Intentions for the year

It can get easy (during long term travel) to feel lost or overwhelmed with choices (when you realize you can literally hop on a flight anytime to anywhere). Thus it really, really helped me to set intentions for my year, which boiled down to 3 points:

• Rest and recharge (from 7 years of constantly hustling and pushing myself to my mental limits in my first startup)
• Heal (internal wounds and relationship with myself that I’ve neglected for too long)
• Seek (problems that pain my heart to see that exist around the world, outside of the bubble I’ve been comfortable in, to dedicate next part of my life towards)

I am SO fuck*ing proud of myself for aligning myself with these intentions as it was what I needed, and even more proud of myself for accomplishing these.

1. Rest & Recharge — It really feels like my brain has reprogramed itself, like snapping out of the everyday matrix and seeing things with much more clarity. When friends check in with me, I always respond “at peace.” I am operating with a whole new Operating System now and that allows me to live every day with so much enjoyment.

2. Heal — Self-work this year included: disassociating self-worth/identity with work, working through childhood trauma of worth with women/romantic relationships, shifting perspective of family trauma and surrendering to what is outside my control, suspending logic and inviting magic, feeling peace with my ego that wants to be recognized, feeling more than thinking, and tuning in to my heart instead of my mind all the time.

3. Seek — I definitely did NOT expect this, but I found my next commitment in less than 6 months of the year: raising human consciousness with sacred plant medicine (entheogens) manifested through a human accelerator and life elevation journey (retreat) experience. I have humbly joined 1heart as their full-time Partner & CMO.

Side note: In 2018, I told myselfI will not work for at least a year, and I would be CEO again in my next venture/commitment. This work was too important and bigger than myself that I had to put my ego aside and commit to be in selfless service.

Countries I visited, when I visited, and order I visited them in

Los Angeles, United States (Dec 2018)

San Jose, Costa Rica (Jan 2019)

Mexico City, Mexico (Jan 2019)

Oaxaca, Mexico (Jan 2019)

Mazunte, Mexico (Jan 2019)

Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala (Feb 2019)

Lake Atitlán, Guatemala (Feb 2019)

Flores, Guatemala (Feb 2019)

Uvita, Costa Rica (Feb 2019)

Cusco, Peru (Mar 2019)

Sacred Valley, Peru (Mar 2019)

Machu Picchu, Peru (Mar 2019)

Cali, Colombia (Mar 2019)

Medellín, Colombia (Apr 2019)

Cantón Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica (Apr 2019)

Lisbon, Portugal (Apr 2019)

Lagos, Portugal (May 2019)

Seville, Spain (May 2019)

Málaga, Spain (May 2019)

Valencia, Spain (May 2019)

Barcelona, Spain (May 2019)

Girona, Spain (May 2019)

Lviv, Ukraine (June 2019)

Istanbul, Turkey (July 2019)

Cappadocia, Turkey (July 2019)

Fethiye, Turkey (July 2019)

London, United Kingdom (July 2019)

Nosara, Costa Rica (Aug 2019)

Los Angeles, United States (Aug 2019)

San Francisco, United States (Aug 2019)

Black Rock City, United States (Aug 2019)

Bali, Indonesia (Sept — Nov 2019)

Singapore, Singapore (Oct 2019)

Kyoto, Japan (Dec 2019)

World Backpacking Travel 2019 - Tim

Top 5 Favorite Places Visited (in order of favorites)

1. Bali, Indonesia
2. Sacred Valley, Peru
3. Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
4. Cappadocia, Turkey
5. Kyoto, Japan

1 second video of every day

In each of these 365 days, I captured a 1 second video that spoke to me. This is what resulted.

Some of my favorite photos captured

Expenses spent per month and year and breakdown

I gave myself $50,000 USD budget for the year to travel on purpose to give myself comfort and full enjoyment of what I wanted to do and experience. This came out to averaging $4,000 USD / month, which I have realized is very doable and very comfortable. For context, I had been close to spending $6,000-$7,000 USD / month for last 3 years in San Francisco, CA, so traveling should (and did) translate to more affordable living than in a USA metropolitan city. What a great deal!

You can cross reference which countries I was in to understand approximate costs of living and worthiness of visiting there on your budget. For what it’s worth, I averaged $20/night in Airbnbs and $10-$15/meal to keep things affordable yet nice.

January — $3,986 USD

February — $2,955 USD

March — $3,959 USD

April — $3,690 USD

May — $3,523 USD

June — $3,058 USD

July — $3,714 USD

August — $4,569 USD

September — $3,635 USD

October — $2,667 USD

November — $3,795 USD

December — $3,071 USD

TOTAL: $42,600 ($7,400 USD under budget)

How I funded this trip

Many ask, so here was one of my approaches. I invested over a chunk of my money from my startup exit in the US stock markets (via a wealth manager) at the end of 2018 year before I left, and achieved ~12% return after 12 months, which passively covered more than my $50,000 budget in 2019 (not counting capital gains tax if/when I sell my portfolio).

This opens up a bigger conversation, which is if it is possible to live this backpacking lifestyle and self-fund it? My answer is a firm ‘YES’ if you dedicate the time and effort to set up the process.

This blog is not dedicated to how to do it, but I will share a quick overview how. Firstly, determine your budget per month you want to live. Secondly, figure out what kinds of remote-first income streams you want to focus on (ie. landing a remote job, investing in assets (like cars and homes) and renting them, stock market investing, owning side hustles, running online consulting/coaching, setting up e-commerce businesses, etc.). Thirdly, prioritize your time to balance out your work vs. play schedule.

How many miles flown (environmental impact)

I don’t know exactly how many miles I flew in 2019, but I am very aware of my environmental impact flying this much. I am currently considering imposing a personal environmental tax similar to what this article shares.

Some “flight-shamers” would say that a better approach is to simply stay home. I disagree. I believe international travel is a powerful way to better understand and contribute to the world in which we live. Travel is not only a great form of recreation but also an important opportunity to broaden our perspectives by experiencing different cultures. Americans who travel gain empathy for the other 96% of humanity.

New skills learned

Ecstatic DJing

Balinese Massage

Plant Medicine Integration

Traditional Shamanic Dieting

Vipassana Meditation

Heart-based Leadership

Salsa Dancing

Contact Improv

Acro Yoga

Startup Angel Investing

Shamanic Drum, Shruti Box, Koshi Bells, Kalimba Instruments

A few learnings/reflections

• Humble the shi* out of yourself — the world can teach you so much if you allow it to.
• “The world is so small” is just a metaphor.
• Leave parts of schedule open to flow and surrender to where the universe is guiding.
• Budget everything to maximize value in your travels.
• Easiest way to make friends around the world is to live in a hostel, attend to group tours, and/or put yourself in ‘difficult’ situation and ask for support.
• World traveling is a privilege. 90% of locals I spoke with never traveled outside of their hometown, let alone their home country.
• If you see something you absolutely love, buy it. You most likely won’t be going back for a while, and if it wasn’t right for you, gift it.
• Collect and carry gifts to surprise people you connect with so they will always remember time together.
• Balance the desire to take photos and breathing in the present moment.
• Withdrawing cash from international bank ATMs will always give you best exchange rates (best to have a no withdrawal fee card)
• Some countries require you to buy a flight out, and if you’re like me who likes to flow, you can use Expedia to buy an outgoing flight and cancel/receive full refund within 24 hours.

More to share when they come to me

Favorite memories

1. PERU > COLOMBIA > COSTA RICA: Sitting with Ayahuasca in Sacred Valley, then Kambo, then San Pedro in Cusco, and then hiking to Machu Picchu for 5 days straight, and then sitting in silence for 10 days in Vipassana meditation in Colombia, and then flying to Costa Rica to co-host a 1heart plant medicine retreat.
2. BALI: Living with my romantic partner and hosting 15 1heart tribe members for their first time in Bali.
3. BELGIUM: Experiencing a traditional 10 day shamanic dieta, which involved 5 plant medicine ceremonies, only eating rice, oatmeal, and potatoes for 10 days, and no talking/touching with others.

