Canadian Freelancer Living the “Remote Dream” since 2014.
Get weekly tips on freelancing, building businesses, and living in Southeast Asia. Warning: this newsletter may contain dark humor, sarcasm, and swearing.
Choose an Adventure.
Find Your Answers.
EARNING AN HONEST LIVING
Will Your Business Survive and Make Money in the AI Era?
I built my first business without a business degree. Now I teach people how to thrive in a world that values AI more than the human mind.
CHASING THE REMOTE LIFE
Want to Live Abroad or Are You a Loser Back Home, Running Away?
I sold everything and took a one-way ticket to Tokyo in 2014. Some people think I’m living their dream, while others say I’m a loser back home.
WINNING THE LONG GAME
Can a 30 Year Old Chain Smoker Finish a Full Ironman by 2029?
I quit drinking and smoking cigarettes on April 26, 2026. Why? Because those aren’t the habits helping me become an Ironman before I turn 40.
Start HereHi, I’m Jef van de Graaf
At 26, I sold everything I owned, bought a one-way ticket to Tokyo, and left Canada with nothing but a bicycle.
I cycled across Asia for four years. Built a private English teaching business in Japan. Taught myself web design and copywriting in Taiwan. Now I’m training for an Ironman while freelancing from a fourth-floor condo in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Here you’ll find my crazy stories, my business experiments (both the wins and the fu*k ups), alongside every lesson I’ve learned from over a decade of navigating the great unknown.
I write about what most people won’t say out loud: the struggles of building a business alone, the loneliness from being “friends” with other transient strangers, and the moments where chasing your dreams feels like another big mistake.
Take this, all of you, and learn from it. For this is my knowledge, which is freely given, and can be passed onto you by reading my Articles.
Top 10 Movies Every Human Must Watch Before They Die
29 March 2026
The “Ultra” Romantic Mae Kampong Mini-Cross Country 2026
15 March 2026
How I Built a WordPress Block with AI for My Race Calendar (and Why I Open-Sourced It)
12 March 2026
Conquering My First Triathlon in Riding Mountain, Manitoba
14 January 2026