[00:00:00] Hey there, and welcome to the Digital Nomad Life podcast. I'm your host Christa, also known as @christabellatravels on TikTok and Instagram. And I have been a digital nomad for the past ten years. And over the past, I guess it's been almost four years now, I've been coaching people on becoming digital nomads.

And one thing that I feel I need to say upfront to every single person that I work with is becoming a digital nomad it is so possible for anybody, anybody, anybody. I believe that. However, it's not easy. And in this episode today, I want to differentiate. What that means, and I also want to prepare you to be able to field the many messages.

I'm sure you're getting online if you want to become a digital nomad, right? If you've told the internet that you want to become a digital nomad, I guarantee you some so many people say it's easy to make money online. It's easy to create this lifestyle, this is an easy way to make 10k months.

And [00:01:00] honestly, all of that is possible. Fucking bullshit. Sorry for swearing. I just can't stand that message. I think it's so misleading. I think it's deeply unethical. I think that these people have zero integrity for saying something like that because the truth is it's not. Just easy. It's not just an easy walk in the park to be creating your absolute dream reality.

If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.

Like, why do you think that there are so many people who are miserable in their office jobs? All these memes out there are talking about why people hate their commute, and why they're miserable with their coworkers. They can't stand their boss. They feel oppressed. They're working over hours. They're underpaid, they're underappreciated. All of that. That is something that permeates our culture and our society.

Why do you think that people would tolerate this if they thought that they could easily make money online or if there was some kind of easy scenario? So I'm not making this episode to [00:02:00] discourage you.

I'm just making this episode to give you a solid dose of realism so that you can still choose the digital nomad lifestyle, you can still choose entrepreneurship, and you can still choose freedom.

 But I want to make sure that if you are signing up for this lifestyle, and especially if you sign up to work with me and in my program you come in knowing that it's not just going to be a cakewalk, but that if you do put in the work, and if you do continue showing up every single day, and you stay focused and dedicated and motivated to your ultimate goal of becoming a digital nomad, then you can do it.

As always, if you're a listener, I come here to give as much value as I possibly can. And with that, I guess that means that in this episode, I'm going to have to talk about why the other digital nomad coaches are wrong for telling you that it's easy, why it is possible for anybody, and how it's possible for anybody.

So buckle up because you are going to [00:03:00] be I'm learning a lot in this episode, and my intention, as I just said, is that you walk away feeling empowered, like, okay, I think I can do this. Not feeling like you've been lied to and not feeling like you've been misled. There's a lot of people that come into my program as well, where they've tried many other different coaches and scenarios to become a digital nomad.

And they are just like, I don't understand, like the way that it was marketed to me was that it was going to be this easy process. One thing specifically that I hear all the time is people buy this online course called Roadmap to Riches, and teaches you about digital marketing. And the thing about it is that you can, buy it and then like immediately resell it for the same amount of money. It's something called master resell rights.

And, um, it is pretty cool. And I bought it. I bought it, and I was included as a bonus in my program, So the reason why I'm saying this is because that one, [00:04:00] like, there's been this huge emphasis, all over the internet. I mean, maybe I just see it because that's how my algorithm is trained.

But  I just see everybody and everybody and everybody talking about how this master resell rights course Roadmap to Riches is helping everybody make thousands of dollars per month online. And it's so easy. All you have to do is work from your phone.

And I'm like, guys, this is, again, so incredibly misleading.

So, um, yeah, if you are interested in that course, you are gonna get it for free when you join the Digital Nomad Life Academy, which is my business.

Okay, so now, here's my philosophy and why I created my business the way that I did so that it would be actually really honest, and get results for people.

And also, nobody's in the program thinking that it's just going to be handed to them. Because nothing in life is going to be handed to you, babe, like literally nothing. You should know that by now. If you thought that anything was going to be handed to you, you would [00:05:00] already be living your dream life.

A little slap in the face. You have to do the work yourself if you wanna change your life. Okay?

