Adam Pervez Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Adam Pervez
Adam Pervez is my guest today on the Steve Jobs inspired podcast interview.
Adam is a man who many might say simply ducked out of his responsibilities and walked away from everything that was making him unhappy.
I would never say that.
A trained engineer Adam, decided that happiness was the most important state of all.
One that he could quite simply engineer by focusing solely on the things that he knew would make him happy.
Incorporating Volunteering, Learning, Teaching, Storytelling and Empowerment, this entrepreneur has created a life that is nothing short of inspirational.
As his website The Happiness Plunge states “He has been Happy and homeless for 918 days”
Being happy day after day sounds like a pretty good way to be to me.
Well let’s bring onto the show to start joining up dots, as we discuss the words of Steve Jobs with the one and only Happy Nomad himself Adam Pervez.
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Adam Pervez as:
How he realized that happiness wasn’t a choice it was a requirement!
How he could be the only unhappy man in Denmark!.
Why money, success and a career wasn’t necessary what he required to fill his life!
And lastly……
How he has planned to conquer the boardrooms and HR department across the world with a simple mandate:
Get Happy!!
How To Connect With Adam Pervez
Return To the Top Of Adam Pervez
If you enjoyed this episode with Adam Pervez, why not check out other inspirational chat with Jack Canfield, Clayton Morris, Roz Savage and the amazing Mike Michalowicz
You can also check our extensive podcast archive by clicking here – enjoy
Audio Transcrption Of Adam Pervez Interview
David Ralph [0:00]
Hello there and welcome to Episode Three. This is the only place where you will hear well me really but don’t let that put you off as we have an amazing guest that will inspire you to create a brilliant new future so let’s not wait any longer because I’m keen to find out more about him play the music Welcome to join up dots.
Yes, hello, everybody. My guest today is Adam Purvis, who many might say is a man who simply backed out of his responsibilities and walked away from everything. But I would never say that a trained engineer Adam to decided for happiness was the most important state of all, and one that he could quite simply engineer by focusing solely on the things that he knew would make him happy. So incorporating volunteering, learning, teaching, storytelling, and empowerment, he has created a life that is nothing short of inspirational. As his website the happiness plan states. He’s been happy and homeless for 918 days. Now being happy day after day sounds like a pretty good way to be. I’d like to welcome to the show as we started join up dots the happy Nomad himself. Adam Pervez, how are you sir?
Adam Pervez [1:34]
Great. Thanks for having me David now, it’s an absolute delight
David Ralph [1:36]
to have you on the show today. Now, we have a lifestyle like yours, which we touched on in the introduction, you really are focusing in on happiness. So I suppose the first day is, you know, why, why? Why is happiness so important to you on a day to day basis?
Adam Pervez [1:53]
I think in life, you know, what, it’s something we’re all pursuing. We all want to pursue happiness and be happy. So, but I many of us don’t actually put in the day to day effort to actually, you know, pursue happiness and be happy. It’s something we kind of expect to happen organically or naturally, or something like that, instead of actually working towards it, it’d be like, you know, you wouldn’t expect to become muscular and have a six pack if you didn’t go to the gym. So I’m kind of going to the gym, the happy, the happy Jim and you know, working towards my happiness. So something like that.
David Ralph [2:25]
is happiness actually sustainable? I is that an extreme emotion? Is contentment, something that is easier to maintain?
Adam Pervez [2:35]
Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think when you think about happiness, people kind of think of as being on cloud nine, or something like that. Or they think of the happiest moments of their life. And, you know, they, they don’t have that happiness on a day to day basis. But for me, happiness is really, it’s a, it’s an attitude that you cultivate. You know, the happiness is being content with life and being being happy with all the situations and making the best side of whatever life throws at you. We all kind of face a different set of circumstances in life. And it’s up to you how you react. So if you have the right kind of attitude, then you can you can be happy in any situation. And you know, take it one step further and help other people be happy with their situations.
David Ralph [3:16]
Can you trick your body into feeling happy, even even if you wake up in the first thing in the morning? In a terrible mood? Can you actually get yourself going? So even though your situation may seem pretty dire, because I’ve worked in the corporate world, where you don’t want to say good morning to certain people, because if you say, Good morning, you’re just going to get, oh, it’s rubbish, I’d be better if I wasn’t here and all that kind of stuff. Can Can you sort of overcome that just by a mental trick?
