One Year of Badass Digital Nomads - Lessons and Reflections on a Fulfilling Life and Why We Travel

Sneak Peek:

Kristin:    00:00:00    Being a digital nomad can be a goal for some people. But more than that, I think being a digital nomad signals that you have found a way to live life on your own terms. And that usually includes spending your time, how you see fit, doing what you want to do for work. So earning an income through something by choice rather than feeling like you're forced to take a job just for a paycheck. And then it also means that you can work from anywhere and that you have the freedom to travel and see places that you want and meet new people and try new foods and learn about other cultures. And to achieve that, you really need a little bit of inspiration and information from all corners of of life.  

Introduction: Welcome to Badass Digital Nomads, where we're pushing the boundaries of remote work and travel, all while staying grounded with a little bit of old school philosophy, self-development, and business advice from our guests.

Kristin:  I'm your host Kristin Wilson, and in this 55th episode, I'm reflecting on a year of podcasting lessons learned and the importance of travel to our collective and individual sense of identity. At the end of the episode, I'll also share with you some podcast stats and insights and some of the most popular episodes to date, plus how you can keep your wanderlust alive right now, even while staying home.  

Kristin:    00:01:59    Today is Thursday, May 7th, around 12:00 PM and I'm sitting in Arch Creek Park, which I have just learned is an archeological site that has been around for hundreds of years. I'll tell you a little bit about the history of where I am right now. And I'm sitting under a giant tree. It's relatively cool outside side, but I have just slathered myself in essential oil bug repellent that the Florida mosquitoes seem to be immune to. And actually they might like it more than if I had not applied bug repellent. I'm not sure what that's about, but I'm sitting in this park on a round tablecloth under a tree with two old episodes of Conde Nas Traveler Magazine. I have the 2018 Reader's Choice Awards and the 2019 Gold List editor's, all time favorite destinations and places to stay. And I have been reading these old episodes of Conde Nast for the first time ever.  

Kristin:    00:03:28    I don't think I've ever read this magazine before, despite being a long term traveler. And to be honest, I find it kind of bougie. Um, I guess it's a luxury high-end travel magazine. But um, it's interesting, you know, they talk about places that you have to pay seven figures to go and visit these like super remote places or spend six figures to go to this exotic destination. And it's just mind boggling because you don't need really any money to travel. In fact, I traveled here today, had no idea this was here. I've been here for three months and within a five mile bike radius is an old archeological site that was traipsed through by the Seminole Indians and it was part of the war. Let me read the historical sign so I get it right for you guys.  

Kristin:    00:04:36    Um, Arch Creek Road Military Trail, the Arch Creek State archeological site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It contains a portion of the military trail, a wagon road, um, built during the third Seminole war, which was from 1855 to 1859. And this road was built by the US Army. This was part of a military trail that was used between Fort Dallas on the Miami River and Fort Lauderdale. And then it later became a portion of the very first county road crossing here in 1892, passing over the Natural bridge and Arch Creek, which I'll tell you about in a second. And in 1915 it was renamed the Dixie Highway. So this Arch Creek bridge was a 40 foot natural limestone bridge that was one of South Florida's earliest landmarks. Prehistoric Indians occupied this site for hundreds of years before European explorers arrived.  

Kristin:    00:05:53    And in the early 18 hundreds, the Seminole Indians lived in this area until they were forced out by US soldiers during the second Seminole war, which was from 1836 to 1842. And um, yeah, a community grew up around this area because it had a railroad station called the Florida East Coast Railroad Arch Creek Station. And um, in 1903, they opened the first post office here, which later became the North Miami Post Office. So I'm hanging out by myself in this park. I've only seen two other people, um, a father and his daughter, but I've seen a lot of little animals. Apparently there's a butterfly farm here, there's a ton of baby iguanas running around and um, lots of birds, probably some other stuff too, but it's really pretty. And you know, I was thinking it reminds me of so many places and that's what I wanna talk about today because next week is the one year anniversary of Badass Digital Nomads in podcast format.  

Kristin:    00:07:17    And so whenever we cross these seemingly arbitrary milestones in life, whether it's a wedding anniversary or a graduation or something retirement, it's always a good time to reflect and try to learn something <laugh> from this journey of life that we are all on. And so I've been thinking about what to talk about in this episode and my brain just felt really full, which is kind of weird because we are at least six weeks and maybe longer into seven weeks into the shutdown here. The great pause as it were. And for those of you who know me pretty well by now, you might not be surprised to learn that I have not paused yet. <laugh> I have, if anything else, I have accelerated more since this pandemic started for a variety of reasons.  

