Episode 102: Melinda Wittstock - Future of Workplace and Interactive Podcasts

Welcome back to Global Nomad Hacks. Wow, what a year it's been. I can't believe we are actually on our first anniversary, and we launched this show about global nomads being global citizens and living a life that really embraces the world community and being part of it on so many different levels during a pandemic, when no one could travel and we've had an incredible year. We've covered everything from identity theft and cyber security, to resilience in divorce, as a divorce love refuge, Bi-National marriages, e-commerce, and looking at different opportunities as digital nomads. Different types of travel personalities, and how you can be traveling with someone and picking your ideal travel partner. Looking at different ways that you can do this, looking at the insurance that is required and how we can attain that. Looking at how to thrive and how to avoid extremism and not take part in that, but also to contribute to the neutrality of it. Learning everything in so many different angles.

We've had such wonderful guests from Mark Philpott and Dr. Anna Cabeca to Farah Pandith and Kristin Engvig with the Women's International Network. We talked to a need abuse about green cards for extraordinary abilities. Lots of different coaches that work with digital nomads and work with global nomads and ex-pats from across the globe. Not just from the American perspective, but really a wonderful mix. We had Robert Carlbo,, an old and dear friend who was a third culture kid, Liberian Swede, who is a tennis master, who had the most wonderful story of growing up in Liberia and Sweden, and then coming to the US to go to school and work, and eventually marrying an American.

Just so many wonderful different stories about how we learn to thrive in this changing world, and the different things that we can do to make that happen and happen beautifully. And ways that we can really embrace our ability to be global citizens and to connect with other global citizens. We've also curated this incredible list of different products and services and stories and people in books and everything around the global nomad hacks community, and we opened up a section for people to really understand where they can find these resources. So, not just the interviews that we've done, but also some of the resources we've come across as global nomads herself, so we found a great way to share these with you, and I hope you all go check out the global notchback, it's really about power resources for people that really aspire to be global Nomads. Just so many wonderful things, and I just feel so blessed to who have been part of this incredible year with all of you and look forward to sharing more as we move forward. 

And to celebrate that and to celebrate our one year anniversary, this episode is really going to be a compilation of some of our favorites and some of the little things that we've come across on the way on this last year's journey. And celebrating the slow opening of return to travel and return to connection and opening of borders for love refugees, connecting people and families again. So, I just want to say thank you all for being loyal listeners, I hope you'll share this podcast with others who aspire to be global nomads, and who are already global nomads, because I think there's some really great resources that we can all benefit from.

It is my honor and my pleasure to share with you some of the highlights from the past year and look forward to an incredible upcoming year with you as well. Enjoy and have a nice journey wherever that might take you.

Dr. Heidi talks with Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg, founders/directors of Braille Without Borders and Kanthari.

SabriyeTenberken (German): Knowing what it is to be marginalized, she developed an intrinsic interest to create ethical social change. She studied Tibetology / Central Asian Sciences at Bonn University and to be able to take notes in Tibetan, she developed the Tibetan Braille Script. Traveling on horseback through the Himalayas in 1997, she discovered that Tibetans who in majority are Buddhists have a stigma against people with disabilities. Especially blindness is seen as a punishment for something you have done in your previous life. Accordingly blind children are often neglected, locked away in dark rooms or sent to the streets to beg for money. Experiencing this situation inspired her to take action.

in 1998, together with Paul, she started the first school for the blind in Tibet. This school formed the foundation of Braille Without Borders, an organization that empowers blind people to take their lives in their own hands. In 2005, they founded Kanthari in Kerala, South of India. Kanthari fosters participants from all over the world, who have a passion to make the world a better place and have the strength to be forces of good rather than victims of circumstance. In the daily activities, she mainly focuses on (the development of) the academic program.

Next to being a public speaker, She is the author of “My path leads to Tibet”, a book that has been translated into 16 languages. She and Paul also had the honor to take a part in the award winning documentaries ‘BLINDSIGHT’ and ‘KANTHARI – change from within”.

She became fully blind at age 12.

Paul Kronenberg (Dutch): – A leader is someone who uses his/her talents to lead the way in creating a better and more ethical tomorrow, EVERY DAY​! –

He is a “Social-Changineer”. With a technical background graduating in mechanical engineering, computer science, commercial technology and data-communication system science, he focuses on the running and operational management of Kanthari.

He is passionate about eco-friendly and cost effective “open hardware” technology and architecture. He is always on the lookout for answers that will help to build a better tomorrow; be it physical in terms of technical solutions, or be it mental, strengthening myself and the self of others.

Together with Sabriye, we started Kanthari. They offer a unique “Journey in five acts” Curriculum; an intense experiential and hand’s on learning experience we provide social change makers with all necessary tools to start, run and sustain own NGO’s.

