Matt Bowles: My guest today is Juliana Rabbi. She is a career coach who helps professionals find their remote dream job in 90 days so they can design their ideal lifestyle and travel the world on their terms. Born and raised in Brazil, Juliana is now a full-time digital nomad with no permanent base and has traveled to over 50 countries. With a background in psychology, a Master’s Degree in Human Resources, she worked for 15 years as a recruiter and part of the Human Resources teams in multinational corporations all around the world. After working her last eight years remotely, she left the corporate world to start her own business and travel the world full time.

Juliana, welcome to the show.

Juliana Rabbi: Thank you. Happy to be here.

Matt Bowles: I am so excited to have you here and the fact that we are doing this interview in person. Let’s just set the scene and talk about where we are today.

Juliana Rabbi: Today we are specifically in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Matt Bowles: We are indeed. And you and I were both keynote speakers at the Nomads BA Conference that took place here over the past week. Can you share a little bit about how the conference was you and what it was all about?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah. So, it was the first time they did this kind of conference in Buenos Aires to bring more digital nomads here, to attract more people to have this experience here. So, it was organized by the government, and a lot of digital nomads like us came from different parts of the world to be a speaker, to be part of the event. So, it was actually very cool. There were cultural activities during the week to get to know the city, to experience tango or graphite art, and different activities. And then the conference was Friday and Saturday. And, yeah, we were sharing the stage with some familiar faces from our travels around the world and some new faces. So, I was happy to be part of that.

Matt Bowles: It was really good to be back and surrounded by nomads.

Juliana Rabbi: Exactly. Yes. I had this experience back in June in Bansko, Bulgaria. There was another digital nomad festival, and we were even more people there. There were 500 people. So, it was the first time after Covid that was surrounded by so many nomads. So, this was the second biggest event and the second time I was speaking on a stage in person, so holding a microphone like I’m holding now. So nice feeling. Yeah. Nice to be back to this kind of things.

Matt Bowles: And this is your first time in Buenos Aires ever. I want to hear about what you’ve thought about the city. How’s it been for you?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah. I lived in Brazil 25 years of my life, and going to Argentina was a common destination for holidays, but for some reason, it never really called my attention. So, I haven’t been here until now, after living outside of Brazil for many years. And I’m actually very surprised, positively surprised with Buenos Aires. I love it. It’s easy to move around. There are plenty cultural activities going on. I do speak Spanish also, so it’s extremely easy for me to, you know, to communicate with locals also and go to local places, and. And now there are digital nomads here, so it’s also nice to see familiar faces. So, it has been a great experience to be here.

Matt Bowles: And I understand that on your way from Brazil to Buenos Aires, you stopped at the Iguazu waterfalls.

Juliana Rabbi: I did.

Matt Bowles: On the border of Argentina and Brazil. And you actually crossed. Actually, literally walked from Brazil to Argentina?

Juliana Rabbi: Literally, yes. The story was I was in Spain and I wanted to come to Argentina, but the borders were still closed for international flights, so I could not fly directly to Argentina. So, I thought, okay, I can go to Brazil, and then I can cross the border walking, literally. And then as I was in Brazil, I was like, I’m going to visit Cataratas, right? The waterfalls. Because I haven’t been. So, I visit the Brazilian side and the Argentinian side after I crossed the boards walking. So, it’s like an amazing experience that I totally recommend people to do.

Matt Bowles: Yeah. Explain to folks that have never heard of the Iguazu waterfalls what it is like, because I went in 2013 and it blew me away. I mean, I went to high school up in Buffalo, New York, right by Niagara Falls. And so, I had seen Niagara Falls, and everybody that comes to visit there, we take them to see Niagara Falls.

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah.

Matt Bowles: So, I thought I had seen waterfalls. I had not seen waterfalls.

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah.

Matt Bowles: Until I went to Iguazu. What was it like? And for people that have never heard of it, can you describe it?

