One of the most popular requests I get is “How do you pack for so long with so little?” Much of it is a mindset which doesn’t really jive with today’s American consumerist lifestyle in the first place. That is the biggest hurdle to overcome in many of the things I talk about here.

There are plenty of packing list posts all over the travel and minimalist blogs, but since so many people ask, I figured I’d go ahead and post up my typical packing list for my office and personal needs when on the road. Since I just packed up the office recently to go to the Virgin Islands, I made sure to make a list and take some photos for this post.

My Office is Where I am

I’ve mentioned my backpack before, and how I refer to it as “My Office.” My office is anywhere I am sitting while working. I don’t like looking at the same wall every day, so I very often will be someplace new several times a week, even if just at home. Of course I don’t do work that requires a big setup for graphic or some sort of massive equipment that would be tough to carry around or even move. My laptop is the biggest item I need, and it is actually more machine than I need.

Everything on this page packed & ready.

The pack I have used for a few years now is ”SYNERGY from SwissGear by Wenger Computer Backpack” I bought it one day when I was on the road and needed a better carry bag for my laptop, and it has served me well. It holds a lot of stuff, can be crammed under the seat of most airplanes, and is very comfortable to wear, even fully loaded.

It is not weatherproof in any way, and if you are a constant traveler, this would not likely be the best pack for you to carry around daily. I wouldn’t want to take this on long hikes through a rainforest with it, but it works well in an occasionally carried city environment.

Everything listed below fits into this pack, or worn on my body while traveling.

Electronics

Laptop - It will shock most bloggers to know that I am not using a Mac, but I am on my third Toshiba Laptop now, and have never had major issues with them. I bought my current laptop as a refurbished 2006 model. I have used it pretty much all day every day for work, screwing around on the internet and watching tv and movies for years.

Toshiba Laptop & Accessories

It gets a lot of use, and has yet to have any issues other than the battery wearing out. I have had bad quality and support issues with other brands, and have even spent quite a few years in the hardware industry. I can’t say how good Toshiba service and support is, because I have never had to use it.

Laptop Charger

Laptop Inverter – When I bought my laptop years ago, I was working a lot from my vehicle. I needed to keep the laptop charged as I was using it for mapping as well as my customer databases while on the road. I could not find the generic one that I have, but there are a lot of options for 12v inverters on Amazon. If you work from a car, this is a must.

Headset – I mostly use Skype or Google Voice for what little phone interaction I do, and also use Dragon Naturally Speaking to dictate articles and posts when I don’t feel like typing. After a good review of the current version from Sharon Hurley Hall, I installed another copy and have been working on getting familiar with it. I pack the headset that came with it for that dictation and communication.

All electronic gadgets & Gizmos.

Phone - I currently use a Blackberry Pearl, but as I said, I am doing less and less over the phone. I turned off the web access a couple of years ago, and now it is basically only used for friends and family, or in emergencies on the road. I am looking into switching to a prepaid phone just for those cases, as it makes no sense to pay for a service I hardly use.

iPod Touch – My 32GB iPod Touch has been very handy for what I do. I don’t actually play much music, but I listen to a lot of podcasts when out fishing, paddling or doing other things that are away from the computer. A constant reader, I have read dozens of books on it and when I need to get online, it is usually pretty easy to find wi-fi. It’s close to having an iPhone, without the monthly charge, and fits in my pocket, unlike an iPad.

Headphones - for the iPod.

Camera - Canon Powershot point & shoot cameras have been the best I have used so far. I have an SD1000 that they only produced for a short time, but there are many models to choose from. They take great photos, are easily carried in even a shirt pocket, and can even be hacked to do far more than most others, like shooting in RAW.

Camera Charger

Underwater Camera Case – Canon makes a custom underwater housing for my camera and all of their other models. They fit each model perfectly, and are very nice. Unfortunately for me, they are about the same price as the cameras themselves. I was not willing to buy one at such a price.

I bought a DiCAPac Underwater Camera Case, which is basically a very well-sealed bag that fits a variety of smaller cameras. I have access to several cameras that I can use in wet conditions. I have taken it with me paddling, boating, and snorkeling many times over the past 2 years, and it has not leaked at all. I snorkeled 7 different days in the Virgin Islands alone, and it works flawlessly. I occasionally test it with a piece of tissue paper inside and leave it submerged overnight.

Ultimate Charger – This item I previously reviewed on the blog saves me from having to bring 4 other chargers everywhere I go. It replaces both 110v and 12v chargers for my iPod, GPS and phone.

Notebooks - I use paper notebooks to write ideas and plans down. It uses no batteries and I can add to it without booting anything. Sometimes writing out an article on paper is easier for me to process, as well.

Thumb Drives – I have a couple of USB Thumb Drives to back up files, or sometimes to take to an internet cafe  or a printing house. This is rare for me, but I also keep copies of some software handy if I need it (antivirus and web settings). I got most of mine from giveaways, but they are small and handy.

SD Cards – I keep a few SD Cards in case I am taking more photos than usual, and can’t get to my computer to upload them, or I am shooting RAW files, which fill up the cards faster. Like all storage mediums these days, they are getting ridiculously cheap.

