“The next time you feel grateful for someone, call and tell them!”

About This Journal

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot.

So far, people from Thailand, Argentina, Russia, Spain, Italy, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, South Africa, the US, China, Laos, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, Australia, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, and the UK have written in it.

10 different languages.
Ages ranging from 18 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

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Taylor | 25 | Canada

I met Taylor in Koh Tao, Thailand, and there were no surface-level conversations. Straight into the deep end, and honestly, that’s how I prefer it. We had long conversations about life, manifestation, relationships, gratitude, goals, and so much more.

During that talk, Taylor suggested that I read Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza and thought it would be a good fit for me. By the time I left Koh Tao, I had already started the audiobook. And Taylor was right. I love it so far.

After Koh Tao, we both knew we were going to be in Uluwatu, Bali, at the same time, but had no idea if we’d actually see each other again or not. That’s just how travel friendships go.

Anyway, this is what she wrote.

“The next time you feel grateful for someone, call and tell them! A fond memory or because you simply smiled... They deserve to know they are thought of and appreciated. So many people don’t know how loved they are. (TELL THEM) Tomorrow is not promised! Share love and gratitude sincerely and often.”

Sincerely xoxo
- Taylor

After Thoughts

About two weeks later, neither of us had reached out, but my very first night in Bali, without planning a single thing, we ran into each other at Savaya during a Boris Brejcha show. Turns out, Uluwatu is small, and we kept running into each other throughout the weeks that followed.

Quick conversations in passing, and then one Friday at Mana during sunset, we got back on the topic of Becoming Supernatural. I told her how much I had been enjoying it and how much I appreciated the recommendation. I also mentioned that I had been listening to the audio version, but that I’m someone who retains things better from a physical book.

She left Bali a few days later, and I didn’t think much of it until I got a text from her saying she left something at her hotel for me.

I drove over, and the front desk handed me a book. Her copy of Becoming Supernatural. Not a new copy she picked up for me. Her copy. The one she had been actively reading.

I couldn’t believe it, and I still can’t believe it. So incredibly selfless and thoughtful. I think a book with a personal note is one of the best gifts you can give someone.

I can’t thank Taylor enough. I’ll never forget this.

I love her life advice, and it is different from all of the other entries, but such a good reminder. It’s a piece of advice that you’re able to take action on immediately.

So if you’re reading this, send a quick text to someone and tell them you were thinking about them. No ulterior motive. No agenda. Just a nice message that someone deserves to hear. Or if you stumble upon a picture of an old friend, rather than smiling to yourself, send it to them. Share the memory together.

Such a simple thing to do that goes a long way. Thank you Taylor for being such an incredible person that I’m lucky to call a friend.

When I started this book, I didn’t know if people would take this journal seriously or not, and it turns out it’s been the best travel project yet.

I used to get scared to ask people to write in it. Now I get excited to ask them to be part of something special.

To those who left a mark on these pages, thank you for being part of this special book.

And to everyone else, thanks for reading!

— Paul Rabic

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If you’re unfamiliar with it, street photography is a candid, documentary-style of art that captures everyday life and humanity in public spaces.

It does not require a literal street. Scenes can be shot in parks, beaches, subways, cityscapes, farms, restaurants, or wherever, really.

Nothing is staged, and instead, you’re relying completely on chance, timing, and framing to capture fleeting, unscripted moments.

So to put it simply, street photography is just walking around, taking photos of interesting things as they happen.

But it’s had the greatest positive impact on my life.

To be honest, it’s weird.

There’s something unhinged about photographers getting excited about light on the sidewalk, an empty chair on the street, or a car in the garage.

But beauty is everywhere, and the world is full of interesting things that we blindly walk past.

Everyone loves a sunset. It’s the big, obvious thing, but imagine you can have that type of experience 24/7.

A camera in hand gives you a reason to look for and notice small moments and to find beauty in the mundane.

The art of noticing.

Over time, you develop a deep appreciation of the world around you. Even without a camera.

The way light reflects off different surfaces and the texture it creates.

The way the trees dance in the wind.

The way objects in the distance have less contrast.

Slowing down.

If you’re not noticing, it usually means you’re moving too fast. It’s a signal you’re stuck in doing mode instead of being mode.

Photography creates space for clarity and reflection, and to actually integrate what life’s teaching you.

Not everything has to be loud to matter.

Give it a try.

I don’t have a dog (yet), so I take my camera for walks instead, and it changed my life in ways that I could have never imagined.

At first, it’s difficult. You don’t know what to look for. But just like any skill, the better you get at it with practice. Perspective practice.

The more you do it, the better you get at it.

The better you get at it, the more you enjoy it.

The more you enjoy it, the more you do it.

So give it a try.

Thanks for reading. Now, just scroll and enjoy the mundane moments that I thought were interesting enough to click a button.

If you’re here for the writing, be sure to subscribe.

If you’re here for the photos, you can follow me on Instagram here.

Thanks for being here.

-Paul Rabic

I think the only way to truly share an experience like this is long-form content. So for the first time in a long time, I started this trek with a plan to capture all of it. The highs, the lows, and what it actually feels like to spend three days on an active volcano.

This video took close to 40 hours to edit. The feedback so far has been incredible.

Standing 3,726 meters above sea level, Mount Rinjani is Indonesia’s second-highest volcano and one of the most iconic treks in Southeast Asia. Epic summit views, a turquoise crater lake, and hidden hot springs. But also steep cliffs, loose volcanic ash, unpredictable weather, and long punishing days.

This mountain doesn’t mess around.

Full Video here

My honest, unfiltered experience of the full 3-day/2-night trek. What it actually feels like, what I wish I knew going in, and everything you need to know before you go.

Filmed June 2026. Nothing in this video is sponsored.

I post when the adventure happens.

Subscribe here and on YouTube so you don’t miss it.

-Paul Rabic

About This Journal

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot.

So far, people from Thailand, Argentina, Italy, Puerto Rico, South Africa, the US, China, Laos, Canada, Russia, Spain, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, and the UK have written in it.

10 different languages.

Ages ranging from 18 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next entry.

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Ken Junior | 27 | Brazil

I met Ken on my very first day in Siargao, Philippines, at the world-famous skate street. He was out there skating and spinning a dapo star, while I walked around taking photos of everyone. So beautiful faces were captured that night. You can see the full set here.

That night of photos is actually how I made so many friends on day one. I shared the shots with everyone I had captured, Ken included, and I was quickly adopted into a group of Brazilian solo travelers. We surfed and explored during the day and went out together at night. Ken and I put down a lot of soju in Siargao.

I left Siargao sooner than expected for an excursion in Palawan, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the last time I saw him. Some people you just know are going to stay in your life.

This is what he wrote.

“Acho que você já segue, mas diga ‘Sim’, sorria e viva as melhores, mais loucas e incríveis experiências que esse mundo oferece. Espalhe amor e alegria.

Very nice to met u bro!

— Ken (27), Brasil”

English Translation

"I think you already do this, but say 'Yes,' smile, and live the best, craziest, and most incredible experiences this world has to offer. Spread love and joy."

After Thoughts

Fast forward to June. Ken and I are now neighbors in Lombok, Indonesia. I was sitting here writing this exact post about him when there was a knock at my door. I opened it, and there he was, with the same smile. :)

Ken is the epitome of spreading love and joy. I have never once seen him without a smile on his face. He is the life of the party, and he walks down the street smiling for no reason at all. Some people look at him funny for it. The real ones smile back.

He told me that's exactly how he knew we would be friends. He said I had a big smile on my face the entire time at Skate Street that night in Siargao, months before either of us knew we'd end up living at the same homestay in a completely different country.

That’s my life advice. Smile at someone today. You have more power than you think.

When I started, I didn’t know if people would take this journal seriously or not, and it turns out it’s been the best travel project yet.

I used to get scared to ask people to write in it. Now I get excited to ask them to be part of something special.

To those who left a mark on these pages, thank you for being part of this special book.

And to everyone else, thanks for reading!

— Paul Rabic

Missed an entry? Check out the first 6 here.

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next heartfelt entry.

About This Journal

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot.

So far, people from Thailand, Argentina, Puerto Rico, South Africa, the US, China, Laos, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, Australia, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, and the UK have written in it.

