Remote Year Values

Creator

Remote Work was created by Greg Caplan and Sam Pessin.

Purpose

In August 2014, Remote Year was started by two friends asking a simple question, “Who wants to travel together for a year while working remotely?” Out of that inquiry grew an incredible community with a set of shared values and a mission for impacting the world.

“Our mission is to create a more peaceful and productive world by fostering genuine human connections across diverse cultures and people.”

Remote Year - Travel the World while Working Remotely

Manifesto

Work-Life Flexiblity

Championing location independent productivity.

We don’t just advocate for it, we live it. Remote Year is a fully-distributed company, meaning each of our employees works remotely, either from their home or on the road. We give our team the opportunity to do great work – on their teams.

Global Perspective

Appreciating the world’s diversity and interconnectedness.

No two people are the same – and that is what makes the world so inspiring. We believe in seeking out similarities and celebrating differences. No matter where we are, we seek to understand those around us and aim to build bridges where before there were walls.

Empathy

Expanding our capacity to care for others.

We have a penchant for pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones. This lifestyle connects you with people that you may have never met otherwise, local residents in the cities that you travel to or fellow Remotes. We live for the moment that an internal light bulb clicks on, illuminating the way toward making decisions that take all perspectives into account.

Community

Coming together with a purpose.

It’s not about what you can do on your own, it’s about what we can do as a whole. Our team lives by this ethos as members of the Remote Nation, creating meaningful connections and building lasting bonds as we pursue a life of productivity and positive impact.

Being Present

Embracing awareness and gratitude for the moment.

Every day presents opportunities for reflection – only if you’re prepared to notice them. We strive to appreciate every moment of awe, inhale every bit of inspiration and take a break whenever life feels like it’s moving too quickly.

Dreaming

Creating the optimistic future you envision.

We’re leading the way in remote work and ushering in a new era of location-independence. At Remote Year we believe in breaking away from the status quo and changing the possibilities — that means changing what’s possible for both the future work as well as the possibilities for each and every one of our participants on our programs.

Source

https://remoteyear.com/mission

Comment

Having a set of values to live by is one way to declare what you intend for the future.

By definition, your values are what you deem to be important – to be valuable. They are like a compass rather than a map because they set a direction without being prescriptive about what needs to be done.

In the context of the manifesto, I’m not a great fan of simply having values. I don’t think they go far enough. I think they become generic.

In particular, I think the Remote Work mission fails because it is like most mission statements – it’s generic in that hundreds of similar organisations could state a similar objective. It lacks audacity.

For me, a manifesto has a stronger intent. It’s not just a point of view; it’s a strong belief. The US Declaration of Independence says it best: “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”

What is your truth?

I think this is an opportunity that Remote Work could take much further by describing the world they want to see. (This is particularly relevant to me because I’m considering going on one of their adventures.) And their values don’t speak the full power of the opportunity they are offering.

For me, remote work is the catalyst for three major opportunities:

  • Inspire the careers of future global leaders – consider how your career would be transformed by working abroad for the next 12 months. What would you see? Who would you meet? And most importantly, who would you become?
  • The future of work – The future of work is here today. For the first time in human history, a large group of people on the planet has the tools of production in their backpacks – their laptop and smartphone. That changes everything about work – in particular what we can do and where we can do it. Work is no longer about a job, it’s about a life worth celebrating. Build your life’s work.
  • Build a new nation – Our planet is artificially divided based on natural land features and historical tribes that no longer match the global way we live and interact in a digital economy. Remote Work is not just a rambling feel good community, it’s a nation of people committed to peace, prosperity and cooperation. Take Remote Nation to another level! Take it to the literal level you have described in these words – a new nation. (This is the one I like – it’s bold, edgy and courageous – the three personal qualities you would need to embody to want to take on a year of Remote Work.)

Hopefully, you can see my point. There is an opportunity to elevate Remote Work into a much bigger movement and the key is to create that possibility through a more potent manifesto.

