So I have a tendency to open emails, flag them for “later,” and forget about them. (Anyone else do this?!)

When I was on my flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong recently, I thought I’d go through and clean out a bunch of emails by unflagging them. Old mobile boarding passes, webinar confirmations, etc.

Then I came across an email from June 15, 2016 from The Universe. If you haven’t heard of Notes From The Universe, they are these daily short & sweet, inspirational notes from “The Universe.”

That day’s email said:

“What can you now do, that you’d like to do, that you aren’t doing? Do it, Ally.

Love,

The Universe”

I don’t remember what I was exactly doing that day, but that note must have resonated with me to flag it as a reminder. In mid-June last year I was in the middle of my 3-week Europe work + travel trip, about to go back to the States and my old 8-5 job.

While I started out loving that job, things changed over the course of the two years. I won’t go into details, but when I returned home I found myself feeling really down before going into work almost every day that first week back.

All I could think about was how much I loved traveling and knew that while I was happy I used my vacation time to travel, it just wasn’t enough anymore.

Something was “off.”

What did I want to do, that I wasn’t doing?

I knew I needed to quit my job. It had come to a somewhat natural end.

I knew I needed to move to California.

I knew I needed to have the flexibility to work online and not have to ask permission to travel.

I knew what I wanted to do: work for myself and travel. To be a true, location-independent “digital nomad.”

I found myself tirelessly working away at my side hustle, building up a portfolio for online marketing so I could take on freelance clients.

It wasn’t instant, but eventually that’s what I did…changed my life one step at a time, to work online, live wherever I want, and travel whenever I want.

There comes a time when you get to a point where you simply have to make the choice to make a change, and then put ALL your effort into making it happen.

It’s not going to be easy. But will it be worth it?

Here’s a look at what I was up to on my recent 4.5-week trip around the world:

Hiking a volcano in Bali with likeminded travel bloggers
Working with an awesome startup based on entrepreneurship and global community. Meeting even more likeminded people is amazing, and I do this remotely
Making new friends while solo traveling through Southeast Asia
Spending a few hours early each morning to get some work done before heading out to explore a new city such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, Auckland, and Sydney
Being able to take my “office” around the world - one night I was co-working next to a guy who also freelances that I met in Thailand. Being a digital nomad doesn't have to be lonely!

Want to travel around the world while working online? Join the free side hustle email series on goseekexplore.com!

What can you do now, that you aren’t doing?

Look around…what is the universe telling you? What’s holding you back from doing it?

And how can you put ALL your effort into making it happen?

An overwhelming amount of people that read my blog & email me say they too want the freedom & flexibility to work wherever, live wherever, and travel whenever - to be a true digital nomad.

This is why...I have an exciting new series coming up to help any of you who feel like I did last year: tired of your job but are completely motivated to change your life to access the freedom you deserve, through working online.

This free series will outline how to side hustle your way into being a full-time digital nomad. Real strategies, no BS.