Welcome to Selfish Forever, muahahahaha!

The anti-broke, anti-backpack, anti-Ramen, anti-"sharing a room with a smelly guy named Sven" newsletter for the modern digital nomad  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ Welcome to SELFISH FOREVER. 🏔 🍷 🍝 🥾 🏡 🧑‍💻 I'm Ash Ambirge, and no, you can't pronounce it. Maybe you've been trying for a decade—which is how long I've been writing this newsletter—or maybe you're a brand-new subscriber this is your first attempt at figuring out what the hell is going on here. NOW THAT IT'S GONNA BE 2023, LET ME (RE) INTRODUCE MYSELF. [winks with a cigar] This is Selfish Forever: the anti-broke, anti-backpack, anti-Ramen, anti-"sharing a room with a smelly guy named Sven," anti-$5/hour-freelance-gigs, anti-"be grateful for what you've got," anti-"putting off travel until I can save enough money," anti-"wish I lived my life instead of reporting to some guy named Bob for forty years," anti-dream zapper, anti-excuses, anti-boring newsletter for the modern professional who wants to start a business they can do from anywhere in the world. ​ That means that we do things a little differently around here. 👀 ​ Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer? NOT TODAY, SWEETHEART. (Though I love your hat.) ​ ​ If you want to create a different lifestyle, you've got to create a different workstyle. You need to make different decisions than most people. You need to have different priorities than most people. You can't work like a typical freelancer, creator, or remote worker. You can't build a freelance business that never lets you leave the house. You can't be chained to your desk for 90 hours a day trying to bill enough hourly projects to afford underwear. You can't plan your schedule around a "normal" work schedule. You can't work the way normal people work. And, most importantly? ​ You can't make yourself the product. ​ ​You're going to have a brand-new list of "dos" and "don'ts" from me this year, and one of the things on your DON'T list is creating services and products you can't afford to offer.​ ​ ​By "afford," I don't necessarily mean financially: I also mean as a function of time. Every decision you make costs you time. And time is the new income. It's actually one of the biggest metrics I'm going to encourage you to measure this year. It doesn't matter if you're earning three million dollars if your life is not yours. It doesn't matter if you can afford a mansion in New Hampshire if you can't also f*ck off to Scotland. The concept of time as income is so important, it gets measured as a real metric of your business health—I qualify this as $T. Here, we optimize both $USD 💰 and $T. 🕰 Because: ​ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ​ If your financial health is high, but your time health is poor, then you are poor. If your time health is high, but your financial health is poor, then you are poor. The two are inextricably linked. You will always have a poor quality of life if you don't have balance between money earned and enough time to enjoy it. The key is in figuring out which business activities produce both income health and time health. Unfortunately, most business activities only optimize for one. ​ ⬆️ ⬆️ ⬆️ ⬆️ ⬆️ ⬆️ ⬆️ ⬆️ ​ I've been developing a framework to maximize both of these, allowing you to create a successful remote business you can run from anywhere in the world. Maximum return on earnings. Maximum return on time. (AKA more of both.) If that sounds like JUST the thing you need in 2023, (a) Stay subscribed because this is going to be a real rager, and (b) Sign up for a free workshop I'm doing in January, below, before Santa slips me another cigar. 😏 ​ [Save Me a Spot!](=) ​ In the meantime, here's a fun-filled prediction from my crystal ball (that's what I call my head): as you begin to pursue a more rich and interesting lifestyle, other people are going to start getting reaaaal squirmy about your decisions. In fact, they will probably encourage you to do something sensible, like move to Florida instead. Or buy a dog. Or just be grateful for what you’ve got, which hopefully includes a family-size pack of string cheese sitting in the fridge. But, you and I both know the cringy, cringy truth: Most people will say anything to justify their own unhappiness, because most people would rather be right than happy. ([Click to tweet]()) Good thing we've got each other now—I’m your friend who gets it. (And also the friend who will pour salt on her pizza.) Quick background on me in case we're ever on a trivia show together: ​ - I'm the founder of [Irreverent](=) and I'm on a mission to help people do meaningful work from anywhere in the world so they can actually enjoy their life while they do it (like, if you're not in a cabin in Sweden right now, maybe you should be?!) ​ - I've been a digital nomad since 2009 👵🏻 , which basically means EVERY good TV show has always been "not available in your current region" ​ - As one of the earliest advocates of remote work, I wrote an award-winning, decade-long blog under a *much* cheekier name—later, I did a book deal with Penguin Random House, and we published [THE MIDDLE FINGER PROJECT](), all about making the unconventional decision to follow your dreams, create independent wealth, and design a travel-friendly lifestyle. ​ - I also serve as a nomadic advisor to cities, towns, tourism orgs, hotels, and hospitality companies who want to attract digital nomads & remote workers 🪄 ([Say hello]( if this is you!) ​ - Originally from Pennsylvania: born in Philly, raised in a small town north of Scranton. ​ - My partner, C and I, have a nomad base in Costa Rica where we regularly spend a portion of our year. 🇨🇷 (Secret: I'm not a beach person, OR a humidity person, OR a "would you look at the size of that bug?!" person, but C has a family business here, so we have a place on the Pacific and I spend way too much money importing West Elm bookshelf accessories.) ​ - My previous base was Santiago, Chile 🇨🇱—still one of my favorite, TOTALLY underrated cities with an incredible gastronomic scene, leafy, walkable, streets, chic creative businesses, entrepreneurial energy, and some of the greatest, most generous people (it reminds of Lisbon in a lot of ways) ​ - We typically spend several months in Europe every year, alternating between there, New England, and Central/South America. ​ - And, finally, I run a portfolio of newsletters including [Selfish Forever](=), a nomad newsletter for [Costa Rica](=) & everyone’s favorite creative writing newsletter for marketers, [Meat & Hair]( 💀 (YUP.) ​ So, that’s me! I suspect we’ll get to know each other pretty well as time goes on and we both share our creepy love of airplanes: I’ll be emailing a couple times a week with all sorts of ideas for you to live and work from anywhere in the world—or, what I call "how to be selfish forever." ​ Because happiness isn't selfish. It isn't irresponsible. And it isn't reckless. Not taking your happiness seriously is. In the meantime, which team are you on??? ⬇️ (Important for me to know for our trivia show together.) ​ - ​[I’m a digital nomad 🗺]()​ - ​[I’m a freelancer, creator, or business owner who wants more time, spaciousness & travel ✨]()​ - ​[I’m a remote employee (full or partial) 🧑‍💻]()​ - ​[I’m a traditional employee 🏢]()​ ​ ​ Can’t wait to talk more. ​ And tell Bob he should sign up for this newsletter, too. ​ Loooooooooove, Ash --------------------------------------------------------------- ASH AMBIRGE is a nomadic business advisor & travel writer specializing in digital nomads, remote work, and balancing her Macbook in between her boobs and teeny, tiny airplane trays. She is the CEO of [IRREVERENT](=) and the [SELFISH FOREVER]( newsletter, and author of the book [THE MIDDLE FINGER PROJECT]() (Penguin Random House). She's probably on hold with the bank. ​ ​ ​ The Digital Nomad Career Company™ ​🍷 🍝 🏔 🥾 🗺 ​[Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscription]( | 177 Huntington Ave Ste 1703, Boston, MA 02115