Juliana Rabbi: It’s magic. It’s like the power of nature. And it’s interesting if you can do both sides, like the Argentina side and the Brazilian side, because you have a different experience. From Brazilian side, you see the Argentinian part. So, 80% of the waterfalls are in the Argentinian side. So, from the Brazilian side, you have a better view, right. Because you see 80%. But when you are in the Argentinian side, you have a better experience. You feel it more because you’re closer to the waterfall. So, they perfectly complement each other. And you get all wet when you get close to some of the waterfalls that you can go really close. It’s magic. It’s impressive. It’s like the power of nature that you can’t really control or compare.

Matt Bowles: Yeah. It’s incredible because it has a rainforest is the context for this, right? And then you have 2.7km of consecutive waterfalls in the jungle.

Juliana Rabbi: Yes.

Matt Bowles: I mean, it’s insane. And when I was there, they were creating all of these little rainbows.

Juliana Rabbi: Exactly. Yes.

Matt Bowles: Everywhere, and it was just like this magical, otherworldly experience. And then they have it set up. It’s like a national park. So, they have it set up so that you can actually walk out over the top

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah.

Matt Bowles: Of these waterfalls and just stand right over them as they’re gushing down. And you can see them from all of these really unique and interesting vantage points, which was unbelievable.

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, it is amazing.

Matt Bowles: It’s completely insane. Well, you were born and raised in Brazil, but not very close to

Juliana Rabbi: Yes.

Matt Bowles: The waterfalls, because

Juliana Rabbi:  The other side of the country.

Matt Bowles: Brazil is such a huge country. I mean, can you just share a little bit for folks that have not been to Brazil, just the size and the scope of Brazil, and then within that, where you grew up specifically?

Juliana Rabbi: I think you can put most of Europe inside Brazil. That would give a nice dimension of that. And also, like it’s so different, the culture, the food, even the accents that people speak. So, it’s almost like different Brazil’s inside the country. I was born in the other side, like opposite side of Iguazu, right on the coast, close to Rio. I always say close to Rio because people kind of know where Rio is, right? So, my state is the next state. It’s called the Spirit Santo. And I’m from a city called Vitoria, which is the capital of Spirit Santo. And it’s actually an island connected to the continent by like a bridge. In three minutes, you’re there. But it’s a medium sized city. It’s always like top three best cities. Life quality to live in Brazil. So, I was born there, went to school there, went to university there. I started psychology. But I don’t know, there was always something inside me that was calling me to do something different. I think it started like that, like the traditional choices that my friends at my age did or older people did. I was kind of not really, I don’t know, interested in that kind of thing. So, I think, yeah, the travel was one way to manifest then. I want to go abroad and explore more and have different experiences.

Matt Bowles: And what was your first opportunity to travel outside of Brazil?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, So I was 15 years old. Well, a bit before that. So, when you turn 15 years old in Brazil, or pretty much in any country of Central America and South America, there’s a big party for girls, right? It’s a big celebration. You dress up like a bride and a big celebration. And kids, girls, they dream about it, most of them, right? It’s a big thing. But for me it was never a dream. So, in Brazil it was more or less. Or you have this big party or you go to Disneyland. And I didn’t want to do none of those things. And somehow, I find out, I don’t remember how. There was a few years ago about this English study program in the U.S. and then I managed to convince my parents to go there. So, for a month I went there. I studied English for three weeks. I stayed in a. In a family house. And then for one week we were traveling. So, one month in the U.S. So that was the first time I left Brazil, the first time I traveled alone. And the first time something inside me clicked and I was like, whoa, I want to do more of that.

Matt Bowles: What city were you in in the U.S.?

Juliana Rabbi: Livermore, close to San Francisco.

Matt Bowles: Okay, nice. And then you got to travel also around for a week, did you say?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, with the group. Like there was a tour guide and we were teenagers, like I was 15, right. So, yeah, we traveled as a group. We traveled bit, and that changed things for me. I came back, but I was like, I want more of that. I want more of that experience.

