NOMAD Magazine | The Struggle Issue Part 1

NOMAD A Guide for the Trailblazer

Volume

03

Contents

No.

02

| NOMAD

70% OF AMERICANS WANT TO BE SELF-EMPLOYED

WE ARE THE FIRST STEP NOMADtheMag NOMADtheMag NOMADtheMag Photo by Kyle Hampton in Alaska

C over

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B y L auren R attigan | @_ lauren . moon

Only 15 million Americans (4.61%) are self-employed.

NOMAD is a guide for the trailblazer. We curate stories of exploration on the journey towards innovation. For those who struggle making the first step on their journey, we help build confidence. We are the first step.

Let's Begin.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Open Letter

Road Not Taken

12 The Beginnings 18 BlyncSync Technologies 26 The Exit

T he

individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by

the tribe .

If

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you try it , you will be lonely often , and sometimes frightened .

no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself .

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W ynwood W alls

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M iami , FL.

F riedrich N ietzsche

Open Letter Why this issue is “The Struggle Issue” Where NOMAD is going, and what is happening now.

NOMADs! There goes the f irst half of 2019, and so much has

Many of the next three issue’s stories revolve around

happened. As many of you know, I am in the transition

struggle and adversity. You have this idea, this goal that

phase for work, and it has been a bit of a mess releasing

you are willing to put all of your energy into but you

this past issue of NOMAD.

run into the drudgery of actually bringing the idea into f ruition. The honeymoon stage passed long ago and

We think we came up with a solution which will not

you’re dealing with competing thoughts: “What to do

only get you more issues, but will also help NOMAD

next?” and “Where did all my time go?” The battle of

build a subscriber base and increase sales on our digital

taking the idea f rom paper to product are showcased at

platform. The pros to this is the sharability and price

various stages along the creative process.

point. The negatives are the lack of print issues. One of the aspects to publishing is the huge upf ront cost to

I can def initely relate with the current stage of NOMAD!

print an issue of NOMAD. We aren’t breaking even with the current number of issues we are selling per issue and

Growing beyond this issue, we are looking to create

this leads to an unsustainable business model.

a dynamic community for NOMADs who are seeking tangible information f rom mentors, business models, and

We need 1213 subscribers before we can start printing

fellow (possible) commiserators, looking for experience

to the level which we were printing at for the f irst issue.

and wisdom for a business pivot. This information usually

Currently, we have zero, and this is my fault. We don’t

comes at a price, but we want to build a repertoire of

have an adequate system to accept subscriptions well.

stories and conditions that help writers and readers alike

I think focusing on NOMAD digital sales will help us

connect. Each member’s investment in the community

get the necessary ‘founding’ subscribers to jumpstart

will simultaneously pay the price of admission and reap

NOMAD completely.

the reward.

In this issue, we split it up into three parts (this being the

We look forward to NOMAD’s development over

f irst), so that we can release content every month. This

the future issues, and we want you to know we are

means for ‘this’ issue (which we were doing quarterly) we

trailblazing with you!

will have the next three months already done. Helping us focus on core aspects of the business like advertising.

Cheers!

Now onto the issue: One of our writers for this issue Jack spent a good deal of time diving into incredible detail for how he came to his business idea and we wanted to make it digestible but not laborious. So we split the article into three sections and you’ll see plenty of his work over the next three months.

Justin McAfee Founder of NOMAD

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

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B y J ustin M c A fee | @NOMAD the M ag

The First Step

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.

- Frank Zappa

Let’s talk about this idea of the f irst step. It involves effort to take

This daunts everyone, and it daunts me to this day. The good

on a big venture. When your goal feels like a world away, taking

news is that this is what NOMAD does.

that f irst step can be daunting.

NOMAD is the f irst step; you can will share in the mentality Taking the f irst step in any endeavor is terribly diff icult. In which

which has helped build NOMAD Magazine to what it is today

direction should I go? Which road should I take?

and it will show you how you can overcome any obstacle or start any business you want.

