Ep 18: MC’ing the Nomad Cruise, running the biggest backpacker blog in Hungary & building The Retreat Factory

Sean Tierney: 01:56 All right. Hey everybody, this is Sean Tierney with the nomad podcast. I am sitting here with Bori Vigh from the nomad cruise boar is a motivational speaker, event organizer, workshop facilitator, bestseller writer, and a Ted x speaker. Welcome Bori.

Bori Vigh: 02:13 Thank you so much.

Sean Tierney: 02:14 So there’s a lot of stuff that I want to talk to you about, but we just got off this cruise and so I figured let’s talk about the cruise first. Okay. Holy Crap. That was amazing.

Bori Vigh: 02:23 Did you like it?

Sean Tierney: 02:24 Yeah, I mean, are they all like that or was this one special? Tell us.

Bori Vigh: 02:29 Oh my God, I don’t want it to be cheesy, but it’s all special. Yeah. And um, it’s all because it’s all because there’s different group of people, so it’s always different in a way. Yeah. But it’s always, it is always special. Yeah.

Sean Tierney: 02:41 How did this one, I know you probably get asked this, but, and you don’t want to like name your favorite child, but like how did it compare to other cruises at, like what was the vibe? Was there any differences?

Bori Vigh: 02:51 Yes. So, um, frankly, every time we go to the European one, uh, and then we have a little bit more people who are still not in nomadic but interests, but this lifestyle, they’re, uh, they’re super, super open and really curious and um, and really just open eyes and open ears and listening to every, each speaker who’s on the stage. So, so much more easier to work with them. I’m not saying that others, um, uh, difficult to work fib it just an extra, uh, extra easy to work with, uh, death. Many people in that, that type of nomads, not yet nomads.

Sean Tierney: 03:29 Yeah, it was, I can tell you like rarely does a conference exceed my expectations. Usually it’s like, oh, it, it delivered. Yeah. Um, I was blown away. Like this was a incredible, and we’ll do it. We’ll dig into it. I’m, I’m definitely going back. So I want to start with, because I stalk people before I interview them and I found this Hungarian video of you, I couldn’t understand a word of it, but I think loosely the translation was, so I don’t want to work for your company. It was something like, “why I don’t work for your company?” What, what was that panel about?

Bori Vigh: 04:04 It was an HR conference in Hungary? And then I get contacted that, uh, sitting in the panel discussion with this title and I’m like, well, I don’t want to be rude, but, and then I know it’s fine. It’s fine, it’s fine. And then that was about how people believe they should vote. Contrast to how can you actually work and then how it was for me, I worked for eight years for software company and even though I loved working, um, for my boss, I loved working with the people I was working with. I didn’t feel that that’s my space. It should be. And, and that the work that I’m doing, 95 or 96 and 97 is something that I should be sitting in an office for.

Sean Tierney: 04:52 Yeah, 100%. I mean, I think most of the people on the boat would agree with that too. Like yeah. Inherently that’s why we’re nomads. Yeah. Um, so yeah. So what I want to talk about first blown away by that deep connections workshop that you lead for the people listening. I’ll actually, I’ll let you describe it. What was it?

Bori Vigh: 05:10 Well, thank you for letting me these times. It’s very difficult to describe. Um, so I was traveling solo for about six, seven years and I was always asked why are like if I get hungry, I get lonely if I’m, if I’m traveling alone. And I said I didn’t even understand the question. So every solo traveler knows there’s been your solo traveling, you’re always surrounded by other people because you’re more open for new connections. And those connections are usually actually deeper because what’s happening is that you don’t have the same past with other people. You don’t know the same people. So again, it’s gossip. You cannot talk about everyday things, but you need to talk about the, the, the things that are in the version and you need to put your attention into different things yet it, it needs a different, not even a different skill set, but you need to have a little bit more focused on what is happening between you two because everything is just out of context. So I just put together this a five plus one steps, uh, for deep connection and um, yeah, that’s what that was introduced in [inaudible] six. It was,

Sean Tierney: 06:22 it was amazing. Yeah. It was like a, it in terms of accelerating the pace at which people can connect and start to really feel close, like people were hugging each other on day two, you know, like that doesn’t happen at a normal conference. Yeah, it was really special. Um, can you maybe step through the five and then the plus one and like just help people listening, help them understand what, what those steps were.

Bori Vigh: 06:47 Yeah. So I wonder if other people were listening. Now, if I say there’s a step zero, and as I, as I call, and I usually ask this and during the workshops that why do you think is number number zero when you in, when you want to connect with someone and he thinks usually have violent to someone, shouts the core, like the core them. And now of course there’s no correct answer, blah, blah, blah. But there is number one or number zero, she’d be that you’re connecting to yourself. And many people think that, um, knowing who you are or investing in yourself and investing in personal development is something that she’d come after. You have a job, a shotgun after you have a relationship or a friendship or, or whatever. But honestly, in order to have, um, a deep and clean and respectful relationship, even your business, I think it’s super important that you know, where you at.

Bori Vigh: 07:44 And I, when I say that you’re friends with, with you, so why am I struggling? And then one of my friends was like, you know, I was traveling solo and she said, and then I became my own best friend during while I was traveling. And I, I instantly know what she was talking about because I exactly, I feel exactly the same way that I am my own best friend, especially when I’m traveling with me and it’s again, and they can hear how sad it sounds for someone who is a living, um, maybe a normal, a normal lifestyle. Um, but being your own best friend doesn’t mean that you think that you’re the coolest person on earth. It means that you’re aware of your mistakes and you know what you’re good at and you’re ovarian mistakes, but you’re not ashamed of it. They, you try to correct them, but it’s, it’s more balanced, balanced out. I mean, you know what you want to know where you at. It’s so much easier to connect to other people so that some of his hero,

Sean Tierney: 08:44 yeah. Well, I was going to save this until the end, but I’ll bring it up now just because it’s a perfect, uh, it’s a, it’s in this same vein. Um, so when I did remote, you’re what were talking before this, that was program that I did. And then when that terminated in one of Cyrus, I soloed traveled up south and Central American. And that was my first experience with solo travel and following something where, you know, we started remote year with 75 people. It was a massive group. We ended with 50, but then going from, you know, being surrounded by 49 other, the people to being on your own, uh, it was an abrupt change. It was necessary because you can’t obviously lead that existence forever. But it was such like the pendulum swung so far in the other direction that I just felt like just naked, you know? And it was, you’re right, it forces you to confront and like really get comfortable in your own skin. And then I think after that, that you go through this period of like feeling like lonely and whatnot, and then you kind of grow into it and then eventually like you can do anything.