In public talks, he likes to address questions like “why?” and “why not?”, and he favors the use of wit and humor to mirror the true shape of the world that makes one think and reflect about what can/must be done differently to become part of solutions.

My motto is simple: Life is what you are happy getting up for. And if you are not happy, then there is only one person that can do something about it, and that is…  you.

In his life he learnt that whenever if ‘I have to’ becomes ‘I want to’, that is where the magic begins!

You are responsible for what you chose to do, but you are also responsible for what you chose NOT to do…

And that, in his opinion is where there is a huge opportunity to develop solutions to address many of the social issues we face today.

More details on: https://www.kanthari.org/about-us/founders
Website: www.kanthari.org
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kantharis
Twitter ID: https://twitter.com/Kantharis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kantharis

Sabriye Tenberken - My Path leads to Tibet

https://www.amazon.com/My-Path-Leads-Tibet-Inspiring/dp/1611458897

The documentary kanthari - change from within:

KANTHARI – CHANGE from WITHIN tells the stories of leaders who have been affected by social ill and because of that, took it up to start initiatives to create a positive difference in their communities. They create a Change from Within.

The film documents a journey of Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg, founders of kanthari, a scholarship based leadership training centre in Kerala, India.

They visited graduates in East Africa, social change makers, each with a powerful personal story, a big dream, and a ground-breaking social project.

Monicah Kaguithia, daughter of a Maasai, repeatedly escaped female genital mutilation. She has developed an alternative rite of passage for girls in her community without circumcision.

Jayne Waithera is a person with albinism. She risks her life to advocate for the rights of persons with albinism in East Africa.

Stephen Onyang lost several family members due to AIDS. He now transforms the lives of HIV orphans on the banks of Lake Victoria through education.

Ojok Simon was still a child when a rebel soldier hit his head with the back of a rifle which made him loose most of his sight. He now runs a bee keeping cooperative in the rural areas of Northern Uganda.

“KANTHARI – change from within” challenges the old notion of aid to developing countries and vulnerable social groups. It sharpens the understanding of the potential of people from the margins of society by a raw, observational style of cinematography and vivid storytelling.

https://www.kanthari.org/kanthari-media/documentary

Blindsight  

Six blind Tibetan teenagers, shunned by their culture as sinners or possessed by demons, band together to climb the north side of Mount Everest. With the inspiration of their fiery, blind teacher who fought to establish a Tibetan school for blind children, the teens are guided by Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind mountaineer to have successfully scaled Everest. The climbers suffer through illness, bad weather, and the stark challenge of tackling one of the greatest natural wonders on the planet.

Initial release: 21 July 2007 (Japan)

Director: Lucy Walker
With: Sabriye Tenberken, Paul Kronenberg
Initial DVD release: 31 January 2008 (Iceland)
Produced by: Sybil Robson Orr

https://www.amazon.com/Blindsight-Lucy-Walker/dp/B002ZFAL2A

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Check out our NEW Power Hacks and Resources pages, listing links from our guests and some of our favorite products and services that we use and recommend to others.

Purchases made via our links will help support the Evolving Digital Self & Global Nomad Hacks podcasts.  Please feel free to share them with your friends (both the resources and the podcasts ).

 

On today's episode of Global Nomad Hacks, we are sharing the most downloaded episode since the launch of the podcast.

Dr. Heidi Forbes Öste chats with Kristin Engvig, Founder & CEO of WIN. A pioneer and thought leader in the field of creativity, feminine and authentic leadership.

Kristin Engvig is the pioneering founder of WIN (women’s international networking). She embraces global responsibility through innovative leadership events and personal speaking engagements to inspire women worldwide to become agents of possibility. She was named among Diversity Global Magazine's Top 10 Influential Women in Global Diversity and won the International Alliance of Women Award.

She has dedicated the past 22 years to women’s leadership and organizational change in order to inspire others to create a world where business flourishes and societies thrive. She created WIN in 97’ to bring alive a vision of a more feminine, global and sustainable way at work, in communities and life’. 22000 individuals and hundreds of companies have attended WIN’s live meetings, expanding worldwide. In her early career she worked for big companies such as JP Morgan, Citibank and Innovation Norway, EU and an as international strategy and marketing Consultant. Educated a business economist (BI, Oslo) with an MBA (Milan's Bocconi) and extensive studies in acting, communication and women’s development.

Website: https://www.winconference.net/Winconference
Facebook Page: @WINConference
Twitter ID: @WINConference
Instagram: winconference

Dr. Heidi interviews Raj Malhotra, CEO, InvenTrust.

My sense of the possibilities of a peripatetic life began as a child growing up in a family that traveled more than most.  As a journalist who featured the lives and challenges of prominent women leaders, my mom's range was unusual for most women in the traditional Indian society where we lived.  As a result I never associated home-making with a particular gender role.  My dad ran an aviation industry business and his own regular travels inculcated in me a sense that my home is the world.

