Freedom Lifestyle

Can you retrain your brain to be easier to please?

Knowing what you love is the whole point of lifestyle design. But once you've experienced the best of the best, the average version gets a lot harder to enjoy. So is that something to embrace, or something worth examining?

Key Takeaways

• Why lifestyle design can make average experiences harder to tolerate
• High standards or quiet snobbery: how to tell the difference
• A real-time gratitude practice for finding joy in the mundane
• How to use your preferences as a compass instead of a megaphone
• What to do when everyone else seems to access joy more easily than you

If this one resonated, send it to another brat in your life who needs to hear it. And let me know if I'm not alone in the comments on Spotify or YouTube, or DM me on Instagram @sam.laliberte.

This one's heavier than usual, but the lesson still holds: alignment matters more than approval.

This was supposed to be a fun life-update: new house, a dog finally on the way, the excitement of outgrowing an old chapter. Then tragedy hit mid-move, and I shelved it for a year because it felt too raw to release. 

Key Takeaways:

• Why "settling down" isn't a dirty word, even for someone whose identity is built around freedom
• How to handle it when people react to big news with doubt instead of celebration
• The difference between people who don't support you and people who just can't see your vision
• How I knew Jared was "the one" (it involves a dog and a question card)
• A TMI comparison between monogamy and choosing your next big life chapter
• 15 years of decisions people doubted me on, and what happened when I did them anyway

If you've ever had a dream that made someone else uncomfortable, this one's for you.

Everyone sees the sabbaticals, the retreats, the nonprofit, the speaking gigs, the podcast. What nobody sees is the one client quietly paying for all of it.

I've been self-employed for almost a decade, and almost everything I've built has been made possible by a single B2B retainer client: one company, one consistent payment, every single month for five years.

Key Takeaways: 

• What B2B retainer work offers that B2C revenue streams can't 
• The burn rate audit I did when I left my job in 2017 and why still swear by 
• What to actually look for in a client and how to leverage your warm network 
• How to find out if your current employer could become your first freelance client!

This is the un-sexy, quiet strategy I still advise freedom seekers on 10 years later!

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Sam Laliberte -  entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom.

This is the unsolvable problem in my marriage. And honestly? I think I'm right.

Learn why 'good enough' is costing you more than you realize — especially if you're a content creator, podcaster, or service-based entrepreneur building a reputation on your work.

Key Takeaways:

• The hidden tax of consistently shipping work you're not fully proud of 
• Why your first idea and your best idea are almost never the same thing (and how to tell the difference)
• How the AI content flood is making originality your single biggest competitive advantage 
• The one question to ask yourself before you put anything out into the world

You are better than good enough and deep down, you already know it!

Sam Laliberte -  entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom.

Let's talk about 'freedom tax' and the comparison reflex that never fully go away. 

I've been on this journey for almost a decade and these thoughts still show up. I still care what people think of my life. 

The re-worn outfits, the small mountain town, the Tuesday ski days instead of important meetings — sometimes I wonder what it all looks like from the outside...

Key Takeaways:

- Why traditional success metrics are so sticky
- The "freedom tax" aka the real cost of opting out of status symbols 
- How to find your people who measure life the same way you do
- What to do when you're the unconventional one in your group

For anyone who's ever felt the gap between knowing your values and not caring what anyone thinks. That gap doesn't fully close, but there's something you can do with it.

About the show:

Sam Laliberte -  entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom.

When was your last REAL TRIP with your girlfriends? 

Not a cottage weekend. An actual, get-on-a-plane, somewhere-none-of-you-have-been trip? Sedona just completely blew my mind and I want to make sure it's on your radar.

If you've been putting off a girls trip because life got complicated, people had babies, schedules got impossible — this one's for you! 