Questions from Friends & Answers from Me

1. How to disconnect from social media and return to your essential nature? Delete Instagram and Facebook apps from phone and only using mobile browser version (which is a shitty version). Turn your phone to black and white version so your brain/eyes do not get stimulated. And whenever you notice desire to check social media, use that energy to check-in with the first close loved one or friend that comes to mind via call or text.
2. Knowing what you know now (with the spiritual insights), how would you live and work differently? Alignment > Hustle. Heal yourself to heal the world. Choose love over fear. Prioritize service for people and planet.
3. Who and what have been your most memorable moments and insights? Answers above.
4. How has your year away affected your relationships with the people back “home?” There is no doubt that my year away has affected the consistency I had with certain friends back at “home.” But I counter this by committing time each week to have phone calls to catch up with friends who reach out and commit time to reaching out to people that pop into my mind (I take those as signs to check in).
5. How can you make the most of travels… How do you drop in with people wherever you are, and make the experiences transformational? First describe who you are. Once you do, figure out where more of YOU are hanging out. For me, it was finding the artists, going to vegan cafes, and going to experiences/events that I was genuinely curious about (via Airbnb Experiences, FB events, and flyers in cafes). To fully drop in and make the experiences transformational, express and invite vulnerability in all conversations starting with yourself+ don’t over plan your schedule to allow spontaneous plans to manifest.
6. What life/lifestyle changes will you carry forward as a direct result of your travels? Disciplined budget per month. No more than 50 pieces of clothing to stay minimal. Experiences > Things, always. Be humble and stay curious to keep learning — forever student. Listen and tune into the heart and body for signs and signals for decision making.
7. Do you ever feel the need to set roots? Have a home base? Yes the feeling is creeping up, but not solidified yet. To me, I feel alive with new environments that are always teaching me something. I do notice myself now preferring slower paced travel, and creating a humble lifestyle when I land in a new city/country vs. trying to do all the touristy activities. If I had to choose a home base now, it would Bali, Costa Rica, or Peru.
8. How do you advise budgeting the trips so others can do it too? I was able to comfortably backpack for 1 year with $4,000 USD / month, and some of those months were accounting for both my partner and I. I have met people who are able to do so with half of that, so $2,000 USD / month depending on how much you fly to other countries and your accommodation lifestyle (I budget for $20/night accommodations). My advise is pick a $ number you can comfortably afford for 1 year of no work and all travel, and STICK TO IT NO MATTER WHAT throughout the year (so you don’t have to worry).

What’s next?

It feels like I have fully transitioned into a new lifestyle that keeps me feeling alive, living my best life, and elevating my growth everyday. Thus, I have set the intention for 2020 to extend my world travels for another year and explore wherever/whatever makes me feel ALIVE. This translates to the work I commit to for 1heart, the countries I still have curiosity to learn from and live in for longer periods of time, and skills I want to continually master.

And for those asking/wondering, I have no desire to be back in the States for the next year and feeling into a new home in Bali and/or Costa Rica. So let’s meet up somewhere around the world!

If you have any questions on how to gift yourself a year of backpacking travels too, feel free to leave a comment below, or find me on the socials (though I’ll be checking that less and less frequently).

Hi, my name is Tim, and I am just your simple guy who ran the rat race in Silicon Valley. I started my first tech company, bootstrapped it for 6 years, scaled it to 40+ employees with $millions in revenue, exited in 2018 after feeling burnt out, and now backpacking for at least a year to heal, recharge, and seek the next meaningful problem that pains my heart to see exist outside the San Francisco tech bubble. That way I can be fully energized and ready to dedicate the next part of my life towards impact work I feel aligned with.

To do so, I’ve been preparing for the last 2 months on a variety of tasks to not feel so overwhelmed as I traverse the globe for 12+ months. And as I am coming to my starting date and country, I thought it could be helpful if I shared my learnings with you as you consider or are ready to backpack to multiple countries for an extended period of time.

So I noted down 11 things below to consider and prepare for so you can lessen the potential chaos (note: I have prepared and am traveling as a USA citizen). There will be links to learn more information about services and products I’ve chosen to make it convenient for you (and for full transparency, some will be Amazon affiliate links —feel free to support only if it brings you value). My goal below is to simply pass on the wisdom and knowledge I’ve acquired after months of research and conversations with other seasoned travelers so you can receive more on your once-in-a-lifetime travel experience.

1/ Intention/Purpose

I was advised by a good friend of mine who backpacked for a year (shoutout to Colton Soref) that if he could do it again, he wished he did one thing before he traveled: set a purpose or intention for the year.

I loved this and put this at top of my list of preparing because it sets the direction for my year. I get anxious and overwhelmed with all the options advertised or recommended to me by friends or Youtube videos I watch when I land in a new country. Setting your intention/purpose for your year focuses your attention on activities and places to visit that aligns with what you set out in the beginning of your travels.

And that’s what I did. For me, I set three intentions for the year:

• Rest and recharge (from 7 years of constantly hustling and pushing myself to my limits in my first startup)
• Heal (internal wounds and relationship with myself that I’ve neglected for so long)
• Seek (problems that pain my heart to see that exist around the world, outside of the bubble I’ve been comfortable in, to dedicate next part of my life towards)

You can see all three are focused on the self, which I intentionally crafted so I would have the recharged battery, internal peace, and clarity to pour myself into my next calling/venture (I identify myself as a founder/entrepreneur). This means most of my decisions on where I visit and spend my time will revolve around spirituality, quietness, local culture, and introspection. In my opinion, intentions does not mean expectations. It means a direction that is pointed but open, and flowing with what life will unfold for me during my journey.

Though we will probably differ in our profession, identity, and life calling, I still encourage you to set a purpose/intention to lessen the option overload, avoid expectation disappointment, and receive the most out of your travels.

2/ Phone Service

To stay in communication with friends and family as well as have tools to solve daily challenges that will arise, many of us will depend on our mobile phone as we traverse the world.

There are many options here, and plenty of resources on the Internet, so I will keep this to the point of what I considered and chose.

Three options:

• Free, but risky

Sprint offers a plan that gives you free service for a year with unlimited texting and data, but calling with a fee/minute. It’s called Unlimited BYOD (bring your own device). Basically it requires you to have a phone that is eligible for their Sprint network (you can check on their site) and hop onto their network. For those that are skeptical, this is their clever marketing strategy to win back market share against the big guys like Verizon, ATT, and T-Mobile in the States.

I’ve confirmed with their customer service many times and my friends who have tried this and it works, and Sprint covers around 200 worldwide countries with their service. Be warned: their data speed in other countries will downgrade to 2G speeds, which means it will be much slower. I think this is perfectly fine because you really only need your phone for Maps, occasional research, and texting. And with the proliferation of WIFI cafes, you should be covered.

The only risk is if Sprint feels like shutting your service down because you are outside the US for extended period of time using their international roaming service. But I’ve been told this won’t happen three times from their US-based customer service (yes I called them three times to speak to three different people to confirm).

• Frugal, but spotty

The other way I’ve researched as a backup in case the above doesn’t work and you don’t want to pay a high monthly US mobile service is to port your US mobile phone number into Google Voice, and connect Voice to Google Hangouts and use Hangouts as your calling and texting app/service. It’ll cost a one-time porting fee of $20, but from then on, you don’t have to worry about any service shutting you down. And you get to keep your mobile phone number without needing to pay for a US mobile phone service per month when you’re outside the US (and possibly not using it).

You will still need local SIM cards for data in case you’re outside WIFI areas to receive calls and texts in your Hangouts. Beautiful thing is local SIM cards are typically 1/4 of the costs of typical US mobile phone services. Be warned that I have read sometimes Hangouts can act up and not send texts/calls as consistent so if you’re OK with that and not rely on it so much, this may be a good option.

You can read more research on this and learn how to set it up here and here.

• Cheap, but inconvenient

This option is simple. Stop using your US mobile phone service and phone number all together and just buy local SIM cards when you land to different countries. The inconvenience is having to get a local SIM card as soon as you land (and airports charge the most for SIM cards) if you need data to call a ride to go to your first destination and possibly losing your US mobile phone number / paying due to inactivity. Friends and family may also have a tougher time reaching you with your new local phone number which switches around from country to country. Messenger or Whatsapp will probably be your best friend here.

Pricey, but stable

The last option I explored is to pay for a US mobile phone service and upgrade to their international roaming plan. From my research, this will average around $75–$85/month. Good thing is you don’t need to look for local SIM cards when you land to a different country as these services offer 200+ countries for roaming, and you get some slight upgraded speed, but will never compare to the speed you get in the US. Ask the mobile phone service you use if they will shut you off if you don’t use it in the States for a period of time.

3/ Health Insurance

Again, there are probably many resources here online to sift through, but I’ll stay simple here and say I went with WorldMed Outbound plan, which cost me $569 for the year, and covers the below (which I believe was more than enough and well worth the price):

4/ Travel Bags

I thought about this intentionally as I enjoy living a minimal lifestyle. I wanted to rock and wear minimal travel bags that were:

• insanely easy to use
• super functional
• sleek design (fewer logos the better)
• carry on to airplanes (I dislike checking in bags)

I ended up choosing these two bags: one for my back and one for my shoulder/hands.