9 different languages.

Ages ranging from 18 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next entry.

Subscribe now

Steven & An | 36 | Vietnamese living in Illinois

I met Steven and An on the Ha Giang Loop in Northern Vietnam. We were friendly on the tour when they added to the journal, but it wasn’t until after the loop ended that we really connected.

After the Ha Giang Loop, I was heading to Sapa, and they were too. So we exchanged information to meet up while we were there. Then on day one, before we even had the chance to plan anything, we ran into each other at the base of the Fansipan cable car. I always think how crazy it is to run into someone you know. To be in the exact same place at the exact same time. We could have missed each other by minutes or even hours, or been at a completely different tourist attraction, but the Universe had other plans to bring us back together.

Fansipan is the highest peak in Indochina at 3,147 meters, and the cable car that takes you up is the longest cable car in the world at 6.3 km, covering 1,410 meters of elevation in about 15 minutes. It is a long ride with nothing but mountains and clouds outside of the glass.

On the ride up, An opened up to me. She told me that their firstborn daughter had died recently at 9 days old. She cried telling me the story. I didn’t know what to say. I just listened and gave her a hug.

While both An and Steven are Vietnamese, An’s family still lives in Vietnam near Ho Chi Minh City. They were in Vietnam to visit An’s family for the first time since the baby died. They thought it would be good to try something fun together, as life had been very dark recently, and the family time was going to be sad and intense.

We spent the entire day together in Sapa after that. We explored Cat Cat Village, took in the scenery, and got street food at a local stall for dinner. I loved that day. Not only because of where we were and what we did, but because of who I shared it with. They’re some of the most genuine people I have gotten to spend time with since I started traveling.

Here’s what An wrote for both of them.

“Live like there is no tomorrow. You never know when is your last day in this world. Take the risks, make the memories, and appreciate the memories you made on your travels. Don’t live a long life but a full one. It was nice to meet you!

Steven & An, 36, Chicago (but Springfield, IL)

3/1/26, Ha Giang Loop

Chúc Bạn May Mắn!!!” — Vietnamese for "Wishing you good luck."

After Thoughts

I spent multiple days with them and I had no idea how much weight they were carrying. No one did. They were laughing, exploring, fully present. And that’s the thing about people, you never know what someone is going through or the weight they’re carrying. Be kind. That’s my life advice.

A few weeks ago was Mother’s Day, and I reached out to Steven to let him know I was thinking of them. I couldn’t imagine how difficult a day that must have been. For An to recently become a mother and lose her firstborn 9 days into being alive. It breaks my heart for them.

I’m so grateful An felt comfortable enough to share something that heavy with someone she barely knew on a cable car in the clouds. No one should have to carry that alone.

Connections like this are rare, and I hope our paths cross again one day.

I’m learning more about people and life through travel than any book could ever teach. If you travel, I can’t recommend enough bringing a journal and asking people to write in it. It’s been so amazing, and I can’t wait to continue to share all of the beautiful entries.

Thanks for reading and being part of this.

— Paul Rabic

Missed an entry? Check out the first 5 here.

And be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next heartfelt entry.

Response 1: “That’s so exciting! I did something like that when I was younger, and it was the best decision I ever made.”

Response 2: “Wow, you have to do this... I never did, and I really regret it.”

Two completely different responses, all in support of the decision I made.

Now, why am I writing this post? Because my friends need to hear it.

Is this a subtweet at my friends? A sub-substack at my friends’? I don’t know what to call it, but yeah, kind of.

Because I’ve heard every excuse under the sun to not meet me somewhere in the world, and it’s exhausting.

Maybe you need to hear this message too, or maybe not.

But some of my friends REALLY need to hear this, and I hope they read it.

A Nostalgic Letter

"One day I'll travel with my friends".

And then, one morning, you wake up, 84 years old, and you realize none of your friends are around anymore.

The trip you all talked about never left the group chat. It's been 50 years since you were all together last. Some moved away, and some moved on from this life.

And all you can think about is how you had the money, you just didn't want to spend it.

You had the time, you just "couldn't miss work".

You had the opportunity, but for some reason, you thought it could wait.

So if you're reading this and you still have your friends, be the one who makes it happen. Buy the flight. Travel with your friends. You can always make more money, but you can never make more time.

The Hard Truth

The excuses aren’t real.

“I don’t have enough PTO.” Okay, so you’re using all of it on other people’s weddings and none of it on your own life?

“I don’t have the money.” You have a car payment, a streaming subscription, and a tab you ran up last Saturday. You have the money. You’ve just decided to spend it on other things.

“I can’t because of the dog. The house. The girlfriend. The thing.” These are logistics. Logistics get solved. People board their dogs. People negotiate time off. People make it work when they actually want to make it work.

I know this because I’ve had some friends in all of these circumstances make it work, and some who still say the same excuse again and again.

I think what’s happening is travel feels irresponsible. Like you have to have it figured out before you travel. But the truth is, travel is where I go to figure it out.

I have seen more of this world in the last few years than most people see in a lifetime. And the thing I want more than almost anything is to share that with the people I love.

But I can’t want it more than they do.

That part’s on them.

So I’ll say this once and leave it here…I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure we’ll never look back and say, “I wish I didn’t travel so much.”

-Paul Rabic

“不理会别人的评价 — Don’t care what others think of you.”

About This Journal

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot.

So far, people from Thailand, Argentina, Puerto Rico, South Africa, the US, China, Laos, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, and the UK have written in it.

9 different languages.

Ages ranging from 18 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next entry.

Subscribe now

Zhang Ying | 18 | China

I met Zhang Ying and her boyfriend Reece in Ninh Binh, Vietnam. They were staying at the same hotel. Reece is from South Africa, but the two of them live together in China.

They were the sweetest couple. Reece had the kind of laugh that fills a room and found something funny in almost everything. Zhang Ying spent every free moment trying to get the hotel’s cats and dogs to come to her. The animals kept wandering through, and she was on the floor with them every time.

We shared a couple of meals, and it was hard not to smile when you saw them walk around the property together. Good conversation, easy company.

This is what she wrote.

人生建议 - Life Advice

1. 微笑笑 — Smile more

2. 少刷短视频，多阅读 — Less short videos, more reading

3. 向积极乐观的人靠近 — Surround yourself with positive, optimistic people

4. 多睡觉 — Sleep more

5. 不理会别人的评价 — Don’t care what others think of you

6. 多沟通，学会表达 — Communicate more, learn to express yourself

7. 多分享 — Share more

8. 学会放松 — Learn to relax

9. 多运动 — Exercise more

10. 多交朋友 — Make more friends

— Zhang Ying, 18, China

After Thoughts

Without even realizing it, she is the youngest person to add to the journal and the only person to write in Mandarin so far.

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be, “Don’t care what others think of you.” Easy to say, genuinely hard to live. Most people don’t ever fully get there, but the ones who do live with the ultimate freedom. It is something I try to remind myself of often.

I don’t have a photo of her or Reece. Just the mountains of Ninh Binh and this list. Sometimes that’s enough. Reece added to the journal too and he will get his own entry.

These strangers are teaching me more than a textbook ever could, and I hope they do the same for you. Thanks for reading!

Which of her ten would you put at number one? Drop it in the comments.

— Paul Rabic

Missed an entry? Check out the first 4 here.

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That is how Casey Neistat does it. And nobody does it quite like him.

If you’re new here, I’m Paul. I left a stable life in New York City to seek knowledge through new experiences. On this Substack, I write about travel, growth, and the philosophy of living fully. I call it Becoming in Motion.

Welcome.

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I first discovered Casey in 2017. I was backpacking in Europe, and the first video I ever watched of his was “Make It Count.” He inspired my first YouTube video right after that, and I haven’t stopped creating since. What I love about Casey’s videos is that there are no over-produced edits. No performance. Just pure creativity and professional storytelling. More than just inspiration to create, he gives a blueprint on how to actually live. Not what career to pick or what city to live in, but how to move through the world with intention, positivity, and zero tolerance for excuses.

He is a filmmaker, a father, a runner, a creator, and an extremely disciplined individual. If you want to get the most out of life like Casey has, here is how to do it.

1. Do What You Can’t

If Casey were to write an autobiography about his life so far, he would title it “Do What You Can’t.”

