Sailing Into Success: Vickie Leuenberg's Journey from Teacher to Digital Nomad- S4E17

 Oh my goodness. This is an episode that I encourage you to listen to over and over and over again because you will hear so many different nuggets of mindset information and how to just expand your life and create a sustainable dream life that you want. And our guest is living proof of that. So Vicky Longen Berger, and I'm totally butchering her name, she says it so beautifully in.

Is a digital nomad who escaped the cold Canadian winters to travel the Caribbean on her sailboat with a background in teaching and high level sports coaching. She is passionate about humans and mindset, and you will so hear all of this. In our conversation, we talked a lot about mindset in overcoming the fears that keep us stuck, the fears that keep us stuck and living in a box that we don't even know were in that box.

And this truly was a fun conversation for me because we are recording this, uh, just a few weeks out from my husband and I purchasing our next sailboat to kind of take after what Vicky's doing. But here's the reason why. This episode is so, so powerful because not only are you going to hear the steps that Vicki took to go from this idea of, wow, this is a life I wanna live and making it happen.

But you're also going to hear her personal transformation. Because it wasn't just about the move from, you know, the cold Canadian winters to live in on a sailboat. It was the transformation of who Vicki came, became in the process of making this dream a reality. So I hope you enjoy this episode and get something out of it.

Um, every. You choose to listen to it.

Welcome to the Discovering Your Calling podcast. I'm your host, Sherry Mider. I'm here to help you unleash your strengths and get clarity on your calling. I believe when you find your purpose in life, fulfillment, joy, and success will. If you're ready, pop in those earbuds, hit that follow button, and join me on this journey toward discovering your calling.

So welcome everybody back to the Discovering Your Calling podcast. I am so excited to have this conversation with my new friend Vicky today because she is living the life that my husband and I are about to step into in. Few months. Um, so it's gonna be a really fun conversation. And even if you're. Into sailing, like Vicky and I are, you are still gonna be able to get something from this conversation.

I'm a hundred percent sure of that. So don't worry if you're thinking like, oh, you're about to click off cuz you're not into the topic we're gonna be talking about, you're still going to gain wisdom from this conversation. So anyway, welcome to the podcast, Vicky. Thank you so much, Sherry. I'm so happy to be here.

Yeah. And I love just seeing this, and for those of you that may watch this on the YouTube video, you know, it's so fun to see that Vicky is sitting on a sailboat right now. So cool. Hopefully you only see it and you don't hear it. Let's hope there's no, uh, There is no boat emergency happening during this episode.

Right? True life, right? Yep. Exactly. If it starts raining, I'm gonna have to get up and close my windows so that my computer and Mike doesn't get flooded, right? That's the first time I've heard this on the podcast. We've had kid, kid interruptions. We've had dog and cat interruptions, but number one, that I might have to close the hatch if it rains, so, I love this.

Um, so Vicky, tell everybody a little bit about, um, who you are and what you are doing today. And then we'll go backwards to where you were before this adventure started. Amazing. Okay. So I am a full-time digital nomad and liveaboard, so I live full-time on a beautiful sailboat, currently cruising the Caribbean.

And I work online. I work for many different companies, but most of my income comes from supporting other people who have the dream to become, uh, digital nomads as well. Very cool. And what were you doing? Like how on earth did you get to. Place in your life? Like, take us back. How long, first of all, how long have you been doing this?

Yes. Uh, I've been at Digital Nomad for about a year, and I've been sailing full-time for seven months now. Okay. So really not that long. Yeah. This is still new. Yeah. I love it. Um, so how, again, how did you get here? What were you doing before this all happened? So, uh, initially I have a Bachelor's of Education, so I'm trained to teach English as a second language, and I did that full-time, but I felt very much trapped into a box.

I saw myself falling into a routine of, I'm teaching from nine to four. I get home, I cooked a dinner, and then I correct the kids quizzes and homework while watching TV shows. And I kind of saw myself getting trapped in that pattern and thinking, is this the end? Is this what my life is gonna be for the rest?

Of my life, right? Um, so I started to question myself. I quit teaching and I started to coach sports team full-time. Cause I'm an artistic swimmer. You're gonna see the whole mermaid pattern coming back, artistic, swimming, sailing, scuba diving, all that is kind of part of the story. Um, so started coaching sports full-time and starting.

To develop my curiosity and to try to discover new things. And um, and then there was my first time on a sailboat. So in 2019, just to give you some context, 2019 was the first time I was on a sailboat and I sailed for two weeks in The Bahamas on a charter trip. And I just completely fell in love with it.

