3,650 Days as a Digital Nomad — What I Learnt

Ten years. Yep! That’s right and still loving it! As I always say, I am lucky enough to have experienced so much on my life, which allows me to live a minimalist lifestyle because I have a information and experience to draw on.

That’s 3,650 days of waking up not knowing exactly where I’d be next, but knowing I was exactly where I was meant to be. Well, I generally plan a little bit ahead but I like to be flexible and allow for opportunity to arise and grab it if it feels right.

I didn’t choose the digital nomad life because it was trendy, or because I wanted Instagram photos in far-flung places. I chose it because adventure has always been my compass — and curiosity my fuel. And my internal values had changed my compass to recognise what I value the most is experiencing the world not all the things I had collected in my life that sits and gathers dust.

Adventure Came First

Before I ever called myself a digital nomad, I was an adventurer at heart forever curious to learn and experience more about the world. Leaving home at 16 years old (thanks mum & dad for being so brave!) I couldn’t wait to see what was possible in the world. Tackling Outward-bound Australia at the young age of 16 and working on an apple farm as a farm hand and Joining the military at 19 years old.

From Hot Air ballooning adventures (as crew assisting pilots and learning to fly light sport aircraft) to becoming the pilot of a fixed wing aircraft, to living in the the outback of Austalia and across the world, I’ve lived and worked in Hong Kong, and the deserts of Saudi Arabia, riding solo across America on a motorbike, from San Francisco to New York, europe and around Austalia. Mile after mile, state after state, learning very quickly that fear fades once the engine is running and the road opens up. That ride taught me how capable you become when there’s no backup plan — just you, your bike, and the willingness to keep going.

Crossing three continents on my Motorbike around Australia and up to Cape York was my baptism of fire riding off road in the tuffest of terrain, Europe Riding a BMW 650 twin across countries from France to Bosnia, borders, and experiencing cultures. Three continents crossed on two wheels. I camped across Australia in a 4×4 with a rooftop tent, falling asleep under stars that felt close enough to touch. No luxury. No excess. Just freedom, silence, and perspective.

Adventure stripped life back to its essentials — and I loved what was left.

A Life Before Nomadism

Before all of this, I lived another kind of global life: I was an international flight attendant. Always packing to catch another flight. My office went at the speed of a sonic missile, literally. I was in a constant jet lag, but I loved it and I loved exploring the world.

That job gave me a hunger for what is really out there to explore on a deeper level. It gave me a front-row seat to the world — not just the places, but the people. I learned how different cultures live, love, argue, celebrate, and survive. I learned that despite language barriers and borders, people are fundamentally the same.

And one of the biggest truths I discovered?

Most people are kind.

Most people want to help you.

You just have to be open enough to receive it.

What Ten Years on the Road Taught Me

Life is not something that happens to you. Life is something you participate in and create if you dare!

If you want a different life, you have to be willing to face fea, let go — and do it anyway. You have to “just give it a go” without needing every detail mapped out. I remember letting go of my secure job and starting my first business, I was terrified, excited I knew I just had to try, because if I didn’t I would never know if I could.

Flexibility isn’t optional out here; it’s survival. For me flexibility if not being to rigid in your expectations. This helps me let go of the outcomes and go with the flow but with intent.

Having connection with your true self, trust in yourself because, hey, nobody else will not even your friends and family will, so you really need to learn to trust yourself. I do this through keeping connected with my spiritual guide team. Everyone has their own beliefs systems but make sure you have one that you resonate with.

Online groups and community became my lifelines. LinkedIn became my “daily office” — a place I dropped into each morning no matter which country I was in. Relationships don’t happen by accident; they happen because you show up consistently. I like to stay one month the 3 months in a place to connect with local communities too. My hope is that I help one person or leave the place more enriched and the community more enriched for the interaction.

At some point, I stopped just joining communities and started building them. Because helping others on your journey doesn’t slow you down — it anchors you, and hey it is definitely a learning process to build a community and just that is worth. It’s not easy but a learning process.

Give first. Even if all you have to give is a smile. Always have the intention to give first even if it is the smallest of gestures, it’s a butterfly effect. You’d be amazed how much power you hold in a single moment to make or break someone’s day.

The Inner Journey Matters More

Travel doesn’t just move you across geography — it moves you inward.

I learned to respond, not react. To pause. To breathe. To find time for meditation and connection with something bigger than myself. Having a spiritual belief — whatever that looks like for you — means you never truly feel alone, even on the loneliest roads.

Breath became my most reliable survival skill. When everything feels uncertain, the breath is always there. My yoga teacher training has helped me with breath work and it has literally saved my life while riding my motorbike across the mojave desert. It was so hot that using my yogic breath work while I rode was the only thing keeping me going I honestly sound it so hard to concentrate.

Notice it.
Use it.
Go deep.

Solo Travel Will Change You

Even if you have a partner, take the opportunity travel alone sometimes.

Solo travel teaches you things no companion ever can. It forces you to enjoy your own company. To trust yourself. To become your own anchor.

Life is never the same once you travel, when you eventually return “home,” know this:

Things won’t feel the same — because you aren’t the same.

The hard truth is that most people don’t really care where you’ve been or what you’ve done. Not out of cruelty, but because they don’t have a reference point for that kind of life. Many people switch off because your freedom highlights their fear.

And that’s okay.

Have no expectations.

It’s Not About the Places

The biggest myth about nomad life is that it’s about destinations.

It’s not.

It’s about people.
Conversations.
Shared meals.
Unexpected kindness.
Moments you never planned.

Minimalism became a natural by-product of this life. When everything you own has to move with you, you realise how little you actually need to be happy. Even with all the money in the world, happiness doesn’t live in things, it lives in you.

Minimalism makes you resourceful. Creative. Grateful.

The Reality of Building While Traveling

Being a tech founder while living this life is not easy.

If you’re thinking about it, pause and ask yourself one hard question:
Am I deeply passionate about the problem I’m solving?

Because it’s a long road. A very long road.

You have to think differently. Say yes more often. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Solve problems creatively — because most problems are just a signal that you’re focusing on the wrong thing.

Don’t stand back and watch. Help. Be proactive. Step in.

And stay connected. Friends and family matter more than any location ever will.

Why I Chose This Life

I chose this life because it made me more present.
More human.
More connected.
More alive.

Because nature heals.
Because breath grounds.
Because adventure expands you.

Because life is short — and fear is expensive.

After 3,650 days, I can say this with certainty:

It’s not about escaping a life.
It’s about consciously choosing one.

And if you’re standing on the edge, wondering if you should leap — just know this:

You’re more capable than you think.

Say yes.
Breathe.
And take the first step.

The road will meet you there.

STAY connected!

Lovingly created by Linda A. McCall