Alone With Peter

Peter Kersting
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Alone with Peter is a podcast for entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. I'm your host, Peter and on this podcast, you're going to hear interviews with people who are actively pursuing their dreams. Each episode shares our guest's journey, how their past forms their present, and how that informs their future. We'll learn what motivates them, how their talents have developed over time, and share actionable, practical tips for you if you decide to take a similar leap of faith. No matter where you are on the journey, thanks for spending some quality time Alone with Peter.

  1. 25/07/2022

    Stop Making Excuses. How to Prioritize Travel Now with Mari Escobar

    On the season finale of Alone with Peter, Mari Escobar shares practical tips for travel, useful resources for staying safe, as a female/solo traveler, and good habits for saving money for your next trip so you can stop making excuses and learn how to prioritize travel! Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser This episode of Alone with Peter is brought to you by Sagebrush Coffee Sagebrush is an online coffee roastery with a wide variety of single-origin coffees you can order from the comfort of your home knowing that your coffee is so fresh, it isn’t roasted until after you order. If you’re interested in learning more about the world of coffee, Sagebrush is a great place to start. You can find their website online at Sagebrushcoffee.com and for a limited time from now until August, you can save 10% on your next order of coffee beans by visiting sagebrushcoffee.com/awp10 or by using the promo code awp10 at checkout. Follow Mari Escobar Financial Controller and World Traveler If you want to get in touch with Mari Escobar or see where she's off to next, check out the links below. Instagram: MariMari4 and LinkedIn: maritereescobar 43 Stop Making Excuses. How to Prioritize Travel Now with Mari Escobar *Transcripts may contain a few typos. With interviews ranging from 1-2 hours, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. Peter Kersting: Welcome to Alone with Peter a podcast for entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. We are back for part three of our interview with Mari Escobar and Mari's been through a lot of different accounting jobs right now. She is a financial controller for an indie record label, which I laugh cuz I, the term financial controller sounds so intense to me. but one of the things that I know Mari better for is she's really good at maximizing her travel time, even though she has a nine-to-five job. So if you were someone who was looking for some tips and tricks on how to find a way to travel more while still doing your job and still having your boss be happy with you, Mari's gonna give us some practical tips in this episode about that, about how to travel safely, if you're a female solo traveler and so on and so forth. So thanks for coming back on the show, Mari, and are you ready? Ready to jump into this masterclass? Mari Escobar: Let's do it. My friends have been asking for it for a while. Peter Kersting: What exactly are your friends asking about? Let's start with that. Mari Escobar: They're like, how do you travel everywhere? And don't take that many vacation days or like, how do you do it? Like while working a regular job? So like I mentioned before, I'd say one of my biggest, it's not really a trick, but you know, you gotta take advantage of the holidays any, any day off official day off that doesn't count as vacation, do it and combine it with your vacation. Like if for example, I'm going down to Europe, I'm using Memorial day. It might be a little bit more expensive, but you get more days out of it. You go, yeah. Instead of taking four days, I mean, five days you take four days and you can leave four 10, like I said, before you go like the Friday before you come back the Sunday, midnight before and you multiply the days. Mari Escobar: Don't spend the days sitting at home Peter Kersting: you gotta bookend the weekends too is other thing you're saying? Mari Escobar: Yeah. Mm-hmm sure that's very, that's very big. That's yeah. That's how you maximize the days are these business days, the weekends don't count of course. And then try to leave AF right after work. Don't always wait until the next morning, cuz I mean, those travel hours make a difference. You can be at the destination the next morning instead of like the next night. Peter Kersting: How long are you planning a trip before you go? Cause that seems like that's a pretty key part too. You're looking out ahead. You're like, oh, Memorial day weekend is coming up. Where do I want to go? And what days? Cuz that takes time some time and effort to think through, where am I gonna go? How am I gonna budget for it? What, how is the best way to bookend it? So how far out in advance are you looking for? Where you wanna stay and when you're gonna go, Mari Escobar: Not too far in advance I don't plan more than two, three months before or even less. But that's one thing I know all the holidays by hand and by, especially by through the different jobs, I know which holidays we have and we don't and which ones we don't have available. Most people like don't keep track of that. I'm like, I'm on top of it. I know how many vacation days I've taken. I know how many vacation days I have left and I know the holidays coming up. I'm like, okay, there's Memorial weekend then there's July 4th and labor day. And then I don't have anything until like Thanksgiving. So I kinda like split it up around that. And I that's one thing I'm always like on top of Peter Kersting: That's amazing. And I don't know why I haven't mentioned this earlier, but you sent me right before we did this podcast interview a list of all of the countries you've been to and it is a massive list. I am going to make sure I share it somehow with the group. But in case you think, ah, I don't know how much I believe this. How many countries have you been to? Mari Escobar: 54. I finally put it up in an app. I mean, I was writing it. I have a, a handwritten list that I did during the hurricane. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna sit down and write how many countries I've actually been to. You know, there are some technicalities, like the Vatican is a separate country, but you know, I'm gonna use it. Sure. Towards my count Peter Kersting: Still, 54! Mari Escobar: Yeah. And counting it's 21% of the world. It comes up on the app. Peter Kersting: I love that 21% of the world. Do you have, what do you have a goal to get to everywhere by a certain time? Mari Escobar: I mean, it's impossible to get everywhere. I don't have like a special, like specific number, but I wanna try to do maybe between one or three countries, like new countries maybe per year, like this year I want, so like I mentioned before, I'm going to Europe now and I wanted to squeeze in a new country. But it was getting complicated so I'm, I'm doing like a new city. But the new country was like getting into too much, but later in the year I'm like, I need to get at least one during this year/ Peter Kersting: Sure, sure, sure. I'm curious. What have been some of the repeat places for you? Mari Escobar: Too many most of Europe is a repeat. But I just love going there. It's just like, I never wanna leave. So yeah, I, I don't do that. Like I know people who go to one place and they don't wanna repeat it because I've been there. Sure. But I've been traveling all my life and there's a place that I like. I go back to it. I do try to add new activities or new cities or, you know sure. Not always do the same thing, but in terms of country, I'm like, I try to, or even mix both. You do one old and then one new one. And that's also like right now, like I've seen most of the touristy spots in a lot of places, but I go back and I try to like, not necessarily completely avoid those, avoid those, but you know, I just wanna like go walk around and explore the city. Mari Escobar: Sure. Without any rush, I don't need to go into the loop and see them on. At least I've seen that. I just wanna walk around, sit in the cafe for hours and you know, relax. Like, yeah. So it's a different kind of traveling and I don't wanna be rushing. I don't like those like three day trips. Like you do three days, three day, three days. And you're like switching every day. No, I like also like getting to know a place better than doing four cities and you know, just getting like one day or two days in each. Peter Kersting: Sure. Is there anything else before we keep moving past it about maximizing your work days off and your travel time that you wanna add? Mari Escobar: Also now take advantage of the remote life. And that's what I did. The last two years you can combine both like you can work a few days remotely. Yeah. You have to take your laptop with you, which can be annoying. But it lets you also, you can find cheaper flights cuz you don't have to leave on that Friday, which is more expensive. You can leave on Wednesday work Thursday and Friday, and then you start your vacation the next week. Or like last year I went to Spain for like two weeks. I worked one week and I took the other week as vacation. So that lets you use more of the days. Peter Kersting: Sure. The fact that you're actually able to work in a new country, you can still do something after work. If you're good about saying I'm done at this time or if your job allows you to do it at any time, if you want. Cause that's Mari Escobar: Probably, yeah. It can also be hard depending on, you know, the time difference too. Sure. You can be tricky. Sure. and trying to explore a new city and you know, have to be working, but it's not, it's manageable. I'd rather do that than not go at all and right. I think that's my, that's my motto for a lot of things. like, I'd rather do it this way than not go or yeah. You know, you have to sacrifice one thing that you have to work longer hours for a few days in order to be able to take that trip or, you know, skip going out for lunch in order to, you know, use that money, that sort of thing. Peter Kersting: sure. I mean, and that's a valuable lesson, whether it's trying to maximize your travel time or anything else you wanna do, you have to prioritize it and that means not prioritizing other stuff. Right. Mm-hmm sure. So you talked about planning versus not planning sort of

