Image by nattu

** This is a guest post by Corbett Barr. Find out more about Corbett below. **

Editor’s note: In conjunction with Corbett’s blog, Free Pursuits, we are co-hosting a survey about members of the Location Independent/Digital Nomad/Lifestyle Design community. The survey goes live today at 10am (PDT) – please head over here to complete it and help us all find out more about each other.

For those of you who are still stuck in the rat race and dream of creating a location independent lifestyle but can’t seem to get started, I have a foolproof way to ensure you’ll never go back to corporate life…

Take a long (3+ month) sabbatical to another country. At the end of the sabbatical, you’ll be well on your way to creating your new location independent lifestyle.

But if the problem you’re having is getting started creating your new lifestyle, why would I suggest you start by taking a long break? Won’t that just push you further from your dream of living and working from anywhere in the world?

There are a number of powerful reasons why this time off will get you closer to your dream.

I hadn’t thought of these before I moved to Mexico for six months, but together these factors became strong drivers towards creating my own newfound independence.

It worked for me, and it will work for you too. Here’s why…

Break the dependence on corporate life

This is probably the most important outcome of taking extended time off. When you’re deep inside your corporate life, reality can become skewed heavily towards the responsibilities you have at your job.

It probably seems like you just don’t have time for outside activities and you may often fear the world will end if you don’t meet some company-imposed deadline.

Once you’re away from your old job for a while, you’ll start to see clearly again. Eventually you’ll barely remember details of things that once seemed life-or-death important. You will start to understand that the truly important things in life exist outside of work – and you might begin to wonder how you ignored them for so long.

The other dependency you’ll be breaking is the regular paycheck. You may feel moments of fear and panic (as I did when I first became an entrepreneur) shortly after you quit. In time these will pass and you’ll feel a new sense of self-reliance. This self-reliance is a critical component of your future independence.

Get used to living on less

A reality of working for yourself will be that you’ll earn less money while you’re business is starting up. Luckily (you probably don’t know it yet) there are many things in your current life you’ll have no problem living without for a while. Many of those things are part of a competitive consumerist lifestyle we all fall into and other things are related to keeping yourself entertained because you don’t find fulfillment in your job.

If you plan your sabbatical right, you’ll be able to live on much less money than you’re used to. My wife and I were able to live in Mexico on less than half of what it cost us to live in San Francisco.

One important tip is to sublet or move out of your old apartment or house so you’re not paying double rent or mortgage.

Really experience what your new lifestyle will be like

Once you settle in to your new life of freedom, you’ll start to perceive it as an inalienable right. You’ll wonder how you ever lived under the normal rules of society and why you so unquestioningly answered to your former company.

The longer your time off, the better. The deeper this new dedication to your own freedom becomes, the more it will drive you to make your new life succeed.

Use the distance from your old job to spark new ideas

When you start your period of time off, take a good amount of time and really relax and unplug from your old life. Don’t start thinking about how you’re going to make a living for at least a month.

This period of relaxation is critical because it will unlock the creativity you’ll need to achieve location independence. You have hidden creativity and skills that have been oppressed by living within society’s expectations and ‘norms’.

You’ll know when the time is right to start planning the future. For me it came after a distinct cycle of initial excitement about the trip, followed by worry about my future, followed by intense relaxation and calmness and finally followed by a sense of a new awakening and a flurry of creative ideas.

Whatever it costs (& it’s less than you think), it will be well worth it

This idea of starting your new life with a sabbatical requires that you have a financial cushion. You’ll be taking 3 or 6 months or more off without a paycheck for your sabbatical, followed by a number of months of earning less than you’re used to.

It probably won’t cost as much as you think however. As Chris Guillebeau likes to say, if you can afford a new SUV, you can afford to travel around the world.

There’s a reason I didn’t suggest taking a corporate-sponsored type of sabbatical. These often require you to stay at the company for a number of years following the time off. Since your goal is to become completely location independent, I suggest you take an unpaid, un-sponsored sabbatical or actually resign from the company you’re working for, if they won’t let you do this.

If you change your mind later and decide location independence isn’t for you, make sure you have enough money saved to live while you look for a new job. Your life will be richer for taking the sabbatical anyway and you’ll probably find yourself looking for a different line of work.

The time I’ve spent on sabbatical in Mexico is one of the best things I’ve done in my life. I’m happier and healthier than I’ve ever been and I’m well on my way to a life of location independence.

Start your new location independent life with a sabbatical, and you’ll wonder why you waited so long to do it.

Corbett Barr is an entrepreneur and blogger dedicated to helping people design and achieve ideal lifestyles. He’s currently on a six-month road trip through Mexico with his wife and dog. You can find him at his blog Free Pursuits.