Wandering Workers Podcast: Travel | Lifestyle

Jessica Thiefels has impeccable timing, but not even she could have timed her digital nomad world tour to end just as the pandemic was starting to spread. Or could she? She lives her life with intention. She listens for clues and makes intentional choices that lead her down the path that is right for her. And she wants to help other people do this too. I initially sat down to talk with her about digital nomadism, travel, and running her business from the road, but she gave us so much more. Her advice about working abroad is applicable to what so many people are going through right now. Sure she was working from cafes and Airbnbs in exotic locations but the advice is the same for anyone who is conducting work away from a dedicated office. That includes all the people working from home during this pandemic. But what I love even more than that advice is her message around living with intention. It's that type of thinking that can really help people do just about anything they set their minds to. In this episode we talk about What it takes to run your own business How to travel the world without out saving money first Why you should pay closer attention to the choices that you make The difference between people like Jessica and people who say they wish they could do what she does On the show, Jessica mentioned a few of her favorite tools for managing her business from around the world. Here they are: Trello theculturetrip.com worldtimebuddy.com Resources and Links Jessica Thiefels Consulting Jessica on Instagram Mindset Reset Radio podcast 10 Questions that Answer Life's Biggest Questions Interview with Lindsey Lathrop, The Career Coach Thank You Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode of the podcast and know someone else who might like it too, please share it with your family and friends. Until next time…stay safe. About the Show The Wandering Workers podcast features stories of people who are living life on their own terms. Many of the guests on the show incorporate some form of travel into their lifestyle. More importantly, they have all devised a work scenario that makes their dream life possible. These stories are proof that it is entirely possible to create and live the life you've always imagined.

Jessica Thiefels has impeccable timing, but not even she could have timed her digital nomad world tour to end just as the pandemic was starting to spread. Or could she? She lives her life with intention. She listens for clues and makes intentional choices that lead her down the path that is right for her. And she wants to help other people do this too. I initially sat down to talk with her about the digital nomad life, travel, and running her business from the road, but she gave us so much more. More Than a Digital Nomad Her advice about working abroad is applicable to what so many people are going through right now. Sure she was working from cafes and Airbnbs in exotic locations but the advice is the same for anyone who is conducting work away from a dedicated office. That includes all the people working from…Continue Reading The post The Digital Nomad appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Are you holding yourself back? From happiness, fulfillment, your potential? Or at least from the job or paycheck that you deserve? So many people get in their own way without even realizing it. That's where a career coach comes in. Lindsey Lathrop helps people get to where they are meant to go faster, and you don't even have to know your destination or end goal. She can help you figure that out too. I sat down with Lindsey a few months ago (back when we were blissfully unaware of Covid 19) and gathered all sorts of advice from one of the most exceptional career coaches I know. The Career Coach Coach Lins is full of tips and exercises that can help you move forward with intention and purpose. One of my favorite exercises from the episode is the future-self game in which your future self ends up giving advice to your current self. In this episode we cover everything from how to change the power of your inner critic to how to advocate for yourself at work. We also talk about negotiation tactics, money management, and gender equity in the workplace. What I love about the timing of this episode is that being forced to slow down the pace of life provides a great opportunity to evaluate what you really want and need. It is only then that you can take actionable purposeful steps forward toward a more rewarding and fulfilling career, and more importantly, happiness. Resources lindseylathrop.com @coach_lins moneydatenight.com @moneydatenight Thank You Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode of the podcast and know someone else who might like it too, please share it with your family and friends. Until next time…stay safe. About the Show The Wandering Workers podcast features stories of people who are living life on their own terms. Many of the guests on the show incorporate some form of travel into their lifestyle. More importantly, they have all devised a work scenario that makes their dream life possible. These stories are proof that it is entirely possible to create and live the life you've always imagined.