Every meaningful thing Casey Neistat has built, someone told him he couldn’t. The YouTube channel. The films. The life. He didn’t argue with them. He just got to work. His view is that haters are losers, and anytime someone doubts you, there is only one thing you can do, and that is prove them wrong.

It is one of his most famous videos and it is a direct challenge to every person who has ever talked themselves out of something because the odds were bad or someone told them it was not realistic.

My entire life has been about taking chances on opportunities that seem crazy to most but feel like destiny to me.

Like when I moved to Montana after college to be a ski bum. “What about building your resume?”

Or when I decided to try out for the USA Bobsled Team. “Aren’t you a little old for that?”

Or when I sold everything I owned to travel the world. “What are you going to do for money?”

Here’s the thing. There will always be reasons not to. You do it anyway.

Screw the naysayers and do what you can't.

2. Commit Your Entire Life To A Dream

The only thing in life that stands between you and everything you want to do is doing it. You either find it or you die trying, and it won’t make a difference either way.

Casey has said it simply, “If I don’t pursue this thing that I love, what is the alternative? Doing something I don’t like because I am supposed to? No thank you.” That reframes the whole risk calculation. The question is not whether pursuing your dream is risky. The question is whether not pursuing it is an option you can actually live with.

Find that thing. The thing you cannot not do. The thing that makes quitting feel more painful than continuing. Then give it everything you have. Not most of what you have. Everything.

For me it is creating. Writing, photographing, recording, sharing it with the world. Nothing makes me happier than exploring and creating. Why would you ever quit something you love?

3. Do More. Work Harder.

It’s tattooed on his arm and is his entire operating philosophy.

The finish line is the same for everyone, but while you are here, what contribution are you making? Life is substantiated by whatever impact you can make while you are alive. Building things and creating things are the ways he feels like he is contributing. So why would he maximize his time doing anything else?

Free time is the enemy of progress, and volume is underrated. Most people stop too early. More reps. More videos. More miles. More attempts. When you think you have done enough, do more.

I firmly believe I am here to inspire others through travel and fitness. It is up to me to share that message through creative work that actually reaches people. That is the mission. And there is always more I can do to push it forward.

4. Never Complain.

It is never okay to complain, and that’s because there is always someone who has it worse than you do. Most of the time, people who complain have nothing to complain about. It really doesn’t matter.

Complaining is outsourcing your problems to other people’s ears. It is the least productive thing a person can do with their energy. If something bothers you, fix it. If you cannot fix it, move on. Either way, the complaining is not helping.

Channel the energy somewhere it actually matters. Bad days are still part of a good life.

Traveling has changed my perspective on this. I have seen factory workers in Thailand on the glassware production line in 100 degree heat. You don’t realize how easy your life is until you travel. These people are not working to get rich. They are working to survive.

5. Run Your Miles

Casey runs every morning. Not when he feels like it. Not when the weather is good or the schedule is clear. Every single morning, before the city wakes up, before the emails come in, before anyone needs anything from him. Every day.

The point is not the running. The point is the non-negotiable daily ritual that belongs only to you. Lifting, yoga, Pilates, walking. Something that creates an identity that cannot be taken away, regardless of what else is happening in your life. The consistency of the habit is the point, not just the habit itself.

For me, running is not about running. It’s about seeing, exploring, and taking a new path. I run to figure it out. To think clearly. To never be limited in life by my physical capabilities. Find your miles and run them.

6. Make It Count

This might be his most famous YouTube video. 33 million views. He traveled all the way around the world in 10 days for a Nike ad about what it means to make it count. It is filled with inspirational quotes and such creative storytelling that it makes you want to get off your couch and go make the day count. Because the truth is, you are not getting this day back.

It is not that we have a short time to live. It is that we waste so much of it. Casey treats every project, every video, every moment as if it matters. Because it does. Urgency is not stress. It is respect for the time you have been given.

Time is the only currency we spend without ever knowing the balance. This is why I packed up everything and left to go build a life I actually want to be living.

The clock is running for all of us. The only question is what you are doing with the time.

Make it count.

Casey is not just an inspiration to me, but to millions.

After 7 years of living in NYC and having mutual friends, we never crossed paths. I did however see him in the stands at the 2022 NYC Marathon when I crossed the finish line and waved.

Living like Casey is not about making YouTube videos, running ten miles a day, or moving to New York City. It is about deciding, every single morning, to close the gap between the life you are living and the one you actually want.

The clock is ticking, go out and do something with it.

And Casey, if you see this somehow, thanks for everything you do.

Thanks for reading.

-Paul Rabic

Every island and city I’ve been to, I’ve somehow ended up at a Latino night. I don’t go looking for it. It finds me. Salsa night in Bangkok. A bachata class in Koh Tao. Latino night in Bali. I keep laughing at myself for ending up in these situations and joke with my friends that I was Brazilian in a past life.

But after last night, I decided to stop and ask myself, “Why is there a Latino night in all of these Asian countries? And why is it always the best night of the week?”

And then it hit me. Culture is meant to be shared.

You have two regions on opposite sides of the world, both deeply rooted in who they are. Asian culture is rich in history and religion. Latin America is built on community and dancing. So when Latin Americans land in Southeast Asia, whether they're staying or just passing through, something clicks. Everyone wants to share what they brought with them.

Last night in Uluwatu, the live band played Latin music for three hours straight. They were local Balinese musicians singing in perfect Spanish and Portuguese. The room was full of people from Brazil, Spain, Australia, Chile, Turkey, the US, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Germany, Slovenia, and so many more countries. All dancing, sweating, laughing. I stood there at some point just watching it and thought, this is remarkable. People from everywhere, sharing one night, through music that started somewhere else entirely.

Latinos have the best energy. Friendly, welcoming, zero judgment. They don’t care if you’re bad at dancing. They just love that you’re trying. Move your shoulders, shake your hips, keep a smile on your face, and you’re going to have the best night of your trip and leave with new friends.

I strongly believe that we are here to connect with each other and the world around us.

Be open to the world around you, seek knowledge through new experiences, and share culture.

-Paul Rabic

For Context

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot. No AI allowed.

So far, people from Thailand, Argentina, Puerto Rico, South Africa, the US, China, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, Laos, and the UK have written in it. 9 different languages. Ages ranging from 19 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next entry.

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Marianne | 24 | Chile

I met Marianne on the Ha Giang Loop in northern Vietnam.

For anyone who doesn’t know, the Ha Giang Loop is a motorbike route through some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in Southeast Asia. You’re packed onto a tour with strangers for a few days and by the end of it they don’t feel like strangers anymore.

Marianne was on the tour with her brother. The two of them had been traveling in Southeast Asia together, and I kept thinking about how rare that is. Siblings who actually choose to spend extended time together on the road, building memories in places most people never get to. Something genuinely cool about that.

They both added to the Journal, but this is what she wrote.

"Always be true to yourself, no matter how many times you fall. You learn from your mistakes, and sometimes from the worst ones, haha.

I am a witness that after the worst storm of all, the sun comes out and it is the best of all.

Allow yourself to feel everything, not just the good. Many times we deprive ourselves of feeling, and that is exactly what makes us human.

Enjoy your long journey."

— Marianne, 24, Chile

After Thoughts

After Marianne wrote in the journal, she said something that has stuck with me. She said that reflecting and sharing life advice isn’t just for the reader. It’s for the writer too. That putting thoughts on paper forces you to connect with yourself and expand your own understanding of what you’ve lived. Writing it down makes it real in a different way.

After the loop ended, I went to Sapa, but then we ended up back in Hanoi at the same time and all hung out again. Great people, and maybe we’ll all cross paths again.

I strongly believe we’re here to connect with others and the world around us, and this book has allowed me to do so on a deeper level. Thanks for reading!

— Paul Rabic

I’ll continue to share one post a week, so make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next heartfelt entry.

One day you will be. And when that day comes, you don’t want any regrets.

We are really good at talking ourselves out of things.

The dream. The trip. The risk. The conversation we keep putting off. We have a reason for all of it. Fear. Money. What people will think. Time. We build entire cases against ourselves without even realizing it.

And then life moves on. And we move with it. And somewhere along the way, the things we wanted quietly stop feeling possible.