    49min

  2. 18/07/2022

    Traveling the World with a 9-to-5 Job - 54 Countries and Counting with Mari Escobar

    I can't travel. I've got a normal job It's time to throw out that old excuse. You CAN travel with a normal job. You've just got to find a way to prioritize it. Mari Escobar has been to 54 countries and counting all while working a "normal" 9-to-5 job. How on earth does she do it? Find out in part 2 of our interview, 42 Traveling the World with a 9-to-5 Job - 54 Countries and Counting with Mari Escobar. Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser This episode of Alone with Peter is brought to you by Sagebrush Coffee Sagebrush is an online coffee roastery with a wide variety of single-origin coffees you can order from the comfort of your home knowing that your coffee is so fresh, it isn’t roasted until after you order. If you’re interested in learning more about the world of coffee, Sagebrush is a great place to start. You can find their website online at Sagebrushcoffee.com and for a limited time from now until August, you can save 10% on your next order of coffee beans by visiting sagebrushcoffee.com/awp10 or by using the promo code awp10 at checkout. Follow Mari Escobar Financial Controller and World Traveler If you want to get in touch with Mari Escobar or see where she's off to next, check out the links below. Instagram: MariMari4 and LinkedIn: maritereescobar 42 Traveling the World with a 9-to-5 Job X 54 Countries and Counting with Mari Escobar *Transcripts may contain a few typos. With interviews ranging from 1-2 hours, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. Peter Kersting: Welcome to Alone with Peter a podcast for entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. We are back with Mari Escobar who is going to be talking to us about her experience as a solo traveler and how she maximizes her work to be able to pursue travel more often. If you've been making the excuse that you can't travel because you have a normal job and they don't wanna give you time off. Well, maybe you'll find some tips in this interview about how you negotiate some of that. Bottom line is if travel is important to you, you can find a way to make it happen. That's something I'm excited to talk with Mari Escobar about. In this second part of our interview, Mari will dive a little bit more into some solo travel stories and all the above. Peter Kersting: We ended last week though, talking about your first experience traveling alone, in Paris and how that changed you. Could you touch on some of the things that you really learned about yourself from that experience? You hinted about it a little bit last week. Mari Escobar: Yeah, for sure. I would say the main thing is just like, I was not as shy anymore. And I learned to like talk to anyone around me because I mean, you're on your own. So you have to talk to someone at some point, right? And you have to figure out where you are, you know, you can't rely on anyone. It's all you, the money decisions, like where to go next and like, what happens if something goes wrong or stuff like that. But at the same time, it's like, you can do whatever you want. You don't have to be up to like anybody's schedule. And if you wanna sit here on the sidewalk of the street and ineat your falafel just do it here. Nobody cares. Make friends with the people next to you. Keep walking and stop by the next bench and, you know, take your time to enjoy the scenery nobody's rushing you. It's a whole different experience. I love traveling with my family, with friends, but solo traveling is a whole other world out there. Peter Kersting: What is it about the solo travel that you've found you've enjoyed the most? It seems like I know for me, it's kind of what you're just touching on about, like, you could just eat your falafel and take 15 minutes on the bench if you want, or you could just keep running, you know, mm-hmm I love that you get to set the pace, cuz sometimes when you're with other people, even as not as much as you love being with them, it, you kind of have to just be more like, all right, what do you wanna do? Mari Escobar: Yeah. You don't need to compromise. You just compromise as you, so yeah. Sounds selfish. But you know, it's, you can't enjoy it while you can. And then you also meet, I mean, you have to make this a point you also meet so many people like for like-minded and then you don't spend that much time on your own. Like, people are like, oh my God, you're crazy. Like, where are you going on your own? Like, something's gonna happen. Obviously mom gets worried. And even like all my friends, like, what are you doing? Like who does that? Right. But at some point I'm like, whenever I talk to my mom, when I'm like traveling, she's like, I haven't spent any time on my own. Like I've met so many people and we're all on, on the same page. We always, we all wanna see like this store's attraction or we wanna do like this excursion somewhere. Mari Escobar: So it's super easy. Again, like you have to put yourself out there and be on that social mode. But if you do, and if, once you, once you open up, it's like so easy and then it's yeah, it's, it's a lot of fun, but at the same time, like the other side is like, sometimes you don't wanna feel that social. I'm like, Ugh, I don't wanna do those small talks again. And you know, try to meet new people. Like there there's always like one night it's like, okay, I, I I'll just eat and you know, go back to, to my place and not, yeah, don't have to go through that. Peter Kersting: totally, totally. And it's an interesting aspect of it too, is you probably learn what you're comfortable with and what you're not comfortable with. Mari Escobar: Mm-Hmm Peter Kersting: Is anything popping into mind with you? I'm just curious, like I know for me, man, I, I could think of definitely there have been times where I'm like, I have to figure this out on my own and this is really stressful. But after the fact, I was really glad that I had to figure it out on my own. Cuz it's kind of what made the trip exciting Mari Escobar: Sometimes. I don't know. Maybe when, I mean, we've all been lost at some point your GPS is not working or you don't, you don't always have like cell phone reception or like a sim card or like wifi, my phone. I don't have one of those international plans that, oh, I don't always have a SIM card. So it's like, okay. Yeah. Now I need to get wifi, try to find a place that has it. And you know, maybe if I'm trying to meet with someone and I'm like, oh, I need to find a place that has it. Try to go to like burger king and see if you can sneak in or Starbucks. That sort of thing can get annoying. But at the same time, other times it's like, okay, let me figure out, let me grab a map. I do love like old school maps. I don't always like the GPS. I like when I first get to a place, I try to get like a paper map, see where I am. I'm like, okay, where should I go? I go to like the counter. I'm like, okay, mark up the, the main places to go and you know, figure it out on your own. Peter Kersting: Really? On the physical map? You just like to get it out and do that. I love that? I would never have thought. Mari Escobar: I'm one of those. Peter Kersting: That's so funny. I love that. Mari Escobar: I'm old school. I have it in my purse. And I mean, you, you need to know where to open it. Cause obviously you look super obvious, like a tourist. Peter Kersting: Yeah. Yeah. Mari Escobar: But I do like seeing it and seeing like the whole picture of the city and like where you are and when you wanna go, you know, on the GPS Peter Kersting: Sure. Mari Escobar: On a phone, you can do it. But you know, it's such a small image. It's not, it doesn't necessarily give the whole big picture. And like, Peter Kersting: Plus one thing I would say to your point is that when you're looking at the phone for directions somewhere, I often don't look up. I'm just kind like, alright, why is it taking me? And when you're traveling, the whole point is like pay attention what you're doing. Right. So yeah, if you do the physical map, you have to like orient yourself and then go, and then you could just be kind of like present to what's what's going on. Mari Escobar: I mean, you also have to be looking, but yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Like pay attention to like street names and see where you are. Right. Or try to ask, like, if you don't have a phone, it's like, oh, where am I? Like try to, yeah. Yeah. Even if you know, a few words in the language, try to like butcher them. people like at least sometimes, you know, you know the name of one main sure. Attraction and people with like, even if it's with signals, you can get there. Peter Kersting: Do you have a story that pops to mind? One of your favorite stories about getting lost somewhere and having to figure it out? Mari Escobar: Not Peter Kersting: Particular? Well, I'll come back to it. Mari Escobar: I just like wondering around that's part of, one of the things that I love about traveling. Peter Kersting: You, you made me think of a, you made me think of a, I'm not gonna tell a story right now is too long. But I had my, I first went to Europe in 2016. I got an appendicitis the first day I was in the Netherlands and I had to have an emergency appendectomy. And maybe I've told you this story. Mari Escobar: I think I've heard this story. Yeah. Peter Kersting: But you made me think of that because I had to ride my bike around with no cell service and figure out how to get to the hospital while my appendix bursting and you had to do it. Mari Escobar: I did have something similar. Not, not as bad, but yeah. Yeah. In the hospital, in, in Italy. Well, I had to go to the hospital in Italy once and I was like, I mean, I threw the map. You f