Clothing & Personal Items

Fashion is not something that is even remotely important to me. I am more about practical, comfortable and useful than what others think. The less I have, the less I have to wash, store, and otherwise care for.

I have worked on getting my entire wardrobe converted to lightweight, quick-dry items that work for me. I’ll have a separate post about that shortly, but it works best for travel, especially.

Swim Trunks - (Generic brand stuffs into its own pocket and dries quick)

Roll everything to pack easier.

Lounging/Sleep Shorts – Basic cotton gym shorts

2x Convertible Quik-Dry Shorts – The particular brand I have are Reel Legends Marlin Zip-off Pants. They are very lightweight, fairly durable, can look nice enough, and dry very fast. I can wear them in the water, and they’ll be dry enough by the time I’m done with dinner, or hand washed in a sink before bed and they’ll be dry in the morning. I found these both at a thrift store, and they have served me well for the 8 bucks total I paid for both pairs.

3x Underwear – I haven’t tried out any of the lightweight travel brands yet, though I will be looking into those when I need to upgrade.

I didn't pack one of these shirts.

2x Quik-Dry athletic-type shirt – I have about 5 of these total now. Lightweight, wrinkle-free and dry superfast.

3x Quik-Dry Button Shirt – Some are generic, but recently found some Columbia brand shirts that work so well. Keeps sun and bugs off of me for the most part, and I included a semi-formal shirt for dinner and such.

Hat - I packed my boonie hat I’ve used for outdoorsy stuff since 1984, but came back with a new one from Tilley.

Flippy-floppys – Generic and cheap pair to throw on when I need to walk outside.

Vibram Five-Fingers Shoes – I got a pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSO‘s for my birthday just before heading to the Virgin Islands. I only took these and the flip-flops as footwear. My feet were still getting used to them, and on some of the longer day hikes I did through the mountains, my feet started to ache a bit. But they are all I wear anymore. They are incredibly comfortable, and it does feel like being barefoot, just without worrying about stickers and glass cutting up your feet.

Headlamp – I like to carry a headlamp with me, as it always seems to come in handy.

Everything else!

Towel - After I got back, I finally ordered a Sea to Summit Drylight travel towel. I’m very happy with how small, absorbent and lightweight it is, as well as how quickly it dries. These will be replacing all of my towels from now on.

Wallet - I don’t keep much in a wallet. ID, ATM card, and a couple of other thin items. I am in the water a lot, so I bought these waterproof wallets from Seattle Sports. They are cheap and do everything I need them to do.

Sunglasses
Passport
Toothbrush
Deodorant
Razor - I only use 2 Mach 3 blade cartridges a year, but that’s another post
Chapstick
Small Daypack

How do you pack?

Obviously, my setup may not work for you, and women or people in different climates will have other items they might need. I don’t like to check bags or have more than I can carry all day.

As an example of this setup for me, I was on this last trip for 11 days, and never felt I was lacking anything. In fact, had I never returned home, I still would not feel like I was missing anything. Much of everything else I have is outdoors equipment, like camping and snorkeling gear. There was snorkeling gear at my destination already, so I didn’t need to worry about it.

Try to pay attention to the things you bring with you on trips, how much you use each item, and evaluate whether you could get by if you didn’t bring it with you. Is it worth packing and dragging it around the globe? Or is it just an unnecessary convenience that is more trouble than it’s worth? Let me know how you do it below.

Pack Light for any Trip and Miss Nothing is a post from: Live Collar Free

photo credit: byJoeLodge

The package wasn’t supposed to come for another few weeks. When I saw it was addressed to me, I knew it was finally here. Another piece of the puzzle. A brick removed from the wall blocking my path.

My Passport arrived. I could now go anywhere on the planet without hiding in a suitcase.

The statistics say that only 20% of the 308 million Americans have passports (though it’s going up as high as 30% since you need them to go to Mexico and Canada now). There are many reasons for this. Nomadic Matt wrote a good article on Huffington Post about it a couple of months ago. When he asked what we thought the reasons for this were, my answer was, “I think you covered them pretty well in this article. Institutional fear, arrogance and ignorance if you want a short answer.”

Life in the 300-Mile Circle

I grew up and lived most of my life in a 300-mile circle centered around Los Angeles. I have lived as far north as Fresno, as far west as Vegas, and as far south as Orange County. While I’ve never had the same address for more than 4 years, I didn’t leave that circle for more than quick trips around the U.S. for the first 35 years of my life.

I was one of those Americans who never had a passport. There were always places I wanted to see, but I had never actively pursued overseas trips. I’d been to Baja California a few times, crossing the border on foot. Drove down to Ensenada for a weekend once to spend the single night I’d ever spent in a foreign country in three decades.

For 35 years, I only left the Pacific Time Zone a handful of times. I had always wanted to see more, but something always got in the way. No matter the different scenarios then, the something was always related to fear.

Getting Free of Convention

When I started to free myself of the self-imposed constraints I’d lived with for most of my life, I started getting out more. I stopped watching the news and watching much tv, and the world seemed to start opening up. We can blame the media and culture here (I can hear the scoffing from non-Americans at my use of the term “culture” ), but it really rests with you to get out and do whatever it is that makes you happy.

