🚀 Not the email you were expecting...
Why it is worth gathering experiences...
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This is going to be a slightly different email than what you're used to getting from me. 🤨
I thought a lot about the best way to phrase it, but I decided this was the best format for it.
I will list and explain all the lessons I learned during my 24 days of travel. 🗺
So, get ready, because this is going to be a typical "I wish I had known sooner" blog article!
Before we dive into the lessons learned. 🏊🏼♂️
Let's see... 👀
🚀 How's the challenge going?
🌍 1 online event
If you only go to 1 free online event this summer, make it this one!
🗓 19 August.
💰 Free
🎟 Register nowI think a lot of you know Alex Hormozi, one of the Mentors that even I look up to and who has taught me a lot indirectly.
That's why I believe this event will teach you more about entrepreneurship than the whole university combined.
It's completely free, but places are limited, so you can book yours by clicking here!
❌ It is important to note that the telephone number is NOT mandatory!
📍 1 offline event
I would like to hold an offline meeting for 100 people in August in Pest. I am talking to some friends who will help me organize it. This would be the first really big BookBase/OM meetup.
BookBase/Imperial members will definitely get in free; OM followers will get in for a few thousand max. The aim is to get as many of you as possible and to make new friends with like-minded young people!
🎯 Once again, we have the focus
The OKRs are ready, about 3 days with the boys to really set good goals. This is our first such target so we might have been too optimistic or even pessimistic. We will find out in the meantime. 🎯
The point is that we used the term "stretch goals" which means we set goals of about 120-130%. Which is hard to achieve, but still in the possible category! 🏹
By mid-October, the goal is 2,500 active BookBase members! 📚
So, Lets Gooooooo 🚀
Okay, now we can start! ✅
💭 What have I learned during a lifetime of travel?
This one is totally from the heart. I have no idea how long it will be or how deep it will be, but I hope the message resonates with you! 🧡
And how was it in short?
A picture is worth a thousand words!
1. An adventure always has 2 components. 🗺️
And only one of them is "WHERE" - where you are - the other is much more important...
YOUR TRAVELLORS - the ones you are with - if I were to apply the 80-20 rule here. Then it would definitely be 80%. 👥
💡 Side note: The "80-20 rule" also known as the Pareto Principle. It states that 20% of our actions produce 80% of the results. The goal is to find that 20% and make more of it.
When I was a teenager, I went on a couple of very "interesting" camping vacations that seemed horrible at first, but I was with my best friends and we turned disaster into comedy. 🏕️
At the same time, I've been in mind-bogglingly crowded places with people I didn't like that much and would have paid anything to come home. 🚗
2. You can make an ordinary experience memorable by... 🤩
You replace one "ordinary" thing in it. 🔁
I know this sounds really weird at first. But I'll give you 2 examples and you'll get it right away. 🎭
The first is a funny story that almost turned into a tragedy, and then into a comedy. When we were in the tip of Austria at the border with Lichtenstein, we decided to go to a thermal spa. It looked very crowded and I was looking forward to it. 💦
I hurried everyone to come already and not to forget anything at home. I rushed to the place with the team. We bought our tickets, got changed, and suddenly, all they noticed was that my face was pale... ⚡️
I'm feeling completely idle and I'm stuffing my bag. It turns out that everyone has brought everything except Kristóf Szabó, he of course left his swim trunks at home. 🤦🏽♂️
I said no problem I'll buy one! I go outside and they put a grandfather trunk in front of me, for billions, I say no way I'm buying this because I would never wear it. So that leaves one thing... 😅
My trunks turned into swim trunks and I was in them in the posh Thermal spa, of course the boys and Kinga and I were laughing non-stop and hiding from the lifeguard so he wouldn't see. One of the funniest bathing experiences of my life! 😂
And it all started out so ordinary! 🙃
Another story was the Alpaca watching. A completely normal story, BUT the sun was setting in the background and we were fleeing a huge storm. I felt like I was watching "Storm Chasers" on Discovery. 🦙
💡 Side note: The storm was stronger and caught us. I haven't seen a storm that big many times in my life. But that's what made it memorable.
Can you see it now? 👁
2 completely average stories, but each with a twist and therefore memorable! 🔩
💡 Side note. For example, he just drove a 30-year-old car down from Poland to Portugal and Vlogged the whole thing on Instagram. Finally, now I understand why he does these things!
3. Location independence is a huge advantage! 🌍
I've just seen the real benefit of being location independent.
We were on the road for 24 days, yet we made a lot of progress, us and Kinga! There were some afternoons and mornings when we were working full focus and hardly fell out of rhythm. 🧠
Not to mention we made money while we were travelling, which is an extra point! 💸
But I'm going to go further to apply the lessons from the book "4-hour work week" here. 📙
"It's not how much money you make, but where you spend it."
"It's best to earn in Norwegian kroner but spend it in Thai baht."
📕 Book recommendation: Tim Ferris's bestseller "The 4-Hour Workweek" is a brilliant read for those thinking of starting a location-independent business. Not only is it about that, but it has some very good starting tips. Of course, it's also on BookBase!
