Many of us dream about ditching the rat race for a life of travel to far flung exotic destinations. However, a growing number of millennials are turning this lifestyle into a reality by shunning an office job and becoming digital nomads. Equipped with just a laptop and tools like Dropbox, Skype, and cloud-based services, it's possible to freelance remotely from anywhere in the world through wireless Internet connections. This kind of life may sound like a fantasy, but plenty of people are out there doing it now. What about you?

How to Begin

You don't have to be a travel blogger in order to work on your laptop from a hammock on a Costa Rican beach. But there are two things you'll need to do well in order to successfully work as a globetrotting freelancer. Learning how to create value for your clients irrespective of where you are, and being able to find work opportunities without personal contacts or person-to-person networking are both essential for thriving as an on-the-road freelancer.

Creating Value

If you have professional skills that require little personal contact such as copy writing, consulting, graphic design, computer programming, or web development, then you're in luck as they can be easily used to launch a life as a freelancer. The key is to identify existing talents or learn new skills without investing too much time or money by using online resources. You might be surprised how many tasks can now be done in a world of near universal connectivity.

Avoid Common Pitfalls

While it's possible get online access from even the remotest corners of the globe, don't assume you'll have fast internet speeds or a reliable connection. If you leave projects until the last minute - you may find yourself frustrated if you're unable to email a finished piece of work because of unreliable wifi in somewhere like the Nepalese Himalayas. You might be disappointed if you expect to work 40-hours while on the road, a balance between discovering new places and a full time freelancing commitment might prove too much.

Finding Opportunities

The opportunities available to you, will depend largely on the skills and services you can offer. Building up a portfolio of work is a great way to impress potential clients when pitching opportunities, so it might be necessary to keep your rates low while building up a reputation and body of work. Websites such as Elance, oDesk, and Freelancer are great places to find work for a wide variety of skill sets with a huge number of clients posting paid jobs. Creating a website to market your services and maintaining an active presence on LinkedIn are other ways to find opportunities.

Making the Jump

If you've decided you'd like to make a go of the nomadic freelancer lifestyle, then starting on a small scale will allow you to test the waters. First keep your day job while you set-up your business, build up a client base, and learn advanced skills of your freelance craft.

If you'd like to start traveling immediately, then know that your money can go much further in developing parts of the world, such as Asia and Latin American countries. These affordable countries are a great place for those starting off, as they can provide the opportunity to travel and live like a local without breaking the bank.

Whatever way works best for you, know that you can make your dream of traveling the world while working a reality.