[nō-ˈma-dik] What does it mean to YOU?

Nomadic [nō-ˈma-dik]: adj. Relating to, or characteristic of, being on the move.

What does it mean to be nomadic?

First and foremost, we believe “nomadic” is a state of mind.

To be nomadic is to be a mover and a shaker, regardless of where you are.

It’s about moving from within.

It’s about doing what it takes to move forward: from where you are currently, to where you’re headed.

It’s about momentum, action, movement, adventure, and inspired living.

It’s about trail-blazing.

It’s about the exploration and discovery of twists in the road and new horizons ahead.

It’s about living without regret.

It’s about challenging the “status quo”.

It’s about rewriting the rules. 

It’s about immersion into new experiences.

It’s about following where an idea leads.

It’s about believing in your dreams and taking action on behalf of your deepest desires.

It’s about embarking on a brave personal journey, an exploration of what’s around the bend, beyond the horizon, and above the clouds.

==> Do YOU consider yourself to be nomadic? Why or why not?

 

Travel far enough to meet yourself

“In that moment, I felt I had no history, no reputation, no expectation, and no obligation to be who I had been yesterday.”

travelfarenough How far would YOU travel to meet yourself?

For me, “far enough” was Australia.

The year was 1996. I was 20 years old and on a 16 hour flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia, when, in an instant, I was moved to tears by a realization, sparking a profound sense of personal freedom: NO ONE, in the entire country that I was on my way to, where I would spend the next 6 months, had any preconceived notion of who I was.

Forty thousand feet in the air, this was a time-stopping awareness for me.

And seeing as the woman seated next to me on the plane ALSO had no preconceived notion of who I was, I allowed myself to simply feel the profundity of this unexpected realization.  

I was caught off guard as tears of relief streamed down my face and a warm opening was happening in my chest.  Sitting on that airplane, I was struck by a sudden and life-altering realization of a new kind of freedom.

I grew up in a really small New England town where everyone knew everyone. Every trip I went on up to that point, was with people I knew. Some high school classmates went to the same college I did. Not bad things – but up until this singular moment on the plane, I had never known the experience of not being known.

In that moment, I felt unleashed … from history, from expectations, from obligations. Nothing required that I be who I had been yesterday. 

It was a freedom I had never known before. 

There I was, traveling solo, luggage in tow, enroute to a new land, for a 6 month journey.

I had never before known the experience of others not having any preconceived expectations about who I am.  I suddenly had – and was – a blank slate. Free of expectations or preconceptions, I could be just me – whoever that was.

I traveled far enough to meet myself. I was FREE.

christmasI wiped my tears and smiled at the lady in the seat next to me.

Little did I know, she would end up hosting me, opening her home along with her family of five, for a full week during a visit I’d make to Brisbane that December. She even invited me to stay for Christmas, insisting that I should be with a family. I was touched, but I declined, having made plans to meet my “framily” of other international students who’d agreed to meet on Bondi Beach in Sydney for Christmas (think: Christmas in a bathing suit, with a santa hat).  🙂

All this to say ….

If you want to get closer to the truth of yourself: travel.

And travel plus coaching is a truly life-altering combination!

It really can’t be understated: the combo of the two is the ULTIMATE opportunity to grow and to meet yourself: as an individual, as a citizen of the world, as a nomadic soul.  

The possibilities are boundless.

So, here’s a question to seriously consider:  Who do you think YOU would be, if no one knew who you were?

Where are YOU working from today?

14516518_10210823918457325_5188208547589047370_nMake the world your office!

I love the fact that I can work from anywhere. My location serves as my canvas.

One of my favorite places to work from are artful hotel lobbies. The elegant and alive-with-energy setting of an upscale hotel inspires me – in both on and off “work hours”.

In case you’ve never done such a thing, allow me to offer a nudge: You don’t need to stay, for example, at the Ritz Carlton to use it as a perfect excuse to get dressed up, walk in with confidence, be greeted with grace by the concierge, and find a comfortable place to sit with a notebook or laptop.  You can embrace the social atmosphere and order a beverage too, if you’d like – it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right?

14591667_10210823919177343_5258877635864448130_nI introduced my sister to the fun of this while visiting her in Vermont. Two miles from her home, we found a swanky hotel that she had never walked into. We decided in advance to order coffee and when we did, much to our surprise, we were shone to a complimentary fresh coffee bar and invited to please help ourselves. Following my lead, she and I expressed our thanks and proceeded to enjoy free coffee.  🙂

14590500_10210823918657330_6598695259823651768_nMake the world your office! You never know who you’ll meet, what you’ll find, or what impromptu conversations you’ll have. A simple “Where’s home?” or “Are you in town for business?” are easy conversation starters.

I encourage you: Do it, and let me know how it goes!

The pictures seen here was during a visit to Hotel Monaco, which served well as my virtual headquarters for the day. Seeing and hearing the comings and goings of people from all over the world, were the perfect backdrop.

Want to get started with nomadic living and location-independent working?

Click HERE to grab my a free video training where I share the three strategies that will make the transition easy and get you road-ready for the journey of a lifetime:   HOW TO GET STARTED WITH NOMADIC LIVING + THREE STRATEGIES THAT WILL MAKE YOUR TRANSITION EASY

Tell me: Where are YOU working from today?

 

Peters Projection World Map

By disrupting assumptions we’re able see things with fresh eyes and renewed curiosity.

peters-projection-mapOne of the most stimulating and controversial images of the world, the Peters Projection World Map was first introduced by historian and cartographer Dr. Arno Peters in Germany in 1974, generating a firestorm of debate. The first English-version was published in 1983.