I moved to another time zone since then and have gotten out more in the past few years than I had ever done before. I still haven’t gone anywhere that required a passport. A past trip to Puerto Rico and the upcoming St. John Island trip don’t need a passport as U.S. Territories, though they are technically different countries. I’m playing catch up on all that time I didn’t get out-of-town to explore what I can.

My answer to Matt’s question got me thinking more about it, and I realized I didn’t want that limitation any longer.

Do you have to travel to live your life?

Being a Digital Nomad is not necessarily about traveling around the world. It is something that can be done, but it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Hopefully you aren’t staying at home out of fear like so many do, but there is more than one way to live life.

In this community, you see every manner of traveler, wanderer and Nomad. But this isn’t just about travel. This is about happy.

You don’t have to go live on a beach in Thailand like Cody McKibben, or move to Chile like Ashley Ambirge to live your best life. Not everyone wants to travel constantly out of a backpack like Matt. Not everyone wants to wander in a tiny RV like Cherie & Chris, or even in a luxury bus like Louise & Sean. You don’t have to ever leave your country, or even the small town where you were born if that’s what makes you happy. Hell if you’ve got a Ted Nugent-sized ranch you never have to leave, then more power to you!

But please don’t spend your life in fear.

So am I the only one who has hardly traveled the world here? Tell me if you’ve got things holding you back in the comments.

How to Escape your 300-Mile Circle and See the World is a post from: Live Collar Free

If you follow my updates on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen me talking about a temp “job” I am taking in March. One of the greatest advantages of working from anywhere as a Digital Nomad is that when strangely rare but fun opportunities come up, you can jump on them more easily than if you have a location-dependent job that you have to show up for every day.

When friends Cherie & Chris over at Tales from Technomadia posted that they needed a cat-sitter for 10 days or so, it was an easy one to jump at. The cat-sitting job is in the U.S. Virgin Islands!

I’ll be spending a couple of weeks with the girlfriend on the island of St. John in March, staying at their temporary winter place. Their Jeep will get us around on the small Caribbean island while they fly over to Texas to give their presentation on this very subject of Technomadism at SXSW. While I’d planned to go to SXSW as well, the opportunity for an almost free trip to a tropical paradise was too good to pass up this year.

Their pictures have been making me crazy (and are shown here on this post), especially now that I have to wait a few more weeks to get there!

I’ll be posting from there, as I’ll be working some of the time we’re there, just as I would be anywhere else with internet access. I’ll pack my usual single backpack that I call my “office” and will of course have plenty for the trip. I’ll post my minimalist packing method when I get a chance, as several of you have asked how I pack so light after my video last week.

Island Life by Technomadia

My new passport should get here before we leave, if we decide to go over to the nearby British Virgin Islands while we’re there. But much of this will be like my previous trips, where I just happen to be working in a different location. But you can be sure I’ll be getting some snorkeling and hiking in during the day! (I live a short walk from white sand beaches, so I already know not to do the laptop at the beach thing)

Rum is something like five bucks for a 55-gallon drum there, but I don’t drink. So I’ll be working in the evenings instead of taking advantage of that island deal.

2011 has started off well so far, with only a month down and already several projects in the works. I’ve done a lot behind the scenes here on the blog as well as working on several other things I want to share with you here too.

The point of this site was to help you sort through the many ways to do this kind of thing yourself. There is a lot of noise out there to sort through, with any number of directions you could go to this online lifestyle thing. Some good ones and some not so good ones.

I won’t teach you any online money stuff that is all over the internet. I will help you sort through the good ones by bringing you the quality products and people who can help you live your life however you want, instead of being tied down in the traditional way most of us start out.

I’ve spread myself thin with a variety of projects lately, and not doing enough to share it here with you between various writing and editing jobs, as well as work on affiliate products (which you can learn to do also using Corbett’s Affiliate Marketing for Beginners like I do. And yes, that is an affiliate link!) Much of the behind the scenes work has been testing things to make the site easier for you to use to get the information you’re looking for. I’ll have a bunch added when it’s all ready-ish to go.

I switched my mailing list over to a new system to be able to give you posts to your email. Spammers should all die, so you won’t get any of that from me. Go sign up over there on the sidebar, and you will get updates on new posts, as well as specials and products not posted here on the site.

I hope you’ll bear with me while I get the kinks worked out. In 2011, I’m going to take this site to the next level, as they say.

Technomadic Adventures in High Gear for 2011 is a post from: Live Collar Free

In 2010 part of my yearly review has been to take stock of my business issues and goals. But since I have become Location Independent, I like to look at all the places I went during the year, as well as people I’ve met, mostly through these online interactions.

An informal poll told me that most people seem to use Facebook and Twitter much the same way I do. Facebook is almost exclusively people I know and have met in the real world, while Twitter started out just following anyone with similar interests.

As I’ve used them more over the past few years, I’ve noticed I am meeting a lot of people in real life through Twitter. I’ve been “online” since the days of the dial-up BBS, and have always made friends and associates from people I’ve met first in the online world.