I never thought about my 80-year-old self until working with the Team USA sports psychologist in preparation for the Olympic Trials. After one of our first sessions together, my homework was to complete the 80th birthday exercise. It was emotional.

I still think about that version of me all the time. My goal is to get there with no regrets. So here is what my 80-year-old self would say back to the thoughts that try to hold me back.

1. "I'm scared to follow my dreams."

   “Wow. I’m so glad I went after everything I loved.”

Fear is a liar. It takes something unknown and convinces you it will end badly. And most of the time, it doesn’t end badly. Most of the time, it ends in a story you get to tell for the rest of your life.

I was scared to leave New York. I was scared to walk away from a six-figure life that looked great on the outside. I was scared that traveling full-time was something other people did, not me.

I left anyway.

And now I’m sitting in Southeast Asia, writing this, doing work that actually matters to me. I have no idea what 80-year-old me looks like yet. But I know he’s not sitting there wishing he’d stayed in New York City.

He’s glad I was scared and did it anyway.

2. "But what will people think?"

   “People didn’t even care.”

We are all the main characters of our own lives. Which means most people are too busy worrying about what you think of them to spend any real time judging your choices. The audience you’re performing for barely exists.

I have spent a lot of energy throughout my life imagining what people would say about pursuing the Olympics in my 30’s. Starting my own personal training business. And even traveling full-time.

You know what most people said? “That’s so cool, I wish I could do that.”

And then they went back to their lives.

Nobody is watching as closely as you think. Live accordingly.

3. “Why are you always taking pictures?”

   “Thank god I captured those beautiful moments.”

As a photographer, I often balance the fine line of living real life vs living it through a lens. I’ve heard this one from friends, from family, from strangers at dinner who think I should put the camera down. And look, I understand the sentiment. Presence matters. I believe that.

But I also believe in documentation. In building a record of your life that proves you were here, that you saw things, that you were moved by things. That you lived.

I have never once looked back at a memory and said I wish I took less photos. If anything, I always wish I had more.

4. “Life is so busy.”

   “I’m so glad I tried all those things.”

I hate to break it to you, but everyone is busy. There is not a single person who isn’t “busy.” Busy is not a badge of honor and it is not a reason. It is just noise we hide behind when we don’t want to admit we are choosing other things.

And that’s the real truth here. Busy is a choice. We fill our lives with things that feel urgent and convince ourselves we have no room for anything else. The meeting. The email. The obligation we said yes to because we didn’t want to disappoint someone. All urgent. Almost none of it is important.

The things that actually matter are the ones that get squeezed out by busy. The weekend trip you kept pushing back. The hobby you said you’d start when things slowed down. The people you meant to spend more time with.

You make time for what is important. And everything I do, try, and learn, I am happy I filled my time with it.

80-year-old you isn’t going to remember how productive April 2026 was. He or she is going to remember what you tried. What you showed up for. What you said yes to when it would have been easier to say no.

5. “It costs a lot of money”

   “Money came back. That time wouldn’t have.”

This one is real, and I’m not going to pretend it isn’t. Money is a real thing, and financial stress is not fun. I get it.

But here’s what I’ve learned from being out in the world, talking to people who are decades further down the road than me: nobody ever says “I’m so glad I saved that money instead of going.” They say the opposite. Every single time.

Money is renewable. You can make more of it. You can find a way. People do it every day in ways they never expected. Time, though? Time moves in one direction, and it doesn’t negotiate.

The trip you keep putting off because it’s expensive? You’ll find the money. You won’t find the years you spent waiting.

No excuse you have right now is going to matter at 80. Not the fear. Not the money. Not what people think. Not how busy you are.

Go do the thing. Take the trip. Tell her. Quit. Start. Try. You can figure out the details later. What you can’t do is get the time back.

Make him proud.

-Paul Rabic

The Back Story

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot.

So far, people from Thailand, Argentina, Puerto Rico, South Africa, the US, China, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, and the UK have written in it.

8 different languages.

Ages ranging from 19 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next entry.

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Peter | 54 | British, living in the Philippines

I met Peter in Anilao, Philippines, the same weekend I got my Open Water scuba certification.

He was down from Manila for a dive weekend with his wife, a Filipina he had married and built a life with here in the Philippines. Within about five minutes of meeting him, you understood exactly the kind of person he was. Big smile, full attention, and genuinely interested in whatever you were saying.

This is what he wrote.

“Congratulations on passing your Open Water Scuba course! Welcome to the diving community. I hope this becomes a lifelong hobby for you as it is for me. I hope you will have many more epic dives and they bring peace, relaxation and happiness.

If you think you found your ‘sole mate’, then risk everything for the sake of love. Love is the purest of human emotions, and sharing it with a lifelong partner is the surest form of happiness.

Enjoy life to the fullest and never waste a second of it.”

— Peter Wilson, 54, British living in Philippines

After Thoughts

Peter and I dove together that whole first weekend while I was getting certified in Anilao. Then the following weekend, the same group headed to Puerto Galera and did it all over again, so we had a lot of time together sharing stories and talking about life.

My favorite thing that he wrote was “Risk everything for the sake of love.” It’s easy to read that as a romantic cliche. It’s a lot harder to dismiss it when the person writing it is living proof. Peter moved across the world, bet on the right person, and built something from scratch. Today, he runs a network of electric vehicle charging stations across the Philippines and a solar energy operation on top of that.

Two weekends underwater with him, and I appreciate him taking the time to share such amazing words and add to the journal.

These strangers are teaching me more than a textbook ever could, and I hope they do the same for you. Thanks for reading!

— Paul Rabic

In case you missed the previous entries, you can find them here.

I have received such positive feedback about this idea, and many have asked to see what people write. I’ll continue to share one post a week.

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next heartfelt entry.

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Context: Life Advice Journal

I’m solo traveling with a journal, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Whatever comes from within, on the spot.

So far, people from South Africa, the US, China, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, and the UK have written in it.

7 different languages.

Ages ranging from 19 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

Subscribe for free so you don’t miss the next entry.

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Sonny | 73 | Manila, Philippines

I met Sonny in the sauna at a gym in Manila.

And I’ll be honest, I almost didn’t talk to him. I had just finished my workout and was looking forward to sitting in silence with my own thoughts. Within 30 seconds, he came in and started making small talk. My instinct was to keep my answers short and stay in my head. But in the spirit of staying open to the world and life around me, I kept the conversation going. He was such a genuine person, and I’m glad I did.

This is what he wrote.

“Paul, it’s been nice knowing you.

You are OK.

Everything should be in moderation. Choose your company. Be happy and focus on your goals.

Most of all, be kind, happy, and don’t forget, always be healthy.”

— Sonny Grey

After Thoughts

After the sauna, I bought him a smoothie at the gym cafe, and we kept talking. There were things that Sonny said that didn’t make it in the journal that stuck with me.

He said, “Take care of your health, don’t be greedy, and as long as you’re happy, nothing else matters.”

He also said that he has learned more from traveling than from any textbook he has ever read. He has lived in 4 different countries throughout his life, and it was reassuring that this stranger believes in what I’m doing.

I love that at 73, he is living by example and goes to the gym multiple times a week. Our health is really the only thing we have because we can’t enjoy life if our body gives out on us.

I still can’t believe I almost shut down this conversation before it even started, but I’m glad I didn’t, and I’m grateful Sonny took the time to leave a piece of him in the journal.

I hope that these pages find you at the right time, and if one line changes how you live, then that is what it’s all about.

Thanks for reading!

— Paul Rabic

Missed Entry 01? Catch up on it here.

About This Journal

With the rise of AI and social media, real human connection is becoming harder to find. I’m out in the world trying to change that, one conversation at a time.

I carry a journal everywhere I go, and I ask everyone I connect with to write a piece of life advice in it. No prompts, no guidelines. Just whatever comes from within, on the spot. Unintentionally, one of my favorite parts about this project is that I’m forcing people to think and write without AI.

So far, people from South Africa, the US, China, Canada, Vietnam, Germany, Chile, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Brazil, Colombia, and the UK have written in it. 7 different languages. Ages ranging from 19 to 73.

This is the coolest souvenir I’ll ever collect, and I want to share it with you.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.