I came back home and I was like, all right, this is it. This is my new life. I'm moving on a sailboat. I'm not sure how it's gonna happen. I know nothing about diesel mechanic. I know nothing about electricity. I know nothing about sailing, about weather, meteorology, winds, currents, even geography I'm not really good at.

Uh, but I just knew this was gonna be it. And then I went through a. Um, really difficult separation with my ex-partner that I had a house with. We have this whole, you know, pick white picket fence, uh, golden retriever. I'm a full-time teacher kind of life. Um, so we split up, which gave me a lot more flexibility to explore this dream.

And then, um, yeah, and then fast forward to today, now I've made my, my dream happen. I love this. And, you know, listen to that part about that you went on this vacation and came home and, and I think we all have done that. We go on a vacation and visit a place or experience something and say, oh my gosh, this is what I would love to do forever.

But most of us then go home, get back into our box, get back into our routine, and we never follow through with that dream. What made you different? What made you actually follow through on this? I think, I think people feel stuck because they focus on everything that they don't know. Instead of focusing on everything that they can learn, everything is an opportunity to learn.

And I very much could have come home and be like, oh my God, this is too big. I can't do this. And it's true I couldn't do this then, but I can do it now because I have this really strong curiosity and this really strong belief in myself that this was an opportunity for me to grow and learn and get out of that routine.

Um, so I just honored my potential as a human. All of your listeners, and so do you have Right. We all have this potential to grow and to learn, and we need to honor that and have more faith in ourselves, I think. Right, right. And I love, and I'm, I'm trying to paraphrase it now, what you said of I couldn't do it.

How did, how did you say that? I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it then, but I can do it now. Yeah. I couldn't do it then, but I can do it now. Hmm. That's so powerful because I think we let that stop. Like I don't have, and we go fall into that. Well, I don't even know anything about saline. I don't know how to do this.

I can't do that. I don't know this. I'm just gonna go back, like we said, go back to the box. Go back to the living, the routine. It's what everybody else is doing too. Yeah, exactly. Actually, just this is a quick fun story, but, uh, one of the reasons why I fell in love with my current partner, cause I'm not alone sailing, I probably should have mentioned that.

It's just me and my fiance, which I met in this journey of learning about sailing, and we just started dating and he just, he's also well, very well traveled. He just came back from three years in South Korea and he hands me a pair of chopsticks for dinner one night and I said, oh, I'm sorry honey, I can't eat with chopsticks.

And he turns around and says, not with that attitude. And I was like, Ooh, okay. This guy is suddenly a lot more interesting. Cuz if you're gonna be with someone, if you're gonna live with someone, have a relationship in your life that is constantly going to push you to become a better person. That's how you know, you know that relationship will help you fall in love with yourself even more so.

Um, I think that's kind of what it was about sailing too, is that what I really needed was. Sailing. What I really needed was not having a goat farm. What I really needed was not have my own podcast or become a model. What I really needed was a lifestyle that would challenge me to grow. Hmm. That was my pain point, and that's what I needed.

So that's what attracted me to sailing so much. There was so much to learn. Oh, always. And it's always changing, right? When you and, and you know that something changes. Yes. And that's such a good point that you needed something to challenge you, and I think that's really what most of us need. We just don't know.

That's, that's the thing that, that's what we really need. And that's where people are, you know, getting depressed or getting stuck because they're not being challenged. It's, it's actually funny, my, I was just with our, uh, two older granddaughters this weekend and even at 10, and it's like sometimes if we just go back to how we thought as kids, my 10 year old granddaughter, we were talking, you know, of course you know, is How's school going autumn?

And she's like, good, but I'm bored. I know it all and she wasn't saying, I know it all in a snotty I, you know, I know it all. She's just not being challenged. Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. I love what you're saying. I think that's one of my biggest. Like brand, you know, when you, when you work online and when you get into entrepreneurship, you very much become a brand.

And I think I'm tr I'm trying to express kind of like that camp attitude or, or that childlike attitude that when you approach your life with curiosity, like your granddaughter with playfulness, Everything in life becomes so much easier and so much more fun. Like I, I was saying that to someone. I did a lot of diesel mechanic this year.

I had to, my, my engine was broken and I could have sat in front of that engine and cry and victimize myself and, you know, be afraid that I don't have enough money to pay a specialist to do it. And I decided to just. Like Legos. I took the manual of the diesel engine. I started opening stuff up. Oil was coming out, fuel was coming out.

Other liquids I don't know about were coming out, but I played. I played with the engine. I watched YouTube videos. I was curious. I asked questions. I let my ego aside. I let other older cruisers or sailors come in and help and all of that allowed this to be not only successful, I was able to fix my engine a couple of times, but also fun.

