203 Km/h, Apostle Paul, a sheep, and a Gnome named Gnomey

Seriously, this month felt like it lasted three.

Holy crap, I feel like this month was the length of three. So much happened (in classic Michael fashion). So yeah, grab a snack—this one’s good.

Ireland: Lucky Timing and a Burnout Breakthrough

Last time I wrote, I was in Albania. The day after, I took a boat up to Corfu, Greece for a quick day, then hopped on a last-minute flight to Ireland.

Ireland was amazing. We somehow showed up at the perfect time—normally it's raining sideways, but we only got a light drizzle once in the whole five days. Honestly, it felt wild being in an English-speaking country again. You don’t realize how nice it is to speak and be instantly understood until it’s gone for a while. Plus, Irish food? Hearty and filling in the best way.

One day at a national park, I met this awesome tour guide named Terry. I asked if I could interview him and ended up making a video that turned out way better than expected (even though looking back, I asked some dumb questions 😂). Terry, if you're reading this—you’re a real one.

Also, Ireland is where I hit my first real burnout. I wanted to build stuff and make content but felt like I had no time. So what did I do? Started waking up earlier and staying up later. That simple mindset shift changed everything. I stopped being a wuss and got honest—if I really want to do all these things, I need to make time. It’s made a huge difference. And having clear goals? That helps a lot too. Focus hits different when you actually know what you're working toward.

The Netherlands to Switzerland: Ducks, Speed Limits, and Mountains

Next stop was the Netherlands. It was chill, we visited this town filled with windmills that felt straight out of a storybook.

Then came Germany, and right away we almost missed our bus getting there. Once we made it, we rented a car and hit the autobahn—took that thing up to 205 km/h (That’s 127 mph in American terms 🦅🔥)

From Germany, we drove to Switzerland—easily the most beautiful and photogenic country we’ve seen so far. The views are unreal. Of course, we had some Swiss chocolate, and I swear I could garbage-eat a whole box without blinking.

France to Belgium: The Best Food and Random Gnomes

After Switzerland, we hit the French countryside for a few days. We found this random little restaurant in the middle of nowhere that was about to close—but we begged, and they let us in. And man... easily the best French food I’ve ever had. Might be unbeatable. But I’m willing to go back and test that theory.

From there, we speedran Luxembourg. It's clean, it’s nice… but honestly? Kinda lacking personality. Then it was off to Belgium for a quick overnight stay in a tiny Airbnb in the middle of nowhere. Breakfast was amazing (and yes, I pet the sheep).

Back in Germany, we visited a small city that looked straight out of a fairy tale. And randomly… I found this little gnome hidden in a bush. We never buy souvenirs, but I had to keep him. That’s Gnomey now.

Also, shoutout to my sister Elli—we had handstand contests in the hotel gym (empty gym = full fun). Not to brag, but she didn’t come close.

Greece: Standing Where Legends Stood

At 4 a.m., we were on a flight from Düsseldorf to Athens, Greece. While there, we did a walking tour that turned out to be a major highlight. I’ve learned a lot about Ancient Greece and its philosophers, but actually being there and seeing the ruins in person hit totally different.

We also visited the place where the Apostle Paul taught. THE Apostle Paul. That blew my mind. Standing on that rock, you could almost feel the weight of history. Only two people converted from his words there, but he still showed up and tried. That really stuck with me.

On our last day in Greece, we hit the beach (you already know I had to do a backflip), ate amazing food, walked around the city, and finished the night with some incredible lamb skewers and Greek gelato.

Our taxi driver the next morning was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He was from Albania and had moved to Greece at 15. He had to start from scratch, learned English in a year, and spoke it really well. That just proved something to me—if you want something bad enough, you can figure it out. You just gotta put in the work.

The Return Home: 7 Months Later

After 7 months away, we finally came home. But it felt… weird. The flight back sucked. We had to wait three hours on the tarmac before even taking off, then full-on sprinted through JFK to make our connecting flight. When I finally crashed in my own bed, it didn’t even feel like home. More like a long-term Airbnb.

But the cool part? I’ve had time to dive into projects again. For example, I’ve been putting a big push into TailorMadeTunes. I decided to go all-in on targeting wedding planners. I’ve made personas, written songs for them, made videos for each song, built a landing page, and started DMing like crazy.

It’s not easy—but it’s happening. And this is just the start. I’ve got a list of other projects I want to launch too.

Big Lessons This Month

Some things really stuck with me this month—from that conversation with the taxi driver, and from a podcast I listened to by Naval Ravikant. Here are a few takeaways:

• Correcting errors is learning.

• What the world lacks right now is authenticity.

• People always want what they don’t have.

• No one will like you more than you like yourself.

• The best way to raise your self-esteem is by doing things for others.

• The things Naval is most proud of aren’t what he owns or knows—it’s what he’s sacrificed for others.

Final Thought

I’ve realized this: Everyone can be interesting in their own way. You don’t need to travel the world or live out of a suitcase. Just be curious. Try new things. Be bold. That’s how you grow.

I’d genuinely love to hear from you guys—so if anything stood out, made you laugh, or even just made you think, feel free to respond to this email. I always read every reply.

That’s it for this month. Appreciate you guys for sticking around. Can’t wait to share more soon.

✌️🤙
Michael
michaeljamesshaw.com