:

Do one thing that makes you really uncomfortable today.

Now get busy! If you like old school rap, this will fire you up.