I love that approach. Of just be curious. Just be playful. We don't have to know it. All right now. And really there are, there's no excuse not to learn something today. Like we could really learn everything. And, and I'm taking this in right now, Vicky, because I'm in the process of redoing my website and that, that technology pieces of things just like, oh, it's just not my thing.

I don't enjoy it. It's not fun for me and I'm ready to go hire somebody. But you just convinced me. It's like, wait a minute, if Vicky. I can learn how to do her engine. Darn it all. I can learn how to create a new Facebook or a new website. Like I can learn how to do this. Yes, you can. Yes you can. And it's, it's also okay to ask for help.

And if you've come to a point where we really have no more fun, it's also okay to hire someone, which I'm also done, but just sometimes we protect our, when we protect ourselves from failure or from pain, we also protect ourselves. Fun from pleasure and from success, right? I, I'm sure you know this. Um, so yeah, I just try to kind of empower people, you know, give them their power back.

I don't wanna inspire them. Inspiring people is boring. I wanna empower them. I don't want them to look at me and say, oh, she's so cool. I want people to look at me and be like, if she can do it, I can do it too. I'm not smarter, I'm not richer, I'm not prettier. I, I didn't know anything about this. I was curious, I was playful.

I decided to approach this from a place of love and here we are today. I love that. So, such good advice. Such good advice. Um, so let's, let's go back to that then. What were, so you came home for this vacation? And you decide this is, this is the life I want to live. What were the steps? Because again, I think this is so important that once we do have that mind shift and we know we need to create something new for ourselves, that it doesn't happen overnight and there are processes we need to go through in order to really make it happen.

So what were those steps? What did that look like for you, Vicky? Yeah, the number one step, and it's usually the first piece of advice I give to anybody who has a big dream that scares them. Find someone who's done it. Find someone who's done it, whether it's to start a podcast, to have, you know, to start growing your own strawberries and make homemade jam, whether it's to become an expat and, and move to the other end of the world.

Find someone who's done it, and ideally someone who. Who looks like you? So for me, back in 2019, I started looking for solo female sailors, cuz I had just gone through a big breakup. I did not have someone with me at the time. And I knew that not only meeting that person would give me a direction because then that person tells you about their story and they give you their steps, right?

Specific to you and your goal. But it also reinforces the belief in your brain that it is possible. And those beliefs are so important. You know what you believe in you, you co-create with the reality. Um, You're gonna, some people call it manifestation, some people, you know, there's a law of attraction no matter how you wanna call it in the end.

It's just that you're gonna create a world that is aligned with the perception of the world that you have in your head. Um, so I knew that meeting this person would help me believe that it's possible. So that's definitely step number one. I love that so much. And it's, it's so true because if all we've known is this one way of looking at the world and the one way living in it, And we want to create something new, then we definitely need to align ourselves with somebody else, like you said, doing it or that has done it, and that we can start seeing, okay, it's possible.

It's possible. And it's the same, well, not exactly the same, but it's the similar advice I give to people who are like, I don't know what my calling is, or, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Go out there and meet people. The more people are gonna meet, these people are gonna open up your, your vision of the world and your vision of what is possible.

And you're gonna discover new passions and new hobbies and new ways of looking at life. So if right now you have no idea which direction you're supposed to go in and meet people. Right. Right. Just explore. Just explore. And that's honestly what I hope this podcast is doing for people too, is giving them an idea of like, oh my gosh, I never thought about that.

Mm-hmm. I didn't know that's possible. What, there's people doing that and, and making a living. Like how can they do that? And just seeing that there's, because you and I know being in this world now that the craziest ways people. Creating an income and making a living a living. And they're calling. There are some things that like what?

Oh yeah. That's amazing. So it's possible for anybody to find, follow their passion and figure out a way to make it work. But you have to be willing, like you said, to just step out there and start investigating and start seeing what is out there and the right thing will start to align. Totally, totally. So, so you follow people, you found people doing it.

What was the next thing you did? Um, include time. Like time management, basically budget my time to dedicate a certain. Amount of hours per week to my goal. And that was definitely the second thing. So I said, if I wanna make something happen that comes from, remember my background in high level sports coaching, right?

I'm used to bringing teams up to the podium. I've done this for several years. Um, And you, you need to, you need to train, you need to practice. So I started dedicating time and then that time turned into, all right, I need to learn how to sail. So that was really funny that my first practical sailing course, I was, I think I was 25 or 26, 25, and I was with like, I was at sailing day camp with three 12 year old boys.

They probably loved it. Yeah, they probably loved it. They were a lot better than me. So if you're listening to this, you guys are gonna be great sailors. Um, so yeah, finding those, they're a ways to learn again. So whether I would use this time to read books or research for other sailors or watch YouTube videos, Um, and then of course, like official classes, right?

