038: J. R. R. Tolkien – Not all those who wonder

“All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost” – J. R. R. Tolkien

This was drawn by Eastfist. You can check out his art at his profile.

The quote in this comic is part of a long poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien for his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings (LOTR). I mean the book, mind you, not the movie. You can read the full poem here at Wikipedia, which also has some trivia about the poem.

The second line in the poem, is the one that appears in our comic. In the book it references a group called the Rangers, who seemed like wanderers and vagabonds, but were actually vanquishers of evil. Kinda like secret agents.

What this comic is about

Our comic is really a shout out to the nomadic entrepreneur, or the digital nomad. Digital nomads are entrepreneurs, self-employed persons, or  (in rare cases) employees, who have broken out of the usual 9-5 work cycle and into an online, work from anywhere type of lifestyle. They still do the work, but leverage on the Internet to be able to do the same work from anywhere in the world. In a sense, they are like the Rangers from LOTR. On the surface, they travel the world seemingly as tourists, but are actually efficient and strategic entrepreneurs.

Digital nomads were around for some time, but were only popularised by the book The 4-Hour Work Week. I have read this book, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to start a business in the digital age. In fact, some people now consider this book to be a classic.

When I first read the book, I was mind-blown at the concept of working anywhere in the world. It seemed like such a far-fetched idea. However, the book did give examples of actual nomads to prove to me that it was possible. The author, Tim Ferris, is digital nomad himself. Also, it’s not just the Internet that makes this possible, but a combination of ‘hacks’, such as outsourcing work to virtual assistants. You’ll have to read the book to learn them all. On the flip-side, if you want a short version of how this all can work for you, check out Jon Yongfook’s post about it.

In case you were wondering, yes, there are some digital nomads who bring their entire family with them. A King’s Life, is a blog that showcases exactly just that.

In truth, I don’t like to travel. It’s one of the things I fear. I’d all the benefits of a digital nomad, but I prefer to stay at home. The real draw for me here is freedom. I don’t want to be locked away in an office for 9-5. I don’t want to have to work when I really don’t feel like it. I want to be able to live my life on my terms.

Even after all that said about my fear of travelling, I’ll be heading to Melbourne for the month of July, 2015. I’ll be staying for the month and running Rational Comics from there. Let’s see how all this digital nomad stuff turns out for me. (Yeah, this totally fits in with the comic.) Finger crossed!

In closing

I would have to say that not everyone can be a digital nomad. There are some business models or job types that would be hard to fit with the digital nomad lifestyle. Still, the idea is great, and if that’s you want, you should totally go for it. If it’s hard for you to be one, all things considered, then I hope you’ll find a way. Find creative solutions, not creative excuses!

If you have other stories of digital nomads, yourself or someone else’s, do share them in the comments below.

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