Ever think that the odds are stacked against you?
Jo Franco arrived in America with her mother when she was five, only able to speak Portuguese, the language of Rio de Janeiro, where she was born. She helped her mum clean at weekends to make ends meet, but also started to develop a passion that would shape her whole life, a love of languages.
She learnt English to help her mum and other immigrants understand the language, to translate documents, and interpret everyday life. Although she couldn't physically travel, the idea of travel and language excited her, and so she expanded her world through learning French and Italian too.
Jo's world expanded when she moved to Manhattan for university before studying abroad in Paris (when she started a YouTube channel) and then moving to Los Angeles before being offered a job in New York, which she didn't take despited the $65k of student debt.
And then, one day in LA, Jo's life changed again when she was pitched to front her own travel show. From this point on, Jo's career has continued to skyrocket in many different ways, including a travel show on Netflix and the development of her own online communities and platforms that support journalling and languages.
Prepare to be seriously inspired. And to find out more about Jo, read her story and advice in You've Got This, the book!