I took a course for navigation, navigation on maps, um, diesel mechanic electricity for boats, which by the way, I filled electricity for boats. I was such a hard class. Um, still struggled with that one a little bit. Um, so yeah, just dedicating time weekly. And even if it was just one thing my dad built me, um, he built me like, um, not a clue, but.

Shoot. How do you call it in English? What you put your rope around. When you secure Oh, yeah. Um, a cleat. Yes. Like I, yeah, you're talking about one Yeah. Cle. Mm-hmm. You built me a wooden cleat so that I could practice my knot. Ah, okay. But even if it was something as simple as like a knot takes less than a minute to do.

But every night before going to bed, I tied my little rope. To my little cleat and went to sleep. You know, because I wanted to visualize myself living this life. I wanted to become someone who would live this life in those little tiny, tiny habits. So basically, I guess what I'm saying is make time for it and break it down in the smallest actions that you can do that bring you closer to the kind of life that you want.

Hmm. And there's so much what you did in that, doing those, because again, it comes back to that you started. Immerse yourself into it, which helps you see yourself there instead of just, you know, used to be to, uh, you know, sit on the couch and manifest and visualize yourself in your head, which is important.

But you took it that extra step of actually tying the rope. And probably, I'm guessing, as you were tying the rope and the knots, you were probably, you weren't in your bedroom. Oh no, I was full on, on a boat. Hundred. I did that. Yep, yep, yep. So, you know, it was really that immersion of the vision, but then you also gave yourself the competence.

And competence gives us confidence. Mm-hmm. For sure. Yeah. And that's, in my mind, that's really the only way we can build our confidence is building our competence. I agree and disagree. Okay. Um, I think confidence can come from competence. Yes. But I think confidence mostly comes from feeling safe. Mm. And one of the easiest ways to feel safe is to become confident, uh, competent, as you said.

Right. If I have the skills to be on the boat. Um, I feel safe. Therefore, I feel confident. Right. But have you ever seen a four-year-old at the park and a Batman t-shirt? True. I know it's his first time at the park. You know exactly what I mean. You have grandkids. It's his first time at the park. He doesn't know anything about the park or the trees or how to play or how this day is gonna happen or unfold.

He has zero competence, but he has crazy confidence because he feels safe, because no one. Judged him yet because no one has told him he wasn't doing it right yet. Um, And you could be on a boat having zero competence, but with an amazing captain that makes you feel really safe, right? And you could feel confident.

Um, so I think it's about how are you gonna create this, this feeling of safety within yourself? Are you gonna surround yourself with people who believe in you, who make you feel safe? Are you judging yourself in your process of like, of learning and growth? Are you beating yourself up cuz you're not good enough yet, so then you don't feel safe?

So then, The only thing you're holding onto is your, your credentials or your actual confidence, right? Um, so for me it's really been about that. It's about creating safety inside of my body, um, through this, through this journey. Right. Right. And that actually, that totally makes sense. I'm so glad you said that cuz Isaiah is like, no.

Yeah, you're right. Totally right. That, that's a piece of it. I should say that confidence is a piece of finding confidence. Yes. Yes. Mm-hmm. And then giving yourself, being surrounded by people that are gonna believe in you. Uh, which I'm, I wanna come back to that in a minute. Um, yeah. And sometimes it is just stepping in and doing it cuz the more we do.

That builds that confidence in ourselves. Little by little, even if his is that mastering, mastering tie in the knot, you know, mastering these other little things and sometimes just jumping in and doing it like that four year old at the playground, he's just doing it. He's just doing it, you know, jumping in and doing it.

Um, love that picture. So let's talk about the people that believed in you. So when you told your family, your friends, uh, your employer at the time that, Hey, I am going to move on to this boat, um, and live this life. Um, and actually too, what was the timeline you gave yourself? Before we go jump into that, what was the timeline?

I gave myself about four years, and I made it happen within four years. Okay. Because it was, I sailed for the first time in 2019 and I purchased Yellowbird, um, April 1st, 2022. Okay. I like that. Yeah. So again, it's. It doesn't always happen. People want it to happen overnight, and it doesn't always happen that way.

Um, yeah. Yeah. I mean, it, it could have happened. It could have happened, but it would not have been sustainable. Right. I find that there's this thing when it comes to like happiness. Um, you can either, you have to build both your like instant happiness and your sustainable happiness. So you can have a burger right now.

It's gonna make you happy right now, but if you have a burger every day right now, 30 days, then you're gonna need a lot more of right now happiness, to love your body and love who you are. Um, so you need to find that balance between what can I do to make me happy right now, and what can I. Store aside, or what decisions can I make to make me happy later so I could have just sold everything left without a structure and embark on another captain's boat as crew.