A/ PAKT Bag (shoulder/hand bag)

My good friend Malcolm started the PAKT bag, and I love it. Not only is he conscious of his packaging (no plastic!), he also is a really talented product designer, which you can see how functional and simple to use he’s made his bag. No logos on outside, two main places for clothes/accessories, easy access to laptop for those security checks, quality materials and even zippers, and so much more. This has become my main bag for my 39 articles of clothing (more on that below).

B/ Minaal (backpack)

I’ve used Minaal for the last two years for quick travel adventures, and it has served me very well that I use it as my daily backpack. It has two main places (one for clothes and one for laptop/accessories) with lots of functional pockets, straps to ease load on the back, and even a hidden pocket with a rain cover for the bag. This has been my main bag for my technology and daily needs to easily access.

I oddly feel super proud to not only fit my life for the next year in these two bags, but be rocking these two bags that made it possible to fit my life so perfectly and not be a huge strain on my body!

5/ Neck Pillow

Ah, the notorious travel neck pillows. From my travel experiences, I’ve bought many of them. Some are compact, but require you to use air, which makes it not so comfortable. Some are bulky and comfortable, but too inconvenient to carry around.

Thus when I found the Trtl Travel Pillow, I knew this was the one. Super small and compact (1/2 lb), no beans/rice inside the pillow for support, and no air needed. It’s built with soft fleece and neck support via a brace. I’ve used it for the first time recently on a bus and knocked out very comfortably without needing much space, my arms for support on the armrests, or others to wake me up to move me from my tossing and turning. Waking up without neck pain isn’t so bad either.

6/ Finances — Credit and Debit card

I am no self-proclaimed expert on finances, credit cards, or travel hacking. So what I share is directly related to the needs and constraints I have, so use the following accordingly.

I wanted a credit and debit card that would NOT charge me ATM fees to withdraw local currency and extra foreign exchange rate adjustment fees for international purchases with a credit/debit card. That is relatively simple to find with banks these days. The differences between each of the banks’ offerings are the benefits / perks, including airport lounge access, extra points/cash back for travel transactions, and more.

So I went with Chase, specifically their Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card and Sapphire Banking for checking/debit card. This combination gave me the opportunity for NO ATM fees worldwide, NO Foreign exchange rate adjustment fees with both my credit and debit card transactions internationally, free airport lounge access via Priority Pass, free TSA Pre and Global Entry applications, 3x more points for rewards/cash back, and so much more that wasn’t as pertinent for me but may be valuable for others.

There are many other credit cards and banks I didn’t explore, and could open up for maximum point redemption for flights/travel, but I opted in for a more simple, minimal lifestyle that allowed my brain to be free from thinking which credit card I need to be using to qualify for their rewards so I could spend more time and energy enjoying the beautiful local culture in front of me.

7/ Clothes

Figuring out what and which clothes to bring was one of the easier parts in my planning. I’ve been intentionally living a minimal clothing lifestyle for 2 years, so picking and choosing what I would take for the next 12 months was simple. But I did follow these simple guidelines:

• Bring clothes that give me joy and possibly smiles to others
• Bring what is very functional (easy to match, does its job for weather, and can fulfill multiple types of outings)

This is what I picked:

7 boxers
2 shorts (WAI Shorts and Public Space)
2 long pants (Uniqlo)
2 sweats (Uniqlo)
2 leggings
4 tanks
5 t-shirts (Kopnooi)
1 dress shirt (Trumaker)
1 vest (Uniqlo)
3 sweaters (Public Space)
1 small kimono
1 cape
5 socks
3 pairs of shoes (functional/hiking boots, casual slip ons, athletic/basketball)
 — 
39 items of clothing

One last guideline I have decided to follow is that I am not allowed to carry more than the two bags I have, which means when I am inevitably tempted to purchase a new article of clothing from a different country, I will donate the same amount of clothes I am carrying now. This means I will always keep 39 items of clothing, nothing more. I believe this will also make me disciplined and intentional with what I purchase/wear.

8/ Technology/Non-Clothing

Outside of clothing, I wanted to quickly share the technology/other misc items I am bringing with me to offer inspiration/ideas for efficiency and minimal packing.

1 Macbook Pro with converter (for keeping in touch + misc work/research)

1 Apple Wireless Keyboard

1 External HardDrive (in case I lose or break my laptop) (also leveraging iCloud storage services to back up)

1 Kindle (for all reading)

1 Bluetooth Speaker (for all outdoor music needs + indoor shower dancing)

1 Mini Projector (for those lazy movie nights)

1 Wireless Earbuds (for those days not feeling wires)

1 DSLR Camera (for photography and video recording)

1 24oz Reusable Water Bottle (for minimal plastic bottle usage)

1 pair of Metal Chopsticks (for minimal plastic utensil usage)

1 Mobile Charger (for when I forget to charge the camera, speaker, earbuds, etc.)

1 Travel Notebook (for journaling self-learnings and observations)

2 Converter Chargers

9/ Plan for Theft or Loss

There’s enough to think about or deal with when backpacking around the world. And with so many variables to think about and chaos to manage, theft or loss of important documents or technology is very likely to occur. Setting up ways to either prevent or retrieve or backup these documents / devices can save a whole lot of headache for your future self.

A) Laptop and Mobile Phone

I use Prey Project to manage any possible misplacement or theft of my laptop and mobile phone. It is a free to use (with upgrade opportunities) application that you download for your devices. Whenever it has WIFI signal or data, it will be let you know where your devices are (assuming you misplaced them or they got stolen). If you misplaced it, you can easily login to their dashboard to sound an alarm to find where it is. If someone stole it, you can easily login to their dashboard and mark it to missing. Prey will then let you know the next time the device is connected to some signal WHERE it is, take pictures via camera of the thief, allow you to send message to them via the device for a safe return for a reward, and allow you to wipe your (sensitive) data with a simple click.

In the unfortunate situations that I never retrieve my devices back if lost or stolen, I backup my phone on iCloud and my laptop on an external hard drive (link above) once a week. This gives me the peace of mind that all I would need to do is just replace the actual device.

B) Important Documents

I carry my USA passport, CA driver’s license, and international driver’s permit as physical copies. In case they ever get lost, which would be absolutely devastating, I have at the very least taken photo copies of them on my phone and on my laptop. In addition to these photo copies, I have also taken photo copies of my bank documents, social security ID, emergency medical card, and one credit card information. This just gives me opportunities to still have a digital copy for emergency purposes.

10/ Video Updates (for friends/family)

This was the toughest one for me to plan and prepare for. On one hand, I was resistant to this idea of creating updates for family and friends because I was nervous it would take me away from enjoying what was in front of me and take time away from focusing on my intentions. But on the other hand, so many loved ones were asking for updates in one form or another to follow so they could live vicariously through me.

After a few hours of ideating and journaling (my go-to way to bring clarity), I dispelled those fears and came up with a way to update my community. And it turned out that this would be a fantastic way for me to personally reminisce 1 or 10 years from now. Here were my thoughts and decision:

Guidelines:

• These video updates will not take away from enjoying my time or exploring my intentions
• Should never add stress
• Adds value that may not exist today (on Youtube) by sharing personal observations and learnings
• Streamline the updates/stories with a certain format and theme (decision below)
• Stay authentic and vulnerable
• Contribute to my intentions

Format Decision:

• Weekly publishing cadence (alleviates time pressure, allows more enjoyment)
• Record video clips of my journey (scenery/landscape/adventures) without commentary throughout week
• Take photos of my journey throughout week
• Take written notes during my journey of learning lessons and observations to share afterwards via video commentary
• Record video commentary of learning lessons and observations in quiet (home) setting AFTER the adventure/journey
• Edit them all together into longer form video with native language music and share with loved ones via YouTube

11/ Countries to Explore

Many have asked where I am heading out to, and the best way I can respond is “around the world.” What follows is “do you have your itinerary all planned out,” and I respond with “I have countries I feel called to explore that align with my intentions/purpose for the year, but no dates planned or tickets bought yet.”

This means I have intentions to explore the countries listed below, but there are no dates and no expectations to hit them all if timing doesn’t work out. Opting in to slow down and listen to what my body and heart feels at any given time and what experiences people I encounter share that sway me a certain direction.

To make things easier, here is my tentative itinerary of 26 countries for others to be aware of if we can cross paths or want to join! I chose these certain countries from conversations I’ve had with people I feel speak a similar language as me in life, or have personally read / watched videos about them that align with my intention of resting, healing, and seeking.

Q1 2019 (Jan, Feb, Mar)— Central & South America (Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatamala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Argentina)

Q2 2019 (Apr, May, Jun)— Western Europe/North Africa (Amsterdam, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Morocco, Egypt)

Q3 2019(Jul, Aug, Sept)— South/South East Asia (India, Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines)

Q4 2019 (Oct, Nov, Dec)— East Asia (Korea, Taiwan, Japan)

Let me know if we will cross paths or you’d be interested in joining!

