This is the future of work. Crunch Ranjani left her job in Singapore to see the world. She lived on a boat, volunteered in local communities, and taught English to fund her travels. Today, she’s a traveling copywriter and editor, and the world is her office all thanks to remote work.

Like any other Singaporean, I was told that the only way to secure a future for myself was to study hard, get good grades, go to University, and get a high-paying job that will ensure my financial freedom for years to come. All these in exchange for the best years of my life.

Young and eager to please, that’s exactly what I did. After graduating from Singapore Management University in 2012, I began working at one of Singapore’s leading enrichment centers. The pay was good, and the hours decent, but I was not satisfied with how my life was. I wanted to see the world, to explore different cultures, and enjoy the prime of my life.

I started making plans to leave. And at the end of 2013, I quit my job and left Singapore on a one-way ticket to South America, starting with Buenos Aires, Argentina. I spent a year backpacking around South America, visiting cultural and natural treasures like Machu Picchu, the Amazon, Salar de Uyuni, and Cristo Redentor.

Subsequently, I lived on a 32-foot sailboat and sailed down from Florida through The Bahamas, to Saint John, U.S. Virgin Island in a span of six months. It was no mean feat for someone who had no prior sailing experience. I had never been aboard a sailboat before!

Tired of the boat life, I longed to be on land again. This was when I got the idea to teach English abroad. I completed my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course and landed a gig teaching English in Costa Rica.

From there, I branched out into teaching English online, dabbled a little bit in the world of e-commerce and drop shipping on eBay, before finally pursuing my passion for writing.

In the midst of all those changes, I spent six months living on a remote island in Panama, teaching English to the local community. Then, I returned to Asia to explore more of my own roots by backpacking around the region. I spent about a year there, including some time in India to reconnect with my heritage, and several months in a small Thai village working at a local school.

What circumstances or irresistible urge motivated you to follow your dreams?
I’ve always been drawn to travel. Perhaps it runs in my blood because my father used to be a sailor in his younger days. But I well and truly caught the travel bug at the age of 21 when I embarked on my first solo backpacking trip around Europe after completing a semester abroad a University in Lisbon, Portugal.

I loved it—the freedom that came with it, the thrill of meeting new people, and discovering new places. Everything was intoxicating. When I returned home from that experience, I was determined to pursue my dream of traveling and longer than the 14 days allocated to me through annual leaves in the corporate world.

I realized at some point that my dream of traveling extensively and intensively would not be possible with a traditional career path. The choice to me was obvious—I had to travel, and I would do anything to make it happen.

I started taking up volunteer positions in exchange for food and accommodation and began to understand that this immersive type of travel was far more fulfilling and enriching than running around taking selfies with monuments and checking boxes off an itinerary. That was definitely a turning point in my journey, as I started considering options that would allow me to pursue this type of travel lifestyle.

Is your business or career today all you dreamed it would be?
I am currently a freelance copywriter, editor, and proofreader, focused mostly on content creation for small businesses. I do other smaller jobs on the side to supplement my income, but I’m working on growing my writing business and getting more clients.

I would say that my business is still in its infancy. Until earlier this year, I never really considered that I could take my skills and turn it into something that could provide for me and fund my travels.

What do you love most about your business or career?
I love the freedom and flexibility my job gives me to pursue my passion for traveling. I can work from just about anywhere with an internet connection, whether it’s up in a mountain in Peru, or on a beach in Bali, or even on a remote island in the Caribbean.

In my travels, I also get to meet a lot of other fellow travelers, usually backpackers or people who are on short vacations. However, when I share my story and what I’m doing in my life and career, I can almost see a lightbulb going off in their head—that hey, this type of lifestyle could be possible for them too. And that’s because a lot of people dream about this type of lifestyle, but don’t imagine it for themselves. So when they see me as a living, breathing example of that possibility, I think that just opens up doors they never dreamed existed.

Do you ever feel like giving up or have you ever felt this way?
Sometimes, it does get hard. The Digital Nomad lifestyle can be tough at times. Everyone else around you is kind of on vacation, but you’re on permanent work mode and that can be difficult to juggle. Discipline is very important to make sure that I get my work done by their deadlines, and thankfully, I’ve been able to have that small amount of discipline needed to always finish my work before having fun, because I always have my long-term vision in sight—being able to continue this lifestyle.

Another thing that digital nomads don’t often talk about, but struggle with quite frequently, is the loneliness. It’s not the loneliness that comes from being alone, but rather one that comes from being surrounded by people who are so different. The relationships and connections we make are very tenuous and fleeting, and not having a strong support network can be difficult in stressful times. I’ve tried to keep my existing support network strong through constant communication via WhatsApp and Facebook, and thankfully that has been sufficient so far.

What advice can you give women who are thinking about a similar business or career?
Go for it. You won’t know what you’re capable of until you try, and if it doesn’t work out, it’s okay to try something else. Too often, society tells us that we must succeed at what we do and that quitters are losers. That’s a flat out lie. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to fail. It’s okay to give up on something that’s not working. What’s important is that you’ve given it your all. Take that chance. Make that leap of faith. You won’t know what you’re capable of until you do it.

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