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Scott | 54 | Alberta, Canada

I met Scott and his wife in Ninh Binh, Vietnam. We were staying at the same hotel. What started as polite breakfast small talk turned into multiple meals shared, exchanging travel stories from places around the world.

I mean this in the sincerest way possible, Scott and his wife are complete burnerssss mannnnn. The kind of people who are more relaxed, more open, and more unapologetically free than anyone else in the room.

This is what he wrote.

"I don't know much but... Control Alt Delete: Forget what you've been taught and seek knowledge through new experiences.

Seek Discomfort — put yourself in vulnerable situations + reap the rewards.

Embrace the unknown — take night walks.

One life.

Yoda said it best.

And most importantly.... Get FUQUORED!!!”

— Scott, 54, Alberta

After Thoughts

I actually shared this entry on my Instagram story about two weeks after it was written because the journal had become such a big hit on that platform. About 4 hours later, I was walking down Beer Street in Hanoi, and all I heard was… “Hey! Hey! Hey! Get fuquored man!”

I turned around and could not believe my eyes. It was the Canadian couple from Ninh Binh.

I didn’t have a photo with them before that moment, but now I’ll always have this selfie to remember them by, along with what they wrote. Life is crazy sometimes.

Scott’s entry has been one of my favorites. It’s short. It’s real. And the fact that he’s traveling Southeast Asia in his 50s is proof that he’s taking his own advice.

“Yoda said it best” will forever be a mystery. If I had to guess, it’s a reference to “Do or do not, there is no try” but I’ll never know for sure. Honestly, the mystery feels right.

For those asking… “fuquored” is a very Canadian way of saying get fucked up, or as I like to interpret it, loosen up and enjoy the ride. The perfect closing note, whether he realized it or not.

I’m grateful he took the time to write in my journal, and I’m happy to pass on his wisdom.

My hope is that these pages find you at the right time, and if one line changes how you live, then that is everything. Thanks for reading!

What’s the one thing you’d unlearn if you could? Drop it in the comments.

-Paul Rabic

He was in his early 70s.

I met this man in November at an airport café in Porto. He had spent the last two months there, which explained why he was so relieved when I spoke English. He had accidentally cut in front of me in line, immediately apologized, and I told him not to worry. I wasn’t in a rush.

That small moment turned into one of the more honest conversations I’ve had with a stranger.

I asked if he’d been in Porto for work or pleasure.

“I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life,” he said.

I jokingly replied, “Aren’t we all,” and he said, “No, I’m serious. Our lives are always changing, and when they do, we have to figure it out all over again.” Student, young professional, parent, grandparent, etc. Life is always changing, and we’re always starting over.

I think most of us assume the elderly have it figured out. That they’ve already lived their lives and have some type of wisdom and clarity that the rest of us are still chasing.

But the truth is, they’re experiencing things for the first time too.

It was refreshing to see this old man traveling solo. Sitting with the same uncertainty the rest of us carry.

Fast forward a few months to March, and I was lying on the beach at Cloud 9 in Siargao. Ray, a 28-year-old Filipino whom I met in Siargao, asked me, “What were you doing at 28 years old?”

It’s one of my favorite questions anyone has asked me in a long time. Ray explained he likes to ask people older than him what they were doing at his age. After I answered, I asked if he was trying to figure his life out.

“Exactly,” he said, with a light chuckle.

Two different generations with the same quiet search.

It felt like the universe was repeating a lesson for me. Both Ray and the old man reminded me of myself. I’m also trying to figure out what to do with my life, but maybe this was the reminder I needed to stop asking what I want and start asking who I am right now.

What if figuring it out is just being present? Happy with where you are right now and setting intentions every day with how you want your life to unfold.

Not worried about the past or the future, and only focused on the now. The past brings feelings of regret or nostalgia. The future brings feelings of stress or anxiety.

The present brings peace and if you dont think your life is pretty good right now, I will prove to you that there is always something to be happy about.

If I offered you 10 million dollars, but the catch was that you didn't wake up tomorrow, the answer would most definitely be no. That means waking up tomorrow is worth more than 10 million dollars. Wake up with a smile and stop trying to have everything figured out.

I don't think we ever will. What makes us happy today might not make us happy ten years from now. It changes with us as our lives change.

So no matter how old you are, you will always be “figuring it out.”

Just be present and enjoy the journey.

-Paul Rabic

If you’re new here, I write about travel, growth, and the philosophy of living fully. I call it Becoming in Motion. Welcome.

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Thanks for being here.

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-Paul Rabic

If you’re new here, I’m Paul. I left a stable life in New York City to seek knowledge through new experiences. On this Substack, I write about travel, growth, and the philosophy of living fully. I call it Becoming in Motion. Welcome.

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Anthony Bourdain was not just a chef or a TV host. He was something rarer. A person who understood that travel, done right, is an act of radical humility. He spent decades crossing the world with a film crew, but what he was really doing was sitting down with strangers, eating their food, and taking their stories seriously. He once sat in a plastic chair at a roadside stall in Hanoi, eating pho with Barack Obama, and it felt more cinematic than any Michelin-starred dinner. Because the point was never the room, it was the presence.

He believed a bowl of noodles in a back alley told you more about a culture than any museum ever could. He was restless, honest, deeply curious, and completely allergic to anything that felt performative or safe.

He died in 2018 and left behind something worth studying.

This is not a travel guide. It is closer to a philosophy. And it starts with unlearning almost everything the travel industry has told you.

1. Eat where the locals eat. Not where the tourists are sent.

Bourdain would have no interest in the latest TikTok sensation. He wanted the place with the plastic stools and the handwritten menu. That is where the real food is. Tourist-facing restaurants are in the business of comfort and familiarity. Local spots are in the business of feeding the people who actually live there. Order things you cannot pronounce and let the waiter decide if they offer.

I had Bun Cha in Ninh Binh for three dollars in what might have been the dirtiest restaurant I have ever walked into. It was the best meal in Vietnam. I was the only foreigner in the room, and I was stared at from the moment I sat down, but they welcomed me in.

2. Be present. Listening is just as important as being heard.

Bourdain was one of the greatest listeners on television. He asked questions and then actually waited for the answer. He let silences exist. He did not rush to his next point. He understood that every person he sat across from had a story he could not predict, and he was genuinely interested in finding out what it was.

Being present is a skill that most of us are actively losing. But it is the core of everything Bourdain did well. Put the phone away. The real world is in front of you.

I carry a small journal everywhere I go, and I have been asking everyone I connect with for one piece of life advice. It has become one of the most meaningful things I have ever done. That journal is full of wisdom from people of every background, language, and walk of life. It is worth more than anything I have bought on any trip, and I cannot wait to continue to fill it.

3. Don’t plan too much. The detour is the destination.

Bourdain went to places most people were afraid to visit. He ate things that made his producers nervous. He walked into situations without a clear plan and trusted that something worth experiencing was waiting on the other side of the discomfort. He was right, consistently.

Most travelers treat uncertainty like a problem to be solved. Bourdain treated it like the whole point. When the plan breaks down, when you are lost, when you end up somewhere completely unintended, that is not a failure of preparation. That is the trip beginning to tell you something. The detour is not an obstacle to the destination. In most cases, the detour is the destination.

I am deeply type A, and not having everything mapped out was genuinely hard at first. But the more I travel this way, the easier it becomes. I now fly into cities with nothing booked. Most nights, I do not know where I am sleeping the next day. So far, it has always worked out, and usually for the better.

4. The perfect meal is not about the price. It’s about the moment.

Bourdain ate at three-star restaurants, and he ate at plastic folding tables under street lights, and he was honest about which ones he remembered more. It was rarely the expensive ones.

This is not an argument for cheap food. It is an argument against the idea that a higher bill guarantees a better experience. What makes a meal unforgettable is almost never what is on the plate. It is the hour, the company, the city noise bleeding in through an open door, the fact that you did not plan to be there at all. It is being hungry in the right place at the right time, with nowhere else to be.

I’ve been traveling for almost 2 months now and I still havent made a single reservation yet.

5. Put the phone down. Ask a stranger for recommendations

The most useful travel app Bourdain ever used was a conversation. He would walk into a city and ask the cab driver, the bartender, the woman running the fruit stand, “Where do you actually eat? Where would you take your family on a Sunday?” That question, asked genuinely and listened to fully, will unlock a city faster than any algorithm.

