I became a Digital Independent in 2016. For much of my career, I was an IT Executive responsible for the strategy, architecture and planning of technology. Leading distributed teams across Canada, I had to learn to work effectively virtually when not traveling for in person visits.

Most days consisted of me saying good morning to my administrative assistant at 8:00am, spending most of the day on back to back meetings and saying goodbye to no one at 6:00-8:00pm.

Once the large company I worked for was purchased by a very large company, I left. I was blessed to be in a situation of not needing a job, however, at 48 years old (and not much of a golfer) I wanted to keep contributing professionally (“working”) to some level to stay sane and continue to make some impact on the world.

Through a happy coincidence I started doing a bit consulting as opportunities presented themselves. I am not a career consultant, but had a lot of experience (both mistakes and successes) and a gift of being a whole systems thinker, being able to observe patterns of success and translate them into clear actions. On all engagements, I made sure that I was able to work on my terms, timeline and place.

I increased my network of professional colleagues, locally and abroad, and started hanging out physically and digitally with like-minded humans.

Once I exhausted the initial rush of working out of coffee shops, libraries and parks, I started ustation.ca as a consistent space and supportive environment to work.

I love the freedom and the reach of this lifestyle, and in wanting to ever expand my connection to like-minded humans all over the world, I started DigitalIndependent.Life as a vehicle to unite the community - I hope you enjoy it.