I’m in Spain this week.
I’m celebrating my birthday with a small group of close friends. And for my birthday experience, I took them to see a flamenco show.
Not the flashy, tourist kind.
The real thing.
Low light. Raw guitar. A small room where you can see every line on the dancers’ faces.
And that’s what struck me first.
Their faces.
They weren’t just performing steps.
They were telling stories—of heartbreak, resilience, pride, longing.
You could see entire lifetimes etched into their expressions.
These were people who had lived.
And something inside me paused.
I caught myself thinking:
Their lives must be fascinating.
What would it be like to live a life like that?
Then a playful thought followed.
If I wanted to understand that life…
Why wouldn’t I just learn flamenco?
Not casually.
Not “once a week after work” learning.
Flamenco in London, squeezed between meetings and emails, would be like learning to surf in a bathtub.
So I asked a different question.
What if I did it properly?
What if I moved to southern Spain for a week?
Took daily flamenco classes.
Immersed myself in the culture.
Late dinners.
Struggled through Spanish.
.
Lived—briefly—a different life.
And that’s when something clicked.
I realized I’ve started thinking about life differently.
Over the last few years, AI and leverage have quietly changed everything for me.
What used to take 50 hours now takes one. Teams of 20 have become teams of two or three.
As a result, I’m building multiple new companies alongside Mindvalley with tiny teams, massive leverage, and far more freedom than I ever imagined possible.
But here’s the unexpected side effect of optimization:
It gave me time.
And time, I’m realizing, isn’t meant to be endlessly reinvested into more work.
It’s meant to be lived.
So I decided to test a radical idea.
I’ve committed to taking one full week off every month to deeply immerse myself in a different life—learning something new in the place where it truly belongs.
Some examples of what’s coming:
I’m considering spending a week living with monks in a Greek Orthodox monastery near Thessaloniki. No phone. No electronics. Waking at 5 a.m.
Working the land. Eating simple meals. Praying. Meditating. Napping in the afternoon. Cooking together. Sleeping as the sun sets.
Silence.
Simplicity.
Presence.
I briefly thought about moving to Paris to learn bartending… and then realized that probably wasn’t the direction my nervous system or my liver wanted to go.
So instead, I’ll spend a week in Paris learning French cooking, the way it was meant to be learned.
Each immersion follows two simple rules:
Rule #1: Meet locals.
Not wealthy. Not influential. Not “network-worthy.” Just locals. The baker. The bartender. The monk. Ordinary people living ordinary lives—because their stories are often the most eye-opening.
Rule #2: Learn the skill where it was born.
Flamenco in Spain. French cuisine in Paris. Orthodoxy in Greece.
No shortcuts. No simulations.
This curiosity isn’t just intellectual; it’s physical too.
As much as I love my current training, I’m now exploring entirely new relationships with my body. Pilates. Yoga. Aikido. Ways of moving I would never have touched before.
My goal is simple and slightly absurd:
I want to be in better shape at 60 than I was at 21, when I was 19 and representing Malaysia in the U.S. Open for Taekwondo.
And then there’s the biggest shift of all, now that I’m turning 50.
I’ve decided to stop chasing money.
If my company reaches a billion-dollar valuation, great.
Nice milestone.
But it’s no longer a requirement.
My goal now is this: Live 100 lives before I die.
I will be a flamenco dancer.
A monk.
A Bedouin.
A French cook.
Maybe even a barista.
Each for a week.
100 weeks.
100 lives.
This is worth more to me than a billion dollars in net worth.
I start today.
I’ve officially signed up for a week-long stand-up comedy immersion in London.
And yes, you’ll be seeing me perform in comedy clubs soon.
I’ll be sharing these experiences as I go, what I learn, what breaks me open, what surprises me.
And I’d love to hear from you too.
If you could live a different life for one week every month…
What would you study?
Where would you go?
Who would you want to live alongside?
Share them in the comments. I read them. They shape what comes next.
Thank you for being part of this journey, and this chapter of my life.
Here’s to living many lives.
P.S. If this idea of living many lives resonates with you, you’ll enjoy what’s coming next.
On January 18, we’re bringing together Social Media Summit Highlights:
This is a LIVE curated selection of the top-rated sessions from our recent summit.
You will learn how to build visibility, leverage, and impact in the modern world from Brendan Kane, Prince EA, Marie Forleo, and me.
Now, if you’re curious how ideas turn into movements on social media (and how people design lives with more freedom once they have an authoritative personal brand), I’d love for you to join us there.