Kristin:    00:08:32    A few of them are, well, when this first happened and to this day, I felt a very great responsibility to try to rise to the occasion and rise to the challenge in every way possible. I wanted to see the bright side of things and see the silver lining. I wanted to help people and I wanted to do what I could to prevent the people who I know and the people who consume my content to prevent you guys from feeling bad or feeling down or feeling hopeless or depressed or despair. And so I took it upon myself to try to draw out any everything that was inside of me, any type of encouragement, any type of alternative perspective on the negativity of the situation.  

Kristin:    00:09:36    And, um, I don't know if I achieved that goal. <laugh>, this came through live streams. It came through videos, it came through writing, it came through podcasts, canceling podcasts, scheduling new ones, picking people to interview, reflecting on my own situation and perspective, giving out productivity tips, reading philosophy. Like I tried all of these things to try to help in this subjective, immeasurable way. And I don't know if it helped. I hope it did. But throughout the process, I forgot to pause. So in my neuroticism of trying not to squander this time, trying to use it wisely, trying to use it to improve my physical health and my mental health and my wellbeing and to try to support everybody around me virtually, um, I think I just forgot to rest. And so last night was a full moon and uh, my neighbor invited me to go paddle boarding at night under the full moon.  

Kristin:    00:10:58    And we went out for a couple hours from like 9:00 PM until 11:00 PM and I didn't bring anything with me, no water, no phone, no light, just me, myself, and my paddleboard. And it was a super, super high tide and it was so calm out. And, um, we talked a little bit, but we, we also had moments of just like paddling and silence and just looking at the sky and, and looking around. And I think that even my neighbors notice how much I work and how busy I am <laugh>, which is all self-induced. And so she just said a, a comment like, you know, the weather is gonna change here soon. It's gonna start getting really hot and muggy and rainy and you're gonna be stuck inside for a few months. It's gonna be low season in Miami. Hurricane season is coming, the mosquitoes are coming, the rains are coming.  

Kristin:    00:12:06    And I think she was trying to lightly paint this picture for me to kind of encourage me to slow down and like enjoy what is around us right now and to participate in the great pause that's happening globally to opt into that. And she said, you know, the parks are open now. Like the parks opened this weekend or maybe on Monday. And so I was like, yeah, she's right. I am gonna slow down because yesterday I filmed three videos in one day, like researched them and scripted them. And I was like, this is crazy. Why am I stressing myself out so much right now? Like, I can help people without burning out. I can provide information and support and guidance without, without sacrificing myself. This is like a life lesson I have to learn. So this morning I decided to just go on a little journey.  

Kristin:    00:13:14    I woke up early just naturally I meditated. I only meditated for 15 minutes 'cause I was feeling very anxious. And then once I accepted that I wasn't gonna crack into my to-do list, I started to relax and I was like, what do I wanna do? And I decided to go to this farmer's market nearby that I have never been to, but it's like a locally owned little supermarket with fresh produce and juices. And I got like a gallon of celery juice for $8 or something like that. And um, I went to Starbucks and got an iced coffee for the first time since the shutdown. And uh, then I came home, I did some laundry and then I was like, I'm still doing too much stuff. I'm like running errands, like still doing chores and things around the house. So I was like, that's it. And I just got on my bike and I rode over to this park and I just walked around it like five times until I felt like it was time to just sit down and rest.  

Kristin:    00:14:22    And of course I'm kind of cheating because I brought my microphone with me. But, um, I don't know this, this episode has been on my mind and I just decided I would carry my microphone around and whenever I felt inspired to talk about this last year of podcasting, I would just do it wherever I was. And this is with my H2N, which, uh, my friend Palle Bo, the Radio Vagabond from Denmark, he introduced me to this device when we were on Nomad Cruise. Six, six or seven, I don't remember. Um, we had a few glasses of wine and recorded a podcast for his podcast using this type of microphone. And he told me how he brought it with him all over the world and he would use it to record sound effects like city streets and a market in Marrakesh or whatever. And I was like, I want one of those.  