My Location Independence

Before I get going, I should clarify my situation. I can do my work from wherever I want on the planet, but I mostly work from my home base. It’s easy, and I have a lot of things in the works. That may change in the coming year, and I’ll go back to getting out more often.

This year I did not leave the state of Florida even once! I haven’t left since a trip to the Pacific Northwest in October 2009.

But as I have said before, you don’t have to live a jet-set lifestyle to have this kind of freedom as a Digital Nomad. That’s what’s so great about it — you can live however you want. And seriously. With beaches like this, why go anywhere else?

My Year in Review and the People I Met

In January, I took a trip down to Ft. Lauderdale to see family & friends. It was just a long weekend of relaxation down there, and not much work got done at all.

We also went camping for a long February weekend in St. Augustine for my birthday. I had never even heard of it before moving to Florida a few years ago. It is allegedly the oldest European-inhabited city in North America. I met with several full and part-time RVers and vandwellers at Anastasia State Park, but nobody from online.

Only after we got back did I realize one of the people I’ve followed on Twitter was also at the same canon-firing ceremony at the fort in St. Augustine. Lani Pokrana and I were both there at the same show watching about 20 feet away from each other and had no idea.

The launch of the Space Shuttle brought us to nomadic serendipity with the 1st-time meeting of both Cherie & Chris from Technomadia, and Louise & Sean from Our Odyssey.

The offices Sullivan Productions were moving to a new building in Tampa that month, so Anthony Sullivan asked on Twitter if anyone wanted their old office chairs. I picked up one of the leather high-back chairs. I didn’t have a very good desk chair when sitting here working, so it was a welcome addition. I saw him in the office when I picked it up, but he was head down in the laptop so I didn’t bug him. He did sign the chair and leave a signed pic from his Discovery Channel show Pitchmen (which is returning in January 2011).

February ended with a concert in Tampa where I met up with a couple other members of the Pitchmen crew and fellow Twitterfolk. Arwen Saxon is very active on Twitter. She is the brains behind the operation on the Pitchmen show, and who initially told us about the concert. We met up with her during the show and she introduced us to several of the staff, including Billy Mays, III, who also works on the show. He is the son of the late, great Billy Mays, Jr. of television pitching fame. It was a good time.

In March, I spent a long weekend in Daytona for the AMA motorcycle races there. I no longer work in the motorcycle industry directly, but I still have lots of friends who were there racing or working. I was able to meet Dan Lo of Cornerspeed Photo and see a dozen or so other friends I already knew.

I also spent some time in Orlando in March working from a nice hotel there for a business trip my girlfriend had to take there. I wrote about the same event the previous year in this post.

We also went down to Sarasota for a book-signing by Harlan Coben, who is the only fiction author I read anymore. It was the first book-signing I’d ever been to, and we took the time to explore the city while we were down there.

I went to meet Dr. Fuhrman in Clearwater, where he spoke about his philosophies on health and nutrition. I’d read several of his books and followed him on Twitter, so it was nice to meet him while he was in town.

April started with a trip up to Crystal River to borrow a canoe and go snorkeling with the manatees. There are several tour operators up there, but I just went alone this time. The water from the springs stays 72F year-round, so it’s always nice swimming in the crystal-clear water there. It was getting warmer out, so most of the manatees were away in the Gulf. I took a few underwater videos while I was there.

I stayed pretty close to home through the summer (remember the beaches?). It wasn’t until July when I met more people from online when the Way Below Status Quo tour rolled through town. I met up with Norcross, Colin, Ash and Andi before they rushed over to New Orleans.

We went down to Fort Pierce on the Atlantic coast in September. We got to explore a little bit, though it was for a funeral, so we didn’t spend a lot of time there.

In October, I was able to get out of town again when my sister came out here for vacation. We spent a few days with them out in Orlando, doing some of the touristy things. The highlight had to be the trip to Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle Discovery had already been rolled out to launch (STS-133…it still hasn’t launched).

I didn’t meet anyone new on this trip, but I had been making plans to meet with Raam Dev and several others to see the launch. He came down to Orlando to see it later that week, but it got delayed.

Earlier in the year, he had asked me to contribute to his free ebook Small Ways to Make a Big Difference, along with more than 40 other bloggers. It’s a good collection of information you should go check out. Hopefully he will be able to come down when this final launch of Discovery happens.

November brought with it the 42nd stop on Chris Guillebeau’s Unconventional Book Tour. I met a lot of people there. Some I’d been following for years, like Chris and David Risley, but I made many new friends (we just met Shannon from A Little Adrift for dinner tonight, for example).

I also was able to go to a movie screening of Today’s Special at the Tampa Theater and met the writer & star of the movie, Aasif Mandvi. I had only seen him a few times on the Daily Show, and still haven’t seen Last Airbender. He was good in this fun movie. He stayed after to answer a bunch of questions from the audience (who mostly knew him from growing up in Tampa), along with his co-star, Jess Weixler.

December has gone by fast. I was bummed to know I missed Sean Ogle when he was out here for a meeting. I have interacted with him a good deal through Twitter, his Location 180 blog and a few other projects. I have been trying to meet up with Nick Reese before he takes off in a couple weeks for El Salvador, but it looks like it’ll have to wait until the first week of January.