So, adventures on the seven seas came naturally to me and just in the past few years (before the pandemic) my passports bear stamps from Japan, Iceland, China, Mexico, Italy, South Africa and likely another 10 countries.  These travels give voice to an innate drive to not just be a visitor or a spectator and instead live an engaged multi-local life -- immersed in communities in multiple parts of the world that allow me to explore the frontiers of my passions in art, tech, science, and food.

Taking a plunge into the unknown is something that I learned at an early age.  I was among a tiny number of international student undergraduates at my Ivy League college, and then after a promising early career with Fortune 100 companies, I took the much riskier and arduous path of entrepreneurship.  This path allowed me to remain true to my vision of building organizations that combine profit with purpose -- while living by my own lights (which is a mantra for most nomads!)  On this journey I founded and built a few thriving businesses, including a 2500-person remote workforce comprised primarily of moms in developing countries who wanted to achieve a better work-life-balance and used our pioneering networks to provide documentation services to hospitals and clinics around the world.  Today, I'm again helping usher in the next generation of virtual work through a trusted co-op infrastructure that can serve as the fabric for a co-op for global nomads.  This organization -- InvenTrust --  provides digital platforms to help nomads to earn value from their creative assets -- whether these are videos, inventions, artworks, datasets, or software apps while benefiting other nomads too!

Nomadic instincts also allow me to build my own creative repertoire in food and cooking -- so that even during the isolation imposed by the pandemic I was able to "get away" through culinary excursions in my own kitchen!  The languages of trade and translation that are germane to a nomadic life have also inspired a first novel that I'm writing. The novel deals in part with worlds that are going through rapid decentralization -- such as contemporary art, intangible assets, and cryptocurrency -- and touches on the richness that a decentralized (aka nomadic) paradigm can offer us.

Although I have laid down roots and built a nest in the Boston area, the desire to build and live in 2-3 nests around the world is alive within me again especially in the context of imminent family transitions.  I look forward to engaging with the Global Nomad Hacks ecosystem as I evolve the next phase of this journey.

Website: www.inventrust.com
Facebook Page: www.linkedin.com/in/therajmalhotra
Twitter ID: Rex_Malhotra

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Check out our NEW Power Hacks and Resources pages, listing links from our guests and some of our favorite products and services that we use and recommend to others.

Purchases made via our links will help support the Evolving Digital Self & Global Nomad Hacks podcasts.  Please feel free to share them with your friends (both the resources and the podcasts ).

 

Dr. Heidi Forbes Öste interviews Serial entrepreneur Lauren Cohen is an International Lawyer, Realtor and Cross-Border Expert.

Lauren is also a best-selling author and sought-after speaker and is a globally-acclaimed legal and real estate business advisor. Lauren’s passion for protecting the heart and soul of businesses shines through in all aspects of the services that she and her team provide. A graduate of York University and Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Lauren is a dual citizen. She has been featured in Inc. Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Working Mother, TV, hundreds of podcasts and radio shows and numerous other mediums. Lauren launched her own podcast, Investing Across Borders, in November, 2020.

After her then-husband’s deportation on the return trip from her honeymoon, Lauren was devastated. She felt compelled to find solutions for herself and others, and strongly believed that she could make a difference, so she turned to the crazy world of immigration and international law. Today, Lauren is recognized as an expert authority in her field. Real estate investors and entrepreneurs hire her as a turnkey concierge to protect their businesses and revenues so they can avoid costly challenges while expanding internationally.

Lauren believes in going above and beyond borders to navigate a successful path for clients to invest, live, work and play—anywhere! As a lawyer and realtor, Lauren is particularly well suited to guide investors

in their cross-border investment pursuits, applying e-Council Global’s harmonized concierge approach to residential and commercial investments both domestically and internationally.

Website: https://realestateacrossborders.com
Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/ecouncilinc
Twitter ID: @ECOUNCILINC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren_cohen_esq

Going Global e-book:
https://bit.ly/goglobalreport
COUPON CODE: INTERNATIONAL

Real Estate Investing Across Borders:
https://bit.ly/REAcrossBorders
Coupon code: REI4FRE
bit.ly/silverliningimm

Investing Across Borders:
Apple http://apple.co/34V79tM

Google:
https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9hYVFoWG80Yg%3D%3D

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Check out our NEW Power Hacks and Resources pages, listing links from our guests and some of our favorite products and services that we use and recommend to others.

Purchases made via our links will help support the Evolving Digital Self & Global Nomad Hacks podcasts.  Please feel free to share them with your friends (both the resources and the podcasts ).

 

Dr. Heidi talks with Brewer Stone, Partner of Nfluence Partners, and growing up in the diplomats world.

