#66 Pioneering a New Kind of High-Quality Life | Interview with Meredith Noble

I haven’t known Meredith for long, but we clicked so instantly it feels like I’ve known her for years. I was introduced to her via a Facebook group we both belong to that’s for authors preparing to publish and launch their books. 

Earlier this summer, Meredith introduced herself to the group like this, “Howdy! I am Meredith Noble in Valdez, Alaska. Valdez was developed by pioneers seeking gold. I am part of a new wave of pioneers. Instead of gold, we seek a high quality of life.” With her introduction, she included a few stunning photos of Valdez that sparked wanderlust in everyone, I’m sure. Instantly, I knew I wanted to meet her and have here on the show!

What I could tell from Meredith’s short introduction is that she is a person of foresight and is willing to make intentional decisions to create an aligned life. 

Most people don’t move to the middle of Alaska to live in a town of fewer than 2,000 people. And most people don’t leave their well-paying consulting jobs to start an online business teaching people how to write great grants. 

But Meredith has done both. 

She is a member of a community called Geeks in the Woods which is a startup hub in the unlikely place of Valdez, Alaska. Their desire is to make “work and life seamlessly integrated.”

For Meredith, this means taking full advantage of the surrounding her and enjoying the simpler lifestyle of living in the country. 

One thing that jumped out to me while interviewing Meredith is how rare the Geeks in the Woods and Meredith’s story is. For them, simple living does not equate to working less or working less hard. Rather, by enjoying their life more and making that a priority, their creative and productive output increases. 

The more typical story is that to gain opportunity or productivity in your work or business, you want to be where “the things” are happening. That’s why it’s so common for people to want to move to bigger cities when they feel they aren’t making the progress they should be. 

I admire how Meredith and her community are challenging that assumption and actively building the lives, community, and businesses of their dreams.

In our conversation, Meredith shares how she got to the point in her life where she was able to make the decision to uproot and move to Valdez, why she cares about helping people write grants, and how she prioritizes and keeps herself accountable to her goals. 

She challenges listeners to leave behind the story that our current experience of work is how things have to be. Just because it’s what you know, doesn’t mean that it’s normal or how things need to stay.

I promise this episode of Career Foresight will give you several things to think about and inspire you to take bold action in your life!

Find full show notes here: https://www.careerforesight.co/podcast-feed/pioneering-high-quality-life