"Scariest place to be is the same place as last year. Grow" reads an inspirational post on my IG feed on the last Friday of 2023.

I am sitting on a train back to Berlin from Warsaw. I came to visit for a day to see a dear friend before I go back to the US.

We met in 2007 in Australia when both of us were preparing for our ESL exams to get into American universities.

Today we're both running our own companies, on either sides of the ocean. She's also raising her beautiful twin babies, admittedly the hardest job on 🌏.

I planned to work and cross half a million things off my to-do list yesterday morning on the train. Then I sat for 5 hours in between two angry men, a dog, a tired mother, and a small child, all from various parts of Eastern Europe.

The adults were screaming at each other at points in languages I do not speak, for reasons I do not understand. The war, their nationalities, their right or lack of for being here...

I'm used to being "The European" in 🇺🇸, now I was "The American" in 🇪🇺. I felt my privilege. It put my to-do list into perspective. Change of plans.

To add some value, I ended up gifting the crying toddler one of the Legos I brought for my friend's kids and we played for a few hours.

To say that I'm in different place than last year is an understatement.

I grow because I spend my time doing what I love most: building relationships and learning from people from across continents.

Trying to add value on the way. Moves, achievements, money are byproducts.

For children, every month is full of incredible growth. I think adults should aim for the same.

And that pretty much sums up my plans for 2024. 📈