Feeling Lost? How to Find Your Way Back Home

Most people spend their entire life stressed without ever giving a single thought as to what it is they really want or what's important to them. See, I'm here to cut through all that noise, connecting you to yourself and the life that you were meant to live. I used to slave away at a corporate job that I hated, but I broke through the social norms and pursued my passion. As a result, I own my own coffee company, I'm Espresso Sommelier, and I get to travel the world. You too can live a life that you love, but it starts with getting clear about what you want. It starts with a new decision. I'm your host, Donnie Rouse, and you are listening to the podcast One Life Coming Home. There is no doubt on what all each of our experiences in this life that we are going to get lost. We're going to take a step in the wrong direction. And there are so many influences in your life that are pulling you in a different direction. It is the cultural influences. It is the Instagram that is telling you all the things that you should have. You should be. It is your family's influence. And the experience I want to share with you is just how a trip halfway around the world helped me, brought me to a real new realization and helped guide me back to my true self, my true life and my true journey. So I was living in Miami, Florida, and I went down to Miami, Florida with one intention. I wanted to rerecord the One Life Blueprint, which is a program that I created to give you clarity on every category of your life. And the reason for that is when you have clarity in your life now all of a sudden it shuts out all the distractions and the path forward becomes clear. So I'm in Miami beach, and while I'm there, I'm living in an area that is in the center of all the affluent hotels. And while looking outside, I see all these people dressed up to the nine, looking great, going out, and I start to go into comparison mode. And this is wasn't something that was something that felt new to me. It was something that I experienced even when I was up here. But it was exacerbated when I went down there because like Miami, everything is like in excess. So I was there in Miami rerecording all of my course, and I started to fall into the trap of changing, like being sucked into what I am supposed to have, going into Compera's comparison mode. And all of a sudden I started. I felt myself starting to drift towards what everyone else was, you know, like the. The flashy symbols of success. My birthday was in March 20, 2020 23, and I was on the phone with a friend. She said, well, what are you doing for your birthday? And I. I mentioned her as well. I'm going to enroll in a personal. I'm in a personal growth seminar. I decided that I was going to give my. My. Myself the gift of personal growth. Ta da. And she was like, no, no, no, no, no. You don't do that, Donnie. You always travel on your birthday. You need to book a trip. So I thought about that. I was like, you know what? She's right. I should do something for my birthday, because initially I was going to plan that trip for out in the future. I was going to go in November and just make a. Instead of doing like a couple small trips, I was going to just do one big trip and go a little bit more extravagant on that trip. But when she said this, it made me think about. I was like, you know what? It's true. It is all aligned with, like, live your one life. Like, there's only now, like, right, let me do something. So I was looking on the map. I was like, where can I go? One of those places was possibly going was Ecuador. I called one of my friends from Ecuador, and he's like, I don't think this is a good time for you to go. And so I took what he said with a grain of salt at first, because every time I look on the State Department's website, it's never a good time to travel, right? So I called one of my friends and I said, hey, I'm thinking about coming to Ecuador. Is it safe? She goes, well, it's not the best time. I was like, all right, well, this is where I'm considering staying. She's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. You do not want to stay there. I'm like, it's the city center, the historical center. How bad is it? And she goes, at night, it's a completely different experience. So I said, all right, well, where should I stay? So. So she gave me this. This. This area that was like, just outside of the city center. I'm like, all right, is that safe? Yes, it's safe, just not at night. I was like, well, what's the point? If I'm. If I'm going to be, like, further out, why am I going to go in the first place? A couple days later, I was down in Key Biscayne, and I went to. I stopped at this empanada place, and the girl working there was Very, very nice. Says, hey, where are you from? And she was from Ecuador. I said, awesome. I'm actually considering traveling to Ecuador. And she goes, oh, my God, it's such a beautiful place. You must go, you must go, you must go. I was like, well, is this safe? Yes, it's so safe. I was like, is this safe at night? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not safe at night. Not safe enough. All right, all right. What if I stay at this place? And I pointed the gave her this, like, the area of the neighborhood my friend had told me about. Oh, very safe. Very safe at night. No, no, no, no. Safe at night. I was like, you know what? I said, screw this. I scrapped it. I said, I'll do that at a different time when the circumstances change. So I was browsing Instagram, and I was like, well, where can I go? And then I saw one of my friends. My friend Julie was in Morocco at the time. And I said, all right, you know what? Morocco. I haven't been to Morocco yet. That seems like the place to go. Because I, you know, one. I saw one friend there, and then another friend chimed in, and then I was ready to book the trip, and I was actually going to go during Ramadan, and which I was advised not to do, not because it was going to. There was going to be anything with regard to safety, but just because going in that, it just wouldn't be the right experience because some things would be closed, and it's not polite to eat when everyone else is fasting in the streets. So I decided to put off the trip until the end of April. April comes around, and I fly out. I stop in Portugal, and then I am in Marrakech. And if you've ever been to Marrakesh, it is if. Or you haven't been to Marrakech, it is one