The Point of this Local Travelogue

I know this is much longer and drawn out than it needs to be, but I wanted to show you that even though I didn’t leave the state all year, being location independent allows a lot of freedom of movement.

Interacting with others on social media outlets is more than just selling your crap or wasting time while at work. I’ve been fortunate to meet some fascinating people this year, as well as in 2009. I expect 2011 will be even more filled with friends and fun.

2011 may bring about more travel and bigger things as far as work and this site. I am already working on passport applications, have friends I’ve never met who may stop by and stay with me here in February (I keep the doors open to host travelers). I may have a short trip coming up in March, and hopefully another trip and event in June. I’ll let you know as soon as we get things finalized!

Have a Happy New Year!

30-Plus Twitter Friends I met This Year Without Leaving Home is a post from: Live Collar Free

The purpose of this site is to show possibilities for alternative lifestyles. I have talked a bit before about how I left the typical corporate workforce to start traditional businesses, then transitioned that into a mobile lifestyle which allows me to work wherever I have an internet connection.

One of the lifestyles that has always fascinated me is RV travel. I’ve always known people whose dream it was to see the U.S. at their own pace in their RV once they retired. My grandparents were such an example. He was a business owner in a small town in California. Kind of a big fish in a little pond sort of thing where they still have a street named after him though he died 30 years ago.

Some of my earliest memories were of camping out of my parents’s VW bus they bought brand new when I was on the way. My grandpa had an in-bed camper truck that we used to take short weekend trips in when I could barely talk. My sister & I loved camping in their backyard where they kept that camper truck parked. We were even more excited when he got a newer Class-C RV where we used to almost exclusively “camp” in the yard whenever we stayed there during the summer.

It represented waking up in a new place every day while exploring this vast country of ours, and beyond. All of the things my grandpa always told me about. One of my many dreams is to restore an old Airstream. The classic look just brings back something nostalgic and adventurous for me, like it does so many others.

I remember him regaling me with tales of all the places he was going to go when he retired. He just never got around to retiring before he died.

Life for me has always been very nomadic. I have never held the same address for longer than 4 years: once in grade school, and once as an adult (I’m 40). I’ve explored only small areas of the country, with only quick trips outside it’s borders. I’ve moved a lot, camped quite a bit, lived in my SUV for short periods of time when I felt like it, and always thought about making a move to a mobile RV life.

(Interestingly, about a year ago my dad told me that we lived in a parked Airstream when I was born. I had no idea.)

Most people think of RV life as something like my grandpa thought of it: something for weekend trips, family vacations, or retirement. While there may be plenty of good times to be had limiting it to just those activities, there are a lot of people of all ages living full lives in their RVs all over the world. Whether in full-sized RV’s, converted buses or cargo trucks, towing Airstreams or other trailers, and even stealth camping in vans.

Tales From Technomadia

If you’ve been to this site before, you’ve heard me talk about Chris Dunphy & Cherie Ve Ard. They have been traveling around the U.S. for several years now living in their towed Oliver travel trailer, along with their cat Kiki. They are not old and retired, but they enjoy working and living from wherever they happen to travel to at any given point. They are Digital Nomads who run several businesses from wherever they have internet access.

They’ve become very well-known in various RV and Location Independent circles here on the internet, and are experts at every aspect of life as a modern Technomad. I met them for a shuttle launch earlier this year, and use their handy State Lines iPhone app whenever I am about to cross into another state. They are always friendly and helpful, despite constantly answering the same questions over and over from people like me who are curious about or want to live their wandering experience.

They were recently selected to present on Technomadism at SXSW Interactive, and have recently settled in to explore the U.S. Virgin Islands for a few months over the winter.

Over the years, they’ve documented all of the various questions and obstacles people throw at them for why they can’t also live this life of freedom. Like with anyone else doing things outside the mainstream way we are taught to live in the default world, they get a lot of praise about their amazing life, almost always followed up with some variation of the “I wish I could do that” excuse.

They wrote an extensive series of posts on their blog about overcoming these obstacles to full-time travel, but they got several requests for a book form. They have now compiled this 15-part series into an ebook. I thought it was going to just be the posts sewn up quickly into a pdf, but it’s a 78-page, 25,000 word book.

They added a ton of stuff to it!

Chris & Cherie don’t use their blog to make a living, but to share information. They make enough money from their software development and consulting businesses to afford their travels. They’re working on some extra travel expenses to get to SXSW, but are generously offering this book for whatever you want to pay.

They’re not putting a price tag on this eBook – it’s offered to you on a ‘Pay-as-You-Wish’ basis. Pay what it’s worth to you. Heck, even download it for free, and come back later and pay what it’s worth to you.

Just change the suggested price of $15 in the shopping cart to whatever you want to contribute.

If you’re looking to live a mobile lifestyle or even just curious, it’s a great resource. I don’t say that because they are friends, because they quote this blog in the book, or because I’m an affiliate for it. It’s just a fantastic resource you should check out, and pay what you think it’s worth to you.

UPDATE 2-3-2011: They’ve added another chapter to the book! If you signed up for updates, you should have already received a notification. The book is still pay-as-you-wish, so you can buy the updated version at the same link.