407 Responses
Happy birthday
The first post for a long time. Going back to the basics. All the other offer don’t get me wrong are great but all have to do with doing and achieving. Now you test the path of not doing just going inside a life of a person or a group. Exciting, feeling like a child again trust9what comes exploring, curiosity and so much more.
Happy Birthday, truly inspirational.
Im looking foward to reading all about it,
Hi Vishen,
While very inspiring and interesting, I think not many would be able to afford to do what you are doing. That said, enjoy the experiences.
I am 72 and am planning to visit Egypt and the pyramids, as well as the sacred site at Machu Picchu and have an ultimate goal of scaling Kilimanjaro.
Best newsletter ever. It made me so happy! You go Vishen!! I’m so happy for you. 😊 Our culture rewards specialization that leads to “broken, scattered” identities without embracing our *whole* self. As a Generalist myself, I totally resonate, and I actually already started this experiment in my 30s haha. Not as productive as you like doing something new each week, but with flexible time periods for each “life”. I just let my intuition guide me on what’s next. I also had CS background (still use this identity), but these days I’m enjoying video editing and Jazz & K-pop dancing! 💃 Barista is also on my list BTW (can’t wait to learn latte art!). Others include pianist, professional dancer, yogini, artist (mix different techniques cause why not?), writer, working at a grocery store or fast food place, outdoor climber, surfer, singer (this can be combined with my dancer/pianist identity to hold a concert! 🪩). The list goes on and on, but things are impermanent and can change a lot. Probably when I embark on the next phase, it will be completely different! But we’re in good hands. ✨ Intuition will let us know anyway 😉
Really loved reading this. It’s clear you’ve built a life that allows for this kind of freedom, the result of years of dedication to your work and vision.
And while the travel itself feels wonderful—and honestly luxurious—the heart of the shift feels deeper. It’s the return to rhythm. A remembering that we’re not meant to endlessly optimize, but to move in cycles of engagement and restoration.
I feel strongly about making that kind of recalibration more accessible, so people can experience a week of realignment without needing to leave their lives or cross the globe. That’s what led me to create the Lunar Alignment Method, working with natural cycles to help the whole human come back into coherence within modern life.
Your experiment touches something many are craving right now. I’d genuinely love to connect and explore this topic further – and look forward to following along your journeys.
Susan Welmä Studio, Montreal
But you
You can surwive Gaza or Barnevernet
Or go to Ostebygda
Good idea it will be food for your soul. Document it and let us all know on your social media.
Let it be an inspiration to many. To understand others is to live many lives. Go for it.
And eat food where it is originally made, like guacamole in Mexico etc…
I too have been dreaming of learning new skills in my 50’s. I want to learn how to sing, play drums, and take cooking classes in Italy and around the world.
Happy 50th!
What you described is what living a fulfilling life is all about!
Cheers! 🥂
I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the recent summit—while I missed parts of it due to work commitments, I found it incredibly inspiring. I’ve signed up for both the “1 Billion Followers Social Media Mastermind Class” and the “Lifebook” program, eager to dive deeper into personal growth and understanding.
One thing that has resonated with me during my time as a Mindvalley member is our shared spirit of exploration. Though I may not be an influencer or millionaire, I identify as a lifelong dreamer who pursues my passions wholeheartedly. At 63, I still do 100 pushups a day, practice Kundalini yoga, and embark on long hikes. For my 61st birthday, I took an enriching three-month journey on the Camino de Santiago, experiencing life as a pilgrim—staying in affordable albergues and immersing myself in the local culture. I filled my time with reading, photography, and my studies in the Education for Ministry program, highlighting for me the significance of less being more.
Initially, I was intimidated by AI technology. However, I decided to embrace it fully, and now, as a pro member for five years, I utilize it extensively in my daily life. I believe that enrolling in the “1 Billion Followers Social Media Mastermind Class” will enhance my understanding and bring me to new heights.
In my Lifebook, I’ve expressed my aspiration to continue taking cooking classes, as I have a deep love for exploring world cuisines. Additionally, I am passionate about immersing myself in history; I am currently engrossed in “A Precise History of the Middle East” and “The Discoverers.” I recently completed a captivating course on Prehuman History, challenging some of the conventional beliefs surrounding nutrition and the evolution of our diets.
Professionally, I work as a traveling notary, signing agent, apostille agent, and certified trust delivery agent. I plan to expand my skill set by obtaining a real estate license and a paralegal certificate. Personally, I aim to complete my fourth year in the Education for Ministry program, pursuing a Master’s in Divinity.
