.

In order for a nomad to also be an entrepreneur, the career they choose to develop must be portable. It can’t be tied to a physical location by clients, by technology, by products, by visas, by whatever……

Writing has long been the most portable of all careers. Even today, when we think of travel and entrepreneurship the image that pops into most people’s minds would be that of the travel writer or some other type of non-fiction article or book writer or  published author of some kind. Writing gives nomads the flexibility to earn money anywhere, and doesn’t tie a nomad to a specific technology – if your computer gets lost or stolen, or stops working, you can always use a pen and a notebook or a napkin or any scrap paper to write on.

(I can hear a number of you, dear readers, expressing a collective “Well, Duh!!, but please bear with me for another moment or two)…………….

continued on the Writer Nomad’s Skills page at http://www.agelessnomads.com/the-writer-nomads-skills

~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~

If you enjoyed reading this post, maybe you’d like to subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via email (enter your email address in the box at the top of the page, on the right) so you don’t miss any future posts. Thank you for visiting!

.

.

Have you ever experienced a time when you were trying to manifest a significant change or transformation in your life and everything that could go wrong did go wrong? Add to this a nasty little imp called ‘Resistance’ and you end up with a frustrating situation where Murphy’s Law meets the War of Art!!

This is what my life has been life for the past couple of weeks.

For those who are unfamiliar with Murphy’s Law or The War of Art – let me explain:

Murphy’s Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible moment. It’s like when your USB memory stick develops amnesia right after you have finished writing three of the best blog posts ever in the history of blog posts!! Which, once you have picked yourself up off the floor after having collapsed to the ground in a quivering, whimpering heap, leaves you scrambling,  trying to remember those perfect ideas expressed in those perfect words and sentences. Yeah – not so easy to do!!

Or – just after you learn that you are probably going to need to have a new furnace put into your 100 year old house and have the slightly crumbling chimney relined to the tune of multiple thousands of dollars, one of the drains in your house (the one that takes the used water from your kitchen including the dishwasher and washing machine) breaks, leaving you without the use of your dishwasher and washing machine – the day before you have planned a family brunch!!!

And this is where The War of Art kicks in. With bills and frustrations increasing, and money becoming ever more scarce, resistance begins taking over vital systems in your brain. Creativity spins from writing to looking for a full time job. Thoughts of entrepreneurship morph into nightmares of punching the 9-5 clock.

But in the middle of all of this, a funny thing happened while I was straightening up some books. The book, The War of Art, fell out of a bookcase. I thought I had lost the book several months ago, but here it was. Loaded with the exact information I needed at exactly this specific point in time. Don’t you love ot when that happens!!

Picking the book up, I began reading a chapter titled “The Unlived Life”: “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” Resistance can come in the form of technical mishaps, unexpected expenses, bills, frustrations, lack of confidence…..

The War of Art challenges resistance. Its funny, inspirational, and most importantly motivational – great for anyone trying to overcome resistance, to move forward with their life – to change, to transform, to live the unlived life within us. It was just what I needed to read in order to get myself back on track.

So, how do you cope with resistance, procrastination, and the other little imps that life likes to throw in your way while you are busy trying to build your authentic life?

TTFN

The War of Art: Breaking Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles is written by Stephen Pressfield.

~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~

If you enjoyed reading this post, maybe you’d like to subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via email (enter your email address in the box at the top of the page, on the right) so you don’t miss any future posts. Thank you for visiting!

If you are someone who is interested in enjoying the benefits of extended travel, but don’t want to give up the benefits of having a ‘home-base’ then there is an alternative housing style that might be of interest to you – cohousing.

Cohousing is not the same as co-operatives, where apartment buildings are owned by the residents who have their own individual apartments or houses.

Cohousing is more like a cross between a commune and a co-op.  It’s like a traditional village that is owned by its residents, only not quite.

With co-housing a group of individuals get together, buy a property and either renovate or build to suit their purposes. Every individual or family has a private apartment or house in the village that they use as their space. They also share common spaces, facilities and amenities.

Shared spaces, facilities and amenities could be a children’s playground, guest rooms, a fully equipped office, workshops, gardens/farms, arts and crafts studios – basically whatever the group decides it wants to have (as long as it’s legal ).

Cohousing residents share responsibilities for planning, designing, managing, maintaining and participating in the day-to-day running of the development.  The residents become part of a sustainable, working community. A community where everyone knows everyone else and supports the other residents.

For location independent professionals and ageless nomads this type of lifestyle and housing design offers a number of benefits:

• you don’t have to worry about your home when you are away traveling;
• you could become part of a cohousing group that was formed around traveling so your non-traveling times would be spent surrounded by people who shared your passion and understood your lifestyle;
• as a location independent professional, a cohousing community built around creativity or small business development could provide unlimited support and energy to your lifestyle. There is an Art Cohousing Community in Rome, Italy (http://www.artcohousing.com/) that seems to be offering units for long- or short-term rentals to artists interested in developing their talents (the site is in Italian and the Google English translation is a bit rough);
• cohousing units can be ‘house swapped’ providing great opportunities for you to live in other communities; etc.

For Baby Boomers, the advantages to living in a cohousing community include:

• you don’t have to worry about your home when you are away traveling;
• house swapping your cohousing unit with someone from another cohousing community is a great way to travel and explore other countries without feeling lonely or isolated;
• being part of a community of individuals who share your interests or hobbies, without being limited to just retirement villages. Although there are some cohousing communities that are age-specific, most cohousing communities are inter-generational;
• you have community support as you age;
• you could reduce your living expenses. Shared items, like laundry facilities, vehicles, RVs, sporting and fitness equipment, hobby supplies, business equipment and expertise, etc., can help reduce costs; etc.

The cohousing model is a recent phenomenon, with the first cohousing community being built in Denmark in 1972. In North America the first cohousing community didn’t occur until 1988.  According to the Canadian Cohousing Network, there are currently only roughly 130 cohousing communities scattered throughout North America, with most Canadian cohousing communities located in British Columbia. However, another 120 are currently in various stages of development and the movement is predicted to gain in popularity over the next 10 or so years.

More information on cohousing can be obtained from:

1. The Canadian Cohousing Network, http://www.cohousing.ca
2. The Cohousing Association of the United States, http://www.cohousing.org
3. The UK Cohousing Network, http://www.cohousing.org.uk/
4. The Fellowship for Intentional Communities, http://www.ic.org/

TTFN

~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~♦~~~~

If you enjoyed reading this post, maybe you’d like to subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via email (enter your email address in the box at the top of the page, on the right) so you don’t miss any future posts. Thank you for visiting!