Born to a diplomatic family in Washington DC, moved to England at 4, India at 6, lived there 7 years. Parents then went to France, Austria, and Cyprus, where I spent extended holidays, while attending boarding schools. Then studied Rhetoric at UC Berkeley for BA, MA at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and PH.D. at Harvard focused on comparative political economy, China & India. Then moved to Shanghai China in 1994 to work with Prudential in investment banking, the to run Asia for them out of Hong Kong in 1998. Returned to the US in 2001, worked in investment banking, venture capital. Co -founded East Peak Advisors and built through acquisition by FBR in 2008. Joined Pacific Crest in 2011 to head all international business, which involved extensive global travel, especially to China, India, Brazil and Israel. Subsequently was a founding partner of Nfluence Partners in San Francisco, where I continue to focus on cross border transactions, primarily in software and clean technologies.

WEBSITE: www.nfluencepartners.com

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Check out our NEW Power Hacks and Resources pages, listing links from our guests and some of our favorite products and services that we use and recommend to others.

Purchases made via our links will help support the Evolving Digital Self & Global Nomad Hacks podcasts.  Please feel free to share them with your friends (both the resources and the podcasts ).

Dr. Heidi talks with John McGarvey, Co-Founder and CEO, DAO Labs creating accessible Chinese medicine.

DAO Labs is an herbal medicine and lifestyle company that is changing the way western consumers approach health, by embracing the 2,500 year-old formulas and practices of Chinese medicine in sustainable, easy-to-understand formats. 

John’s career started on Wall Street, but after two years of working at an international NGO in Lhasa, Tibet, John shifted his career to the natural products industry, first with a frozen food platform and now, by focussing on Chinese herbal medicine. 

Typically a high stress-type-A personality type, John embraced Chinese medicine to help with everything from altering his sleep quality, to reducing anxiety, to radically improving his digestion.  John attended Northwestern University and has an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management.

Website: mydaolabs.com
Facebook Page: @daolabs
Twitter ID: @daolabs
Instagram: @daolabs

Dr. Heidi talks with David McNeill, Founder of Expat Empire. As the founder of Expat Empire, David is focused on inspiring people to move abroad and showing them how to do it.

In addition to producing books, podcasts, blog posts, meetup events, and more, Expat Empire offers personalized consulting services to give everyone the opportunity to achieve their international dreams.

David started Expat Empire because he has a genuine passion for living abroad. He left the United States in 2014 and has since lived in Tokyo, Berlin, and Porto.

Website: expatempire.com
Facebook Page: facebook.com/expatempire
Twitter ID: twitter.com/expatempire

Dr. Heidi talks with Nomadic fashion designer Sandra Näsström. Sandra travels the world and proselytizes kindness. She’s on a mission, and she doesn’t care who knows it. Stylist and designer, she owns a Swedish fashion brand called Chambres Sweden. As an avid traveler, she fashions light on the skin, multifunctional and elegant clothes.

With many rooms to dream, she creates collections worth touching over and over again. And in her world, “It’s all about the feeling.” It’s all about the feeling. I thrive emotionally. It leads me and takes me to new places. I’ve created my work with the freedom to live in any location. I see no boundaries, only possibilities. I stay in the feminine energy flow and create quality time to make decisions that are right for me.

The luxury of time to slow down has taken me to a beautiful island off the coast of Napoli, Italy, where I’m based right now, and work freely in the global cyberspace. This transformation is more online and inline with me.

Website: www.chambressweden.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChambresSweden
Twitter ID: https://twitter.com/ChambresSweden
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chambressweden

Dr. Heidi talks with Amber Trueblood, licensed marriage and family therapist.

Traveling with four kiddos (and her husband) through 60 cities across the US and Canada... while writing a book and touring with the cast and crew of a Broadway Musical = Road Warrior (in her book!).  One of Amber's boys had the opportunity to play a role in a musical and they decided to make it an adventure for the entire family. They pulled everyone out of school, packed up skateboards and scooters and books and stuffed animals, and hit the road. The boys were 5, 7, 8, and 10 years old when the adventure began. With no smartphones or iPads, they explore museums, met an astronaut, climbed through Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, white-water rafted in Colorado, snorkeled in the Keys, held a ball python in the Everglades, gaped at Niagara Falls, and jammed with street musicians in Memphis. 

They celebrated Thanksgiving in Madison, Wisconsin, Xmas in Toronto,  Halloween in New Orleans, and birthdays in more places than she could count. Amber learned how to be together with family 24/7 and work like a team with her husband so they would not only survive but truly enjoy the fruits of all the hard work. She learned how to manage rental cars, flights, Airbnb's, pre-order groceries, and manage virtual learning on the road. It was an absolutely incredible experience, that ironically very much prepared they for the last 8 months of being completely home-bound.

Website: www.ambertrueblood.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/getstretchmarks
Twitter ID: https://twitter.com/TruebloodZone
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/officialambertrueblood