Kristin:    00:15:24    And then of course our episode, the audio file got corrupted <laugh> and we could never use it. But um, we still had a good conversation and now I own this little device, so I also have to admit that I bought it in August. I brought it with me to Norway and I didn't even figure out how to use it until February. So I actually owned it for months before I used it. It's kind of like another thing. Sometimes we buy something and then we're too lazy to learn how to use it. So anyway, I'm in this park and as I was walking around, I literally tripped over a route and fell on my face in the bushes with my bike on top of me <laugh>. I'm covered in dirt right now, <laugh>. But it reminded me of being a little kid growing up in, um, southeast Florida.  

Kristin:    00:16:23    And I was in this camp, like a marine science camp, and we used to literally just go out into the forest or the jungle or whatever it is in Florida into the marsh, into the river, and we would just look at bugs and birds and animals and do little science experiments. And so as I was walking through this park, I was thinking of the Seminole Indians and the history of the place around me and childhood. And I was in this program called Indian Princesses where it was like a father daughter bonding thing and we used to like go canoeing and kayaking and camping and all this stuff throughout Florida. And then to see these historic signs talking about how this was a historic landmark for hundreds of years and how much has happened just in this little trail that I was walking around, it just made me think so much about travel and how it overlaps between our external environment and where we are in that moment.  

Kristin:    00:17:33    It brings up so much past history from our own life and memories. And then it also probably relates to our ancestral roots, um, just to think about everything that happened for us to get here, to be alive on this planet today. Um, I actually, my neighbor when I was leaving, she gave me my other neighbor, not the paddle boarding one, but neighbor Nancy. She works at a nursing home. She gave me some almond cranberry biscotti. So I'm like sitting under this tree eating the biscotti. And then I was thinking about my roots in Italy and how my grandmother's family came over after World War. I and my grandfather's family came over from Hungary at around the same time and how they were on different boats, but they met in the US and then they got married and then they moved to Miami where I am now and had kids.  

Kristin:    00:18:38    And then I came along and they worked for Pan Am my, my grandfather was a pilot and my grandmother worked in the office. And um, so that probably has something to do with like my love of travel and wanderlust. And then Italy was the first place that I ever traveled to outside of the country when I was 17. And then this is all from eating biscotti <laugh>. This is what I was thinking of. And also it was reminding me of a trip that I took to Genoa, which is actually a port city in Italy where Christopher Columbus is from. And so literally the ships that departed from Genoa to the New World with Christopher Columbus came from Italy. And then the explorers landed basically here. I mean in St. Augustine where um, well Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean, but then Spanish and conquistadors and other explorers all landed in Florida, right?  

Kristin:    00:19:47    They landed in north Florida and St. Augustine first, and then in Puerto Rico and then, um, south Florida, I'm not sure exactly which one was second, third, whatever. But you get the idea. And then the Indians who lived here where I am right now, were basically forced out by Americans that were of course, mixed heritage at the time, English, Spanish, Italian. And so as human beings we're kind of made up of the history of the world and all of the people who came before us. And then there's like these weird loops and patterns and synchronicities and, and things that happen, um, throughout life. So just all of the things that happened for me to end up sitting in this park today reflecting on that. And I know that if I would've recorded this podcast yesterday or later today or tomorrow, it would always come out different.  

Kristin:    00:20:53    You know, what is this podcast? What is a podcast? It's capturing thoughts and information in the moment that it is created. So whether you prepare for it or just wing it, it's just sharing thoughts and information with the world. And so as I reflect on one year of this podcast, I'm thinking back to when I published the first episode on May 12th, 2019, and my podcast editor asked me, which category do I want to publish the podcast in? And I was like, I don't know. That's a good question because another one of my life challenges has been figuring out what to do with my life and what are my gifts and what is my purpose? What are my talents? What should I be doing for work? How should I be creating value in the world? I never fit into any boxes and I'm sure that nobody really does.  

Kristin:    00:22:02    If you think that you did or if you got put in a box, it was probably just a box for that time of your life or that moment. It's not like a permanent box that you should be in forever. And so here I was with this podcast, like, is it a business podcast? Is it a travel podcast? Is it a lifestyle podcast? Is it philosophy? Is it self-help? And I was like, oh, it's everything because, well, it's a reflection of me, right? It's my podcast. So if I don't know, you know, how to categorize myself into a job, how am I gonna categorize this podcast into like one of the Apple podcast categories? But then the other side of it is that this podcast is badass digital nomads. This is about how to become a digital nomad and about other digital nomads and how they became digital nomads.  