See you soon

That’s all I have for you! I hope this can be a resource for you *once* you are planning for your year of backpacking/journeying! Should you have any questions on preparations or excited to follow my year long journeys, feel free to connect with me on the socials.

And for those who are also taking on the beautiful challenge of backpacking around the world for an extended period of time: May you be safe, may you find what you seek, may you learn and grow, and may you inspire others to breathe in the wondrous culture of the world.

-Tim

My intention for this piece:

I want to provide you with a different, perhaps new, perspective to consider the next time you’re facing and tackling your own mental stress. I am just going to share my learnings I’ve adopted for last two years on improving my mental health, and any of which resonate with you, please feel free to integrate into your lives and let’s connect to discuss your experience.

My name is Tim, a 27 year old first-time CEO of a bootstrapped company that has grown to a multi-million annual revenue business. And while I am SO grateful for the opportunity, I have gone through my fair share of mental health challenges as I continue to embark on this journey of being a living testament that you can start and grow a business that embodies more than normal transparency and team cultivation. And being mindful to not just be another “millennial CEO sharing his feeling,” (yes I was called that by WSJ after sharing my story 2 years ago), I held off publicly sharing any follow up learnings until something called me to do so. And then it came. Quite serendipitously.

When The Drum’s Do-It Day asked me two weeks ago to write a follow up piece (from my previous story linked above) to contribute to their goal of destigmatizing mental health, I gladly accepted so we stop letting mental health be the reason for our own unhappiness and unfulfillment.

I’m going to approach destigmatizing mental health from a different angle though. What you may typically expect is someone share his/her story inspiring story of overcoming their mental health journey (which I completely respect), in which you will resonate and feel inspired to take action. But in reality, you forget the next day and go about your daily routine again.

“There is one way to learn, and it’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. You need to learn only one thing more.”

― Paulo Coelho, Author of The Alchemist

I’m going to approach destigmatizing mental health by empowering you to take practical actions and realize it’s all within your control. Always has and always will be. No hippie kumbaya shit. Real and raw practices I’ve disciplined myself towards for the last year. No more talking how “the world should do this and do that with mental health” and nothing happening. To really make a dent in the world with overcoming mental health, it starts with you working on yourself.

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” — Leo Tolstoy

“Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman

It started with 1 mindset I operate with:

The 1 Mindset

At the end of the day, we will all end up in a box.

Before we end up in the box, we want to be happy and know we created a life well spent.

So we do what we do everyday in search of that elusive happiness.

But society has been lying to us all this time telling us how we should attain happiness.

Because all the answers have and always will lie within you.

So give yourself permission to listen and invitation to take action.

And as I have operated with this mindset of giving myself full permission to listen for answers and invitation to take action for the past two years, it has blossomed to these 9 practices I have integrated into my daily life. As a result, I’m grateful that there is not much that can ever bring me emotionally confused or lost.

The 9 Practices

1. Meditate to stretch your awareness muscle so you can find the silver lining

Fact: you don’t know what you don’t know. Sometimes you won’t know why you’re feeling so angry to the point of rage or depressed to the point of hurting yourself. I have felt that before. My antidote: meditation. Yes, you read it all over now, and don’t really know why it works. Nor did I. But if you have the slightest curiosity, I have one rule for you: just 5 minutes a day, no matter what. You will fall asleep, you will find it boring, you will question it. I felt it all. But as I come out of the other side feeling and reaping the insane benefits, it’s worth it especially when trying to overcome mental health challenges.

Why? Let’s just put it this way: the more you meditate, the more you work out your awareness muscle in your mind. The stronger your awareness muscle, the more you can find the silver linings in all you do and ease your nerves. Sure it may sound like a bunch of BS to attach false meaning to our failures, but so could be all the other things people tell you to make you feel better. At least meditation gives you the quiet time and space to listen to YOURSELF because only you know the full context to your unique situation.

“Only 10% of our stress is due to what happens. Whereas 90% is due to how we think about what happens.” — Unknown

2. Set intentions, not expectations

Much of our unhappiness derives from setting such high expectations for ourselves and being attached to the path of how it will play out. But guess what? Life is not fair, and what you think will happen most likely will not. There will be so many variables you will never be aware of to factor into your plan. So rather than setting expectations, set intentions, like I did in the beginning of this piece. Intentions are like expectations, just not attached to HOW everything will be played out. More on how to set intentions here.

3. Adopt intentional minimalism

The self-storage industry makes $37 BILLION a year in revenue in the USA alone. That’s a lot of things we keep because we are attached to them. Things you own and hold onto aren’t bad, but just know that they could be bringing you subconscious stress. Example: the more clothes you have, the more you have to spend decision power on what to wear, every day. The more apps you have on your phone, the more of your attention gets robbed without you realizing (not to mention the potential stress it brings with all the notifications). Why spend your precious decision making energy on so many clothes or lose your precious living time lost on your phone from unnecessary apps?

One simple exercise you can do is play the Minimalism Game. When I succeeded with the game, I instantly realized how less cluttered my physical surrounding was, but more importantly, my mind. Pro tip: when playing, just ask yourself what truly brings you value. Twice. And if it does, then ask yourself is it worth the subconscious stress it brings? If so, great, keep them. If not, let them go. If you want to delve more into this, watch this Netflix documentary or read this book.

4. Sprinkle gratitude reminders throughout your life

Ever notice yourself nod to beautiful quotes you see on social media or hear from friends? We align so much with it, but the moment we move on with our lives, we forget them. This is why I sprinkle gratitude reminders in all parts of my lives.

Whether it’s the pendant I wear on my wrist everyday that screams “WHY?” so I can always remind myself how pleasurable it is to find a purpose in anything I do, to a notification reminding me to take my 1 second video of what I’m grateful for of the day, gratitude reminders are my little answer books to life when I’m feeling shitty.

Other examples include my owl necklace reminding me how powerful it is to operate with a mindset of gifting without expectations, my half sleeve tattoo reminding me to always transform wounds into wisdom, and the little mindfulness book I carry around my work bag so that whenever I feel stressed, I flip to any page and use those words as my answers to center myself again.

Gratitude reminders allow you to always remember everything is relative and operate with a mindset of abundance. In doing so, you realize what you have is not that bad.

“When you sit with a nice girl for two hours you think it’s only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it’s two hours. That’s relativity.” — Einstein

5. Start or join a tribe that matches your vibe

We all crave belonging and connection. Human beings are not meant to be alone; that’s why loneliness is such an uncomfortable feeling. I felt that, and instead of waiting around for those people to enter in my life, I wrote down words that described a community that resonated most with me: mindful, self-growth, action-oriented, serving others, and pushing the boundaries. And then I started asking friends who would know people like this, and when I found enough, I started a monthly event series called “Enlightenment Tribe,” where our purpose is to create and accelerate serendipity by bringing like minded people together.

Your turn: what are your words that describe your tribe? Then how can you start looking for them? What’s stopping you from finding them?

6. Unplug from technology

I believe we have entered into an era where technology has become an unhealthy haven to escape, rather than what it’s supposed to be: a tool that enhances our lives. I have seen myself become a zombie by mindlessly picking up my phone because I thought there were notifications coming in! How unhealthy that can be for our mental health to rely on the digital world to fill our supposed void.

This is why I have deleted all social apps and turned off all email notifications. Remember you are in control of your phone, not the other way around. Try leaving your phone in another room when you’re working and when you’re sleeping. Try not to pick up your phone first thing in morning. Try not to let your phone be the last thing you touch before going to bed. Yes I know you’ll have good excuses to any of these practices I’ve adopted, but if all I can say is there’s a solution around each of them, and you should consider trying these if you feel empty after you use your phone aimlessly. Read here for practical ways my friend Andrew has devised to be more in control of your phone.

7. Treat your body with respect

Like I shared above in the mindset, all of your answers you seek are always within you because only you have the most context to your unique situation. There are studies that show your body and mind are more connected than we think, which can feed answers to our mind. Think about the last time your heart tensed because of a fight or flight situation you encountered. So everytime you feed it junk food, not have the sleep you need, or exercise it craves, it clogs the communication portal between your body and mind.

Ideas to try: Stretch your body or dance in the morning for 5 minutes. Take more walks throughout the day, even if it’s just around the block, so you stop sitting so much. Only you know what your body wants and needs. So the more you respect your body, the more answers it can give you. How? Ask a question to yourself, close your eyes, and run possibilities through your mind. When your body feels a sensation or you even sense the slightest smile to one of the possibilities, it’s your body letting you know to explore more of that answer. Listen and honor that excitement.

