Meet Kayla, a passionate digital nomad, discussing her life-changing journey and upcoming book, "How to Be a Digital Nomad." Kayla shares her experiences, including meeting her husband on the road, embracing the challenges, and building a remote work lifestyle.

Key Points:

Kayla's new book, "How to Be a Digital Nomad," is set to release on January 30th, 2024. Available on major platforms, including Amazon, Target, and Barnes & Noble.

🌐 Connect with Kayla on her website

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In this episode, we are joined by ⁠Chris Mitchell⁠, the owner and CEO (Chief Empowerment Officer) of Define Yourself. Chris shares his inspiring journey as a person with multiple disabilities, emphasizing the challenges he faced in traditional employment due to societal barriers.

🌐 Learn about Chris's resilience and determination, navigating obstacles in the workforce as he battled visual impairment, ADHD, physical disability, and mental health struggles. Discover how he successfully convinced an Internet service provider to hire him while holding his white cane.

🤝 Chris sheds light on the discrimination he encountered during job interviews, emphasizing the importance of fostering a supportive and accommodating work environment for individuals with disabilities.

🏠 Delve into Chris's extensive experience of working remotely since 1992, exploring how remote work became his preferred choice, especially after facing health challenges.

💪 Uncover Chris's secret to self-confidence through his concept of "success balloons," visual reminders of his achievements.

Get ready for one of our most positive guests on the show! Chris gives valuable advice on building self-confidence and embracing challenges. He is focused on empowering self-employed individuals with disabilities.

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Download Chris' free cheat sheet on building self-confidence ⁠here⁠.

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Do you love the show? Check out our ⁠⁠official merch page⁠⁠ and support the show!

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Join us in this "Best Of" episode featuring Catherine Green, an E-Clinical Project Manager and military spouse, as she shares her profound journey of working from home for the past five years. Catherine unravels the unique challenges faced by military spouses, including the stress of frequent relocations, financial strain, and disruptions to long-term career goals.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Catherine passionately advocates for remote work as a solution, offering stability to military spouses. She emphasizes the value of long-term relationships with employers, highlighting the stability it provides in the face of relocations.

The episode explores the emotional toll of constant moves, revealing how remote work not only offers professional stability but also alleviates the strain on mental and emotional health. Catherine provides insights into handling challenges during deployments, showcasing remote work as a lifeline for managing responsibilities.

From maintaining a strict nutritional plan to achieving a more streamlined daily routine, Catherine's story delves into the efficiency and advantages of working from home. Her perspective on the balance between work and home life, the power of control over her environment, and the crucial role of leadership support in fostering a positive remote work culture are all highlighted.

Catherine's transformative journey exemplifies how remote work positively impacts personal well-being, job satisfaction, and the ability to navigate the complexities of military life. Tune in to discover the powerful intersection of remote work and the military lifestyle, and gain valuable insights for your own work-from-home journey.

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Join host Don in an insightful conversation with Eileen Tanner, a PR veteran with 27 years of remote work expertise. Eileen's journey, starting in 1996, unfolds a transformative era from fax machines to virtual meetings.

Explore the early days, where landlines and fax machines with thermal paper defined remote communication. Eileen vividly contrasts this with today's efficient workflows enabled by advanced communication tools.

Delve into her reflections on the evolving work landscape shaped by technology. Discover how rapid decision-making today compares to the '90s, and the challenges of navigating the transformed news cycle, emphasizing the demand for immediate updates in a 24-hour news cycle.

The interview concludes with Eileen shedding light on the contemporary emphasis on click-worthy content, underlining the challenges for PR professionals in gaining media coverage amidst changing newsroom structures.

In subsequent segments, Eileen shares her personal transition to remote work, the challenges faced, and the changing perceptions over the years. Her experiences at Golin and Zebra Partners provide valuable insights into workplace dynamics, the importance of self-advocacy, and the evolving landscape of remote work.

Eileen's story offers a comprehensive exploration of remote work's transformation, from the late '90s to today, and valuable advice for professionals navigating this dynamic space.

In this episode, Lea Durante, a former family nurse practitioner turned integrative health coach, unfolds her transformative journey from traditional clinical work to a fully remote role. With a decade in primary care, Lea faced burnout and witnessed patients struggling with health insurance limitations, sparking her critical questioning of the healthcare system.

A pivotal moment, where a mother couldn't afford inhalers for her son, exposed the flaws in the 15-minute model of patient care. Lea emphasizes its limitations in addressing overall well-being, leading her to transition to a remote integrative health coaching role. Her approach, rooted in a community-based model, aims to empower patients, incorporating behavioral models for sustained change.

Reflecting on her pandemic experience, Lea highlights the mental health challenges faced by patients and the inadequacy of the traditional healthcare model. Leaving clinical practice for a remote role significantly improved her mental health and work-life balance, allowing the flexibility to prioritize family and meaningful work.

Lea shares insights into her unique remote office setup, the pivotal role of her husband's support, and the decision-making process involving vision casting and negotiation. She encourages redefining success beyond societal norms and advocates for fixing charting issues, addressing health insurance challenges, and embracing the positive potential of AI in healthcare.

This episode provides a holistic view of Lea's journey, emphasizing the importance of courage, commitment to change, and the pursuit of a patient-centered, remote wellness approach.