Bori Vigh: 09:42 Yeah. Yeah, I know. Yeah. I think, uh, being alone and being lonely are two different things and many people can confuse these two things. So think if you cannot be alone, uh, that, that, uh, indicates for me some kind of, uh, you’re afraid of, of, uh, your own thoughts because they’re going to go really loud when you’re alone. I mean, when you’re traveling in South American and bus and maybe even just listening to some music, not even a podcast or nothing, it doesn’t, you don’t put any other information in your head, then you have to listen to what you have in your head. And many people are scared of that. Yeah. And I think it’s a really, that’s something really unique for travelers. [inaudible] no. So nomads that v find peace in, in that, uh, mindset. And we, you’re just listening to what we actually think about things without any other input. Yeah.

Sean Tierney: 10:35 Well, we could, we could go down the vein. We were talking about the Vipassana and the headspace, the meditation, all that. But I want to keep, uh, on this. So what’s number two of those five steps are, what are, sorry, I’m number one, number one. Sorry.

Bori Vigh: 10:48 Uh, so number one actually comes in, uh, like it’s just a moment, uh, when you’re full buddy is fuck yeah. And we agreed that I can spare, which makes me really to be comfortable here. Uh, so number one is fuck yeah, it’s, it’s a moment in your full body says that, that, that you want and to have that connection, you want to have that, that this is opportunity. So during the, throughout the whole of workshop, we’re not only talking about a romantic or friendship connections, but we do talk about business connections as well because it’s all built upon the same thing. So the fuck yeah. Uh, is venue and there’s nothing less than a fuck yeah. For me. Because if it’s not a fuck yea to know and it’s going to be something, for example, when you, when you started talking to some, someone is like, Hey, do you want to go to no, actually.

Bori Vigh: 11:42 And then you feel that, yeah. Fuck yeah. This is such a good idea. There’s no, it’s like maybe, yeah. Maybe if I think about, if I consider it, that doesn’t sound good enough for me. Yeah. So you have this, this is number one, when you have this feeling about someone is an instant connection with someone and you don’t have to like maybe if I’m going to be a little bit more, I don’t know if I uh, more patients with this person or if I try with this way to talk to this person them yet we may get into some kind of conclusion or understanding. It’s usually in not happening. Yeah, yeah,

Sean Tierney: 12:18 yeah. There’s no middle ground. It’s all in or nothing. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Love it. It reminds me, we were talking beforehand, like one of these guys that I really admire, this Guy Derek Sivers made a post, um, few years back and it was, if it’s not a hell he adds and no, it’s a similar concept, but the same concept. It’s just gone. It’s a little bit more vulgar. Yup. So I, I read this article from mark men him, but he referred back to the how they experience. Yeah. Cool. Okay. So that step one is make sure it’s a fuck yeah. Yeah. What’s step 2?

Bori Vigh: 12:48 step two is that you listen and there are so many other, so many you’ve raised, how you can listen to someone. Uh, and, uh, I always bring out this, uh, this, uh, example and I, and I keep the book shop that my ex boyfriend always said, like, he didn’t look at me and I was talking and then that was just like, hey, would you mind, you know, not looking at the door. And, and then he’s like, but I hear what you say. And I said, yeah. And then he could repeat the, my last sentence. And this frustrated the hell out of me because hearing is not the same as, as listening.

Sean Tierney: 13:25 Yeah. That’s a tape recorder at that point. Yeah.

Bori Vigh: 13:29 And, and whatever, whatever communication you have, even if it’s some kind of, uh, this is like this right now, the both is a clear communication, but you’re actively listening to me. Therefore you give me permission that I can open up and I can tell you my story, but if you can, uh, get my, uh, give me eye contact you within nod with your head, with material. I’m just telling the listeners, but Sean is saying me by listening to me. But then Ivan Fia, uh, allowed to open up. So listening is just as important parts of a conversation or as a deep connection as speaking or acting because it seems like on the same level it’s not working. A conversation is not working with that listening. So this is number two. So number three actually is listening before that is actually slowing down. That comes right after, uh, the fuck experience.

Bori Vigh: 14:29 So when you have this “fuck yea” experience and then you meet someone and you have to say, Oh my God, I’m gonna talk to you, I’m going to have business with you. I will have kids with you. And then in different, uh, different ways, that’s the point when you just like, pull your brakes and depending on your temper, of course, for me it’s usually putting brakes and then just wait and see what else is coming up with the other person. I think it’s really important. I was, I, you know, it’s interesting that I miss this step out. I mean maybe now with them just talking about this,

Sean Tierney: 15:05 the Meta of this cause you didn’t like slow down. Yeah.

Bori Vigh: 15:07 Yeah, because it didn’t slow down. It’s like it’s really secretly there, but it’s there and then it’s so important because everything that comes up to slow down, it’s not possible if you don’t slow down. Right. So right, right. The number that’s coming off to slow down is listening, trust and unconditional love. So you can do any of these things if you don’t slow down. If you don’t, so then you won’t be able to listen to the other person. And then, and then we listened to that we can trust. And that’s number four. And um, what’s important about about trust is that, you know, some people think that trust is something that is, uh, comes as a, right. So I have, um, now that too, we met that you have to trust me and know I, I have to prove that I’m good enough for you to trust me in the stem. This knowing. Yeah.

