Patrick
- Jun 23, 2021
- 13 min read

The right mindset on how to become a successful Digital Nomad

Updated: Oct 9, 2022

"What do you need to become a Digital Nomad?" Being a Digital Nomad since more than 10 years myself, I was and still being asked this many times. This influenced me to write this article. Check out my top 8 tips ,characteristics and abilities which can help you to start living a free and self determined life as a Digital Nomad to live where you want and work from where you want!

Digital Nomad Life - 7 Years to fill all pages of my travel document - 5 Continents traveled - 15 Countries visited - 3 Countries lived in - 2 Years of nearly traveling with just some breaks

A little disclaimer before you read on ;) The following tips are my personal tips based on my own experiences from many years and may differ from others and I hope that the following article will help those on their way who want to become a free and self determined person. Feel free to share your tips in the comments, I am eager to hear other digital nomad's tips!

I was and I am often asked by family members or friends "What do you think you need to become a Digital Nomad?". A not easy to answer questions but during my 10 years nomad life (you can read the full story on "How I became a Digital Nomad" here), I identified a couple of specific characteristics which could be helpful in becoming a Digital Nomad so I decided to gather them and write this dedicated article. I hope that it will be helpful! Feel free to comment and share if you like it.

So, what are the characteristics and abilities I identified which can be helpful on the way to become a Digital Nomad? A disclaimer before we start - the following article contains my personal opinion, point of view and experiences and there are probably many other characteristics which help along the way. As we all know, many roads lead to Rome!

Ok, let´s jump right into it!

1. Leave your Comfort Zone and as often as possible

I met a lot of Digital Nomads during my trips and when I was living abroad and what we all had in common was the desire to explore the new, to break out, to challenge the status quo and our regular lives! Most of us felt caged in where they lived before, limited and just not right. There must be a better place and all those where motivators to leave our home countries.

I still remember the day when I decided to study abroad (as the only one of my friends that time when it was not common to study abroad) and it was daunting. Despite all the uncertainties and risks I felt that it was the right thing to do so I applied and go in! It was the first time where I forced myself to leave my comfort zone. New countries, new culture, new people - everything new, unexpected, scary!

The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure. You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.

― Roy T. Bennett

Looking back, it was the best decision in my life as it opened the whole world for me. It was one of the center pieces to become a Digital Nomad. I met people from different countries and with different perspectives which enriched my way how to see things and made me the person I am today. Someone who is not scared to leave the comfort zone but who enjoys it! Leaving your comfort zone is like stretching a muscle, it hurts but it helps you to grow your personality and to overcome fear! Try to leave your comfort zone as much as possible, don´t be scared! Just think of what could be the worse outcome and develop a plan B which will make you much more comfortable taking the risks. It is all about being prepared but not to overthink.

2. Do what makes YOU happy and not others!

xxx

2. An interest in different cultures and the ability to adapt to them

Leaving the place you were born, the city you lived and worked in for many many years to become a Digital Nomad is tough. It means that you will leave behind beloved family and friends. It means that you will leave your comfort zone, your well know daily routines. It means that you will expose yourself to in most cases completely different unknown cultures, languages and way of living. You actually leave a save haven to exchange it to something completely new.

When I moved to Thailand, I experienced my first culture shock. I loved to travel, was interested in different cultures and even traveled to Thailand for some weeks before already. Of course I heard about the famous culture shock before but thought, ah well that should be easy to handle. Weather is great and I will just hang out at the beach most of the time anyways! It came different and it took me nearly 3 months to get adjusted to the culture (don´t be to bold, aggressive or direct and do not take a yes for a yes for example) people, speed of life, heat and noise.

Charles Darwin - It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent , but the most responsive to change. — Adoption is key to overcome many obstacles in life and to become a successful Digital Nomad

The key to overcome this was that at one point I had to accept that life in Thailand is completely different to that in Germany - to adopt. I accepted that things go different here and that I was the person that needs to adjust to the local culture and not the opposite. As Charles Darwin expressed in his famous quote "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent , but the most responsive to change." Another big mistake I made was to question things, how certain situations were handled. That did not help! Try to not always compare how things go the way or are handled at home. Respect the local culture, habits and try to show respect by following the local rules. People will thank you and answer with a smile!

3. Be independent and prepared to live alone for a while

Imagine the following situation, you just left your home country and moved abroad to a foreign country. Left your boy- or girlfriend behind to start a long distance relationship. The first weeks go well, everything feels new, excited, like a holiday. Soon after though, the honeymoon phase ended and you start missing your known environment, family and friends, your partner. You start sleeping bad, feel unhappy and just want to go back home. It is fine to miss home or even feel a bit but if this turns into a misery with sleepless nights, crying or even depressions that is fatal and can jeopardize everything, not only your chances to start a new life or career abroad. It might also harm your health which then a point is reached where most abandon their big dream.