Adam Pervez [3:43]
Yeah, I think so. I mean, that the voice in your head can be can be very negative, a very positive. But I think if you if you really embody what it means to be happy, then you know, the other people around, you shouldn’t really influence how you feel. I mean, it’s kind of maybe a sign of weakness, if other people’s misery is a affecting you to the extent that you can’t be happy. And I think that one of the things I would say is that, you know, there, there is a lot of contamination out there. But if you want to be happy, you kind of have to be a filter. Because, you know, you can kind of help transform that misery into something positive or something happy. And I would say that for people who go to work and have that kind of situation, the best thing you can do is show like, is embodied gratitude. So even if people are under miserable, there’s so many things to be grateful for on daily basis that even at work, you know, that you can kind of remind yourself of to get you through that difficult situation where maybe everybody around you as miserable.
David Ralph [4:38]
Are you mentally strong? Adam, from from when he was a child? Has that always been a state of mind that has been important to you, and you can actually see in yourself and in others if I haven’t got that.
Adam Pervez [4:52]
I don’t know if I’d say that. I don’t know if I’m mentally strong. But I think when it comes to some things, I’m very determined. So. So as you introduced in the introduction about happy no mentor, you know, like you said, a lot of people thought I was crazy and stuff like that. But it just kind of hit me but slid right off, didn’t didn’t stick. And I knew what I wanted to do. And I knew I was focused on doing that. It was the same, you know, studying engineering was very difficult. And then I worked in the oil industry, and I was making tons of money. And I left that to go back to school and do an MBA. And then I worked after that making much less money and renewable energy. So it’s always kind of been something, I guess, I’ve always done what I wanted to do, and felt the empowerment, you know, I felt self empowered to do whatever I wanted to do. But at the same time, I’m very empathetic. So I, I can’t help but sense and feel the situation around me. And even if people don’t say it, I can kind of feel how they’re thinking and stuff like that. And when you decide to live a different kind of life, then you know, you can’t help but be met everywhere you go with suspicion or with you know, people just don’t understand. So it does take a certain element of strength. But I think that’s also something that can be cultivated over time. So the changes I made in my life didn’t happen all of a sudden took, you know, it’s been a life time process a life in the making. And maybe since I was somewhat weak as a youngster, I think maybe it’s something that came on stronger as an adult, something like that.
David Ralph [6:11]
So if we were going to go back on the theme of the show, which is join up dots and we’re going to play Steve Jobs speech. In a moment, I’d like to do that on most shows, because it sort of sets the tone of it all, you, you would be able to step back and see a progression from the child to where you are now to where that mental state has actually got stronger and stronger and stronger. Because I can imagine, if I was now to say to people, right, I’m gonna go off and go around the world and take six months to do it seven months to do it eight months to do it. Most people would think it’s so out of character for me, that I’m having some kind of a breakdown. But you were quite open with your family to say, Look, I’m in an engineering job. eats its success as far as you probably think it’s success, but it’s not making me happy. And the bottom line, I want to be happy. So I don’t really care in this situation, what you think of me? Would that be right?
Adam Pervez [7:08]
Yeah, but I was lucky in the sense that my parents didn’t like my decision, but they were supportive. But But yes, I would say the way you characterize it is is completely right.
David Ralph [7:17]
Right. Okay. So I’m going to play the speech, because it is really sort of the embodiment of this, this whole show. So we play on a daily basis. But um, let’s just listen to what Steve said again, back in 2005.
Steve Jobs [7:28]
Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards, 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future, you have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [8:04]
Well, your life has really gone off the well worn path. If I if I could take you back in time, white to when you had your first sort of memories of an adult or a teacher or or somebody saying to you, Adam, when you grow up, what do you want to be? I can pretty much sure you didn’t say I want to be happy. What would it have been in those days?
Adam Pervez [8:28]
When I was a kid, there’s a lot I mean, I went through many phases, I wanted to be a basketball player, I wanted to be a doctor, I wanted to be an Air Force fighter pilots, I wanted to do all kinds of things, you know, and it changed with age. But I would say up until high school I did general thing that stuck was to become a doctor, because I guess even then the idea of helping people was still you know, something deep inside of me. But then the.com boom happened and all the computer stuff happened. And I was interested in that. And so I as a student entering college in the year 2000. You know, I was kept debated by that stuff. I was good at math and physics and everything. So I studied engineering. But But yeah, I think it changed a lot as I grew up. And I think as an adult, it’s changed a lot to which is something that maybe, maybe we need to respect because I think as an adult, if you keep changing your life around, people think that you don’t have you know, you’re not with it or you, you don’t you don’t have a firm grip on a handle on life or whatever. But But I don’t know, I think the, it’s what keeps life exciting and keeps you growing. Whereas if you do the same thing for 40 years, it’s praised as if you you know, as a model of stability. But I don’t know, if you actually get the opportunity to live if you keep on maintaining the same life and don’t grow. So
David Ralph [9:40]
yeah, no, absolutely. Does it annoy you, when you You must spend a lot of your time justifying your actions to others.