Kristin:    00:22:57    And every single person who listens to it or who's been on the podcast has their own story. And being a digital nomad can be a goal for some people. But more than that, I think being a digital nomad signals that you have found a way to live life on your own terms. And that usually includes spending your time how you see fit, doing what you want to do for work. So earning an income through something by choice rather than feeling like you're forced to take a job just for a paycheck. And then it also means that you can work from anywhere and that you have the freedom to travel and see places that you want and meet new people and try new foods and learn about other cultures. And to achieve that, you really need a little bit of inspiration and information from all corners of, of life in the world. And so, and then once you become a digital nomad, whether you are one or not, like if you love traveling and you value your freedom and you wanna live life on your own terms, like you already understand this, you just might not have been able to physically make it happen yet for financial constraints or familial constraints or physical,  

Kristin:    00:24:43    Whatever it is. But you're on your way there. And when you step into this, when you let yourself be yourself, it is part travel, it's part career, it's part health, it's part part spirituality and ascension in a way to becoming like the best version of yourself.  

Kristin:    00:25:16    And so I don't know if this has gotten across in the podcast <laugh>, um, but that's why I've tried a few different formats. But what I am trying to bring to you guys, and I hope that it's working and helping, you know, it's only been a year, so I'm still learning a lot as I go, but it's bringing travel stories together and also examples of how people fund their lifestyle and also, um, tips on how to tactically make this happen. So sometimes it's like black and white tips or techniques or tools or things like that. Um, but then sometimes it's also just like connecting with people and sharing a conversation or sharing a story or sharing an idea. And along the way, like some pieces of that are going to resonate with you in your own journey. So it's just to trigger a shift in like you getting to where you want to go in life, whether that is like a physical destination and you wanna be in Thailand or you want to have like a certain figure of money in your bank account or whatever your goals are. But also at the same time,  

Kristin:    00:26:43    Remembering and reminding myself as well, just as much if not more so that the journey really is the destination. And that just by virtue of having a podcast and having a YouTube channel or to YouTube channels <laugh> and making the decision to share my experiences as much as possible doesn't mean that that's gonna happen immediately. And it doesn't mean it's gonna happen overnight or even in 10 years, you know, the amount of places that I've been in, experiences that I've had, I really wish that I could share all of those lessons with you through osmosis <laugh> immediately and just give you the whole road roadmap that you need. But truly, each person has to find their own way, and that is what makes life, life. So you have to travel on your own path. You have to face the challenges and the fears and the personal things that come up.  

Kristin:    00:27:55    Um, you have to fail sometimes you have to trip over a root <laugh> alone in a forest, <laugh> and fall down. And, um, yeah. So I think I've come to this realization maybe over just the past 48 hours that there's no rush, um, to do whatever it is that you wanna do in life because it's not about doing, it's about being who you are and allowing yourself to be who you are. And nothing full. Like, it's not so fulfilling when you're just trying to check things off a to-do list. And at times during the content creation process, sometimes I'm just thinking about how long it's going to take for me to prepare and research and write and script and practice and film and edit and delegate and review and revise and share and distribute and blog and all of the steps that come into what it takes to make stuff.  

Kristin:    00:29:13    And then I have to remind myself it's not about the finished product even, it's just about the process of doing it. Just like traveling. You could go to every single country in the world and some people have, but that doesn't mean you're gonna wanna stop traveling or that doesn't mean that you'll have seen everything. You can live in one country for your whole life and keep finding new things, <laugh>. Um, you can go to the same country a hundred times and keep learning new things about it. You know, I'm from Florida, I grew up here and I'm always discovering new things about Florida. And so maybe if you're quarantined somewhere right now, you can find a new farmer's market or a new coffee shop or a new park or a new archeological bridge or a new historical site or something that is within a one mile or a five mile radius from your house.  

Kristin:    00:30:10    And, um, start noticing things that you didn't have time to notice before or you didn't give yourself the opportunity to notice before. And to just think about all of the amazing synchronicities and things that happened for you to be wherever you are right now in this moment. And, and to think of how the different phases of life, if you go back to the same place over and over again, how you always see it with a new perspective and like a new sense of wisdom and learning. And you're, you know, in your old age, right? <laugh> every year we're a little bit older and wiser. And I think that if I would have come to this park before, maybe I wouldn't have had the same perspective on it that I do now. And in a way, walking around this park in circles reminded me of walking through Spain on the Camino de Santiago.  