Right? And we meet those people, right? Oh yeah. There's a lot of people doing that, right? Mm-hmm. Right. Boat hitchhikers. And that's cool. It maybe it makes them super happy. Maybe they saved. And, and they're doing this for one year, and then they're coming back home, like, I don't know what their plan is.

Mm-hmm. So I could have, like you said, like wanted it to happen right now, drop everything, leave without a plan. But then I would've come back to no money, no structure, and having to go back into a box. Um, I knew I wanted to make a sustainable change, and I know that needed preparation in order to build a different lifestyle, not a different experience.

Hmm. I love that. A sustainable change, right? It's like, what is the end goal? Is it just right? Like you said, you just wanna experience something. It doesn't take as much preparation, but if you're really looking for that life change, be willing to do what? And it may not take four years to do it for some people, or three years or two years.

It may take six months, but what's the process? What's that you need to go through so that it is that long-term sustainable change. Yeah. Yeah. Such great advice. Um, so going back then, what. What did your family, your friends, because I, that's a big thing I hear from a lot of people is cuz again, we move and, and we that take it would take another whole long podcast to get into what happens from when we're four to when we're even 24 or 34 for sure of we lose our, you know, confidence in ourselves and all, all the mindset stuff.

Like, that's just so much happens in life. But, um, now I totally got off track with what I. I go, you were talking about the people surrounding us. The people around us. Oh, yes. Cause what holds so many people back is that fear of what others are going to think. Yeah. You know, I think I fear more. What I think of myself than what other people think of me.

And I think that was, that was the big thing. You know, earlier in the podcast you asked me like, what made me different? What made me pursue this where, where other people would've given up. I think honestly, it came from a really dark place of pain, of where I just deeply hated who I was back in 2019. I hated my body.

I hated my personality. I hated. The fact that I was constantly complaining. I did not like who I was and that's what fueled I was like, okay, I'm done trying to please everybody and not loving who I am. Just done with that, you know, you're self-love. Always needs to be bigger than your desired, your desire to be loved by others.

Um, so yeah, for me now, that's the new belief I've programmed into my head is that hating myself is so much more painful than going through hate from others. And then there's a whole process of kind of learning where their, their hate comes from or is it really hate or all of that. But I guess that that would be my sense, uh, on that comment.

Right, right. Were you aware of. In 2019, uh, like did you recognize, like how did that show up? You know, was it that deep like, oh, I really don't like myself, or was there little things that. You kind of ignored at that time? I'm just curious. Yeah, there was definitely things I ignored. Um, for me, it got to a point where I stopped even taking basic care of myself.

Like I wouldn't shower, I wouldn't brush my teeth. Um, it's like I was so rotten inside that I almost needed the outside to start rotting as well. Mm-hmm. Um, Yeah, and just, just getting up in the morning and feeling like, feeling like something was missing. Feeling like, oh, is it supposed to be this hard? Or a lack of clarity of alignment.

Um, Yeah, I would say there were a lot of signs. There were signs in my behaviors, but was I as conscious in my thoughts? Definitely not. I was definitely on autopilot and thing time was just flying by and it's like yeah, a, a very big lack of presence. Hmm, for sure. And. Did you have people just, oh, you're just depressed.

Oh yeah, for sure. Especially in today's world where we, and it's okay, I'm glad we're talking more about mental health, like That's right. Absolutely. But it's come to a point where we almost normalize it. Mm-hmm. And accept it and almost romanticize it. Mm-hmm. It's like if you don't have a. If you don't have a label on your forehead that says like, I'm anxious, um, you're almost not normal anymore.

Right. I still, you know, I was jealous of people, I was jealous of people who had medication at the time, back in 2019. I was jealous of people who had a label like, um, bipolarity. I wished it was so much easier to tell people, oh, but it's because I, I'm bipolar. Right. It's, it's because they're ta It would've been so much easier for me, you know, I was, had a hard time showing up to work.

I was overweight, I was unhappy. Like I said, I wasn't showering for sometimes up to 10 days before I would go step back in the shower. Um, I wish someone would've put a label on me, would've made it so much easier. And that's not, that's not normal that I can, you know, that people desire to have those labels.

And I just, it was a. It was taking responsibility, taking responsibility for myself, for what kind of life I wanna have, taking responsibility for what kind of person I wanna be. Um, it was a lot of that. Wow. Wow. And I have a feeling this conversation, uh, you know, that, just talking about that, I'm glad we, we kind of shifted a little bit to, to, to bring this, because if somebody's listening to this and you recognize yourself and where Vicki was, I want you to see that there's hope.