    42min

  3. 11/07/2022

    Where to Next? World Travel and Finding a Work-Life Balance with Mari Escobar

    Today, we are joined by a very special friend of mine, Mari Escobar a Financial Controller for an indie record label in Los Angeles, and a world traveler. Mari has been to 54 countries and counting all while working a normal 9-to-5 job. In this interview, we'll talk about how she prioritizes and negotiates travel with her work, where her love of travel came from, and what it was like for her as a Puerto Rican studying in the United States of America. Plus, stick around to learn how Mari, Tanner Combias, (You can listen to that interview here) and I know each other! Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser This episode of Alone with Peter is brought to you by Sagebrush Coffee Sagebrush is an online coffee roastery with a wide variety of single-origin coffees you can order from the comfort of your home knowing that your coffee is so fresh, it isn’t roasted until after you order. If you’re interested in learning more about the world of coffee, Sagebrush is a great place to start. You can find their website online at Sagebrushcoffee.com and for a limited time from now until August, you can save 10% on your next order of coffee beans by visiting sagebrushcoffee.com/awp10 or by using the promo code awp10 at checkout. Mari Escobar Financial Controller and World Traveler If you want to get in touch with Mari Escobar or see where she's off to next, check out the links below. Instagram: MariMari4 LinkedIn: maritereescobar 41 Where to Next? World Travel and Finding a Work-Life Balance with Mari Escobar *Transcripts may contain a few typos. With interviews ranging from 1-2 hours, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. Peter Kersting: Welcome to Alone with Peter a podcast for entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. Today, we are joined by a very special friend of mine, Mari Escobar. And this one's fun because if you have listened to the podcast for a while, you maybe remember I talk with somebody from the Big 4 named Tanner Combias. I met Tanner in Vietnam. Well, guess what? I also met Mari in Vietnam and Mari also worked for one of the Big 4 financial firms. We'll talk about that as we go through this episode, but one thing that I think is really special about Mari is anybody who knows her for long enough will be like, okay, where is she now? Because you're literally always somewhere different. You're always traveling. You're always going on some kind of trip. And I can't wait to dive into what that looks like. How do you prioritize travel? You have a normal nine-to-five-plus job. Right? And I think most people, think that's not possible. So we'll talk about your travel experience, but we'll also talk about what you do for a living. Getting into solo travel a bit, especially as a girl, I think that's gonna be an interesting topic and just catch up on some travel stories and stuff. So, you know, with that in mind, Mari, how, how have things been for you lately? Mari Escobar: Hey, thank you for that introduction. It's very true. Nobody asked me, how are you? It's like, where are you now? where are you going next? So yeah. Yeah. Doing good now in LA I'm kinda, I've been here for a couple of months, but you know, I'm taking off in a couple of weeks. Peter Kersting: nice. Mari Escobar: I gotta keep it going. Peter Kersting: Yeah. Where are you to next? Mari Escobar: I am going to Europe. So I'm doing Paris, Italy, and Dublin. Peter Kersting: Nice. You, you never get tired of it. Do you? Mari Escobar: Of course not. Peter Kersting: Mari Escobar: Never enough. Peter Kersting: Yeah. We're gonna, we're gonna talk a fair amount about these different things, but Alone with Peter, we like to go through different segments. So this is a three-part interview. We're, we're all strapped in for here, and starting in part one, we're gonna be talking a little bit more about your background, right? So I wanna talk about your professional background, your personal background, and also kind of dive into your love for travel. So I wanted to start with where are you from originally? Mari Escobar: Yeah, so I grew up in Puerto Rico and then I left for school, but my father's Panamanian. So that's kind of like, it was always an excuse to travel, to go visit family. So that was part of our, my upbringing, I guess, but yeah, born and raised in Puerto Rico. And I've been in the states let's say on and off like 10 years. Peter Kersting: Yeah. And you mentioned that you mentioned your family has played a pretty big role in why you love traveling so much. Do you mind sharing what traveling, growing up was like for you guys? Mari Escobar: Yeah. vacation was always like very important. We at least would plan like one big trip of like two weeks, somewhere, mostly Europe. And we would usually have that sometimes plus going to Panama, you know, to visit family. So those were like two big ones, like usually around the summer. And my father always like put that into me. He's like travel now that you can don't wait till you are old, when your knees hurt and you can't walk, you gotta do it now. Peter Kersting: That's really great advice. Yeah, Mari Escobar: I took that very seriously. Peter Kersting: well, and obviously sounds like the way that your family traveled has had an impact on you, right? Mari Escobar: Mm-Hmm we like to do stuff, explore, like we're very practical. We don't do like super fancy vacations, you know, three star hotel will do, but we go in an Explorer for like 12 hour days and just walk around, get lost and get to know the place. We're not all about, you know, have a fancy dinner, sit down for like three hours and then, oh, now we're tired. No, even with my parents, like we, we go out early in the morning and we don't come back to like midnight Peter Kersting: so what it is all about doing stuff wheb you're on a trip? It's not necessarily about relaxing. Mari Escobar: Yeah. I mean, sometimes you gotta have those, but no, it's all about exploring, getting out, especially in Puerto Rico, we don't get to walk that much. So mostly when we go to Europe, we're like, okay, let's just walk. We're like getting out the door and just walking around, getting on the subway, exploring, trying the local food, local restaurants, that sort of thing. Peter Kersting: What were your parents like when they were traveling with you or were you guys planning things out ahead of time? So you knew what you wanted to do or was it a little more spontaneous? Mari Escobar: A little bit of both. I mean, when I was growing up, obviously I was dubbed the travel agent. So my father would get someone to buy the tickets and all that stuff. But yeah, I guess we had an idea, but never like planned like minute by minute. Sure. Like we have the main attractions and oh, today we're doing this and this, but not like by the hour and say like, oh, we like this place better. So we'll stay here for a little longer and then we can do the other still the other thing after nothing like super rushed, they're not paranoid. Yeah. They're very relaxed. I can just like me so, you know, we just go with the flow, nothing. Like they don't get mad easily, so yeah, Peter Kersting: Yeah. Mari Escobar: Well now they're, they're older obviously, but they're not like, okay, we have to be in there for like five hours right before or anything like that. So, and now that I get to plan all the trips my father's just like you do everything. Just tell me how much it is. Like you buy the tickets. I'm like, okay, can we go this states like this, does this work for you? That's it. I do the rest. Peter Kersting: That's awesome. Mari Escobar: I look for the areas, but they're like, yeah, now they leave it up to me. And then last year went on our last trip. We did a road trip through, through Spain and my father's like, oh my God, you're amazing. You should, you know, people should pay you to do this. just tell them the days. And you'll take care of everything, like from getting the Ubers each day to planning, you know, the main attractions to the, to the, the flights and kind of like the leisure schedule. I love that. I'm like I could be a travel agent too. Peter Kersting: well, you, you answered my next question already. I was gonna say, you know, how much do you enjoy the, the prep part? That sounds like that's a pretty big part of it for you. You kind of like getting excited about the trip before it happens. Mari Escobar: I do, but I'm not too big into research. Like , I'm pretty lazy when it comes to that. I like right now I haven't done any research of where I'm going. Like most places I've been to, but like sure. There's one in get there that I've never been. I, I probably go at the airport. I'll be like, okay, what, what should I do? Yeah. I cook a hotel. I have a general idea of the schedule, but not like, yeah, I, I can get very lazy. I, but I, I do like booking for flights. I'm okay. Let me see. And like, yeah, I'm one of those that at the office, like, I'm like, okay, how are the flights? Peter Kersting: I'm kind of the same way. I don't know if I'm trying to remember what I'd be. Okay. So I asked Tanner this question, like I said before, early in the podcast, the three of us met in Vietnam. And the three of us traveled together for a little bit of time. And then each of you individually, I spent some time with traveling, but I, I, this, the question I asked Tanner was what was your first impression of meeting each other? And and I would love to hear your thoughts, your first impressions of meeting both of us, or just in general, that trip, Mari Escobar: You guys were ready together at the hostel. Oh. And we were waiting for a tour, right.

