Podcasts about legal nomads

Celebrated travel and food blogger Jodi Ettenberg shares not one but two life-changing trips on this week's episode. The first, a solo jaunt to Annecy while she was studying for her master's in France, signaled the start of Jodi's life as a devoted traveler. Jodi got the travel bug following Annecy, and after briefly taking a job at a law firm in New York, she began traveling full time, making a successful living from her blog Legal Nomads. The second trip, a visit to Brooklyn in 2017, during which she wound up in the ER, would effectively end a decade of international roaming. Jodi underwent a lumbar puncture to rule out a suspected condition, a fairly routine procedure that didn't go according to plan, leaving her virtually bedbound and in constant chronic pain from a spinal CSF leak. In this episode, Jodi and Esme discuss the power of storytelling, retraining the mind using Vipassana meditation, and making the choice to find gratitude, meaning, and beauty when life unspools in the most unfair way.   You can learn more about Jodi by visiting her website legalnomads.com and following @legalnomads on social media.  Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting fulltimetravel.co and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don't miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure!    

What happens when a celebrated travel writer finds herself suddenly, inextricably homebound? This is not a COVID story. Jodi Ettenberg's health struggles pre-date the pandemic, but her philosophical approach to frailty and flightlessness has lessons for us all. Show notes: LegalNomads.com 12 Years of Legal Nomads post Jodi Ettenberg’s Instagram The story of her cerebrospinal fluid leak Why We Get Jet Lag… and 5 Tips for Making it Less Painful 2012 Q&A with Jodi Ettenberg on Roads & Kingdoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when a celebrated travel writer finds herself suddenly, inextricably homebound? This is not a COVID story. Jodi Ettenberg's health struggles pre-date the pandemic, but her philosophical approach to frailty and flightlessness has lessons for us all. Show notes: LegalNomads.com 12 Years of Legal Nomads post Jodi Ettenberg’s Instagram The story of her cerebrospinal fluid leak Why We Get Jet Lag… and 5 Tips for Making it Less Painful 2012 Q&A with Jodi Ettenberg on Roads & Kingdoms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This time, Cathi Bond talks about subscription fee creep, where inch by inch your monthly subscriptions are piling up. Here's Gizmodo's interesting take. How about you? Do you find the number of services you're subscribed to creeping up? Meanwhile, Nora Young talks about this lovely and helpful post over at Legal Nomads. It's a curated 10 week introduction to meditation, that gives you a taste of a number of mainstream meditation approaches, so you can see what works for you. And, are you having a bad day? Could you use a little sweetness in your life? Check out these Swiss cat ladders over at Core 77!