And you know, Vicky today, if you're li just listening to the YouTube and you're not, or to the podcast and not hearing, she is drop dead gorgeous, very natural, gorgeous. Again, she's sitting on a sailboat, you know, just. Um, and the confidence that I feel from you is just so radiant. Um, truly so that if you can pull yourself back, and again, it may not mean that you need to go buy a sailboat and sail off into the seas.

That might help. Who knows? We all feel better around the sea. I think most of us, maybe not all, but. Um, is that there is, you know, figure that thing out for yourself. Like, what's going to make you feel happy. Yeah. And yeah. So what advice would you give to that person that, that is searching that like, oh, that is so me right now, and they are feeling that, like, what advice would you tell them, Vicky?

What's the next step to, to break through that? Learn, learn to love yourself as you are now. Um, A lot of personal development books are telling you to work towards the best version of yourself. I don't like that. I don't like that because it puts me in a position where there's another version of me somewhere else that is better.

And when I'm doing that, I'm not honoring the version that is right here, right now. So you are already freaking awesome like that. That potential is already inside of you. And, and yeah. And it deserve to be loved. And you, you are lo if you promise yourself that you'll love yourself, that's the only love you're ever gonna need.

Um, so learn to love yourself and be more present. Take time, eat your food without looking at a screen or a phone. Um, take walks in nature and be. Try to find a new tree you hadn't noticed before, like, develop your consciousness of the, the present moment and, um, learn to give yourself more love. Hmm. I love that so much.

Yeah. Just be, yeah. Be present with yourself. Mm-hmm. And I truly believe like that's part of, yeah. My belief is that we, we all have these. You know, God-given talents, God-given gifts inside of us, they're there. You don't have to go outside to look for them. Yes, I'm all about self-help books and, you know, personal development, like, you know, I'm huge on that, but it's already in you.

Mm-hmm. And just give yourself the grace to start slowly or fast. Bring it out and let it shine. Let it shine. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Totally. Um, was there any other steps that you took? We kind of, I know we went off on a little tangent. So you talked about just, you know, um, surrounding yourself by others who've done it, learning what you needed to learn.

Was there anything else that we missed? Mm-hmm. Breaking down in small bits. Um, prepare yourself for moments where you're gonna want to. Hmm, let's talk about that. So either, you know, have a very strong, if you know Simon Sinek, again, we were just talking about self-help books. I really like his book. Start With Why.

So make sure that your why is very, very strong and anchored. Uh, leave yourself some like small reminders for the future you that's gonna want to quit, um, or give up. Um, So, for example, one thing that we did, my partner and I before leaving on the boat was, uh, we got a, a book of love notes. So we asked all of our friends and family to write us little love notes, little messages, uh, for, for harder days.

And we knew that reading those would help us feel supported and guided and make us feel good. Another rule, actually, I never said that before in a podcast, but another rule my partner and I have is quit on a good. I dunno if you've ever heard of that, but coming from the sports background, you know, you have days where you train and.

It's not, it's not a good training. You haven't achieved your goals. You don't feel good, your body doesn't feel good. You didn't, you didn't, you didn't perform as well as you'd hoped. Mm-hmm. And it's so easy to come back home and be like, all right, that's it. I'm gonna quit. But then if you just persevere, you know what?

Maybe like the next day is actually gonna be really good. Maybe the day after that is gonna be even better and the day after even better. And then maybe you'll even end up having a perfect season and win gold medals. Who knows? Who knows if you quit on a bad day? So what we usually say, Wait until you've had one of those perfect days.

And that's the mentality we have for the boat too. We don't know how long we're gonna be sailing for, but we know that if we're gonna quit, we're gonna quit on a good day. We're gonna quit on a day where we saw dolphins and they were rainbows and the sea was calm and the anchor didn't drag and it got perfectly into the sand and we had some yummy food and our barbecue worked.

We didn't, we had enough propane. And then if at the end, Quote unquote, perfect day. We're like, you know what? We don't love sailing anymore and we're ready for another adventure, then we'll sail the boat and we'll move on. But then it's not quitting, you know, because it just, it's just, we're ready for the next step.

Um. So, yeah, if you make this promise to yourself, if you have this big dream, again, no matter what it is, if it's the goat farm, if it's the starting a podcast, if it's becoming a model, quit on a good day. Quit on a day where you did get a contract and that a photo shoot went well, and you come back and you're like, you know what?

This went well. I just don't enjoy it anymore. Don't quit on a day where, where you haven't been getting any contracts and, and you feel like this is hard. Such great advice. I love that. Quit on a good day because then, like you said, it's not quit. It's just choose making a conscious choice to say this doesn't feel right anymore.