Adam Pervez [9:47]
Um, I would say that in the Western world, yes. But when I was traveling, I mean, I’d be in places the middle of nowhere, and, and it’s almost like they understood because they don’t have, like, in the West, and a lot of us, in some sense, we have the freedom to do whatever we want. And then when people actually do something crazy and do something unique, then it’s kind of met with combination, or, you know, why are you going outside the norm and stuff like that. Whereas in a lot of the places I went and other parts of the world, it was something kind of celebratory, like, Oh, you know, that you have the chance to do something like this, we don’t really have that chance because of poverty or because of, you know, one situation or another. And they kind of understood that, you know, there’s a whole big world out there to kind of understand and to learn from, and, you know, they understood, but then when when I’m here, it’s like, people kind of sometimes treat me like an alien, or they just they really don’t understand or they don’t touch on those aspects at all. Like they don’t ask me any questions, or they don’t engage me like that. And also, I think in the West, people like to talk about themselves a lot. So since I’ve been home, it’s kind of funny how people know my story, but they never talked about that they just I don’t know that somehow they want to talk about themselves. So so I think that,
that it’s it’s kind of a funny process, how it works.
David Ralph [10:58]
So the key word on your statement now was unique doing something unique? And is it unique, or when you’re traveling around the world do you stumble across other Western Western is doing the same kind of thing is there kind of like a commute going around the world of other people that have kind of opted out for a period of time?
Adam Pervez [11:20]
For sure that I think there’s there’s different people doing it for different reasons. I mean, some people I met many people who are, you know, we call them digital nomads, now where they can their location independent, they work online, and they can be working in London, or in Bangkok, or in Sao Paulo, it doesn’t matter where they are. So a lot of these people, they can live on much less money by traveling, you know, by, by traveling, instead of being in an expensive city like Zurich, or London, or New York, or whatever. So there’s those kind of travelers who are just kind of along for the ride, you know, and maybe doing other things, too. I know, there’s other people who are young people who maybe they just finished high school or whatever. And they’re doing it gap year and traveling around the world and having fun and learning. Then I met older people who were may be closer to retirement or independently wealthy, who were, you know, taking the chance to go and travel because they didn’t get a chance to do when they were younger. But I also met plenty people in their in their late 20s, early 30s, who were kind of fed up with the corporate world and wanted to break away and kind of understand themselves and go through the process of self discovery that maybe didn’t have time doing when they were young and had to study so much and you know, work towards a goal that they thought was was very important at the time. So I think there’s lots of different categories of of travelers out there. And But yeah, I definitely met people like me who were had had a life in the corporate world who wanted to volunteer who wanted to do some exploration on the outside as well as on the inside.
David Ralph [12:45]
So looking at your website is now indicating that you’ve done 13 9% of the countries on Earth. Now, what was the first one? What was the first one that you went to?
Adam Pervez [12:57]
Probably Canada, because it’s only five hours from where where I grew up.
David Ralph [13:01]
And where’d you
Adam Pervez [13:02]
grow up? I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, I guess?
David Ralph [13:06]
Yeah. So it’s just a jump across the border. Right? Because because it was so close. Now I think if I was going to do what you’ve done, which really does appeal, big time, I’ll be honest with you. I think I would possibly go a lot further afield so that I feel like I’m starting my journey in an alien foreign country, going from America to Canada. It must have felt almost the same did it?
Adam Pervez [13:30]
Well, I’m sorry. I mean, the first country I went to was when I was a little kid. So maybe I misunderstood your question.
David Ralph [13:35]
Know what I was talking about when you actually started the happiness.