Then you take your f irst step and now you are thinking, did I take the right road, do I need to turn back, how do I test this

You don’t need to worry about the f irst step. All you need to do

idea before taking the next step?

now is worry about what direction that f irst take will take you.

Let’s begin.

Jack Cosson is a traveling chef who is based out of London, England. el_nomadic_chef

El Nomadic Chef The Beginnings

The off icial brand “El Nomadic Chef � came to life very recently, 27 March 2018 to be exact; although, it is a concept I have been struggling with for ages.

I was born an Aries, starting in England on the 8th of April, and was raised in Spain f rom the age of 10. I experienced a cultural fusion very early on. I was taken away f rom my familiar, childish world in England and thrown into an uncertain, adult world in Spain. I remember one of my biggest challenges in Spain being the language. A fear of failure and my perfectionist nature lead me to speak only when necessary or I was certain of the phrase. I convinced myself I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. I inadvertently shaped myself into a very shy and introverted character for the remainder of my school years. On the one hand, my self-esteem and socializing skills suffered; however, my independent self grew out of necessity.

These initial challenges in Spain were the catalyst for my selfsearching, ground zero for the restlessness of my psyche.

P hoto R ight B y A driana P intrijel P hotography

My shyness may have inhibited my participation in the

uncertainties. The marihuana helped in that pursuit

classroom and break time, but I got on well with my

of who I was, offering up the world f rom an alternative

peers and teachers. Even still, my efforts focused around

perspective.

academics. For those very efforts, I received recognition with high grades; I was a very disciplined student.

Through the turmoil of my two years of Bachillerato, I found the end of the program, scoring a 7.7 out of 10

During my second year in Spain, I was still struggling to

in my “Selectividad” papers. With my modest score on

speak the language face-to-face with my classmates, but

the university exam, I had the opportunity to choose my

I beat the whole class in our written verb conjugation

university and program. Architecture Engineering or

exams. I sought certainty and structure, like that of an

Industrial Engineering. These were options presented

exam or a conversation with close f riends, but I felt

to me due to my skills in Maths and Technical Drawing.

alienated by large groups, like the interactions in the

The papers pitched them as my options, as my decision

classroom. The more conversations I had with others,

point. Is that even a decision? It was simply a continuation

the easier it became to break through the social barrier.

of what I was rebelling against the last two years. What

Although it bent, the barrier never broke; these childhood

was I even deciding on; denial or ignorance? They both

experiences were a permanent blueprint for my life to come.

looked like the same election I made in my High School Orientation. The external world saw my promise as an

Typically, Spanish students at the age of 16 graduate

engineer, but I couldn’t imagine myself as an architect

f rom secondary school and enter “Bachillerato” which

nor an engineer. I was ready to take my first leap of faith.

is somewhat equivalent to high school in the US. The

To nip the notion in the bud, I want to strike down any

Bachillerato Objective: prepare you for university, orient

notion that I was brave or somehow enlightened. I didn’t

you toward a career, and start your specialization. Your

step out because I was all of a sudden more courageous

three orientations: Health Sciences, Technology & Maths,

than the two years previous; it was the contrary. I stepped

or Social Sciences. I elected for the second. I had always

out in fear of spending four more years fighting a fate for

been good at Maths, and I continued my pursuit for

which I feigned interest. How could I do that to myself

certainty in the world while I struggled to f ind myself.

again? Do I loathe myself enough to maintain a painful

My insecurity dominated my decision-making. Since

path, just to satisfy those around me? I had to make a

I couldn’t even figure myself out, I needed to study some-

self ish choice, no matter the consequences. The positive

thing I knew I could perform in; I needed the external

side of selfishness crept into my purview, and up until this

comfort zone to counteract my internal discomfort.

point, I only saw the negatives that I had been taught.