And that's okay. That's okay. Yes. Such great advice. Good. And I'm so glad you brought up the book. I heard you mention that on another podcast I heard you on. And can you just expand a little bit more on that book? Because I think that's so powerful because we're all going to have days that we do wanna quit.

And that we forget why are we doing this? What made me say I could do this? So I love that you have this book. So can you just share a little bit more about what that book entails? Yeah, of course. I think I have it right here actually. Yeah, it's right here. So we did a, we did a goodbye. Party. Um, and then, yeah, we just left the book with a pen and then our friends and family gave us notes and photos and it's just, it's love notes.

Right. It just reminds you that, that you're so strong and capable because there's nothing like the words that of your loved ones to. To make you feel supported and strong? I've only, well, I've opened it a couple times by now, um, because there were harder days on the boat. Obviously I dislocated my shoulder back in September.

That was a really, really tough, um, being on a boat and being only able to use one arm, uh, is pretty challenging. Um, There was also the time where we, we were towed by the Coast Guards and we kind of question ourselves or are we good sailors? Are we cut out for this life? And, um, this is the kind of thing that kept us going.

Yeah, I think that's such a brilliant idea and I would highly encourage anyone listening, like create a love, you know, a love book like that, and ask your family and friends, the ones that are supportive of you to. Just remind you that why you're doing this and that you can do this. Um, and maybe write your own on a good day.

Yeah. Hell yeah. Write your own, your own positive notes, right? Write down your why. Uh, remember, remember why you love this. And yeah, remind yourself because you will need that someday. You will need that book no matter what you're doing. Anything new? Has challenges. Has challenges and challenging days.

Anytime we start anything new for sure. That would be a great concept. If anyone is listening and is looking for a new business idea, I got you. Um, that would be a great concept for baby showers. For like parenting, you know, offer that to, if you have a friend right now who's pregnant is about to start their journey of being pa a parent, I feel like that would be such a good gift.

Get her a book of love notes of all of her close friends and family for a day where she's like, or, or he or she or the couple, or she and she, whatever. Right. Um, are struggling with parenting and just kind of reminded, remind them that they're loved and supported. Right, right. Or even a wedding too. Same thing.

Yeah. I've seen people like, you know, pass around little, like how to take care of the baby, but that's different. Yeah. This is way more powerful. This is how to take care of you in that moment that you're feeling like a failure. Yes. Yeah, we have. Um, and now that you're saying it, you said wedding. My, my, um, my partner and I, we have one of those, it was gifted to us by a, uh, my partner's dad for last Christmas or two Christmases ago.

He gave us a wine bottle. With two blank envelopes. And he said, uh, write yourself, write a letter to yourself for a day that you no longer want to be in this relationship. And, um, he said one day, if you've been fighting and you don't know if you wanna be in this relationship anymore, crack open the wine bottle and read the two letters.

And, um, I mean, we're still together. Obviously my partner and I, we left the wine bottle back in Canada, but we each have stilt to this day, our little envelope on our side in the sail. On each side of our bed and we know that it's there. Um, if ever we need to be reminded why we love each other, I think I'm gonna have my husband and I do that before we sit sail together.

A2, foot sailboat. That's a brilliant idea. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, um, if I'm, if I can be super honest with you, that has been the hardest challenge for us. It has not been. Um, living without electricity or without a fridge or sailing without a motor, it has not been being towed by Coast Guard. It has not been spending thousands of dollars on repairs.

It has not been pooping in a bucket, which has happened. It has not been, uh, having to hold my breath for, you know, countless minutes as I try to untangle, uh, a rope under a coral. Like none of that was as hard as navigating. Our relationship is such a small space. I can imagine. Yes, yes. That's, yeah. Yeah, definitely.

Definitely. I could see that for sure. For sure. So that's been the most challenging. I'm glad you brought that up. That was a question I wanted to ask you. What has surprised you the most of doing this? Uh, what has surprised me the most? Um, so many things. I like to think that I surprise myself, um, in terms of what I'm capable of doing.

You know, there are moments in a sale where you look back and you're like, oh, wow, I just did that. Uh, so that's gonna be up there on the list. The, the cruising community is something that I'm just incredibly grateful for. The people we've met so far are just. Incredibly generous of their time, of their knowledge, the amount of times that we were in trouble and would not have made it if it wasn't for other humans who just gifted, you know, their timer themselves like that is so, so, so precious relationships.

Um, yeah, I would say maybe those are my biggest, my two biggest surprises. Great. Great. And just kinda as we wrap things up here, Vicky, um, you know, I do believe like for our true calling, It's not just one, it's, you know, that there's, we can have multiple callings in our life. Um, so do you feel like what you're doing now, is this your true calling forever or is it for a season?