Kristin:    00:31:16    And then it reminded me of a documentary that I saw about a guy who wanted to walk the Camino de Santiago, but he couldn't go for whatever reason. I think maybe he was sick or he didn't have enough money or both. And so he basically mapped out the Camino de Santiago in his backyard and the distances between each of the points. And he measured out the route and he just walked in circles until he walked the entire Camino de Santiago. And then I think somebody brought him actually to Spain and then they filmed this documentary and he got to walk on the actual path of the community, Santiago. But with travel, we don't have to physically go somewhere. We don't have to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars or a million dollars like Conde Nash traveler might suggest, no offense Conde Nast, you can travel wherever you are and um, and travel wouldn't be what it is without the people that came before us or the people that we meet along the way.  

Kristin:    00:32:32    And even though none of us are physically together right now, even this journey of traveling to the park four and a half minutes away from my house happened because of the people around me, because of my neighbor on both sides. You know, one neighbor suggesting that I come to the park and maybe slow down. And then my other neighbor <laugh> wishing me well and sending me off with a little basket of biscotti. And, and then right before I left, I checked Instagram 'cause I hadn't been on there in a few days. And I saw a story from my friend Jenny, who's from the Philippines, and she met her husband, husband fiance, I don't know. She met her partner who's French while he was traveling in the Philippines. And then, yeah, I think they're married. And then I met her in Paris last summer at a writing workshop.  

Kristin:    00:33:38    And now I'm watching her Instagram story of her being quarantined in the French countryside. And she posted in her story that we will remember this time as the great pause. And now I'm talking about the Great pause in this podcast. And it's just like so many things just happen one after another for a thought to come together or a story or a lesson or an experience. And this podcast wouldn't be possible without all of the things that have happened through my life and all of the people who I've met along the way. And each of you, inside of you have your own story and your own podcast <laugh>, even if it's not published yet. And so whatever you decide to do in life, however you decide to share your wisdom and your journey and your perspective, I genuinely think that that has a lot to do with the meaning of life.  

Kristin:    00:34:44    We're here with our senses to observe the world around us, but then it means so much more when we share what we perceive with other people and we help them, you know, if we just keep our thoughts locked in our head or just in our journal, it's doing something. But the more people that we connect with and help, the more we help the world and the more of an impact that we have. So I hope that you guys have paused more than I have during this time. And, um, one of my coaches told me, when you slow down, don't make it like something on your to-do list. Like do nothing, check it off. No <laugh> doing nothing is really just doing nothing and not like scheduling in time to do nothing. So even though I try to motivate people and I try to inspire you guys to take action, uh, also let's do nothing sometimes and let's just be alive. And I once heard Osho say that there is no goal in life. And that every moment you spend chasing a goal, life is slipping away, slipping away, slipping away. And I didn't wanna come out of this great pause, like bringing my head up from the computer and being like, what happened? You know, what have I been doing in the past few months? Writing and creating and making courses and producing things and like, no, like also just sit under this tree, eat some biscotti and stare at the sky.  

Kristin:    00:36:42    And, um, you can do that anywhere. Which reminds me of something else. Last night I was feeling a lot of pent up energy and anxiety and I went on a two hour walk and the moon was rising on one side and the sun was setting on the other side. And I wasn't sure what I wanted to listen to. I wasn't sure if I just wanted to walk in silence or listen to music or listen to podcasts. And I just kind of felt like, ugh. Like just, I don't know, like an angst or something. And I was like, I need some kind of reality check to just take it down a notch because everything's fine, <laugh>. Um, sometimes we just get stuck in our head too much and uh, kind of lose ourselves a bit. So I was like, I need some perspective. I need to like remember what's important right now.  