Hindsight begs me to have studied one of the other two paths, as my current self is fascinated by and a student

In May 2009, two weeks before the deadline, I decided I

of both health and social sciences today.

wouldn’t be pursuing either of my choices. Starting with my close family, I came clean and bore the truth. I forced

I remember being very f rustrated during these last two

myself through the discussions, finding it painful to breach

years of school. I started to turn on my teachers and

the topic, despite my apparently defiant practices during

parents, the very people to whom I was so loyal. I started

Bachillerato. The rebellion was only skin deep; I still deeply

to rebel. Up to this point in my life, I had always done my

cared what they thought. Immediately after the release

best to please those around me. Ignorance of myself was

of my inner self, relief rushed in to f ill the void that just

self-destructive, and the next stages were mundane and

formed; the rush of relief was such a contrast to the

inevitable. I lost interest in school. I turned to the gym and

substantial efforts required in sharing my honest self.

smoking pot with my f riends to cope. Some days, I would

My parents didn’t react as I had imagined; they supported

work out before class, coast through school, workout after

me unconditionally. I realised the scenarios of judgement

class, and soothe myself to sleep with a fat joint. I learned

that I created in my head simply were not true; they were

to dread going to class; my rationale on self-purpose was

fantasies in my head and never extended beyond my skull.

diverging f rom the structure that I used to crave. I would

I was living with my mum, and she encouraged me to look

excuse myself f rom school if I could come up with a

into possible options at university. My thought process was

reasonable justif ication in my own mind, nevermind

direct: studying by the only def inition I knew for another

what anyone else thought of the excuse. Philosophy

four years fell low among my priorities, so I needed to find

classes were the antithesis of the Math classes that bored

something that was not studying as I had known, but a

me. They triggered self-questioning that fed my new

pursuit of my passions. Nutrition, cooking, and f itness

P hoto L eft B y E rick T ejas | @ kciire

were the avenues by which I rebelled. They were hands on and practical, f itting nicely with the classroom phobia that I developed after my last 2 years at school.

After many leads that resulted in dead ends, we came across a Hotel-University in Barcelona offering a degree in Hotel Management. My mum and I were sitting at her computer in the upstairs bedroom, googling away and sipping on tea as us English do. We were f iltering through the humdrum of modern campuses. As we looked at more and more universities, they all began to blend together. Suddenly, we flipped to a 70s-era hotel, humbly perched on a cliff top and overlooking the Mediterranean sea. It was located in a small f isherman’s village, “Sant Pol de Mar,” about a 40 minute drive north of Barcelona. I think my rebellion and honesty just lead me to study food on a Spanish beach. We phoned the university, discussed the necessary, and the decision shortly followed. With some help f rom my family and a national grant, I started anew with a life in Barcelona in September 2009.

At the university, I found something that I not only excelled in but something that I truly enjoyed. And I was quickly recognised for it; that recognition injected a much needed boost to my self-conf idence. The kitchen became my new playground, the primary avenue for my creative side. I was no longer choosing between my intellect and my emotion. They were feeding simultaneously and helping each other grow. With conf idence overflowing f rom the kitchen, I gradually started to develop my social self. In Barcelona, no one knew how I struggled with groups and how shy I was before. I reinvented myself.

I made connections. I was f inally growing into myself.

Monopolizing on the growing momentum, I also fell into my f irst foray with love.

During each summer sabbatical, I worked in London restaurants, caterers, and hotels through the guidance of my Auntie. She worked in the city’s hospitality industry and encouraged me to do so as well. I was applying the mixture of theory and practice that was taught in the University on the Beach. That very mixture of theory and application became pivotal in my embrace of the industry. It harkens back to the balance I sought by pursuing cooking, juxtaposing my intellect and my emotion. Both are necessary and inform the other. As hospitality students, we were required to take Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve shifts at the hotel. While most others were on break, we were applying our new found skills; we were rooting ourselves in reality, far f rom the “theory bubble” fostered in some contemporary universities.