Connect with Lea:

Nick Korwin, a seasoned operations and engineering professional with a background in mechanical engineering shares his career pivot from manufacturing to a remote career in tech. Nick's diverse experience spans various industries, including medical, automotive, and chemicals. Currently, he manages virtual data operations for a tech company based in California, all while residing in the Midwest, specifically the Chicagoland area.

Nick delves into his motivation for transitioning from a traditional in-person career managing large-scale operations to remote work. The catalyst for this shift was the unexpected news of expecting twins while already having a one-year-old. Working for a conservative family-owned manufacturing company, Nick faced challenges balancing his responsibilities as a dedicated father within a rigid work-life mentality. Seeking more flexibility, he explored remote opportunities, eventually landing a fully remote position with a tech company.

Addressing the initial hesitation about the career pivot, Nick discusses the adjustments required for the new role. Moving from manufacturing to tech, he navigated cultural shifts, adapting to a virtual environment. He shares insights into managing a global workforce of over 1000 people remotely and the expectations set in a tech-centric operational landscape.

Nick reflects on the challenges of remote work, highlighting the trade-offs, such as missing spontaneous interactions and Gemba walks that were integral to operations in a physical setting. He emphasizes the importance of building a personal brand on LinkedIn, sharing expertise around Operational Excellence (OpEx), and being a realistic OpEx professional.

In the discussion, Nick ranks people, plant, and intellectual property as the three significant components in manufacturing, stressing the paramount importance of prioritizing the "people" aspect.

This episode offers valuable insights into Nick's journey, from navigating the challenges of remote work to building a personal brand and addressing critical components in the manufacturing industry.

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn.

On this episode of the Work From Home Forever podcast, we delve into the dynamic work life of Marisa Eikenberry, a multi-talented professional at the Kevin Eikenberry Group. For the past nine years, Marisa has been navigating the realm of hybrid work, making her a unique guest for our show. She passionately advocates for this work style, which allows her to balance in-office requirements like video shooting with the freedom to do deep work from home.

Her company, with its "can do" philosophy, embraces both remote and in-office work, fostering flexibility and trust among employees. Marisa's journey from full-time in-office work to remote positions showcases the adaptability of her organization, even under the leadership of her father-in-law.

Marisa shares the advantages and challenges of remote work, emphasizing the importance of personal connections, which she and her husband maintain through a daily lunchtime tradition. This practice not only enhances their mental well-being but also strengthens their relationship.

We also explore Marisa's communication strategies within her remote and hybrid team and her rankings of different work modalities. Her preferred choice? Hybrid work, combining the personal touch with deep work opportunities and a focus on mental health.

To connect with Marisa:

In this episode of the Work From Home Forever podcast, we hear Amanda Austin's inspiring journey from a 20-year career in marketing to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Amanda's corporate life took a turn during the pandemic when remote work presented unexpected challenges in communication and work-life balance. The stress and health impact prompted her to make a bold decision to leave her corporate job and pursue her own business.

Amanda's transition to entrepreneurship wasn't impulsive; it was rooted in her desire for work-life balance and her mother's legacy. She discovered her path while dealing with her son's focus issues and her own ADHD diagnosis, which reinforced her commitment to remote work. As her own boss, Amanda can structure her workday to fit her needs, allowing her to balance her role as a mother of three.

Amanda's story highlights the empowerment and freedom that comes with remote work, particularly for working moms. Her journey is a testament to the possibilities remote work offers in finding balance, fulfilling personal dreams, and honoring family commitments. Join us for this insightful episode as Amanda shares her unique path to success in Honeycomb Marketing.

In this episode, we delve into the journey and wisdom of Chris Ming, a Growth Product Manager in the climate technology sector and a passionate advocate for remote work.

Chris shares his remarkable transition from the family restaurant business to Hollywood's competitive landscape, where he pursued a career in the movie industry. Despite achieving success, Chris realized that Hollywood wasn't aligned with his values, leading him to explore the world of remote work.

Chris highlights the autonomy and freedom that remote work offers, allowing him to shape his own schedule and maintain a healthy work-life balance. He emphasizes the importance of understanding one's priorities and making intentional choices.

Listeners gain valuable insights into Chris's approach to productivity, calendar management, and the art of optimizing meetings. He discusses his journaling practice, which helps him reflect on daily achievements and identify areas for improvement.

Additionally, Chris offers practical advice for landing remote work opportunities, stressing the value of research, networking, and aligning with a company's culture and requirements. He also addresses the challenges faced by early career professionals in the evolving landscape of remote work.

Like Chris, do you have your own Remote Work story to share? We'd love to have you on the podcast to tell your story. Please complete the brief survey and we will be in touch!

There are stories of remote work couples who have not only embraced the freedom of working from home but have taken it a step further, combining their professional pursuits with a love for adventure and nature. Meet Tim and Mary, a married couple whose remote work journey has transformed their lives in unimaginable ways.

Tim and Mary, both remote workers, share a unique bond as a couple who not only work remotely but also venture into the great outdoors whenever they can. Tim's career transition from a demanding 911 dispatcher role to a Salesforce administrator, inspired by Mary's success, showcases the transformative power of remote work.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Tim and Mary's journey is their ability to merge work with adventure. They spend summer months on the road in their travel trailer, relying on Starlink satellite internet for connectivity. Their ultimate goal is to work remotely while traveling 4-6 months a year and snowbirding, embracing the therapeutic effects of nature.

On this episode we also discuss:

Connect with Mary on LinkedIn.

Connect with Tim on LinkedIn.