Last month I did something I’ve never done before. I stood up in front of nearly 900 digital nomads and shared my story on how I got started. Here’s what I learned from facing my fears
I. Was. Terrified.
But the feeling I had afterwards was worth the months (yes months) of dread and fear and preparations.
Let me rewind.
About a year ago I was living in Berlin and I met up for coffee with
I was backpacking in Belize with my boyfriend when we met this couple who were working super hard on their laptops in the hostel kitchen. We thought this was really odd, after all, weren’t they on holiday? Why were they working?
So they told us all about the digital nomad movement and how more and more people are now working online while travelling the world.
My mind was blown.
But I was also sceptical. And as much as I would love to tell you now that I was immediately inspired to become a digital nomad there and then in that hostel kitchen, it took another 1.5 years until I made my first dollar ($7 actually) online.
Read our guide on how to find remote jobs here.
And if you had told me then that 3 years later I’d be standing in front of nearly 900 aspiring digital nomads sharing my story of how I became location independent and founded the first platform for female digital nomads, I would have thought you were batshit crazy.
Here’s what I learned from facing my fears and giving my DNX talk:
Fear is a huge driving force in my life
Whenever I have made any progress in my life, whenever I have achieved something that I could be proud of, I had to overcome some fears. We all know the saying about the comfort zone, right?
A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows in there.
This is so true.
Stepping out of my comfort zone and onto that stage was utterly terrifying. To make matters worse, due to some technical issues and a few delays I had to go on stage after Tobias Beck, the German equivalent of Tony Robbins, a hugely successful (and hilarious) motivational speaker with 15+ years of experience.
I couldn’t have been more nervous, but I took a deep breath, made a little (probably not very funny) joke about how this was my worst case scenario and I did the talk.
Was it perfect?
And guess what?
The world didn’t end.
On the contrary, The audience really appreciated me being honest and authentic and they were incredibly supportive which made the rest of the talk go much more smoothly.
Which brings me to my next lesson…
I can’t be anything but myself, and that’s ok
While preparing my talk I watched a whole bunch of previous DNX talks and Ted Talks as inspiration and to learn about storytelling.
Of course, this just put on more pressure and made me even more nervous. I tried to be funny like one speaker, clever like another….in the end I just had a headache and I realised that there was only one person I could try to be like and that was me.
Even if I don’t have as much experience as others. Even if I only earned $297 in my first month as a digital nomad, not 5-figures. Even if I don’t live the 4-Hour Workweek and earn passive income, yet.
That’s ok.
My story is still unique, and hopefully, it can inspire others to give the digital nomad lifestyle
Digital Nomads are a warm, open, welcoming bunch of people
When I was visualising my talk in the days and weeks before DNX, I didn’t really imagine real people sitting in the crowd. I just pictured a dark mass of faces.
On the day, however, I realised that each and every one of the women and men in the audience was there because they wanted to be there.
It was a sunny Saturday, yet they’d decided to spend their day in a dark auditorium learning about a topic they were incredibly passionate about. They wanted to hear my story. They were interested, open, friendly and supportive.
And that’s my number one lesson I have learned since starting as a digital nomad and also from giving my talk:
Find your tribe.
There’s nothing more motivating and inspiring than being surrounded by people who share the same dreams as you, who really get you. To learn from people who are already living the life you’re still dreaming of. And even to be a role model for others who are a few steps behind you on their own journey.
That’s what DNG is all about. That’s what DNX is all about. And I think that’s what the nomad lifestyle will evolve around more and more: community.
What is the worst thing that can happen?
That was a kind of theme that was threaded through my talk. I only realised while preparing it that I had actually made a lot of ballsy decisions over the last 4 or 5 years of my life, which came as a surprise as I always consider myself to be a complete chicken.
Yet, I’ve left a ‘safe’ career in chemistry after studying for nearly 10 years and getting my PhD in 2013. I left everything behind to travel the world indefinitely with my boyfriend. I threw myself headfirst into working online with no clue what I was doing. And I ‘accidentally’ built the largest community for location independent women which I am now turning into a business.
Whenever I was terrified of taking these steps I asked myself: what is the worst thing that can happen? Usually, the worst case was outweighed by the best that could happen.
Fear-Setting Exercise
Tim Ferriss has created a whole exercise around this question. He calls it fear-setting (like goal-setting) and it is a brilliant tool to overcome your fears, put them into perspective and stop holding yourself back.
When it came to my talk, what was the worst thing that could happen? Well, I make a complete fool of myself in front of nearly 900 digital nomads. They’d probably find it pretty funny though.
And that’s what I learned on my travels and in business: the seemingly worst travel days, hiking the Inca Trail with a sprained ankle and acute food poisoning (real story) are always the best stories afterwards. And the worst mistakes in business always teach you the biggest lessons.
So next time you’re terrified of taking that big scary
I bet it’s worth the risk!
If you’d like to try fear-setting, I’ve created a worksheet for you which you can download for free here.
