Image by Jolantis

** This post was written by Leigh Haugseth. Find out more about Leigh below. **

For at least a year, I’ve been thinking about what I can do to be location independent. I’ve gone back and forth between so many ideas, trying to decide which I should pursue, which I would enjoy most and which will provide value while earning me an income. It’s dizzying really and overwhelming.

So last month I decided to simplify…

I took an idea from Pam Slim’s blog and adapted it for myself. Doing this gave me a clearer picture about where I want to go and while I don’t have all the details worked out yet, that’s ok because I’ll learn along the way. Perhaps this exercise will help you as well.

Here’s what Pam recommends doing when you’re faced with multiple career possibilities…

I. Picture Your Ideal Life

This doesn’t have to include a specific description of an ideal job, or an ideal business just yet.

Here’s mine:

• I work 3-4 hours a day with free weekends
• My work is mostly creative and involves a community of like minded people
• My work is conducted virtually all on-line
• I am location independent and work remotely
• I interact regularly with creatively minded people in my career field
• I make at least X dollars each month and have Y dollars in savings
• I set my own schedule and am free to travel at will
• I speak every month or so about what I love and share helpful information with others
• I dance tango 2 nights a week, exercise almost every day
• I have plenty of free time to spend with friends, family and pursue hobbies and volunteer opportunities away from the computer

Now this is my ideal life (not my actual life yet) so of course I realise I’ll have to work up to this. I certainly don’t expect to be working 3-4 hours a day in the beginning. Also, your ideal vision may change a bit once your on your path. That’s perfectly o.k.

II. Create a List of ‘Must Do’s’

In order to accomplish the picture of your ideal life, create a list of things you need to do. This includes:

• Skills to learn – writing, marketing, sales, accounting, tango dancing
• Experience to gain – teaching, blogging, creating websites, presenting
• Money to accumulate – retirement cushion, savings accounts, travel funds
• People to connect with – mentors, partners, friends in my field
• Places – to live in, travel to
• Brand to build – client testimonials, my own style, press mentions, raving fans

This exercise is really simple yet gets straight to the heart of the mind swirling that happens when faced with multiple options.

Once I completed this activity, I had a much clearer picture of where I was headed and what action steps I needed to take. Now when I consider opportunities, I refer back to this and see if what I’m considering will help me achieve my ideal life.

III. Research

Another helpful thing I did and still do is research people like Lea, Kirsty and others who are successfully transitioning to or already leading a full time location independent lifestyle.

This is really inspiring and it helps to see the ups and downs they go through on the way to achieving their dreams. Research also provides ideas as to what interests me and which businesses have worked for other people. I have to be careful when doing this as I can get excited about what others are doing without properly thinking through if it would work for me as well.

Where I am Now & Where I Aim To Be

I’m still at my current full time job and will be through the end of May. In the meantime, I will be working on my new business during off hours. This will be a learning process – I’m trying to be focused and proactive, yet gentle with myself.

To become location independent, I’ve decided to pursue a couple of different options while focusing on one:

I’m starting a health and wellness coaching/consulting business that will be conducted mostly on line and over the phone. This will be my focus. I’ve been working in the field for several years now and am very passionate about it. Stepping out on my own has been on my mind for a while but fear always seemed to win out. However, I’ve decided to take the leap. The net will appear.

I also have recently developed a strong interest in creating web sites and making passive income. I looked into this more seriously recently, researching until all hours of the evening. I became a little overwhelmed with the steep learning curve but it’s definitely something I still want to pursue . Since it can take a while to start seeing income I’ll do it slowly, on the side.

During my transition, I plan to be active in the LIP community making use of all the great resources and minds that I can. Being accountable to you all, the location independent blog readers, in my updates will be a big motivator for me. So here goes…

Editor’s Note: For more useful tools to help you decide which business idea will provide the income you need to create your location independent lifestyle, sign up for updates about the launch of the Build A Location Independent Business.

About the Author: Leigh Haugseth’s passion for travel is propelling her transition from cubicle dweller to Location Independent Professional. You can find her at Fresh New Life.