Kristin:    00:37:46    And that is just looking at this beautiful sunset and the moon and the sky. And, and then all of a sudden I start browsing on Apple podcasts looking for something I've never listened to before. I'm like, no business podcasts, no productivity. Like I need a story. I need, um, something real, something to like take my mind off of just busyness. And I came across this podcast called We Share the Same Sky . And I'm like, well that sounds interesting 'cause that's what I was looking at with the sky. And I don't know if any of you guys have listened to it. I don't know how popular it is or what, but I mean, it came up in Apple podcast, so it probably is pretty popular. But it is a documentary series made by a girl who basically followed her grandmother's path, um, leaving the Czech Republic at the beginning of World War II and how she survived. And she was like the, the only person in her family to survive the war. And I think I got through the first three episodes during my walk. And so this girl follows, um, how her grandmother went from Czech Republic to Denmark and lived on a farm. And I don't know exactly what happens 'cause I haven't finished it yet, but that just made me think like, yeah,  

Kristin:    00:39:20    Um, we're all like, these are the things that are really important is these stories and the struggles of people who came before us, whether we're related to them or not. And these stories could have just been stuck in her grandmother's head and never spoken about again. But instead she wrote them down in her journals and she wrote letters and she sat down for an interview at 73 years old and documented everything that she knew from, or everything that she remembered from this journey and passed it down to her mom. And then her granddaughter was asking questions about it. So she wrote all of these letters specifically for her granddaughter, and then her granddaughter went on this 10 year journey to kind of retrace these steps and organize all of this content and photographs and scan it and categorize it and document it, and then turned it into a podcast that I could listen to on demand while walking over a bridge in Miami in 2020 during a pandemic. And it's like, this is the power of podcasts and this is the power of stories. This is the power of travel, whether it's forest or recreational. And this is why I started this podcast because I thought, what good is it having all of this privilege and all of these experiences if I don't share them with people?  

Kristin:    00:41:06    So part business, part self, part travel, part philosophy, part creation, this is all life. I think this, this is supposed to be a podcast about life and what you create for your own life through all of the different podcasts you listen to all of the different people you meet, all of the different places you go. Because especially with the pandemic, we're creating something new. A new world is coming out of this. And I think that one of the benefits of it will be the freedom and flexibility for people to live life, how they envision it for themselves without having as much societal pressure otherwise because nobody else knows what to do next either, just to kind of have a clean slate, but yet with all of the history and experiences we have of the past and all of the technology we have and all of the access to information that we have.  

Kristin:    00:42:12    So hopefully this timing is, is good for you right now to create more of what you want in your life. To also remember to take breaks sometimes like me, to remember that you can travel anytime in your mind or in your local community. Maybe you wanna, uh, research some places to go visit later. Or maybe you want to create a vision board or look through old magazines and cut out photos of things that, that you would like to see or have or do. And think about what type of people you want to share this short life that we have with. And, um, I don't know, I don't know what's next for this year, but I just wanna thank you guys for, for listening, listening to me ramble along. Um, <laugh>, I remember being afraid to start my podcast and afraid to start a YouTube channel.  

Kristin:    00:43:20    And the the last straw that taught I talked myself into it was that I thought, okay, I have friends, my friends like me and I only know them because I met them in person at some point. And I was like, if I make a podcast and if I make a YouTube channel, I'll meet new friends and they will like me too <laugh> for whatever my like weirdness is. And so I don't know how many like-minded people are out there, that could be my potential remote friends or internet friends, but apparently there's thousands of you <laugh>. So that's wild to think about. Um, I'll tell you some, some stats too about the podcast. So I think this is the 55th episode and we're getting about over 2,500 downloads per month, which I think is a lot. I don't really know what to compare it to, but um, I mean, thousands of people per month want to become badass digital nomads or want to hear how other people became badass digital nomads.  

Kristin:    00:44:37    So that's really cool. And you guys are from 80 different countries. That's more countries than I've been to, so that is very cool as well. And we have had, yes, over 55, I think 55 episodes, and there have been solo episodes, there have been interviews, we've talked about everything from like starting online businesses to drop shipping to travel and productivity and uh, procrastination, like so many things, meditation, there's a lot of different topics out there. So if you are new to the podcast, then feel free to comb through the archives. Obviously we talk about remote work a lot. Um, yeah, I don't have the whole list in front of me, but there's more to come as well. If you want to support the podcast, that would be great. You can support by leaving a review, by sharing it with friends who you think might find it valuable by sharing it on social media with your own, uh, friend circle or audience.  