My goal is to live to 100 and embrace better health than I had at 30—I believe I may already be on that path! I wish to acquire certifications in Master Gardening and Naturalism because I find immense joy in experiencing the wonders of nature.
I dream of revisiting England, exploring Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as traveling to South America and Indonesia, particularly Bali and Thailand. I also aspire to take a cruise on the Mississippi River to revel in the vibrant jazz scene of New Orleans.
Ultimately, my aim is not to chase wealth but to make a positive impact on others through my work with documents.
Thank you for sharing your journey and for inspiring others to live fully. I’m excited to embark on my own explorations and would love to hear more about yours and others.
Valerie Pharr, Bend, Oregon
Thank you Vishen! This is so inspiring. Though I already lived 7 lives you’re giving me a new perspective on what’s still possible for the second half of my life <3 I'll keep that in mind and look forward to see your experiences. If I would be as free as you are right now, first I would join some marine biologists to dive with sharks.
Beautiful idea.
I would go to Japan to deeply learn from sushi chefs and study how the ocean becomes a dedicated art for enjoyment.
Bravo Vishen! What a great idea. Do, please make sure you carry it out, not even necessarily in 1 year, but do it!
Someone once told me ‘you should never spend your last days saying “I wish I had’…..
I have 20+ years on you and spent most of my life working and looking after others, now as my birthday approaches, I have finally found the time to attempt to do so many of the things I have wanted to and to see many new places.
The advice I constantly give is ‘DO IT NOW’, don’t keep putting things off and working till your body starts to remind you of your age – have a wonderful, joyous time with every adventure you experience. Life is for living and giving, as whatever you experience, you will gain knowledge which can be passed onto others, and that, in itself is precious.
This is amazing! I love this idea! You are truly a great writer and I love to read about your experiences. Please share videos of all the different lives you live!
Lovely that you have this opportunity open to you.
I’m sure it will give you great experience and much insight.
Can’t wait to hear about the encounters.
Thank you so much for replaying these highlights. I did miss some of the ones I wanted to see so I’m very grateful.
I found your blog on “living 100 lives” very inspiring. Potentially life changing not only for you but for others who may hear about it and wish to follow your lead, Vishen. Keep up the great work! 💐
This is amazing!
I just turned 50 as well and I can see what you mean by living 100 lives in 100 weeks. Also, I completely understand when you say that you are not chasing behind your 1 billion valuation (not that I was … haha), although, for me it was a different number.
At this time, it is about making sure my Wife and Son have enough to maintain our lifestyle and provide support to others in our community, and if possible, support the real needy all over Canada. It is the ‘giving’, which brings real peace in my soul and heart.
Anyways, my Wife surprised me on my 50 BDay with a skydiving experience (amongst other surprises she had over the week), and this is something I have been talking about since we had met over 2 decades ago. Not only that, our Son, at 15 joined me in skydiving as well!!! What a proud moment for me and courageous moment for him — jumping off a airplane at over 12,000 ft altitude over ground!
Since then, I have been in a different mindset, my 2025 was a phenomenal year for experiences, although, my real estate business took a major beating due to the downturn in economy and lots of local factors! I hope and pray that 2026 is a better year to stabilize and help others.
Anyways, I will be looking forward to seeing your posts and experiences, since I don’t have the luxury to live 100 lives in 100 weeks at this moment in my life, haha.
All the best, and I will stay connected.
Cheers, my Friend!
I would like
Tent camping with stars or aurora
McDonald’s
And Ski all of the opptions, example Hallingdal Folkehøgskule
Setesdalsspringar
Very cool idea… I also turn 50 in Feb…
Vishen, Your idea scares me! So it must be a great idea.!! 🙂 i have challenges living my own life let alone living others lives, being fully emmersed, feeling the emotions, the full spectrum. What an experience. I look forward to your sharing of the impact of those 100 lives experiences’. Cheers to you.
Dear Vishen,
Happy birthday and 100 more lives to live!!
Great idea and welcome in beautiful Andulucia. You were more than welcome to visit our holistic retreat villa in the beautiful Andalician mountains. Anyway…I love your idea and I’m certain it will be very inspiring and lifechanging. I’ve lived already some different lives by making choises of changing jobs, doing voluntary works, having different relationships and moving to a different country. And your idea is great. I invite you to go further than the comfort zone of Europe and f.e. play with African children or work in the kitchen of a Mother Theresa shelter in India. Not only for your 100 lives to live but also have an impact on other people’s live who are less priveleged. Just an idea.
Enjoy your stay in Europe and when you’re back in Andalucia, come over for a stay at Casa Eden, Alozaina, Malaga✨☀️💛💫
With love, rixt