I have lived in 3 foreign countries as an expatriate and traveled to over 55 others. This has inspired me to contemplate and write down some life lessons that can also help fellow expatriates, travelers and explorers to grow into their best selves. I have discovered that living outside of one´s comfort zone, outside of the comfort of our home country, can inspire and push us to develop and grow. Take advantage of that!
Overcome your fears and take a leap of faith into the unknown. The book is a mixture between travel tales, scientific explorations into the human mind and psychology, including neuroscience as well as thoughts of inspirational and established individuals around the world. Binding together stories, experiences, science, qualitative research and sound beliefs, to motivate you on your journey.
I can say that it was a thoroughly enjoyable book to read. ExpatYears is probably not a typical travel book (like I thought it would be at the beginning), but it is rather a mixture of different categories. It takes you to numerous amazing places, introduces you to a cast of intriguing characters, teaches about the power of having a positive view on life, and is laugh-out-loud funny at times. In different situations Andre is both a traveler and a startup company founder, and I appreciated his thoughts and honesty on what that means. It’s a must-read, and I recommend you to read this book if you want to get inspired and need some clarity to see the connections between your life, moving abroad, travels, actions and the almighty brain behind it all. This book really takes the idea of realizing your full potential to a crazy new level.
- Romet
Our brains are perfectly equipped to remembering experiences and forming expectations based on past events. And then we are hard-wired to compare. We compare, label and categorize everything, our emotions get triggered based on these comparisons. Does it meet our expectations; is it better; is it worse?
Every evening. Every god damn evening. When the sun starts to set, they appear. In downtown. Descending from the mountains. They want to escape from where the boxed brick houses don´t have windows. From where anguish and poverty surrounds all. From where human life costs less than a penny. And by the fall of darkness, they flood the streets of Rio de Janeiro. On every corner. Lurking for you.
Fears – those monsters, that stem from the stories we have heard and from the thoughts that swirl in our head, they ambush and limit our actions. Everywhere. Not only on the streets of the infamously criminal metropolis Rio de Janeiro. They clamp down on us also at home, while sitting on the couch. They stop us, make excuses, and drawing their efficiency from the countless millenniums of evolutionary development, keep us very effectively in our comfort zone. Since outside our comfort zone is where the danger lies. To our life. To our livelihood.
Even a thought of moving abroad causes great doubts, hesitations and fears in many. But we must walk that road in spite of fear. It will expand our world. We will come back stronger, more independent and more aware. Development only happens outside of our comfort zone. Life abroad is always a life outside of our comfort zone. Moreover, we can decide ourselves how far out we are prepared to wander. I suggest you to move fast and as far as your feet can carry. Because this is where the biggest victories await.
This book is about how to take the maximum out of our time as an expatriate. How to learn and blossom in new cultural settings. How to take advantage of unfamiliar environment to improve ourselves. It’s a book about my own experiences from moving, living and deciphering lessons during expatriation from North-Europe to Brazil. By incorporating traditional psychology, neuroscience and beliefs of successful people, I quest out to interpret everyday occurrences. You can take it as a travel book, or a bit more scientific approach to a travel book, or self-help book. Take it just the way, as it speaks to you. All I hope, is that this book will inspire you to travel, develop, think and overcome your fears.
I´m writing every morning. The second draft of the book is now completed! Next steps proofreading and editing.
Why am I writing a travel book at the times of extensive travel bans? Although COVID-19 has shut down a lot of travel opportunities, expatriates are still living overseas. They are facing even more challenges than before. Yet, a challenge does not equal a problem, it equals an opportunity. Every challenge is an opportunity for personal growth. I wish everyone saw it this way. I truly do. That´s why I´m writing this book for travelers and expats right now.
To prove all of that, I took a one-month trip to Andalusia, Spain during Covid time (April 2021). It started with a bang... being sent back home from the Swedish border. I did not give up and tried again... see what happened next and where perseverance took me from the daily travel updates of ExpatYears Facebook page.
Follow the Book