of those experiences that you must try because you're. Now you're in this ancient Medina, and there's all these souks, and, like, one wrong turn, and all of a sudden, like, now you're just lost in, like, this maze. And it's funny because just when you think you know your direction, right, you make. You turn and realize that where you thought you were going is not where you're headed now. All of a sudden, you're lost in, like, this. This myriad, trying to find something that you recognize. So this way you can find your way back to your hostel, your hotel. And it's funny, now that I'm doing this. This saying, doing this podcast for a second time because of the first time I recorded this, there was no audio. But it's kind of a metaphor for life, right? Think about that. Like in life, you get lost along the way and you need to get yourself back to the center or identify something that's going to help you map out your way back home. So I was walking around the Myriad. In the beginning of my trip, I should say almost like the first half, I was very much in my head. I was in comparison mode. I was comparing, like, my clothing and what I was wearing, what I packed, and all this stupid shit that normally does not matter when I travel, especially to anyone who's backpacking, you know, it's about the experience. It's not about what you're bringing. Even the most, like, polished of people when you're backpacking, you're just like, you're, in a way, you're bumming it, but it's okay because you're comfortable and you realize that you're literally living out of a bag. And so I was in my head very, very much the. The first leg of my trip, I remember I was. Woke up early morning. I had my. I went from Marrakesh and then I headed up to Tangier with the stop in Casablanca. I was taking the train up early morning, and then I saw Casablanca, where I had to make the trains, the train change. I get off the. At the Casablanca station and I'm like, all right, how. Where do I connect? And then this. This guy who is working at the train station clearly was like, wrong station. You have to connect at the next one, one more stop. And now I was a little perturbed because it wasn't like that. The next train was in five minutes. I had to wait an hour and a half. And in the past, any experience like this, any hiccup in my. In my plans, I would have been like, you know what? This is meant to be. This. There's a reason why this, why this is happening. And at this time, I was feeling just really, really bothered by it. And then I remembered that, like, how I normally take it when I am in like, my best state, when I'm feeling like my best self. And I started to shift. So I was like, you know what? Let me go. Let me go grab a coffee. So I went out to this cafe. I was sitting outside, grabbed a sandwich, and I got the next train going up to 10 year. I'm in this booth by myself in this car. I'm looking out the window. The landscapes are beautiful. I look out the other side, and then all of a sudden, A tear starts to come down my eye. I am looking at this, landscapes, and I'm remembering who I am. I'm remembering what is important to me. And in this moment, I remember saying to myself, I'm like, I am living the life I want to live. Everything is possible. Everything that I want is possible. To create my coffee business, to travel the world, to have this personal growth company. It's all possible. I get to Tangier and all of a sudden there was a shift. Like it wasn't a complete shift, but I was starting to change the way I was viewing life. After Tangier, I went to Chefchaouen, had a different experience, and I started again, opening up, flowering even more. And I met one of my really, really good friends now and we had a, you know, great experience hiking. But then I went to Fez. Now I am like in it, right? I am feeling like, you know, I'. Yes, this is what I want. This is what I travel. This is why I do what I do. But when I was in, when I was in Miami, I was stuck in comparison mode. I couldn't remember. I was starting to like twist and like conform to everyone else around me. What they're wanting, like wanting material possessions, wanting to have these status symbols. And there's nothing wrong with those, don't get me wrong, but it's not me, right? I want nice things, but that's not what I value in life. So I get to Fez and then something magical happens. I walk into my hostel and immediately there are these two girls. I'm checking in and there's these two girls talking. And I just started up a conversation. They had great energy. All of a sudden we're just like talking. More people are entering the hostel. A girl from China who's living in Maine, a guy from California. And I'm like, you know what? Why don't we all go grab a cup of coffee? So we go into the medina and we're all sitting there, a giant group of us sitting there having coffee. And I treated everybody because it's one of my favorite rituals to do. Whenever I meet new people, I like treating them for coffee because coffee for me is a way of savoring that moment of being present and just connecting with people. So as we're there, I end up spending the day with two of the girls walking around the medina, getting lost. Started raining. And we're trying to find like the right backpack for her. And then we go back to the, the hostel. And then upstairs they had this beautiful top, top room where very Social. All the chairs were playing card games. And then up there, there was a group of people that I hadn't yet met in the hostel, but I met them and all of a sudden the connections were insane. Like, it was like. It just felt like everything in life was just in sync. Now fast forward. Then I go to the next place. My final destination on this trip of the five places I visited was Casablanca. Now everyone was like, skip Casablanca. You don't need to go there. There's the freaking mosque and that's it, right? Don't go to Casablanca. But I've started doing something. I check into my heart, right? I've been. This trip reminded me to check in with myself and to feel my center and what I am being guided to do. So I'm on the train getting ready to go back to Marrakesh because the plan was to go to Marrakesh, then take a bus to Agadir. But that would have been a freaking hassle, right? I would have had to go there. Then it's like a three hour bus there to Agadir. Then I would have stayed maybe part of the day, then another three hour back. Something in my heart was