    36min

  4. 20/06/2022

    Work Smarter, Be Happier, Live Better - Actionable Advice from John's Crazy Socks

    Welcome back to part three of our interview with John and Mark Cronin of John's Crazy Socks. In part three, we're getting actionable and practical tips so that you can aspire to take a similar leap of faith to these two sock tycoons. We're gonna get a lot of good advice in this episode. So I hope you stay tuned. And if you are enjoying Alone Peter, in these interviews, please rate, review and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts because this show cannot exist without your support. Let's dive in with John and Mark Cronin of John's Crazy Socks Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser This episode of Alone with Peter is brought to you by Sagebrush Coffee Sagebrush is an online coffee roastery with a wide variety of single-origin coffees you can order from the comfort of your home knowing that your coffee is so fresh, it isn’t roasted until after you order. If you’re interested in learning more about the world of coffee, Sagebrush is a great place to start. You can find their website online at Sagebrushcoffee.com and for a limited time from now until August, you can save 10% on your next order of coffee beans by visiting sagebrushcoffee.com/awp10 or by using the promo code awp10 at checkout. 39 Creating a platform for positive change... with John's Crazy Socks If you want to explore the previous episode or others in the archive, head on over to peterkersting.com/podcast/39. You can check out transcripts for different episodes, links to content mentioned and guests featured in the podcast, as well as stream episodes in their entirety.  In this episode, John and Mark share actionable, practical advice if you aspire to take a similar leap of faith. There's some real gold here for business owners, leaders, and those looking to be more conscientious with their buying power. Don't miss our giveaway with John's Crazy Socks. Follow AWP on Instagram! Be sure to follow Alone with Peter on Instagram for highlight clips of the latest episodes, previews of upcoming guests, and other goodies. Follow along, and send me a DM to let me know what you think of the show! Get 10% off your next sock order with promo code PETER22 Looking for your daily dose of happiness? Follow John's Crazy Socks on social media and get 10% off your next order of crazy socks using our promo code PETER22. Website: https://johnscrazysocks.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnscrazysocks Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnsCrazySocks LinkedIn: MXC  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxcronin/ LinkedIn: JCS: https://www.linkedin.com/company/11171456/admin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnscrazysocks/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Johnscrazysocks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnscrazysocks Enjoy part 3 of our interview with John and Mark Cronin of John's Crazy Socks *Transcripts may contain a few typos. With interviews ranging from 1-2 hours, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. 40 Work Smarter, Be Happier, Live Better - Actionable Advice from John's Crazy Socks Peter Kersting: Welcome to Alone with Peter. I'm your host. And on this podcast, you're going to hear interviews with entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. We'll dive deep into what set them on their journey, where they are now and how their story can impact you, including any helpful insights. If you aspire to take a similar leap of faith, no matter where you are on the journey. Thank you for spending some quality time Alone. With Peter. This episode of Alone with Peter is brought to you by Sagebrush coffee roastery. There's nothing quite like a good cup of coffee. That's why I've always made it a point when traveling to try out the local cuisine and find the best coffee shops from the Instagrammable coffee of east Asia, to the classic cafes of Western Europe. I've tried a lot of coffee. And let me tell you something, nothing has quite hit the spot like Sagebrush Coffee. Peter Kersting: Sagebrush is an online coffee roastery with a wide variety of single-origin coffees. You can order from the comfort of your home, knowing that your coffee is so fresh, it isn't roasted until after you order. But what makes Sagebrush so special is their dedication to the farmers and producers who make the coffee. Sagebrush's goal on a fundamental level is to allow the hard work of those producers to shine and to be rewarded for it. And if you're interested in the process of coffee while becoming a more conscious consumer Sagebrush is a gold mine of information, along with their selection of coffee beans to purchase. Sagebrush has an extensive archive of free educational blog posts that are built into their website to help shed more light on the world of the coffee industry and how your purchasing power impacts that world. You'll learn the history of specific countries of origin. See breakdowns of various coffee terminology and find quick blurbs about family business updates. If you're interested in learning more about the world of coffee, Sagebrush is a great place to start. You can find their website online at sagebrushcoffee.com. And for a limited time from now until August, you can save 10% on your next order of coffee beans by visiting Sagebrushcoffee.com/awp10, or by using the promo code AWP10 at checkout. Peter Kersting: Welcome back to part three of our interview with John and Mark Cronin of John's Crazy Socks in part three, we're getting actionable and practical tips and advice. If you aspire to take a similar leap of faith to these two sock tycoons, we're gonna get a lot of good advice in this episode. So I hope you stay tuned. And if you are enjoying Alone Peter, in these interviews, please rate, review and subscribe wherever you receive podcast. And don't forget to check out the full transcript links to content and everything else on Peterkersting.com/podcast/40 for this episode. All right, let's dive in with John and Mark Cronin Peter Kersting: John and Mark. I'm gonna kind of hit you with a couple different things that I would like to learn as an entrepreneur. And I think other people maybe would like to learn from your experience. So if we can speak to that, I would love to start with Mark. You were mentioning you have very checkered past, so can you tell me about that? You know, kind of give us the overview of your CV, cuz it is a very interesting CV and how all those different things helped you become the businessman you are today with John's Crazy Socks. Mark Cronin: Sure. so let's start with the framework maybe. And remember I'm old. So there's lots of years in there when I got out of college in 1980, I taught school for two years. There are anecdotes about, you know, pure happenstance that I wound up doing that I taught at a Catholic grammar school in New York city and then a Catholic high school. I left there, I went to Portland, Oregon to help a friend open a nonprofit grocery store in the Burnside district, which used to be like the Bowery in Manhattan when the Bowery was the Bowery and the Burnside was the Burnside came back and enrolled in a doctoral program for literature spent a year or so in there wound up leaving there, working for a Congressman. And then I went off to the Kennedy school of government at Harvard, got out of there, worked for the city of New York in the Medicaid program, wound up running the Medicaid health services program did that for several years left to write a novel and some short stories went back into healthcare consulting and then led a series of healthcare startups and consulting firms did that for quite a number of years. Mark Cronin: But along the way, I'm trying to remember in there, somewhere in there left and started a, a software software company called new Gutenberg software. We made baseball for windows 94, got rave reviews, lost every penny we had. We so I did that into the two thousands organized some political campaigns then helped my wife who at a law firm. And I took over the Marketing for that and, and some of the man day to day management and you know, for complicated reasons that shut down and then here we are running the SOC business. Wow. So people will say, you know, what would tell us about your background? Well, you know, I'd never worked in retail, had never run wholesale, but processing claims in healthcare was quite similar to me to processing orders coming in, but you, you learn it every step of the way. Mark Cronin: So I mean, here's an example when I was when I was young, when I got right outta high school and, and through college, I did a lot of hit tracking different day and age. So I hitch cross country three times. I hitchhike around Europe you know, carpool over the side of the road you run to get in that car. And the first thing you have to do is you gotta sh you gotta try to size up that driver because you gotta, how you gonna get along. And that ride might be 10 minutes or 10 hours. And you are the entertainment. So you do that a few hundred times and you learn an awful lot. You, so when I was doing that, I wasn't going off saying, well, I'm going on a learning experience now it's just a great adventure, but look what you go and learn. I've been fortunate over the years to work for some really great people. So you get to learn that and work with some really great folks. You learn it all the time. Peter Kersting: Well, if I could interrupt really quickly, first of all, I'm, I'm smiling because I actually, you're making me think of my own hitchhiking experience. I hitchhiked from the Netherlands to Paris during the 2016 presidential election. And it's one of the craziest memories I have and it's absolutely you're right. Some people picked me up. So I, I had this whole, I had