P hotos L eft B y E rick T ejas | @ kciire

My objective in the university was to prepare myself for self-

role. Hindsight has afforded a clearer view of how the

sufficiency in the cooking industry, and while challenging

emotional and mental body affected my physical.

at times, I completed the four years with a sense of

Regardless of the degree to which it was self inflicted, my

accomplishment on a personal and professional level.

rehab left me largely homebound with only time on my hands. Being the raw and emotionally torn person that

By June 2013, I had completed the university training,

you, my audience, has so patiently learned throughout this

and I was searching for my next opportunity. At the end

passage, I unsurprisingly contemplated life once more.

of the fourth year, the university set up an interviewing

But that only lasted so long. I came across the rapidly

platform with international hotel chains f rom all reaches

evolving inf rastructure of the internet and encountered

of the world, offering internships and job opportunities.

platforms like “Couchsurf ing” and “Workaway.” These new

I was fortunate enough to be tempted by some alluring

sharing-economy platforms were responsible for my next

opportunities, one even taking me to the Caribbean, but

paradigm shift, a new way of operating in the world. I could

most of my opportunities were low-paying internships,

now shirk the formalities that held me in conflict. After

relying on skill development for payment. I held tight

much planning and more procrastination, I reserved a

to my independence and, in a way, wanted to fend for

one way flight to India; coincidentally, a f riend of mine

myself. With all of the progress and confidence I had built

felt a similar sense of angst with traditional career paths.

in university, I regressed by working for a known entity,

We booked the trip out east together; the company for

a restaurant I had trained in during one of my summer

my plunge into the deep end was welcome, making the

breaks. Believing myself to be wise at the time, I chose

transition easier. Before the flight, my practical training

known territory again, instead of taking a leap.

kicked in, and I worked for a couple of months in Spain to stockpile as much capital as possible, leaving with around

I moved to London, worked one day at the restaurant,

£3,000 in my bank account. Our nomadic plan was not

and unexpectedly fell into 3 months of rehabilitation.

complex, possibly a reflection on us: we were to travel

It proved to be a setback for my new career at the

around Asia for as long as we could afford before ending

restaurant. It is hard to distinguish how much of that

up in Australia. Australia was the land of opportunity

extended rehab was due to my psychosomatic response

where we could get jobs and f inish out our Gap Year,

to the newly-returning internal conflict of taking a known

replacing some of our spent money.

P hoto A bove B y E rick T ejas | @ kciire

Austin Green is an entrepreneur based out of Oklahoma City and is developing a proactive approach to avoiding accidents through predictive analytics. blyncsync_technologies blyncsync-technologies

BlyncSync Technologies Avoiding Accidents Through Analytics The start to our journey may appear a little mundane. BlyncSync didn’t start with a passion for wearable technology’s ability to revolutionize fatigue mitigation; we didn’t wake up on the first day of college knowing that we were going to spend our lives dedicated to truck driver fatigue. However, we did wake up with a passion for identifying, understanding, and finding solutions for problems within industry. Like many other class of 2014 business school sophomores, we were sitting in the first level entrepreneur class of the University of Oklahoma’s business school, trying to drum up an idea for a new product.This process was long and fraught with debate. We discussed issues we personally had in our own daily routines as well as problems we have seen in larger business settings. After a week’s worth of discussion, we narrowed it down to a few options for further research.

We dove into each problem, individually dissecting each one from multiple directions: the depth of the problem, the cost or casualties of the problem, the responsible parties to address the problem, and any possible solutions to the problem. Through the drudgery of research, we found our problem: fatigue in the trucking industry.

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B y J ustin M c A fee | @NOMAD the M ag

Fatigue was familiar to us; we have watched as cars slowly drift to the edge of their lane before quickly correcting and returning to the middle of the lane, only to repeat the cycle until they exit the highway. Some of our family members live in the trucking industry and had regaled us with stories of fatigue. Like the story of someone waking up to the sound of the highway’s rumble strips those indentations that separate the highway lane from the shoulder before leaving some tire tracks in the median.