Sean Tierney: 16:03 Well what was the, we did an exercise, I’m trying to remember because there’s like an exercise. It was paired with each one of these points in the workshop. And I don’t remember what the trust when was

Bori Vigh: 16:11 The trust one was dancing with the hand. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sean Tierney: 16:16 And the trust was that you weren’t going to get led into someone like bumping into someone.

Bori Vigh: 16:20 Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And then finally, uh, finally it’s unconditional love. And I actually change it only on this workshop. I, it used to be communication, but funnily enough, I felt that, um, as soon as I would say something is unconditional love, I would say, uh, it would be to this spiritual, um, and I’d really don’t like to use it, the spiritual and because I feel it’s misleading. But, uh, I’ve been to burning man last year and there I felt unconditional love from every corner of, of this a huge festival. And, um, and I realized that actually everything that is be at afterward, it is unconditional love. So I, I love you no matter what and I love you. If you’re a bad dad, I love you. If you’re good. Yeah. Um, no, I have my barriers and I trust you, then I can love you as well. I feel like that, yeah,

Sean Tierney: 17:21 I don’t know how you create that condition. Like it kind of has to happen. Like you said, after the trust, it just kind of emerges. But we saw evidence for sure like in the speaker workshops, in the pitches and all this stuff. It’s like no matter, like you could not fail whatever happened, people would get like seized up and then like the crowd would just start clapping and support them and yeah, you can just feel it in the room. Like everyone wanted you, like to lift you back up. It was a super cool, super cool vibe. What? Um, okay, what? So that was five then. [inaudible] then what? What’s the plus one

Bori Vigh: 17:52 that was like, so zero. See we started with a zero or just connecting to yourself and then, and then fuck yes. Slow down. Uh, trust, listen and unconditional love. So that’s like five plus one. Yeah. Got It. Cool. I think I’m really bad in counting. So with mine.

Sean Tierney: 18:12 Well we’ll spell them out in the show notes. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and just to close the loop on that, like, so one of the, one of the exercises we did, I don’t remember which one it was paired with was the dance thing where everyone’s, you had to close your eyes to beginning. Yeah. Yeah. And I’m like just so conscious on the dance form six, seven and I’m like Kokopelli like tall guy, like hunched over, like just awkward as hell on the dance floor. Uh, but this exercise, uh, we started out and you had us just like move, I forget, like just move your neck to start and kind of like move another, like your shoulders and then eventually you’re just moving your whole body but your eyes are closed and you open your eyes and you just like non gen judgmental, see everyone else. And it’s like this really awesome experience. I’ve never done anything like it, but it was really cool.

Bori Vigh: 19:01 I highly suggest if you, if you want to continue in that time to go to an ESIC dense maybe.

Sean Tierney: 19:07 Yeah. You’re saying ecstatic dance. Yeah,

Bori Vigh: 19:10 I think dance is one of them that I, I really, really like and I go off and do their best, but they’re all over the words. And the other one that made me really, uh, uh, open up, Eh, was contact improvisation. So many of them, um, are the things that we did was coming from, from temporization. Okay.

Sean Tierney: 19:31 And is this, you mentioned the Mind Valley. Is that, is that what this is drawn from or,

Bori Vigh: 19:38 yes, it is actually the origin, um, inspiration I got from speech on delight and they came to new mattress tree. Okay. That Amy made the famous over workshop and they used many of the activities that we did, but they were setting it up and towards more of an organizing workshop. So it was nothing nasty. It was really, really similar vibe. But you just got VHS greeted, like looking in each other’s eyes, even the ones with the hands of very, uh, borrowed from there. But, um, not the, not this five west one steps that I’ve, that they use. So they were my orange Anelle inspiration and super grateful for them that they, um, that they inspired me and we talked about this data that hey, I kind of borrowed most of it, but definitely different, different purpose and uh, and I do suggest it to check the amount is best.

Bori Vigh: 20:35 So when they give them a shout out, they’re really, really cool. And also the last one was mindfully. Uh, so in the angel whisper, a exercise was from Maine Volley of air. I attended this June and uh, they’re closing. So the angel whisper is something that how they’ve closing, uh, their own, um, university event. We just for one month and they did this with 800 people. So that was like, we had what I like about a hundred. Yeah. And then they had like 800 people there that it was like really, really, really emotional. I don’t think down a little bit because I think it can be a little bit dangerous to just say open up a canon forms. For some people it is, uh, can be traumatic actually, this exercise. Okay. So I needed to tone it down a little bit. So you guys got a little bit like the more like a self version of it was before

Sean Tierney: 21:30 the whole thing. I mean altogether what an incredible set of stuff to go through and I just feel like it prime to the whole boat or like the people who did it and not everyone did it, but like half the boat went through that workshop and I felt like it just kind of like set the stage for a lot of more openness than would’ve happened otherwise. I’m so happy to hear this. No, I mean I hope you guys don’t take that. I actually, I hope that you really encourage everyone to do it next time. Like maybe a, you can’t make it mandatory, you know, just say like, just do this. It’s going to be awesome.

Bori Vigh: 21:59 Sorry, I’m trying to tie them and artistically because Christa was on stage before me and then she was like, that was the best thing that ever we ever done. Uh, on, on the my cruise, I cannot say that it’s the best thing because I’m the host of the whole thing together. The ribbon, like yeah, everything is cool. But my workshops I think a note. But um, I just really liked to play and I re I think many people who like to play. And then that’s why it’s, this workshop is really cool because it’s really playful and it’s really, so the, the beginning exercise that you said that usually like the dancing exercise that comes from my workout in with the [inaudible] go to this workout, which is called contemporary dance workout. And then this is like the intro, how we just make or buy the move.

Bori Vigh: 22:46 There’s music and then there’s someone who has a what to do. And what I really found interesting in that workshop where I go, um, every weekend with the past is that she says like, okay, move your shoulder in a way you’ve never done before and then how interesting it is that you never, there is a form of twists that you’ve never done with your shoulder before. I mean, maybe you did when you were a child, but it’s not functioning as, you never going to twist your shoulder that way ever again because it looks weird on the dance floor and then you’re not dancing at home by yourself or not sober. But it’s really to be, or that you do something like this and then there’s space where you can, and that’s the exercise that you can just see how you’re feeling. You don’t buddy. And they really enjoyed that. I think it’s a good feeling.