Matt Bowles: And then from there, what was your path to getting more of that?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah. So, I was about to enter the university, that was the final year of high school to do the exam to attend to the university. Then I was approved, I start studying. So, I was always, like, very responsible with my studies and all of that. So, I started doing internships. And so, I never forgot completely the traveling part. But my priority at that time was like the university and good grades and study and all of that. So, it kind of waited until I graduated, which was 2004, and then I started working as a psychologist. But that idea of, I want to travel abroad, I want to explore more, the world was never left. It was kind of in the back of my mind. I was prioritizing all the things. But then in 2005, yes, September 2005, one of my cousins, he was living in Spain, he was starting a doctorate there. And then he went on holidays back to Brazil after the first semester. And he went visit my parents place where I was living also. And he started sharing about his life, his routine and the things he was doing, like common things like going to the supermarket and going to the university, taking the public transportation. And I found that fascinating. I was like, wow, I want that experience, that kind of life.

And I didn’t speak Spanish. I have never thought about spent. There was nothing about the place itself. It was just like; I want to leave the country and have this experience abroad. So that was September 2005. And then I was like, well, I don’t speak Spanish. I need to figure out this. I need to find a way to learn Spanish. I was working. I had two jobs at the time as a psychologist. So, I had to somehow close the jobs and. And adjust my whole life to the first time, move to another country and live alone and all those things. So, in six months I made all the adjustments. I learned the Spanish on my own with like a TV course, VCR course at that time. Okay, I won’t say much, I don’t want to sound old, but yeah, those courses that you know, watch on the TV. So, I was doing that. So, I really put all the time and the effort to do that. And 4th of April 2006, I took the airplane to Madrid, Spain.

Matt Bowles: That is amazing. And when you landed in Madrid, what was your experience like?

Juliana Rabbi: Everything was new because it was the first time I was like. Not the first time I was in a different country, was the second time actually considering this experience in the U.S. but it was like, wow. I had no plans to go back. I quit my jobs, I sold my car, I donated stuff. So, it was like, I’m going to try to figure out my way. So, it was a fresh new beginning for me. I didn’t know anyone except my cousin and another friend of him. So, I knew two people. There was audio, the city, the language I could understand. I was not speaking perfectly, but everything was new. Public transportation and do the documents and move around. And then I sign up for a Spanish course at the beginning. But then I was like, I’m going to look for a job because I want to stay here. I want to make a life out of you. So, everything was new. The food and figuring out how to do things and documentation and find your neighborhood to live. So, it was like starting from zero was amazing.

Matt Bowles: And what was your experience like earning income? How did you eventually figure out how to make money in Spain?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah. So, when I left Brazil, I quit my jobs, the two jobs that I had. And I had savings, right. So, I brought those savings with me and I was like, okay, I have to figure out how to make money until I use my income. So, I did this two months Spanish course and then I started searching for jobs and I did kind of weird stuff at the beginning. So, like for one week I was working as an encyclopedia seller for a week. And then I was like, no, this is not for me. Then I was also given like newspaper in the entrance of the subway for months. I was like, no, that’s also not for me. And then I started working in a logistic company, changing more than four routers. Remember that time when they were changing that? So, I did those not related to my career, let’s say kind of jobs at the beginning. And then I went back to my profession, to my area, which is HR.

Matt Bowles: Well, before you went back to HR, though, you told me that you moved to Ireland. I did, and I want to hear about that. Ireland is of course a super special place to me. I studied abroad in Ireland, lived there for a year, have been back many times. I have Irish heritage as well. So, I’m super curious. When you went to Ireland, what were you doing there? Where were you and how was your experience in Ireland?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, so I was living in Madrid for over a year when I didn’t have any job that was super interesting. Or I had a boyfriend at the time but nothing else was keeping me in Madrid. And then I spoke to him. I was like, I want to work on my English again. I want to improve my English. He was like, yeah, just go, just go wait for you. So, I also, I didn’t have to break up with him to do that. I had his support to do that, right. He was Spanish. And I started searching for options of how to improve my English and have an experience in an English native country. So, I was checking the countries and the opportunities and then the option that worked out better for me was to be an au pair, like taking care of a kid. Because it was a way to be fully into the culture, to live in an Irish family. And I wouldn’t have any expenses doing that. Actually, I was making €100 per week. Whoa. Yes. And I had no expenses. So, yeah, that was the way I went to take care of a kid. And I stayed there for six months.