Check out Answers to the Most Common Excuses to not Travel Full-Time

Don’t Die Waiting for Retirement to Travel the Open Road is a post from: Live Collar Free

This weekend marked the 42nd stop on Chris Guillebeau’s Unconventional Book Tour in Tampa, Florida. I’ve mentioned this self-funded book tour before, and I hope any of you near the remaining stops are able to get to the event. It was well worth the wait. Several friends around the country told me it was worth going, and Chris has been someone I have followed for several years now, so I was looking forward to it.

If you haven’t followed Chris’s blog, The Art of Nonconformity is his way of inspiring change and action for people to live the life they want to live. He was one of the original inspirations for this blog in many ways. The central message of the book is this:

“You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to. You can do good things for yourself and make the world a better place at the same time. Here’s how to do it.”

The event took place at Inkwood Books, one of the Tampa area’s many small bookstores. Chris was already set up when I got there, with a few people seated. Chris was talking with everyone already in the relaxed atmosphere of the place. He was just as friendly and likeable as he comes across online.

We got rolling when the 30 or so chairs filled up, and a couple dozen people were still standing. Chris spent about 15 minutes telling us a bit about his background, what lead him to embark on this life of Nonconformity, and why he wrote the book. There was a little input from people at times, and he wrapped up that part of the event pretty quickly.

After that, he lead a question and answer session with anyone who had questions, concerns, or other issues they wanted to discuss. The room was filled with great people from various backgrounds and stages of unconventional life. This was a fantastic resource to discovering different fears and concerns different people had about life.

The event was organized here in Florida by Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen. She told us a bit about her journey and strategy for her food businesses. Disappointingly, she did not cook for us, but I didn’t hold it against her, as there were several different kinds of cupcakes available.

There was a young woman who wanted to travel, but didn’t know how it was possible. Shannon from A Little Adrift was there and able to offer some suggestions for things that she had discovered on her travels around the world.

David Risley started a tech blog as a hobby several years ago. He was very successful with it, and he now also teaches others how to make money blogging over at his other website, DavidRisley.com, where I’ve followed him for years. It was nice to finally meet him, and he was able to offer up some suggestions for people wondering how to get businesses going.

Several artists like Skaja her fiction writer husband Sam there to learn from Chris.

There were students, marketers, photographers, recent University graduates concerned about life with their new tremendous debt loads. There was a parent concerned about how to be Location Independent with children. An older retired woman was just deciding to start a new business. Even a stranger to AONC who didn’t know what Chris was about other than his coin buying travel-hacking story I’d told her, who walked away inspired.

After an hour or so of the Q&A, Chris sat and talked with anyone who wanted to get a book signed, and even those who just wanted to chat but hadn’t bought a book. I waited there listening to his genuine interest in everyone else’s projects and lives as almost everyone in the room sat and chatted with him one on one before the owners had to throw us out so they could go home.

We met up at a local restaurant where about 20 of us met up for dinner afterward, and we continued to learn about our projects and unusual lives. We even had a different Chris there who had joined the circus tell us all about that part of her fascinating life! Several of the people I met will be featured here the coming weeks.

There are only a few states left on the tour now, so I would highly recommend going if you are nearby (remember, there are usually cupcakes! ) The message of the book was clear, with great examples. I will review the book when I finish it. I only made it about halfway through after I got home, but I would already say it’s worth the small cost. All of the proceeds from the book are going to help bring clean water to at least 2 Ethiopian villages too!

Chris Guillebeau’s Unconventional Book Tour Comes to Tampa is a post from: Live Collar Free

I wanted to give an update on some of the people previously featured on the site. Some of the things we’ve featured here have changed, and people ask me how some others are doing. While going through previous posts, I thought I’d update you on some of them here.

Lemonade

One of the stories we’ve mentioned several times both here and on the Facebook Page is Erik Proulx’s Lemonade Movie. After a successful run being featured on Hulu, it is still available for sale.

Erik has been hard at work trying to get together funding for the “sequel” of sorts, Lemonade: Detroit. He has made a trailer for the basic premise and is seeking grass roots funding for the project. You can be listed in the credits for sponsoring a frame of the film (or 10,000 – I’m sure he wouldn’t mind).

Adventure Photographer Trevor Clark

Since Trevor did a two-part interview with us, he is still making fantastic pictures, traveling all over the U.S. in his Sportsmobile van.

After spending much of the summer in Alaska, he ended up with a home base in Tahoe to operate from when not on the road in El Guapo. He spends plenty of time there, so it made sense for him to have an operations center to help him take his photography business to the next level.

Crush It!

Gary Vaynerchuk is still going on and on about the Jets, can occasionally be found on Twitter, and has a new book coming out, called “The Thank You Economy” as a follow-up to his best-selling Crush It! I have not read it yet, but I plan on it. I will put up my copy of Crush It! for a contest prize if there are enough people interested who haven’t already read the book. If only one person emails me, you’ll be the winner!

Nine Lives Vintage Wears

Readers will remember the story of Kristi Coyne, who was downsized from her government healthcare job a while back.