Talk with strangers. Share a meal with someone whose name you just learned. Bourdain understood that the best travel stories do not begin with a landmark. They begin with a person. And you cannot find that person if you are staring at your screen.

6. Take the longer route. Pick the window seat.

There is a slower version of every journey, and it is almost always the better one. The train instead of the plane. The walk instead of the cab. The road that goes through the town instead of around it. Bourdain never seemed to be in a hurry to arrive, because he understood that the space between places is where you actually absorb them.

Pick the window seat every single time. Watch the landscape change. Notice what the light does at different hours. The world does not reveal itself to people who are trying to skip ahead.

This is the first time in my life I have traveled longer than two weeks at a time, and I finally understand what slow travel actually means. You cannot see a place properly in less time than that. You do not have to travel full-time, but if you never slow down long enough to let a place settle into you, you will always feel like you only skimmed the surface.

7. Don’t be too pretentious to take the camera and journal daily.

Bourdain kept notebooks. He wrote obsessively. He understood that memory is unreliable and that the act of documenting a moment forces you to see it more clearly. You do not need a professional setup or a massive following to justify capturing your experience. A daily journal is raw emotion. The photograph is something to look back on and smile.

I never journaled back in NYC, but making it part of my daily routine while traveling has been one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever given myself.

Also, there is nothing to be embarrassed about in wanting to remember something beautiful. Take the picture. Fill the notebook. You will be grateful for it in ways you cannot predict right now.

8. The best souvenir is the story you cannot stop telling.

Not the magnet. Not the tote bag. Not the Instagram post that already feels distant two weeks after you posted it. The real souvenir is the story that comes out of you at dinner six months later, unprompted, because something in the conversation opened a door.

This year alone, I have sumo-wrestled in Japan, surfed in Costa Rica, motorbiked through Vietnam, and scuba-dived in the Philippines. One bucket list item after another, and I’m just getting started. Nothing I have ever bought has made me feel the way new experiences have. Those are the things worth chasing.

Traveling like Bourdain is not really about where you go. It is about how you see and move.

It is about showing up without expectations, eating without hesitation, listening without agenda, and staying open to the possibility that the place you are standing in has something to teach you that you did not know you needed.

He said it better than I ever could:

“It seems that the more places I see, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I still have to go, how much more there is to learn. Maybe that’s enlightenment enough, to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom, at least for me, means realizing how small I am and unwise and how far I have yet to go.”

Anthony Bourdain (Unknown Parts, Peru, 2013)

The world is not waiting to be conquered.

It is waiting to teach you something, if you are open enough to receive it. One meal, one stranger, one wrong turn at a time.

Get out there and live now.

-Paul Rabic

It is not a language made of grammar or vocabulary. It is a language made of perspective. It is the way people interpret their past, explain their present, and imagine their future. It quietly shapes how someone perceives the world, how they interpret opportunity and failure, and what they believe is possible for their life.

It is the language of optimism.

At the center of Becoming in Motion are two ideas that everything eventually comes back to: optimism and exploration.

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Optimism is about how we interpret our experiences. It is the lens through which we see our lives unfolding.

Exploration is about how we move through the world. It is the places we go, the risks we take, and the experiences that shape who we become.

This post is about that first pillar.

This pillar shows up in the voice inside your head, how you see the world, your ability to practice gratitude, the energy you bring into a room, the possibilities you speak into existence, and the kindness you show others.

Once you start paying attention to these things, you begin to notice how the language of optimism shapes your life for the better.

The Voice in Your Head

The language of optimism begins with the way you speak to yourself.

On average, humans have between 60,000 and 80,000 thoughts per day, and a lot of them repeat. That means the internal conversation you have with yourself is not occasional. It is constant.

Most people are far harsher with themselves than they would ever be with someone they care about. We tell ourselves that we are too late, too inexperienced, too behind, or simply not good enough. We convince ourselves that certain opportunities belong to other people, but not to us.

Over time, those thoughts become convincing. We talk ourselves out of ideas, risks, and possibilities before they ever have the chance to exist.

The language of optimism interrupts that pattern. Instead of asking what might go wrong, it asks a different question.

Why not me?

Working with the Team USA sports psychologist while pursuing the Olympics reinforced how powerful this internal dialogue really is. At the highest levels of performance, athletes train their thoughts the same way they train their bodies. They learn to replace doubt with belief and hesitation with commitment.

One lesson stuck with me. If someone attacked you on the street, you would fight back immediately. But when your mind attacks itself with pessimistic thoughts, most just accept it.

Why not fight back?

You can combat your internal thoughts the same way you would an external threat.

Negative thoughts still appear, but I challenge them before they have the chance to grow. Like any skill, it takes practice.

How You See the World

The world begins and ends in your own mind.

Two people can experience the same situation and walk away with completely different conclusions.

One person sees a closed door and assumes the opportunity is gone. The other person sees a different path and begins looking for another way forward. One person experiences failure and decides they are not capable. The other person sees the same experience as feedback and adjusts their approach. One person gets cut off by a car and lets it ruin their entire day. The other person moves on without thinking about it twice.

The difference between those two perspectives is not intelligence or talent. It is interpretation.

The language of optimism allows you to interpret events in a way that keeps possibility alive. It does not guarantee success, but it keeps you moving in a direction where success is still possible.

The same world exists for everyone, but how we perceive it shapes the life we experience.

A few weeks ago, on a connecting flight between Seoul, South Korea and Da Nang, Vietnam, I was held at the gate with three strangers while the airline staff double-checked our travel visas before boarding.

We stood there for twenty minutes. At one point, it was only two minutes before the plane’s scheduled departure time.

During the entire wait, one of the guys was pacing in circles, slamming his hands on the table, and cursing at the staff. He looked like his head was about to explode. I just stood there patiently.

The staff was clearly doing their job. The plane obviously wasn’t going to leave without the passengers standing at the gate. Getting angry wouldn’t change anything. And that’s exactly what happened.

A few minutes later, we boarded the plane, and I fell asleep before we even took off. There was no reason to let something completely outside of my control ruin the moment.

The situation is the same for everyone, but the way people interpret it is completely different.

The Power of Gratitude

Optimism is not just about ambition or belief. It is also about appreciation.

What’s funny is I wrote a college research paper called The Power of Gratitude 12 years ago. My teacher told me it wasn’t a legitimate topic, but I wrote about it anyway. I ended up getting a B- on the paper, and when I locate it on my external hard drive, I’ll link it here. Writing about it now is really a full-circle moment.

The language of optimism includes gratitude for the past, awareness of the present, and optimism about the future. It is an appreciation for the small things most people overlook. Instead of constantly chasing more, it is the ability to recognize what is already enough.

Travel has reinforced this idea for me again and again.

The happiest people I have met are not the ones with the most.

They are the ones with the most perspective.

I have seen kids in Vietnam playing in the street with nothing more than whatever they could find around them, laughing as if they had everything they needed. Moments like that have a way of putting life into perspective.

The common thread among of the happiest people is not wealth or status. It is perspective.

When gratitude becomes part of the language you speak, your attention naturally shifts toward what is working instead of what is missing. It does not mean ignoring problems or pretending life is perfect. It simply means recognizing that life is often richer than we give it credit for.

Gratitude trains your mind to notice what is already good.

You’ve most likely heard of the Red Car Theory, but it is a psychological concept stating that once you focus on the positive, your brain starts to highlight the good everywhere. Similar to noticing red cars more often when you intend to buy one. It emphasizes that good things are abundant but go unnoticed until you actively look for them.

Energy Is Contagious

The language of optimism is not only internal. It shows up in the energy you bring into the world.

The way you show up in conversations, the tone of your voice, and the attitude you carry into a room all create an atmosphere around you. People feel it.

Energy spreads.

Energy may actually be the most attractive human trait. Not looks, wealth, or status. Energy.

Walk into a room with genuine enthusiasm, curiosity, and interest and you become a magnet for the highest quality people.

Energy is contagious. So make sure it’s positive. Spread the kind you would want to catch.

Looking back, the first reel I ever had go viral said something simple: energy is contagious, so make sure it is positive. It reached over 5.4 million views in 2021 before reels were even really a thing.