Takeaways:

• why Sedona should be at the top of your girls trip list (and how to get there)
• how to navigate group trip planning with 9 very different women 
• mountain biking in Sedona: how we pulled it off with zero experience in the group
• vortex energy: what it is, the science, and why none of us could sleep
• the honest truth about female friendships in your 30s and why they deserve your effort
• why travel somewhere new unlocks a version of yourself you forgot existed

A deeply personal reflection on digital relationships, unexpected loss, and the legacy we leave behind when we live fully — at any age.

For three years, I coached April Pruitt — a late-blooming dreamer in her 60s who traded a career in finance for a new creative chapter. Together, we launched her podcast, celebrated her first paid voiceover gig, and laughed through tech struggles and cat cameos on Zoom.

Then suddenly… she was gone.

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

•  It’s never too late to start: April launched a podcast and began a voice acting career at 68.
  
  
• Coaching is more than strategy: It’s about holding space, believing in someone, and watching them grow.
  
  
• Digital bonds are just as real — You can grieve someone you never met in person.
  
  
• Grief can show up in unexpected places: Losing a client might not seem like a big deal… until it is.
  
  

About the show:

Sam Laliberte -  entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom. 

Significant trends reshaping the podcasting landscape! Listen for actionable advice, supported by industry statistics and examples on how established podcasters can implement these trends successfully and remain competitive.

• Microcasts: why you should start making shorter podcast episodes
• Niche content: how to leverage podcast SEO and organic search for discoverability
• YouTube: ways you can add video to your podcast without learning new tech
• Practical tips, trend analysis and advice on maintaining high completion rates
  
  

🎙️Join the Pod Squad's Next Call (group coaching + community for podcasters)

Podcast Tools & Tech: 

1. LucidLink for fast, streamlined file sharing and collaboration (one free month)

2. Riverside for podcast recording (use this link + code 'whatsyourfree' for 20% off)

3. Descript for editing audio and video podcasts (use this link for free trial)

4. Canva for creating YouTube thumbnails

5. Sam's course: how to edit audio and video with Descript

About the show:

Sam Laliberte -  entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle.

Her podcast features celebrity guests and globally recognized brand sponsors (WeWork, Fiverr, Bumble).  She's also a freelance host and podcast producer who has helped over 1000 aspiring podcaster launch, scale and monetize their podcasts. 

Ever wondered if New Zealand lives up to the hype? After 3 months, 38 towns, van life and cozy Airbnb hopping—plus working remotely on the road—we’ve got answers. My husband joins me to share an honest and in-depth review of our quintessential New Zealand adventure. 

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE

Takeaways:

• 🎒 What it’s really like to live out of a van (freedom camping, routines and unexpected challenges)
• 💰The real cost of traveling New Zealand - with tips on saving money
• 💻 Being a digital nomad in New Zealand (Wi-Fi, time zones, coworking culture)
• 🐻The surprising pros (and cons) of living in a country with no wild animals
• 🏞 Who we think New Zealand is perfect for (and who might be disappointed)
• 🌍 Plus: the freedom lessons we’re taking home with us and what we’d do differently next time

About the show:

Sam Laliberte -  entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom. 

We fed goats, picked hazelnuts and volunteered in paradise. Here's the story of our time living and volunteering at a yoga retreat + animal sanctuary in New Zealand. Plus what we learned about impact-driven travel. 

WATCH THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY & YOUTUBE

Takeaways:

• The freedom paradox: what happens after you “make it” and still want more
• How to find legit international volunteer opportunities (not the shady ones)
• What Workaway and WWOOFing are — and how to get started
• Behind the scenes of our daily life on the farm (food, accommodations and duties)
• Why I think giving back while traveling is the future of the freedom lifestyle

About the show:

Sam Laliberte -  entrepreneur, digital nomad and freedom seeker, hosts the Freedom Lifestyle Podcast to expose people to the many ways you can design your dream life and unlock your own version of the freedom lifestyle. Her guests have empowered themselves through flexible work as a way to “have it all” - financial, location AND schedule freedom