Or do you, how are you addressing that? Yeah, I think my true, true, true calling is to just be, it's to embrace everything that I am and stop hiding it. And, Kinda, like I said earlier, reconnect to that camp attitude, to that playfulness and that, um, Curiosity. And I think that that through my life will express itself in different ways.

And I think right now I'm using sailing as sort of the container. Mm-hmm. Um, the container that helps me develop those aspects of myself. And I think maybe at one point I will be called to do something completely different, but still with that purpose of being curious and playful and embracing more and more who I.

Hmm. And I like that what you said because I do feel like, like our calling, again, the job I guess per se or the, the way we're approaching it changes, but there is always a common thread to what really, you know, tugs at our heart inside of who we are and what we're, what we're made to do. It just how we do it changes throughout the course of our life.

Yeah, for sure. And on that note, how do you. Because I'm sure everybody's wondering how is she supporting herself living on a sale. But I know we touched a little bit about this earlier, but, um, share with the listeners, like what is it you do today to support others and to support yourself financially?

Yes, yes. Um, I have a c I have different. Different kind of jobs where I work as a freelancer. I also have my own company, which is a networking group for Francophones. So I know most of your listeners are probably Anglophones. So that is one thing. I have a lot of fun doing virtual networking events. Um, but my main source of income comes from this coaching collective called Vien Traveler, which is founded by another digital nomad who is also super inspiring.

She has several businesses. Um, and is great. And what I loved about her was her approach to coaching business because there's a lot of business coaches out there. We're not gonna lie here. There's a lot of co business coaches out there on social media, on the internet right now. And what I loved about Lori was kind of that mentality that really resembles my experience in sports.

When you're coaching a team of athletes, there's never just one guru coach. You're a team. There's gonna be an ATT nutritionist, there's gonna be a physiotherapist in artistic swimming, there's gonna be a choreographer, a sports psychologist, and there's gonna be a coach that's kind of bringing all these people working together around the team and making sure they get the best out of the athletes.

And that's Lori's vision. So, Coach entrepreneurs, but we have a funnel coach, a tech coach, a marketing coach, a strategy coach, and I support the entrepreneurs on their mindset. So I help them stay in that curiosity, stay in that playfulness, and I help them adapt to being location independent, building something that is remote based.

Um, so it's a really, really amazing. Place to be for an entrepreneur cuz you're supported on all sides of your business. Just not, not just one. Yeah, I love that. And, you know, being, uh, Clifton strengths coach, you know, to me what I'm hearing is everybody's playing to their own natural talents and strengths.

And, and we need that on a team because we all bring something different to the table in a different approach. So stay in your, you know, do your giftedness. Um, for sure. Yeah, that's a great approach. So, and we'll have the link to. Um, Things in the show notes too, if anybody wants to check that out. And, and if they wanna just follow your journey, Vicky, how can they do that?

How can they connect with you personally? Yeah, so on every social media you can think of, my handle is just my name, so Vicky, and then the Swiss, German last name with a bunch of E. Um, I do live on Instagram though. Instagram is where is my natural habitat, so you'll get a lot more content from me. You'll see be.

Ceiling photos, sunsets, and all of that on there for. Yeah. So if you wanna live vicariously on the sea, follow biggie on Instagram, right? You can do that, you can do that. And also, I forgot to say it, but if you wanna try the strategy and support society get supported by me and seven other experts in their own field, um, I'd like to offer to anyone who's listening to the podcast to try.

30 days of support for only $1. Oh, nice. So it kinda gives you a trial at a very low price, and you can get support on your business for only $1 for 30 days. Awesome. Wonderful. And again, we'll have that in the show notes. Thank you, Vicki. That's, that's a very generous, uh, gift to give, so I appreciate that.

Um, anything else that you, that we didn't get to that's on your heart that you wanna share right now? Just, just go. Just go out and do it. You know, don't follow me. Follow your dreams. Great advice. Follow some of the steps Vicky did, but in your own way, your own path, and follow your own calling that makes you feel alive.

Love it. Well, Vicky, I knew this was gonna be a great conversation and so fun to see you just. Taking that, that dream and being willing to learn all the things so you could make it happen for yourself. So I applaud you greatly for that, and to be an inspiration in so many ways for other, other people, whether they want the nomad lifestyle or just to follow their, you know, their new true calling dream.

So thank you for being here. Thank you, Jerry.

Thank you friends for spending this time with me. My hope is something you heard today inspires you to take action toward discovering your calling. But before you sign off, just two more quick things. One, if you found value and enjoy this episode, can you do me a huge favor and leave a review or share this with a.

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