📨 Friday Report XXIV — 6.18.21

Quote of the week:

“I always come back.”​

​Nipsey on what he does when he’s feeling overwhelmed as a creator. I touched on this on IGTV last week — I’m big on picking goals up and putting them down. Because I know that I always come back.​

Happy Friday beautiful humans!

I feel in my soul right now that a new dream is coming and I’m excited for the ride. Here’s a bit of backstory:

In 2015 I quit the best job I’ve ever had at Living Social (#LSForever) to attend a coding bootcamp in Barcelona. Easily one of the greatest summers of my life.

After the bootcamp was done I very foolishly decided to take a role as Digital Marketing Director for a startup in Boston because that’s where I was born and I wanted to experience living there.

I’m grateful nonetheless because after suffering from anxiety attacks in closets at work, I realized that life wasn’t for me. I quit my job (while on vacation in Belize) and moved to Koh Phangan, Thailand to manage a yoga studio.

I eventually quit that job too because they were legit psycho. I moved on to Chiang Mai, Thailand, the digital nomad capital of the world at the time and within 2 weeks had 2 remote gigs and 2 in-person gigs teaching English. #nogames

By the end of that year (2016), I was a full on digital nomad hopping across continents with my backpacks, my yoga mat and my MacBook Pro.

My dedication to traveling efficiently got me my dream job as an international trip leader and I got paid to travel to a different country each month. This remains one of my greatest accomplishments to date.

(The company ran out of money though so I became unemployed in Floripa, Brazil; got hired by a coworking/coliving space in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and spent the majority of 2018 revamping their business operations. I crushed it and took their monthly occupancy rate from 6% to 100% in just a few months and by the time I left, I had secured over $50K in projected revenue. After little to no recognition and being denied a bonus, that’s when I knew I was done working for other people.)

In 2019 I moved back to Providence and that beat Boston as the worst decision I’ve ever maed and while I’m happy to see what I created from a horrible experience, it’s probably my only regret in life. I got to spend a lot of time with my mom though and that makes everything better.

💡 Noted: don’t ever move back to New England.

After spending lockdown in Providence and still getting covid from a loser roommate, I left RI the day my lease was up and maed my way to Maexico.

And here we are, almost one year later. Wild.

All that to say, I haven’t lived somewhere this long since I left DC in 2016 and it feels…comforting yet very weird. I often say I’m comfortable being uncomfortable and this year has taught me that while I thrive with structure, I flourish creatively when I’m uncomfortable.

I’m not sure what’s next for me, but I’m itching for a change of scenery. I miss nomad life. But I also love living near my friends and being surrounded by beautiful Black people. I miss waking up on different continents. But I also love being in this timezone — so convenient!

Whatever’s next, I’m excited to challenge myself to be consistent with creating structure and still be free enough for spontaneity + creativity.

Whatever happens, I’ll be sure to tell you all about. 😉

But before you hop on Skyscanner and plan your next trip…​

Let’s dive in!

• Some guys asked a bunch of founders “How did you come up with your startup idea?” and here’s a thread of the responses. Gold.
• ​I started this mid-year reset and it’s been SO helpful. I highly recommend it as an exercise before you dive into the second half of the year. Or you can try out the Passion Planner roadmap.
• ​Apparently we get grittier in middle age. I definitely had more grit when I was younger so maybe I haven’t peaked yet?
• “You can’t have a business where the more people use it, the more money you lose.” This podcast on the fall of Movie Pass was muy interesante.
• ​“‘A humpback whale tried to eat me’: Cape Cod lobster diver briefly trapped in the mouth of a whale.” Some people think he maed this up, wachu think?
• Last week, I mentioned how much I admire the Kardashian business-wise, but I also want to be sure to highlight that they’ve stolen many things from Black women like actual clothing designs for their various lines. Thank you to the Friday Report reader who let me know that Kris actually stole the term “momager” from Brandy’s mom. They also (allegedly) used Brandy’s credit cards (Kim was her stylist) to open DASH. Soooo…yea.
• I was watching Real Housewives of NY this week and they highlighted how politically correct language in real estate is changing. An obvious term that is dead + gone is “master bedroom” which I actually can’t believe we used to say. Here are some others like not saying “it’s walking distance to…” because that implies that the tenant is able to walk.​

What’s up with me?

• I’m moving tomorrow! Yup. Again. The Universe pushed me out of my new home in many ways. Some of which I missed until friends pointed them out. I have no stress though because I can feel that it’s for a reason. So back to Airbnb living we goooo.
• I’m so happy that I spend the beginnings of my weeks focused because by the end of the week, I don’t got ittt.
• I’m SO grateful that I learned about the benefits of removing sugar from my diet and aside from Maezcal this week, I’ve been pretty consistent on the comida front.
• After a lifetime of trial and error, I figured out a way to nurture my body and create the frame that I want. And then I got sick. And had to take antibiotics. I gained at least 7 pounds in a one-month period (all in my belly and face of course) and even tough I’m very angry about it, especially since I was eating the cleanest I ever had, I can’t love my body only when I feel strong and tone. I have to love all forms or any progress won’t be sustainable.​

Track of the Week

This is for you, Kenny! Ramriddlz is such a summertime vibe and Bodmon is the perfect summer anthem. Listen on…

​Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube​​

ICYMI

• ​Life Maed Easy officially has its own IG and that’s one more step in creating space between the empress and the empire. Maed in America is me and Life Maed Easy is a team of bawses.
• My homie Candace just opened registration for Intention Factor’s Back Membership if you’re in need of some intention love through intention movement. I’m gonna try out her Onboarding Program because after being sick for a month with minimal movement, I need to humble myself a bit as I gain my strength back.

​If you maed it this far, you a real one. I can’t even imagine what updates I’ll have for you next Friday, but I’m excited for the ride!

Tomorrow I’m going to a Juneteenth brunch con mis homies and then spending the night in a cozy new bed.

Idk who asked for Juneteenth to be recognized as a national holiday because logically, it doesn’t even make sense that Black people would ask for EVERYONE to have the day off, including the people who oppressed are actively oppressing.

And systemically, it doesn’t make sense because there are so many other demands on the list that are actually urgent and impactful.

Either way, I’ll spend the day how I spend all of my days. Grateful to my ancestors for all that they did and continue to do for me. Everyday I can’t believe that this is my life and I can’t begin to imagine what had to be done for me to get this passport.

It’s my most-prized possession and I’ll never take it for granted.

​

Stay dreamin’,
Maegan

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