  Today's guest is Jodi Ettenberg. Jodi has an amazing story.  I met her about five years ago at a conference for location and dependent entrepreneurs in Bangkok, Thailand. Everything that she has done up to that point and since has been very, very impressive. I'm excited to have her on the show.  She left behind a profitable, lucrative career in law to take a one year sabbatical that transformed into an accidental business that would change the course of her life forever. We're going to hear all about that today. I also have a really deep admiration for Jodi, that she spent the last 10 years traveling the world, exploring new foods, and putting together incredible content based on it. She's recently run into some health challenges and had a very critical operation go wrong about a year ago. She hints at this story a little bit in the interview, and I'm going to include some links where you can learn more about her story and what she's been going through.     What You Will Learn On This Episode The Appropriate Times to Monetize  The Journey of a Legal Nomad The Art of Facing Your Fears Accidental entrepreneurship: Finding Your Calling   Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode Legal Nomads The Legal Nomads Shop  Instagram Facebook Twitter Cure by Jo Marchant Spinal Tap Story Celiac Cards Shop Food Maps   Transcription Kyle Gray: Hello, and welcome to The Story Engine podcast. My name is Kyle Gray, and today on the show, we have Jodi Ettenberg. Jodi has an amazing story. I met her about five years ago at a conference for location and dependent entrepreneurs in Bangkok, Thailand, and everything that she had done up to that point and has done since then has been very, very impressive, so I'm excited to have her on the show. She left behind a profitable, lucrative career in law to take a one year sabbatical that transformed into an accidental business that would change the course of her life forever. We're going to hear all about that today.   Kyle Gray: I also have a really deep admiration for Jodi, that she spent the last 10 years traveling the world, exploring new foods, and putting together incredible content based on it. She's recently run into some health challenges and had a very critical operation go wrong about a year ago. She hints at this story a little bit in the interview, and I'm going to include some links where you can learn more about her story and what she's been going through. But I just have so much admiration for the strength and courage that has brought her to this point. So without any further ado, let's hand it over to Jodi.   Kyle Gray: Jodi Ettenberg, thank you so much for joining me on The Story Engine podcast today. I am so excited, because I've known you and admire what you have been building and creating for a long time, so it's really exciting to get a chance to chat with you today.   Jodi Ettenberg: Thank you. It's my pleasure to be here.   Kyle Gray: So Jodi, I want to introduce you properly to the audience, and the way I love to do that is by asking you this question. Can you tell me about a time or a moment in your life that's defined who you are and how you're making an impact in the world today?   Jodi Ettenberg: Oh, that is a very good question. I think the most important point for the trajectory I've taken was probably when I gave notice at my law firm and quit my job to take what I thought would be a one year sabbatical and travel around the world. I remember shaking I was so nervous to give notice, thinking that this was sort of this wide open nothingness before me, and I had no idea what would happen next. But in all of the options I thought of, staying and traveling and building a different career outside the law was never even on my radar. And so I definitely think that's one of the big points in my life that changed everything going forward.   Kyle Gray: And tell us what happened. So you mentioned you thought this was a one year sabbatical. What were you doing? What were you up to, and how did it become not that?   Jodi Ettenberg: Right. So I went to law school in Canada, and I applied when I was actually 18. And I got in, and so I started law school quite young. And I never really wanted to be a lawyer. People I see in my family really wanted me to be one, or there was some sort of other influence. But the reality is, they thought I was nuts for going to law school really young. And Quebec has a system where they take some people straight out of CEGEP, which is grades 12 and 13, and put them in with everyone else who, like in the States, has done a three year or an undergraduate degree or master's or whatever, and then applies to law school. So I was very, very young. I remember my first day of school someone telling me to go back to high school where I belonged, which did not start things off on the right foot. And they also told me never apply for a job in New York because you'll never get one.   Jodi Ettenberg: And to me, I figured going to law school would be a great education. It was at McGill University in Montreal. It's a wonderful school, and it would teach me how to think in a different way that must be useful I thought. Tuition in Canada, much lower than in the States, so I could afford to make this kind of obnoxious decision to go on a bet. And when I got a job offer at a firm in New York, I figured I would work for a few years and then take a sabbatical to do something I always wanted to do, which was to visit Siberia. And that was sort of percolating in the background for many, many years after seeing a documentary about the Trans-Siberian trains when I was younger. And over the years, as I was working, it sort of grew into, "Well maybe it's not just Siberia. What if it's a round the world trip?"   Jodi Ettenberg: At the time, there were very few travel bloggers. I didn't know what that was. There was just a site that I followed, it was three women who quit their jobs in New York to do a round the world trip. And I decided this would be something that I also wanted to do and I basically saved up money while everyone else thought about more, I would say, adult things to do. Buying a house, settling down. I was excited to put money aside for this big trip that I was slowly putting together.   Kyle Gray: And so this trip became the foundation for your blog, Legal Nomads.   Jodi Ettenberg: My accidental, yes, my accidental entrepreneurship is what I used to say.   Kyle Gray: Really?   Jodi Ettenberg: Yes. My blog, Legal Nomads, was not started with anything other than a place to share stories for my friends and family and my former clients. The S in Legal Nomads was another lawyer. So I worked in New York for about five and a half years as a corporate lawyer, and I met, on one of the last deals I worked on, this opposing counsel, and she and I ended up grabbing dinner with someone else on the deal team and we talked about travel. And I said, "You know, I'm really thinking of a longer trip," and she was too. And so we actually started out together, and the S was her in Legal Nomads. So it was two lawyers. Our original slogan was, "Two lawyers, one world," which was a terrible, "Two girls, one cup," joke. And we basically just figured we'd share what was going on for the people that loved us and thought we were nuts for leaving the law and doing something quite extreme.   Kyle Gray: So when you created this, you were out on your journey, and you're accidentally falling into entrepreneurship. Was it a one year sabbatical at first, and you were like, "This is what this looks like," and at what point did it become something else?   Jodi Ettenberg: So she did what we both planned to do, which was to take one year and then go back to the law. She works in-house. She had several jobs after. It's been now quite a few years. I left in 2008. And she actually said she was not surprised that I never went back. I was, but she said she saw it coming. Essentially, I started out on Blogspot. I traveled with no smartphone. Well, I had my Blackberry still for the first year. Once a lawyer, you have your Blackberry with you at all times. And I would just stop at internet cafes with her and we would write updates, and we had different posts. We'd alternate.   Jodi Ettenberg: We split up because I got quite sick and I had to take some time to recover. And she kept going on the plan that we had sort of put together on an open track ticket. And I got to Asia and through the trains, through my beloved Siberia trip, and went through Siberia and into Mongolia and then came into China through Erlian and I just figured out that I wanted to stay as much as I could in Asia. And at the same time, I realized I had very much over budgeted for this trip. I had never really spent the time traveling in developing countries. I didn't eat street food much before. I wasn't in countries that had too much of it. And I also truly had no access to the kind of budgets and spreadsheets that are really readily available on the internet today. It was much less of it at that point.   Jodi Ettenberg: So we sort of made this rough budget based on this average of daily spend, and when I got to Asia and southeast Asia, I realized I was very much over budget and I could continue for longer than I realized. And as I kept doing that, what happened is I started writing on the site. Jess went back to the job. She wanted to continue as a lawyer. I kept writing, and with her blessing, took over the site, although I kept the S. I probably should have changed to the Legal Nomad at that point. And what happened is I was living in Bangkok for some time and was offered to write for CNN Travel, which was then CNNGo, to start doing some freelance work for them based on some pieces I wrote on my blog about Myanmar. And it was probably the first time I really thought, "Wait a minute. I can get paid to do the work that I'm already really enjoying doing," that wasn't work, right? It was just me sharing because I really enjoyed it.   Jodi Ettenberg: And at that point, the blog had been voted best new travel blog for what was very few travel blogs out there at the time. And so it was kind of gathering its own readership. And from that point, I basically moved onto WordPress and started treating it more like a business. I actually picked up a laptop, for example, which I didn't have before. I got one I remember in Kuala Lumpur going to the electronic supplies and being like, "I should get a laptop because I'm going to actually think of this differently now." So it really was serendipitous, it was organic, it was I think very lovely. I look back on it thinking I was pretty naïve about it, but in that it never occurred to me to think of this as a springboard for something board. But I loved so much the act of writing. I enjoyed storytelling. I just was enthralled with this idea that through communicating different aspects of these countries, people could think differently about them and the fact that it wasn't just my mom reading any more was a shock to me.   Kyle Gray: When you started getting some of that first feedback from your audience or listeners and readers, how did you start to define, "Okay, this is really my voice and this is the message," or, "I'm a great writer and so I'm going to really focus here." How did you find the style within that really started to connect with people?   Jodi Ettenberg: It's a great question. I don't think I ever felt like I was a great writer. I think as a writer, it's always important to keep learning and honing your craft as much as you can. Most of the writers I know have some sort of imposter syndrome going on. I mean, not from that perspective, but I did feel really great about this idea that there was maybe something here that could be an act of creativity. When people asked why I quit my job as a lawyer, I would say that the kind of private practice I was in, I didn't like what it did for my brain. You're being paid to catastrophize. You're being paid to mitigate catastrophe ahead of time. And now knowing what we know about the science of story, about the brain and neural pathways, that's really encoding some negativity in there. And being paid to do it didn't make that any healthier for your brain.   Jodi Ettenberg: So from my perspective, to have this real joy about what I was doing was exciting enough that I never had the kind of sit down and write out a goal in terms of my messaging. It was, "Whatever I do, I'm going to maintain the integrity that I feel is important as a reader." And that was probably the most important constant throughout the years as my writing has changed, as my destinations have changed, and my story has kept going as we all do by living. It really, the aspect of integrity and respect for whatever readers, be them two readers or 20 or 2,000 or whatever, 20,000, it was a matter of, "I'm not going to take sponsored text links. I'm not going to take advertising on my site. I'm going to use the blog as almost a CV for what I love, and look to other ways to make money."   Jodi Ettenberg: I think the most important thing for me from the get-go was if I ever built out a community, which thankfully and amazingly to me I did, which at this point is bigger and more wonderful and more so than I ever anticipated. I never wanted to offer them something for sale first that wasn't from me. And so the first thing I really sold to my audience was my own book, and that was important to me from the very beginning, possibly because I spent quite a few years working in advertising law. So I was just like, "I'm out." Maybe that's where it came from. But I really wanted to start with what I felt was important at a time where the few travel blogs out there were very much taking sponsored text links that really were not contextually accurate with the content they were putting out-   Jodi Ettenberg: And so it stood out.   Kyle Gray: That's a real challenge to be able to hold to your values, to be able to be so clear on what it is that you're doing, that some of these things like, yeah, sponsored links, or yeah, lots of other different products or different ways to try and sell things or monetize your content.   Jodi Ettenberg: And there's nothing wrong with monetizing content, right? I mean, your podcast is speaking to that audience in part. What's wrong, what I saw was wrong as the travel blogging industry evolved was that people were, I felt, monetizing content in ways that weren't really authentic or it wasn't organic to the content. And I preferred, if I had the privilege of having an audience to really be judicious about how I sold things. I was accused for sure at the beginning of being sort of snobby about it, but the way I saw it, I worked really hard as a lawyer to save up money and build this site that sort of was becoming a new business, and I wanted to be cautious, because there was no undoing a lack of caution on that front.   Kyle Gray: That's true, and I think it's very tempting to monetize too quickly or to attempt to do that too soon or like you were saying, in a way that's inauthentic. And things like with this podcast, for example, one of the most common questions I get is, "How are you monetizing it?" How are you monetizing your blog? And really, I see this as a platform to have great conversations with people and to connect with people like you. And there's certainly monetization pathways, but it's more of a creative outlet. And I see your work primarily coming from that. But as you were resisting these temptations Were you still able to kind of continue with your savings that you had? Or you mentioned you had put together a book. When did this blog become a business for you in its most authentic way?   Jodi Ettenberg: I would say probably around 2010, 2011. The book was published in 2012 I believe. I definitely looked through the industry and like you said, there are various different ways to sort of leverage the audience you have to be involved in the work you do, and it doesn't necessarily require a direct sell. I had put aside a certain amount for my trip, and I was committed to spending it in a way that I continue to do with my travels. And I said, "If I get to the end of that amount and the business hasn't turned into something sustainable, then I will go back." That was sort of the deal I made with myself. And the initial work that I got was through freelance writing, starting with CNN. I worked as well as a travel ambassador for a company. I had one ambassadorship, and it was a Canadian company that I would send, recommend to friends and family before they approached me, and it was a really good fit. And so I would do trips with them occasionally.   Jodi Ettenberg: But for the most part, the book and then public speaking and moving through different ways that I could fix pain points in my community became the way the business moved. So I would say 2011 was when I started doing public speaking. That was at the first World Domination Summit. And it was the first time I actually ever spoke in public to an audience like that.    Kyle Gray: That's a pretty big stage   Jodi Ettenberg: Oh yes, it was   Kyle Gray: Your first time speaking.   Jodi Ettenberg: Here's the fun part. Chris Guillebeau didn't ask me to be a keynote speaker. He asked if I could help with his conference, and I actually said this when I did the talk on stage because I was shaking like a leaf, my first public speaking endeavor, and I said, "Of course Chris, whatever you need. I'm happy to help." And he put me up as one of the keynotes. And it wasn't until other people were emailing me being like, "Jodi, why didn't you tell me about this?" And I was like, "What are you talking about?" And he like, "Well, you know, people are excited now, so are you going to back out?" And I was like, "No."   Kyle Gray: What a sneaker, Chris Guillebeau.   Jodi Ettenberg: So it was a sneaky move, I know. Beautiful move though, and frankly, that also really changed my life because as sick as I felt to my stomach, I threw up before I got on stage to give you an indication. I won most easily embarrassed in high school, so talking in front of 500 people, which was the first speech I did, was just not really in my wheelhouse. But I did basically use it as an opportunity to face something I was afraid of, which many of us are, which is public speaking, and I vowed to take any gigs that came my way in the coming year to try and get over this crippling fear. And I spoke I think at 12 different times in the next year and a half. I pretty much threw up for all of them, but that sort of ended the throwing up.    