Are you holding yourself back? From landing in a fulfilling career to creating true personal happiness, so many people get in their own way without even realizing it. That’s where a career coach comes in. Lindsey Lathrop helps people get where they are meant to go faster. And you don’t even have to know your destination or end goal. She can help you figure that out too. I sat down with Lindsey a few months ago (back when we were blissfully unaware of Covid-19) and gathered all sorts of advice from one of the most exceptional career coaches I know. The Career Coach Coach Lins is full of tips and exercises that can help you move forward with intention and purpose. One of my favorite exercises from the episode is the future-self game in which your future self ends up giving advice to your current self. In this episode we…Continue Reading The post The Career Coach appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Remote work has been a luxury for some, now it's a necessity for the masses. Along with this shift comes an opportunity for companies and employees alike to adapt and come out stronger on the other side. Jordan Carroll is poised to help individuals and companies alike make the transition.

His name is Jordan Carroll but I like to call him the remote work guru. He works with individuals who want to transition to remote work AND with corporations who want (or need) to support an increasing number of remote employees. He was doing this work long before COVID-19 forced workers and companies into work-from-home arrangements. But he believes that this is going to be “the single biggest transition to remote work ever in our current history…and that only the strongest companies that are most able to adapt will survive.” The Future of Work It’s an opportunity for companies and employees alike to adjust and come out stronger on the other side. That’s easier said than done when there are so many unanswered questions during these uncertain times. But in the middle of it all, people are also talking about how there is opportunity in chaos. And one of those…Continue Reading The post The Remote Work Guru appeared first on Wandering Workers.

What if you could take your schedule and toss it out the window? No more meetings, no more events, no more endless inbox, no more busy life. What if you could ditch all the have-to-dos and just spend a few years doing all your want-to-dos. Would you do it? That’s essentially what Jen and Trav Julia did when they decided to sell a lot of their belongings and buy a sailboat. But their motivation was even more admirable than simply taking a break from the busy-ness of life. They wanted to spend more time together as a family. That fact became clear one weekend while driving home from a camping and mountain biking weekend in Colorado with their kids. Jen started to cry. “I didn’t want to go back,” she said. They spent the rest of the drive, and most of that night after they got home, devising a savings…Continue Reading The post The Moxie Family on Escaping an Overscheduled Life appeared first on Wandering Workers.

When the busy-ness of life started to interfere with quality family time, Jen and Trav Julia decided to do something about it. They bought a sailboat and moved their family on board. Their story takes them from the Caribbean Islands to the slopes of Chamonix, and between all the adventures and mishaps is a story about a family growing together instead of apart.

Fear is what prevented The Dangerz from quitting their jobs and running away sooner. Bryan specifically was afraid of losing the things young professionals are supposed to be working toward. Things like financial security and retirement. Whenever Jen brought up the idea of living in a van and traveling around the Americas, Bryan brought up the 401K. Unlike their name suggests, they do not lead very dangerous lives. Adventurous? Yes. Dangerous? Not by their barometer. In fact, they led very typical lives before the big change and that included long work hours and few vacations. “We wanted to do good work; we put in long [days] and thought about [work] at all hours.” Like many people, they struggled to find time to disconnect and refill their souls. And when they did get away for a trip to the coast, Jen would stand at the edge of the water and cry.…Continue Reading The post The Dangerz appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Fear is what prevented the Dangerz from quitting their jobs and running away sooner. Bryan specifically was afraid of losing the things young professionals are supposed to be working toward. Things like financial security and retirement. Whenever Jen brought up the idea of living in a van and traveling around the Americas, Bryan brought up the 401K. Unlike their name suggests, they do not lead very dangerous lives. Adventurous? Yes. Dangerous? Not by their barometer. In fact, they led very typical lives before the big change and that included long work hours and few vacations. “We wanted to do good work. We put in long [days] and thought about [work] at all hours. We were really living it.” Like many people, they struggled to find time to disconnect and refill their souls. And when they did get away for a trip to the coast, Jen would stand at the edge of the water and cry. At the time, she didn't really know why but it was one of the clues that something was off. It took a doctor to push Bryan past his fears of financial insecurity, possibly because something more terrifying came up at a routine check-up. He was prescribed a full regimen of medication for dangerously high blood pressure. Instead of filling the prescription, he went home and told Jen, “It's time.” Ironically, it wasn't until they made that decision to try something new that they started paying off debt, which ultimately allowed them to start growing their savings. They emphasize that it wasn't overnight. They made small changes and decisions over the course of the next year that eventually led to a total life shift. Looking back now, Jen believes those tears on the coast of Oregon were recognition that she was craving more nature. They wanted “more beaches, more sunsets, more ocean.” Now they wake up every day overlooking water from the deck of their sailboat Karma. And instead of making decisions based on the society standard, they ask themselves one question: Are we happy? Listen to the episode to learn more about how they overcame fear to find their greatest fulfillment in life. At the end of the episode is a challenge that's meant to help you take one small step forward in the direction of the thing that scares (and excites) you most. Follow The Dangerz You can find the Dangerz on Instagram @thedangerz and on YouTube under the same name. And you can read more about their experiences and side hustles (they are incredibly talented designers) at thedangerz.com. About the Show The Wandering Workers podcast features stories of people who are living life on their own terms. Many of the guests on the show incorporate some form of travel into their lifestyle. More importantly, they have all devised a work scenario that makes their dream life possible. These stories are proof that it is entirely possible to create and live the life you've always imagined. Thank You Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode of the podcast and know someone else who might like it too, please share it with your family and friends. Or if you have feedback, we'd love to hear it. Head over to the Wandering Workers podcast on iTunes and leave a review. Happy Wandering

