This week's episode is a shorter one — because I pulled a muscle in my back. The same muscle I first pulled in the summer of 1999, mopping floors at the local vet clinic while "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls played on the radio.

But a shorter episode doesn't mean nothing to say. This week I share:

The early mornings and late nights in BeninWhat it was like waking up before sunrise in the scholfis — our little schoolroom and office — with twinkly lights and a candle, working on my doctoral program while the rest of the house slept. And why lying on a full sack of unshelled peanuts under the night sky, watching for the Southern Cross, is one of the experiences I most want Hello West Africa guests to have.

What's happening with Hello West Africa My first investor conversation is scheduled for next Tuesday. I'm also shifting my language from "investors" to "founding partners"...because Hello West Africa is communal at its core, and the people who help build it should feel that. Plus: the pitch is coming together, two podcasts are on the calendar, and digital nomads are on my radar as a new market.

The World Cup The African teams are showing up. The US team surprised me completely. And I took a drive after the Paraguay game, rolled down the windows, and played Magic in the Air by Magic System. There really was magic in the air that night.

All games are on the Fox One app.

Transformative Travel Can Be Designed. Here Is How. The guide people kept asking for. Seventeen pages, plain language, a framework you can actually use. Find it at the link below!

Get it here!

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