Kyle Gray: Not bad, alright.   Jodi Ettenberg: Got used to, yeah, so. Trial by fire. But I saw speaking as simply another extension of what I did with writing, which is, how can you affect change in the minds of the people that you're interacting with, and doing it in a true voice, be it podcasts or talking. It really is a different mechanism, and it's a wonderful way to affect change. And so it was important to me. I don't think of myself as just a writer, right? I just try and communicate, and that includes all of the media that that's available, and that includes speaking. So it was a tough year Kyle, but I'm excited that I was able to give it a shot.   Kyle Gray: I can imagine. And it's one of the most valuable and powerful and I think authentic ways to connect with people and to really get your message across.    Jodi Ettenberg: Yeah, I agree.   Kyle Gray: In front of people is worth hundreds of blog posts in some cases.   Jodi Ettenberg: Yeah, I would agree with that, very much so. And throughout the years, I started doing more keynotes. I started moving into talking about storytelling and how it affects the brain and speaking to groups of educators. It really has been a wonderful way to share messaging in a way I, again, I never anticipated, right? I didn't do litigation. I'm not going to court. That wasn't the kind of lawyer I was because I was terrified of speaking in front of people, so. I'm grateful for what it has helped me evolve as a person as well and not only get this messaging across, but from a very personal level, I'm very grateful for it.   Kyle Gray: So one of the things that's really powerful that you're exemplifying with this story is actually the power of kind of storytelling and your own identity and who you are and how that impacts your brain and the possibilities you see, the opportunities you see. Can you share with me, alongside this going from very timid to keynote speaker, what are some of the other transformations in your story and your perspective and your identity that you underwent, had to undergo, as a result of growing Legal Nomads and accidentally becoming an entrepreneur?   Jodi Ettenberg: I think that it's really remarkable, right, how business can affect change through story, and that's part of why you do what you do. From a personal level, the biggest changes were probably this pathological compulsion to face the things I was afraid of, not just the public speaking. But I almost drowned as a kid, and so sailing in open water was something that terrified me. And so I took a multi-day sailing course in New Zealand, and I wrote about fear and neurobiology of fear and how our nervous system takes over when we do things that we're phobic of. I tried to use the personal evolution as something to write about that people could feel understood by perhaps, hopefully, right? If their comments are any indication, then yes.   Jodi Ettenberg: And for me and the journey that I've taken, I don't think I ever would have thought of myself as brave or fearless growing up. I was quite shy, and I look back on the last 15 years and the choices I've made, and I think I am the same person I was, but I definitely feel prouder of how I've confronted the things that I'm afraid of. And it's hard to do that for anyone in life, right? It's not easy. When I quit my job to travel, it wasn't easy. And I remember laying in bed in New York thinking, "What, am I just insane? What if I arrive somewhere and I don't have anywhere to stay, or don't speak the language?" All the normal fears that everyone has. But like anything, by slowly confronting in a compassionate way, I think I've evolved as a person the way we all do as we get older. But I look back on the trajectory, and I'm sort of astounded that I was able to do it based on how shy I felt growing up.   Kyle Gray: That's really, really cool. You've mentioned a couple of times your study of the brain and storytelling and how they interact, and I would love to know some of the most interesting or useful things you've learned in your studies, or maybe something that with your clients or your community that you've mentioned that is some of the most useful for that.   Jodi Ettenberg: I think there are wonderful studies that really go into using FMRI machines, how our brains can be tricked by really good stories into actually thinking we're going through actions that we're not taking. We're just reading about them. A good, good narrative has the ability to put our entire brains to work and really pushes the confines of what we know is possible in how we interact with things, taking, inspired, let's say, by Humans of New York. A lot of us have followed his amazing feed and allowing storytelling to affect change, storytelling to bridge gaps between understanding of where we are and where others are. How I've used that in my work is less important than how it's just asking people to do the same.   Jodi Ettenberg: A 10 list can just be us explaining to them, or it can be this illumination of what we take as this universal truth, that we're all more connected than we realize. And in the context of travel, which was the world I really was in, that travel can change lives by doing that, by showing that connectedness from disparate points in the world in ways that we never really thought possible.   Kyle Gray: That's beautiful. I believe we met in Bangkok.   Jodi Ettenberg: Mm-hmm (affirmative), yeah.   Kyle Gray: At a conference there. But I agree with you on that. I'm just really feeling your statement there, because yeah, traveling to me, yeah, definitely brought forward and showed me just yeah, that humanity everywhere.   Jodi Ettenberg: Yeah   Kyle Gray: And within everyone.   Jodi Ettenberg: A lot of the keynotes I gave were to travel writers and photographers, and I would try and speak to encourage them to include a concerted effort that of narratives elements that were important to build sort of a remarkable business that was sustainable online. So on the one hand, that's the stories that affect change and create this kind of emotional response in readers and in your community and allows your readers to reframe the way that they see the world. And in another, much like I'm sure you've discussed on this podcast and in general, it includes the narrative loops in your own life, in your own business, that your community can seize upon and sort of amplify and encourage that helps you stand apart.   Jodi Ettenberg: My readers all know that I hate olives because I hate olives, but also because there was this ongoing problem where everyone kept trying to feed me olives and find the one olive that I would love. It's something innocuous and small, but I get tagged in hundreds of olive photos over the years. When anyone sees a group of olives, I don't think there's an official, like a murder of crows. But someone sees olives in a supermarket or on their travels, something so small, right? But people associated it with me.   Jodi Ettenberg: Same with the soup. I've written and talked a lot about soup as a gateway to understanding food and culture. People sent me photos of their soup over the years and their recipes.  Not everything needs to be leveraged into a monetization opportunity. There is and there may be, or down the pipe, a way that those things can turn into something more. But even just have that foundation of connection with the community. I was gleeful at the amount of interaction, and I didn't set breadcrumbs necessarily on purpose at the beginning, but when I saw just how interactive things became, it really formulated part of how I continued to write, because it was that beautiful exchange. It wasn't just a megaphone. There was a back and forth, and part of that included the parts of my story that they, my community felt they could seize and amplify themselves.   Kyle Gray: See, that's funny, and I think a lot of the things that I try and bring out of the people I work with is, just those funny little quirks. It's hard to stand out, to be whatever you're doing. I'm the best coach or service or expert out there on anything. Because I will happily join you on the no olives, please train.   Jodi Ettenberg: Sweet.   Kyle Gray: Or, yeah.   Jodi Ettenberg: Wonderful.   Kyle Gray: I'm with you on that. But those are the little things, those are the little details that help connect us. And finding those and sharing those and creating that deeper, funnier, more personal connection with people is really I think the magic and the-   Jodi Ettenberg: Yeah, for sure.   Kyle Gray: That we all are really going for and yeah, trying to create. Another key element that I see along with transforming your story, which can be an uncomfortable and uncertain process, is on the path, a lot of us have to make investments of one kind or another, maybe time, maybe energy, sometimes money, that at the time when we set out to do it, it's scary. You feel like a sink in your stomach and then you have to go. You make the move. But it turns out to be a really good investment for you, for your growth, for your business. Do you have any examples of that in your own path?   Jodi Ettenberg: Sure. I think way back when, when I was still on Blogspot, moving to WordPress and then hiring someone to help build a site. I didn't even really know what WordPress was at the time. That was a big investment back at a time where I had no real business yet, right? It was just my Jodi eats the world narrative. And that sort of felt like it could be a huge waste of my time and energy and money. But I wanted to give a fair shot to what I was excited to build. I think it's the same for big infrastructure builds.   Jodi Ettenberg: I have a Shopify store for maps of food that I had drawn. I didn't personally draw, I designed them and drew them so terribly that when the artist I did hire said, "I can see why you hired me to actually ink them." She's lovely, she was just like, "I get it." And so building a Shopify store for me was a big investment, not knowing if there was as much of a market as I had hoped for the products that I was building, that they were unique. They were one-of-a-kind, and I felt passionate about it.   Jodi Ettenberg: And then I think as a writer as well, investing in the craft is very important, and good writing workshops don't come cheaply. But they're very important, because that is the tool, right, the big tool that I've used the most, writing, and speaking. And it's a really invaluable amount of instruction. So I think the investments come at a time where you've hit your kind of leverage point. You're like, "I can't do this myself. I need an expert, and I am going to pay for that expert." And those are the big investments, regardless of what part of your business that looks like.   Kyle Gray: Absolutely. And yeah, the writing workshops inspires me. I haven't invested in a workshop around that skill recently, but I can see a lot of value in continuously developing and honing and maybe even developing parallel kind of skills of the craft. I've started practicing writing a little bit of fiction, just as a challenge, or just as something a little bit different to inspire different creative parts of my mind, and hopefully improve new areas of business.   Jodi Ettenberg: Yeah, I think that's great, the creative spark that comes from that, right, when you're really indulging in a part of your brain that you're not usually activating. You don't really know what emerges, and oftentimes it's something really wonderful that comes back later and connects beautifully to something you've already put together, or just a new project that emerges out of that instruction. I'm very suspicious of writers who say, "I don't need to learn more," because I think we're always learning. That to me was the best part of what I did when people say, "What are you doing?" And I was like, "I'm being paid to learn as much as I can every single day," and how insanely beautiful is that? And how wonderful of an existence is that, that I have the privilege of building a business that allows me to suck up information-   Kyle Gray: Absolutely.   Jodi Ettenberg: And then put it out into the world and somehow, it connects with people. It's just, it's been an honor, truly, to have a community, and one that's super engaged. And I know we haven't touched on my current situation, but for those listening, at the moment, I've been on bedrest for quite some time. I had a medical procedure go awry, and sort of stopped my life, my nomad life, in its tracks after 10 years. And my community and how incredible they've been, how supportive they've been, the amount of emails I received where people wrote me when this first happened to explain how my writing changed something for them was just astounding and the sort of feedback we don't often get when we're alive. It's the thing eulogies are made of. And to get sort of this living eulogy, for me, I was thrilled with the business I built. I loved what I did. I was just always looking for ways to fix problems my readers had and make that part of my business.   Jodi Ettenberg: I'm celiac, so I would get sick when I traveled using translation cards that were available. And so I started building my own that were more detailed than what was out there using local food names and going through two rigorous translations, because it was something my readers struggled with, not just me. So to have this kind of digestible feedback from my community saying, "We appreciate what you've done," was just really amazing and humbling.   Kyle Gray: That's beautiful. I have to remark on the excellent word choice of digestible feedback in that specific context. Jodi, it's so inspiring to hear your story and how it's unfolded, and it brings a huge smile to my face to see the community that you've built and that you've created over many years. And yeah, honing yourself, honing your craft, improving, challenging yourself, and see if come forward and continue to support you and as your story develops and unfolds. Thank you so much for joining me. I want to, if you have a closing through to share with us, and then let us know where we can connect with you and learn from you.   Jodi Ettenberg: Sure. I think I'd close by saying, you had asked at the beginning whether I wanted to chat about what was going on now, and I mention it because I think one of the biggest continuous sets of questions I receive is from either lawyers or other professionals seeking to travel and afraid to take that leap. And I always say, "You should figure out what skills you've got, figure out your plan B if this doesn't work out." Not just to blindly jump into the void. But to have then watched my life shift in the way it has where right now, I'm not capable of really working or walking or traveling, I'm so grateful that I did what I did. And life really does change in an instant, but to have built a location independent business as well has been a huge, amazing thing, because my business keeps running, parts of it. A lot of it cannot, but parts of it keep running. The celiac cards keep selling, my food maps keep selling. And I set it up that way based on the kinds of principles that you and I have learned in entrepreneurship.   Jodi Ettenberg: And generally, I think if someone is really wondering whether there's something that can bring them more fulfillment in their work, it's important to sit down and think about, if life changes tomorrow, will you be happy with what you've done? And that's a question that I had to reckon with unfortunately, but I was so grateful that when I looked back at the last 10 years of life and then my legal career before that, I don't have any regrets.   Kyle Gray: That's so beautiful, and it leaves me both inspired to continue to live my best life, but also feel really grateful for my own path and my own journey, and I really appreciate that.   Jodi Ettenberg: Thank you. It's a privilege, right? I acknowledge and want to make that clear, that it is a privilege to be able to make those choices.   Kyle Gray: Absolutely.   Jodi Ettenberg: I didn't have the school debt. If you have the privilege and the ability to make those choices, then that is a question that you absolutely need to be asking yourself.   Kyle Gray: Definitely. So, and Jodi, tell us where we can find you, connect with you, and check out some of these awesome food maps.   Jodi Ettenberg: Sure. So the web site as you said is Legal Nomads, and that's just legalnomads.com. The shop is shop.legalnomads.com, or it's on the home page of my site. And I'm on that same name, Legal Nomads, on Instagram. I use Twitter the most these days, because I'm reading a lot since I'm on bedrest, and Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook of the same name.   Kyle Gray: Any book recommendations since you've been reading a lot?   Jodi Ettenberg: I just read a book called Cure, which is by Jo Marchant, and it's about mind body medicine. She's a scientist from the U.K., goes into how we can manipulate our immune system using conditioning and things like drinking a very strange-tasting liquid while listening to the same song, and then taking a medicine that you're taking to eventually train your immune system in ways that we never thought possible. And so it's sort of fascinating forefront of mind body medicine, and I really enjoyed it.   Kyle Gray: Awesome. Well thank you, and I do want to check that out myself. Jodi, this has been an inspirational, very fun, and just an excellent interview, and I want to thank you again for joining us on The Story Engine podcast today.   Jodi Ettenberg: Thank you so much for having me.   Kyle Gray: Thanks for listening to the Story Engine Podcast. Be sure to check out the show notes and resources mentioned on this episode and every other episode at thestoryengine.co. If you're looking to learn more about how to use storytelling to grow your business, then check out my new book, Selling With Story: How to Use Storytelling to Become an Authority, Boost Sales, and Win the Hearts and Minds of Your Audience. This book will equip you with actionable strategies and templates to help you share your unique value and build trust in presentations, sales, and conversations, both online and offline. Learn more at sellingwithstory.co. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.

