Say Yes to Finding the Possible

Shownotes

Today, I’m chatting with Ryan Mallonne. Ryan currently works as a classroom teacher at an international school in Prague. He loves teaching Grade 4. Having lived in several countries since his early twenties, Ryan shares some fascinating experiences such as serving in the Peace Corps and his two week silent retreats in Thailand. Listen on to find out his thoughts about change and why he thinks he can live in a cardboard box. 

Ryan social media use and and his blog are both aimed at his classroom community. If you’d like to connect with Ryan, please post a comment

Your tip from today’s interview is: What are the opportunities open to you that are just waiting for you to notice them?

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Timeline of the Chat

1:17 – Ryan introduces himself
2:17 – Teaching locations
2:50 – Favorite country
3:45 – Challenges of living overseas
4:36 – Becoming comfortable in a new place
5:35 – Deciding to move overseas
9:13 – Serving in Peace Corps
12:26 – How I know Ryan
12:46 – Journey from Peace Corps to Prague
13:53 – The Biggest Change
16:03 – Ryan’s great strength
18:14 – What drives change for Ryan
18:58 – How the initial move affected his life
19:33 – Advice for living or working overseas
20:07 – Considering service
24:31 – How the brain reacts to silent retreats
28:38 – Learning new skills

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Quotes from the chat

I think I really appreciated it a lot more through the lens of showing people around and exploring it together.

The flood of fluorescent lights and the sea of cubicles didn’t really change and I was in the corporate American version of the heart of darkness.

I thought that a good challenge would be to try to teach in a completely different environment.

I just needed a catalyst of hey, this is a possibility.

I just had to show up.

I got itchy feet in Nepal … I loved living in Kathmandu but three years seemed like enough.

I missed the point where you’re supposed to figure out how to be an adult in the US.

It’s the wrong way to do it if you think I am going to be the giver and you are going to be receiver.

When you move somewhere, when you go somewhere, it’s about the relationships that you make. That’s what ends up being meaningful.

I learned how to be bored. I think learning to be bored is an amazing skill. And it brought out all sorts of creativity spurts that I didn’t think that I had.

If you can figure out how to learn how to be bored, it’s actually a wonderful, wonderful thing.

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Wherever you decide to move or whatever life you decide, there’s gonna be a variable honeymoon period. And then it will be the opposite. You notice things that bug you more than they probably should. But finding a happy medium between those two I think is important.

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Credits

• Theme music by Rafael Krux. Inspiration on freepd.com. License: CC0
• Image in this post provided by Ryan Mallonne.