Beyond Wanderlust: Building a Movement of Connection in a Nomadic World

Apr 11, 2025

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Note: This was accidentally not scheduled to go out so we’re a day late and already in the US.

Where Am I Right Now

Katharina and I (were) in Balzers, Liechtenstein staying in her parents house. Liechtenstein is basically a fairy tale. A tiny country (160 Sq Km) and equally small population (40,000) with a literal prince in a castle, nestled in between two ranges of the Alps. It’s beautiful and Katharina and I completed a hike yesterday which started… a 5 minute walk from her house. A 3-hour one way hike with 700m of elevation gain. Just one of a dozen within easy walking distance. It’s pretty spectacular.

My Current State of Mind

We just finished making some important decisions to prioritize our stability over this summer… and pretty happy about it. We chose not to add another couple of weeks in Mexico to be part of a friend’s retreat. We purchased instruments and tools and planned time in the US to focus on being human in community. Things like line dancing, making kefir, and what we’ll be putting in the garden. It’s a test drive of a much more stable life, and now that all the flights are booked and the bigger decisions (piano’s ain’t cheap) are decided… I’m excited for the experiment.

Updates From Prior Commitments

Unplanned Conversations - While I haven’t had as many personally, besides a number of Swiss people mind-boggled about Trump, I’ve really enjoyed focusing on long-term yarning vs. anything short term. I’ve basically off anything that’s basic news cycle or looking for reactions. I listened to some great podcasts with Nate Hagens, Ian McGilchrist, and my friends at AIME Parul, Jack Manning Bancroft and Tyson Yunkaporta. It’s given me greater clarity, understanding… and most importantly… calm. Which I’d dive into more deeply except it’s really….

What’s Changing In My Thinking

The answer to most things is less, deeper, and in greater connection with others. I’ve been diving deep into systems change, thinking and how we build a better world. The thing that had been holding me back most was the uncomfortable feeling of being a true beginner. It had me surfing around a bunch of topics trying to see how and where I fit. But a couple things really hit me in the last week from my experience and friends words.

The first is that humans are better off when we’re… human. That means things where we relate with each other, contact face to face, move our body and do things that get us off a screen. It means eating real food in community and less time thinking. So… I’ve been imagining how I could be part of a movement like that for the world.

I’m imagining what it looks like to dedicate my life towards helping humans be more… human. To focus on dancing, singing, crying, laughing… together… in person. But here’s what I’ve figured out.

Be The Change - As long as I’m disconnected from community and stability and land on a haphazard rotation with no end, I can’t represent this. That’s part of our goal in slowing down and spending 5.5 months in the US on land. It’s an opportunity to actually grow crops, ferment some things, learn piano, invite community together and organize people into fun events. I’m seeing what can happen.
It’s Not Profitable - There’s still a huge part of my brain that’s thinking in direct capitalistic fashion. In doing that it reminds me of an old phrase from learning to eat healthy of “if it has to tell you it’s healthy, it isn’t” because there isn’t a lot of marketing dollars for apples. In the same way, if there’s marketing human connection, it isn’t. It’s impossible to rapidly “scale” human experience. The best you can do is support a movement that grows beyond you.
It’s Never Alone - In the startup world and company world, one of my core flaws that’s part of the system is the belief that “I” can pull it off. The delusional approach that says the heroic company founder changed the world. This hero’s journey ignores all of the people who bought in, did work, supported, agreed with the mission and made it happen. The hero is simply a figurehead stewarding a movement. So the best thing to do is invite as many people along for the ride as you can.
That’s A Bit Scary - In a world where I’m used to being able to see the end and predict it, the idea of organizing community and people is unpredictable. You can’t reliably say in encouraging a better world metrics and outcomes the way you can with marketing and sales. It has the possibility to go nowhere or the possibility to grow beyond all expectations because it hits a nerve in humanity. This means that I would have to surrender to be part of the river rather than director of the river. Which is still difficult for me.

My Plans for the Week

So with that said… I’m going to take some inspiration not just from my friends at AIME to Imagine what type of world we can have… but from my friend Parul at AIME’s inspiration Gandhi to Be The Change You Wish To See In The World. That is why I’ve got everything set up to live in a more connected way to what makes us human in Dansville. I’ve rejected high profile opportunities to get new high paying coaching clients and enjoy luxury in Mexico, turned down events with people who could inspire me in business… to stay 5.5 months in Dansville NY population 5500 a good chunk of it below the poverty line.

We’re setting ourselves up to experience and practice what difference we want to see in the world, connected in community and experiencing being human. I’ve bought a piano. I’ve looked up every local community event in the area, where they were missing created one on Facebook. I’m signing up for a Master Food Preserver course and inviting friends to come foraging. For the past 2 years I’ve had the building intuition that the modern industrialized world has taken more than it’s given. So for the next several months… I’m going to test that assumption. Keep reading to see what happens, or better yet join me.

What Are We Doing Here?

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