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
What a brilliant idea! This resonates a lot with something I heard yesterday and which made me think. That we don’t have only one life, one death – yes, but life can be lived in so many ways. Very curious to follow you on this journey.
I would love to learn surfing waves in Portugal or Hawaii. I imagine it as a full connection between nature, body and soul. Surrendering to the element water. Mastering movement.
👏👍👌
Love this! I hope to live those lives vicariously through your experiences. Please share your highs and lows when you can 🙂
HI Vishen,
Happy Birthday- or as they say in Greek- Χρονια Πολλα! which literally translates into “Many Years.”
If you plan on going to the Monestaries of Athos, there is nothing else like it and I am super excited for you.
Niko Kazantzakis (the author of Zorba the Greek and many other books) wrote about his stay there and how it influenced him… One of my favourite quote of his: “I said to the almond tree: ‘Speak to me of God.’ And the almond tree blossomed “.
I hope that you too blossom even more so during this decade.
If you want to continue your spiritual journey in Greece (since you will be here)- I also highly recommend Delphi, the site of the Oracle. And to be honest, if I had the choice of living another life, it would still be this one: here in my little beloved country of Greece, where the olive trees becon and the waves of the Aegean soothe your soul, either sitting on the beach on the look out for Dolphins or swimming in the turquoise waters with the hope that they join me freely.
Sending you much light (literally it is my name) and wishes for an enlightened and peaceful new decade (it rocks, I turned 50 last year, best decade yet).
Fotini (Fotini from the Greek word Photon- light particle).
Love this for you, Vishen! Bienvenido a España ❤️💛❤️ But careful with your plan to stay for one week—I came for 1-2 years and am still here 24+ years later. 😅
What would you study?
I would study myself through inward reflection and the reflection of myself from other entities.
Where would you go?
I would return to a state of Isness. Not a place; not a role; not a fantasy life; not a new identity but a state where nothing is forced, nothing is defended, nothing is performed, nothing is avoided, nothing is embellished. Isness where calling is offered and essences aligns.
Who would you want to live alongside?
I would live alongside whoever engages with me in a way that supports clarity, coherence, and the mutually beneficial advancement of unique entites whilst respecting individuality. With those who value respectful divergence as much as alignment.
Dear Vishen,
My greatest compliments and congratulations with your decision to live 100 authentic, immersive lives.
In a certain way I know what you are talking about.
Februari last year, I felt that in my country, The Netherlands, I could not breath the way I wanted.
So I packed two suitcases, and for the rest threw all I had away or gave it to people who could use it and emigrated to Bulgaria. Lived there for four months and emigrated again to Romania. Lived there for two months and emigrated to Vietnam, where I now live since Oktober 1st. I came up with this motto: The more strangers you meet, the less you become a stranger to yourself. I learn so much about what I like and do not like, where I want to go, how I want my life to be and what my next step is. It’s awesome.
So yes, I wish you the greatest immersions. I followed the social media and AI summit. You were awesome.
The stand-up comedy part was there. Alive and kicking.
Congrats.
Take care.
Felix
How exciting! I am 51 and have always immersed myself in new things. Improv, Piano, guitar, live singing, engineering, design, writing, all things Mindvalley! I highly recommend learning Mythology! It’s my year long weekly 2 hour zoom class obsession of each God and Goddess and how their archetypal story resonates with life! You find your own story unfold and everyone you know as well. Fascinating! Next learning is Tarot and Salsa! Looking forward to seeing your journey, as it’s always unpredictable.. I didn’t plan to wake up in My Mexico City vacation to a 40 second earthquake warning alarm and run 12 stories downstairs half asleep! That is something to remember!
Ways I would continue to spend my time or start: Volunteering in a homeless soup kitchen getting to see & know the people better; volunteering at the local humane society – either all areas or maybe going deeper more in one area like getting out to work the TNR (trap neuter release feral cat) program; volunteering at an orphanage in Africa, volunteering to be the manager or in the kitchen at Vipassana retreat, volunteering to be a trail angel & do trail work in a state or national forest, do a thru hike or park of one; volunteering at a horse rescue or orangutan rescue/rehab; learn how to be a clown or work puppets & spend a week volunteering at a children’s hospital helping them to smile. I think would be some weeks well lived!
