I frequently join numerous WhatsApp and Facebook groups while I’m traveling. It enables me to stay in touch with pertinent users who enjoy traveling and are online business owners. However, occasionally you may be lured into a community of regular travelers rather than digital nomads.

I think first we have to clarify what a digital nomad is. Wikipedia states

Digital nomads are people who live in a nomadic way while working remotely using technology and the internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_nomad

This, in my opinion, is inaccurate and not a complete definition. Simply because you can relocate from one location to another does not qualify you as a digital nomad; working remotely does. To me, being a digital nomad entails independence. Although being able to travel freely does not necessarily imply having a job, it does make you a digital nomad.

Let’s talk about a popular quote that goes, “You are the average of your five friends.” This a well-known quote and something to consider carefully. Now we have communities, groups, WhatsApp groups, Twitter – your average of 5 now is 100x because of social media.

Also, a lot of people are not ‘hanging out’ as everything has moved online. There are no more just hangout meetups, or just chilling at a cigar bar and talking business. Everything is online and being average on the internet will destroy your mind.

Particularly, this Whatsapp group has devolved into an all-out frenzy. Travelers who identify as digital nomads but are actually just working from home are not. I am not going to take your pronouns away, but as stated above nomadness = freedom.

Got off track here…

We must ensure that the group is both focused and of high caliber. The first meetup I attended after joining a community of digital nomads was quite helpful. Online income was available to everyone.

Recently, it has mostly simply been a group of travelers looking to get together. When someone politely asked whether they might share the Whatsapp connection to a Facebook group, I gently replied that we should make sure the new members are excellent and are also marketers.

Everyone in the group needs to receive value instead of always giving. I believe in reciprocity and this input-output helps entrepreneurs become the 6th average person in the group. Here is a response from an admin of the group after I posted that we want to have quality.

Now that the group had begun to discuss marketing and the admin was a social media manager, I was quite perplexed. Because so many people worked online and weren’t just calling themselves digital nomads or entrepreneurs, this is the reason our first meetup was so great.

I was totally perplexed when the phrase “the more the merrier” was used in the group because it should always be “quality, not quantity,” especially for a group that wants to expand. For travel-related activities, a separate channel may be available, but for business collaboration, it is crucial to establish a group that is focused on each others’ growth.

I am not writing this to complain but more of a reminder that we live in a world of huge communities now, if you want to be the 6th richest person in the group, then you need a group of rich people. If you want to be the best basketball player in the group, you need people that want to play basketball every day and dissect basketball players.

Kicked out of a Whatsapp Group in Brazil

I remember when I was in Brazil, I asked a general travel group if I can create a marketing meetup Whatsapp group and I wanted to have a question, stating do you make 10k a month online. A lot of people got offended and then I got reported to the group and I guess that is how I got booted from the Whatsapp group.

We live in a world now where we need to be friends with everyone, even with the person who brings no value. How does one person grow, if someone is just a giver and not a receiver?

This is why it is important to separate yourself from the general and be the next mover, if the person is offended because you ask how much they make (10k is very easy to make a month) then they are not in the same space as you. Just brush it off and move on with the people who are making those numbers.

In order to be the average of your 5 best friends, you need 5 best friends that will push, support, question, tell you you are ugly and just be upfront and real. Everyone else who has to think before they speak is not the type of person you want to be around.

Again, to be the best you need to be with the best. You do not go get a mentor that is below you, you get one that far surpasses your expectations and your 5 friends shouldn’t be any different.