People might say, oh, Christa, you're so lucky because you have this lifestyle. And I'm like, no, bitch. Like I worked so hard to get to where I am now. And if you don't know me where I am now, I'm just gonna do a little.

Uh, shameless brag. I've traveled to 65 countries. I just got back from a three-month trip where I went to Antarctica Argentina and Brazil. I went to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. I was on multiple cruise ships in this three-month period. Um, and all in all, it probably was a trip that ended up costing me about $20, 000.

And that's something that I'm able to do, like, every year, basically. Like every year, I take at least three months to travel, but this year, And actually last year, it'll probably end up being six months. I like to make multiple six figures in my [00:06:00] business, and I get to have a huge impact. I love what I do. I live in Bali. Like, I, have this gorgeous villa where I live with my best friends and my dog. I go to the nicest gym, I eat the best food, and I fly business class. So it's just like Sorry, I could keep going actually, like really, things are pretty good, um, and I'm so grateful because it wasn't always this way, like, there was a time, um, it was over ten years ago at this point now, so it's like taken me a while to get to this point as well, by the way, like this didn't just happen overnight.

Let's actually say thirteen years ago, I, oh my god, aging myself, graduated from college and moved to New York City with like debt, debt to my parents, they did pay for my college. So I will say that totally was something I was super privileged about, but I never received spending money after that. [00:07:00] So, basically, after I graduated, I was so depressed because I was like, I just want to travel the world so bad, and I don't have any money to do that.

And there's no way my parents will ever just like give me money to do fun things. Um, so I have to do it all myself and how am I going to have a job and travel the world?

And then I was like, well, maybe I could at least move to a city. where I feel like that city would be exciting. So I decided to move to New York City.

I happened to choose the most expensive city in frickin America. Anyway, I spent all summer working multiple jobs. I had a secretary job, I had two waitressing jobs, and I nannied. So I saved up, um, I think like, I don't know, a few thousand dollars? And then that was what enabled me to get my first apartment, which, by the way, was like an illegal rental, in Brooklyn, like in a not safe part of Brooklyn. I had a Craigslist roommate. Then I had my first job ever where I was making $35, 000 a year. And at that first [00:08:00] job, actually I negotiated that extra $5, 000 because they originally wanted to offer me $30, 000 a year. And do you know what? I made it work. I made it work for three years. Yes, I lived in a shoebox-sized apartment.

Eventually, I upgraded to West Village,  but then I literally could, like, turn the light off in the middle of the day, and I couldn't see my hand waving in front of my face. Like, there was literally no light in this apartment. I had seasonal depression. I started hating my job. so mean to me. I did not get along well with all the girls in my office.

And it just honestly, like, after three years in New York, really felt like it had beaten me down. And I just was so unhappy. And I was like, I gotta get out of here. So I actually got fired from my job. Um, and I don't, I don't really think it was because I did a bad job. Although definitely, my heart wasn't in it. So maybe I was doing a bad job.

But what actually happened was that the clients that I was working for, um, I was at a PR agency. Three of [00:09:00] them didn't re-sign at the same time, and so then they were like, Oh, well I guess we don't need you- cutthroat industry. Bye, Christa. You've only been here for, you know, eight months at that point. So I got let go because I was like the newbie.

Anyway, I was very devastated about that experience. And, uh, literally my confidence was ao low, so low. I was like, I am nothing. I have no skills, nobody's ever going to hire me with this gap on my resume. I'm going to have to move back home with my parents.
And like, this is just the worst.

So, that's where I was. Okay. So that's where I was. And this is where I am now. And where I started my digital nomad journey, you can actually listen to the very, very, very first episode of this podcast. And I tell you about how I lost my job, and then I moved to Thailand with like three or four thousand dollars to my name with no job lined up.

So, I am prepared to do the scary things.  I'm prepared to work my fucking ass off, and I don't give up. Okay, and those are basically the things [00:10:00] that have enabled me to get to where I am now So, honestly, no freaking excuses. I mean, like, all the things that I've learned about how to pull myself up from the bootstraps and just like make money while I'm hustling and how to hustle and all that.

