10 Years Later

I left my home country (USA) 10 years ago on January 5th, 2025, with 1 backpack, on a 1 way flight to Thailand to start a new adventure.

2 days ago I handed in the keys to my house in Florianopolis, Brazil, moved out and kicked off a new cycle.

Right now I'm at a hotel on a layover in São Paulo with my fiancée. We're boarding a flight tonight to start our 2025 world tour. 🌏✈️

First a quick stop in the US, then Thailand for the Nomad Summit, then wherever the path takes us. The idea is to travel for a few months then move to the US and start a family.

Interesting that the day I'm starting this final world journey is the same day 10 years ago that I left my home continent on a 1 way ticket to the other side of the world.

In the past 10 years I've lived in Thailand, Colombia, and Brazil, and spent time in about 30 countries. Not that many if you think about it, given there are 200 countries in the world, but I always preferred slow travel and getting to know the locals vs country hopping (but that's fun too).

I've met so many cool people, shared millions of laughs with people all over the world, created projects and businesses, hiked a lot of trails, learned Spanish and Portugues, and experienced personal growth to a level I couldn't have imagined 10 years ago.

I have so much to write about, mostly for me but I also like to share ideas and hope I can help others along the way. I want to remember this era, I want to re-remember by browsing my journal and recounting stories. I want to highlight successes and failures, the challenges, the magic moments, and interesting encounters of this decade long journey.

Each country, each year, and each project launched, has a story and is an important part of my journey.

Remembering that day 10 years ago when it was me, a backpack, and a dream, makes me smile and produces a bit of a tear in my eye, thinking of when I was a starry eyed nascent traveler. 🤩

My dream was to be self employed while traveling the world. Through hard work and discipline that dream turned into my new normal. I have new dreams, but am always and still grateful, thankful to my past self for kicking around ideas, taking risks, having the courage to do something different, and always moving forward, learning and trying new things in the spirit of growth.