8. Operate with a beginner’s mind

“There are infinite possibilities with a beginner’s mind.”

A lot of us may deal with mental stress because we have landed in the unmotivated ditch, in which we further exacerbate it by turning to our worst habits. Unhealthy rabbit hole. This may happen because we play out the possibilities in our mind and think we know how it will play out. You my friend have made a classic mistake of operating with an “advanced mindset.”

What I have done to conquer this is operate with “Shoshin,” which stands for having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would. Why? It’s a simple shift in mindset that allows you to realize there is always more to learn. Always. And just when you were questioning how you can fill your lifetime with things to do since you were so bored, you’ll quickly see it’ll probably take three lifetimes to even scratch the surface of what there is in the world to experience. And each experience can open new perspectives, new relationships, and new paths.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” — Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Teacher

9. Devise your own mantras as continuous north star guidance

Similar to sprinkling gratitude practices, I think everyone should devise their own mantras to use as their north stars. We will all be faced with uncomfortable and new situations in our lives that will confuse us and make us feel agitated when trying to make a decision, adding to your mental stress. That’s why to make it easier, I create mantras I sincerely believe in, and promise myself to follow them whenever I can’t figure out which path to take in the forked road. It allows you to have a sense of direction and feel confident with your decision, without ever having to put more strain on your mind. You can read more on mine here.

Bonus: When I asked my Facebook network for their 1 best practice in taking care of their mental health, I got a whopping 75 ideas. Here they are for your convenience. Suggestion: any that you like or want to learn more, reply to their thread asking to connect. #consentfirst

Start with love because everyone is suffering

To truly destigmatize mental health, it starts with you working on yourself. It’s only when you start healing yourself will you realize it’s absolutely OK to talk about this with others and support each other.

And if there’s one thing I hope you take away, it’s this: Everyone is trying to figure it out. No one is immune to mental health challenges. No one has it all figured out. We are all suffering in one way or another. So start with love when you’re ready to talk about this with your community. Because you may be that inspiration to heal that person. And if not, at least you two can connect on this inevitable struggle. And work together on your journeys.

“Finally: Realize that you’re not alone. Everybody is struggling, whether you see it or not. Everybody is fighting demons of their own making, the only difference is that some of them hide it better than others. If you look hard enough, or if you talk long enough, you’ll see it too. Everybody is doing the best they think they can. They really are, but they’re imperfect too. This was maybe the hardest truth for me to internalize.” – Armando Biondi

With open arms to chat when you’re ready,

Tim

I remember the evening when I decided I would start TINT in 2011. I was in my college dorm room scrolling through Facebook to procrastinate the inevitable decision that my entrepreneurship professor tasked our whole class with: come up with a business idea and take it as far as you can for our semester project.

I saw a Facebook post that shared “ever heard of…” with an image and a glowing recommendation about a specific book. I was then curious about the book, looked it up, thought it was something I’d be interested in reading, and decided to purchase it.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that I realized how serendipitous and powerful that word of mouth recommendations was, and how social media and smart phones really unlocked the scalability of personalized recommendations. I started thinking how I could create something that would allow these relevant recommendations to be utilized effectively and not just get lost in a vast social network.

The first version of this manifestation was called Hypemarks and aimed at consumers. It quickly flopped as we didn’t gain any traction, but I was not going to give up that quickly. I surveyed some some brands who used Hypemarks and asked what they enjoyed about the platform, and their consistent feedback was the aggregation technology and wanting to display that content on their website. And thus TINT was born in January 2013.

Over the past 4.5 years building TINT, we’ve operated with the mindset that TINT’s value add to our customers was our social media content aggregation technology and displaying it on websites, screens, jumbotrons, and anywhere a brand marketed their product or service on to customers.

But we kept running into the similar issue. No matter how bold and exciting our vision was to us, we could not get our customers to buy into the full picture. For example, a customer would only use TINT on their website for a campaign aggregating customer photos and then stop using us a month after. We kept educating that they could use TINT and display the powerful user-generated content (personalized recommendations) on their TV screens or events or jumbotrons in tandem or after their campaign, but still nothing stuck.

So for the last year, my team and I have been doing in-depth research into the content marketing space to truly understand what pain points marketers are facing with content needs. Maybe Former Microsoft Windows CMO Thom Gruhler can summarize the learnings best:

“Without a doubt, in my view, the customer experience gap is the biggest challenge for marketers today [in 2017 and beyond]. In today’s on-demand economy, our tolerance and our attention span as consumers is wildly shorter than it used to be. Customers not only desire better content, but also experiences that are frictionless, contextual and personalized to them — based on where they are and what they’re doing in the moment.” — Former Microsoft Windows CMO Thom Gruhler

Why filling the the customer experience & journey gap is such a challenge

The chart above shows all the channels a brand can market or be marketed on today throughout the customer journey/experience. Not only do marketers have to manage digital (websites) and physical touchpoints (retail store), but also manage channels they own (outdoor billboard ads) and do not own (3rd party review sites).

But the biggest pain point we heard beyond managing these channels was what content to use to engage customers. Why? Content is expensive to create, timely to manage, and difficult to measure effectiveness. Like Thom mentioned above, customers are expecting personalized content experiences based on where they are in their buying journey to help make their decisions easier. Headache much?

The Next Step for TINT

This is where TINT can help solve these major headaches and challenges.

Understanding the CMO’s future concerns + embracing the original vision of Hypemarks of scaling word of mouth recommendations + all the learnings from our customer needs in the past 4.5 years, I am very excited to share the next step for TINT, summarized in our new vision and mission.

So… what does this all mean to you as the marketer?

Humanize marketing throughout the customer experience and journey

Think of the last time you wanted to purchase a new watch because you wanted to look a bit more classy for your upcoming date. I wouldn’t be surprised if your buying journey looked something like this:

Instead of a bunch of generic billboard ads you see on the subway on your way to work or sneaky online re-targeting tactics that overwhelm you with thousands of vendor options, what if you had relevant recommendations shared with you from people just like you throughout every step of your buying journey?

From the time you see a print magazine ad of someone just like you (not a paid model) wearing a beautiful watch you admired to the moment you’re on the same watch brand’s product page ready to press checkout because you saw how 5 other people like you rocked the watch, wouldn’t it make your purchase decision that much less stressful and that much more confident? It certainly did for me when I made my last watch at Komono.

Watch companies aren’t the only brands that can benefit from humanizing their marketing. Any industry that has tons of options (hotels, universities, tourism orgs, F&B chains, FMCG brands, etc.) should explore integrating authentic customer content throughout their customer experience. Why?

Their marketing all sounds the same. But I guarantee their customers marketing on behalf of the brand will not. Leveraging and displaying this social proof allows them to differentiate, stand out, and instill confidence to future customers throughout their decision making process.

So how can you as a marketer actually accomplish this without eating into so much of your time?

What exactly is next?

Our future stands strong with our mission: Help brands humanize their marketing by empowering marketers with their best customer content and displaying it throughout their customer journey.

We are thrilled with this ambition because we believe marketing shouldn’t have to be manipulative anymore, rather consistently authentic to build trust & loyalty with the end customer. Everything we do, create, and serve at TINT will center around transparency in our communication, empathy in our product, and empowerment in our education. And the TINT platform is our tangible manifestation of this goal, and here is what lies ahead.

Think of the TINT platform broken down by 5 pillars: Collect. Curate & Clear Rights. Brand. Display. Analyze.

Collect from any content source

Wherever your customers are talking, rating, reviewing, commenting about your brand, we aim to build systems that will collect that content so you have access to a well equipped library of assets.

Curate & Clear Rights to repurpose the most effective content

One recurring challenge we hear from marketers is knowing which content (out of the thousands) to use for their marketing channels. Enter HUE, our machine learning engine that will educate the marketer which content is most effective in lifting conversions based on public and proprietary signals. HUE will eliminates guesswork from the moderation process, saving valuable time and reducing room for error.

After finding the best content proven to lift conversions, we will have a state of the art rights clearance system to gain rights to that content from the author so legal teams never have to worry about repurposing customer content across marketing channels.

Brand the experience to engage

We know each brand wants and needs to have unique, beautiful, and engaging marketing experiences to stand out. Depending on how marketers will want to repurpose their customer content on specific channels throughout the customer experience, our continued investment in elevating our API, CSS, and out of the box visualizations will be able to match your brand guidelines and create the viewer engagement that leads to conversions.

Display most effective content throughout customer experience with seamless integrations

Remember the amount of marketing channels a marketer has to oversee and engage with their customers on from above? We are so excited to be rolling out integrations with the best marketing platforms out there, so you can seamlessly repurpose your best customer content, analyzed by HUE, onto your websites, digital signage, email newsletters, social ads, and physical print material.