That is what I teach to my clients now, and over the past 10 years that I've been meeting other digital nomads, I know how many different kind of opportunities are out there for remote work. And that's how I also help my clients decide what it is that they're going to do to start making money online.

Because ultimately that is what this is all about, right?

Like if you want to become a digital nomad, you want to travel the world, you want to go to 65 countries like I have, you want to live in the country of your choice, like I chose Bali, you want to live wherever you want, you can do that, but you have to be prepared to work hard, and there are some ways that you can skip some steps.

Okay, let's start [00:11:00] with something reassuring, which is that it's possible. Okay, so I know that I've been harping now here on how it's hard, it's hard, like you have to work really hard. But the truth is that anybody can become a digital nomad no matter what age you're at.

I have a podcast episode that says Are You Too Old or Too Young to Become a Nomad? You can listen to that if you're insecure about how old you are, or if you have no skills, I have other episodes talking about how you can develop a skill set to work online. But the thing is, it's possible for anybody. You just need to have a good idea. Okay, you just need to have a good business idea.

Now, so, you're like, Oh my God, business, Christa, I don't want to start a business. And I'm like, listen, do you want to have the dream lifestyle or not? Okay, because if you want to have the dream lifestyle, then the truth is there is a ton of competition out there for remote jobs and if you are wanting a job then basically what you're saying is you don't care about a career.

[00:12:00] Which are different, right?

A job is something that you just make money at, and you're literally just there to make as much money as you can. So if you're saying that you want a job, all you're saying is that you don't care what you do, and you just want to make as much money as possible.

Well, guess what?

Everybody else, and their mom also wants a job that they don't have to have experience for. They want a job that they don't have to do, a lot of critical thinking for. They want a job that is flexible. They want a job with great benefits. They want a job that just lets them clock in whenever they want. They want to have a job that lets them work from anywhere.

You are out of your goddamn mind if you think that there's an abundance of those opportunities out there.

There are not, okay?

I'm sorry. There are some, and maybe you'll be, like, the lottery winner at life and get a job like that. Maybe. I'm not saying it's not possible. I actually really hold the belief that anything is possible, and that's why I'm making this [00:13:00] episode.

When you are saying that that's what you want, genuinely, you're basically relying on winning the lottery. And that is not a great strategy because you don't have any control over whether you win the lottery or not. Like, it's sheer luck. So, when I say that anybody can do it, I'm not saying that anybody can win the lottery. not everybody can win the lottery. Only one person can win the lottery. That's why it's a lottery.

So if I say anybody can become a digital nomad, you have to trust me that you need to take more ownership of your life.

You need to take more ownership over your direction and take action. But when you have direction and action, that's when you have more control, and that's when you can actually get the results of your manifestation. Um, yes, I am a manifestation girly, and, uh, I am not here telling you that you can manifest your dream life by sitting there and journaling and scripting.

[00:14:00] That's not true either. You definitely can manifest anything you want. You have to set your sights for what you want, and then you need to take action to get there. So, you cannot manifest winning the lottery, because you can't take any controlled action over winning. You can only take action over playing, and we're not relying on that here, right? We're taking action and ownership over our own lives.

So sorry, but you're going to have to create your own business if you want to have autonomy and freedom in your life. If you want to do something that's meaningful to you. If you want to do something that's fun, if you want to do something where you can make uncapped earning potential like I do, then having a business is the way again, unless you win the lottery and get that. You know, a diamond in the rough job. And if that's what you want, you can stop listening now. Bye! You are not the person to be listening to my content.

Okay, so, basically now we are in agreement. You are going to have to start your own business. Okay, so you're probably scared, right? [00:15:00] No worries. I get it. It is scary. It's it's scary to start a business, but it's possible. And that's what this episode is about, right?

It's not easy, but it's possible and you can do it.

Okay. So we're in agreement. You have to start your own business. Now, you're probably like, what business though? Like, I don't know what I want to do. Okay. Go listen to my episode called How My Career Assessment Process Works. And you will hear way more about how I personally can help people come up with that brilliant, career idea that actually really makes sense for their personality.