saying, stay in Casablanca. So the train is approaching Casablanca station and I jump out, literally booking my hostel right when I got off the station, I was like, all right, well, see where I'm going to book? And I booked the place. So now I'm in Casablanca. And it's funny when you listen to these, these, these, these inklings that you feel inside, all of a sudden, I'm at this place now and I'm meeting a guy from France, Germany, and a girl from, from Turkey, and we. And another guy from Brazil, like a bunch of other people. We just end up having such a freaking amazing time, having amazing stories. I mean, maybe one of them I'll go on and talk about here at some later point. But the point I want to make was that this entire thing was almost. It was a journey back to myself. It was a journey to connect with my heart and remember all the things, one that I value, that I want, that bring my life meaning. And then on the, you know, after the trip, I'm headed back to Miami. I land down in Miami. I'm like, what the hell am I doing here? You know, Miami. Not to say there's nothing bad. I love Miami. But it just, it wasn't. It didn't. Like, I didn't feel like I belong there anymore. And it was because I got clear about what it was that I wanted to. How I wanted to live what I wanted to invite in my life what I want to create. And that is the power of understanding and getting clarity as to what you want for all the different aspects of your life. Which brings me to where I am right now. Like, is life, you know, is life perfect the way it is? Absolutely not, right? And it's never going to be because anytime you achieve whatever the hell it is you want to achieve, you're going to be happy for five minutes and then you're going to be longing for something more that is just life. And so it takes, it's a different discipline just to be happy with where you are content, but also to love and enjoy the process. And the biggest part of enjoying that process is to know where you're going is to have a vision of where you're going. Now all of a sudden, it gives meaning to all of those tasks that you may say, oh my God, like, I got to do this shit again, right? But now, because you know what your destination is now, every single thing you have, you can smile because it's taking you one step closer to where you want to be. So why do I tell you this? I tell you this because every single person, at some point or another, and not even at one point, many points in your life, you're going to get distracted, you're going to get pulled in a direction, you're going to get taken off course. When that happens, the most important thing you can do is to reconnect with, with yourself. Now, it seems very simplistic to say that, right? Well, first of all, I want to go by saying you don't have to go leave the country to do that. You, I mean, I like it, it's more fun that way. But you don't have to leave the country in order to connect back with yourself. You just need some distance, some time, some quiet. The problem with society today, there's so much freaking noise that's coming at you 24 7, and we become addicted to the phone. And as a result of that, you lose your way. But the way back is to get quiet. And sometimes those. Those detours you take along the way are meant to be in your path because they are there to give you more clear to. They are there to help you grow. But it just sucks sometimes it sucks going through it. That's life. Get used to it, because it's not going to change. It's just. It's a rule of life. But when you look back and you look at the learnings that you had because of that experience, you will not regret the experience at all, I promise you that. So again, lastly, the point I'm trying to make here is just make a point to quiet your mind when you feel lost, recenter yourself and remind yourself of what it is that you are going for. One of the easiest ways to do it is one of the reasons why I am here. Doing this with you is one literally flood your senses with things that are going to remind you as to what you want, what you stand for, your values, what gives your life meaning. This podcast, right? I hope that's what it's doing right? That's why I'm telling you stories about my life giving you questions, hopefully to connect you to your true life path. Another way is to take the time to do the growth work I had mentioned. I do the I created the program, the one life blueprint and the entire thing is designed to do just that, just to give you clarity. Because with clarity comes you avoid distraction. And all of the steps you take along the way now have meaning, now have direction. So I hope you enjoyed this. I hope by hearing this it evokes something into you. Maybe there's an area of your life you're like, you know what I've been, man, maybe I've been going out way too much and like it's been thrown off my health and I know I feel shitty. This is not me. What am I doing? I need to get back online. Maybe that's it. Or maybe you're in a career that you're like, this fucking blows. Like I'm spending all my life doing this. I'm miserable. It's making me miserable. It's making my family miserable. I need a change, right? Maybe this is that nudge to give you the poke in the direction you were supposed to go. We all need that reminder at some point in our life. So I hope this is that for you. So if this resonates with you, if you know someone who this may resonate with, share them, give them this gift, share this podcast with them so that they could ask internally and realign with what it is that they really want. So I hope you enjoyed this episode here. If you did, please subscribe. Share this with 5 people 1, 2, 3, 4, 55 people minimum that you feel can get benefit from listening to this message. If you have any questions, you can send them to me via my website@www.donnierous.com. d o n n y r a u s.com Again, I apologize for taking so long taking a break, but with so many things going on in life. It was starting to get a little bit overwhelming. But as I mentioned, when you know what it is you want, when you know why you're doing it, all of a sudden now you start to find time for the things that are important to you. And that is the greatest gift you can give to yourself as well as the world. So I hope you enjoy this podcast, and I want you to remember one thing. You only get one life. Live fully, live passionately, and most of all, live now. God bless you guys, and I will see you again soon.