Sean Tierney: 23:33 I feel like because you were decidedly moving in a weird way. It made those of us who aren’t capable of dancing and looking like good dancing. It’s like everyone’s being weird. This is just like weird across the board and I think that just made everyone uncomfortable. Um, can we talk about, shift gears a little bit? Um, so there were seven guiding principles of the cruise, which I thought it was interesting that you guys started this. Um, and I thought you really lived up to that too. Like, uh, it’s one thing to like throw these out there and talk the talk, but you guys actually followed up. I felt like in the it exhibited those principles. Can you talk about what those were?

Bori Vigh: 24:13 So yeah, they kind of live with seven principals coming from burning man and not that they have the 10 principles. And do you know what’s the difference between rules and principles?

Sean Tierney: 24:25 Um, I would say a principal is like a guiding a agreement and a rule is something that’s put on you externally where you don’t necessarily want to do it, but you’re subject to it.

Bori Vigh: 24:38 Exactly. So I think none, none of us, uh, in the organization of no mattress want to be the bad cop. Yeah. Uh, none of, none of us want to. At one point I saw some, someone I didn’t know which Cruz who was pretty drunk and fell into this feeling like wanting to go into the soon [inaudible] even though it was closed. And then me and Ben, I was looking at this guy and I was already working with the organization. These really haven’t. So I have to say like, this is God. Like everybody is really, I would say behave. But um, I saw this guy actually, he’s one of my friends and I’m like, why do I need to go there and tell you not to kill yourself? Right? So I just don’t want to be in that position. And the good thing is that the whole community transferred in in a way that even though I’m on the stage every day and you’re on, this comes on stage, less and less business to us comes in on stage.

Bori Vigh: 25:33 But it’s not like we are the teachers and you guys students, but VR or form a community. So we don’t need rules, but we need principles that guide us because we need to agree on something like how we can live together in this one. We could to week together without meat, need to be everywhere and to have people off a device, you know, like how we’re going to come off. It’s not that then, you know, it’s not that the people would generally come, oh, come to a new music. Generally having these principles within themselves as a life principle. I just needed to put the spotlight on it. Like these are the seven ones out of your many, many principals, then going to apply it and then this is what we want you to, um, to, to accept if you accept the community as days.

Sean Tierney: 26:22 Yup. Well, I’ll just, I’ll, I’ll just for the sake of brevity, name them off real quick. So openness, sharing, respect, responsibility, participation, kindness and then consent and consent in the context of, I think that’s the fuck you, I think we talked about, right? Yeah. Cool. All right. And you came up with that list. I thought that was going to be a question, but it sounds like that came from burning man. Yeah. Emerge out of that.

Bori Vigh: 26:48 Yeah. Mainly about, no, it’s not, I didn’t cope and paste all of them actually in consent, like not, I think on the participation is a principal. I this, this, um, but not nothing else. Uh, and what happened after I, no, actually six suite was really important I think in, in the life of no macro is because we just get off and we met [inaudible] we sat down for a coffee and then we started talking like, okay, why do this cruise is different than the others? And then it’s once again the European, so you guys like from the sixth year really similar and then we just came up with all these seven objectives and then we, you guys say this is like, this is a principle. It was like this is how we live and this is what we want to show every new beads so that they don’t need to take two or three days to figure it out how they live. But they already seen a in the backroom ceremony like this is, this is how they live here, take it or leave it. But yeah.

Sean Tierney: 27:42 Well I think there’s some, to some extent, like if it’s just a brand new boat each time it might be different. But because there’s a mix of returning veterans and newbies, you get that culture is just like kind of a, there’s already a critical mass of that, of those cultural values and it just kind of seeps into the new people.

Bori Vigh: 27:59 Exactly. That’s cool. Yeah. And then actually the consent part, I think that is the most, um, could be the most misunderstanding because I’m not only talking about romantically and the another way say that it just about, you know, uh, but it can be also applied to business a offer that you have for me. And then if I’m not interested, the Avon to have the right to say no. And then I’m also wanting to say that I did that you send, I don’t want to talk to you today and it’s not because they don’t like you or not having, um, just tired and that’s okay. And we need to understand that everybody has different barriers and actually, or the salmon or the deep connection is about that. If you, if you think about it, it’s just kind of a little bit more softer way of having people understand each of those barriers

Sean Tierney: 28:53 for sure. Cool. All right, well we’ve talked a lot about the cruise . I couldn’t think I kind of want to shift gears and talk about you now a little bit. Right? Yeah. Again, so I stopped to you. Let’s get your linkedin. Um, you went to the University of severe,

Bori Vigh: 29:07 I did Erasmus there. Yeah. Okay, cool.

Sean Tierney: 29:10 I pass through there with a buddy on our way to Madrid and I mean, what a beautiful town

Bori Vigh: 29:15 it is. Well, it was so much fun. Yes. You’re going to get to do fun yet.

Sean Tierney: 29:20 I love it. So, so after that, it looked like you did something called Op.io. What was that about?

Bori Vigh: 29:26 It was a startup. Well, actually, yeah, I did quite a lot of things. Uh, it was a start of the, where I joined roughly before I left and then started doing, um, digital nomadism to say that I became a nomad. Yeah. Um, so I just there for half a year and uh, and uh, have them into as a productivity tool and what my friends, uh, started by, because I only could get equity and I needed money because I started traveling. I said I needed to be, but then like the idea was really good, but, uh, I was not, uh, on the position of being able to help out to something that I don’t get the money from. But before that, like the big thing that I was working on this for eight years in the software company, uh, I usually don’t say the name of it because many Hungarians, we listened to this episode share it and I agreed with the HR and the joy that I’m not going to save wherever I go. Well, it’s just because the only reason is because there was so, so cool with me. They let me go many times and still work with them actually. Um, so they are very all over the frame and they saw that my blog is going really well, that,

Sean Tierney: 30:35 oh, I can encourage more people. Got It. We would, that will remain nameless, but yeah. Cool. So, but how did you transition then from, you said you weren’t getting paid, you’re getting equity and you decided to leave [inaudible] dot. Io and then how did you get into this backpacker. Dot. H You what was, what was that about?