Jessica, aka The Funny Yogi, has long loved yoga and improv but she never guessed she would be able to make a career out of the two things that brought her the most joy. That is until she discovered laughter yoga and something clicked. She figured out how to sell it to corporations. Now she leads teams from all kinds of companies including Google and Microsoft through ice breakers, laughter yoga sessions, and motivational speeches as part of her corporate offerings. Drawing on her background with comedy and improv, she educates and engages her audience with the core purpose of bringing “joy and child-like fulfillment back to adults.” Commit to Joy Her message is one of joy, and how chasing your joy and aligning your actions with the things that bring you joy will lead to happiness and fulfillment. She found her joy during her darkest time by going back…Continue Reading The post The Funny Yogi on Chasing Joy appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Not only is Jessica Brustad living life on her own terms as a motivational speaker and laughter yoga coach, she also has a powerful message for listeners about owning your power, chasing your joy, and discovering what you were meant to do.

Hello Wandering Workers! As I prepare for season 3 of the podcast, coming your way in January, I wanted to touch base. I’ve been thinking a lot about all the people I’ve interviewed who are living out their wildest dreams, and it got me wondering about YOUR wildest dreams. BHAG Challenge So, I set up something called the BHAG challenge. BHAG stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goals and the purpose of this challenge is to help you identify your BHAGs and take the first few small and doable steps toward achieving them, no matter how wild they might seem. It’s a super low lift that’s sure to get you dreaming big. When you sign up you’ll get the first email with your instructions, it will only take about 20 minutes a day for 3 days. If anything, it’s a fun way to start brainstorming about some of the the things…Continue Reading The post Season 3: Coming Soon! appeared first on Wandering Workers.

A sense of self is what Vaughn Pyne was missing during his darkest period. He embarked on a journey of personal growth and the effects rippled through both his career and personal life. Find out how he turned things around—and how you can too—on this episode of the Wandering Workers podcast.

Vaughn Pyne recently celebrated his second 11th wedding anniversary. Yes, you read that right. He divorced and then remarried his high school sweetheart. And in between went on a journey of personal growth that led to a career change, and a shift in his overall approach to life. The thing he says that was missing during his darkest period? A sense of self. “The extent you can enjoy your life is connected to your ability to love and accept yourself,” he says. Personal Growth Through his journey of self discovery, he found that what he was learning could also have a positive impact on the people around him, especially his coworkers. At the time he was working as a sales trainer but discovered that you can’t train and develop people on technical issues alone. “If your head’s not right, if you’re not in the right state, you’re not going to be…Continue Reading The post The Motivational Speaker appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Ryan Skorecki is a helicopter pilot who has flown pro skiers around Alaska, transported Anthony Bourdain around Antarctica, and appeared in the Discovery Channel mini-series “Everest Rescue.” Yet even with a resume like this, he still has regrets about his early career choices. In this episode of the Wandering Workers podcast we talk in depth about what inspired Ryan to become a pilot, where that job has taken him, and how the career stacks up against his expectations. What emerges is a story about chasing the life you want and why you should never give up on your dreams. We cover… What it takes to become a helicopter pilot How he ended up in places like Antarctica and Nepal What it’s like to be on a reality show (while flying rescue missions) Ryan also reveals the most scared he’s ever been and why he likes heli skiing flights more than…Continue Reading The post The Helicopter Pilot appeared first on Wandering Workers.

