3 Ways To Transform Any Obstacle Into An Opportunity

Last month, I was about to catch a flight at the Guatemala City airport when I noticed that my passport and US permanent residency card was missing. As you can imagine, losing all my travel documents in a foreign country during a work trip (and to rub salt in the wound, on the same day…

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Words Beyond Translation: Ichi-go Ichi-e

A Japanese Encounter in Nepal Think of all the people you meet in your lifetime. What if you recognized each of those encounters as irreplicable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and gave them your utmost presence and attention? Literally translated into ichi (one) go (time) ichi (one) e (meeting/encounter), ichi-go ichi-e is an old Japanese proverb that means…

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Words Beyond Translation: Hacerle Ganas

Antigua, Guatemala The expression “hacerle ganas” in Spanish captures a sentiment of strength and perseverance that I’ve consistently found present in Latin American cultures: specifically, what it means to keep moving forward towards a goal, even when faced with adversity. Hacerle ganas roughly means “to create the desire.” It is rooted in the common idiomatic…

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Words Beyond Translation: Retrouvailles

When I think of a reunion, I imagine two long-lost lovers running towards one another, limbs akimbo as fireworks play in the background. But in reality, encounters between loved ones are much simpler and meaningful than that. Rooted in the word “retrouver,” which literally means “to find something again,” the French word retrouvailles is a…

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Words Beyond Translation: Vale la Pena

Lazio, Italy Vale la pena is an Italian expression that has a direct translation but, as a native Italian speaker, I can tell you that it’s not quite the same. Vale la pena means “it’s worth it,” yet there is a keyword in the Italian phrase that is lost in the English version: pena, punishment. In Italian,…

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Three Scuba Diving Habits That Helped Me Build My Business

Celinne_Da_Costa

As an entrepreneur building my online business while traveling the world full-time, I constantly have to find creative ways to stay focused and productive on the road. Whereas once upon a time I used to learn my working habits from the office, nowadays my most valuable business lessons come from my travel experiences, speaking with…

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What Travel Taught Me About Love

Celinne_Da_Costa

One year ago, I sat down to write an article about love. After countless hours spent blankly staring at a computer screen, I accepted the reality of why I couldn’t write the piece: I didn’t know enough about love outside of my own personal experience. So, I decided to do the next best thing. Over…

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