Bori Vigh: 30:56 So, uh, I start, I started traveling in 2010, and then what you have to, and all the listeners have to imagine a at back then, uh, from Hungary, we had, I think I counted about seven travel blogs and all of them were mainly, uh, these type of like, yeah, I woke up in the morning events, the restaurant I ate and then I, I’ve been there, I saw this and they went home and his left and it, I was just so bored of all of them. And then the other thing is that I never found out about the term backpacking in 2010. I didn’t know that’s an existing thing, so I didn’t know that it’s possible that you put on your backpack and then you go traveling. So I went to Ghana. Cyrus actually, it’s just my big dream. And uh, I read the oven to volunteer in an orphanage and they really thought I was going to be me.

Bori Vigh: 31:44 And then the Argentinians my backpack and a couple of forces, like I had no idea that there are other travelers out there. And I met other travelers and I was like, oh, I’m home. You know, other people who are as crazy as I am. So I started writing about this new thing that the little Hungarian girl goes abroad, leaves the continent, and then finds out that there is a way of traveling. Very don’t need to pay a lot of money to travel agency and you can do solar traveling by yourself. So I started traveling as I did, writing about it, and then that became pretty famous. So, uh, then, then, then, then I left nothing in your bio, but that was just a side job when they left. These big companies have to accompany. Uh, then I event, um, I already had like 5,000 followers on Facebook in Hungary isn’t being numbered. Don’t laugh

Sean Tierney: 32:36 number like, and you have like 11,000 on Instagram. I know, right?

Bori Vigh: 32:39 Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that’d be a growing inc I am growing. Yeah.

Sean Tierney: 32:43 Yeah. Okay. So you started that and then did that pay your living expenses or how are you, how are you paying for your travels at that point?

Bori Vigh: 32:51 So on the self circle, many road river road, I see, uh, at this point have a social media jobs from them. And also some, uh, administration a job that I do because I started jogging and they realized that I don’t want to take any responsibility, hey, give me the copy, paste monkey jobs that Eh, other colleagues would get offended off because I can sit next to them or have a beer and copy paste as much as you want if I get paid for it. Yeah. Like keep my decisions to be done for various sleep and eat, not on how, like not based on the company. I don’t need to be motivated. Um, because other people are working nine to five needs to get someone to aviation did in the work. I get my motivation in the house after that job. Um, so I still work with them and it’s like actually as solid income. And did I get from them and booking a two to four hours more or less for them. Nice. And uh, yeah, that’s works pretty well. So, uh, I have that one in and I have sponsors for my blog and I have public speaking and I have workshops and, sorry, I haven’t the book and I have the online course and I have no my crew. So I do quite a lot of things.

Sean Tierney: 34:05 Can you, uh, it sounds like you attended a, what was it, Johnny FD’s 18 passive revenues things. Frankly, I managed to miss it twice. But you’re doing it naturally. You don’t need it. It sounds like you got all these.

Bori Vigh: 34:16 I have. Well actually I had, I’ve been connected with Johnny, uh, van we haven’t known each other day by David [inaudible]. Uh, he’s also a, the was rockstar and is like, hey, you need to talk to my friend. Johnny knows everything about blogging. And so I talked to the, on Skype, he has his consultations and then he had been quite a lot actually at my affiliates are coming through [inaudible] recommendation and joining these online course. So shout out there. Johnny here

Sean Tierney: 34:43 shout out to Johnny. He was a previous interview so that will be posted by the time

Bori Vigh: 34:48 cola to do that. That’s why he’s like, he’s really cool.

Sean Tierney: 34:52 Yeah. Neat Guy. And I think I need to take this course because I’m fumbling with the affiliate thing, but I will figure it out. Um, okay, so backpacker Ahu. Um, at what point, so walk me through, where did the nomad cruise, how did that come about? How did you get paired up with him?

Bori Vigh: 35:08 It’s such a cool story. So what happened is that I do, I live my life based on my bucket list. So going back in time and I was 11 years old, I watched the documentary about Buena Cyrus in about tango and I was like fascinated a bad. Did that. I, I just really wanted to see life does game my trip. And when I was 25 years old, I ran to Buenos. This iris is the first, I felt like the first 12 other girl in the whole country. And then when they’ve been back, um, I wrote down my bucket list and I live my life based on the bucket list. It’s still with me here, not in here because I, it’s getting a little bit teared up, but, uh, I have it in my airbnb, so traveling in my bucket list and I cross off many things of it.

Bori Vigh: 35:53 Okay. And then my list was writing a book as well. So when I finally got contacted by a publisher that they want to publish a book today, right. Uh, then I get really happy. And then I went to south of Hungary and then I just lived in the house and like a small village house and they a all, I was thinking like, okay, just write this and that can go traveling again. So I made my plan and then I came across, you know, my crews and uh, I’m like, I called my mom, I’m like, hey. So it seems like they’re going to take this cruise to the Caribbean and sounds Super Fun. It’s super cheap and it’s really fun and really nice people and she gets really excited. So my mom was like, what? It’s time for you to go traveling again because I’m bored. I want to read your stories again.

Bori Vigh: 36:37 So just get out of the country. Gold terminal. Yeah. So that’s what happened, that they want to do. I wanted to go, but then no matter who’s going to fall, so I called my mom and I said like, listen, it seems I’m not going to the cruise. I’ll figure out something. Yes. And then she’s like, she’s, she broke down. She was like, no, I can’t believe this. I already had my dreams that you’re going to the cruise. So me and my mom said that I’m not going to normally, and I knew about someone who knew, knew your harness, and then he was like, well I know with this dude so I can just like pointed out and you can send him a Facebook message. So send them NSF fees with messages. Like, Hey, I’m a travel blogger, let me know if there’s anything for his elbow.

