The Lifestyle of a Digital Nomad

What If You Went On A Permanent Vacation?

After spending 3 incredible weeks in Asia, I’ve just returned to “reality” in NYC. Reluctantly, I said goodbye to reading by the pool, copious amounts of exotic food, magnificent firework displays in Bali and 10am mocktails by the ocean.

But, guess what?

For the first time ever in my life as a working professional, I did not experience the sinking feeling of “back-to-work blues”. Because, in truth, my life is now a constant blend of work and play — a perpetual vacation with work intertwined.

While I layed by the pool in Singapore, I took calls with clients.

In between lunch and high tea sessions with my girlfriends in Bali, I spent a couple of hours working on ideas for an upcoming workshop in NYC.

While I got a Four Hands massage at a famed spa in Bali, I outlined all the content I could write about it afterwards.

To top it all off, I felt energized and at my creative best because I was exploring the world and getting inspiration while working and playing. I finally achieved the work-life balance I seeked out for many years while relentlessly chasing promotion after promotion, pay raise after pay raise. Now that I’ve left “The Man” to become an independent remote worker, I feel like I’ve figured out the system. I’m able to enjoy doing business with a handful of clients I love to work with and I’m backed by a team of fellow digital nomads who live, work, and play all over — just like me.

As an Events Strategist at Chameleon, my job is to live, breathe, and dream of experiences that I can use as inspiration for my clients. I spent 18 years in the corporate world of advertising and marketing to learn that a 9-to-5 office environment neither enriched me with authentic experiences, nor helped me create ideas that would solve business challenges for my clients (no matter how great the free snacks and “unlimited vacation” policies were).

With all the tools modern technology affords us, we can now go beyond the confines of four walls and a desk to explore, dream, create, and innovate. At Chameleon, our flat structure enables us to breathe, collaborate, and sustain self-accountability. Because, we are adults. Graduates from the corporate world, with our sleeves rolled up and ready to get the work done well. No BS. No politics. Just good ol’ work and time management.

“Surely, that cannot be productive?” cynics may cry. I know it’s hard to shift your thinking from the traditional career/401K paths our parent’s generation created for us. But, 50% of us will be working remotely by 2020, and that’s just the start of the evolving career landscape.This ever-changing world requires different perspectives to lead its industries into the future, and plenty of those views will prove contrary to the traditional desk-bound mentality.

My 77-year-old mom does not understand how it’s possible for me to spend weeks at a time on vacation, while still fully employed. All she knows is that as long as I have access to wifi, she doesn’t have to worry, as it somehow allows me to travel to exotic destinations and pay for own my mai tais and massages. What she doesn’t know is that beneath the fun stuff, I’m still working practically all the time! But this time it’s different from when I was a slave to my corporate job. I work all the time now not because I have to, but because I am free to, want to, and really enjoy it. It actually gives me a break from my vacations!

I’ll admit, this so-called digital nomad lifestyle isn’t for everyone. It requires discipline, self-motivation and commitment. Luckily, at Chameleon, we’re seasoned professionals who learned that work doesn’t necessarily happen at work — so why kid ourselves that we have to be chained to an office? Offices breed productivity as much as it does politics, mindless meetings, and the need to be “seen.” As a self-starting life coach and marketer, I know that the world is my oyster and I make pearls from all of my experiences, from the people, and activity that surrounds me (yes, sounds corny, but true.)

So, when thinking about your company’s partnerships and collaborative projects, would you rather work with someone who’s stuck in some office climbing a ladder with a heart that would rather be somewhere else? Or, someone whose every day is intentionally fueled by inspiration, beauty, fun and purpose?

While you decide, I’ll get back to work.

For Creative Brainstorming, Brand Direction and Events Strategy, June Wee-Grant is your goto woman.

About the Author:

June is a future-focused life coach and brand marketer who has her pulse on what’s happening around her, an eye for detail, an ear for tuning to what lies beneath the surface and a heart filled with love.

June strongly believes that everyone deserves to live their dream life – NOW. She knows it starts from being self-centered and grounded in one’s own core values. It doesn’t come easy for everyone, but that’s where June’s specialty lies – making POSSIBILITY.

Courage, Collaboration, Awareness and Performance are her foremost values. She became aware of them during her time at Olapic, where she was nominated by her peers for the organization’s Values Award – twice.

June’s 18-year career started in the Ad industry, followed MarTech where she did Marketing and Events. She has worked with over 36 Fortune 500 brands, small businesses and startups across Asia and North America. She spent 14 years in the Advertising industry (Singapore and NYC) where she managed multi-fiction teams, developed international award-winning integrated Communications campaigns and led new business pitches at agencies like Ogilvy, TBWA and Leo Burnett. She went on to focus on Marketing Events to create more meaningful, high touch experiences for unique individuals and like-minded tribes.

June is now empowering individuals and brands through life coaching, marketing and experiential events consulting, and workshops.

She is currently based in NYC and works with clients from all over the world. June speaks the Queen’s English, some American and is super fluent in Singlish. Mandarin Chinese is her 2nd language and has been known to speak Japanese when intoxicated. She’s also fluent in the hokkien dialect, especially the swear words.