She decided to take the opportunity to not spend the rest of her life unhappily working in a field she did not thoroughly enjoy, and decided to open a vintage clothing store in Tacoma. Yes, she decided to kick fear in the nuts, turn away from the field she’d acquired several University Degrees to attain, and open a retail store at the peak of the worst financial climate in American history.

I’m happy to report that Nine Lives Vintage Wears is doing well, and has recently celebrated it’s first anniversary! Go Kristi!

Tales from Technomadia

Everyone knows Cherie and Chris from Tales From Technomadia. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet up with them earlier this year to watch the Space Shuttle Launch. They happened to be out here in Florida with the Oliver Travel Trailer they call home, along with another couple from Our Odyssey. None of us had met in meatspace before that day, but since they were so close, and it was the last scheduled night launch, I had to go!

We had a great time, and they so graciously let us otherwise total strangers use the warmth of their home on that cold February night as we waited for the 5am launch (that got scrubbed).

Being the Technomads that they are, they are always willing to wander and explore, as they work entrely online, and are not tied to any one place. They’ve long thought of trading in their RV for a sailboat at some point, but they recently came upon an opportunity to spend the winter in the U.S. Virgin Islands!

They only arrived on the island of St. John a few days ago as of this writing, but be sure to follow along on their adventures there. They take lots of pictures and are great at reporting the details of what life is like in whatever nomadic situation they live!

Way Below Status Quo Meetup

Over the summer, I met with a few other people I only knew from the online world. They were on a trip around the U.S. to meet people from the blog world. They passed through town and were stopping to meet Andrew Norcross while they were here. I just happened to see a tweet and invited myself out with them.

Colin Wright moved to Thailand shortly after the trip ended, and is working on several businesses from there. I don’t know if his readers have decided where he is going to live next, but it is always fun to watch.

Norcross is still in town and I am pretty sure he has fixed every WordPress site of every person on Twitter.

Ashley Ambirge is having a presale of her new book “Why You Don’t Need a Job: You Need GUTS!” If I was on the ball, I would have told you about it earlier, but there is still a short time to get it at 50% off until tomorrow (Nov 12, 2010).

She just got to Chile a few days ago, so I don’t know what hour she will cut off the discount.

Andi is still doing her 30-day challenges at Instigationology. She is running (mostly) online businesses without the crutch of social media this month. I don’t think she ever sleeps, and has done harder things than that, but it’s fun to watch.

The Future

I’ll be bringing more people to you through the site in the coming weeks. There are so many more people out living and working way outside the default life we are trained to live. I want to share them all with you, so subscribe to the updates through RSS, email, Facebook, or Twitter to be notified when we have new stuff here for you.

“What Happened to Them?” Updates on 6 LiveCollarFree Stories is a post from: Live Collar Free

Colin Wright, Andi Norris and Ashley Ambirge are Way Below the Status Quo

Entrepreneurs are now more able to do work from the road with today’s technologies than in any other time in history. The internet and mobile devices allow people to submit their work and run businesses from pretty much anywhere. While some people live on the road full time, it also makes for some fun extended road trips.

Way Below Status Quo is a free online networking site organized by city, to help people get together and collaborate or get help with projects. To kick it off, a road trip is taking place now through mid-August, with the founders criss-crossing the United States. Actually, they are making more of a giant “W” across the country from the East coast to Seattle, stopping major cities along the way.

I was able to meet up with them for a short time last night while they were passing through. The famous WordPress Developer and Web Designer Andrew Norcross was also there to meet up with the group. I suppose we collaborated a bit, but it was mostly just fun times meeting for the first time in the real world instead of “knowing” each other online. And trying not to get thrown out of a local coffee shop and restaurant.

If they are going to be anywhere near your town, and you want to meet some people who are out living life, creating businesses, and helping others do the same, you really should make it a point to go hang out with them. They arrived in New Orleans this morning (July 15, 2010) for a meetup with Carl Nelson and some other people there. The rest of their itinerary can be found on the Way Below Status Quo website.

These founders and Nomadic Entrepreneurs can be found at WBSQ, as well as their own websites.

Ashley Ambirge

Ash inspires people with her thought-provoking writing over at The Middle Finger Project. Originally from Philadelphia, she spends most of her time traveling and is looking for a good place to live. See if you can convince her that your city is where she should live when the road trip is over or until she goes back to Costa Rica.

Andi Norris

Andi is taking the really, really long way home back to Seattle, and may be to blame for this road trip. Whether she is there or on the road, she runs the design firm Dezabulous, and blogs about life and causes trouble at Instigationology.

Colin Wright

It’s tough to describe Colin. Owner of no more than 50 things, Author of several books, not Canadian, and moves every 4 months. He doesn’t just move, he lets his readers at Exile Lifestyle pick the next city he’ll go to, and throws himself into the culture there. He went from Los Angeles to Argentina, just returned from New Zealand, and will be going to Thailand next. All while running his design firm at Colinismyname.com, as well as the newly-launched Ebookling.

Way Below Status Quo: Nomadic Entrepreneurs Road Trip is a post from: Live Collar Free

photo credit: DDFic

My journey to Location Independence began out of frustration. Frustration with how wasteful the business world ran, and how poorly most old-school businesses leveraged technology. There may have been a girl involved too. I’ll get to that later.