    57min

  5. 13/06/2022

    Creating a platform for positive change... with John's Crazy Socks

    Welcome back for part two of our podcast interview with father-son duo John and Mark Cronin. In the previous episode, we explored the origin story of John’s Crazy Socks a multi-million dollar social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. We talked about the incredible emotional response people have had to their business and we started to see how selling socks has become a platform for change.  Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser This episode of Alone with Peter is brought to you by Sagebrush Coffee Sagebrush is an online coffee roastery with a wide variety of single-origin coffees you can order from the comfort of your home knowing that your coffee is so fresh, it isn’t roasted until after you order. If you’re interested in learning more about the world of coffee, Sagebrush is a great place to start. You can find their website online at Sagebrushcoffee.com and for a limited time from now until August, you can save 10% on your next order of coffee beans by visiting sagebrushcoffee.com/awp10 or by using the promo code awp10 at checkout. 38 Spreading Happiness: The Origin Story of John's Crazy Socks If you want to explore the previous episode or others in the archive, head on over to peterkersting.com/podcast/38. You can check out transcripts for different episodes, links to content mentioned and guests featured in the podcast, as well as stream episodes in their entirety.  In today’s episode, we’re continuing the conversation around business as a force for good. We’ll explore how John’s Crazy Socks has used their platform to testify before congress, educate other businesses on the benefits of hiring the differently-abled and so much more.  Don't miss our giveaway with John's Crazy Socks. Follow AWP on Instagram! Be sure to follow Alone with Peter on Instagram for highlight clips of the latest episodes, previews of upcoming guests, and other goodies. Follow along, and send me a DM to let me know what you think of the show! Get 10% off your next sock order with promo code PETER22 Looking for your daily dose of happiness? Follow John's Crazy Socks on social media and get 10% off your next order of crazy socks using our promo code PETER22. Website: https://johnscrazysocks.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnscrazysocks Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnsCrazySocks LinkedIn: MXC  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxcronin/ LinkedIn: JCS: https://www.linkedin.com/company/11171456/admin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnscrazysocks/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Johnscrazysocks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnscrazysocks Enjoy part 2 of our interview with John and Mark Cronin of John's Crazy Socks *Transcripts may contain a few typos. With interviews ranging from 1-2 hours, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. 39 Creating a platform for positive change... with John's Crazy Socks Peter Kersting: Welcome to Alone With Peter. I'm your host, and on this podcast, you're going to hear interviews with entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. We'll dive deep into what set them on their journey, where they are now, and how their story can impact you, including any helpful insights if you aspire to take a similar leap of faith, no matter where you are on the journey. Thank you for spending some quality time Alone With Peter. Peter Kersting: This episode of Alone With Peter is brought to you by Sagebrush Coffee Roastery. There's nothing quite like a good cup of coffee. That's why I've always made it a point when traveling to try out the local cuisine and find the best coffee shops. From the Instagrammable coffee of East Asia to the classic cafes of Western Europe, I've tried a lot of coffee, and let me tell you something. Nothing has quite hit the spot like Sagebrush coffee. Peter Kersting: Sagebrush is an online coffee roastery with a wide variety of single-origin coffees. You can order from the comfort of your home knowing that your coffee is so fresh it isn't roasted until after you order, but what makes Sagebrush so special is their dedication to the farmers and producers who make the coffee. Sagebrush's goal on a fundamental level is to allow the hard work of those producers to shine and to be rewarded for it. If you're interested in the process of coffee, while becoming a more conscious consumer, Sagebrush is a gold mine of information. Peter Kersting: Along with their selection of coffee beans to purchase, Sagebrush has an extensive archive of free educational blog posts that are built into their website to help shed more light on the world of the coffee industry and how your purchasing power impacts that world. You'll learn the history of specific countries of origin, see breakdowns of various coffee terminology and find quick blurbs about family business updates. If you're interested in learning more about the world of coffee, Sagebrush is a great place to start. You can find their website online at sagebrushcoffee.com. For a limited time from now until August, you can save 10% on your next order of coffee beans by visiting sagebrushcoffee.com/awp10 or by using the promo code AWP10 at checkout. Speaker 2: (singing) Alone With Peter. Peter Kersting: Welcome back for Part 2 of our podcast interview with father-son duo, John and Mark Cronin. In the previous episode, we explored the origin story of John's Crazy Socks, a multimillion-dollar social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. We talked about the incredible emotional response people have had to their business, and we started to see how selling socks has become a platform for change. If you want to explore the previous episode or others in the archive, head on over to peterkersting.com/podcast/38. You can check out transcripts for different episodes, links to content mentioned, and guests featured in the podcast, as well as stream episodes in their entirety. Peter Kersting: In today's episode, we're continuing the conversation around business as a force for good. We'll explore how John's Crazy Socks has used their platform to testify before Congress, educate other businesses around the benefits of hiring the differently-abled and so much more. Peter Kersting: You guys have testified in Congress. You've done TEDx talks. Can you speak to that part of it? What is it that you're trying to change in the world? Mark Cronin: It's based on show, don't tell. We want to share our experience, so we'll tell you it's about showing what's possible. More broadly defined, it's what entrepreneurs can do and the positive impact. We want to share the power of social enterprises and more narrowly, it's we want to show what people with different abilities can do, and so we look for all sorts of ways of doing that. That's not what we expected to do when we started. Mark Cronin: When we started, it was John needed something meaningful to do. For us to do it, it would have to produce income. I remember the first time someone asked us to speak out of town. An event organizer called us up and wanted us to fly to Cleveland to speak at a fundraising event. We said, "Oh. Well, sure." She said, "Okay. What are your fees?" I said, "Fees, huh? Well, you're going to have to pay for our travel." She says, "Yes, of course we will, but what are your speaker fees?" "Speaker fees?" John Cronin: Why don't you give us a beer? Mark Cronin: I normally got to buy somebody a beer to get them to listen to me, but here's an example of what the platform allows us to do and then the obligation it creates. So you've mentioned that we've testified now before Congress, and we've been down there other times. That's one thing. Elected officials will take our calls and listen to us, so because of that, it's important that we advocate for certain legislative changes and policy changes to advance the rights of people with different abilities. Mark Cronin: We're down there one day. A customer from Houston calls our office and says, "My mom works on Capitol Hill, and she's a big fan of John's, and I see that Mark and John are down on Capitol Hill. Do you think my mother could meet them?" Our colleague said, "Sure. Here's Mark's cell phone number. Text him Mom's contact information." Well, who was mom? John Cronin: Nancy Pelosi. Mark Cronin: Nancy Pelosi, so we get an audience with Nancy Pelosi. One thing that is unfortunate about where we're at today, we so vilify many of our elected officials or people we oppose. In the past week, there were people voting in favor of the Supreme Court Justice and opponents saying, "Well, therefore they support pedophiles." We're like, "Come on now, what are we doing?" That's the world we live in, but here we go meet Nancy Pelosi. Forget wherever you are in the political spectrum. Nancy Pelosi is an 80-year-old Italian grandmother. Let's start there, and she sees John, and she's so warm and lovely towards him and took out pictures of socks that she had given former President George H.W. Bush because John had somewhat famously become sock buddies with the former President, so it was a nice exchange, right? John Cronin: Yeah. Mark Cronin: You guys are talking and taking pictures, but now that we have this opportunity, we have to make use of it, so it's like, "Well, Ms. Pelosi, now that we're done with the pictures, we need to talk about eliminating the sub-minimum wage that allows upwards of 400,000 people with disability to be paid as little as five cents an hour in our country." Peter Kersting: Holy cow. Mark Cronin: Because if we get that opportunity, you have to make use of it, so yes, the business has evolved where you're willing to have us on the podcast, where we do a l

