16 Lessons learned living in more than 35 countries.
In the last 10 years, I’ve lived in 9 countries and have traveled to more than 35 . Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. 𝐈𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫. And if the answer is no, then you ask someone else.
2. Take uncomfortable action. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲! (Book that flight, sign up for that class, etc.) This creates momentum and gets you out of old ways of thinking and being, and away from environments and people that keep you stuck.
3. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮. Waking up in a dream landscape in South India won’t heal a broken heart or a fear of failure. At the same time, it will shake you up enough to speed up the healing process. You'll heal faster by taking action, pushing yourself forward, and surrounding yourself with inspiring people, rather than staying in the old, the comfort, and the known.
4. 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤.. And to that I only found one way: leave your continent! Traveling from one country to another in the same continent will not rock your world in the profound ways that traveling to a whole other continent will.
5. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨. 𝐃𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞. Ignore your gut feelings and your passions, and you will continuously hate yourself and your choices more and more.
6. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝.Do one thing that makes you proud every day. The more you make yourself proud (usually by making choices that are uncomfortable and test your limits), the more you love yourself. The more you stay comfortable and safe, doing the opposite of what you know you want to be doing, the more you hate yourself.
7. 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.Surround yourself with those you admire
so much, you doubt they’d want to be friends with you. (Trust me, they will. )
8. 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐝. To grow into the next level, go out and fail more. Get the bad takes out of the way.
9. 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧. The most important place, and the most important relationship in your life, is your relationship with yourself. Cultivate self-awareness and a grounded place within yourself where you feel connected, and revisit this place every day to stay centered.
10. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. We experience life, others, and ourselves, through the lens of our beliefs. Beliefs are not truths, and they are changeable. It is a long-term process, requires integration, but change IS possible and it does not serve you to believe otherwise!
11. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. I personally choose to be and guide others to the light. Make a choice, stick to that choice, and stop changing your mind and your direction.
12. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. Any choice is better than no choice.
13. 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 less in the rare and big ‘aha’ moments (like those gleaned in psychedelic experiences) and more 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲-𝐭𝐨-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨, such as, who you spend time with, what you eat, and where you focus your energy.
14. There is much more to life than we experience; life is multi-dimensional. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 (that can be activated by changing your breath, your physical state, and the focus of your mind and attention), 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 (including psychedelics, types of therapy, coaching, and wellness),teachings, and mentors in this world that can press those buttons, and help you see deeper and more meaningful layers of life. — I’ve spent most of my life focusing on these experiences.
15. 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 (𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝). Have so much fun saving yourself that one day, it might be inevitable that you will save others too. We gradually and naturally move from focusing on the individual to the collective.
16. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨-𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. Seek experiences where you meet like-minded individuals. This will not only help you see an alternative way of thinking and being, but also change the way you look at things when you return back home.