Jodi Ettenberg is a Canadian ex-lawyer who later discovered her passion in the world of food and travel. On her award-winning website, Legal Nomads, she’s helped people all over the world to explore the world around them, not with fear and suspicion, but with open-minded curiosity and compassion. Jodi’s writing has been recognized by the world’s top online publications such as the New York Times, BBC, National Geographic, The Guardian, CNN, and Bloomberg. A decade later, because of a crazy unfortunate turn of events involving a spinal tap, Jodi is left wondering if she’ll ever be able to live her life of food and travel ever again. In this conversation with Branden Harvey, Jodi shares her wildly heartbreaking and powerful story for the first time on a podcast since the turn of events that changed her life forever. soundsgoodpodcast.com/jodi

Chris Guillebeau, Jordan Harbinger, Jodi Ettenberg, Sarah Knight, Joe Di Stefano and our very own Matt Wilson come together for this week's compilation episode on travel.   Chris Guillebeau is a New York Times Bestselling Author and he shares strategies to start your Side Hustle and ways to make money on the side and travel. Chris is a writer, traveler, entrepreneur, and the author of the new book Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days. Jordan Harbinger has always had an affinity for Social Influence, Interpersonal Dynamics and Social Engineering, helping private companies test the security of their communications systems and working with law enforcement agencies before he was even old enough to drive. Jordan has spent several years abroad in Europe and the developing world, including South America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and speaks several languages. He also hosts the Jordan Harbinger Show, one of the top personal development and business podcasts on the air today. Sarah Knight is the internationally bestselling author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck,” which has been translated into eighteen languages and counting and has hit bestseller lists all over the world. She has also written “How to Get Your Shit Together” and her latest book “You Do You” was released in November 2017. Jodi Ettenberg founded Legal Nomads in April 2008 to document her long form travel writing and photography, after working as a lawyer for several years. In subsequent years, the site has won multiple awards and her business has expanded to include a book about food, celiac translation cards, public speaking, consulting work in social media and branding, and an eCommerce store featuring hand-drawn maps of food. Joe Di Stefano, CSCS, RKC – “Joe D.I.” as he is referred, is an international speaker, fitness expert, entrepreneur and coach. Joe is the Director of Sport at Spartan Race, the world’s leading obstacle racing organization. He is also the Founder of RUNGA, an off-the-grid experience designed to educate people on health and fitness, and connect them with their full potential. Matt Wilson is Adventurer and Co-founder of the travel company Under30Experiences. In just a few short years U30X has grown to 15+ countries worldwide and 30+ local communities throughout the USA and Canada. Matt is also the Co-Founder of Under30CEO (Acquired 2016) and the Host of the Live Different Podcast and has 40+ Five Star iTunes Ratings on Business, Travel, Health and Performance. He brings a unique, uncensored approach to his interviews and writing. His work is published on Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Reuters, and is part of the invite-only Young Entrepreneurs' Council (YEC) comprised of the world's most successful entrepreneurs 40 and younger.     Our episode today is all about travel... We are sharing some of our favorite clips from digital nomads, world travelers, and other travel experts on topics like how to avoid kidnapping, what it’s like to move from New York City to the Dominican Republic, and learning experiences from visiting every country in the world.   We went back into the archives and dug up a few excellent episodes that highlight some special travel stories and pieces of advice and we put them all together for you in today’s episode!   You will hear from authors, world travelers, bloggers, and more in this week’s episode of the Live Different podcast.