At the time, I did not fully realize it, but that idea had already been shaping how I lived for years.

Optimism is something people can feel long before you explain it. Your energy communicates your perspective before your words ever do.

Speaking Possibility Into Existence

There is also an element of manifestation within the language of optimism.

The only people who dismiss manifestation are the ones who have never given it a chance. But I promise you it’s real, and science shows it. One of my favorite accounts preaches it, Emily McDonald. She is a neuroscientist, content creator, and mindset coach known for merging neuroscience with spirituality to help people rewire their brains.

Manifestation is the clear indication and tangible materialization of something, such as an idea or desired outcome. It involves bringing desires into reality through focused intention, visualization, and action.

The beliefs you repeat and the words you use begin to shape what you notice in the world around you. When you consistently speak about possibility, growth, and opportunity, your mind begins searching for those things.

Doors that once felt invisible suddenly appear.

The most interesting lives begin with beliefs that look unrealistic to most. People might call it delusional thinking, but to me, it is delusional optimism.

Being delusionally optimistic means believing something meaningful could happen if you try.

I have spoken many things into existence in my own life. Pursuing Olympic bobsled. Living in the mountains in Montana. Moving to New York City. Traveling the world full-time.

Whatever it is you want out of life, write it down. Tell your friends, family, and even yourself.

Your words have power.

Choose them wisely.

Be Kind

The language of optimism also extends beyond how you speak to yourself.

It includes how you speak to others.

Words have the ability to lift people up or quietly limit what they believe is possible. Encouragement, kindness, and belief create an environment where people feel supported and capable.

The opposite does the reverse.

Optimism chooses the first path.

Kindness is part of the language.

Life is not just about you. I truly believe we are here to connect with the people and the world around us.

The effect you have on others is the most powerful currency there is.

People will forget what you did, but they will never forget the way you make them feel.

The language you use with others can expand their world or shrink it.

Choose the language that expands it.

The language of optimism is not just a personal mindset. It becomes a way of moving through the world. It shapes how you see opportunities, how you treat people, and how you interpret the experiences that make up your life.

The language you speak shapes the life you experience.

The more you practice speaking it, the more your life starts to change for the better.

Learn the language of optimism, and life begins to talk to you differently.

-Paul Rabic

“The art of not being ready but doing it anyway will take you far.”

I wrote that in my journal at the airport, getting ready to board my first one-way flight ever.

I always dreamed of traveling the world indefinitely. One-way tickets. Slow. Routine in each destination. But I never felt ready or that the time was right.

Then it finally hit me. Ready is an action, not a feeling. So instead of waiting to feel ready, I stopped treating it like a dream and made it a decision. Life is too short to wait for a feeling that might never come.

I am 31 years old, and I built a life most people would be grateful to have.

I made over six figures year after year. I had structure. Freedom. A luxury apartment. Best friends within walking distance. Purpose. Community. Clear direction.

I am not saying this to brag. I am saying it to show you how difficult it was to leave.

I loved my New York City life and I still left it.

What I’m doing is by no means easy and the real ones in my life get it.

This could end up being the stupidest decision I have ever made. Or it could be the best. Only time will tell.

But it is official.

I moved out of New York. I sold everything I have and packed a few clothes into a suitcase that I’m now living out of it.

New York is the longest I have ever lived in one place. I moved there in 2019. Growing up, it was the last place I ever wanted to live. Somehow it became home.

It is where I took the biggest bet on myself. I left corporate America and went fully self-employed. I chased international sport. I built businesses, deep friendships, and a version of myself that I am proud of.

I did not just fall in love with New York City. I fell in love with who I became there. That is what made leaving so hard. I am not leaving because I am unhappy. I am leaving because I would rather face uncertainty now than regret later.

My biggest fear is not heights or snakes. It is being 80 years old and realizing I never had the courage to pursue what I felt called to do.

We work too hard for a life that can end at any time. I learned that the hard way. More on that another day.

But I am choosing adventure over certainty. Growth over comfort. Experience over routine. No schedule. No deadline. No blueprint. Just space to see who I become. Hence the page name, Becoming in Motion.

Over the years I’ve had a lot of conversations with friends who tell me that what I do inspires them and they ask for advice on their goals.

I often tell them that I am fully convinced most successful people are not special, unique, or insanely talented.

They just acted before they could talk themselves out of it. They moved before the doubt had time to build a case. They said yes before fear could say no. Because inspiration has a shelf life.

There is a brief moment when an idea feels electric. When your body leans forward instead of backward. If you act in that window, momentum carries you. If you wait, doubt moves in. The longer you sit with an idea, the more your brain tries to protect you from it.

So I have learned to move while the idea is still warm. Do not overthink. Do not wait for perfect clarity. Act before doubt settles in. Be impatient for what you want your life to be. When I’m excited or inspired about something, there’s no way I’m delaying. Call it reckless or underthinking but it’s paid off more than I can count.

When I observe my own successes and analyze why things have worked out, I can tell you that it wasn’t because of any skills or knowledge I’ve had. It was because every time I had an idea, I would go all in on it without hesitation. Moving to Montana, New York City, self employment, pursuing the Olympics, etc.

If there is something you have been sitting on, do one small thing today. Send the email. Register the domain. Book the call. Tell someone you are doing it. You do not need to overhaul your life overnight. You just need to create movement.

Don’t let action be the only thing separating you from those that are living the life you dream of. That one small step could be the one tiny thing that leads to great things later on.

What are you waiting for?

You might not feel ready. But ready rarely comes first.

Action does. So this is me taking action.

Asia, here I come.

-Paul Rabic

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Your first trip to Tokyo will only leave you wanting more.

This was a boys’ ski trip to Japan that kicked off in Tokyo. We gave ourselves 4 days on the front end of the trip and 2 days on the back end after skiing in Hakuba. This was just enough time to see a lot, but we still only scratched the surface. I couldn’t imagine having fewer than 5 days in Tokyo.

Being photographers, all we really wanted was to get lost in the streets of Tokyo. No plan. No perfect itinerary. Just moments.

Anthony Bourdain once said that going to Tokyo for the first time is like taking LSD for the first time.

What he meant wasn’t chaos but expansion. It’s the feeling of seeing something so precise, so intentional, so deeply cultural, that it forces you to rethink what a city can be.

Tokyo doesn’t overwhelm you the way Times Square overwhelms you. It rewires you quietly.

You start wondering, “What do I do now knowing that this exists?”

If you’re new here, I’m Paul.

I left a stable life in New York City to seek knowledge through new experiences. On this Substack, I write about travel, growth, and the philosophy of living fully. I call it Becoming in Motion.

Welcome.

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How This Tokyo Itinerary Works

This matches what we actually did, not a theoretical plan.

Dates: Dec 27, 2026 – Jan 10, 2026

This itinerary is written as:

• Night 1 - Arrival

• Day 1–3 - Full Tokyo Days

• Day 12–14 - Back in Tokyo

Use this as a real example, not a checklist.

Night 1: Arrival → Shinjuku

We landed late the first night because of a flight delay, so we wasted no time. Dropped the bags at our Airbnb in Shibuya and went straight to Shinjuku.

We squeezed into tiny six-seat restaurants in Omoide Yokocho (Memory Lane), eating skewers, sushi, and dumplings. No reservations. No plan. Just smoke in the air and beer in hand.

Then Golden Gai. Bars the size of closets. Karaoke with strangers. Shoulder-to-shoulder with people we’d never met and would never see again.

We called it a night around 1 AM.

It didn’t count as a full day.

But it set the tone.

Day 1: Running Tokyo → Shibuya → Tsukiji → Ramen

Early Morning Run (Highlight of the Trip)

I’m not a runner.

But running 4 slow miles through Tokyo before the city woke up was a high I didn’t expect.

• Empty Shibuya Crossing

• Quiet side streets

• The city felt like it belonged to us

Stopped for coffee and pastries at Little Nap Coffee.

We met other runners from Australia, who actually live in Tokyo. One of them opened a pizza restaurant, but didn’t have time to check it out.

Conveyor Belt Sushi – Kura Sushi

We did conveyor belt sushi the right way.

• 72 plates = $11 per person (4 people)

Easy ordering. High quality. Zero stress. This is a must for first-timers.

