I challenge myself each and everyday– to be a better version of myself than I was previously. I did not sign up for this. What would I rather be doing than working oh so hard on turning my dreams into a reality. I will tell you. I would love to be on a beautiful somewhere sunny, where there is no disturbance in sight and there is an endless amount of Piña Colada for my heart to desire; just staring out at the ocean reflecting on life. That place does indeed exist and I try my best to go to such a place every year. Last December, I was in Riviera Maya, 40 miles south of Tulum, Mexico. I’ve been to that area more times than I can count on my fingers. I keep coming back truly because of the energy and mood it gives me. That to me is why people take a vacation. To escape their reality.

But what if— we took this vacation and brought it with us to work. That to me is the digital nomadic lifestyle. Working virtually anywhere in the world. Being where you want to be. Now the doing part of how you afford that lifestyle is different for everyone. If I wanted to shell out $55,000 to live year round in a tropical resort — I could. But in a sane realistic world that is not a smart financial decision right now. Instead, I am choosing a different path that is far more affordable and has a greater ROI.

Come — Digital Nomadic Van Life mixed with AirBnB. The goal in the coming months is to catalog a plethora of beautiful cities that I would love to visit and vacation in… I currently spend roughly $2,500 a month on utility, rent and food. I could easily cut that expense doing van life and AirBnB all while exploring new terrain. The challenge really why people don’t do such a thing is because of comfort. People love comfortability and stay in a fixed comfortable lifestyle, we as creature; to grow we need be uncomfortable. That is why I love entrepreneurship. I love that feeling of being uncomfortable. Of doing things I normally would not do. That is how we grow as a person. I have been mentally preparing for the last few months now to do this nomadic journey. It is more of an experiment to find a true place that I would like to settle down in for a few years. Whether that be in outside of USA or in.. Growing up in Cincinnati, I really always knew I would never live here permanently.  I have been exposed to countless countries and places, it’s only destiny to continue exploring those places. So it really comes to mentality and honing in on escaping comfortability.

Navy Seals believe everything is 90% mental and 10% physical. That being said– tapping into your mind, you can accomplish anything you desire. I plan to accomplish this goal and find the best place to live based on multitude of factors. To name of a few cities; I am looking at Denver, Seattle, Austin, NYC, SanFran, Vancouver and Boston. These cities all are beautiful in their own ways. With working remote I can temporarily live in all of them. Understand the people, the culture, the vibes all around as well as the scenery. That to me is a great path to go down. It’s not so wise to just to buy a house in a city– you should first explore and find out where it is you want to live. That is basic principle.

So back to the story, how is it are we finding balance in a data driven world? For starters being a minimalist– and having no clutter around is a great starting point. Telling yourself it is okay to step away from the social media. Nothing good comes from social media and seeing the instant gratification which translates to instant dopamine is not good. It’s like smoke a cigarette. We need to strive for long term gratification. Which is a challenge in today’s culture. Creating a system of habits is that propel you towards that long term gratification is the goal.

And the lovely thing about having a good job is I can spend money on myself for self improvement. As a person building themselves up to have a strong diamond mind — I am deploying multiple biohacks to build a powerful system around my lifestyle. That to me is how you achieve balance in this data driven. You need to keep your mind stimulated with growth oriented challenges that keep you engaged and grow you. Consuming mindless media distracts you and hinders grow. It’s okay to watch Tiger King every now and then, but watch it when you do some Yoga or when you work out. I recently started watching Ted Talks while I walk on the treadmill. That way I am hitting 2 birds with 1 stone. I am exercising my mind and my body.

Creating an optimum system of good habits are the key to building a good successful life. As a software engineer, I work over 40 hours a week on my job. I spend time doing my Masters as a part time student. Add in working out each day, ensuring I eat healthy food each day– and investing in the stock/crypto market so I have another source of income. Oh yeah, forget to mention working on my side hustles. I do freelance work from time to time, any development or design needs and working on new innovative projects that I have yet to discuss. I will eventually discuss in a further blog post… but stay tuned for more reading.

My point is it takes a lot of discipline and willpower to form the kind of habits that I possess. I would love to grab a drink and watch a UC football game with friends, but I am disciplining myself to spend time on a Saturday to code an AR Food App as well as workout and meditate. I do my best to be 1% better each day. I admit, I lack a social life do to my busy schedule — but I am working my best and mentally preparing myself to be more uncomfortable in those situations. I am overcoming a falsified dehibilating social anxiety I labeled on myself. Overcoming such a thing is noble and much respect to others like myself who are putting in the work to find themselves and be mentally the best they can be. It doesn’t happen overnight. It happens in succession. Doing better each day in our life is the key to finding balance in this driven world. Learning to put your phone down and just paint or do something you have always been wanting to do. For example — this. I have been wanting to blog for awhile. And I am really proud of myself for not consuming mindless content on Reddit over topics on World Affairs, Finances, Startups, etc — It’s better to set limitations for yourself and control your actions. Controlling what it is you want to do is key for success.

In the end – everything is mental. Overcoming that is the key to unlocking your potential. Everyone has potential they just have to find the door to it. That door is the door of innerwork.  This is a form of emotional strength training and to me that is a strong foundation and key for success.

And remember, you are enough. Take time today to reflect on what you are grateful for and the past wins that you have achieved. Pat yourself on the back for making your bed and brushing your teeth. Micro goals lead to bigger goals that lead to victories. You have everything going for you. Do not give up. As for giving up is a quitter’s mentality. Are you a quitter or a winner?