💡 Side note: on 2 average Hungarian salaries you can live well above average in Thai land.
That's why Switzerland shocked me. Restaurants and accommodation were more expensive, but supermarkets, beaches, activities were not at all, in fact... 🇨🇭
There was about a 10-20% difference in prices, but the minimum wage there is 5x what it is here. This is not all the same, I was surprised to see almost ONLY new cars. I can count on one hand how many cars older than 5 years I saw that were not old-timers. 🚗
Lesson learned, if we were to go to Asia for our next road trip, we could do so with a much higher standard of living. After all, the purchasing value of our money is worth more there. 🌏
4. Be open to people! 🤝
Believe me, only in Hungary people are so "soured". Every other country we have been to, everyone has been normal with us. And you never know where 1 kind word will lead you. 🗣️
I'll show you a good example and you'll understand immediately:
Our story starts in Les Paccots. A small village in the Swiss Alps, which is also a serious ski resort by the way. Think of it as the Swiss Rose Hill. After all, it's in the mountains with a perfect climate and 10 minutes from Montreux, which has a totally Mediterranean feel on the shores of Lake Geneva. 🏔️
Totally coincidental, but our accommodation was here. In a perfect American style residential area. I might add it was our most expensive and smallest accommodation, but I loved it! 🏡
One day Kinga and I went for a walk down our street there, and suddenly a White Maltese puppy came barking at us. We're not afraid of dogs, so we didn't even flinch, but immediately started petting him. The owner, an elderly lady, came and scolded Max, laughing in French, because that was his name. 🐶
She apologized to us for her dog's bad manners and we had a chat. Of course, we paid our respects to her, as that is how we were raised. 💭
2 minutes later we got to how much Kinga loves Strawberries and a blink of an eye later she had brought us a strawberry jam. Which surprised me, you don't see that from a stranger in Hungary. 🍓
So, on the way home from Montreux Kinga bought her a chocolate in return. 🍫
The lady called Betty was absolutely melted by it and invited us to have lemonade on her terrace - Edu and his friends had already come - and the lemonade soon turned into wine. He poured us a Rose that was in the 40-50 thousand bottle category. It was absolutely delicious. 🍷
Then he invited us for dinner! Yes, you read that right, suddenly we found ourselves at a dinner. But I'll go on. Betty was a very wealthy lady about 70-75 years old, turned out to be an interior architect, her husband had recently passed away and he was a decent architect. I think he even designed something for a Sardinian prince or count. And his daughter does market for Cartier and watch brands like that. 👩🏼🦳
So, I dare to report that they were in the top 10% in Swiss terms.
Still, thanks to Max and our kind words, we were able to have dinner with him. 🐶
He said if we want to go back next year, he has an apartment in Montreux we can sleep there. Well, the future is still in question, but the fact that the kind words paid off is beyond doubt. 🔙
📕 Book recommendation: Dale Carnegie's book "How to Make Friends and Influence People" is written for just such situations. It specifically describes what to look out for to be good company in the eyes of others. It is a must read on this topic! You can find it in BookBase!
A small request: if you've enjoyed today's article so far and learned something new from it, I'd really appreciate it if you could send it to a friend or simply share it on social media. It would help a lot in getting more people to read my thoughts.
Thank you!🧡
5. Something unpredictable always happens. 😳
But that makes it all beautiful! 😉
There's a lot to be upset about there, sometimes problem after problem. But you can't let that spoil your mood. 😤
That's what's nice about it, you have to overcome obstacles and solve problems. Not only do you get to go to beautiful places, but you also develop your creative thinking.🚧
I've noticed that the more I travel, the less things can make me doubt myself. Because I've been through so many things while travelling, I've probably had to deal with 1 or 1 situation like this! ☺️
And believe me, it has helped me a lot in my business!
Travel = Problem solving skills 📈
📕 Book recommendations: Tony Robbins - "Awaken the Giant within" might be a good read for those who are afraid to take the first step. It is important to note this is not a motivational book, more of a guide. It is also up in BookBase!
6. I hate to lose ≠ I can't lose ♟
I wrote in my previous letter that I started playing chess during the roadtrip. I knew it before, but only at a very beginner level. We started playing with Kokesz and Edu, of course they beat me to a pulp in the beginning. 😒
Then I learned from it and started to improve. Kokesz was on a 10-0 streak against me, then I won 3 in a row and from there the ice was broken. The aggregate is still around 12-5. But I have improved! 🥶
Then I started playing online against other players and that put the icing on the cake. Sometimes there were yelling matches. It was unbelievable. 🤬
I was angry at myself for making such a stupid move. I was reckless, I couldn't think ahead. Now I'm only at about level 488, but the goal is to get to 1,000! 🏆
I also realized that I don't get a lot of joy when I win. But it makes me nervous when I lose. However, I'm not angry at the other party for "cheating" or "some random reason", I'm just angry at myself for doing something stupid and losing. ♟
And that's where it comes out that I really HATE to lose, but at the same time I can when it comes to it! 🤕
💡 Side note: I think Jocko Willink's book "Extreme Ownership" helped me a lot with this, which was about taking responsibility for everything! I used to blame others all the time when I was 14-15 years old. Now that can't happen.