But essentially the gist of it is that we're going to take a full holistic inventory and look over what skills you have. Now you might not have, um, technical skills, right? Like maybe you don't know how to edit using Photoshop. That's a skill, but maybe you do have a very persuasive personality. That's a skill that is literally a transferable skill.

So you're going to make an inventory of [00:16:00] who the F you are. What are all the best parts about you? What are the most monetizable parts about you? What are things that you've done in the past to make money? What are the tasks that you've done within those things that you could offer to other businesses?

So, just take a big inventory of all the valuable things about you and leave no stone unturned. This is not a time to be humble. This is not a time to be shy. This is not a time to be like, Oh my God, I'm not good enough. No. No, no, no. This is why it's hard, right? You have to start believing that you are worthy. You have to start believing that you're good enough. You're to start believing that you have something to offer. And if you don't have something to offer, if you like literally don't have anything to offer at all if you're like a wet blanket for a personality and you I don't know like just graduated [00:17:00] middle school um okay well then it's time to learn some skills and guess what you can learn skills in so many places.


That's one of the first things that I cover when you join The Digital Nomad Life Academy, is where to learn a specific skill that fits with your personality.

So, full disclosure, when you come into the Digital Nomad Life Academy, there's one little thing that I don't teach you and that is how to do the specific skill for your job.

And that's because I don't have to because you have access to the internet. So, um, basically what happens when you join the Digital Nomad Life Academy or the DNLA. You start off by filling out the career assessment form. Then you and I meet, and I, help you decide on what your business idea is. And then we take a look and see, okay, are there any gaps in your knowledge?

And if they are, I'll say, okay, go watch some YouTube videos about that particular thing. And then you watch YouTube videos, and then you come back and then you start learning how to build the business.

So if you're smart, and if you've been paying attention, you might be asking [00:18:00] yourself now, wait, Christa, how do you coach so many people doing different kinds of things? And that is because the business model that I teach to all my clients is the same. Everybody inside of the Digital Nomad Life Academy  follows the quote, small service provider and quote, business model.

The reason why I teach that particular model is because that is actually the most simple model that there is, and it has the highest profits.

Actually, it's pretty much pure profit at the beginning because you really don't need any systems. You might need some. So it just depends on what you do. But like the investment to create a small service provider business is very minimal actually. I do not teach people how to create an e-commerce business, because I think for that kind of business, or any kind of product basis where you're actually selling a specific thing and you have inventory, there's just a lot more moving pieces to that.

There's a [00:19:00] lot more upfront investment in the actual product stock, or even if you're selling digital products like you need to build an audience and there's just a lot of building. It's a very, very, very long process. And what I'm here to do is help liberate people.

So ultimately I would love for all my clients to go on and create something more scalable,  like product based eventually, but for now, my job, what I'm here to do is to help you get out of the rat race as soon as fricking possible.

And I know after having worked with hundreds and hundreds of people and having met thousands and thousands of others, that creating a small service provider business is the fastest and most simple way. It's simple, but it's not easy. Okay, again, remember this whole process isn't easy. Now the reason why it's not easy to create a small service provider business is because a lot of people try to do it on their own without having any [00:20:00] knowledge of business.

They think, Oh, I know how to write. So therefore I can just be a copywriter and create a copywriter business. It's like, no, no, no. Remember at the beginning when I was saying everybody would be living this lifestyle if it were easy? I believe like everybody has a skill, everybody has a skill that can be monetized.

So if all it really took was just having a skill, then you would be a digital nomad already. But the reason why you're not a digital nomad yet, and the reason why most other people are not is because they don't know how to take that skill and turn it into a business. So there's no amount of asking chat GPT how to do it. There is no YouTube video that's going to be able to guide you through the whole process. Like building a business takes a lot of effort, and there are a lot of mindset challenges that come along with it too. So just to name a few things that we cover inside of the Digital Nomad Life Academy.

First things first is imposter syndrome.

