I’m currently in Remote Year 3 (3rd generation), a program that brings 75 digital nomads together to travel the world. We are spending our 6th month in Prague, Czech Republic. Last weekend I visited Lisbon, Portugal, where Remote Year 6 is starting their first month.
I had a chance to play, learn, teach, and share with a group of diverse and talented people.
They ranged from a Instagram-famous food photographer to a jet-setting international speaker to an UI translator for Google.
I grew a lot.
These are the 3 lessons I learned:
1. Teaching helps you grow
I was asked to give a talk on my experience with Remote Year so far. I talked about growth– how I grew myself, the community, the nation (all RY communities), and the world.
After the talk, people peppered me with questions:
“What were some things that you wished you’d done differently?”
“Did the beginning feel chaotic?”
“How did you manage it?”
These were great questions. It made think, organize, and communicate.
Noise left, wisdom stayed.
I left with a better understanding of where I was, where I am now, where I want to be in the future.
I grew.
2. People sharing their needs helps a community grow
Their program leader shared with me an ice-breaker RY6 did during orientation. It was called “offer and learn.” The activity is simple: each person goes around the room and shares what they can offer and what they’d like to learn.
In 30 minutes, everyones lays out how they can help and where they want to grow.
In my talk, I included a slide on my “offer and learn.”
Over the next 24 hours, I taught 5 remotes about career planning, making passive income with online courses, and podcasting. Four remotes taught me about instagram branding, time management, digital marketing, and visual branding.
The community grew.
3. Online education helps the world grow
On Monday morning, I got surprised. I went to the rooftop kitchen to make breakfast and noticed something strange. There was a group of RY6ers doing yoga, but there was no yoga instructor. As I scanned, I noticed a laptop in front. It was playing a prerecorded video of a yoga instructor.
This laptop was a virtual teacher.
The world grew.
This video was recorded once in one session. But now it can be accessed by anyone at anytime anywhere in the world. I was also surprised that this surprised me. After all, I create online courses to help people become successful digital nomads and rock star product managers. I have more than 4,500 students from all over the world.
I guess I didn’t realize how many topics can be taught online.
Thanks for hosting me Ikigai. You made me feel like I was part of the family.
In December, Remote Year 7 will be in Cambodia while Remote Year 3 is in Malaysia.
I feel another growth trip coming up 🙂
P.S. If you ever find yourself in Lisbon. Go to a football game.
Here’s a what it feels like:
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