Several jobs and self-employed businesses made up my work history. They always followed the Standard American Dream 9 to 5 model. Jobs brought with them the same mundane things: the commute, the office space, the far-away promise of retirement someday, the Mondays. My forays into self-employment were not much different, because I was using those models.

At the time of my change, I was a well-paid salesperson at a manufacturer in a field that I loved. What could be wrong? Like most traditional jobs, I had to be there in an office when they wanted me there, and they wanted me there a lot. This left me little time to travel or enjoy life outside of work other than the occasional weekend. I could not find a way to look forward to another 50 years of this life. I knew there was a better way.

Leaving the Office

That corporate sales position got traded for another company as a self-employed contract salesman. I didn’t need to come into the office, but would have to visit various customers all over the state, and pick up new customers along the way. It was in the same field I loved, and a step in the right direction toward my freedom, but still very wasteful in many ways.

If you’ve ever sat in traffic in Los Angeles during rush hour, you know what I mean. If you’ve ever had to drive back and forth all over Los Angeles, you know that rush hour last all day. That’s what I did. This wasn’t an ideal solution.

The face time at customer’s shops was just how things had “always been done” in the industry. I weaned the existing customers off these regular monthly visits. Orders were not affected at all, and I had a lot more free time to spend on things apart from driving.

I would still regularly check on them, but now I only made a quick call or email reminder instead of hoping they’d be there when I made the trek out to their shop. They liked it better too. I was able to spend that extra time getting new customers and increasing sales, with only occasional visits to shops.

(A similar strategy is in Tim Ferriss’ best-selling book The Four-Hour Workweek. I had just never heard of the book at the time, and was only making this up as I went.)

Making Travel Possible

Now that I arranged my work so that I didn’t need to be anywhere in particular, I was able to travel more. I had taken regular vacations to Florida from my home in California. By this point, my intent was to make a permanent move.

Remember the girl I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it’s a long story, but she lived on a different coast when we accidentally met. Remember, life is not all about work, so these things are important.

I was now able to be in Florida for ten days at a time every month. While there, I was able to pick up new business in the state, all while still serving my west coast clients. It was no longer technically vacation, as I was always available by phone or email, but it was now just the life I was making happen.

There were still some obvious inefficiencies with my system, but it was infinitely better than having to be on a particular spot on a map for 75% of my waking hours. Using the internet and email, with only a laptop and a cell phone, I could go virtually anywhere and still make a living doing almost exactly the same job.

The Next Level

After making this up as I went for a year or two, I finally got really smart* and looked around online. It turns out that there are thousands of people using the technology available to us in the 21st century, who are doing a far better job of being Location Independent. I was on the right track, but there are better ways of becoming Location Independent than the stumbling path I took. When I finally found my way here, I learned a tremendous amount, and have made quite a few changes to the way I do things.

really smart* – This is sarcasm for “What I should have done in the first place before stumbling around on my own like a buffoon.”

I started this journey by looking for a way to spend more time living my life, traveling, and enjoying the world instead of sitting at a desk all day. I did make the move to Florida several years ago. We are now working on deciding where to go for longer than extended vacations.

Whether we travel overseas indefinitely or start with exploring North America by RV, we now know that we don’t have to wait for that someday when we retire to live our lives.

How I Freed Myself from the Office to Become Location Independent is a post from: Live Collar Free

Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Why haven’t you? What has stopped you? Some people do it seemingly with little more than a backpack and a smile. Others live the jet-set life in luxurious places most only know from Bond films. Everyone who wants to travel but hasn’t done so has one of 7 major obstacles or objections. There may be variations on the theme, but it’s always one of the 7 majors.

Anil Polat has been traveling the world since 2006. Where many people wish and hope to “someday” travel, he has actually been out doing it. Like most long-term travelers, he regularly comes into contact with people who tell him they wish they could do what he does, and quickly give him a list of reasons why they can’t do it.

He has gathered the 7 major obstacles he regularly hears on the road and from polling his readers. He intended to just write up a few quick tips on how to overcome these popular travel objections, but the series ended up taking on a life of it’s own. Valuable input came from readers who wanted to share their experiences or attempts to overcome these travel objections, as well as advice from several other world travelers who had already overcome them.

Anil gathered this information together for his ebook, Overcoming the 7 Major Obstacles to Traveling the World. The book breaks down each objection to get to the heart of the real issue, and shows how simply anyone can overcome these perceived barriers. Included are numerous useful links to help you realize your travel goals and helpful information and advice from world travel veterans John Bardos, Marina Villatoro, Dan’s Adventure, The Q Family Adventures, Deb and Dave, Akila & Patrick of The Road Forks, and Cody McKibben of Thrilling Heroics.

Purchase of this ebook for $8.00 also includes updates and expanded information as it becomes available. Two lattes worth of money for a book that can help you get out and see the world is a fair trade to me.

If you have fantasies of long-term travel, you can turn them into realities with Overcoming the 7 Major Obstacles to Traveling the World. What’s stopping you from following your travel dreams?

Overcoming the 7 Obstacles to Traveling the World is a post from: Live Collar Free