Adam Pervez [13:40]
That happy no matter actually started in Mexico, because at that time, which again, you could say to my neighbor, even though it’s very far from where I’m living, it’s it’s our neighboring country. But I had never been to anywhere in Latin America. So I had been to something like 40 countries before then through my traveling and through working in other countries and stuff. But I’d never been anywhere in, you know, besides US and Canada and this side of the world. So I lived in Spain, I did my Masters in Business there and I didn’t learn Spanish. So I said, I have to go and meet my neighbors and I had to learn the language. So that’s how I ended up starting in Mexico. But I think, you know, the US and Mexico even though we’re neighboring countries, there’s you know, it’s very, very, it’s not like London, or England and France or something. It’s quite different. Which was awesome, because I love Latin culture, and I love Spanish and stuff like that. So and the funny thing is, my first volunteering assignment was in, in, in a dog shelter, because, you know, I couldn’t I couldn’t basically formulate a sentence in Spanish yet. And so this lady had no idea why this this American guy wanted to come and volunteer at this dog shelter is not a touristy place, either. It’s in San Luis Potosi. It’s in the middle of the desert Mexico. So I showed up and i the only thing I she gave me four options on how I could help her. And so one of the options was limp er, which means to clean. And the only word I understood. So I said, Okay, I’ll clean. Which kind of put me in the shoes of many, you know, Mexican immigrants who come to us who can’t speak Spanish or who can’t speak English. And they ended up doing cleaning dishes. Yes, really. Yeah. So I got to kind of walk in those shoes. And then at the end, I kind of was able to explain a little bit what my project is. But, but I don’t know, it’s kind of in terms of join up dots is kind of funny how things work. Because at the end, I went to her office, and she had a refrigerator. And on the fridge, there was a magnet that said Be the change you wish to see in the world, which is you know, as Gandhi’s famous quote, and I had exactly the same magnet, I bought it in Oslo. And I had it in my, in my apartment in Spain, I had exactly the same magnet. So for me was kind of a sign. You know, it’s my first few days on the on the trip, it was my, you know, the very beginning of the trip, I it was a lot of uncertainty and everything. But for me, it was kind of one of the dots that I discovered along the way to say I’m on the right path. I mean, there’s gonna be more dots to come.
David Ralph [15:49]
Absolutely. And and it shrinks the world as well. Yeah, for sure. For sure. So one of you know, the theme, really, we’ve already touched on the join up dots business. But that the theme The show is really, but all the listeners out there to actually go, I could do this, it’s not as scary as it sounds, I’ve got an opportunity to change my life in ways but perhaps two weeks ago, three weeks ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed possible to do what you’ve done. Would it be scary for most people? Or is it something that most people could do I have you got different skills that has made it sustainable?
Adam Pervez [16:28]
I think in my case, I traveled quite a bit before I did this, but I, you know, I had never, I was always very, like very hit and run kind of traveling where I land, I go see the monuments, I take pictures, and I leave and I didn’t really talk to local people or you know, really understand what local life was like. So that’s that happy, no matter was different in the sense that I traveled much more slowly, I went to I went to places like Iraq and Somalia and places that, you know, people wouldn’t go, I mean, it’s, they would actively avoid those kind of places. But I think in terms of how other people could other people do the same thing I done, I think I wouldn’t encourage anybody to do what I’ve done, because this is my own path to walk. But I would say that what I did in the beginning, in the beginning, it was really a process of self discovery and trying to understand myself better because you can’t be happy without understanding yourself and accepting yourself and going through the kind of process of, of understanding who you are and what you want and what your passions are. And you know, these what your purpose is in life, all these kind of very heavy and, you know, maybe questions that we don’t really think about until we’re on our deathbed or, or much later in life. So I think that process is something that everybody has to go through and should go through. But I think in the West is not introspection isn’t as, I don’t know, it’s not as prevalent or, you know, people just don’t do it as much, because there’s so many distractions,
David Ralph [17:49]
just haven’t got time, maybe
Adam Pervez [17:51]
you don’t have time. And you also, even though we have, you know, we say that we have freedom, but there’s still a pretty strong undercurrent of conformity, you know, conforming to you know, and we don’t have much of a choice. I mean, you have to go, you have to get a job, you have to work in this country, you have to work to get health insurance to big mess. I mean, you know, so just to have some of the basic stuff, you have to conform to society’s norms. And it’s not as free as people think, I think. But But anyway, even if you are conforming, I mean, there’s no, there’s no, there’s no deadline, when you have to start doing this. I mean, you can do this at any age, and really just trying to look within and understand yourself better and answer these questions. And then once you start that process, you’ll kind of start finding inspiration everywhere. And you know, you open your mind and you’ll you’ll start seeing a different path emerge. And it just happens over time. I mean, it’s not, for some people, I guess it happens overnight, and they get slapped in the face with a realization and it happens. But I think for most people, it’s something that happens over time, you have to become more comfortable with the idea of making a big change. And of course, if you have a family, there’s more things to consider. I was lucky that I I don’t have any, you know, strong responsibilities. And I can do whatever I wanted. But But you know, a path emerges. And then you get that’s why my web site is called happiness plunge, because after a certain point, you see that other path? And you can’t help but but go down it. I mean, how could you go back to the other one, when you see this one much more clearly and much more brightly. So you kind of have to just take the plunge, you have no other choice, and you don’t look back.
David Ralph [19:14]
So so if we, you know, let’s look back at that moment, when you suddenly thought, I really don’t like what I’m doing, I’m going to do this? Was it an epiphany? Or was it just a dawning realization that kind of nagging doubt, I kept on coming back over a period of time until you couldn’t ignore it anymore.
