Cheers to Three Years of Living Unsettled

By: Michael Youngblood & Jonathan Kalan, Unsettled Co-founders 

Over the past 3 years we have witnessed 2,000 individuals walk into rooms of complete strangers from all over the world. From Croatia to Cape Town, on airplanes and in the middle of oceans, the human connections and contributions to one another’s lives by the Unsettled community is the greatest birthday gift of all. What does it mean to choose to learn, grow, live, and travel within a community? To us, it comes down to making contributions in each others’ lives as we go through our own…

The beautiful thing about contributions is that they can last forever. They are the gifts that keep on giving. When we take an intentional pause, ask big questions, and share our learnings with each other, we are setting ourselves up to make meaningful and lasting change.

We have asked each other big questions

We have asked each other big questions of where we are going in life and how we will get there. To share our perspectives and ideas that contribute to each others’ lives. 

Big questions often come at times of transition, when we need an intentional pause to reflect. We’ve seen people who were experiencing burnout, quitting their jobs, changing entire careers, and looking for meaning, find solace, inspiration, and direction from one another. These contributions would not have been possible without the communities we and you have created. The contributions then deepen that community connection and widen its reach. 

We have laughed and played together 

It’s been said that play is the highest form of researching, learning, and expression of creativity that we have. At Unsettled, we don’t travel for escapism. We travel to learn, play, and share. And in doing so, we are creating communities that open up space to collaborate with our authentic selves. What if being playful was the secret ingredient to learning and researching what’s next? It is what feels natural, in that state of flow. To align our interests, skills, and love affairs with the world around us. This is what inspires and reinvigorates. What creates new opportunity. We don’t travel for escapism but to learn and play. 

Human connections should inspire us to live more meaningful lives and finding a small group of people that make you laugh and feel loved may be the secret to discovering what’s next for you. 

We have built to last 

The thing about good contributions is that they last for years or maybe even decades. 

When we take an intentional pause and ask big questions, we are setting ourselves up to make meaningful, lasting change. A pause is meant to give us space to step back and look at the big picture of our lives. We create space to ask: What journey have I taken so far? Where am I headed next? How do I ground myself in my core values and strengths before I jump into my next adventure? 

We have seen this happen from 2,000 participants on retreats, online, in international meet-ups on almost all continents (Antarctica anyone?), and on the upcoming Unsettled Summit(!). Thank you for being a part of it all. Cheers to 3 years, and to many more to come…