    46min

  6. 06/06/2022

    Spreading Happiness: The Origin Story of John's Crazy Socks

    Today on Alone with Peter, I am joined by two very special guests, John and Mark Cronin of John's crazy socks. John and his dad, Mark Cronin are the co-founders of John's crazy socks, a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser This episode of Alone with Peter is brought to you by Sagebrush Coffee Roastery Sagebrush is an online coffee roastery with a wide variety of single-origin coffees you can order from the comfort of your home knowing that your coffee is so fresh, it isn’t roasted until after you order. If you’re interested in learning more about the world of coffee, Sagebrush is a great place to start. You can find their website online at Sagebrushcoffee.com and for a limited time from now until August, you can save 10% on your next order of coffee beans by visiting sagebrushcoffee.com/awp10 or by using the promo code awp10 at checkout. John's Crazy Socks John’s Crazy Socks was inspired by John Lee Cronin, a young man with Down syndrome, and a wacky fashion sense. In five years, they bootstrapped their business into the world's largest sock store with multimillion-dollar sales in 88 different nations.  John and Mark remain fierce advocates for the rights of the differently-abled with more than half of their employees having differing abilities. They’ve been able to raise over $475,000 for charity partners like the Special Olympics, the National Down Syndrome Society, and the Autism Society of America. And they’ve used their platform to instigate change in legislature, testifying twice before US Congress, speaking at the United Nations, and recording two TEDx talks. I’m so excited to have these two on Alone with Peter today to talk about their origin story and entrepreneurial journey. In part 1 of this three-part interview we discuss:  John and Mark’s father-son bond and how their relationship shapes their business Anecdotes of John’s problem-solving ability, his adventurous spirit, and natural entrepreneurialism  The origin story of John’s Crazy Socks. A multi-billion-dollar social enterprise based on spreading happiness. Being born with down syndrome: John’s medical issues and an unfortunate point of view How life becomes so much easier when you just accepted that you’re an idiot  Why start a business and why socks? Recognizing the limited opportunities people of differing abilities face and shifting the culture. Authenticity in business: Embracing who you are, doing what you love, and reaping the rewards The surprising emotional response to John’s Crazy Socks Embracing imperfection and experimenting with your business: How overplanning kills productivity and efficiency The biggest secret to success: starting small and learning as you go. Why socks? Why Down Syndrome doesn't define John or others with differing abilities..  John’s fashion style, why he and Mark could never be classmates, and how John reacts to being noticed on the street. The beauty of social enterprise: Using John’s Crazy Socks as a platform for change Follow us on Instagram! Be sure to follow Alone with Peter on Instagram for highlight clips of the latest episodes, previews of upcoming guests, and more. Follow along, and send me a DM to let me know what you think of the show! Get 10% off your next sock order with promo code PETER22 Looking for a daily dose of happiness? Follow John's Crazy Socks on social media and get 10% off your next order of crazy socks using our promo code PETER22. Website: https://johnscrazysocks.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnscrazysocks Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnsCrazySocks LinkedIn: MXC  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxcronin/ LinkedIn: JCS: https://www.linkedin.com/company/11171456/admin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnscrazysocks/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Johnscrazysocks/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnscrazysocks Enjoy part 1 of our interview with John and Mark Cronin of John's Crazy Socks *Transcripts may contain a few typos. With interviews ranging from 1-2 hours, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. Peter Kersting: Hello, and welcome to Alone with Peter, a podcast for entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. Today, I am joined by two very special guests, John and mark Cronin of John's crazy socks. John and his dad, Mark Cronin are the co-founders of John's crazy socks, a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. In five years, they bootstrapped their startup into the world's largest sock store with multimillion dollar sales in 88 nations. John and Mark are fierce advocates for the rights of the differently abled and have testified twice before us Congress and spoken at the United nations and recorded two TEDx talks. Peter Kersting: This father-son duo has addressed audiences across the US, Canada and Mexico. And I'm so excited to have them on Alone with Peter today to talk about their origin story and their entrepreneurial journey. Mark Cronin: Peter, we are excited to be here. John Cronin: Thank you, Peter. I really appreciate Mark Cronin: This is great. We've been looking forward to this conversation. John Cronin: Me too. Peter Kersting: Yeah, I'm I'm I'm glad cuz I'm excited just watching you guys talk to each other. I love your father's son bond and I thought that'd be a great place to start this conversation. So I like to do backstory because it gives us some perspective, and helps us really understand where you come from and how you've been able to accomplish what you've done. And, and so I feel like there's a lot we can learn from you too. And I wanted to start with your relationship. So maybe you could describe to us what that is like for you too. Mark Cronin: Well, we could talk about the business thing, but that's been a natural growth of our relationship we've spent, we've been through a lot together. Right, right. Um, and we've spent a lot of time together and just enjoying each other's company. And John here, I would suggest that John approaches the world the way an artist might of able to transform the ordinary into something special or like the Mary Tyler Moore theme song who can take a nothing date and make it special after all. . I mean, I'll give you an example long before this business we would spend most Saturdays together. Just the two of us. Yeah. Sometimes mom would be around, but just the two of us. Yeah. John Cronin: That's my favorite. And, Mark Cronin: And what would we start with? John Cronin: We'd start with, soccer. Mark Cronin: Go to special Olympic soccer and then we'd go back to the office we had then and pick up the recycling and go to the recycling center. John Cronin: I love that. Mark Cronin: You love that. Just go to the recycling center. We would frequently do the big shop at Costco. John Cronin: Yes. Mark Cronin: We would go visit my aunt, Gloria's sister St. Timothy, who has since passed away. But she was in a nursing home. We'd go visit her. John Cronin: Yes, Mark Cronin: We'd go run errands. John Cronin: Right. And my family part, we would call her Costco. I asked my dad, um, I'm gonna court or Mark Cronin: Oh, you were a Costco card member. Right? You would have these jokes you found very funny. John Cronin: Yes. Mark Cronin: Nobody else did. But you found them hilarious. John Cronin: At, at some time I come up said, can you pick a color? Mark Cronin: Oh right John. So once John hits a line, he uses this forever. So there is a, uh, a poem by Allen Ginsburg called a supermarket in California in which the narrator is following the ghost of Walt Whitman around a supermarket. And when he gets to the checkout says, Walt, when can I buy my groceries with my good looks? Well, John has taken this line and no matter where we go, he'll ask, can I pay for this with my good looks? John Cronin: [Inaudible]. Mark Cronin: So I, you know, we've had that. John is the youngest of three, you know, parenting is. John Cronin: Humbling. Mark Cronin: It's very humbling. There's so much you wanna do. And, and there's really little, you can do, your children are gonna grow up to be whoever they're gonna grow up to be, but we've always tried to promote their independence. And that includes John and just enjoy the journey, enjoy the ride. Um, and for John, I, I guess there's something special because it started in such a challenging way. Um, when John was born, we did not know he was going to be born with down syndrome. Um, and you know, it was a different day and age. There was a covering pediatrician. He was born in the middle of the night and came in and said, oh, I'm so sorry. I have such bad news to tell you. And he said, well, what are you talking about? This is our son. This is my boy. What? There's no bad news here. Mark Cronin: But people with down syndrome are frequently born with significant medical issues. And, and that includes John. So on day three of his life, he needed intestinal bypass surgery. Uh, we didn't know if he was gonna survive. We brought a Catholic priest in to baptize him. Um, and he survived that. And then he had a very significant, uh, heart condition. He had two holes in his heart and a leaky valve. And before he was three months old, he had open-heart surgery and we didn't know if he would survive that we knew he couldn't survive without that operation. Um, so maybe when you go through things like that, you appreciate more the trip to the recycling center. Yeah. Um, and just the joy you find in that. John Cronin: Right. I create fun. It is a great journey. I get there I