Adam Pervez [19:32]
Actually, it’s kind of funny, because I was working for a huge multinational company in Denmark, and, and in Denmark, they have a three month probation period where, you know, if the company doesn’t like you, they can get rid of you and no questions asked and stuff like that. So I was on my way home, I was flying home for Christmas. And it was exactly the day that I had completed three months of, you know, working there. So you know, I was excited about going home to see my family for Christmas. But also I had passed though, the three month period, and I felt comfortable all of a sudden. And with that comfort, I started thinking, is this really what I want? You know, now I’m, I’m, I’m safe, like I have this job, and I’m okay, everything’s good and uncomfortable. But is this really what I want to do with my life? And so then that started, you know, a lot of these deep questions, because at each point in my life, I wasn’t really happy. But I was getting happier at each phase. You know, I went from working on oil rigs in the Middle East, which is, you make a ton of money, but it’s very lonely. And then I went to Spain, where, you know, in Spain, you guys know, half of England goes there every year to have fun on the beaches, and you know, enjoy the good food and everything. So, you know, Spain has a very different outlook on life and a very different approach. So I lived there for a year and a half doing my masters. And then I went to Denmark, Denmark always wins the happiest country in the world. And you guys are completely fascinated by Scandinavia, with how they live and how happy they are and everything. So so you guys know, and but I was in Denmark, and I wasn’t happy. So I said, if this place is happy, now happy then is the problems me it’s not it’s not Denmark, or you know. So I kind of that’s how everything kind of came together at the same point, like this place is happy, I’m not happy, I have security now that I won’t get fired or that you know, everything is fine with my job. But I don’t think it’s really what I want. And then that coupled with the fact that are flying across the ocean, going back home, and you know, just kind of a very introspective time. And then when I was flying back to Denmark, I’d already after Christmas, and after New Year’s, I’d already realized that I have to change. And I kind of gave myself a six month deadline, I guess, or a six month time period to figure it out. But pretty quickly. I mean, like I said, when you start going down that path, you find inspiration everywhere. And I found inspiration and all kinds of different areas. And it just kind of came together naturally. I if you wouldn’t want to my apartment at that time, you would have seen pieces of paper everywhere like a madman, you know, when you see these TV shows, reconstruct how a murder happened, your serial killer. I was Yeah, I was writing down everything. And you know, I would see patterns emerge. And you know, I knew that whatever I want to do next had to involve travel because it was my biggest passion. But then I kind of traveling is good. But then how do I incorporate the other things I’m interested in. That’s That’s how everything happened. But But I think everybody has that travel, like for me to travel, but everybody else has that other thing. You know, to that really captivates them, and they want to make a life out of it. And you know, it’s just a matter of taking that, that kill and then figuring out how to build your life around the rest of it.
David Ralph [22:24]
I think you’re absolutely right. I know with myself personally, I’ve started this because the last 2030 probably all my life, I’ve always tried to inspire people to do crazy things. And you don’t have to work in a bank, you can go off and do this. And you don’t have to work in insurance company, why don’t you go and often do that. And I suddenly got to a point where I realized I was saying it more often than not, but not actually doing anything about it myself. And as the words were coming out of my mouth, I was inspiring myself to do something crazy. So my with a family and a wife, quit my job, I quit my income. And now I’m kind of in a limbo land really, as I’m trying to get this next business going off. And hopefully, the content will be picked up with people globally. And labels resonate with it, and we can create a movement. But for me, it was it wasn’t so much traveling, it wasn’t so much. finding myself, it was more about actually being true to myself. And backing up the words I kept saying over and over and over again. Does that make sense?
Adam Pervez [23:28]
Yeah, for sure. I mean, it sounds exactly kind of the same process. I went through it just, you know, we had different passions and different circumstances in life. But in the end, we’re both on the same team in terms of trying to help other people, you know, find that energy within and do something different and be happier
David Ralph [23:44]
on that people out there, Adam, that can’t be helped.
Adam Pervez [23:48]
Um, I don’t know, I think a lot of people, especially early in life, when you suffer, you know, dramatic trauma or something like that. I think it makes it much more difficult. But I think that nobody’s a lost cause. I mean, everybody, everybody can be redeemed and can be can be helped and can be. I think that’s the other thing, too. I mean, some people need more help than others. I mean, I think it sounds like you and I maybe we’re more self directed. But other people I think, I don’t know what when we join up these dots, I think there’s a lot of interaction we have with our community or our circle or surrounding circle. And I think that in the process of joining up our own dots, we inspire a lot of other people tangentially. And I guess that’s helping people, but everybody responds differently. And so for me, maybe the idea of security isn’t as strong as it is for other people. And that that, that need for security, overwhelms their, their desire to do something different. So maybe they don’t, they don’t need to be helped, because they already have what they want. I mean, they’re already living the life that they want. So it all depends on how what people want out of life and, and what their current circumstances are.