Hi Vishen
Good luck with your expanding your horizons and life experiences. That is so awesome! Loved your recent social media summit unfortunately I realize I’m not an influencer nor do I actually want to be. Plus the money was a bit of a stretch out of reach. I recently built a course without my face because I’m addressing hackers and trying my best to remain anonymous and getting traction in social media without a face is quite the challenge. My ability to present and speak on camera is not so good. I don’t expect you to reply, but maybe one of your staff can help. I am feeling defeated and no idea where to turn. I don’t have a lot of talents or maybe there’s a way to tap into that inner part of me that I’m not seeing I’m a Mind Valley member and have taken a number of courses and doing my best to keep at my course to help newbies get into crypto safely. I am wondering if you have a program in Mind Valley that can help a person in their 60s reinvent themselves or better tap into that side of them they don’t even know exist. I am a frequent and regular meditator closing in on 10,000 minutes. I appreciate your time. I absolutely love Mind Valley and look forward to attending live event events to be around like-minded, kind hearted, adventurous, curious and people who want to make a difference on this earth. thanks for your consideration and and thankful and grateful for Mind Valley and you have a blessed day.
You’re so inspiring, Vishen! I love this idea and the fact that you’re actually *doing* it. I’ve always thought it’d be fun to be an actor for this very reason: you get to try on various lives temporarily.
Excited to hear you perform stand up comedy! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Witness a life is not the same that livinf it. You will witness monks, cooks, whatever lives for a week. That wont let you live 100 lives, just enrich yours. You will have the face of a man that has briefly “smelled” other ways of life, and that is great.
Hello Vishen. I’m so happy to read your new idea to live your life. You can come and become a teacher in Panama if you want I’ll share with you my school and students. If you don’t, it’s OK I’ll enjoy all the sharing of your journey, you don’t imagine but you’re transforming other’s ways to see the world with every decision you made.
Hi Vishen, I think it is fantastic to celebrate with this goal of 100 different life experiences. Please give thought to living with the monks for 1 week. Solitude and prayer could enlighten you to new awakenings. I am looking forward to reading about your different experiences. Truly what life is, is about experiences and shared experiences. Cheers to your 2026 journey. With anticipation and blessings, Leon
Love this idea Vishen!
All your effort and hard work have given you the opportunity to pursue this amazing idea.
Come to (what is now my home town) St Andrews for a week and learn golf, at the home of golf. St Andrews Links Trust run some Golf Schools, which are very accessible – St Andrews is one of the most beautiful places in UK. You’d be made very welcome 🙂 If you do decide to visit, I’d be happy to help.
Happy Birthday Vishen. Your idea sounds amazing and original. You never cease to impress and amaze!!! Thanks for inspiring me!!!
A lovely idea and here’s what I would do for one week.
A garden design course in 2026: Nottingham Trent University UK is offering a hands-on, one-week Garden and Planting Design course from 13–17 July 2026, ideal for both beginners and aspiring professionals.
🌿 Top Week-Long Garden Design Course
Course Dates Location Format Cost Highlights
Garden and Planting Design – Nottingham Trent University 13–17 July 2026 Nottingham (City Campus) In-person, Mon–Fri 10am–4pm £675 Creative, practical design skills; plant use; materials; ideal for career starters or garden enthusiasts
Why It Stands Out
• Immersive and practical: The course is designed to spark creativity and teach you how to bring garden ideas to life using real-world techniques.
• Career-friendly: It’s perfect if you’re considering a career in garden design or want to transform your own space with professional flair.
• Compact and focused: The one-week format makes it ideal for a summer learning retreat without a long-term commitment.
Happy birthday! Love your goals!
Excellent ideas! I recently retired and this is exactly the direction I want to go! Total immersion in what you’ve always wanted to do! Thanks Vishen! Genius!
Bravo Vishen pour ce nouvel élan des 100 vies à venir ! Quand tu seras à Paris, viens diner chez nous. Mon mari cuisine à merveille 🙂 N’hésite vraiment pas à te manifester. Ce serait une vraie joie pour moi de partager un moment simple avec toi.