why i went off the grid for 2+ years

What's going on? So, if you've been a YouTube subscriber, if you've been on my email list, my newsletter, you've seen that I haven't posted in years. And so I wanted to share this video to explain why um what I've learned from my time away and what's coming next and why that is important for you and Different Hunger

and the movement that we are building. So on April 17th, 2023, my wife Anamaria and I welcomed our son Noah Vicente into this world. And that was a magical experience and that's where this story really begins because um in just two years he's completely changed my life and being a father uh has been very trippy, very psychedelic.

Um, I still feel like I'm 14 years old and, uh, you know, I have this amazing baby boy who looks up to me, um, who loves me and who's expected to learn from me. So, uh, it's really forced me to grow up, but also to be more like a child because Noah is just so full of joy

and love and peace, and his life is just so beautiful and simple. And he's taught me so much that look, all you got to do is you need a little bit of milk, you need some food, you need love, you need to play, and that's it. Nothing else. Nothing else. Right. So that's been a beautiful experience. Um

I'm just looking through some notes here uh so I can explain some a bit more. So yeah, basically Noah was born and it it was rough because it really pushed me to my limits. Me and my wife uh especially my wife, she wasn't sleeping much. I wasn't sleeping much. And it really took about like six months or

so to kind of get into the groove, if you will. So that happened and then just when I thought I'm getting the hang of things, Anoria finds out that she's pregnant again. So that was crazy. And then on November 12th, 2024, about um a year and a half after Noah was born, Alma was born. So within a

blink, I had two babies under two and I was struggling. I was very excited, very happy, very grateful, but I was struggling. Uh, as someone with ADHD, my brain just was going into burnout mode, and I was really struggling um to just manage everything. you know, a business, uh, teammates, um, two new babies, like it was a

lot. It was a lot. Um, and so I really just had to take a break. And, you know, I had been taking a break when Noah was born. Um, kind of leading up to that, but when Alma was born, I was like, man, step back and take a break. And so, I really just disappeared. I just went

off the grid. Uh stopped posting social media and just really allowed myself that time and space and stillness um to be with my family and to be with myself, right? Um and so that's where I've been the last two years. Um, and before I kind of talk about the next big steps, I want to zoom out a

little bit further and talk about the last 10 years. Um, because 10 years ago, a little over 10 years ago, in May 2014, uh, I gave birth to something else, which was different hunger. And so it's crazy to believe that already 10 years have passed um because that journey has been also equally crazy and rewarding. And so

basically Different Hunger at that point was just a WordPress blog. It was a dream. Um, and I just knew that eventually, hopefully one day, this little blog and this dream would turn into living life on my own terms and making a full-time living and working for myself. And so, it has, thank God. Um, I've been able to

make a full-time living since March 25th, 2016. That's when I quit my job after starting Different Hunger. Um, I've traveled over 20 different countries. I've worked with 200 plus different clients and I've bootstrapped over seven figures online. Um, and so those all sound impressive, but the truth is not as impressive because most of those 10 years have

been spent making less money, um, having more stress and yeah, I had better views and I also wore less pants because, you know, look, when you're working for yourself, you have that flexibility, which is cool. which is cool but I wouldn't trade it for anything because while I have been building different hunger I have learned what actually

matters right and what actually actually matters in the same way that you know Noah and Alma have taught me what truly matters building different hunger in the business has also showed me that in a different way. And so what I have discovered um actually matters and what I'm most proud of because you know making money online is

cool, traveling the world is cool. Um but those are really just vanity metrics and ego highlights, right? And so basically what I'm most proud of that Different Hunger has allowed me to do is spending over 3,000 days on my own terms helping others overcome their fears and pursue their dreams, impacting other people's lives in ways I never

thought was possible, which is uh like hiring over 300 different freelancers, contractors, employees over the years. um doing meaningful work that I love because look like every single day I've gotten to wake up and do work that I love and like that is the greatest gift of all. Um, I've been able to meet my wife, Anna Maria,

started a family, and I've been home to raise my son and my daughter, right? Um, and you know, right now, like we have a nanny, which has been great. That's another amazing benefit. Um, and on top of all this, I've been able to build a community of people all over the world that support this mission, uh, which