7. Your time is your most valuable asset! ⏳
I read books while travelling because I wanted to gain knowledge. The problem was that we were so busy that I had little time to read. So, in the evenings or sometimes in the mornings, I would listen to summaries to get the knowledge of as many books as quickly as possible. 📚
Which was another big hack was listening to summaries in the car while travelling. That way we could make the most of the several hour drive. I should add that we usually listened to 1-2 books, because more than that would be unnecessary. Because your brain would be overloaded with information and forget it. 🎧
So yes, summaries are good and it is useful to be able to listen to them. ✅
Try it the next time you go on a trip! 🚗
I promise YOU will improve much faster because of them! 🧠
8. "3 new countries per year" rule. ✈️
This is a rule I implemented in my life about 4 years ago and have been able to consistently follow it, except for one year of COVID. I think this rule has been one of the best investments of my life. 💰
If we dig a little deeper:
What counts as a good investment?
Warren Buffett says: Buying something cheaper than it's worth.
Well, the truth is, almost every trip I've been on has cost me more than I paid for it.
At 26, I can say I've been to 30 countries. 🗺
And I've had more experiences than the average person has in their entire life. 🤩
To quote a close friend:
"The meaning of life is the journey." ~ Dani Nagy
A huge misconception is that travel is expensive.
Of course, it is expensive if your standard of living is sky high! 🤨
But here's a big lesson for you:
You will NEVER experience the culture of a country from a 5-star hotel. ⭐️
We travelled for 24 days in the most expensive places in Europe, stayed in perfectly decent hotels and it cost about 500.000 HUF per person. We spent a little over 20.000 Forints per day including everything. That's how much it costs to go to Lake Balaton... 😵💫
Now no offence, there is nothing wrong with Lake Balaton - and ours - but let's not compare the two. 🙏🏻
So, travel is NOT expensive, you just have to spend your money well. This is something I think my friend Zolixplorer could tell you the best about, but, if you like, I invite him to write a Guide for us! 😉
To sum up, I'm writing you a regular checklist to get you started on your journey! 📝
✅ What exactly do you do?
[ ] First step, write a list of WHERE you want to go. If you don't have a goal, you'll never get there. Write down all the countries that appeal to you. 📝
[ ] Step two, put them in order, by money and time. So how much money it will cost approximately and how much time it would take. For example, a Himalayan climb is more time than a Croatian beach. Then write down how many days would be worth spending on the whole trip. 🗓
[ ] Step three, choose the combination that is cheapest and takes the fewest days. This will be a perfect place to start. 💸
[ ] Step four, pick a date, find a flight or bus or train. And a place to stay, but DON'T book it yet. That way you already know how much it would cost. ✈️
[ ] Step five, ask your friends if they would like to come with you. If they will, cool, if they won't, don't worry. Traveling alone has its wonders, but not everyone sees it. 💬
[ ] Step six, book it and embark on the adventure of a lifetime. You won't believe how good it feels when you cross 1 experience off your bucket list! 🥾
[ ] Last step, please email ME when you've booked it and when you've said YES to your own goals. It will feel really good to read these! ✏️
I swear now writing these made me think about organizing group trips like this myself. New places, new people, new experiences. What more do you need?! 🏕
I hope it was useful for you, because it really came from the heart! 🧡
🔥 Challenge
A little challenge for me now to get back into the swing of things. To quote my friend Zolixplorer:
"A long journey can spoil you."
All this in big quotes of course! But you are right that it is strange to come home and strange not to dress out of a suitcase. That's the way it is, you have to get used to it. 🫤
I'm a bit behind with work too, but I'll take today and tomorrow to get back on track. 👨🏽💻
Luckily goals have been set for the next few months, so my focus is finally back on the right things! 🎯
Still a challenge for me to organize the Offline event. Still thinking about the venue, the program and the guests! 📍
📖 What have I just read?
I still haven't finished "Measure What Matters" by John Doerr, but I'm halfway through it. I think I'll speedrun through the whole thing one of these weekends!⚡️
📕 Book recommendations: I definitely recommend this for those who have a business or want to start a business. If they find themselves losing focus or lacking motivation, this book, can get them back on track. It will be up on BookBase soon!
🎧 What have I just listened to?
A super podcast talking about an app called Rootd. It's an app that helps panic sufferers. I think the concept is genius and it was great to hear how they made it a success! I also found 1-2 similarities between BookBase and Rootd. 😵
I listened to a video of Luke Belmar talking about food and how harmful the things in supermarkets are. 🤢
For example, Kokesz has a lot of sodium in it which is responsible for making you thirsty, it's just covered up with sugar so you don't feel it.
I really liked these connections. I like hearing people like that because they give me different perspectives.
✍🏼 Top quote
"Everything has its own beauty, just not everyone sees it." ~ Andy Warhol
🧪 Question of the week
If you know you want to travel:
What keeps you from travelling?
Tell us in the comments! ✏️