    37min

  7. 16/05/2022

    Moving Abroad -Tips for Nomads and Expats with David McNeill

    Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Enjoying the show? Follow us on Instagram! Be sure to follow Alone with Peter on Instagram for highlight clips of the latest episodes, previews of upcoming guests, and more. Follow along, and send me a DM to let me know what you think of the show! Feeling at Home in the Netherlands and South Korea with Peter Kersting | Expat Empire Podcast 46 I actually had the privilege of being on David's podcast Expat Empire a few months ago to talk about my time living abroad. You can check that out here! David McNeill Founder of Expat Empire If you want to get in touch with David McNeill or learn more about what Expat Empire has to offer your move abroad check out the links below. Website: https://expatempire.com Podcast: https://expatempire.com/podcast-overview/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/expatempire Instagram: https://instagram.com/expatempire LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/expatempire/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ExpatEmpire Please enjoy part 3 of our interview with David McNeill, Founder of Expat Empire *Transcripts may contain a few typos. With interviews ranging from 1-2 hours, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. Peter Kersting: Welcome to Alone with Peter. I'm your host. And on this podcast, you're going to hear interviews with entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. We'll dive deep into what set them on their journey, where they are now, and how their story can impact you, including any helpful insights if you feel inspired to take a similar leap of faith. No matter where you are on the journey, thank you for spending some quality time Alone with Peter. David McNeill: We're back for the third and well, hopefully not final, but the last interview for now with David McNeill, the founder of Expat Empire. Previously on Alone with Peter, we talked about David's Japanese fluency, ad nauseam, and its fascinating stuff. Linguistics always gets me going. And I think for anybody who's interested in moving to another country, especially a country with a very different language and culture, you can learn a lot from that episode and from David himself. David McNeill: So don't forget to go back and check out that first and second interview if you have not already, but right now we're going to talk about Expat Empire. We're gonna talk about what that is, who that applies to, and how David's attitude of saying yes to opportunity and being open to pivoting has led to his success in this business opportunity. David McNeill: You're not gonna wanna miss out. At the end of this episode, we're going to be giving you some actionable, practical tips if you're interested in living abroad, working abroad, being out there, and seeing what the world has to offer. So stay tuned for that. All right, David are you ready, man? How's it going? David McNeill: It's going very well. Yeah, I'm definitely ready. Love to talk about all these topics. It's near and dear to my heart, obviously, and share as much insight, knowledge, and advice as I can. David McNeill: Yes, yes, yes. Okay. So first I'm gonna start with this question. How important has it been for you to learn to pivot and just take the lemons life gives you? David McNeill: Unbelievably important. And I think it's probably, I would venture that listeners of this, or viewers of this episode and these past episodes would maybe look at my experience or the things that I've done and say, wow, everything worked out great or you know, this or that. David McNeill: I'm very fortunate that it has in the big picture, but, I have gone over quite a tough road over the years. You know, my plan, as we talked about last time was to stay in Japan. At least initially, that was what I wanted to do. That was my big passion. I finally got there and it ended up only being an experience of two years, which is not the shortest, but it's also not the longest time. And that was again because I applied to 50 jobs there. David McNeill: I did not end up getting the one that sort of worked out or that made sense for me and my career. And so I decided okay, time to move countries, languages, and cultures for an opportunity in Germany and Berlin. And so that's just one example, but you know, I've gone through something like six jobs in seven years. So I had, I mean we can get into it, but I had that. I had a job in finance, originally. I left that after a couple years, then I worked in San Francisco for, a tech company for a year. Got laid off from that, after coming back from China, which we talked about, then I went to Japan, worked there for two years and ultimately had to make the decision to move on. And then I worked three different jobs in Berlin in the three years that I was there and then came to Portugal for a new opportunity and got laid off a year after that. David McNeill: So, you know, it's definitely been a lot of ups and downs. It's not always been fun, but it has worked out in the big picture. And I guess that's the thing about it is that it makes me realize that I can adjust. I can always pivot. I can change what I'm doing, what I'm focused on in the country, the culture, and everything else to make it work for me. But, it's not been an easy road and I don't want to have anyone come away from this thinking that, you know, stuff has just fallen into my lap. It's been a lot of work and a lot of disappointment and frustration along the way, but I've just kept that goal of staying abroad doing what I want to do, and continuing my career and the path that it takes to keep me going, Peter Kersting: David, thank you so much for being honest with the audience, because I think, especially in today's world, we're getting these snapshots. We get snapshots of people's success, snapshots of their Instagram stories. And we forget that we're seeing this at 500 times speed. We joked about this in-between episodes that when you see somebody's road trip, you're not seeing all the stress and the sleep deprivation, and arguing with your friend, cuz he is backseat driving. You're just getting the highlights. Of course, that looks like a great life. And for you to be honest with us that, Hey, you know what? Yeah. I spent 15 years studying Japanese. I thought I was gonna be in Japan for a long time. This was the plan. And then it's just two years and I had to pivot? I'm sure at the time that was so disappointing and so hard for you. David McNeill: Oh yeah. I remember how angry I was at Japan. Let's say like as a concept, like, I had sacrificed and invested so much for it. And that's what I got in return? That's how I felt. You know, you get rosier glasses as time goes on and things like that. And I mean, it is what it is. And obviously, I've been down the path I was supposed to be on. I don't regret it for an instant and you know, ultimately now I have my wife, who's Japanese and we speak Japanese at home, so you know, some people would say… Peter Kersting: Hold the phone! David McNeill: Haha, yeah. Peter Kersting: Okay. First of all, I didn't even know until, two interviews ago that you're married for the last two years, but second of all, your wife's Japanese, that is… Okay. So anybody who's listening, stop jogging, park your car real quick. And just think about this for a second. Okay? This guy spent 15 years of his life studying Japanese, becoming fluent in Japanese, learning about the culture, and appreciating the culture. And there was value in that in and of itself by itself. Okay. That's, that's very important to remember this. It was passion that taught him to do that. Second of all, he went to Japan. It wasn't what he wanted it to be. And I don't mean that as the experience wasn't worthwhile, but it didn't last as long as he wanted it to. The job market didn't work for him the way he hoped that it would. Peter Kersting: And he had to pivot and move on and you can look at that and say, that was a failure. And yet, hold on a second, you don't meet your wife if you don't go to Japan. If you don't study Japanese, you don't go to Japan. If you don't go to Japan, you don't end up in Berlin. If you don't end up in Berlin, you don't meet your wife. So for anybody, who's trying to wonder if the effort they put into something is worthwhile or not just shut up and think about that for a second. I love that. David McNeill: Yeah. Thank you. And I, I feel lucky and fortunate, and all of those types of words. Whatever the right word is for how it's worked out. But I think maybe the key takeaway is not oh, you might find your soulmate from that, but more that at the end of the day, you don't know how these things are going to go. And then, I mean, as, I don't know, as I've kind of thought about it as I've learned, and as I've read, to be honest, it's this idea of, you need to know the what and the why, but you can't know the how. The how just happens. So for me, it was many things in life, but, what is, I want to go to Japan. Why? Because I love the culture. I love blah, blah, blah. You know, all that stuff. How? I have absolutely no idea, but I'm gonna try to figure it out. David McNeill: And you know, one thing eventually leads to another. It may take longer than you expect, but it happened. And then subsequently with Germany, subsequently with Portugal, subsequently with the business. I've seen it happen time and time again in my life. It's hard for me to give up that sense of control, but there is a level of that that I think we have to do because, well, I'm not trying to get too spiritual and I'm not religious, but I will say there's, there's a strange way that these things tend to work out one way or another, for reaso

    43min

  8. 09/05/2022

    So you wanna learn Japanese? Language tips and adapting to change with David McNeill