David Ralph [24:56]
Really difficult question because obviously not in this situation. But could you imagine if you had a wife and kids, would you have done what you’ve done? Or would it have gone on the back burner and just simmered?
Adam Pervez [25:09]
Hmm, I think I would have done the same thing. But it would have been in a much different, a much different way. But again, it depends on my wife to I mean, if she wasn’t interested, then I think that would be it’d be more more difficult if she if she was on board, then I think we would have traveled in a much different way. And also, obviously, if we had a kid or kids, then it would be the education of a lifetime for them. So I think there’s nothing but benefits there. But I maybe I wouldn’t have gone to the same countries I went to, you know, maybe I would have I would have stuck to more. What do you say safe places or whatever. And the other thing is to maybe if there’s if there were three or four of us, then probably you know a lot of people, what they do is they they buy a boat somewhere and then they sail around, and they live on the boat. And I think that would be much more, much more sense financially, but also in terms of freedom, it would have been much more freeing to be able to just to say all wherever you wanted to go. And you know, at the end, you sell your boat and and that’s your, your capital for doing whatever you want to do next and in life. So. So I think I just would have done it much differently. But I think I probably would have learned the same things. And it would have been a nice experience. But again, it all depends. I would a dependent on my wife and she was on board. And if she wasn’t then you know, that would have had to be some compromise or something like that. Yeah.
David Ralph [26:25]
When you say getting a boat would make more sense financially. How did you actually fund your travels? Was it something that you went into each town and actually work for that period of time? Or was it was it easier? You just had money saved up? And you use that?
Adam Pervez [26:44]
Yeah, so basically, as I said, I worked in the Middle East, so I made a lot of money there. And then with that money, I was able to pay for my masters in Spain. And so I went to Denmark with 500 euros in my pocket. I mean, I didn’t have I didn’t have any money. So I look for a job. And I got the job that I mentioned before. And I look a very simple life, you know, not luxurious at all, I just, you know, I was living very simply, and I saved as much as I could. And then with that money that I saved up, I was able to take the next step and and, you know, take the happiness mentor. So,
David Ralph [27:16]
could you do this on a sort of budget? Or would it just be miserable?
Adam Pervez [27:22]
I mean, I was on a pretty tight budget, I only spent, like you said 918 days of traveling, I spent less than $900 on accommodation. So you know I did I stayed with people on the couches, I did couchsurfing, I did all kinds of I did, I would volunteer and sleep on the on the couch in the you know, in the office or something like that. So I think it depends on what miserable means to you as that person because for me, I think a lot of the circumstances I had people would consider miserable. But for me, it was it was fine. I mean, I didn’t mind it, no big deal. So it’s all relative, but But yeah, I mean, you can definitely do it on a budget, if you you only have a certain amount of money, you can definitely make make things happen. It’s just a matter of how resourceful you are, and how much patience you have. And, and these kind of thing. I mean, just recently, there’s a British guy who went to all 200 countries without, without flying, you know, there’s this. So you can really do some amazing things. And he said he had an average budget of like, I can’t remember 100 bucks a week or something. So it was very, very low budget, you know, in terms of be going everywhere, and having to buy visas and stuff like that. So anything is possible. It’s just a matter of how creative you are and how resourceful you are. Just like what you know, we’re talking about Steve Jobs, all these tech entrepreneurs, they all started in the garage, you know, with with nothing and blah, blah, blah, and they had to be resourceful. And so sometimes when these companies become so big, they lose that idea of being resourceful. And that’s, you know, that spells the end of their, of their reign as a champion or whatever. Yeah,
David Ralph [28:47]
absolutely, absolutely. I think one of the things from the shows is that you don’t know the answers. If you’ve got an idea, you just have to do something, and then do something else and do something else. And it’s gonna lead somewhere, and it might lead life changing, or it might lead down a dark alley, and you’ve got to back up and go in a different direction. But you don’t need an awful lot of money to create your dream life. You just need to be proactive. You need to create momentum, and you need to do something to create action. Which would you agree with that? Yeah.