Or the time when a truck driver was forced to run into the shoulder to avoid an oncoming vehicle that had drifted into their lane. Or having witnessed an SUV roll three total rotations before coming to rest on its roof at 6:30 am on a highway just north of a small town in southern Oklahoma, requiring the do-good truck driver to kick in the back window to pull the driver out. Fatigue fogs the vision of all drivers, whether or not they have a Class C license.

Being behind the wheel is elusive when it comes to fatigue; we have all experienced the inadvertent head nod when tired - microsleep. You’re looking off into the distance one moment, and the next moment, you find yourself forcing your eyelids open and head up. The scenery changed; time moved on. What did you miss?

Microsleep is a very obvious and dangerous sign that you are beyond fatigued. Some of us fall into microsleep in a Monday 8am to 10am Material Science lecture on the stress transformations of polypropylene; this would be one of the safe places to learn the signs of fatigue.

Truck drivers don’t have the luxury to learn in a safe place, where dozing off only warrants the ridicule of the instructor. A 65 mph highway lane affords no learning curve. The highway’s guardrails won’t prevent a 40 ton, loaded-down big rig from exiting the highway. Truck drivers have to be able to operate in the safe zone with the ability to rest when they approach fatigue, but resting too early is a waste of time. The trucking industry is built on productivity, moving as large of a volume as possible from A to B without incident or delay.

Payment is a function of distance (which is determined by the job) and time spent getting there (which is controlled by the driver). photo

B y J ustin M c A fee | @NOMAD the M ag

Fatigue was obvious; everyone acknowledged it. Everyone saw it was a problem, but no one looked at how we can bring intuitive tools into the process.

For some drivers, they want the most amount of jobs

the gap that the driver’s feedback was not being

and payment as possible, but for the majority of drivers,

taken into consideration. Our literature search was

they just want to make a fair wage and have enough

just the beginning. When we started interviewing

time to spend with their family. Time is the major flex

drivers, dispatchers, and safety companies, it became

point and key in striking a balance between home and

even more clear. Over hundreds of interviews, we

away. Would you spend your time away from your

began to grasp the major concepts. Fatigue was

family and home to read the newspaper? Every minute

obvious; everyone acknowledged it. Everyone saw

is precious, whether resting or driving. Productivity

it was a problem, but no one looked at how we can

ultimately boils down to how a driver’s time is maximized

bring intuitive tools into the process. Previous safety

in the safe operating zone without crossing into fatigue.

devices required too much of the driver, or the truck, or company oversight. Wearable technologies already

With the Department of Transportation having an

figured out how to capture incredible amounts of

encyclopedia of driver regulations--which we spent

data about our activity--very revealing amounts of

hours upon hours reading and understanding--and

data--without a change in our behavior. We wanted

trucking companies’ policies encouraging responsible

to harness this deluge of data and repurpose it for the

driving, fatigue-related accidents continue to occur.

trucking industry. We identified our solution: create

The regulations require a quantity of “drive time” for

an integrated package that leverages existing tools

each driver, and this is typically chronicled in a paper

that are used currently and integrating some new

log book, a log book that can be easily pencil-whipped

technology like wearables and displays, resulting in

to fit the regulation. These regulations and policies were

a complete package to prevent drivers from crossing

implemented as a reaction to the science of fatigue,

the fatigue line.

but results somehow were not being translated to the field. People keep getting hurt; drivers still get

Our idea had traction. We received recognition in

tired, physically exhausted, overexerted, or stressed.

our series of entrepreneurship classes; by the time of

There was an opportunity between the regulation,

our graduation in 2016, we had momentum to keep

the science, and the application.

progressing forward. There were two of us working the business case through college, but we needed to grow

After the class where we selected our topic, my

our team to include some programming experience.

partner and I spent our next several days trying to

At the same time we were trying to grow our team,

find someone who had connected fatigue research

we were trying to expand our product as well. In the

to the trucks in the field. We continued to notice

final semester at school, we applied for a spot in an

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B y J ustin M c A fee | @NOMAD the M ag

accelerator affiliated with the university. The program

collaborating with Khanh, a 30-year programmer of user

is designed to only accept and support three of the

interfaces that operated out of Austin, Texas. His interest

one hundred applicants. We had doubts about our

was immediate and strong, his resume spoke volumes

acceptance. We were two business students pitching

to his general experience as a programmer but also as

a new software product without a software developer;

a project lead. Khanh began delivering immediately.