Word of mouth recommendations truly scaled and properly utilized as I had always envisioned.

Analyze the brand lift

Marketers are always told to be more data-driven so they can make proper decisions from their experiments. We couldn’t agree more. Our revamped analytics aim to display how your customer content on specific marketing channels are converting viewers, showcasing metrics like clicks, visits, engagement, impressions and interactions increase after integrating TINT throughout your customer experience.

The Takeaway and Summary

1. Word of mouth recommendations and social proof have always been the most powerful form of marketing. Social media and smartphones have given consumers the keys to share their opinions and thus brands a goldmine of effective content to leverage.

2. TINT’s platform empowers marketers the ability to seamlessly collect and integrate their most effective customer content throughout their customer journey, whether it be on print, digital screens, websites, email, social ads, social media, and more.

3. As a result, TINT helps increase overall brand trust and marketing performance conversions with a consistent, authentic brand story in the overall customer experience.

Your thoughts

I’d love to hear from you if you have any feedback to help us continually move in the right direction. Feel free to comment below with any thoughts or email me or chat with me on social @timsaekoo. All thoughts are welcomed with open arms as our ambition is to be the primary content marketing platform that helps brands humanize their marketing!

-Tim (CEO, TINT)

On August 10, 2016, my colleague Colton Soref and I were late-night chatting in the office, per usual. But this particular evening, we were discussing about how easy it is to go through life not appreciating the little beautiful gems that appear in our daily lives.

He then brought up this app called 1 Second Everyday, where you have one simple rule everyday: record 1 second video of your day. This can be 1 second of your favorite memory of the day or just 1 second that represents that day. See Ted Talk here from the founder to learn why he created it.

We looked at each other and challenged each other to record 1 second everyday for the next year. I remembered my theme would be to record 1 second that represented what I was grateful for on that day. We promised each other that wherever we were one year from that day, we’d share our 1 year with each other.

365 days later, as I reflect on the last year through 365 1 second videos, I can only smile. I smile because as I reflect the last 365 days through 1 second videos, I see how lucky I am. The experiment developed an eye for appreciation that has become second-nature in me. As a result, I have a few lessons I wanted to share with you. My hope is that you might be inspired to do something similar to truly appreciate the hidden gems that are sprinkled throughout your everyday life.

1. Practicing gratitude is something you can develop. Gratitude is one of those things we read about and know we should have, but we never really develop a daily practice. I’m telling you it can be developed by pushing yourself to find 1 second in your day you find appreciative, whether it be of a friend, a scenery, a gift, a conversation, an accomplishment, a hobby… the list goes on.
2. All it takes is a 1 second video to trigger memories for that whole day. I never was someone who enjoyed taking many photos at places or events. It felt that I was not able to appreciate that present moment of all things happening. Plus photos would be static. I have learned that 1 second videos can be a lot more dynamic (with sound and movement) and thus trigger memories for that whole day. Win-win.
3. What you truly appreciate in life will shine. Mine were volleyball, meditation, music events & salsa dancing, immersing in nature, and surrounding myself with special souls having intellectually stimulating conversations. Don’t know what you enjoy in life? Try taking a 1 second video everyday.
4. A good life is a well-storied life, so go experiment. I was recently reflecting what has changed the most in my last year since my birthday is coming up. And in the past year, it was my confidence + willingness to experiment more in life. Whether it be taking spontaneous trips locally or internationally to taking up a new skill like salsa or becoming vegetarian, taking a 1 second video everyday naturally challenged me to elevate who I am so I could capture great footage to have great stories to reflect on after a great year.
5. Spotting beautiful moments in your everyday life becomes second nature. Whenever I shared my 1 second everyday experiment with people, the one recurring question kept popping up: “What happens if there is a greater moment in the evening you want to capture after capturing one in the morning?” The app lets you store all of them and choose the one you want. And with that, I have found myself constantly looking for appreciative moments to capture throughout the whole day, creating a healthy habit I’m proud to have developed.
6. 1 second videos make great excuses to reconnect with someone in the past. Don’t you hate it when you had such a great time with someone in your life but forgot about them until a year after only to realize it would be awkward to reengage? Maybe it’s just me, but I have found it super helpful to use these videos as an excuse to start a conversation with someone I miss. Plus, it’s a huge boost to their ego that you chose them as the main representation of that day.
7. 1 second videos make great stories to someone trying to get to know you. I am a huge fan of asking people their stories to learn about them. Words and storytelling is great, but nothing beats a year’s worth of 1 second videos stitched together to show who you really are. I guarantee there will be little gems in those plethora of videos that will then spark up tangential stories! Before you know it, 4 hours have passed and a stronger bond has formed from all the story sharing.
8. If you ever feel stuck, uninspired, or down, that can all be remedied in just a few seconds. As a CEO, there are many days that don’t end well, full of frustration and disappointment. And when my phone notifies me that I have not taken my 1 second video yet, it instantly reframes my mind to go out and create a great memory to record. And yes, sometimes nothing great will come out of it, but like shared above, you can then use one of the previous videos to reengage someone and chat about that happy memory. Bye bye disappointment and frustration, hello appreciation and gratitude.
9. A year goes by a lot faster than you think. 365 seconds fast to be exact. We say this all the time, but it isn’t until you visually see your year pass by in 365 seconds that it is really engrained. And when it is engrained, you naturally operate with the mindset to say yes to spontaneous adventures!
10. I am spoiled with great souls. And I bet you are too, you just don’t realize it yet.

That’s it! I hope that these lessons get you inspired to try it yourself or some form of this practice. If you do, let me know what you learned :).

Last question: What do you think my theme should be this upcoming year for 1 second videos? Let me know in the comments below!

-Tim

P.S. I really enjoyed this app that 1SE did not have to pay me or sponsor this post :).

I’ve realized in the last year, a lot of my free time is consumed by watching Shark Tank, listening to NPR’s How I Built This, or reading founder stories in books and articles. Why? They inspire me to keep doing what I do. To keep elevating to my next level. To humanize this crazy startup journey. To keep my engine running.

So when my friend asked me to share how TINT was Made in a style similar to NPR’s How I Built This, I couldn’t resist. Not because I wanted to hear my own voice on a podcast, but because I just might be able to ignite someone’s creative soul to take that leap of faith they’ve been waiting to do.

So in this podcast, I dive deep into the raw stories of how my team and I have built the company from the ground up, transparently with no censors. Everything from how I found my cofounders in college to scaling the company 5x in one year to then overcoming our first round of layoffs. You’ll hear the real story behind How TINT was Made.

If you have time and happen to align interest in listening to the podcast below, let me know if I was able to do that for you by commenting or chatting with me on social:

-Tim

“Human life. Duration: momentary. Nature: changeable. Perception: dim. Condition of body: decaying. Soul: spinning around. Fortune: unpredictable. Lasting fame: uncertain. Sum Up: the body and its parts are a river, the soul a dream and mist, life is warfare and a journey far from home, lasting reputation is oblivion.

Then what can guide us?

Only philosophy.”

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

My intentions for this post is to share with you how I’ve come to see philosophies and principles as a guiding force to living a more fulfilling life. My hope is that you can spend time reflecting on what yours are and share them with me!

I’ve come to learn and accept life is difficult to interpret and foresee. No one can truly be prepared for the future (unless you have super powers to predict the future), and thus, many of us really don’t really know what the heck we’re doing as we navigate through this journey called life. Case in point: ask any of your entrepreneur friends if they could have predicted where they are at today, and most likely they’ll reply “absolutely not in my wildest dreams.”

That’s why whenever we see quotes on our Instagram, or highlight key phrases in books we read, we nod in sincere agreement. I’ve come to see that we nod because they act as principles we welcome as an ally. If you think about it, every new day presents hundreds if not thousands of decision making opportunities, and because we have no third eye telling us our future, we rely on our principles to guide us.

Here are my principles I have adopted in my life that helps guide my life so far. And so far the result? A tank full of calm, fulfilling, positive, and vibrant energy to share with others.

1. “Everything happens for a reason.”

2. “Stay humble, practice empathy.”

3. “Transform your wounds into wisdom.”

4. “Gift without expectations.”

5. “A wrong decision is better than an indecision.”

6. “A good life is a well storied life.”

7. “Constraints foster creativity.”

(I’m sure all these principles can be refuted when it comes to “what if you use it to hurt someone.” So I’m declaring that all these principles should not be practiced if trying to purposely hurt someone. Had to put this to avoid trolls.)

One thing to note is that each of these principles did not just come to me randomly. They all derived from a (good or bad) experience I endured, and after spending time reflecting and meditating, were accepted into my life. I’d hypothesize it would need to follow a similar process for you.