Jodi Ettenberg founded Legal Nomads in April 2008 to document her longform travel writing and photography. In subsequent years, the site has won multiple awards and her business has expanded to include a book about food, celiac translation cards, public speaking, consulting work in social media and branding, and an eCommerce store featuring hand-drawn maps of food.   Our episode today is all about finding authentic experiences through travel and connections with others. Jodi has had quite the journey from corporate attorney to food travel blogger.   Jodi shares advice on how to never be bored, finding your lens to view the world and your travels, and tips to get started with meditation.   Jodi leaves listeners with the advice, “Every place has things that make it interesting. Explore your own backyard.”   Get the full article on the Under30Experiences Blog.

Rosiane Houngbo Monteverde est expat au Royaume de Bahreïn entre les Emirats Arabes Unis et le Qatar. Après une intense vie d'avocate à Paris, Rosiane a décidé de suivre son époux  à l'étranger. L'expatriation lui a permis de réaliser son rêve: ouvrir son cabinet d'avocats. Quels sont les défis qu'elle a relevés pour réaliser son projet et devenir entrepreneur ? Vivre au Bahreïn, c'est comment ? Ecoutez l'épisode pour le savoir ! Pour soutenir le podcast, RDV sur https://www.tipeee.com/expat-heroes. QUESTIONS: 1. Chaque mois, j’interroge des français a travers le monde pour connaitre leurs projets en expatriation. Pour toi ça a été la création de ton cabinet Legal Nomads au service des expatriés. Quels sont les services que tu proposes ? [01:23] 2. Avant de partir en expat, tu étais avocate a Paris. Tu as pourtant décidé de suivre ton mari a Bahreïn. Qu'est ce qui vous a décidé a partir ? [02:10] 3. Te retrouver en expatriation a Bahreïn a été finalement une opportunité pour te lancer dans cette aventure entrepreneuriale. Fonder ton entreprise n’a pourtant pas été une évidence tout de suite. Tu as d’abord cherche du travail a Bahreïn. Tu as rejoint un cabinet d’affaires dans l’immobilier et donné des cours à l’alliance française. Quand as-tu eu le déclic pour te lancer et fonder ta structure ? [03:15] 4. Quels sont les défis que tu as relevés pour créer ton entreprise ? [07:27] 5. Selon toi, qu'est-ce qui est plus difficile a vivre et le plus facile a mettre en place quand on devient entrepreneur ? [08:42] 6. Ton entreprise va fêter ses 2 ans. L'objectif est de pérenniser et de développer ton activité. C'est un vrai challenge. Comment vois-tu ton entreprise dans 10 ans ? [12:48] 7. Tu as créé ta structure a Bahreïn en t'associant à un partenaire local. En tant que conjoint d'expat, quel visa as-tu ? [13:39] 8. L'arrivée dans un pays ca peut être parfois déprimant. Tu me disais en préparant l'émission que tu avais été au contraire enchantée par Bahreïn. Qu'est-ce qui t'a le plus étonnée en arrivant à Bahreïn ? Est-ce que tu as une image forte ou une anecdote à nous raconter ? [18:00] 9. La constitution bahreïnienne dispose que l’islam est la religion d’Etat et que la charia est l’une des sources du droit, tout en garantissant la liberté de croyance. La majorité de la population est musulmane. Il y a des attitudes à respecter. Comment ça se traduit au quotidien ? [19:22] 10. Est-ce qu'il y a une communauté importante de français a Bahreïn ? [21:23] 11. Parfois, on retrouve les expatriés regroupés par quartier. Est-ce que la communauté française vit dans un quartier en particulier à Bahreïn ? [22:02] 12. Pour tous ceux qui viennent s’installer et ont des enfants, quelles sont les possibilités de scolarisation, y a-t-il une école française ou même un lycée français ? Est-ce qu'il y a des structures internationales ? [23:38] 13. J'ai lu que le secteur touristique et bancaire étaient très développés. Quelles entreprises francaises sont présentes à Bahreïn ? Quels conseils tu donnerais a un conjoint d'expat qui recherche du travail à Bahreïn ? [24:32] 14. Ou alors pour le conjoint suiveur qui ne trouve pas de travail, il ou elle peut monter son activité, comme tu l'as fait. Un dernier mot à ceux qui ont Bahreïn dans leur short list pour une prochaine expat ? [27:14] Deux questions "surprise" (hyper intéressantes biensûr) se sont cachées car improvisées par Cristina... serez-vous les retrouver ?!   NOTES sur l'entrepreneuriat et sur Bahrein: "J'ai toujours eu comme projet d'avoir mon cabinet d'avocats. C'était juste une question de temps. Qu'est ce que je vais faire en expat, je vais me mettre à la coiffure...?! Finalement j'ai continué le droit c'est quelque chose qui me colle à la peau !" "Une double naissance: la naissance d'un enfant et la naissance d'un autre enfant professionnel et c'est probablement pas un hasard finalement !" "Il faut surtout s'écouter et se faire confiance. Par bienveillance,

