Embrace Life as a Digital Independent
In 2022, I fulfilled a bucket list item and finally wrote a book on my experience of becoming and living as a Digital Independent.
You can get your own copy of the book here.
The following briefly summarizes what you can expect in each chapter.
Intro to the DI Lifestyle
First and foremost, my definition of a Digital Independent:
A Digital Independent is a professional who embraces technology as a means to do work independent of rules, location, hours, and tasks defined by another person and/or business. In essence, this person dictates their own life and determines the direction, pace, and purpose of their professional work. They are solely responsible for creating a system that produces intended results - working how they want, where they want, when they want, with whom they want and on what they want.
A DI is not to be confused with Digital Nomad or Remote Worker though both have a place in the DI definition.
“Digital” is the tool in the DI toolbox and the Independence comes from the ability to work anywhere and set our own priorities based on our values. This is an alternative to traditional employment that often boxes people in and limits their ability to contribute in a meaningful way.
This chapter also outlines common traits of those who embrace the DI life and what motivates them to pursue this way of being.
So, You Want To Be A DI?
Chances are that, if you found this website and are reading this blog, you are interested or already living the DI life.
The most common reservation to taking the leap is the myth of job security in traditional employment.
Your job is never secure when it depends on someone else's priorities.
This chapter digs deep into what it looks like to prepare for the journey as there is a lot of legwork to ensure a smooth and responsible transition from traditional employment. Don’t let the vloggers who quit their day job and started making six figures in a week fool you. There is a lot to gain in this lifestyle but it rarely comes immediately and never without some work.
I introduce the framework of the DI Pentagon where the following 5 concepts are essential to a DI life: Purpose, Freedom, Finances, Community, and Structure.
Finding Your Purpose
There is a tremendous amount of great work out there on the topic of Purpose. They provide a fantastic understanding of the topic of professional and personal purposes. This understanding of your own purpose will fuel your journey.
The key to unlocking the value of all this great work is to actually, really do it!
This chapter discusses finding your why, defining what success means to you, and determining your motivations and how a DI Lifestyle can serve them.
Freedom - Rethinking Your Concept of Time and Place
One of the most important parts of becoming a DI is rethinking what we think we know about time and how to manage it. It’s here where we throw out the notion of the typical Monday to Friday 40-hour workweek.
Your work schedule should be built AROUND your personal one and this is the exact opposite of what most people do. This chapter focuses on teaching you to create a schedule that fits your lifestyle and throwing out the traditional understanding of productivity as time spent behind a desk and instead considers outcomes-based commitments.
Finances - Rethinking Money and Wealth
Financial security is generally the top motivation when we consider exchanging our time for money and the thought of losing it (or never having it at all) is detrimental to our ability to live free and purposeful lives.
In this chapter, I discuss the different ways in which DI’s consider and manage their finances. I believe that money can be used to help people design their lives in one of three categories: Sustain, Live, or Thrive. These are not checkpoints in which you stop and save your game before the next big adventure, these are simply states of being that you design for yourself along the journey and you can toggle between them. The amount of money needed in each category varies widely but I provide you with information to determine what that looks like for you on your DI journey.
Shift your financial mindset from:
“With the amount of money I make, I can borrow x to buy y…”
To a more considerate:
“What do I need and want? When and How do I obtain it?”
Structure and Technology - Creating “Systems” that Work for You
Structuring your DI life involves creating an environment, filling it with relevant technology, and making it work for you. Freedom is not a free for all and it can be a challenge when your accountability is to yourself and no longer to an external source.
This chapter discussed creating a structure that not only supports your life but also leaves room for development and contribution. Most traditional employment offers some kind of vacation, sick, and personal days but you need to learn how to manage and balance those yourself and that can be tricky if you have never done it before.
Community - Finding Your Supports
Remember, independent but not alone.
Traditional work tends to have built-in socialization and networking opportunities so being a DI means that you will have to manage this on your own. This can be a challenge but the potential is huge not just connect with your local community but your global one too. You can foster a deep appreciation for diversity in every sense of the word as well as appreciate what is local to you.
I can’t write this summary without talking about co-working and the co-working space that I co-founded in my city that hosts remote workers and DI’s from a variety of professional backgrounds. USTATION, to this day, continues to be a hub of tech-enabled space for connection.
Embracing the DI life means ditching the old work culture. You know, the one that costs billions of dollars a year in sick days because so many people are overworked, underpaid, and unhappy in their current jobs. DI’s value purposeful work, taking care of yourself and being considerate of the time and energy of others.
Living the Dream and Sharing the Vision
Quality time in a rushed society is hard to come by. Time is the ultimate unreplenishable currency and freedom is spending it in ways that you can get more bang for your buck. DI’s like myself are so passionate about helping others because we know that so many would benefit from embracing this life.
It isn’t work OR play, it’s work AND play - you can have both.
In this chapter, I share my own vision for the future and how DI’s can have a positive impact on the world.
The DI Life is for You
Whether you are 16 or 96, a freelancer or corporate employee, just starting out or starting to settle down, my hope is you can learn a bit from my journey to apply to your situation.
Because not everyone who picks up my book will be a middle-aged man who retired from a long career in a large corporation, I have included stories in every chapter of people who have transitioned to a digital independent lifestyle from a variety of starting points and backgrounds.
My professional purpose now is to live and promote the Digital Independent Lifestyle so I and others can be freely and fully committed to the People, Passions and Causes that mean the most to us.
By writing this book, my goal is to help provide insight into what it means to be a Digital Independent and how you can embrace this lifestyle to live a more fulfilling life… all while contributing to the world professionally.