Before you leave, be honest to yourself. Are you generally ok to live alone, without direct access to friends or family for a longer period of time if needed? If you in a relationship are you ready to try a long distance approach which can be super challenging and exhausting? As a Digital Nomad, expect to be lonely for a while, expect to feel a bit lost and not part of the society, groups or the new life. Here comes the good news, it won´t be for ever. Not even some weeks after I moved to Bangkok, I had my first contacts made, went out with colleagues for dinner or started hanging out with other expats living in my building. Those introduced me to their friends and the days looked brighter! After around 3 months I really felt that I arrived and started enjoying my new life. Give yourself time and do not rush things but leave settled and under the right circumstances, otherwise it will hit you hard like a returning boomerang. What helped me was to join the local expat community which hosts a lot of events like get togethers, sportive activities etc., perfect to meet new like minded people, get connected and start building relationships. To become part of something connect to people with the same interests (sport clubs), challenges (expat communities)!

4. Expect the unexpected!

We all know the saying "Expect the unexpected" and yes (unfortunately) it happened to all of us! So what does it really mean to how can you deal with it?

As a Digital Nomad, do not be surprised by an unusual event. Anything can happen, and probably will you did not expect. This is a downside of being a Digital Nomad and will become a part of your daily life This of course is not a nice thing to experience but if you are aware and prepared upfront it will be easier to deal with it. You will feel less stressed and more confident if you approach it this way. Imagine you are waiting for a freelance contract to be signed any day, all looked good and the customer promised to send it over within the next day. But then BAM you get an email learning that they "unfortunately have to postpone the project..." :/ yeah that sucks but it can happen, be prepared and aware of those things can happen!

What helped me always is to lower my expectations and do not plan with something that was yet not decided on. There is a saying in Germany that reads "Man soll das Fell des Bären nicht verteilen, bevor er erlegt ist" which translated into something like "One should not distribute the bear's fur until it is killed". So in a nutshell, wait until you celebrate a success or an outcome. Stay realistic and manage expectations.

5. Have a plan B and C...

As a Digital Nomad, expect the unexpected and have a plan B!

I was born in the 80s (so please no blaming for the following lines ;)) and was amazed by many things from the USA. Skateboards, fast food (yes I have to admit it, guilty) and of course everything coming from Hollywood especially TV shows like the A-Team! Although John "Hannbial" Smith famous saying "I love it when a plan comes together" makes sense, do not expect that your plan A will always be successful and turns out as you wished and hoped for. But no worries, it is nothing bad if your desired plan does not turns out to be successful, you just need to be prepared.

I love it when a plan comes together.

― John "Hannibal" Smith, The A-Team

Many people get stressed and react with panic when their first plan fails. The reason for this is mostly that they do no have a plan B. They put all their thoughts and energy in plan A and when it fails they do not know what to do next. Make sure that there is always a replacement plan, this will reduce stress and you will feel more relaxed in case something turns out to be different than hoped. So what does that mean in practice? Let's say you are scanning upwork, (one of my favourite websites for freelancers and Digital Nomads to find jobs) to look for jobs. After going through the open projects you find a really suitable one for your skcills and interest. You prepare a detailed cover letter and focus all your energy on this job vacancies and disregard the other ones as they do not match you perfectly... guess what happened after applying? Well we all know what happened, we all been there... unfortunately you did not win the contract and stay back empty handed. Instead of focussing on just one case (which is kind of like putting all your money on just one bet) you should always try to increase your chances of succeeding by trying to minimize risk of failure as much as possible. Apply for several open positions even they are not perfect. Prepare a cover letter-template that you can reuse and recycle, that you can adjust to the specific job you apply for. Make sure you do not spend all your energy on just one thing because the outcome can be (or in most cases) is not what you wished for - have a plan B and C! Reduce risk by not betting on just one thing but many.

The more fishing rods you have out in the lake the higher the chance that you will catch a fish!

6. Learn from the past, embrace the present and prepare for the future

We touched on the topic "failure" already above but let's get a bit deeper. To be successful in general and to become a Digital Nomad, means to fail first! Yes to fail, probably many times. You better get used to it and the earlier the better. But good preparation can soften the effects of failure and ensure that your motivation remains strong and confident.

