The Question That Changes Everything

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I hope this finds you well.

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

The newsletter with the goal to inspire you to invest in life experiences.

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The other day, I went down a rabbit hole watching YouTube videos of three different Americans who moved to Da Nang, Vietnam.

Permanently.

At first, it was simple curiosity.

But what each of them shared is what stayed with me.

These weren’t retirees or people with trust funds. They were in their 20s and 30s. Ordinary people who made a decision that most never seriously consider: they left their country, their routines, and their sense of certainty behind.

• No safety net

• No friends waiting for them

• No deep understanding of the culture or the destination

And yet, each of them asked basically the same question before they left:

“Is this the way life is supposed to be lived?”

One story, in particular, hit hard.

One of the interviewees explained that he was working a restaurant job just to cover rent.

One day his car broke down and he didn’t have the money to fix it. So he bought a bike. Then the bike broke down too.

That left him walking an hour and forty-five minutes to work each day. Hoping someone might give him a ride home. All for a job at a restaurant to pay his rent.

He decided he wasn’t going to keep surviving like this.

Instead of waiting for the perfect time, he decided to do something about it.

So he found another job.

He worked relentlessly for four weeks, took only one day off, and saved $5,000.

He then bought a one-way ticket to Thailand and left the country.

Thailand led him to Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City led him to Da Nang.

And Da Nang became his home.

By the time the video was recorded, he had been living in Da Nang for two years.

Like the others, he reflected on something that resonated with me: he found the peace, balance, and happiness he was unable to find in his old life.

And like the others, he was living a life that finally made sense.

The Lesson

There comes a point in life when asking “Is this normal?” isn’t enough.

You have to ask:

“Is this acceptable?”

Most people don’t need to move across the world to change their life.

But they do need to recognize when their current path no longer aligns with who they are becoming.

Every meaningful change starts with discomfort. With uncertainty. With the courage to admit that the life you’re living may not be the life you want.

One of the interviewees said it best:

“If not now, when?”

What’s the Point of All This?

The point is to remind you that you don’t need to quit your job, sell everything, or book a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia.

But you do need to be honest with yourself.

Are you living intentionally?

Or are you simply reacting to the expectations placed on you?

Are you choosing your path or accepting the path that most people have accepted and believe is normal?

Most people wait for clarity before they act.

But clarity often comes after you make a decision, not before.

Waiting for the perfect moment usually means waiting forever.

The real risk isn’t trying something new and failing.

The real risk is waking up years from now realizing you never tried at all.

The Final Point

You are not late.

You are not stuck.

And you are not powerless.

You may not control every circumstance in your life, but you do control how you respond to those circumstances.

As one of the interviewees said:

“Be the author of your own story.”

That doesn’t require a passport or a drastic leap.

But it does require a decision.

A decision to stop asking how life should be lived and start deciding how you want to live it.

Because if not now…

When?

My favorite quote of all time:

“Everything you ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.”

—George Addair

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