Bori Vigh: 37:19 I’m dying to go. And then, and then he sent me a booking link. Like, I actually have a free space. I needed to pay for it, but he, I get on the cruise. And what turned out after it is that he had his very first meetup ever in Budapest, um, couple of months before. And uh, on that meet up, one person showed up and that one person was my reader, some that meetup, they talked about me. The reason why I get a space as you already heard about me. That’s awesome. So your harness snuck you on the, on the cruise or opened up a spot for you? Yeah, the micro stream. Yeah. And then you’ve been on ever since or how many cents on amazing the macros for and, and everything. So no work crews five I already took up hosting, but like, uh, what do you need to know about me?

Bori Vigh: 38:17 It’s like, it’s not working for me that they just go somewhere and then if you give me 10% of the job, I want a 50% at least like not the money, but the, the job. Like, if I see that something could be done that I’m just all in and a I, I’ve worked a lot. So even though I was supposed to be only do hosting, I kind of started to take over and started to do a program organization, things like this. And then now it’s, it’s pretty nice because now I have a, I had a little playground that you can escape me and then I could try out a couple of things and now I think we got it.

Sean Tierney: 38:57 So yeah, just while we’re talking about your bucket list, cause I pulled it up or whatever you have on your blog, that seems to be a bucket list.

Bori Vigh: 39:06 I’m fascinated by you like that. You are doing that in Hungarian language.

Sean Tierney: 39:09 I know. Yeah. I don’t understand a thing like I’m using Google translate and try to figure it out. But the, was it 1112 naked bathing and luminous plankton and Co-ran, Cambodia, 2015 holy cow. This picture doesn’t even look real. I will link it in the show notes. You’ve got to see this. It just looks like an alien.

Bori Vigh: 39:27 Yeah. That’s the only picture that I, it’s not mine because I didn’t have the camera to take such a picture, but it looked like that that was in Karang. So there’s like this glowing titans and in Asia for sure at the moment might be somewhere else and I never did skinny dipping, so naked naked to is good. It’s actually skinny dipping and they’ve never done it and, but then I put it down on my list and like, but now it has to be something cool. No, you can have just like joy and do it. So I went three times. If we at the Lake Balaton in Hungary and then they’re like, yeah, we can just do it now. Like get over it. I’m like, this is not how it works. It has to be fabulous. So I just got to [inaudible] and that was a fuck. Yeah, that was really cool.

Sean Tierney: 40:12 Amazing. Are you able to share any of the ones that are still on your bucket list or what’s some stuff that you want to do?

Bori Vigh: 40:19 I really want to go to Africa and to see animals. I love animals and I’m like in nature and I don’t go to the zoo and I don’t go to ocean area. And uh, I told I’m eating Vegan that I’m traveling. I’m like, I dropped the ball. I have to admit it’s not easy, but, um, I would love to love to go to see the immigration. Um, apparently it’s pretty expensive but I’ll figure it out.

Sean Tierney: 40:49 So is this like a safari or is this you’re talking about just going into the wild to see,

Bori Vigh: 40:54 well not by myself. Probably like that would be a little bit too much. I think I would need to explain this to my mom and then she was crying again, so let’s not do that. Um, yeah, that one is definitely on my bucket list for Nowish, but uh, yeah, the rest can stay secret I think. Okay.

Sean Tierney: 41:12 Well we look forward to seeing you publish them once you cross them off the bucket list.

Bori Vigh: 41:16 Yes. That, that will happen too many times. And don’t ride it out because I don’t want to jinx it so many. There’s actually quite a few on that that if I would start talking about it, then some people would organize it for me and I don’t want it that way. So for example, they, yeah, like you see Ya.

Sean Tierney: 41:34 No, I can talk about it. No. All good. We for sure. Uh, okay. I want to shift gears yet again. And we had talked a little bit about meditation, which I know you did the headspace and that was my introduction to meditation as well. What have you taken from meditation?

Sean Tierney: 41:54 Hmm, cool.

Bori Vigh: 41:59 So I dunno, how do you do it every day?

Sean Tierney: 42:01 Almost every day.

Bori Vigh: 42:02 Oh Wow. Yeah. I think for me, what it really is really helpful is that I slowed down and, and I think that is a key for my personal goals that I don’t want everything at the same time, but I can slow down a little bit. Um, I have to ta to the audience here today listening is that a implement a meditation dance meditation into the, uh, into the deep connection workshop. And as much as I like to, I like to sit down and try to not think about things. I really can easily do it when I’m denting. So just figuring out how am I [inaudible] for example or something super weird. So I actually didn’t do, I do dance at home and I closed the curtains and I just figured out what, how am I sure there’s and do really weird things. Um, that is, it’s up, looks pretty, but it’s really feels good because I’m, I’m having my focus on, on nothing else but the moment and I think meditation is like that. No, that you don’t think about the past. He’s done very bad the future. But you are there in your buddy or you’re listening to sounds or, or you are experiencing the moment without any judgment.

Sean Tierney: 43:18 Totally. Yeah. And the activities, absolutely. Any activity that brings you into the present and it’s impossible to be anywhere else. But that moment and to me like I just got this leiftech skateboard thing that’s like a snowboard and there is no room like your, your mind is not anywhere else but like mastering all the movements required to stay on this thing and not kill yourself. So I’m 100% agree with the power of like meditation in a moving meditation. Um, and I, I think also that we were talking before upstairs, um, when you’re saying about, you know, I don’t like the idea of uh, trying not to think of something. Yeah. Um, so one key like apifany that I had on that respect, I think it was Tim Ferriss said, I think it was Tim Ferriss. Um, but basically like the practice is to me at least the practice is that exercise is you shouldn’t know you.