Matcha Break

Stopped at After All Coffee. Possibly the best matcha I’ve ever had.

Tsukiji Fish Market

We wandered Tsukiji Fish Market and ate at all the food stands. Wagyu skewers, sushi, gyozas, mochi, and anything else that was calling our name. This is a must do activity when in Tokyo.

Dinner – Ichiran Ramen

Late dinner at Ichiran. They have a New York City location that I obsessed with so it was fun to eat it in its origin city. Tasted the exact same but was like $10 compared to $30 in NYC. Ichiran is solo booths, and ordering tickets.

They’re scattered all over the city and it’s busy for a reason. 10 out of 10.

Night Cap + Recovery

Cocktails at SG Club.

Foot massages after.

Called it a night.

Day 2: Shrines, Temples, & Rituals

We just kept powering through the jet lag. We never got hit that hard while there because I think our excitement powered us through it all. We did however, wake up pretty early naturall,y so once again we started the day early.

Meiji Jingu

Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken.

It’s set inside a forest in the middle of the city, and it feels worlds away from Tokyo’s chaos.

We saw ceremonies happening and moved slowly through the park/forest/shrine.

This was a short walk from the Airbnb, so it was easy to hit before getting geared up for the day out.

Asakusa + Senso-ji

After breakfast, we took off to Asakua. I think I can speak for everyone when I say this was one of our favorite days in Tokyo.

Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple.

We took part in all of the rituals:

• Purification rituals

• Incense

• Walking Nakamise Street

I could see how some people might feel it has become too commercialized for tourists and maybe not as authentic. But never experiencing anything like that before, I thought it was so cool and fun to learn about.

Hole-in-the-Wall Lunch

One of those places you can’t find again. Six seats. No English. Incredible food.

Imperial Palace (Closed)

We tried to visit, but it was closed for the holidays. If you’re visiting in late December, a lot of things close around New Year’s. Just something to keep in mind.

Tokyo Tower

After exploring more of Asakusa, we took a train over to the Tokyo Tower. We didn’t really do anything in this area outside of taking photos. Worth checking out the area just to see the iconic tower.

Day 3: New Year’s Eve Energy

We packed in so much in the first two days there. We were on a mission to see every neighborhood and explore as much as possible. Day 3 consisted of more conveyor belt sushi. Animal cafes in Harajuku. And shopping.

Tokyo during New Year’s Eve was tough, honestly. Not a lot of things were open, and extra crowded. I wouldn’t recommend going to Tokyo for New Years but it’s not bad. If you want an insane New Year’s trip, go to Brazil.

New Year’s Dinner

We joined a group of 13 from New York that we loosely knew. It was a pre-fixed menu, and honestly, my least favorite of the trip. Ironically the most expensive too, but that’s just new years.

After dinner, we rang in the New Year at Ce La Vi. The other big group went to Womb. Ce La Vi was fun because we made it fun. Nothing special about that place and not a Tokyo must-see, but that’s just my opinion. I think most clubs, no matter where you are, look the same. We heard that Womb was insane from the other group if you want a big night out.

Tokyo does both extremes well.

Day 4: Travel Day → Kyoto

We booked a 1 PM Shinkansen train to Kyoto and had more than enough time to get to the train station, but we still managed to miss it.

Not because we were hungover or because of New Years but because we didn’t realize how long it would take for us to get to the train station and find the correct train.

Learn from our mistake and get there SUPER early. We were literally just sitting around scrolling cause we thought the Shinkansen was in Shinjuku… it’s not.

The trains are really easy to figure out but the stations are massive so just give yourself time to figure out where to go. There is no reason to rush. We were sprinting through the train station just to miss it by a few minutes. Luckily even with our pre paid tickets we were able to just get on the next train with no extra charge.

The only thing was we had to give up our assigned seats and lost those. Not the end of the world and it was our fault to begin with.

👉 Kyoto Guide linked here (coming soon)

Day 12: Return to Tokyo

Back in Tokyo after Hakuba, but this time we stayed in Shinjuku.

👉 Hakuba Guide linked here (coming soon)

Arriving back in Tokyo, it oddly felt like home. There is something so comforting about Tokyo, especially already having a lay of the land.

We grabbed some grub near the Airbnb and had a chill night in. If you read my “Know Before You Go” post, then you already know the best thing to do before your trip is save a bunch of places on Google Maps so when you’re walking around, you can just pop into whatever looks good.

If you haven’t checked that post out yet, do so for your upcoming trip. It’s very helpful and everything I wish I knew before going to Tokyo.

Here are some specific recs worth saving even if you don’t get the chance to check them all out. And here is my full saved list for Japan. Save it and thank me later.

Udon Shin — favorite udon

Naraseiman — favorite shoyu ramen

Fuunji — favorite tsukeman (tied with the below)

Tsukemen Gonokami Seisakusho - In Shinjuku get the shrimp tomato tsukeman

Tatsuya Shinjuku — favorite oyakodon (good hole in the wall for lunch in shinjuku

Kameya Shinjuku Branch — favorite unfussy soba spot (while drinking — good to go when you’re drinking at bars in Omoide Yokocho (piss alley))

Shabushabu yamawarau Omotesando — great personal size sukiyaki or shabu shabu (good spot for lunch when shopping in Harajuku / Omotesando)

Fujiki Nakameguro — great tonkatsu (good for lunch when shopping or strolling through Nakameguro—which is essential for cherry blossom season)

Butagumi — really good higher end tonkatsu spot

Itasoba Kaoriya Ebisu — great soba spot in a traditional neighborhood (get the goma soba (soba with sesame dipping sauce) if you go and Ebisu yokocho to drink in traditional back alleys if you’re around here)

Grandfather’s — best bar in Japan (underground dimly lit listening bar. Likely filled with cigarette smoke but the vibes are amazing. The bartender plays vinyl records and will only play your suggestion if he likes it)

Jomon Roppongi — great kushiyaki restaurant for skewers of all kinds

Savoy — great Neapolitan pizza (tough to get a spot inside)

Day 13: Full Tokyo Day

Today, January 9th, was actually my 31st birthday. What a privilege it is to celebrate another year of life with my best friends in one of the world’s greatest cities. I’m truly very lucky and grateful for it all.

We did conveyor belt sushi again at Kura because we loved it that much. One thing I haven't mentioned in this exact itinerary is when I say we got stuff from 711 every day, we legitimately did. Family Mart, Lawson, and 711 were part of every single day, sometimes multiple times a day.

I bought a used film camera in Shinjuku as a birthday present to myself. If you’re into cameras, Tokyo is the place to buy one.

Now, at night, we went to the Shinjuku Sumo Club.

We wanted to go to a legit Sumo match but we were there outside official Sumo season. If that is a must for your time in Tokyo, make sure to look up what time of the year to go ahead of time. Because that wasnt an option for us, this was a close second.

They educate you on the sport of sumo, and the best part of it all was that they took volunteers to get in the ring. Being a bobsledder, I’m built to push. I think he took it easy on me,e but ultimately I did win and push him out of the ring. I have to give him credit, though; he was SOLID.

The boys put a candle in a 711 chicken tender and sang me happy birthday on the street. Out of all the birthdays, this was easily my favorite one yet.

After the Sumo experience, we stumbled upon our favorite dinner of the entire trip by accident. Horumon, is a 6-seat wagyu omakase bar. One man is working behind the counter, and he is 100% the owner. He didn’t speak a lick of English but he was so welcoming and so excited to serve us and share his work with us. There were just enough seats for us all, and it was meant to be.

I dream about the soup we got and the food we were served. It was all around a very wholesome experience. Culture is meant to be shared, and he was excited to share it with us. If you can, go check this place out.

Day 14: Fly Home

We flew out at night. Tired. Full. Grateful. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. We strolled around and just took in the feeling of the Tokyo streets one last time.

Nothing lasts forever except the way Tokyo makes you feels.

Final Tokyo Takeaway

Tokyo rewards curiosity.

Wake up early. Stay out late.

Eat where there’s space. Walk without a plan.

It’s overwhelming until it isn’t.

Then it becomes one of the most energizing cities on earth.

But this is the part that matters.

Tokyo will change you if you let it.

Go in with an open mind and explore.

And if you’re planning a trip, check out → Tokyo: Know Before You Go

-Paul Rabic