Archive for October, 2007
Preparing For Your LIP Life: Health Tips
Before we arrived in Panama we had visions of ourselves sashaying around in bikinis and swim trunks with bronzed, sculpted bodies. Humph - didn’t happen.
You know what it’s like…you promise yourself that the “new you” will be different; convinced that when you’re a LIP, you’ll exercise every day, eat really healthily and you’ll cut down [...]
Before we arrived in Panama we had visions of ourselves sashaying around in bikinis and swim trunks with bronzed, sculpted bodies. Humph - didn’t happen.
You know what it’s like…you promise yourself that the “new you” will be different; convinced that when you’re a LIP, you’ll exercise every day, eat really healthily and you’ll cut down on all the bad habits you currently allow yourself to have. And maybe you will.
It’s a smart move to get your body in tip-top condition before you go however to cope with the stresses of travel, constant change, unaccustomed food/drink and, of course, so you can really make the most of your time without worrying about niggling health problems in a strange and foreign country.
Here are my top tips (as a former health coach and personal trainer) to get yourself in shape before you begin the ride of your life…
Avoiding The Scarcity Mentality Whilst Cutting Down Your Outgoings
In the process of creating our LIP life, we went through a period of having to cut down our expenses and tighten our belts - especially immediately after Jonathan was made redundant.
At the same time, we were aiming to create a fabulously abundant life for ourselves as location independent professionals. Problem was, the two goals [...]
In the process of creating our LIP life, we went through a period of having to cut down our expenses and tighten our belts - especially immediately after Jonathan was made redundant.
At the same time, we were aiming to create a fabulously abundant life for ourselves as location independent professionals. Problem was, the two goals were conflicting.
One required an abundant outlook on life - the belief that we could afford to do everything we wanted, achieve our dreams and that we had everything we already wanted. The other required us to restrict what we could have, constantly question what we could afford (and then naturally, what we couldn’t) and focus on cutting back.
LIP Plans: Are we allowed to change our minds?
A month or so ago Claudia and I had pretty much determined how our LIP year abroad in 2008 would look like. It’s a mishmash of places we know and love (Zurich and Rio) and places we have always dreamt of visiting and exploring (New Zealand, Australia and the Caribbean). We’re pretty excited about it [...]
A month or so ago Claudia and I had pretty much determined how our LIP year abroad in 2008 would look like. It’s a mishmash of places we know and love (Zurich and Rio) and places we have always dreamt of visiting and exploring (New Zealand, Australia and the Caribbean). We’re pretty excited about it and we’ve been furiously planning and researching for flights, accommodation, internet connection and car rental ever since! Here’s how it looks:
Feb - March: New Zealand and Australia
April - August: Switzerland
September: Caribbean
October - Dec: Brazil
But what happens if, come January, we don’t want to spend two months in New Zealand or five months in Switzerland for whatever reason? Perhaps we won’t have as much money as we thought we would have. Perhaps we would feel too isolated too early on in New Zealand. Perhaps Switzerland and Brazil are both too familiar and we want to explore more of the unknown.
Are we allowed to change?
Becoming A LIP: The What Ifs
What if…?
You get ill
You hate it
You run out of money
You can’t make it work
War breaks out
You fail
Are these some of the things you’re scared might happen if you become a location independent professional and travel the world permanently? (They were for me).
But what if…?
You succeed
You love it
You wish you’d done it sooner
You regret never having [...]
What if…?
- You get ill
- You hate it
- You run out of money
- You can’t make it work
- War breaks out
- You fail
Are these some of the things you’re scared might happen if you become a location independent professional and travel the world permanently? (They were for me).
But what if…?
- You succeed
- You love it
- You wish you’d done it sooner
- You regret never having even tried to make it work
This post is an excerpt from the book, X Marks The Spot: The Indispensable Guide To Living As a LIP And Working From Anywhere.