He's flown pro skiers in Alaska, transported Anthony Bourdain around Antarctica, and appeared as in the Discovery Channel mini-series "Everest Rescue," but he still has regrets about his early career choices. Listen to Ryan Skorecki talk about what life is like as a helicopter pilot.

To live life on your terms you have to first understand what those terms are. Only then can you start to take the steps that will help you to get you closer to your goal. A design thinker by trade, Katia discusses the steps you can take to help design your ideal life. Through trial and error, experimentation, and exploration Katia figured out how to create the life of her dreams. And now she is sharing her professional advice with you.

Brandon wanted it all: to live abroad, work as a lawyer, do work that is compelling, AND travel the world. Combining all the items on this wish list seems nearly impossible. Surely he would have to compromise and take a position that was subpar in order to prioritize travel. Nope! He set an intention, worked hard, and eventually the stars aligned. Find out what Brandon did to set himself up for success so that he could be ready when the right opportunity finally presented itself.

To get the result you want, you have to start by looking at the end. That is how Katerina Suchkova, a design thinking facilitator, wants you to approach designing your ideal life. Design thinking is a tactic used by companies to solve problems in creative ways. It starts with understanding the ideal outcome and works backward from there. Similarly, to create your ideal life, you have to first understand what you want that life to look like. Only then can you start to take the steps needed to get you there. Do you want to work from home, have a more flexible schedule, travel the world while making money Anything is possible, and Katia has some great advice for how to get started. In this episode of the Wandering Workers podcast you’ll learn: How to use design thinking to design your best life What questions you should ask yourself to…Continue Reading The post The Design Thinker appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Law is not a profession that most people associate with mobility and international travel but that didn’t stop Brandon from believing that one day he could combine his two passions. His wish list was grand. He wanted to live abroad, work as a lawyer, do work that is compelling, and travel in his free time. For most people, one or two items alone on his list would be nice. Brandon is not most people. You Can Have It All It didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it took 15 years and there were times throughout his career he thought he might have to compromise on something. Perhaps he’d have to sacrifice on the work in order to live abroad. But it never did come to that. Now Brandon lives in Barcelona and travels all over Europe, Africa, and the Middle East working as a lawyer for an international corporation. “I guess…Continue Reading The post The Lawyer appeared first on Wandering Workers.

For Ashley, a high school babysitting gig is what jump started a passion for travel. When the family whose kids she watched returned to France, they invited her to visit. Summer trips eventually turned into a full year in which she lived with the family as an Au Pair. She has always been careful to balance travel with career, following her own advice to, “Do what you want but be smart about it.” Now she continues to seek the perfect balance of work and exploration. In this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast we dive into the right way to balance career with adventure, especially as a recent college graduate. Should she travel first and then try to build a career or build a career and then travel? Either way it was hard to convince her 20-something-year-old self to trust her choices, whatever those choices turned out to be. 

The Wandering Workers Podcast is back with a second season and we’re so excited to kick things off Ashley from AshleyAbroad.com as we talk about how taking a job as an Au Pair launched her love of travel. Babysitter Turned Au Pair When Ashley started babysitting for a French family in high school, she had no idea it would eventually turn into the opportunity of a lifetime. After the family returned to Europe, she got the chance to visit them several times and eventually live with them as an Au Pair. Her time in France opened her up to a whole new world of possibilities and after the gig ended she had to choose between heading home and pursuing her career—which is what her friends from college were all doing—or continuing her travels. She chose travel, but it was not an easy choice. In this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast…Continue Reading The post The Au Pair appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Educator Ed Sobey joins me to talk about how curiosity in life is what fuels his adventures. An advocate for creativity and critical thinking in the STEM environment, Ed travels the world sharing his message with teachers and students alike.