I'll kind of dive deeper to into shortly. And so, I just wanted to kind of share that context because that 10-year experience combined with being a new father and this story I'm about to share really, really, really has made it clear to me what my purpose is as the leader of Different Hunger and this movement which I'm

about to share. So when I first started Different Hunger, it was all about hustling because um I worked a job for about a year and a half after college and then I ended up quitting that job and since then it was a lot of work, right? I I documented the entire journey on my website which you can

check out. Um but yeah, the first year pretty much I shared everything, talked about how I was working 80, 100 hour weeks and it was just a grind. And so one night when Noah was crying, um, I had an experience that kind of changed my life in many ways and kind of helped me realize that this endless

grind is not the way, right? And so basically, no, I was crying. This was after several other nights of crying. And, you know, I'm shushing him and walking around, patted his back, just trying to do everything I could to get him to sleep. And you know, I tried this for several nights. And then finally, I was like,

"All right, I just give up. I'm just I just don't know what to do." And I just kind of surrendered to the process, which, you know, I just surrendered not to the process because I didn't know what the I was doing to be honest. And so I just surrendered. I stopped and I just let go. I just

relaxed. I just took a deep breath and just like let it go. And then my boy fell asleep. Okay. And so in that moment, I had a big awakening that effort was not the answer and energy was the answer. And I've experienced that in different ways throughout my life, but this really struck me, right? And so another

example was when I was a new dog dad with Oreo. It was always a struggle to get him home after playtime because he never wanted to come home. And whenever I tried to get him to come home, he always thought we were playing. And so he would run around and that dog can literally run 30 miles an

hour. So, I'm not catching him. Um, and then one day I tried the opposite. Instead of trying to chase him, I sprinted in the other direction and I did it in like a very fun kind of playful way. And what do you know? He comes sprinting after me and I'm able to get him. So, again, not about

effort, but energy. I had to shift my energy. Um, another example was in my career as a baseball player, right? You know, all of my worst games, all of my worst slumps and my lows was always from trying trying trying too hard, thinking thinking thinking too hard. And every one of my best moments, like my best hits,

like one time I remember I just went up to the plate. I was just chilling. I was just visualizing good things and next thing I know I hit the ball like 400 something feet. Best hit ball, one of the best hit balls of my life. Um, and I literally didn't try at all. I literally just went up

there and I just let go. Right. And then when I had this experience with Noah, all of these kind of moments came rushing back to me and and just reaffirming that energy is the answer, not effort. And what was also funny was while I was kind of disconnected from work and I wasn't doing any social media, no

promotion of any kind, um I got some of the biggest deals in my company history just kind of landed in my lap, right? And so what I what the universe was really making very clear to me was the importance of energy, not effort. And so that's what I want to share with you and that's what I want

to get you excited about is that you've been lied to. unfortunately. But fortunately, there is a way out. And the way out is not working harder. It's not hustling more. It's not forcing it. It's about letting go, changing your energy, and surrendering. And my favorite book is called The Tae Ching. Um and the entire book is about

this concept of wooi which is uh which translates to not doing. And so this whole concept is that by not doing you are in harmony with the universe and everything is accessible to you because you're going with the flow of the universe. If you think about um if you think about the universe like a river, right? You're

not swimming against the current. You are on a floaty going down the river and enjoying every moment and you're just letting it happen. That is the ultimate state when we are able to transcend grinding and hustling and forcing. And so the last few years I have really really been leaning into this because I really didn't have another

any other choice, right? Because as a father um you know you you've got to do what you got to do to give your kids the best life possible and to guide them as as best as possible. And I don't, you know, I don't know anything about fatherhood other than the last two years and I'm learning and it's

it's been great. Um, but basically what I want to just share is that that life does not have to be a constant grind and it can be easy. It can be effortless if you allow it to be. And so basically that's what I've learned as a father and that's what I am hoping to share and to help

more people with as um you know this kind of next chapter unfolds for my life and for different hunger. And so that's just a quick message that I wanted to share. Um, I have some really exciting things coming and that's what I'll be breaking down in my next videos and in future content. Um, but uh, but yeah,

if that resonated, let me know. If not, all good. Um, and if you have supported me and Different Hunger, um, I appreciate you so much because again, the journey has been insane to say the least. Um, but support and encouragement from others is what got me through. Um, you know, I wouldn't have been able to keep going

if I was not able to see the impact. Um, and that's why I do it, right? This is not about making money. Uh, it transcends that. This is about making an impact. This is about fulfilling my purpose. And right now, my purpose is very clearly to help people escape the rat race of trading all of their time,

all of their energy, um, to lives and careers that just don't fulfill them. So, if that resonated, stay tuned, join the community, um, drop a comment, subscribe, whatever you want. Um, because I've got a lot more coming and sending you peace and love. Catch you in another video soon.