Adam Pervez [29:19]
Yeah, for sure. And I think that you need to listen to your gut. Because I mean, you know, like I said, going to go into some of the dangerous places I went, I felt comfortable, and I was fine. But for whatever reason, when I got to Nicaragua, I felt very uncomfortable. And very, my gut was just telling me, I have to leave. So I ended up leaving. So I think that’s something else to that you have to in the beginning of the process, you have to really get in touch with yourself and understand yourself. But you can’t stop that process. I mean, you have to keep on going. And, you know, and I think that’s like you said, if you end up going down a dark alley, if you’re listening to yourself, you probably will back up before it gets it becomes too late, or are these kind of things so I definitely agree with you,
David Ralph [29:59]
I’m gonna put you in a room with 10 people, would you recommend this to every single one of them,
Unknown Speaker [30:07]
recommend what they’ll
David Ralph [30:08]
recommend your your traveling lifestyle, the experiences you’ve had, they have a nomadic lifestyle that you’ve achieved over those 39% of the countries of the world.
Adam Pervez [30:19]
Now, I would say I mean, I wouldn’t recommend it to any of them out. But I would recommend them the process of understand themselves better and pursuing happiness, but in their own way. Because for example, I mean, if you can imagine a lot of people out there are working really hard and you know, working hard to make a lot of money and have money for their kids futures and stuff like that. But maybe for some people, the pursuit of happiness will just be kind of getting rid of that lifestyle and having a simpler lifestyle and spending more time with their families. You know, a lot of people think that, you know, being successful is providing for their families, but they don’t spend enough time with their family. So some of those people in that room, maybe maybe for them, the aha moment is, you know, maybe I shouldn’t be trying to make as much money as possible. But I should be trying to spend as much time with my family as possible. So everybody kind of has a different circumstance that will will get them on the path towards a happier life. But for me, you know, I was, you know, I probably got the champion won the award for asking why the most as a little kid, because I was always curious about everything. So for me, you know, traveling is the ultimate Why? I mean, why are we so different? why they’re different cultures, you know, it just never ends. So for me, it was captivating. And, you know, this is what what fuels my, my life and my curiosity. But for other people, it’s not appealing. And so for them, they have a different path to walk. But, but yeah, for maybe one of the 10, maybe they’d be interested. But in general, I think it’s, it’s something everybody has to walk their own path.
David Ralph [31:43]
Across the globe, are we different, obviously, a huge similarities.
Adam Pervez [31:50]
I think when it comes to the basic stuff, we’re all the same. We all care about family, we all you know, love, we all want to be happy. You know, so in in the most important ways, we’re all the same, but and then in other ways are very different. But I think it’s that gray area in between that kind of links this all together. But you have to be open minded, you know, like, in different places, there were a lot of things I didn’t, I didn’t agree about how people live or things like that, but But who am I to judge? You know, the other thing about traveling is that you learn to become very non judgmental, and I think part of being happy is is also suspending that judgment, because who are we to judge other people or these kind of things? I mean, you you know, you should just focus on yourself and, and finding your own inner peace. But
But yeah, I think I think in general, we’re all we’re all the same.
David Ralph [32:39]
So the happy, no mentor has to come to an end at some time, you come back to wherever you create a base for yourself, it could be America could be Canada, wherever you what, what you’re going to do with that knowledge that you built up on how to create that, that state of happiness?
Adam Pervez [32:56]
Well, the first step is, I’m starting a consultancy now help companies. You know, a lot of the things I learned about happiness on the road can be applied to the boardroom and a company or in the in the HR department. So I’d like to work with companies and try and improve their happiness to measure its you know, quantitatively, but also to help them with different practices that can help improve the happiness in their companies, which, you know, all the studies show that if you, if you’re happier, as an employee, you’re much more productive, you’re much more engaged, you’re much more creative, and you’re much less likely to quit. So so there’s a lot of benefits. But, you know, it’s one thing to help the company, but for me, I, I think approaching companies is the best way to kind of spread the message on a big scale. So I can help because these employees are employees for the company, but they’re also mothers, their fathers, their sons, their daughters, their uncles, their aunts. You know, they’re human beings. So I’d like to help human beings become happier. And to try and do it on a mass scale. This is my approach. And I like to write a book kind of incorporating my pursuit of happiness, with the traveling aspect of my life, and a lot of the things I learned on the road that are natural lessons for, you know, people pursuing the pursuit of happiness. So those are the two projects I have I have going on right now.
David Ralph [34:09]
But I wish you the best of success, I think they are amazing projects to have. And honestly, I think there should be more people out there who have taken a proactive approach of trying to be happy, because it’s going to be a better way of being, isn’t it?
Adam Pervez [34:25]
Yeah, for sure. For sure there’s there’s a better way. And I think a lot of people know that they’re just maybe afraid, because one path is already established. And the other path is, you know, like Robert Frost said, The to pass the version of woods. And a lot of people are afraid to take that other path. But I think once you start investigating it, it becomes much less scary and much more exciting and, and rejuvenating. And it shows you that life can be much more enjoyable to live. And I think a lot of people are starting to realize that.