Like a lot of [00:21:00] people, that are just creating their businesses for the first time, they have this feeling of like. Well, who am I to be doing this or, you know, I'm new at this? So why would somebody pay me versus pay somebody else? And there are actually ways to overcome imposter syndrome, but you really do need to work at it.
You need to be very aware of what's happening in your mindset, um, and how you're showing up.

And, honestly, just working with a coach is the shortcut to life.

For me, my whole life changed when I hired my first business coach. I mean, I had been trying to create a business for years, actually.  like I actually kind of won the lottery with that like cool job, I just got a really sick opportunity, to work remotely.

And it was like a pretty easy job, so I did that for a few years, and it was great, but ultimately it was so boring to me and like really unfulfilling, and I just wanted to get out of there after two years.

Even though my lifestyle was amazing, I was like, I want to do something meaningful. I want to do something that, that [00:22:00] I feel good about, something that's actually giving back to the world.

And I tried to create so many different businesses, I actually counted, and it was eight, eight businesses I tried to create and failed before I ended up hiring a business coach who helped mirror to me all of the shit that I was doing to self-sabotage.

 If you're listening to this episode, I'm guessing that you've considered entrepreneurship or you've considered creating your own business going freelance, or just doing some kind of side hustle thing before.

And I want you to just take a second and think about what happened in your mind to stop you from doing that. What in your mind was telling you that you're not good enough, that you're not worthy enough, or you couldn't make up your mind, or you kept changing your mind, or you started and then stopped, or you just conveniently started procrastinating a lot? Not because you're lazy, but procrastination is an avoidance strategy to [00:23:00] avoid feeling like a failure to avoid feeling rejected, where you paralyzed for getting on a sales call, where you, stopped short at the idea of putting yourself up on social media and telling the world that this is what you're doing now, because this. Because guess what?

You can't have a profitable business if you're not marketing yourself. And you have to be visible to the public if you want to market yourself. And that's again why it's not easy, but it's possible. Okay? At the end of the day, it's pretty freaking straightforward. to create a business.

You get the business idea. I'll help you with that. You learn the skills. You'll go off and do that. Then you will go through the process of deciding who you want to help, what you want to offer them, and then how you're going to market yourself. And there are infinite ways to market yourself. You can be on social media, you can use a podcast.

You can do public speaking, you can leverage word of mouth, you [00:24:00] can do affiliate marketing, you can leverage influencer marketing, you can run ads, and on and on and on. There are so many ways to market yourself. And you also need to choose the one that's most aligned with your skill set and your personality in order to have success.

So you also need to know who the hell you are. And um, one thing I will say about entrepreneurship is it is the best personal development experience possible. Aside from maybe a romantic relationship, becoming an entrepreneur will show you all of your shit. It'll show you all of your securities, it'll bring them up right in your face, that is a lot to get through as well.

But when you're with the community. when you're with other people who can support you, other people, who are trying to do the same things, other people who validate you, who don't make you feel like you're insane for wanting to choose this lifestyle, then that is when you can leverage, the energy of the collective, like of your community [00:25:00] to have success.

And that's why inside the DNLA, I always really emphasize community, community, community. Every single week there are multiple calls where you can come ask me or ask one of the other guest coaches any question about business, marketing, lifestyle, shadow work or mindset, et cetera. And on all of those calls, you get to overhear other people dealing with their challenges too, which helps you feel so much less alone and isolated, which really can happen when you're working remotely.

When you're trying to build a business especially when you are trying to become a digital nomad. So look, if you've listened to this whole episode, you probably are a good fit for the DNLA because at this point, like if you weren't a good fit, you would have been scared away already. But if you're like, okay, I see you, Christa, I hear what you're saying.

It's not going to be a cakewalk, but. You're reassuring me that it is straightforward, that it is possible, that I can do it no matter what age I am, what [00:26:00] skill set I have, where in the world I live, I guarantee you I have worked with people who are in high school and other people who are 40-year-old construction workers and even my mom who is been an occupational therapist for the past 40 years.

Like I've helped all of these people create profitable online businesses when they had no idea where to start. So if I can do that for them and if I can change my life to the level that I have, I just, I'm sorry, I know there are no guarantees in life, but I guarantee you that if and this is a big condition.