Mike and Cam are excited to be joined by lawyer turned blogger Jodi Ettenberg. Jodi founded the site Legal Nomads, where she "tells stories through food." Jodi shares with us the painstaking process of how she developed her innovative celiac travel cards. We also learn about her fascinating life and adventures, including a culinary regret that she has involving a llama empanada. In addition she encourages all of us to not let our celiac disease hold us back when we travel, and shares some of her top travel tips!

Thinking of starting a portable business while living abroad and want to know more about the legal implications?  Don’t even know what kind of questions to ask?  Listen now to understand what you need to consider and research when launching your portable career as an expat spouse. Our guest today is Rosiane Houngbo-Monteverde, a French corporate Lawyer who built her career working for major companies before leaving France to join her husband in Bahrain.  There she managed to work for another major regional company. However, at the same time, she started realizing a real need for legal support for expats who build businesses away from their home base. This is what led her to launch her own company, named Legal Nomads (http://legal-nomads.com/) , a law firm for French expats abroad and foreign expats living in France. Business regulations can be very different from a country to another and even though Rosiane specializes in French law, she has worked in many international circumstances and companies.  She shares her experience and important legal advice for other expat partners who want to reinvent themselves and create their own portable careers. Highlights from the episode Rosiane describes her experience when she first moved abroad with her husband The need to embrace her complete identity and not solely defining it by her employment status Things to consider when launching a business abroad Know what questions to ask and find the right experts Countries to consider for setting up a company abroad when you’re constantly moving as an expat spouse How to protect your brand and trademark How to choose the right expert and lawyer to help you Legal considerations for starting a portable business abroad Visa status:  does your current visa allow you to launch a company? Location: consider where you are currently living but also where else you can set up your business Tax treaties: understand the tax implications Liability:  protect yourself and understand the laws in the country you live and where your business is registered Social care: starting a business may impact your insurance eligibility and social protection Trademark: local versus global registration E-commerce: where to implement your e-shop and the terms & conditions that apply to your business Contracts: protect yourself with a contract that has been created by a lawyer Really believe in what you are doing. It will help you through the tough times. Other Resources Visit the local Chamber of Commerce in the city you want to start your company Where to find Rosiane Website: Legal Nomads Law Firm  (http://legal-nomads.com/) Legal Nomads Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/LegalNomadscabinetdavocats/)   The legal aspects aren’t the only things to consider when setting up your business.  Listen to the episode 74 for the 6 rules to grow your portable business (https://tandemnomads.com/tn74-6-rules-grow-portable-business-amel-derragui/) .   Do you have any further questions?   Ask in the comments below or on the Tandem Nomads Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/tandemnomads/)

For years, modern day digital nomad Jodi Ettenberg had dreamed of....Siberia? After enough time spent in her corporate legal career, she took a 1-year sabbatical to make the journey across Russia's eastern taiga to satisfy an urge which began while watching an early documentary on the region when she was a child. 9 years later, her trip continues as she is still on the road (Oaxaca, Mexico at the time of this interview), exploring the world and it's many cultures and flavors. In this interview, learn how she went to law school "on a bet", has thrived as a celiac on the road, has built a thriving, and unconventional business - "Legal Nomads" - all from her laptop and has become one of the world's most sought after speakers on all things travel, entrepreneurship and, of course, food. Enjoy! The post OS8: Jodi Ettenberg – The Unending Adventures of a Lawyer Turned Traveler, Foodie, Speaker & Storyteller appeared first on Ownstream.

Bangkok has become a hub for digital nomads, bringing in a wave of talent and fresh ideas into the city. Those nomads in turn attract other nomads. But is that a good thing? Or even a real thing? Let’s find out. (Direct download .mp3) Thailand -- Bangkok & Chiang Mai specifically -- is a hotbed of digital nomadship. But before we get to that, we should probably define the term:   Defining - people who can work anywhere thanks to the internet. They take many format but they share two things in common: They aren’t doing the type of job that requires them to be at a specific location at specific time. And that freedom allows them to travel, either a little or a lot, without interrupting their income stream. Jodi Ettenberg of LegalNomads is a good example. And Evo tried his hand at it all of 2015. So what makes Bangkok so attractive to digital nomads? Some of is has to do with cost of living, though Bangkok isn’t nearly as cheap as it used to be. Having many Western conveniences coupled with the “charm” of Asian living doesn’t hurt. Reliable access to cheap mobile data (especially compared to the US, Canada, and Australia) is big pull. But watch out, would-be internet entrepreneurs. Just because Thailand makes it easy for you to visit -- no visa required for a lot of Western countries -- it doesn’t mean you have the legal right to earn income while you are here. In fact, it’s just the opposite of that. So before you decide to set up shop in a co-working space (that wave has hit The Big Mango as well), you’ll want to have a solid understanding of the work permit as not to run up afoul of immigration rules. The work you want to do maybe reserved for Thai-nationals only. And those are just some of the  legal, semi-legit, social, and economic considerations/temptations/realities foreigners face when doing business in Thailand. Should you move to Bangkok and become a digital nomad? Well… maybe. And if you listen to the episode, you’ll find out what we think about it. After all, we want to be good role models.Tell us what you think in the comments!

Episode 101: Ginger Kern is a transformational coach, TEDx speaker, a Fulbright alumna and the Curator of Global Shapers’ Boulder Hub. After working in Europe for over three years and traveling to 25 countries around the world by the age of 25, Ginger wanted to bring the ‘traveler’s mindset’ back to the United States. She saw that only 38% of Americans have their passport, she has since founded travelersmindset.com along with a non-profit called The Passport Project to change that stat. Through her transformative coaching and keynote speeches across the U.S., Ginger’s work creates adventurous people who are confident and powerful on the road and in their everyday lives. Show notes: What inspired Ginger to take her first trip abroad when she was 14 years old to Germany and Italy How to deal with frustrating situations abroad when you have language barriers The first time Ginger traveled completely alone (to Amsterdam!) How to trust your gut and set boundaries in situations that could be compromising The importance of knowing what's socially acceptable in different countries The time Ginger was followed at 3 AM in London and how she handled it The other time Ginger was taken down an alley in Bangkok by a cab driver, not sure of the situation she was entering (and what she did about it) How every country has their own beauty standards Why traveling has helped Ginger to love her own body even more LegalNomads.com >> a great food/travel blog How to be in a romantic relationship and feed your desire to travel at the same time (separate or together) Must-read book: The Anatomy of Peace Connect with Ginger: Traveling Website Traveling Facebook Coaching Website Travel Coaching Facebook Funds For Travel- Get 15% off by using this special code: travelgirl Travel Savvy eCourse: The Ultimate Guide to Traveling Abroad, Stress-Free- 30 easy-to-follow video lessons that will take you from fearful tourist to savvy globetrotter in 6 modules. Go to Europe with Ginger this fall! Click HERE [Tweet "Planning your next trip? Learn about solo female travel from @ginger_kern #mbmpodcast"] Become a patron of the show and donate as little as $1 HERE! Do you enjoy hearing more about traveling in the podcast? Let me know by commenting below, or share in the MBM Podcast Tribe Facebook Group!

