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
It’s a wonderful plan!
Sorry i’m Italian and i shold say you that Italian cooking will be far better that french one 😉
What a nice idea! Living is what we are on Earth for. And you’re on the good path Vishen. If you really come to Paris, please tell me when you arrive. I must ask my partner if she would agree for you to come home and cook my diner as I do everyday. By the way, as you like beeing entertained in small venues, if you are in Paris on March 17th for Saint Patrick, I will play rock with my cover band, Salt & Pépères, in the O’Jason Irish Pub. You’ll be more than welcome!
Happy Birthday Vishen!
I have often thought of this idea to immerse into other lifestyles and experiences! a couple of ideas I have:
To be a Blueberry Farmer (this is my “dream life” where I learn everything about growing blueberries and enjoy their “quiet”)
To understand and learn all about growing mushrooms
To be a rock wall builder in Hawaii and learn the real hawaiian way to build rock walls
To spend weeks meditating (I love attending Dr Joe Dispenza events for this)
A fun one I did in the past was a week in New Zealand to “Learn how to overcome the chemical response of fear” …
~so fun and lots of learning! I got the idea originally from reading the 4 Hour Work Week…mini retirements and immersing into lifestyles I am curious about.
I am excited to see your experiences unfold! Thank you for sharing!
Bravo!
I absolutely adore this idea! You have just changed vacation plans for the rest of my life. I turned 60 this year and I’m determined to live the rest of my life wide open!
What an impact!
Turning 50 is a game changer defining moment! Of course you are a Capricorn! It is so YOU literally written in the stars. It also explains why I learn so easily from you as it relates to my astrology as well.
I love this idea and want to join you in 100 lives. I gave up meta platforms so this is a new life. At 54 I have spent over a decade being a part of myself that had to fit into the posts & algorithms. 50s are the most courageous time – we are fully formed adults now. Maturation is real and not all handle it or grow so this is a beautiful way to express & experience it. I have been with Mindvalley for over a decade now and still learn daily. It is my dream to meet you Vishen! I can’t wait to see your new adventures. In love & light 🙏🏽
Oh Wow, this is so mind-blowing Vishen, what a brilliant way to start your chapter of the next 50 years, thought provoking and very insightful. If I had to do something new today it would definitely be to learn to ride a horse, like really ride, like one of those cowboys in Texas, and go spend more time in the mountains. Mountains have a way of talking to my soul, so yeah thank you for your awesome blog, you got me thinking about the finer things in life rather than the rat race and chasing behind money the whole time, Good Luck and looking forward to hearing about the next steps in your journey.
Do something in service to others, such as care giving for the elderly, especially those with dementia. That’s what the rest of us without endless money are doing in our 50s, 60s, 70s. You have an intriguing idea, but it’s unattainable for the rest of us and, therefore, privileged and frivolous.
I’m 50 too! I’d love to (re)train in Bharat Natyam, a classifal’dance form but this time in immersion mode, in India.
Then onto other dance forms – jazz, tap dancing. Smiling already thinking about it.
Life gifted you with this idea on your 50th birthday. I hope you go for it. And I hope I can too, one day.
Happy 50th Vishen! As a fellow Malaysian born and raised living in the US your birthday 100 lives experience is inspirational!
I’ve been following your work for years, and part of MindValley family as I believe it’s a truly holistic powerful life platform🙏🏼💜
Your living 100 lives has inspired me to expand life by creating more life experiences for myself 🙏🏼
TERIMA KASIH
Elizabeth
Very timely, 70th birthday is January 31, and this gives me opportunity to explore my own thoughts, ideas. I live on social security, with small savings to help….I would love to just be able to see family and friends spend time with them. They live a planeride away. I love learning through Tapping, Mindvalley, Arielle Schwartz, etc….would love to continue learning how to take care of myself and enjoy life. I love photography, would be cool to go where I could be immersed in another country’s culture. I love traveling with family, exploring together….I am practicing grounding, right where I am. I find this exercise fascinating and am just really glad to be awakened to what I can do, right where I am…for today
Thanks Vishen for be and inspiration!! god allways with you
What would you study?
-Italian language immersion, dance with Alvin Ailey Theatre abroad, learn to paint in Italy, and more.
Where would you go?
-Italy, New York, Japan. And more.
Who would you want to live alongside?
-teachers, business owners, elders, writers.
Hi Vishen! My first time sending you a message. I think what you are doing is sooo awesome. I signed up for line dancing classes this year and it is really fun!! I think I’m going to try some more new things like you and start “living life to the fullest”. Thanks
Dear Vishen, as a German living in Portugal now, I would highly recommend you to come to Portugal to learn surfing and living the Surfers Lifestyle for a week. It’ll free your mind and train your body very differently than other sports.
Hope to see you here soon 🙂
Hi Vishen,
You can join us at Cooltour Oporto in Porto, a top tour operator in Portugal, and experience the life of a tour guide over 5 to 7 days, with 5 to 7 curated experiences, including:
1) Douro Valley Wine Tour
2) Porto Food Tour
3) Night Porto & Fado Dinner Experience
4) Braga & Guimarães Cultural Tour
5) Northern Portugal (Minho) Tour
6) Aveiro & Coimbra Tour
7) Vinho Verde Wine Tour
And there could be more.
Warm regards,
Gonçalo
I’m so happy the obsession with money has ended.
A week on a trail ride. Beautiful horses, scenery, free air, sleeping under the stars, cooking on a camp fire, brewed coffee at sunrise, bonfire and a guitar player and a sing along.
A week with a animal rescue organization, on the ground literally changing animals lives.
Dear Vishen, such a lovely idea 🙂
I see you’re already living it fully 🙂
On a daily basis, I think about who I might have been if I weren’t me now 🙂 I often think about the crossroads in my past that could have taken me in completely different directions, and I wonder whether my “mirror me” is happy living in another reality 🙂
What would I have liked to try—or to have been? A shaman, therapist, paso doble dancer, esoteric center owner, country/folk singer, painter, photographer, astronaut, special mission agent, witch…
I think all of them are still somewhere inside me anyway—some more, some less 🙂
Omg i have decide to do a very similar journey. I live in the USA but I have decided from April 1st to 30th to live in Paris. Maybe we can meet or not but i live this
Add Switzerland to your list!!