Matt Bowles: Where were you in Ireland? And how was the six months?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, I was in Kilkenny, two hours south from Dublin. And it’s a very small city. There is like a castle. There’s most of cities in Ireland, but this one is quite famous. You know, Kilkenny Castle. There was the beer factory that now moved to Dublin also. Pretty much that was it about the city, because it’s very small. But I find out apart from the cultural exclusive exposure and improving my English and having a very nice relationship with the family itself, there was a big international community there that I didn’t know about it. There was like a random thing that happened. So, every Wednesday we were meeting one of the pubs, the Pump House, has a very special place in my heart. And then I made friends. They’re international friends that I keep until today. So, my two best friends, I met them in this international meeting in Ireland. So, it was great. It was a great experience with international people, with locals.

Matt Bowles: And then you returned to Madrid and what then was your career trajectory from there?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, I went back to Madrid and I decided that I wanted to keep using English daily. Yeah. The first thing I did was to search for activities that I could speak English daily because Spanish people don’t speak English that much, especially in Madrid. So, I found amateur theater group that was all in English. And then I went to watch a show. Then I sent an email to the guy was like, oh, my goodness, that’s amazing. I want to do that. And then he was like, yeah, we have classes starting in October. So, I signed up for that amateur theater class. I ended up doing that for, I think the rest of my time in Madrid. So, like, eight years in Madrid. And I also decided that my next job would be something that I would need to use English on daily basis also. So that was the main thing. And then I wanted to go back to HR because that was, you know, most of my background. So, I start searching in my area. No more bullshit jobs.

Matt Bowles: How was the theater experience for you? When you think back on that, what would you say sort of came out of that? How did you sort of develop or what impact did that have on you?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, it started with amateur theater while I was in Madrid, and then when I moved to Barcelona, I did Improv. So, I had two steps. First was, like, the theater, which was a good way to start, I think, because it gave me some bass to the improv. But the Improv experiences are fun. You meet crazy people just like you like people that are on the same vibe. So, I have very good friends from Improv. I don’t know. It’s a healthy environment, fun and relaxed environment. And I really enjoy being on stage and speak in front of people. I knew I liked it. It had always been like that in my life. But Improv was like putting all those things together in a safe environment because people are very, I don’t know, they will applause, they will clap whatever you do. So, it’s like, it doesn’t matter if I make a mistake if I fail here. It’s all very supportive environment. So, I did, like, Improv festivals and weekly classes, and I have a telenovela Improv group with other people from South America. So, we were doing a mix of Spanish and English. It was super fun.

Matt Bowles: That’s amazing. Well, let me just ask you about the Madrid experience in the city. What do you love about the city of Madrid? And maybe just for folks that haven’t been there, what were some of your highlights of your time there?

Juliana Rabbi: Madrid is a big city, so for people who love big cities, that’s a place you go. It’s very pretty. The architecture, the streets. So, it’s visually very pretty. You have a huge diversity of restaurants, international restaurants, so food is great there. My favorite place in Madrid is Retiro Park. It’s like a massive park. Amazing. And the first apartment I live was, like, one block from there, so I love that place. Culturally speaking, it’s also very rich. I could go to pretty much theater plays every week if I wanted to. There were plenty options. It’s also international, but people don’t speak much English there. That’s funny. So, the fact that I could speak Spanish helped me a lot. And I also get, because of this boyfriend that I had and because of the jobs I was doing. So, I got into the local life and I was living there, right. I lived for nine years. So, it was not that I was just passing by, staying for a month or two. I was deeply living in the city, so it was a very local experience. I was very happy there during the nine years that I lived there.

Matt Bowles: And then you mentioned that subsequently you then moved to Barcelona. Can you talk about the decision for that move and the career dynamics that were going on at that time for you?