David Ralph [34:51]
Well, I’m going to bring you to the very last part of the show now, which we like to call the Sermon on the mic. And that’s when I throw over the presenting duties to you. And I’ll leave it to you speak to the audience and speak to yourself about what you believe is achievable in anyone’s life, whether they have fears holding them back, whether they have restrictions holding them back, really just leave it to you the seminar mind.
Music [35:21]
Here we go with the best beer on the show.
Adam Pervez [35:40]
Okay, Thanks, David. Well, I think when I think about myself when I was younger, because who I am now and who I used to be, are two very different people. But I think I was I was very much trapped up in, in the fear of what other people thought of me, I was very conscious of how people perceived me and how people thought of me. And I was always kind of trying to be as normal as possible. Because I think maybe maybe you are, I knew as a kid that I was different. And I was always just trying to be normal. And so I think that being different is is something good that should be celebrated. I think, in in universities now and also in the corporate world. Diversity is something that celebrated and realized as a strength, you know, it’s good to be diverse, it’s good to have different opinions. And I think maybe growing up I didn’t, I didn’t realize that being different was something was an advantage as opposed to maybe a liability. So I think for all the people out there who who think that they are different, I would say embrace that and see where it goes. Because you know the path of normalcy, we know where we know where that goes. So you can kind of project that out. But the path of being different, that can take you a lot of amazing places and help you grow as a person bring you more happiness, and also help other people who are different and help them realize, you know who they are, and also bring out their full potential. Because I think when you’re, if you do feel like your difference, if you try and live a normal life, you’ll never achieve your full potential probably. So if you can kind of embrace that, that difference inside you and see where it leads probably leads to something, something great, but if nothing else, you’ll be like David said, Be true to yourself. And yeah, I think there’s many routes to, to happiness, but you have to pursue it in your own way, as we talked about here. And don’t be afraid to make a mistake, you know, there’s no, when you pursue happiness, I don’t know if there’s really a wrong term, it just turns that help you learn things about yourself and about about the world and about the universe. So, so don’t be afraid to make wrong turns. You can always back out and take a different path. But, you know, you shouldn’t just keep on learning about yourself. And I think another thing is just trying to accept everything that life throws at you. I think in the West, we feel like we need to pursue life as comfortable as possible. But you can’t really predict where life is going to lead. So it’s you know, instead of trying to control life and make it as comfortable as possible, you know, instead pursue life and see where it leads, and then response to the things that life throws at you. Because you’re never gonna be able to predict, what happens in life is life is unpredictable. So it’s much better to be proactive and be on the offense instead of kind of the way that normal people normally live is being on the defensive. But if you really be proactive, you can kind of take what life throws at you. And if you have cultivated a happier attitude, then accept it and make the most of it. Because you know, you never know what’s going to happen. But if you can make the most out of it, then it will lead you down a good path. And I think the last thing I would say is about being judgmental. I think part of the reason why most people are on the same path is because in general, people are very judgmental. And so people who deviate from that, that well well beaten path are, you know, kind of judged as being, I don’t know, not good or bad, or, or whatever. And I think that part of the way to stop that is for you to stop being judgmental yourself, and work on yourself before you you know, you kind of expect other people to stop. And when you stop being judgmental, you can kind of see life for what it is it’s a gift. And there’s all different kinds of people, and all different kinds of ways of thinking. And when you can stop being judgmental, you can really start learning and kind of incorporating some of those things that you learn that maybe when you were judgmental, you never would have appreciated or seen for what they are. Because life is not black and white, you know, it’s really the gray area is where life happens and where where you can grow. So if you can stop being judgmental, then maybe you know, you can help other people do the same but but most of all, you know, if you can stop being judgmental, you can really start learning and starts.
Start start the path of being happier.
David Ralph [39:58]
And I think that is a path that really, no matter who you are, wherever you are, is something that we really need to focus in on because happiness has got to be as simple as that. Adam, it’s been an absolute delight to have you on the show today. I wish you all the best. Taking on the boardrooms and the HR departments of America and across the globe with your happiness project. If there are people out there that would like to contact you and get in connection with you. How can they go about it?
Adam Pervez [40:25]
Yeah, you can just go to my website happiness, plunge calm. And in the top. There’s a thing that says contact me and I’m happy to answer any questions or get in touch with any of your listeners.
David Ralph [40:35]
Well, the door is always open to you to return once again. And whatever you do, sir, keep on joining up those dots because he’s the only way to build our future. Thank you so much.
Adam Pervez [40:44]
Yeah, thank you very much.