Co-host and personal development expert, Kristen Knepper, speaks with Jodi Ettenberg, founder of the blog, Legal Nomads and author of The Food Traveler's Handbook. Learn how Jodi left corporate life for a one-year sabbatical that transformed into a career with Legal Nomads: a chronicle account of living and eating around the world. Jodi's is a candid story of the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, living abroad, and eating with Celiac disease. More at www.bemovingforward.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn @Bemovingforward The Corporate Cliches Adult Coloring Book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble online: Just go to Bit.ly/corporatecliches  

Jodi Ettenberg    It was wonderful having Jodi Ettenberg on the show.  She's an articulate, strong and fun woman who for 8 years has been successfully doing what many dream of: traveling the world, leaving a demanding job behind and making a living as a travel and food blog writer.    It all started with a planned year-long sabbatical to Siberia from her job as a lawyer.  Her intention had been to return to work, but after a year came and went, she realized that she had outgrown that path in life, and would prefer to remain on the road.     Her travel blog, Legal Nomads, was also starting to gain some traction.   She had initially started the blog so her mom back home could keep up to date with her adventures, but lo and behold, it caught on with people who loved her genuine and sincere personality.      8 years ago when Jodi started her journey, the travel blog space wasn't as saturated as it is now; growing a following was easier than it is today.  But she does have some advice for those who wish to live this lifestyle: Build skills. Figure out your goals, and build skillsets that will benefit you and put you on the path to those goals. Ask yourself:    “How can I get better at what I do so I can use it for my life's work?”    Her passion and commitment led Jodi to revenue streams that she never even had to pursue or seek out.  Freelance writing, books and public speaking gigs stemmed from people being attracted to her personality and authentic writing.  Equally important, Jodi cares about her brand so much that she  never puts anything out there that she isn't willing to stand behind, as she knows that the internet is forever.    We talk about the fact that even though Jodi has been all over the world, she prefers the city life most.  She feels at home in places like New York, Bangkok and Saigon.  The energy in these places is just fun and there's always so much going on.  “You can fall out of your front door and into an interesting situation immediately.”    One word of caution that Jodi wants to pass on to anyone interested in nomadic living,  is that travel doesn't fix any of your problems.  People often think that their problems will melt away as they travel and see the world.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Wherever you go, there you are, so if you don't work on fixing what's inside you, you'll just take your problems around the world.     “If you travel to escape darkness, it'll find you.”    Jodi has many exciting projects on the horizon.  She's currently developing detailed translation cards for many more countries to help people with celiac disease eat healthy as they travel.  She also has some exciting public speaking gigs coming up, including a speech on storytelling at a Denver conference.   And more food maps are on the way!    We chat about living a bold life and she tells me, being bold is unapologetically believing in something and educating people about how you've done it, but not being aggressive in how you do so.  Not shoving it down their throats.  Believe in yourself and do what you care about.  That's Jodi in a nutshell.    SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:  What advice would Jodi give to somebody who is intentionally creating a similar lifestyle?  How did she find and pursue her different revenue earning opportunities?  How does she nurture her incredible social media following?  What types of places does she like to live in?  How have her relationships been affected by a transient lifestyle?    IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:  The unlikely way that Jodi was able to turn her travel and food passions into profits  What keeps her inspired to write and continue her traveling lifestyle  How she manages her time and is able to accomplish so much  Which thought leaders and writers have been huge inspirations to her  Some of the big life lessons she's learned from her travels  Plus much more…    DON'T STOP HERE…  Learn more about Jodi and Legal Nomads: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter  Gluten Free Travel Guides: Website  Food Maps: Shop 

Jodi Ettenberg used to be a lawyer. She took a year off to travel 8 years ago, and never went back. Her blog, Legal Nomads, won a Lowell Thomas Award for best travel blog and has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, BBC Travel, CNN, and more. Legal Nomads is full of tips on packing, planning, and budgeting for travel, as well as beautiful hand-drawn typographic food maps and t-shirts, and guides and translation cards for eating gluten-free while traveling. Jodi has written a book called The Food Traveler's Handbook, which shows you how to find cheap, safe & delicious food anywhere in the world. This interview is full of wisdom on the benefits and challenges that come with a life of travel. Jodi is really insightful when it comes to recognizing how travel relates to all of human experience. If you're someone who has ever thought about making a big change Jodi did, or if you've ever struggled to be more minimal and have less stuff, you'll find this conversation especially inspiring and enlightening. You may notice that there are a TON of book recommendations in this interview. There are links in the show notes for all of the books Jodi mentions. Remember, if you buy through those links, you'll be supporting the show. Sponsors $50 off Pavlok http://kadavy.net/pavlok Free install of SumoMe http://kadavy.net/sumome Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/jodi-ettenberg-2/    

http://www.tropicalmba.com/oneforthewriters/ This week's episode is one for the writers, bloggers and creators. Dan and Ian have invited Jodi Ettenberg on to the show this week. Jodi is the author of a blog called LegalNomads.com, and she makes a full time living as a writer. She recently gave the closing address at the TBEX conference, where she talked about what it takes to make a living writing full time. You're going to hear why Jodi feels that strong narratives are so important, along with her views on the balance between making money, keeping your integrity and making great art. You'll also hear her thoughts on how travel writing might develop over the next few years.

If you search the internet for travel bloggers it won’t take you long to stumble across Jodi Ettenberg. Her website Legal Nomads regularly ranks highly on the list of world’s top travel bloggers and has featured in numerous publications since she hit the road back in 2008 after 5 years working as a lawyer in New York. Her long form story telling style of blog has gone against the grain of standard blogging practice but has won her a huge following amongst a loyal group of followers who appreciate the depth and insightfulness of the stories she shares.   Jodi’s travels aren’t without their challenges. As a celiac sufferer finding the right place to eat in a new town can be daunting. Her website includes useful advice and tips from those suffering from this disease or gluten intolerance generally and her attitude and spirit shows that you don’t need to let major health challenges stand in the road of being a fulltime travelers.   We caught up with Jodi in Chiang Mai where we discussed her attitude to blogging and how street food can be one of the best ways to monitor what you eat. You’ll find details of her stories and her food guide at her website www.legalnomads.com   What I learned from Jodi’s interview:   1. Jodi is absolutely right when it comes to travel blogging. You can rank well with posts about 10 best things to do in Penang but in reality you are only providing your readers with information they can gain elsewhere. If you’re serious about developing a blog then you need to inject some of yourself into the story and provide a perspective they would not find elsewhere. This will make you unique and draw a true following over time. Jodi writes long form blogs which her audience appreciates and it’s not unknown for her to write 5000 word posts or longer. Much like The Uncornered Market she has focused on quality over quantity.   2. Even if you suffer from food allergies or a reaction to certain foods it’s no reason to avoid travel. Jodi is a celiac which means certain foods can have an effect on her. She needs to spend more time researching where she will eat than most people but to a large extent she would still be having to do this even if she wasn’t on the road. She has gluten free food guides www.legalnomads.com/gluten-free on her website along with her book, The Food Traveler’s Handbook which is a great starting point for anyone suffering from gluten intolerance who is planning to travel.   3. She finds street food a great way to deal with her celiac condition. It’s difficult in a restaurant to see what’s going on in the kitchen but when it’s cooked fresh in front of you, there is a much better chance to control what you’re receiving. Street food, contrary to popular opinion, is often a good way to avoid general sickness as it enables you to see the general cleanliness and how quickly the food is being turned over.

