Successful Global Nomad Mindset – Are you Enduring & Surviving but not Thriving?

Your success while living internationally is more related to your level of self-knowledge and your engagement in life than it is to the difficulties presented in day-to-day living.

The meaning of success greatly differs from one person to another. Let’s use the  Oxford dictionary’s definition as our starting point.

Success is “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.”

We can deduct from it that we must have an aim or purpose to achieve anything of significance. Figuring out what we really want is challenging, but it’s worth the effort.

Life is capricious and compensates individuals who know what they want.

In one sense, it’s wise to think that knowing what we want will increase our chances for succeeding. Just knowing what we want doesn’t make it a reality, though.  We have to take action.

In our always-on world, we are encouraged to start doing something, whatever it is, to get us closer to our objectives. Taking action is important, however, I’d like to go on a tangent from knowing what we want and taking action to looking into another crucial aspect of creating a successful life: mindset.

Think about three or more successful individuals whom you know personally.

Ready? What are the three top qualities these people possess?

Is there an overlap of traits you’ve identified that these three individuals share?

Your findings are likely to include some of these characteristics: drive, self-control, resilience, passion, optimism, wiliness to take risk, adaptability, flexibility, hard-working, responsibility for self, desire to learn, commitment and being grateful, to name a few.

Forbes, Success Magazine, The Guardian amidst so many other publications inform us that there is a common mindset behind successful people.

Hence, successful global nomads should share similar ways of thinking, backing up their overall achievements.

A 2011 study written for the Northwestern School of Education by Kelly Ross, defined 5 characteristics that make a successful expatriate: open-mindedness, flexibility, cultural sensitivity, adventurousness and curiosity

In Brian Buffini’s new book, The Immigrant Edge, he writes about the classical American rags to rich story, and talks about the characteristics of successful immigrants, including a voracious openness to learn, a commitment to delay gratification, and an appreciation of where they came from. “Remembering where you came from gives you perspective, reminds you to be grateful, and keeps you humble,” writes the author.

Data suggests, and I hope you agree, that our mindset determines our successes or failures in any endeavor we undertake.

After moving between four continents in the last 25 plus years, I have been fortunate to learn from the experiences of other immigrants and expatriates, while making my own mistakes during my international journey. I came to understand that clarity of purpose and a progress-prone mindset are the essential seeds for beginning to create a successful international life, with planning and actions coming at a slightly later stage.

Considering this, any of us global nomads have the opportunity to created a successful and fulfilling life, at any place. Keep in mind that with the exception of wanting, all the other steps will require thinking, decision, planning, working, and most importantly, practice.

Pursue your best self, anywhere!