    So you wanna learn Japanese, huh? It's a daunting task, but one David McNeill of Expat Empire tackled quite effectively. If you're looking for language learning resources specifically for Japanese, this episode of Alone with Peter is chalk full of them. On season 2, episode 19 of Alone with Peter David McNeill of Expat Empire talks about his journey towards mastering the Japanese language, how he moved to Japan, and some of the struggles he encountered living in a foreign culture as an expat. Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on Podchaser Enjoying the show? Follow us on Instagram! Be sure to follow Alone with Peter on Instagram for highlight clips of the latest episodes, previews of upcoming guests, and more. Follow along, and send me a DM to let me know what you think of the show! David McNeill Founder of Expat Empire If you want to get in touch with David McNeill or learn more about what Expat Empire has to offer your move abroad check out the links below. Website: https://expatempire.com Podcast: https://expatempire.com/podcast-overview/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/expatempire Instagram: https://instagram.com/expatempire LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/expatempire/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ExpatEmpire Japanese Language Resources Mentioned in this episode Here are some Japanese resources mentioned in the podcast episode. Happy language learning! Genki - https://genki.japantimes.co.jp/index_en Japanese Pod 101 - https://www.japanesepod101.com/ Anki - https://apps.ankiweb.net/ A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar - https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Basic-Japanese-Grammar/dp/4789004546 A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar - https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Intermediate-Japanese-Grammar/dp/4789007758 A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar - https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Advanced-Japanese-Grammar-English/dp/4789012956 Please enjoy part 2 of our interview with David McNeill, Founder of Expat Empire *Transcripts may contain a few typos. With interviews ranging from 1-2 hours, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. Peter Kersting: Welcome to Alone with Peter, a podcast for entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. We're back for part two of our interview with David McNeil, the founder of Expat Empire. What is Expat Empire? Well, you'll have to stay tuned to find out. Peter Kersting: Right now. We're talking with David about Japan because surprise, surprise. David is fluent in Japanese, and if you looking at him, you would never guess it because he is the wightest Mofo I've ever seen he's from the Bay Area, fluent in Japanese. So tell me about that. How did that get started for you because obviously in the previous episode, if you wanna hear about it, you guys go back. David has family who have had interesting ties to Japan and it's kind of sparked an interest for you, but how did the study of the language start? That is a whole other ball of yarn. David McNeill: Yeah, absolutely. I got interested as we talked about through, honestly at least on a personal level, obviously there was the, there was the, you know, family elements and things like that that were always in the background, but also just getting into the Japanese culture through the anime, the manga, the video games, the stuff that's been popular over the years. And at least for me, the gateway, the entry was, Dragonball Z which I think was popular for a lot of kids of my generation. And I think what it was though was that I saw it and I was like, this is so cool. And I love this, but then it also was me in the back of my mind thinking, you know, it'd be really way cooler would be to watch this without subtitles or to watch it in Japanese. David McNeill: I guess I was watching it in English at the time. Of course. And I think that just was one of the things that sparked the interest. There were a few other things like, I, I don't know, it was just something in the back of my mind and I kept, it's one of those things where if you have it in the back of your mind, you keep seeing it pop up here and there. And it just kind of grew into something that I was actually kind of interested in pursuing. David McNeill: It was around those years where at least my dad was like, you should get a hobby, you should like develop a skill on something. And I was like, yeah, that's a good idea. , sure, dad. I tried, you know, playing music and I couldn't really stick with that. And I've tried sports over the years and I mean, I did stick with some of those over a couple years, but it just wasn't my passion. David McNeill: And so I was like, okay, language. And I was just never that drawn to learning Spanish or French or German, like most, you know, a lot of kids do in school, in the us. And anyway, Japanese was kind of sitting there in the background. And, um, my mom was working also on the side for a book selling company at the time. And there was a discount, uh, some promotion going on for the sellers. And I looked through there and I'm like, oh, a Japanese book and cassette tape set. That sounds pretty good. Get me that. And then it took a couple months and a couple tries for me to stick with it. But then it became a thing where every day, honestly, every day for 30 minutes a day, I sat down and did it. And then I did that every single day at 12 years old, Peter Kersting: Every day for 30 minutes a day. Hang on before you keep going, because we're gonna talk about this for a second here. Okay. I'm sure the listeners may know, but if they don't Japanese, at least for a native English speaker is probably one of the most challenging languages you picked one of the hardest ones you could do because there's three different alphabets, right? It's character based. There's not, it's definitely not. It's definitely not Roman stuff and the pronunciation and everything else is gonna be as foreign to you as possible. Did you realize how much you were getting yourself into when you chose Japanese? David McNeill: So not no, no. I just thought it would be cool. Peter Kersting: Does anyone ever, David McNeill: I think, I think it's one of those things that maybe if you have the, the perspective, if you're, I don't know if you've learned languages before or you're older and have more demands on your time, then maybe there's that point where you're like, oh, you know what? I don't know if I just, I don't know if I want to go down this path and I'm glad that I did, but it was one of those things where, I mean, again, I was truly, truly passionate about it and I did not think, of course, I thought, well, it's different from Spanish and it would be easier just to take that at school. But I think passion, at least for me, has always played a big part in this and keep sticking with something and wanting to do it. So I think with Japanese, I had that and I didn't have the context of, well, this is one of the hardest languages to learn. David McNeill: I mean, there was a point where after you learn the first two basic, um, writing more, more basic writing systems with around 50 characters each, where you go into the, the congy, the Chinese, uh, originally Chinese characters and there's for fluency, you need at least basically to learn, at least 2000 of them is what they say. There was that point where I was like, do I really want to learn congy or not? Because that is such a huge investment and a huge, you know, thing to embark on. And I thought about it for a while. Honestly, I was on the fence, but it came down to, well, if I'm really serious about this language, the only way to keep improving, the only way to get fluent really is to learn at least how to read the congy. So then once that was done and you learn your first couple, then it's just years and years of effort after that. Peter Kersting: Okay. Hold up though, by the timing that you got to Kanji, how long had you been invested? David McNeill: Um, well, so I started, uh, it's hard. I'm trying to think exactly when that was, but probably, you know, I started when I was 12 and I did that booking cassette tape set a few times. I did a school at the community college, uh, did a class at the community college. And then I started taking after school, um, lessons up there in Los Angeles. And probably then that was when I was around. I don't know, 14 or so, so probably 14, 15. I decided, okay. I mean, if I, if I'm gonna keep going, then I need to do this. It's kind of that thing. I mean, especially at least in a Japanese school, if I was just doing it all on my own, maybe, you know, you'd find a way around it some, some way, if you just wanted spoken fluency, but if you wanna study it properly in, in after school classes or in language programs or in university, then you have to do it. So it's just kind of that decision. Peter Kersting: This is something I know a lot of people are gonna be interested in because if you're interested in living in Japan, it really, really helps to know the language. And as you kind of hinted at right now, it's not something you can exactly pick up overnight. So I want to touch on a couple things and I would love for you to elaborate. Okay. First of all, I love that you said you have to have passion because I think that is key for any long term goal, right? If you don't have passion for it, if you don't have a end game reason for it, you're not gonna learn. Also, you said you spent 30 minutes a day every day for how long? David McNeill: Um, well I think probably the way to put it is I'm sure I did many more than this over the years, but there's that thing about learning something for 10,000 hours to become a master at it. And

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Sobre

Alone with Peter is a podcast for entrepreneurs, artists, digital nomads, and people seeking personal growth. I'm your host, Peter and on this podcast, you're going to hear interviews with people who are actively pursuing their dreams. Each episode shares our guest's journey, how their past forms their present, and how that informs their future. We'll learn what motivates them, how their talents have developed over time, and share actionable, practical tips for you if you decide to take a similar leap of faith. No matter where you are on the journey, thanks for spending some quality time Alone with Peter.

Informações

  • Criado por
    Peter Kersting
  • Anos de atividade
    2020 - 2022
  • Episódios
    45
  • Classificação
    Explícito
  • Site do podcast
    Alone With Peter