Jodi is one of the first travel bloggers that I met when I first began my journey around the world. She also is one of my favorite travel bloggers. Not because bird poop loves her. No.. no… it’s because she is awesome.  One of the most genuine people I have met. What could be better [...] The post WT009: Legal Nomads with Jodi Ettenberg: Why life should be about soup. Lots of soup. appeared first on WanderingTrader.

Jodi is one of the first travel bloggers that I met when I first began my journey around the world. She also is one of my favorite travel bloggers. Not because bird poop loves her. No.. no… it's because she is awesome.  One of the most genuine people I have met. What could be better [...] The post WT009: Legal Nomads with Jodi Ettenberg: Why life should be about soup. Lots of soup. appeared first on WanderingTrader.

Food is an adventure. If you agree with that statement and want to explore a culture through its food but are worried about getting sick, listen to Jodi Ettenberg's advice on how to safely navigate the delicious back alleys of street food, anywhere in the world. As Jodi points out, "I've not found any other thing in travel that compels locals to want to interact with you as much as enthusiasm for their food... Street food, especially, affords this wonderful scene you get to watch. It's like slicing open a culture and then sitting and watching it unfold in front of you. It's really compelling." After saving up as a lawyer in New York City, Jodi Ettenberg took a career break to see the world for a year. Five years later, she has yet to return while manifesting what many would consider to be a dream career as a travel writer, eater, speaker, soup expert, and authority in street food at her website, Legal Nomads. Last year, she received just over one million views. I'm thrilled to welcome her on the show to talk about travel and its relationship to career transitions and, of course, street food. There are very few things that excite me more than street food. Listen to today's episode and hear Jodi's best advice about approaching street food safely and through a lens of culture, as well as her best travel advice in today's lightning round. Words from an Explorer: "I've not found any other thing in travel that compels locals to want to interact with you than enthusiasm for their food... Street food, especially." What You'll Learn: How street food can be the most authentic experience, food as a platform to soak up so much culture. Why street food is arguably safer than restaurant food, and how to identify signals that any food might not be safe. Jodi's Best Travel Advice: Taking the First Step: Do sufficient research for your destination, and address the concerns of your family, then book a tour. "There's nothing shameful about needing structure from someone else before you head off on your own." Money Saving Tip: Street food goes a long way, and can be as cheap as $1/meal. Check out travel hacking resources, or consider one-way open jaw trips and book budget options, local flights or buses to save on travel. Finding the Best Airfare: Skyscanner, Google Flights to search for flights. Then book directly with airlines. If you book with an aggregator, call up the airline, give them a confirmation number (and try to get your seat). Packing Tips: Jodi hates packing. Hates it! Here's her resources for packing lists and tips. Also, mail things! Favorite Internet Travel Tool or Resource: Subreddits for Vietnam and Travel. The Week's 10 Things You Need to Know Today. The Next Draft. Open Culture. Favorite Travel Book: Spice: The History of a Temptation (Vintage) Favorite Travel Gear: Doorstop, to wedge your door closed from the inside, to give you extra peace of mind. Weirdest Food: Chicken Pudding, in Turkey. And here's an American version. Links mentioned in this show: LegalNomads.com Jodi's series Thrillable Hours @legalnomads Jodi on Instagram Facebook.com/legalnomads Jodi's Food Tours at Jodieats.com Jodi's book, The Food Travelers Handbook Music Credit: Passion Pit - Moth's Wings (Artec Remix), Aaron Static - Intrepid Journey Like the show? I’d love a rating and review! Take action and please share the show! All you have to do is click one of the social sharing buttons at the top of this post. Also please leave a rating or review on iTunes! It just takes a second and you can help the show increase its rankings on iTunes just by this simple and quick gesture. If you do, click here to let me know so I can personally thank you! Thank you so much for your support! See you next time!

In this episode of Tips for Travellers I am joined by Jodi Ettenberg who runs LegalNomads.com, JodiEats and is also the author of "The Food Traveler's Handbook". She is an expert in travelling with food as a focus. She shares what inspired her to travel focused on food and how to make the most of it. She also gives advice and tips on food travel - including how to get the most out of it even if you have dietary issues and concerns. Jodi also talks about her food based tours that she runs in different places around the world. For more visit http://www.tipsfortravellers.com

A special live episode of This Week in Travel - Regular hosts Jen Leo and Chris Christensen are joined by this week's guests:Jodi Ettenberg from LegalNomads.comDavid Lytle from Fest300Dick Jordan from Tales Told from the RoadDon George from Gadling and Book Passage Travel Writing ConferenceSpud (and Ann) Hilton of the San Francisco Chronicle

This week's guest is Jodi Ettenberg from LegalNomads.comThis week's news:    Steve Jobs passing    North Korea to finally open 'world's worst' hotel    Thailand races to defend Bangkok from floods    Japan 'offers 10,000 free trips to foreigners'    Tourists warned 'all Kenya resorts at risk from attacks'    Charleston wins top Conde Nast Traveler awardThis week's tips:    Gary - Galapagos Islands    Jen - RVing tips flush toilet don't stand in pee    Jodi - Evernote

This Week's Guest: Kim Mance of TBEX and Galavanting.com Jodi Ettenberg of LegalNomads.com Worst Moments in Travel SmarterTravel.com Enhanced Pat Downs Ryanair takes people to wrong island….and leaves them there Spirit Air's "Oil on our Beaches Sale" Disguised Passenger Boards Plane, Changes Face American Airline's 'Your Choice' Seating Steven Slater, JetBlue Standup Seating Ryanair's Pay-Per-Pee Toilets Scheme Spirit's Pilot Strike Communication British Airways Accidentally Terrifies Passengers Spirit's Carry-on Bag Fee Is Good For You! Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Airline Survey Google Places blocked from using TripAdvisor reviews Shark kills German tourist at Egyptian resort Sorry for the delay we're having problems loading the cheetah, says Qantas Picks of the Week Gary - Instagr.am Chris - Friendly iPad App Kim - Hulu Plus Jodi - Safety whistle

This week's guests are Jodi Ettenberg of LegalNomads.com and Jessica Speigel of WhyGoItaly.com. This Week's News: Europe issued warning over A380 plane engine TripAdvisor slaps Red Badge on hotel for writing own reviews Odd Goings-On : Camelot Castle TripAdvisor Reviews Mt Everest now has cell phone service Hotel death undiscovered for two weeks: do not disturb Italian women face 500 euro fine for wearing miniskirts EU to Italy: Clean up Naples trash or face fines Traffic accidents are top killer of U.S. travelers abroad Gary - Kodak PlaySport Camera Chris - Tamron Lens 18-250mm Jessica - Naples, Italy Jodi - Lima, Peru

This week's guest is Jodi Ettenberg of LegalNomads.com   This Week's News   TBEX wrap up FDA report reveals airline food could pose health threat Summertime, and the maggots are easy Southwest Finds Shipment of Heads on a Plane Flight attendant helps land plane when first officer falls ill Luggage box an alternative to toting bags Baggage services now catering to budget travelers Virgin America Offers Free Flights to Twitter Influencers   Picks of the week   Gary - Gowalla.com Jen - HSBC Bank Account has travel insurance Jodi - Backupify.com Chris - iPhone 4 bumper

For our second interview, we are very happy to be joined by Jodi Ettenberg - lawyer, world traveler, riot survivor, political commentator, and fan of all things related to chowing down. Those of you in Bangkok have probably met Jodi, and if not you've likely read her tweets on Twitter, viewed her pictures on travel blogs and news sites, seen her speak about Bangkok's recent political troubles on various television stations, or read her Legal Nomads blog, where she chronicles her adventures over the past 2 years as she's traveled the world. We sit down with Jodi to hear about her trip, what it's like being a solo female traveler in the wide world, and why she left a lucrative career in New York to take third-world buses with chickens, visit refugees in prison, and get crapped on by birds the world over.