If you are willing to put in the work, if you're willing to keep showing up every freaking day, if you're willing to invest in yourself and mentorship, right? If you're not just trying to do it all by yourself, because we need community, we need community and we need guidance and we need support. Like if you are ready to do all of those things, then, I guarantee you, you can have the [00:27:00] lifestyle of your wildest dreams.

Like do you want to go on a 10, 000 cruise ship to Antarctica where you literally get to hang out with the penguins on the land of Antarctica because I got to do that just a couple of months ago? Do you want to be celebrating Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, do you want to be dancing on the street, covered in glitter, listening to samba music, and wearing a tutu, like, on a Tuesday afternoon, not because you asked for time off of work, just because you gave it to yourself?

Do you want to make unlimited money so that you can literally just book any trip and go anywhere whenever you want? Do you want to be able to say yes to the romantic bid for connection that somebody that you met on vacation gave to you last year and you just are missing that person? You want to be able to say yes and pursue the love of your life like you get to do all those things when you work remotely when you have your own business, when you are in full control and autonomy over your life.

That is real [00:28:00] freedom and you can have it. You can have it. You can have it. You can have it. You can have it. I guarantee you, you can have it, but you have to be willing to put in the work. You have to be willing to invest. You got to be willing to do the hard shit. You have to be willing to do scary things.

But if you're willing to do all that. Send me a DM on Instagram at @christabellatravels  with the keyword, quote, and "possible podcast." It has to be those two words in that order, possible podcast, possible podcast. Send me a DM with those keywords. You will get an automated reply from me asking you just a little bit about yourself.

I'm going to ask you like what your story, what you already know about what you want for your digital nomad life, and ask you just a few clarifying questions. And if you can send me a solid answer, if you're like, I want this lifestyle. This is what I'm prepared to do. Tell me about yourself.

I'd be happy to offer you a discount to the DNLA. Which [00:29:00] normally is a 3, 000 program, by the way, it's 3, 000, which is a, an entire year of calls every single week, like multiple calls. you also get all of the course curriculum that teaches you how to not just build your business, but then also market your business, scale your business. It's extremely I think there's like 120 hours of videos in there. So it's literally the only course you'll ever, ever, ever need.

And it comes with coaching and it comes with the community every single day. You can go on to our Slack community, and message other people. I always have people collaborating, on their different businesses, like using each other for market research and beta testing. They also meet up in other parts of the country. Like I just had a couple of clients meet up in Milan and Tenerife. I've seen so many of my clients come through Bali. So the community is just amazing. You will definitely make friends and business partners.

And again, you're just going to get all of your questions answered. [00:30:00] Like the coaching calls are. Always at least an hour. They're usually pretty small as well. And if the community gets bigger, I'll just put more calls in the calendar So no matter what you're always going to be super super super supported You're basically paying for a VIP coaching program at a fraction of the cost.
And again, this is for an entire year. Okay, so the reason why it's a year is because it can take some time like especially if you are starting from absolute scratch it can definitely take some time to build your business, but you can do it within nine months or if you're like some of my clients, you can do it within three months.

But that means the clients that do it within three months, they're coming to every single call, right?

They're coming to every single call. They're watching the video modules diligently. They are doing the work. They are doing the shadow work. they're just doing it. So, um, yeah, send me a message on Instagram Possible Podcast so that I know that you heard this particular one.

Answer the questions and then once I read the answers, I will send you a [00:31:00] sick discount. that, hopefully, you won't be able to say no to. It's going to be that good. So I can't wait to hopefully see you inside of the DNLA, um, if you want to book a career assessment call with me too, that is also something that you can do when you join.

So maybe you and I will actually even get to meet on a really beautiful intimate phone call and, uh, Let's just change your life. If you're listening to this episode, I know it's because there's more out there for you. You have so much potential and you don't have to be, living a life that you're not absolutely stoked with.

That's my final message for you and, thanks for listening and we'll see you in the next episode. Bye.