Lydia Lee: Screw the cubicle and live on purpose
December 3, 2014 | Podcast
After Lydia Lee left a well-paying but unfulfilling cubicle job in Canada to launch small business startups, her itchy feet led her abroad. Now based in Bali, every day feels like an adventure, and she’s cut her living expenses to 1/3 of what they were in Vancouver. Tune in as we talk about riding scooters in Asia, island living, and so much more.
Most Memorable Location-Independent Experiences
The most memorable experience I have had since becoming location independent is the ability to continue my work at Screw The Cubicle while on the road. Having work + play time in such a balance in my life has been extremely fulfilling for me (goodbye old story of having to work super hard to enjoy a good life). Using my ninja skills of finding coworking spaces and Internet cafes to work from, I can experience scooter trips all the time around the island of Bali and travel around Asia on cheap flights. I can’t imagine my life without adventure and new things to see these days!
Biggest Surprise along the Way
The biggest surprise in my journey has been that being spontaneous and not planning my life like the Type-A person I am has been really rewarding. Less stress, and more opportunities. Things don’t always go as planned, but they work out anyway if I allow it to happen organically. Going where my heart takes me has been a journey of trust and instinctive “knowing” (and trusting my gut).
Running a business obviously requires some planning and goals, and though those things are important, I’ve also realized that when I am open to what may come my way to grow my business, there’s more awareness in my vision now to what feels good in my business that may not have been in the initial plan. For example, I didn’t think my business would grow through workshops and collaboration with others for live events, but that feels good and comes easily, so my business is going that route now. Being flexible enough to adjust how my business will grow was an important lesson for me to not be stuck in one way of doing things because others have done it that way.
In this episode
- Why she decided to sell everything
- Riding scooters in Asia
- Handling time differences
- Using coworking spaces
- Why she doesn’t get bored living on an island
- What it feels like to live your purpose
- How she sets up in-person workshops in other countries
- Why it’s important to ask for help/support
- And much more
Resources we talked about
Note: Links with an asterisk are affiliate links, which means you may receive free credit or another bonus and I may earn a small commission or other benefits if you sign up/purchase using that link. There’s no additional cost to you, of course!
- Coworking spaces: Hubud (Ubud, Bali, Indonesia), Salty Volt (Canggu, Bali, Indonesia), Co.lab (Manila, Philippines)
- Nomadlist.io
Connect with Lydia
Connect with Nomadtopia
Hi, I’m Amy!
I’ve been location-independent since 2004, and after bouncing all over the world I’m currently based in central Mexico with my husband and our twin preschoolers. I founded Nomadtopia to help you create—and thrive in—the location-independent lifestyle that’s right for you.
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