Kristin:    00:45:50    You can screenshot your favorite episode and tag me in it. Um, tell me why you like it, because I don't know what you guys like <laugh>. It's really hard. There's not that many analytics to see like who's listening. You can see where people are listening and how many, but not that much. Um, information about like what people like, um, oh, I meant to write this down. The most popular episodes are the first one, which is the trailer, which is probably because I put it as the trailer, which by the way, I didn't know the trailer's supposed to be like one minute <laugh>, my trailer's an hour long. Um, people also like the ones about finding remote jobs and there's one with expats anywhere about how to travel with no money and how to find jobs abroad. So I guess you guys like to know about how to travel and find work while you're traveling.  

Kristin:    00:46:53    So that was the point of the podcast anyway, so that's good. But if there's anything else that you, um, want to know about, you can email me at hello@travelingwithkristin.com. And, um, I will also include a link from now on in the podcast description in the show notes, which is like a Google form kind of survey where you can just like leave requests or recommendations or feedback or questions or anything like that. So I will include that form. And then also kmos, oh yes, I have a SpeakPipe installation. No, that doesn't make sense, <laugh> speak, whatever. I have the SpeakPipe thing installed on my website, so you can leave voice messages now at travelingwithkristin.com/podcast. So if you wanna leave a review there or leave questions or anything like that or just say hi, you can, you can do that. And also, um, I have my Patreon page, which is $5 a month.  

Kristin:    00:48:07    You can actually see the video versions of the interviews instead of just the audio. And there's also exclusive access to content that's nowhere else. While including the videos. You get to watch videos before they're published publicly. Um, you get to have a be a part of a monthly private live stream access to like ask me questions through a private message. Um, on Patreon, you can vote on new guests, you can take polls on what you wanna hear about in the podcast, you can submit questions for the podcast. So there's a lot of perks there. And I would love if, uh, we had a bigger group and yeah, so instead of doing like a, a subscription service or like a membership club, I've just been doing it on Patreon. Um, and then someone has a motorcycle here unnecessary. And then there's also, I've gotten some like anonymous donations, which is cool, so thank you for that.  

Kristin:    00:49:18    But of course, like the podcast is expensive to produce and it's time consuming to produce, but it's something that I'm gonna do anyway. Like I, I haven't taken on any sponsorships, um, just been self-funding it, and that's fine of course, like I'll do that no matter what, but, um, it would really help if you could share the podcast and help us grow and help more people find it. And I just wanna make it more interactive, um, to create content about what you wanna know about. And I'm always behind on messages. So if you've sent me messages, it, I haven't figured out a good system yet to answer everything every day. So I do get quite backlogged, but I do always answer them eventually. So there's just a lot of different, um, mediums to answer them besides email, Facebook, Instagram comments, um, Patreon, like, there's just a lot of platforms, so I'm still working on that. I don't know how people do it with like millions of subscribers. But, um, I think that that is, that pretty much wraps it up for today. I am sure I'll think of more stuff as soon as I stop recording, but I just wanted to drive home the point that  

Kristin:    00:50:45    Travel and business now are fluid travel and work and life. This is all part of one pot, and the more we travel, the more it makes us who we are, but the more, it also lets us find ourselves. So I hope that we're all able to travel again soon, but in the meantime, let's enjoy this great pause. And I would like to end with this quote from one of my teachers, Dionne Baal. He says, the wellness of all is present in what is hidden in you. So no matter what you're doing, the wellness of all is present and what is hidden in you. No matter what's happening externally in the world, you are here for a reason.  

Kristin:    00:51:50    The world needs your contribution. The world needs whatever's hidden inside of you. And so whether you express that through art or through your job or through travel or through friendships or through speaking or content or whatever it is that you feel like you are called to do, I hope that you do it. And I hope that the stories on this podcast, um, and the lessons and the struggles and the challenges, I hope that you can find connection in that. And I hope that that gives you more strength and more encouragement to just be who you are in the world because that's all you have to be. Thank you for listening to one year of Badass Digital Nomads. I appreciate all of you from all 80 countries listening in right now, and I'm so glad that, that we can connect this way and that it's not over radio in Poland in 1941. <laugh> be grateful for what you have and for where we are right now in the world. It's a special time to be alive because all of you are here. So thank you again and stay badass everyone. See you soon. Thank you so much for listening, reviewing and supporting the podcast over the past year and for sharing your time and this journey of life with me from more than 80 countries around the world. I hope that this and every episode inspires you, encourages you, and makes you think to celebrate one year of the podcast. Please screenshot this episode or your favorite and share it with me on social media. You can tag me @TravelingwithKristin and let me know why you are listening.