I Left America 1 Month Ago – Here’s What I Think

One month ago today I boarded a plane out of America, unsure if I ever wanted to get on a return flight.

My friend Christian McQueen just posted this article about how escaping is not making it – and it’s dead on advice. I didn’t keep up my business workload this first month, but I also knew that going in. I knew I’d be spending probably a bit too much time chasing skirts and exploring European classical architecture.

Hence, I was putting in 15-18 hour days during the six weeks in between leaving the corporate job and departing for Poland (I stayed with my parents for those six weeks).

Do you want to know what my schedule was during those six weeks?

6am: Wakeup, brew coffee

6:15am: Warmup writing

6:15am-11am: Work

11am-Noon: Gym

Noon-5:30pm: Work

5:30pm-6:30pm: Prep/cook/eat dinner

6:30pm-7pm: Veg in front of TV for half an hour, or go for a walk

7pm-11pm/Midnight: Work

Midnight (at latest): Lights off*

*There were nights I was on a roll with something and stayed up later, and would adjust my whole schedule accordingly.

Those were some of the best productivity weeks of my life.

I didn’t consume any liquor, I bought one bottle of Bourbon to enjoy at the end of nights, but ended up drinking it all in two nights – I was disgusted with myself and didn’t buy any more for the rest of the time.

I didn’t have sex, nor did I even try to have sex – I didn’t go out at nights, uninstalled all dating apps off my phone, and did not have a single date.

All I did was bleed.

But you know what, it was worth it.

Christian is right.

Just walking out of the office and being “free” isn’t making it. I haven’t made it as much as I’d hope in life. Sure, my current businesses are enough to “float”, but floating isn’t good enough. What is? Well, I’m kind of a greedy pig, and ideally I’d like a seven-figure+ bank account one day.

With that being said, here’s a few random thoughts I’ve got after a month of leaving the American life behind.

STABILITY IS KEY

Right now I’m in Poland, but this weekend I’m heading to Ukraine. And I’m absolutely dreading it. I have to learn a whole new city. Build up a whole new stable of girls via cold approaching and online dating, make new friends, learn the basics of a new language – and much more.

It’s an incredible time sink.

It’s taking away from those precious hours that McQueen mentioned in his article.

And the crazy thing is – I’m going to do it all again at the beginning of June when I hop cities again.

After that, I’m thankfully done.

I will have seen every city in Europe I would consider as a long term destination (see: 2014 and 2015 trips), and so I plan to roll the dice and “permanently” move to the one I like the most; as of now it’s between Budapest and my current Polish city. I’ll sign a 6-month or 1-year lease and begin to build a more stable life.

TRAVEL IS NOT A “GAP YEAR”

LOL at those people who take a gap year to “find themselves” after college.

They travel to stay in shitty hostels, the girls to get fucked and the guys to fuck, and come back with a ton of cool stories but a negative bank account to show at the end of it all.

That never appealed to me and never will.

Call me elitist all you want, but I never want to stay in a hostel. Ever.

I can do without that experience.

I much prefer nice hotels, nice bachelor pads overlooking the city, and not sharing a bathroom and bunkbed with a dozen of other travelers who haven’t showered in one too many days.

But I’ve met a few of those gap year people here – whether or not they are actually done with school is a whole different point. These people are just kind of…”floating”.

And I don’t get it.

Men move forward.

IT’S SURREAL

The other night, I went to see Batman vs. Superman with my main girl here (for the record, the movie is just average). I told her I’d meet her by my office, which is roughly a two mile walk from my apartment. I took the scenic route and walked along the river, where I watched the sun go down.

It was beautiful and surreal.

I just kept thinking to myself, this is now MY life. This is reality.

And I also thought: don’t fuck it up.

MY FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF THIS IS TROUBLE

Finally, I’ve given a lot of thought about what I want from a future business perspective from This Is Trouble and the Troublesome Media brand.

I’ve never considered myself a “game” or “pickup” blogger, rather I’d throw myself more in the “self improvement” category.

Potato, potahto.

But I’d been dabbling with the idea of making some YouTube videos of me picking up girls here on the streets, or in bars. I also wanted to record date footage and post it.

Well, I have a decent chunk of this footage now.

And I just can’t decide if I want to go through with it.

I think in America, I would.

But here, the girls are just more fragile. I don’t know if I want to post my dates and interactions with these girls, because some of them are genuinely wonderful. I don’t want it to intrude on their life, even if their face is blurred. I don’t want them to find it and be humiliated by the video of them being seduced by the guy who, at the time, they thought was the cool American who gave them a great experience.

I just don’t know.

I may just post one and see how I feel once it’s up. If I hate it, I’ll take it down.

I am enjoying recording out and about the city though. Expect more to show up from the YouTube side of things. I also recorded some parts of The Harem Handbook course (6.6.16!) while out in the city.

Give me some feedback, guys.

Are these videos something you want to see?

CONCLUSION

This first month has been spectacular.

I’ve made great friends.

Met amazing girls who are feminine, sweet, beautiful, and much more.

Learned the ins and outs of a beautiful city.

And I’m just getting started.

Thanks for joining the journey.

Read Also: The Polish Puzzle

The Harem Handbook comes on June 6th. Sign up here for early access and special pricing.