we were a restaurant without a chef. Our shortcomings

However, the remote relationship was inherently

were glaringly obvious from inside the business; we

inefficient, and there was too much programming

were trying to sell the business with only plans and

to be completed alone before product testing in the

without the most crucial member of the execution

following year.

team. We knew we quickly needed to round out our team with a programmer.

We added three more programmers to work on the ground with us in Norman, Oklahoma. We needed

We started the search for a user interface and user

help with the rote mechanics of cranking out lines

experience designer. The user interface and experience

of code to enable Khanh to address the larger issues

determines how the user interacts with and controls the

at play with the software. Even though the new

application. Compared to a house, the user experience

developers were simply following Khanh’s lead, the

would be the walls, floors, ceilings, doorways, and the

work stalled. The developers coded sloppily. Their

roof provide structure, while the user interface is the

programming style compared to a Kardashian’s tweets

furniture, decorations, and aesthetics that maximizes

when we needed the robust and eloquent poetry of

the structure’s use. We were recommended to begin

Shakespeare’s sonnets, meticulous down to every

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B y J ustin M c A fee | @NOMAD the M ag

character choice. There may have been some initial

the project. We have worked with and interviewed

signs to realize their inadequacies, but we knew less

many developers that take on projects with unrealistic

about programming than they did. They fooled us in

timelines or no intent to complete the project. The

the beginning, but the dynamic crumbled when our top

startup world has hardened our personnel evaluation

Norman-based programmer quit abruptly for a more

processes; understanding incentives and intentions has

lucrative role in Tulsa. The remaining two programmers

become our focus.

could no longer hide or be protected; all of the issues fell into our view. The problems only grew with my

As we have gained more traction, we have begun to

involvement. The cancer was so pronounced that we

take on more partners with connections to the industry,

released the remaining two Norman programmers

providing pivotal advice and direction. We have found

at the end of 2017 and started anew. Of everything

endorsements within the industry. We tested a prototype

involved in bringing the product to a minimal viable

with one of our family friends, applauding the technology’s

stage, assembling our high-functioning team has been

ability to save lives. BlyncSync’s flywheel is in motion,

the most crucial.

and we are looking to the future with anticipation. We are piloting our systems in 2019. We are just learning

In 2018, our new team has since reversed the cancerous

that our application is even wider than initially thought,

trend and has built a robust software to be relied upon

expanding our technology into high liability, high exposure,

as much as we rely on the team. Unfortunately, we have

and extreme industries like those of warehousing and

built a wall to protect the company from programmers

energy industries.

who may be motivated by their day rate rather than photo

B y J ustin M c A fee | @NOMAD the M ag

Julia Piantini talks about her grueling experience working in a law f irm, and the courage it took to leave her career in order to fulf ill her dream.

julia_piantini

Julia Piantini The Exit

I was sitting in a park near my office when it dawned on me that something was going to change, and it was changing in a hurry.

I was going to be fired or quit. It was no longer a fantasy, day dream, or choice. I couldn’t keep it contained any longer. During my lunch break, I escaped the numbing stress of a regular day in the office to clear my head and release the restrained tears. I was exhausted. I was exhausted from working for an insane attorney. She was hectic, forgetful, and scatterbrained, and she was constantly playing catchup and expected the team to follow suit. I was exhausted from working for another two demanding attorneys. I was drowning in months and months worth of paperwork. The paperwork was indifferent to my cause. And why wouldn’t it be? It was created over and over again by the exact same process that made every generation of paperwork before it. It didn’t think for itself. It couldn’t think for itself. It was the reflection of the situation I was in; it was only as helpful as the people who generated it. No matter my efforts to tear it down, the paperwork continued to stack higher and higher.