Sean Tierney: 44:11 Like, you should no more be frustrated with those thoughts that come in and distract you. Then you should be frustrated by like the weights at the gym because those are like what give you the resistance to practice, you know, bringing your mind back to center and like, um, my friend heart from a previous interview long time ago said he imagines it like your mind is like this puppy dog that of wanders off and you just kinda cute leave. Like, oh, that’s cute. And then you have to bring it back to the middle. And like that analogy has always helped me just, I dunno, wrangle, be okay with the fact that like you’re going to get distracted. And that is part of the practices bringing your mind back

Bori Vigh: 44:46 to just so it reminds me of, I’ve, I lived in New Zealand a little bit, uh, and I lived in there, yours and I was surrounded by all these surfers who also lived in tents and yurts and I was cleaning toilets for a hotel. And that was my life is the beginning digital nomad. And there was this, I would, I, so there was this a surfer guy who I thought he’s more like into vapes, them thinking or, you know what I mean? I didn’t think that he’s really intelligent to be honest. And then he would just like sit next to me and then I would just bust finished with my Morgan Morning Yoga and meditation and, and then he’s like, so have you realized that that sometimes it’s not you who is your, you have in your checking your thoughts and then they’re passing by? Isn’t it interesting that your thoughts are not you, but you are the person who are experienced who are eczema running the thoughts? Are you at the person who are and mining the person who examines the thoughts? And I’m like, Oh,

Sean Tierney: 45:50 ah, that is the one level. So I feel like that’s the first level is you are the observer as the thoughts flow by. And then there is, um, oddly enough, the last interview with Tarek, we talked about this book a untethered soul and that proposes that you take even a step back further where you are that observer of the Observer.

Bori Vigh: 46:09 Exactly. And that’s how I feel because even like the German shepard being back in the sheep, the sheep, you know, when your thoughts are wondering around this puppy and then you just tell them to come back as like the person who has the thoughts that come back is being observed by you. But then, but then who is that?

Sean Tierney: 46:29 Yeah, it gets super deep. Um, and I’m certainly not by any means like there yet in terms of like the understanding and the practice of all that. But like I, I’ve tasted a bit of this and it’s, it’s really interest

Bori Vigh: 46:43 frankly, even when I know that you want to have something but just like one can I think thoughts. So when we were talking upstairs and, and I said that every year I have like a, a slogan to how I’m going to live. And uh, last year was, fuck yeah. And then this year is flow. So I I just rate everything to, to get into, to place and they don’t fight. I don’t fight with F don’t find these people for my own ego, that’s for sure. And then it’s pretty much how, how it is with meditation that sometimes you’re just like start fighting my grounds it, but I don’t want my thoughts to go away. I want them to, I want me not to think of anything by maybe I just need to learn to accept the fact that not, not fighting my thoughts and then just acknowledge that they are and then yeah, let go the fight.

Sean Tierney: 47:35 Exactly. Like that flow of being okay with that. And then like the cute puppy dog, you just kind of like bring it back to center and then yeah. In the puppy is just doing what the puppies do and wandering like that. That’s cute. Yeah. But so I still have not put a name on this part of the thing, but it’s what uh, it’s very tactical. I’m just going to ask you a couple of rapid fire questions and you can give me kind of, yeah. What, what comes to mind? What is, what is one book that has profoundly sculpted your view of the world?

Bori Vigh: 48:10 Ooooh, one or two or whatever comes to mind? Uh, well, um, the monk who sold his Ferrari,

Sean Tierney: 48:23 the monk who sold his Ferrari? I’ve never heard of that. Oh my God. That’s fantastic.

Bori Vigh: 48:26 It’s such a, such a good, good, that’s such a good book. Okay. Yeah.

Sean Tierney: 48:30 Excellent. Okay. What about one tool or hack? Something that makes your life easier? It can be like an APP. It can be like a packing tip or a strategy or anything kind of that you can share that might help make other nomads lives easier.

Bori Vigh: 48:49 Oh, by the journal. What is it above the journal? Bullet Journal. Maybe words. Sorry. Okay. What is it? So it’s just, yeah, uh, the book red dots in it. So we actually made it like that. So it’s um, a booklet, the Dotson, a halves, you easier to join it and you can set up different checkers. So there’s a lot of inspiration on Pinterest and on Instagram about what kind of checkers you can draw for yourself. But it gives you quite a big freedom on like falling up on your own life and then your own commitments. So I have everything in it that I made the commitment to it, including the visualizations if I died or not. If I ate sugar, if I drink alcohol, if I fasted that day or not. And I just like keep it a tracker or of it and the cute colors and, and they know people are telling me like, but why didn’t you just use an APP for it? And then the fact that you’re taking time in the morning to open up something, a very put that much energy in it, it creates joy for you and tracking becomes something joyful and it’s just not just a click on your phone, but it becomes a ceremony, therefore you more likely to keep up or what you’re doing if you do this list every morning in the morning.

Sean Tierney: 50:10 Interesting. Got It. Yeah, that makes sense.

Bori Vigh: 50:13 And is it to suggested it’s a dotted dotted, is the purpose for it being dotted or at least what comes to mind? Yeah. You’re describing, this is a quote from Ray Bradbury where like if they give you lined paper, turn it the other way. He said, yeah, Nice. So you’re not constrained by those daughters. Basically you’re not thinking, uh, cause lions kind of forces you to think, okay, I need to come up with sentences in this and whatnot. But if it’s just dots on a page, then I guess it’s kind of, those constraints are gone. Exactly. You can, you didn’t do what everybody does. It just helps you to draw whatever you want or you can write as well because, but it keeps, it keeps it easier than a blank page for sure. Sure. For someone doesn’t jar, I don’t know how to draw. And I now I’m traveling with about like 20, 25 colored pencils,

Sean Tierney: 51:00 That’s practical ;-).

Bori Vigh: 51:01 Not too practical, but they enjoy it. And then with the help of this one, they managed to lose like eight kilograms. I managed to, um, quit on pretty much sugar now here on this boat because there’s pastor than that I is really, yeah.

Sean Tierney: 51:16 Nice. But which was the coolest thing ever. And they just like, sorry, by the Journal, by we will, you know what, we will link to a picture of a pastel de nata in the show notes. How to initiatives we’re talking about. It’s not even that previous. It tastes, it’s like a what? What would you describe it? Like a creme brulee in a little pastry kind of heaven fleet tool. Um, on the fascinating, the, funny enough, I just started today, so yeah. So I got the APP zero.