You wouldn’t think an educator and former museum director would find a way to expand his career while traveling but Ed Sobey is proof that it can be done. Instead of looking for jobs abroad, he created his first traveling exhibit and pitched it to museums in Europe. The National Museum of Technology in Sweden took the first bite. He flew over with the exhibit to give workshops and thus began his life on the road and the start of his dream job. Now he lectures on cruise ships, trains teachers in foreign countries, and has logged countless miles as a faculty member on Semester at Sea. It all started with a question: what would it look like if I could spread my message while seeing more of the world? It’s this practice of asking, “what if…?” that leads to new discoveries in both science and in life. As a global…Continue Reading The post How to Invent Your Dream Job appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Find out how Johnny balances working abroad and sightseeing with his family in Part 2 of this two-part episode. 

Find out how Johnny runs his Southern California based business from different places around the world in Part 1 of this two-part episode.

Note: This is a two-part episode of the Wandering Workers podcast. In part one we talk to Johnny DaSilveira about running his location-based business from abroad. In part two we talk about how he does that while traveling the world with his family of four. For Johnny, gone are the days of throwing a pack on his back and winging it. Kids add an extra layer of planning to everything in life, and that goes for travel too. From keeping them entertained on long drives to finding the right places to stay, you have to plan ahead a lot more than when you travel alone. Even with the added challenges, however, Johnny maintains that the reward is still worth the effort. In Part 2 we talk about… The one kid-friendly item he never travels without Why it’s worth buying a good stroller Tips for choosing rentals that are kid-friendly How…Continue Reading The post The Reality of Traveling With Kids appeared first on Wandering Workers.

While many people try to force themselves into an online business in order to accommodate the wandering worker’s lifestyle, Johnny went the opposite route. He bought a location-based business and runs it remotely while traveling the world. Of course it took some work—and some failures—to get to where he is today. We talk about that journey in this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast. While he was raised in a multicultural home, it wasn’t until he left his small hometown in a rural part of Northern California that he became fascinated with different cultures. And once his dad took him on a business scouting trip to Brazil following his high school graduation, there was no turning back. That trip sparked both his entrepreneurial spirit and his cultural curiosity. After moving to Southern California, he sifted through several business ideas before landing on the one that would afford him the lifestyle he…Continue Reading The post Running a Location-Based Business From Abroad appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Aside from fear, there’s only one thing standing in the way of you living your ideal life: money. To start, it’s hard to let go of the steady paycheck and take a chance on a different way of doing things. In this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast we talk with comedic financial speaker Colin Ryan about how to overcome this barrier. In addition to being a financial expert, Colin has first hand experience taking a risk to create the life he imagined. Drawing from his experiences as a stand up comedian, his idea was to use humor to address what is normally a serious topic. The result is that he talks honestly and openly about a subject that normally makes people uncomfortable, and his advice resonates with anyone who’s ever dreamed of something bigger. Money, Motivation, and Momentum His message that “your ability to manage your money directly affects…Continue Reading The post The Secret to Achieving Your Dreams appeared first on Wandering Workers.

Comedic financial speaker Colin Ryan joins me on this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast to talk about the secret to designing your ideal life. We cover topics like what it's really like to work for yourself, how to overcome self-doubt, and what you can do right now if you want to make a change in your life.

In this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast find out how one couple moved from a three-bedroom house into a 72-square foot trailer in an effort to create MORE space in their lives. 

“Change is hard because people often overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.” -James Belasco and Ralph Stayer, Flight of the Buffalo It wasn’t that long ago that Shari and Hutch had fulfilling jobs in higher education, a three-bedroom house, and enough disposable income to live comfortably. They were also stressed, unhealthy, and so busy that it was difficult to make time for each other. They knew they wanted a change, but they weren’t sure what that change might look like until they started taking steps in a different direction. In this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast, we talk about how they downsized to a 72-square-foot trailer in order to make MORE room in their lives. In this episode you’ll learn… How you go from wanting a change to actually making one. Why it’s important to set a…Continue Reading The post How to Work Your Way Around the U.S. appeared first on Wandering Workers.

In this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast I talk with Whitney about dumping a high-paying job in the for-profit sector to more fulfilling work in the nonprofit world. It's a position that has her traveling around the world.