Juliana Rabbi: The official version or the real version or both?

Matt Bowles: We at The Maverick Show, we kind of like to bring people the real version. So that’s the one.

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah.

Matt Bowles: I’d like, if you care to share.

Juliana Rabbi: The official one is that there were some internal chains in my company, so they changed my contract. And then the office that I was working for moved to Barcelona. So, I moved there. That’s also true but the other real version is that I had the boyfriend at the time we were living together and then we broke up. And then I was devastated. I was like really fogged up when we broke up. And then I was like, I can’t stand in this city anymore. I need a change. I felt like the moment to close the Madrid cycle and then together with the fact that the office was already in Barcelona, so I decided to move there.

Matt Bowles: And how was your time in Barcelona? What did you notice when you moved to Barcelona in terms of how different it is from Madrid and then living there for a number of years? What were some of your experiences and highlights from Barcelona?

Juliana Rabbi: It’s very different than Madrid. So, it’s a smaller city, very walkable. So, if you have a bicycle or even walking, you can go from place to place, which I appreciate. So easy city to move around. You have the beach. I like to have the beach around. So, I come from an island. The whole atmosphere of a city that has a beach is different in the way that people dress, the kind of plans they do. It’s a more relaxing vibe. So, you can always like, oh, let’s meet at the beach by 7pm so it’s always a plan that you can do. So, the whole atmosphere is more relaxed. The way people dress In Madrid, people are very formal, more like pure Spanish people, if I may say.

And Barcelona is extremely international. So, you’re in Barcelona, you can feel that you could be somewhere else. Whatever is like a big international city. So, it’s not very Spanish. And they also have this Thing with Catalonia, it’s part of Catalonia, right? That’s the state where Barcelona is. So, they have their own language, which is Catalan. And local people, they are very proud of being Catalan. And there is also this big movement of separating from Spain. So, there are some political issues there that sometimes, you know, people are blocking the street and burning trashes and police on. There are some political stuffs going out there. And I was respectful with that because most of people from Barcelona, they don’t feel that they are Spanish. They say they are Catalonians and. And try to learn a little bit of the language just for basic communication.

But you can pretty much live in Barcelona speaking English, so you don’t need to speak Spanish. So, for the international community, let’s say people can speak English only. There are like English school, massive international community there. That’s when I started doing the Improv theater, also in English there. I couldn’t find amateur theater in English, so I found Improv group. And I’m sorry, so thankful that I found that because that was also very important pillar for me while I was living in Barcelona. When it comes to having fun plans and meeting people and, you know, joining pro festivals and all of that. There is also a big community of improvisation there.

Matt Bowles: And as you transitioned to Barcelona, you also transitioned to working remotely, right?

Juliana Rabbi: Yes, it was actually a little bit before. So, I was still in Madrid and there were some internal chains in my company and they said, look, we pretty much have two options for you or we’re going to fire you or you’re going to need to work remotely because your contract is going to be with the Barcelona office, not Madrid office. What do you prefer? I was like, yes, please don’t fire me. Let me work remotely. But it was not working remotely at that time. You were talking about working from home. Yeah, let me phrase it as it was at the moment. And I didn’t choose that. So, it was something that pretty much was getting fired or adjust to it. So, 1st of January 2014, I was still in Madrid at that time. So, I started working from home because that was pretty much the only option I had. And then the breakup came in May that year, 2014, and I moved to Barcelona June or July that year.

Matt Bowles: And then you also started to do an increasing amount of international travel as you were working remotely. Can you talk about your initial travel to Thailand in 2015 I believe it was?

Juliana Rabbi: In December.