PS: I’d also add a visual to share the message more freely and widely. If you want us to become a ‘card-carrying’ member of your tribe then we need a card we can carry. We need an easy way to say ‘I’m proudly part of this.’

More

Manifesto for Smarter Working (remote work in organisations)

Haydn Shaughnessy – The New Work Manifesto (addressing the lack of engagement in the workplace)

Timothy Ferriss – The Four Hour Work Week – a radical look at how we could live and work

The Tough Mudder Pledge

Creator

Will Dean and Guy Livingstone, co-founders of Tough Mudder

Purpose

Tough Mudder is a physical adventure challenge along the lines of a military commando course.

The pledge is intended to provide guideline rules for how to approach the challenge.

“The pledge demonstrated our belief that there was a craving among people, particularly young people, not only for challenging experiences but for an authentic set of values they might sing up to and, over the course of the afternoon and beyond, believe in.” (Page 5)

Manifesto

  • I understand that Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge.
  • I put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time.
  • I do not whine – kids whine.
  • I help my fellow Mudders complete the course.
  • I overcome all fears.
Will Dean - It Takes a Tribe - Building the Tough Mudder Movement

Source

Will Dean, It Takes a Tribe: Building the Tough Mudder Movement, Portfolio Penguin, 2017, Page 5.

Tough Mudder Website

Comment

There are a number of things that I love about the Tough Mudder pledge.

  1. Prior to reading this, I hadn’t thought to include a ‘pledge’ under the manifesto umbrella. But, it does fit neatly and powerfully.
  2. A manifesto is a declaration of your intent. A pledge takes this further and raises the commitment level by converting it into a promise. This implies you are forming an agreement to another person or group – it’s no longer just ‘me’, it’s also ‘we’. It’s a perfect strategy for building a tribe, which is exactly what Tough Mudder want to achieve – and have been so successful at doing.
  3. From the nine Manifesto Manifesto principles this one has cleverly adopted the ‘inspire being’ element. The first line sets the context ‘not a race but a challenge’. From this it shares four attitudes for people to adopt to face that challenge – teamwork, no whining, help others and overcome fears.
  4. The Tough Mudder manifesto is also double-sided – it’s a set of rules that works for both the Tough Mudder internal team plus all of the external customers – the course participants.
  5. Plus, it’s simple and concise – only five rules to follow. This makes it short enough to remember which makes it more likely that people will adhere to it.

The Four Hour Work Week

Timothy Ferriss, The Four Hour Work WeekCreator: Timothy Ferriss and published as a book, The Four Hour Work Week .

Purpose: Have us rethink our 9-5 Monday to Friday, live for the weekend deferred lifestyle.

Manifesto

Tim Ferriss’ book title is a great manifesto snapshot:

The Four Hour Work Week : Escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich.

Ferriss calls for an end to:

  • The 40 hour work week
  • The live for the weekend culture that works five days then has only two days off
  • And an end to the live-to-work deferred lifestyle. Why work the best years of your life? Why die waiting to retire? Or why retire and be too old to do anything?

Tim’s deal is er… TIM’s DEAL. He identifies three lifestyle currencies that you need to manage to live your ideal lifestyle:

  1. Time (Non-renewable)
  2. Income
  3. Mobility

And he has identified four ranked, intra-dependent steps:

  1. Define : Define your ideal lifestyle.
  2. Eliminate : Eliminate everything extraneous.
  3. Automate : Build an automatic, sustainable source of income.
  4. Liberate : Be mobile and free yourself from your location.

Sources

Book Website: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/
For a great summary of Ferris’ manifesto, grab the Book Rapper issue The Four Hour JOLT!

More

Remote Year Values – living and working remotely while holding down your job and building you career

Manifesto for Smarter Working (remote work in organisations)

Haydn Shaughnessy – The New Work Manifesto (addressing the lack of engagement in the workplace)