Bori Vigh: 51:44 Yeah. Something that yeah.

Sean Tierney: 51:46 And I’m 30 minutes away from breaking my first fast. So how many, it was an 18 hour a day that you started in the 18 hour new traditions. Yeah. Nice. Go big or go home. Yeah. Uh, I feel fine. I feel good right now. Yeah.

Bori Vigh: 52:01 Good. I actually, I did the 72 hour fast just before getting on the, on the cruise because I know, I know what’s happening with me in the cruise. I am getting a little bit lost with all the all inclusive stuff. So I said, let’s just do a cleanse before going onto the cruise. And it turned out to be a business idea. So what I did is that I just closed the airbnb door on me and I fasted and I’ve worked eight hours, like properly nine to five as I used to and woke up early in the morning, did work out like to workout and the fastest with 72 hours, I’ve never been so shopping my entire life if the rumors are true, if you do like more than 20. For me the sweet spot is um, over 24 hours. And then I started to get like pretty high but really focused and I wrote down half a book of business ideas that I’m going to do, how I’m going to grow my business or my hand going to grow me personally. And so it’s just really very cool. So I going to do every month from now on a 72 hour fast. That’s awesome. Suggestible.

Sean Tierney: 53:08 And I remember, I think it was with Ben, we were having a conversation one point in [inaudible] as well and, but your scale was way off because you had done the same to our vest. So it’s like all the other ones were just like these little bit of that as the baby ones with 20 hour fast. Crazy. Cool. All right. So two more questions. Uh, one band or one piece of music that is speaking to you lately? Lately.

Bori Vigh: 53:30 Yeah. Lately. Oh my God. So one fun fact about nomad cruise is that I always choose a theme song and I’m anchoring. So I’m, I’m using that theme song all over and over and over again to anchor people to that song. So if they listened to that song one more time than they can continuously listen to that song. I remember two no mattress. So do you have a guest, which is my favorite song because it’s always the current favorite song they have.

Sean Tierney: 54:00 I dunno. I felt like there wasn’t, I wasn’t detecting a pattern of songs.

Bori Vigh: 54:05 Yeah. [inaudible] it’s, I feel love. Okay. Yeah. That one. Yeah. That was in the closing ceremony as well. Yep. And did you know that I have to check who’s at, I forgot his name or her name was mark. Okay. So Donna Summers, Donna. Donna summer. I feel love. And, uh, if this music was done in 77, and if you’ve listened to, it’s so modern. It’s really, I always thought it’s a remix of an old song in terms of, I know this is the original song because she came out with an album, every song was from a different area and I feel love was the song for the future. That’s awesome. And it’s actually being played in 2019 so bad. And on the summer, I guess.

Sean Tierney: 54:51 Nice. Well like that as well. All right, last question. If you could go back and take a time machine to your 20 year old self and tell yourself anything, what would you tell yourself?

Bori Vigh: 55:07 Oh, you see, I haven’t always, I have a do over. I would always say like, if I could go back and then change one thing, it would be nuts not to smoke the first cigarette I smoked when I quit smoking coffee. I go, so now I don’t know what to answer this. So I need to rethink, uh, I think I would just go and say it’s going to be okay.

Sean Tierney: 55:32 All right, cool. So I’m going to give you a chance. You are doing something I think is really interesting and we’ll end with this. So you’re doing retreats at a space in Hungary. Can you maybe talk a little bit about what that is?

Bori Vigh: 55:43 Yeah, well maybe that’s not, talk about that one because that is in like, okay, so then Rita’s in Hungary, we have a place, it’s called retreat factory and uh, it, my family owns it. So again, just check it and you can go to his Instagram page, which is rigid factory, um, button dry. Now we have um, um, retreat there for nomads. Yeah. More than Eh, what do you invited and when I’m back home to join us, but right now it’s a, a test phase. So we’re going to do that retreat in order to figure out if this is with, be good for um, longterm. And then we just going to do some workshops. And then when I save action, it’s not only means skier sharing but also actually painting was, uh, but after that, uh, that is going to be quite a lot of fun things going on. And if the cheese factory, so that’s, yeah, I’m going to give you a shout out as well because that’s going to be fun.

Sean Tierney: 56:44 Cool. And so the vision isn’t just like these are one off retreats. It’s actually going to become some kind of like communal space and like art loft or what? What do, what do you have envisioned? For

Bori Vigh: 56:53 right now the division is that um, people can come and have their retreats there. So v we just provide the space for it and um, you can just organize your retreats in order in case you want to have something really secluded. And then if you want to focus on, on just being tiny, have you or 30 of you in one place. We have a leg day island on the lake and then we have these factories, which is at 3000, 200 square meters. It’s huge. And if you also have your airbnb doubts and it’s good for many, many things. So I think for retreats really fantastic.

Sean Tierney: 57:29 Perfect. Um, so check that out. And also you’re launching a blog, I think you said. Yes. What does that,

Bori Vigh: 57:37 so I have so many international friends now and they always like, yeah, I read your blog but I don’t understand like what you just came of it. And I started to feel that most of them, majority of my friends are, are foreigners like from my side. So I actually wanted to come out of it, my international blog, which is going to be about personal development. So something similar that we’ve just done about right now, but in written form.

Sean Tierney: 58:03 Cool. And do you know the URL of that yet or is that yes. What is it? [inaudible] dot com [inaudible] dot com we will link it of course, but we’ll be looking for that soon for it. Any other last advice for someone who’s listening who is not a nomad yet who wants to do this? Um, how any, any words of wisdom or advice for making that transition?

Bori Vigh: 58:29 Hello? First connect to yourself. Then feel if it’s a fuck yeah, then slow down. Then listen to what you have to listen. Then trust your choices and then falling in love with nomad lifestyle.

Sean Tierney: 58:42 Love it. We will end on that board. Thank you so much for taking the time. It has been such a blast. Thank you so much.