As organizations in the social impact sector fight to solve problems all over the world, travel is often tied to nonprofit work. It’s one of the things that drew today’s podcast guest to make a big career change. Whitney entered business school thinking it would help her find the ideal for-profit job. And it did. “It was exactly the job I pictured getting when I went to business school,” she says. But over the course of her five-year career at Kimpton, she couldn’t shake the influence of the friends she made in the nonprofit world back in school. Her story is one that a lot of people can relate to. She had a great job, in a cool city, and could afford to take small trips every year to satisfy some degree of the travel bug. But she wanted more, or rather…something different. She wondered if she would feel more fulfilled working at a…Continue Reading The post Finding Fulfillment in Nonprofit Work appeared first on Wandering Workers.

This month on the Wandering Workers Podcast, find out how a writer and a behavior analyst for children with autism carved out career advancing work in Costa Rica.

After more than a decade of living in the same place, Robert and his wife Kylan wanted adventure. But with a house and the weight of a new doctorate degree under Ky’s belt they didn’t want to be impulsive. The idea was to get out of Philly, immerse themselves in a new culture, and practice a different language. But they didn’t want to put their careers on hold to do so. Putting Career First They chose Costa Rica and began a yearlong process of transitioning to life abroad. They took several trips to San Jose and interviewed with potential employers. The hope was to establish some base income but also continue working in their established fields. In this episode of the Wandering Workers podcast you’ll find out how Robert negotiated a job at one of the top newspapers in the country and how Kylan created an opportunity for herself in…Continue Reading The post How to Turn Travel Into a Career Opportunity appeared first on Wandering Workers.

In this episode of the Wandering Workers Podcast we talk to Sara of Organically Fit Holistic Health about how she runs her virtual business while traveling the world.

When Heather and Jim left Steamboat Springs, Colorado, their home of 20 years, they were looking for a change. Already seasoned travelers, their goal was to go beyond basic travel and make a complete lifestyle shift. They wanted to live the travel life. It wasn't easy planning big moves around the world with a dog but they've been on the go for more than two years. They've lived in places like Costa Rica, camped across North America, and backpacked around Southeast Asia. In this episode of the Wandering Workers podcast Heather and Jim provide answers to all the questions that curious travelers want to know, including how to plan—and pay for—such a big trip. Thanks for listening! The Wandering Workers podcast features stories of people who are living life on their own terms. Many of the guests on the show incorporate some form of travel into their lifestyle. More importantly, they have all devised a work scenario that makes their dream life possible. These stories are proof that it is entirely possible to create and live the life you've always imagined.

By the time she was 23 Sara had never been on a plane or seen the ocean but she always felt a deep urge to travel. She eased in by applying to grad schools around the country and scheduling a handful of international trips. She was just finding her rhythm when she got sick. “It took my life away for four years,” she says. Nothing motivated her travels more than being stuck at home. She realized, that “someday” never comes and you can’t put off the things you know you want most out of life. The sickness both launched her nutrition career and reaffirmed her desire to live outside her comfort zone and move around in the world. Since she got well, she’s been on the go—running her virtual business, Organically Fit Holistic Health, from all over the world. For this month’s podcast, we got her to sit down long enough to tell us how…Continue Reading The post How to Run a Business From Anywhere appeared first on Wandering Workers.

When Heather and Jim left Steamboat Springs, Colorado, their home of 20 years, they were looking for a change. Already seasoned travelers, their goal was to go beyond basic travel and make a complete lifestyle shift. They wanted to live the travel life. It wasn’t easy planning big moves around the world with a dog but they’ve been on the go for more than two years. They’ve lived in places like Costa Rica, camped across North America, and backpacked around Southeast Asia. In this episode of the Wandering Workers podcast Heather and Jim provide answers to all the questions that curious travelers want to know, including how to plan—and pay for—such a big trip. Topics Covered in This Episode How to prepare for several years on the go How to budget for day to day expenses The hardest part about living the travel life The side effects of Beach Brain Tips for traveling with a dog Thank…Continue Reading The post How to Live the Travel Life appeared first on Wandering Workers.