Forget the future of work, it's all about the future of living.

Hey all, it's been awhile. This newsletter used to give you an in-depth look at the news but I'll be changing focus to short, snackable interviews of experts, journalists and regular working folks based on prompts (in bold). See details on this change below.

My first interviewee is Mandy Fransz, a remote work advocate, business consultant, globetrotter, LinkedIn Top Voice and co-creator at Remote Workers Worldwide group on LinkedIn. Originally from The Netherlands, Mandy now travels the world with her laptop, planning her tiny house lifestyle and preaching the alternatives to the corporate 9 to 5. Here is my interview with her:

When I was younger, I always thought I’d have a high-paid office job and a $500K mortgage with two kids by now. Here I am, still figuring out life as an entrepreneur while planning to move into a 35m2 tiny house to build a minimalist lifestyle.

My mother taught me to always follow my heart and intuition. Fun fact: it was her advice that gave me the courage to quit my 9-to-5 corporate job at one of the world’s largest tech companies without a solid back-up plan.

My father?knows how to get things done while having fun. Fun fact: he planted the seed for building a tiny house community in Portugal, and, he would undoubtedly help bring our dream project to life — with a smile :)

At university I always thought that an impressive resume was going to be the key ingredient for building a successful career. Turns out, everyone has their own definition of ‘success’ — and an impressive CV is overrated.

I’m really not proud of the fact that I have a superpower for arriving fashionably late for meetings (if ‘fashionably’ means dialing in a Zoom meeting still wearing my pajamas and carrying a half-empty coffee cup).

I’m definitely not proud of my ability to binge-watch an entire Netflix series while staying inside without leaving the house for a few days in a row during Dutch winter season. Give me Vitamin D, please.

Careers aren’t linear and life would be pretty boring if they were.

I still fucking hate doing taxes as a ‘digital nomad’. I mean, it’s not like they teach you that stuff in school — can we add a ‘How To Become A Remote Worker / Digital Nomad’ course to the curriculum, please? :)

I figure I do a great job?at figuring things out by myself — including taxes.

The worst mistake I made at work is trying to keep doing everything myself as a solopreneur and recovering perfectionist. I’ve learned that investing in yourself and outsourcing tasks significantly pays off in the long term — work smart, not hard.

Nobody really understands that remote work is not about travel, it’s about freedom.

On Sundays I am either going for a hike alongside the Portuguese coast, exploring one of the beaches in Andalusia (hola from sunny Spain!????), or figuring out an itinerary for our next workation.

Right now I’m living for finding our dream land to create our own tiny house community for remote workers and digital nomads to enjoy a minimalistic and sustainable lifestyle while building the world’s #1 remote work community.

Selling made me resign my first job as a call center agent within two weeks — I hate cold calling.

The thing about selling is that people buy from people they know, like, and trust. Your personal brand is the most valuable asset in your business or career.

Portugal is the #1 destination for remote workers and digital nomads with beautiful nature, plenty of coworking spaces and work-friendly cafes with high-speed Wi-Fi, and a thriving community of like-minded people.?

Flying is the scariest thing ever. Believe it or not, even after visiting +45 countries by now I have developed a significant fear of flying, also known as aerophobia (yes, I Googled that). I once took a 35-hour bus drive from Rotterdam to Lisbon to avoid a 3-hour flight while advocating for sustainable travel. It’s a win-win!

Saunas are the best kept secret of The Netherlands. Visit a day spa sin swimwear during winter and you’ll never again want to visit a regular public sauna in your life!

Tiny houses are the future of living.

Hear me out While many laptop-bound workers have now had at least a glimpse of the benefits of remote work — from increased productivity, improved wellbeing, and a higher overall happiness — it is time to think bigger and shift our focus to how remote work shapes the future of living.

With an estimated number of 1 billion digital nomads by 2035, an increasing number of countries such as Croatia, Portugal, and Spain have launched a ‘Digital Nomad Visa’ to attract remote workers and digital nomads worldwide to empower more like-minded people to enjoy a high quality of life while helping to encourage offseason tourism, fight rural depopulation, and make a positive impact in local communities.

Here’s what I believe to be true:?

Remote work is about the freedom and flexibility to build a lifestyle that allows you to plan your work around your ideal life, not the other way around.

Follow her on LinkedIn and Instagram and, if you happen to be a remote worker, be sure to join her Remote Workers Worldwide group here on LinkedIn.

A note from Alex: This newsletter used to focus on in-depth looks at business, tech and career news stories but I'll be changing focus in the coming weeks to include interviews with mostly unconventional people about their personal and professional lives, how they got where they are and the lessons they've learned along the way.

These conversations will be derived from short prompts (in bold) that are meant to inspire a bit of reflection and creativity - a kind of Rorschach test in an interview format. Expect frankness, candor and occasional foul language.

The last prompt "Hear Me Out" is meant to give the interviewee for an argument or thesis statement they think everyone should know.

If you're interested in seeing how this weekly newsletter develops, please stick around. If not, I wish you farewell!