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B y J ulia P iantini | @ julia _ piantini

For the last three months, I had begun working for a third attorney.

It was painted as a great opportunity by the firm. It was a chance to prove myself. Maybe this is the test. If I can just make it through, then I’ll be rewarded. It came with no additional money. It came only with additional stress. I assured myself that if they could see how I was worthy, the money would follow. I didn’t know when it would follow, but it had to follow.

All that followed was a series of panic attacks, nightmares, and chronic headaches. These were my payment and reward. I couldn’t resent them though; they were what I earned. After all, they were what led up to that day on the park bench, tears rolling down

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B y J ulia P iantini | @ julia _ piantini

my face. They helped me see a morsel of clarity since starting the paralegal cycle. I knew of the looming breaking point, but I chose to ignore and forget about it. I pushed it to the back of my mind by working harder, littering my desk with notes about every minute detail to fool myself into believing I was doing the right thing. I used reminders to sequester my inner voice and its apathy for the work.

I participated in weekly meetings with a senior paralegal to come up with strategies to conquer the work.

Nothing helped, and my performance continued to suffer.

While I was beginning to unravel at work, I was devoting all of my spare time to health, wellness, and spirituality.

I sought balance, so I started to experiment with Paleo, Ayurvedic, Kundalini Yoga and meditation. I became obsessed with personal development and was committed to a daily practice of self-improvement.

At the beginning, my energy was slowly shifting away from work and into wellness. Each new concept would round out more of my rough edges that were created at work. I took a formal step toward self-improvement by enrolling in a health coaching certification program. By then, my energy had entirely shifted toward wellness and away from work. I was naive to convince myself that I could somehow handle both work and wellness. Despite my desperation to leave the law firm, I was terrified to quit.

In the world of wellness, I had no experience, no clients, no website, no business, and no inhibitions. The idea of giving up a career for a dream was out of my field of view. Dreams were reckless and immature. I grew up with the mentality that a person’s career is about money, not happiness. If it happened that a career could bring both, luck was the only explanation.

I consoled myself into thinking I was not and could not be so lucky.

The day I was dreading finally arrived.

My boss buzzed me into her office and before I even walked in, I knew what was awaiting me. I coached myself with the best self talk I had been practicing. I sat across from my boss and office manager as they

voiced their concerns over my waning performance. They explained that, despite their efforts, I had not improved.

Their efforts? I did not pay much mind to this comment during the whole fruitless conversation; I was simply trying to come up with a way to save myself at the law firm. Finally, I was asked point-blank, “Do you want to be here?” The wheels were already in motion, and that very question put the car in gear. My freedom would come from walking away from everything I had built at the law firm. “No.” As the word came out of my mouth, my entire body relaxed. I went back to that same park from a short while ago and walked around the lake. The sun felt warm on my face, but the breeze was a cool relief. To my own

surprise, I was calm about the decision I had just made. It was so contrary to the panic that I was expecting to feel.

As I circled the lake, I noticed a white lotus poking out of the water. For many, the lotus symbolizes light, knowledge and truth. For me, it was a simple reassurance that I was moving my life in a direction I intended. I still have no idea how to launch and maintain a business. I still have no clients, and I have very little money saved. I am determined to pursue something that makes sense to me; I am driven with the conviction that I will learn how to succeed with every step. It was easy to hesitate so many times before this, but I am committed now. I finally built the courage to take a chance on myself. I know that I will be one of the lucky ones.

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B y J ulia P iantini | @ julia _ piantini

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B y J ustin M c A fee | @NOMAD the M ag

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.�

Albert Camus

CONTRIBUTORS THE CREW Justin McAfee - Founder Kristen Saoud - Layout Designer Kyle Hampton - Content Specialist Rebecca Pollet - Editor Trisha Thagadorn - Social Media Coordinator

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Jack Cosson Austin Green Julia Piantini

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photo B y J ulia P iantini | @ julia _ piantini R ear C over B y J ustin M c A fee | @NOMAD the M ag

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