If any of the above really resonate with you, and you’d like me to expand on them, please comment below the #. If there are enough, I will dive into each of these in their own posts so you can benefit.

I would also love to challenge you to reflect on your principles you use to guide your life, and share them below. I welcome the story/context in how you came to embed that principle into your life :).

-Tim

P.S. I have the intention to dedicate my body as a medium to share these principles with people I encounter in the future to inspire. So that means I’ll be permanently inking each of these and future ones I accept (2 done and 1 incoming next month). If you know any good tattoo artists who can help visualize these with me, please let me know!

“I think the success over the past several years, until the speed bump this year, gave the team the false impression that the tree would effortlessly continue to grow to the sky.” — Allen Morgan, TINT Board Member

Like many of my friends and Internet say, 2016 sucked. Yes, many beautiful souls left our world, the US political climate is tense as ever, and we all can laugh at the meme below because we resonate with it. But if you can take some time to reflect on this past year, you may be able to weave all the crappy events together into a beautiful lesson.

At the end of every year, I hide out somewhere in San Francisco and spend a few hours reflecting on the past 12 months at TINT. I feel I owe it to my team and myself to commit time to reflect. Without reflection, we cannot understand what happened and piece the past together for the purpose of learning and being more prepared for the future. For us, 2013 was the year that changed everything. 2014 was the year of explosive growth no one expected. 2015 was the year of foundation building. Instead of 2016 being the year of scaling with a purpose that I had predicted 365 days ago, 2016 was indeed the year of awakening at TINT. I suspect 2017 will be the year of intentional growth.

— —

The quote in the beginning summarizes 2016 at TINT. To give you some context, TINT is a 4 year old company that saw some hilarious, explosive growth in our nascent stage. 90%+ of our business was inbound, we were profiting upwards hundreds of thousands of dollars per month, getting courted by investors, and paying out bonuses like it was Christmas every month. And as they say it, what goes up can just as easily fall down. Due to all this success, we fell under this trap of naively believing “the tree would effortlessly continue to grow to the sky.” Or as Bill Walsh says, we fell victim to the “success disease.”

What does this actually mean? Let me list out a few of the “shake-my-head-I-can’t-believe-this-would-happen” shit we went through not for the purpose of drawing sympathy (I understand it’s all relative), but for the purpose of context and understanding the lessons we took away that will be shared in the end.

The Shitty Situations

• Our TINT 2016 Growth Plan completely missing targets even though we planned for weeks (we swear we had it but we forgot the execution and timing risk of everything) just 3 months in
• Laying off 14% of our workforce in March 2016 due to missing our targets (just writing that produced a heavy sigh)
• Almost taken to court by a company who held a patent we were “infringing on” in summer 2016
• One of our top ex-employees joining a competitor as their CEO in summer 2016
• Realizing our old office we subleased to a new tenant was not properly zoned for tech office usage after 1 month of construction had commenced (the new tenant was not happy to say the least and barely avoided a 3 way lawsuit) in summer 2016
• 3 all-star employees leaving during the middle of all this (no hard feelings and only love for them), further questioning my own confidence in growing the business
• Team morale and confidence at an all time low while I’m trying to put the fires out
• To top it off, we were burning cash that gave us maybe 4 months of runway left

Sigh, but all good!

Again, everything is relative and I am fully aware and grateful that TINT is still in a very lucky place. We got enough backlash “complaining” in our WSJ article so I’m not drawing any sympathy :).

Waking Up

But if anyone were to come up and ask what my Dec 2016 self could have advised my Dec 2015 self to prepare for 2016, I would say “buckle up.” Maybe I would tell him to question if you truly need a long-term large office. But mostly just advise to buckle up and embrace the bumpy journey ahead. Why?

This goes back to what I mentioned with practicing awareness and reflection to weave all your past events into beautiful lessons. Had none of events transpired above, I would never have created our team’s 5 year plan that lays out our company direction that has re-invigorated our team. Without getting slapped silly this year on all sides, our cofounders and I would never have gained the decisive leadership or learned how to say ‘no’ to distractions. If we had not seen our bank account have 4 months of runway left, we never would have realized how much our sales processes and operations could have improved.

Most importantly, the above events was like a obnoxiously rude alarm clock that would not snooze until we woke up. After talking to many of our team members one on one, I noticed the recurring theme that they are now clearly aware this journey is not going to be one bit easy, so cultivate one another and ask the right questions to find your answers. Or like Fritz Maytag, CEO of Anchor Brewing, said, “We’re all in this together, and we don’t know what we’re doing either, so come on and join in!” And I am thankful for that.

Main Summary — what can you take away from this?

If there’s one hope from sharing all this, it’s that you remember to welcome the shitty situations with open arms throughout your journey. There’s a reason it’s happening because you certainly did not plan for them. So wake up, stay aware, embrace it, and reflect afterwards to bring the lesson home.

Isn’t this just another case of Silicon Valley startups glorifying failure?

Sure one can see it that way, but I believe the main difference between that excuse and our story above is our intention in transforming our wounds into wisdom for others. Our DNA culture welcomes the practice of vulnerability, awareness, and reflection so we can listen to what our failures are communicating to us. That way, we can then share what we’ve learned with you for the purpose of inspiring you to achieve your potential.

Onwards and Upwards

As for what I foresee 2017 will be the year of? Intentional growth. Not explosive or unicorn growth. But intentional, organic, realistic, profitable, predictable, planned growth. I believe our journey and story up to today point to that as our path to become a small giant, one that believes in the power of growing a conscious business while being financially responsible.

If any of this resonated with you, feel free to pass this on to someone who may need it. If this sparked some questions or urge to share ideas, I want to connect with you (this path is often less taken and can be lonely at times)! And if this didn’t, thank you for your time!

Until next year,

Tim

CEO, TINT

“Love people and use things, because the opposite never works.” — The Minimalists

“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” — Henry David Thoreau

“Human beings have the capacity to learn to want almost any conceivable material object. Given, then, then emergence of modern industrial culture capable of producing almost anything, the time is ripe for opening the storehouse of infinite need. It is the modern Pandora’s box, and its plagues are loose upon the world.” — Jules Henry

Confession and Intention

I want to come right out and just say I am not an expert minimalist. Nor am I trying to jump on any minimalism bandwagon. I’ve been consciously practicing a minimal lifestyle for a month, and subconsciously for possibly 5 years (more on that later below). Minimalism isn’t for everyone, and I see it as a personal lifestyle people choose. So if you’re curious about it like I was, I encourage to read ahead.

My intention today is to share what I’ve learned from practicing a minimal lifestyle for the past month and the massive amount of joy it has brought me with so much less ‘things.’ This post has no judgments on those who do not practice minimalism.

Background

I believe it’s best to start off with my personal and professional background just to illustrate how large the range of types of people who can practice minimalism is. I am a 26 year old, Asian American male living in San Francisco, CA. My occupation is Co-Founder and CEO of a 30+ person bootstrapped startup for the past 4 years who is paid healthily. And I would identify myself as an liberal ENFP who believes that experiences breed empathy. My life is NOT bad; I am very fortunate. So my practicing minimalism is of conscious choice out of curiosity and now affirmed excitement.

Definition

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts from it. It is a highly personal journey that forces you to identify and articulate your highest values. Because of that, it is always going to be practiced differently by each individual. No wonder minimalists come in all ages, genders, races, nationalities, social classes, and religions. — Joshua Becker

Summary: It is asking yourself (in the most honest, sincere form that only you know how) what material items bring the most value, and just keeping those while donating (tossing) everything else.

Inspiration

I am THAT guy who got made fun for sleeping on a futon for years because I thought it was practical to have both a place to sit AND sleep. I am THAT guy who got made fun of for NOT owning a credit card (still a contentious debate at times). I am THAT guy who thought it was super cool to say that when moving apartments, it would only take a couple hours to pack everything and move it all at once with a small u-haul truck. I personally never thought this to be weird, but there would be the occasional voice in my head criticizing how ostracized I would be if I didn’t concede. But I never did. Not even with smartphone apps.

It wasn’t until I went to Burning Man this past year that forced me to consciously practice a week of intense minimal lifestyle (I recognize this may sound really hippie now but bear with me). Due to limited car space, I was forced to be very aware how much clothes, food, water, and other misc things I actually needed for 7 days. And to my surprise, I still only used 70% of what I brought as there were a couple nights I did not return to camp and used only what I had.

And in those situations where you only have the clothes on and backpack of food and water to survive with, you start to realize you’re able to survive with a lot less. With that big of a disruption to your normal day to day, you accept it and then realize life just become more… simple. You have fewer materialistic distractions, which opens up so much creative space in your mind to build relationships.

So when I got back, I asked myself if I could replicate this experience ‘in real life society?’

My answer was: let’s experiment!

