The Walk

I share with you my adventures during the first week as a digital nomad in the city of London! More information about my upcoming Storytelling Course and about how to sign up will be coming soon!

I have always enjoyed traveling, both for work and for leisure. On the other hand, I'm also a bit of a Hobbit who likes to be at home and who is apprehensive of leaving my routines and familiar surroundings behind.

But I realize that if that need for comfort and predictability prevents me from pursuing new adventures, I run the risk of making my life smaller and smaller.

So a while ago, I made a decision. Four times per year, I would push myself to go on an adventure. To travel abroad, not to for a vacation, but to work remotely while creating room for new experiences and new encounters.

In this episode, I share with you where the road takes me in the month of July, and what my hopes and plans are for this new adventure.

In this episode, I share with you why my visit to Dutch Comic Con was so different from previous years. The migration from Patreon to my new membership community and Premium Podcast feed is now in full swing; all patrons should have received an invitation to migrate. Let me know if you have any issues, I'm here to help!

Whether it is about Star Wars: The Acolyte, about politics or about faith: online debate seems to be stuck in a negativity loop that is hard to avoid nowadays.

Before you know it, you get sucked into the vortex of online negativity and you feel worse as a result.

In this episode, I explore the root causes for this online behavior and I share with you how I try to counterbalance it by 'reprogramming' my own behavior using a simple morning routine.

For months I have been working behind the scenes on creating a new home for my community on my own website.

I have finally started the process of bringing people over from Patreon to the new system, and I am ironing out the last wrinkles.

It is the kind of work that I always forget to 'count' at the end of the day, because it doesn't immediately result in tangible output. But thanks to the 'Got Done' List I add to my journal at the end of the day, I'm starting to become more aware of the fact that I do way more work every day than I give myself credit for.

The vision for the new community site is for it to be a 'home' for my followers, a place where they find a supportive and friendly community.

If you are supporting me through Patreon right now, you will soon receive an invitation to move your membership over to the new community.

I am writing a new book about my method to create online content that reaches new people and forms community around my podcasts and videos. I have been developing this method for the past 20 years, from my early days as a Star Wars blogger to my recent adventures as an Anime commentator on TikTok. I talk about the focused way in which I am writing this book: by following a specific outline and by writing 1000 words each day of the month of June.

Yoda’s famous words—“Do, or do not. There is no try”—resonate beyond the Star Wars universe. But in our daily lives, it’s not always easy to put into practice.

Join me as I explore the struggle between productivity and rest. I’ve struggled with endless To-Do lists must as much as with allowing myself some rest and recovery by doing nothing. Like Luke Skywalker during his training, I keep trying.

However, there’s one thing I often forget: I’m actually pretty good at ‘having done things.’ I just don’t always acknowledge my accomplishments. Maybe it’s time to change that.

In this week’s episode of The Walk, I discuss the power of recognizing what we’ve achieved and finding fulfillment beyond mere effort.

I often dream of living like a Hobbit. A life in which the only thing I have to worry about is which meal comes next, or in which I only have to follow a wizard and a bunch of dwarves on an adventure.

But in reality, I am very good at worrying about almost everything. Instead of living care-free, I am always planning, strategizing and going over all the possible scenarios that life can throw at me. And when reality doesn't match my plans, I get upset and stressed out.

In this podcast, I share an idea I found in Thomas Salerno's latest blog about the difference between architects and gardeners that helped me look at my life in a different way. You can read his blog here: https://thomasjsalerno.substack.com/p/a-garden-of-words

After the first LEGO movie came out, I was so inspired that I created a short animated video with Lego minifigures in which I explained the meaning of Pentecost. It was an instant hit and was viewed hundreds of thousands of times all over the world.

It taught me how much of an impact your message can have if you communicate it in a language that your target audience (in this case: kids and their parents) can understand.

Isn't this the core message of Pentecost? The Holy Spirit teaches us new languages to help us reach out with the Good News of God's love for us.

In this episode, I share how I want to help others with my media experience by explaining my communications method in my next book.

Link mentioned in this episode: 'Pageturning' by Thomas J. Salerno at https://thomasjsalerno.substack.com

I share my personal journey of joining the 501st Star Wars cosplay group, along with my commitment to becoming a healthier individual. I share how intermittent fasting not only helps me lose weight, but also reminds me of the importance of setting and prioritizing goals.