You need to either have or get a thick skin to defend yourself from the effects of failure. Try to see failure as something normal instead of "hoping" for a specific outcome too much. Throwbacks are natural, see them as a chance to learn from the past and try to always keep those in mind, try to remember why you failed in the past when taking decisions.

Through my trips, living abroad in different countries and meeting a lot of people from all over the world but also by talking to old friends and family members I realized that there are kind of like roughly four groups of people, four categories (they surely are more groups but I tried to limit them to four) of people. We have the "in the past everything was better" group of people who think that the past was the best time, they struggle to enjoy their current present life, are frustrated and are worried about the future because of arrising conflicts between countries and different ethics or global warming. Others fully live in the now (or present). They live by the mantra "work hard party hard" and focus on fast excitement and "kicks", consumption of physical goods. People from the third group are mostly focused on the future and how to prepare for it. They are hard working and know how to handle money instead of spending it as they want to best prepare for the future (and they have to do to a lack of governmental support, retirement, education etc.). People from Group for somehow mastered them all, the past, the present and the future. They succeeded in syncing them all in a harmonic way. They learn from the past, embrace the present and prepare for the future. I met several people from this group and the had a huge positive impact on my personal development. If this topic seems interesting to you check out my article "Past vs. Present vs. Future - An attempt to group people".

I always like to remind myself to "learn from the past, enjoy the now but prepare for the future". I try to focus on the things that really matter and I get the best out of the three worlds, past, present and future. It can be seen like a thin red line, a guidance that helps me to prepare, take decisions and do the right things. Nevertheless it is still a challenge for me, amd I am not fully there yet... The good news is though, I am getting closer.

7. Be prepared to never settle down completely

As romantic it seems and as many of the Digital Nomads are telling (or trying to tell you) you the life of a Digital Nomad also has some dark sides and challenges. Although being able to move around freely, not a few unfortunately suffer from lonelyness and a missing "anchor" in their lives.

With a "missing anchor" I mean a place they call home. A place that they know and gives them stability. It can also be a country or city you are living in, a culture you know and feel comfortable. In a regular life, we are used to stay nearly 95% of our time at one specific place. We rent a place, have our workplace, friends and family around, have our Dr. and so on. The rest of the time we travel. As a Digital Nomad, it is quite opposite. 95% or the time you are kind of like not at one specific place. Many move around to enjoy the freedom, enjoy the cold winter months in Australia or the Canarian Islands instead, move to Spain in summer! Possibilities are only limited by budget and visa regulations. That said, it will be also hard to form friendships or relationships because deep inside your mind you know that you will not stay for ever or for a long time - you unconsciously do not commit to anything or anyone too much as it might cause harm to you. We all hate to say goodbye right?

When becoming a Digital Nomad, you need to be aware of the that you might never settle down completely, never become part of a group of people. Friends come and go while you move on to your next destination. This is an important side to understand, you need to be aware of all the negative sites as well and see if they match with your life philosophy, match with what you like or not, can deal with or not. Be honest to yourself! What helped me deal with the negatives sides was simply writing down my life goals for the next 5 years. Once I defined what I want to achieve or experience and fully understood the challenges and problems of being a Digital Nomad I felt comfortable with my decision and knew what to expect.

8. Become more empathic and train your EQ

When I was a kid I remember parents bragging about their kids success in school. How smart they were because they finished their highschool with very good grades. IQ was everything - people did not care about being just a nice human being. People evaluated others by their IQ mostly which I always refused to believe in. I envied people who were empathic, who could put themselves in the shoes of others, who would listen more than talking. I looked up to those type of people who helped others, had a positive aura, who were self confident but without being arrogant and bragging about all their successes.

Now looking back I see that many of those "smart kids" from the past did not really make it... many are in the grind of a regular very average not well paid 9 to 5 job they hate without any chance to escape the hamster wheel. Excellent grades in school are NO guarantee that you will be successful in life and especially no guarantee in becoming a good human being. Treat a high IQ as a gift! Do not brag and stay modest!

When I was in my early 20s, and when I started to study in the Netherlands I met a lot of people from different cultures and I realized that being empathic can be of great help. Try to become a better version of yourself, day by day. Work hard to improve how you deal with other human beings, try to be always respectful, supportive and helpful. Try to build bonds, networks. You always meet twice in life (or even more) and there will be moments when you are down and if people remember you as a respectful and empathic person chances are good they will help you getting up! Try to become more empathic and train your EQ when ever is possible. Try to become a good listener, a person that always tries to see situations from different angles, from different perspectives. Do good and you will be treated good by others!

I hope you enjoyed my article "8 Tips on how to become a successful Digital Nomad" and find the tips helpful. Feel free to comment if you want to share more tips!

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