Representing a round planet on a flat surface is a challenge. The Peters Map is an area accurate map, and in contrast to many of the more commonly seen maps of the world, North American and European countries appear smaller, and Africa and South America strikingly larger. The map has passionate fans and staunch critics.

I think the Peters Projection World Map is pretty awesome. Why? Because I welcome and celebrate opportunities to see things in new ways.  By disrupting assumptions we’re able see things with fresh eyes and renewed curiosity. The Peters Map offers an unorthodox, mind-bending new angle on how to perceive and understand our world.

What do YOU think of Peters World Map?

 

What is the Opposite of Leadership?

I often think about, read about, talk, write – even speak – about leadership. It’s my work, my Masters degree, my curiosity, and my muse for so much of what I do and create.

Given how much there is to know, I also know how little I know. Good leaders are those who know that they don’t know everything and who, frankly, also know that they don’t need to. The best leaders are those with a sound sense of clarity about the inevitability of mis-takes.

1446464_1280x720Obama spoke to this in his 2016 DNC speech, pointing out that for those with the wherewithal to get “in the arena”, mistakes are “what happens when we try.” True words.

The opposite of leadership is not bad leadership.

There’s something called Servant Leadership (a great little book by that name was required reading in the Holistic Leadership Masters Degree program I graduated from. Robert K. Greenleaf is the author, and I encourage you to read it). ‘Servant Leadership’ is proof that leading from behind can be an extraordinarily powerful Model of Leadership, exemplifying the inter-dependent dynamics of leading and following.

The influence of servant leadership isn’t just evident in books and political arenas, it’s everywhere a lead-and-follow dynamic is. You can even, for example, see it on the dance floor of a salsa club. I say this as an admitted salsa dancing addict: Watch a couple dancing, a good lead and a good follow. Then, watch another salsa dance with a good leader but a poor follower; you can’t tell me that follower isn’t “leading”!

In any leadership “dance”, on or off a dance floor, the leader and the follower are inherently inter-dependent parties – not opposites. The opposite of leadership is not bad leadership, and the opposite of leadership is also not following, however good or bad. At Nomadic Leaders, we believe that the opposite of leadership is Spectatorship. The two are wholly incompatible. You simply cannot be a leader and always sit on the sidelines.

For all my faults and weaknesses, and however imperfectly I lead – and follow – on and off the dance floor … I make a point to live in the arena, not watch from the sidelines.

My qualifications on the subject of Leadership are growing and expanding rapidly and in real time.

Leadership roles aren’t new to me. As entrepreneur of a start-up for the last 12+ years, I’ve been the lead coach, mentor, and owner of my thriving coaching business … and there’s my formal education and training … and, a fun fact for you astrology and birth-order buffs, I am a Leo and first-born child (for better or worse, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are too).

Since early in my childhood I was frequently told I am “a natural leader.” It is true that my instinct has always been to lead. I was Student Council President. I was cast in leading roles in school plays. I was president of the AFS Club, and captain of the soccer and softball teams. Perhaps years of bossing my little sister around counts for something too. It was a rarity that, when given the possibility of leading, that I was not leading in some way. (In full disclosure, I was co-captain of those sports teams. The other captain was the “natural athlete” 🙂 ).

But I digress. What I want to share is this:

It is so important to know that there are many Models of Leadership. I spent much of my Masters Degree studying them, across cultures, and what is so *glaring* to me about the 2016 presidential election is seeing the various models of leadership at play. For example, Trump has said that, as a leader, Putin gets an “A”. And truth be told, when looking through the lens of a hierarchical, military-style, top-down Model of Leadership … he’s right! So would Hitler for that matter. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention here too, that even the “A” to “F” grading system lives within this model.)

Thankfully, this model of leadership is NOT the only onedespite the fact that those who work solely within this top-down leadership model would tell you that it is.

They’re wrong.

Ask a Native American tribe leader who is looking through the lens of a Consensus Model of Leadership, for example, to ‘grade’ Putin or Trump or Hitler or Kim Jong as leaders… and you will get a very different assessment.

Our 2016 presidential election is about so much more than The Donald vs. Hillary. It’s about which Models of Leadership we are willing to subscribe to, vote for, participate in – and which ones we won’t.

It’s about refusing to be a spectator, summoning the audacity of hope, and getting in the arena.

I believe in the power of people coming together to contribute to our world and to empower one another through collaborative leadership models.  I love supporting, coaching and nurturing those who are willing to get in the arena and lead – from the front, the side, and at times from behind.

The opposite of leadership is spectatorship. And the opposite of spectatorship is engagement.

Engagement, contribution and participation is what makes YOU a leader. Anchored by action, together we are forming a movement that others are inspired to follow, engage with, participate in, and contribute to. We are joining forces and aligning the power, potential, and momentum to nudge our planet forward. Let us move together in the direction of love, collaboration, teamwork and care for our human race and our planet. A dance, a lead and follow of Awakened People. Join us on this great journey together to see new places, in new ways. To make new discoveries, not only about the world, but about the intricate and expanding landscapes of your mind and heart.

YOU are a contributing part of this evolution and this awakening. Do not be a spectator. Do your part to engage and lead within our human family. Together we really are so much more.  Come and join forces with myself and other innovative leaders – alongside you, behind you, and in front of you.

==> How do YOU lead?
==> How do YOU follow?
==> Where in your life is it time for you to get off the bench and in the arena?