Experiment

When I was back in the busy San Francisco, I decided if I could prolong this conscious minimal lifestyle. To do so, I decided to live out of the same exact backpack I had taken to BM and move into a different environment: our office. The most difficult part was figuring out what to pack, and I found myself asking what would be most valuable. This resulted in 1 weeks worth of clothes (2 pants, 2 shorts, 7 boxer briefs, 5 shirts, 2 jackets, and 2 pairs of shoes). I stored the rest of my clothes away, had my apartment already rented, and not look back!

Learnings & Benefits

I learned a lot. Here they are and its benefits.

1. You realize you just don’t need much

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. — Confucius

I feel that many of us unfortunately define the American Dream incorrectly due to the media. It’s not about acquiring tons of riches and then be glorified with the amount of shiny objects we have. Sure it must sound good because we are ingrained with over 5000+ advertisements a day confirming that lifestyle.

But if you take a step back, you’ll realize that 75% of the things (or mobile apps) the advertisements successfully convinced you in purchasing (downloaded) that one time has not been touched or thought about in the last 2+ months. What about holding onto them “just in case?” We’ll answer that in #5.

2. You experience less decision fatigue

“Even free stuff has a cost: it has a cost in your mind, it has a cost in terms of space, it has a cost in terms of distraction.” — Francis Pedraza

You know that ‘exhausted’ feeling you get after a full day of work? It’s because you have used up all your energy & creative tank. Imagine this: you have 100 points in this energy & creative tank, and every decision you must make throughout your day eats up one point. Everything from what color shirt you’re going to wear to who to hire in your company.

Thus, having fewer materials and distracting noise in your life automatically frees you up in having to exhaust those points on not-as-important decisions, and allows you to use them on the more meaningful questions that arise. For me, it has allowed me to use my points intelligently on our business challenges that require 80 points.

3. You learn how to speak with your soul, not with your materials

Having to only live with a few clothing options that would add value in all universal settings forced me to focus on picking clothes that were nothing eye-catching. And when going out, I quickly realized I would not be able to ‘impress’ others with my exterior wardrobe as I did before. If I wanted to get to know someone, it would take proactive conversations with my character leading the way. As a result, my self-confidence has increased dramatically.

4. You gain more energy & time to spend with others and learn skills

If you realize your TV is something that doesn’t bring you value and you get rid of it, you will have inevitably saved and stored many points in your tank by not watching TV in the future (and the same can apply for almost any object around you). With all those saved points, you have more energy and time to spend it elsewhere: friends, family, yourself, etc.

In the past month, I have found time to catch up with 18 friends, hop on weekly phone calls with my mother, attend meditation sessions, enjoy weekly yoga classes, learn hip hop, play volleyball, work out at the gym everyday, read everyday, meditate everyday, contribute to my 1SE project, and just… so much more.

Logic: The fewer the things…the fewer the distractions…the fewer energy spent on unimportant decisions…the more stored energy for other experiences you can now enjoy.

5. You turn errands into adventures

Keeping things for the ‘just in case’ purpose can be your worst enemy. The Minimalists have this 20/20 rule where they say anything that is not valuable and can be replaced with $20 in 20 minutes should NOT be kept for ‘just in case.’ Let it go and make them adventurous errands in the future if you have to acquire those ‘just in case’ things. During those adventures, be aware who you meet, pay attention to your surroundings, or get to know your cashier. If any great stories come from them, use them to entertain future guests and friends.

6. You see experiences > things

The millennial are the first generation who are no longer defining lives on materialism but instead, experiences.

When you have fewer things in your possession, it becomes much easier to be bored at home. At least for me, with such few possessions in my apartment already, I am incentivized to spend my time outside to avoid head-banging boredom. Time outside can be as simple as spending a day in the park reading to taking a salsa class.

The beauty of these experiences is that you don’t know who you’ll meet at the park or when that salsa move will come in handy, but when it does (which has happened to me at least 6 times), you’ll realize that the connection you make with someone else or happiness you experienced during a class will make it all worth it (vs. watching TV at home).

BONUS: Don’t be a sparkle pony though

One key understanding to be aware of is that practicing minimalism isn’t an excuse to just sell everything and borrow/take from your friends/community consistently. That’s called being inconsiderate and annoying. Practicing minimalism is about being intentional of what brings value to your life, and only acquire or keep those items.

Closing & Challenge

In the past month, I have had friends challenge themselves to give up 1 item per day, or 30 lbs. of clothes per month. For myself, I have changed living environments, lived out of 1 bag of clothes, and tossed out things on a daily basis. Now I am going to start this minimalism game in a November 2016 (every date # throughout the month is how many things you toss/donate by midnight).

Note that all these challenges are baby steps. No one expects someone to completely disrupt their normal way of living, esp with materials. But my challenge to you is ask if you’re intrigued by this concept and the outcomes I’ve identified. And if so, what is one tiny challenge you can set for yourself this upcoming month. Maybe it’s donating 1 item per day to the local GoodWill. Maybe it’s just asking yourself the question of what’s valuable around you and growing your awareness.

Whatever it is, I challenge you to try anything if you’re in. The fears you think will happen from not having an item most likely will not happen. And if it somehow does, transform it into an adventure to get it. Have fun with it, and be aware of new learnings, habits, energy, and happiness. Let’s talk about it afterwards! Find me on any social network @timsaekoo.

“To be free, to be happy and fruitful, can only be attained through sacrifice of many common but overestimated things.” — Robert Henri

-Tim

Resources:

The Minimalists

Art of Charm Podcast

Four Hour Work Week

Vulnerability. Some may say it’s a signal of weakness. I argue it’s THE sign of someone’s true confidence in who they are. It is also THE best way to connect and build trust with others.

Think back to any time you felt super comfortable or calm with a random stranger. It probably was due to them sharing vulnerable emotions with you: genuine smiling, tearful crying, or admitting some fear or shame that ultimately made them seem… normal just like you. They threw their boastful attitude and unnecessary pride away.

I was recently asked by my friend to do a live video chat and Q&A around how to build an authentic brand in today’s otherwise noisy world. I’m no expert or researcher on this, but the simple words that came out of my mouth were: be vulnerable.

You can watch more of the 30 min episode here:

Creating a transparent and authentic brand - Crowdcast

During the chat, I shared that in the company I started about 4 years ago, I’ve always defaulted to practicing a transparent culture and calling out bullshit if it meant we would have the tough conversations. In essence, practicing transparency meant we had to be vulnerable with the successes and failures we endured. Putting it to practice, we blogged about our recent layoffs (which then got picked up by the WSJ) and mental health as a CEO in Silicon Valley.

Internally, each of these blog posts helped our employees feel more connected and motivated with the leadership team. Something about exposing our biggest challenges and expressing our emotions around that was deemed as courageous and respected.

Externally, I received at least 30 digital thank you notes from unknown strangers and falling out acquaintances. While it gave strangers more confidence in validating their “unspeakable” feelings, it also rekindled amazing connections with friends I had thought there were none. I had positioned our company failures as opportunities to help others learn and be open about them. Helping others feel not as lonely about their challenges allowed them to open up, and instantly form a unique connection. That’s why I see any failures I face today (professionally or personally) as opportunities for me to transform my wounds into wisdom. And those who wholeheartedly appreciate and accept those ‘wisdoms,’ I already know what talking points to start forming our beautiful connection.

That got me thinking…Can others practice vulnerability as easy as I default to it, or am I just weird?

Watch one of my favorite TEDx Talks on this here. Brene Brown argues here that “vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it can be the birthplace of joy, creativity, belonging, and love.” If people can experience more joy, creativity, belonging, and love by embracing vulnerability (as I feel), how then do we start to achieve this?

We can start to embrace and practice vulnerability by having the courage to be imperfect. By accepting and admitting imperfection, you inspire others to accept similar truths, remind we are all just human beings no different from one another with our emotions and challenges, and ultimately spark a profound discussion that inevitably creates a strong bond. I can certainly attest that it works in the professional workplace from above, and also in personal lives — I’ve shared with friends, colleagues, and strangers anything from hurtful breakup stories to amazing experiences with people when removing all ego and pride aside.

I want to end and leave you with this challenge: the next time you want to actually connect with someone (friend, significant other, coworker, new customer) on a deeper level, embrace your imperfection, believe you’re worthy of belonging, and just share that story. If they think that’s really weird, you quickly know your true self is not aligned with their true self (and that’s okay). If they think that’s f*cking amazing and share their appreciation, you just built an amazing connection with that individual that both of you will sincerely remember. And that’s what matters at the end of the day. We as human beings just want to feel belonged, loved, and connected.

If you are asking why the above image has anything to do with vulnerability, let’s chat about it :).

-Tim