See you in San Francisco!

If you're based in SF and want to meet please let me know! I would LOVE to make new friends.

I did it.

I booked the flight.

Inspiration doesn't last forever, so I acted on my idea immediately after it came to me.

It was time to completely step out of my comfort zone and I picked the USA as my destination. I've never been outside of Europe and never been on an airplane as I've always had a phobia.

I contacted two founders I greatly admire to ask them if they would consider me joining their team in San Francisco for a few weeks, and they said yes!

Assuming there are no unforeseen circumstances, I'll be moving next week.

The magic happens outside of the comfort zone.

Sometimes you just have to go for it without planning for months.

I don't know what to expect, and I love that.

Uncertainty is the secret ingredient of every adventure worth remembering.

I'm on a quest to prove to myself that I'm capable of adapting to a new world very different from my day-to-day environment.

I urge you to do the same this year. You don't have to get on a 12-hour flight like me if you don't want to, just pick a *new* goal no matter how small and act on it immediately.

In my case, working from home was comfy and convenient, but at some point, it got boring and predictable. I didn't want to limit my existence to four white walls and a familiar suburb.

Life is like maps in video games. When you start, your visible map is tiny, and everything else is pitch black. You don't know what lies beyond the darkness, but the only way to find out is to move forward and light up the territory. It's scary at first because your imagination plays tricks on you, but before you know it, the map is bigger, and you have more context about the world and yourself to make better decisions.

Oftentimes, people get too fixated on the shorter-term benefits and direct benefits;
What will I gain if I move to this country? Why should I even bother? What tangible results will I get in the first week?

They fail to recognize that most extraordinary results happen unexpectedly.

They also overthink and end up backing out due to risk aversion. What if it doesn't work out? What if I hate it there? What if I lose months of my life doing something that's not for me?

The good news is that the worst-case scenario is that you gain a bunch of stories you can tell your grandkids when you're older.

In the end, we all become stories. Everything else is forgotten.

That's what life is about—living experiences, not just accumulating expenses.

I want to use this season of change to put myself in uncomfortable situations every day.

Here are some of the things I want to try this year to become more comfortable with discomfort and awkwardness:

When I buy coffee, I'll try to negotiate a 10% discount.

If I see someone wearing something cool, I'll let them know!

If I see someone interesting at the airport or the park, I'll approach them.

I'll join a meetup where I don't know anybody and introduce myself to everyone.

I'll be working at a tech startup, so I'll make sure to go the extra mile to do things, even if they're not asked for.

I'll go for walks without a destination, just guiding myself through the streets I find most interesting.

Instead of relying on Google Maps to get to places, I'll sometimes go out without any tech and rely on asking for directions.

If you're based in SF and want to meet please let me know! I would LOVE to make new friends.

Much love and respect,