Matt Bowles: December of 2015. And what that experience was like for you?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, so since I moved to Europe, I was traveling, you know, like weekends long Weekends and bank holidays. I was doing that even when I was in Madrid. Until that time, it was always like a more traditional way of traveling, let’s say. And I moved to Barcelona. I was sharing the apartment with a friend, and she started mentioning backpacking. And I was like, oh, but like, how is it not only for hippies and all of that? It was like a very distant way of traveling for me. I have seen it, but I never saw it close. And then it was all sharing the apartment with someone that was doing backpacking. I was like, oh, interesting. And then she was like, why don’t you do that? She kind of planted this seed. And, yeah, I was afraid. I was not sure. I didn’t know how things were going to work. And then suddenly I decided to go. I bought my backpack, the backpack on itself. And I was like, how do I fold the clothes? Like, the basic thing, which kind of clothes do I bring? And shall I bring medicine or not? Money in cash, all of that.

And then finally, and luckily, I went in December. So, I spent my first Christmas and New Year’s Eve completely alone in a place that I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t have any friends, because all those years that I was living in Madrid, I had friends, right? So, I was always spending the holidays with someone that I knew. So, this time I went to the other side of the world. I didn’t know anyone. A country that also doesn’t celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve. So, it was very different. But looking back, connecting the dots, right, I see that that travel changed me completely. It was an experience of, okay, there are different ways of traveling. I can be more free. I can improvise what I want to do, when and how. I don’t need to plan everything in advance. I can dress simple. I can just have a carry-on backpack. And that’s more than enough.

People won’t judge me because of that or it won’t be any problem. I brought Lonely Travel book at that time. Still like, big one, heavy one. So, I was just reading that and making decisions like where I want to go. It was a feeling of freedom that was amazing. And I met people, I had fun. I did everything that I wanted there. Ended up going to Cambodia and everything happened. And at the end was like, I want more of that. So, I left that trip feeling sure that, yes, I wanted more.

Matt Bowles: And I know Asia is one of your favorite continents, and you’ve done now a lot of traveling around Asia, but I’d love to hear about some of your other additional sort of impactful experiences. You mentioned to me that another place you went was Nepal, which is a place that I have not yet been, but would love to hear about your experience there.

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, Nepal was 2017, was also a backpack trip. And then I was like, I know I can do this. And I was traveling backpack in Europe and all of that. So, Thailand started this way of traveling more free. And then Nepal, I was like, I want to go deep into the culture. So, I stayed. When I arrived, for example, in Kathmandu, I stayed in a couch surfing place. So, I stayed with a local family for three days. And they were extremely poor, but they received me quite well. So, I slept in the. The son’s bedroom. The sun was at the university and it was nice to have this local experience. Then I went to hostels and all of that. But it was a nice way to land, go to a local family. And yeah, just it was so poor everything.

And I come from Brazil, so I’m used to poverty, let’s say. This is not something that I was not exposed to, but I was shocked how poor the country is. And there was a big earthquake in 2015. I went in 2017, right. So, it was two years after the earthquake. And because it’s such a poor country, the historical places, they were not recovered, probably will never be. So, some place where like half destroyed or someplace, they have a piece of wood like holding the wall. And I spoke to a lot of people who lost their houses, and one guy was telling me I didn’t took a shower for a month. It’s like, what do you mean? He was like, yeah, there was no running water for a month without. So, people were telling you that with a smile on their face, like, yeah, but it’s all fine. So, it was an example of you can have very limited conditions, but you still can be happy and still appreciate what you have.

So, nobody there was negative or pessimist or complain. They were just like, yeah, I didn’t shower for a month because there was no running water. Or another impactful image was I was walking around with another guy that I met through couch surfing. There was a nice way to connect with people there. You know, the few ones that could speak English because most of people couldn’t. But the ones who could speak some English, intermediate level, not much, they were encountered surfing and they were naming themselves tour guides, so you’d pay them for them to walk you around. So I was with this other guy, not the one that didn’t take a shower for a month, another guy.

And we were walking and I saw some woman washing like bricks from the construction. Like the water was like very dirty and they were washing the bricks and I was like, what are they doing? Like, why are they washing the bricks? And then the guy told me, oh, because when there was the earthquake, the house was destroyed. So, they pick up the debris is right what was left from the earthquake and they wash it. And they use that again to construct their house. Because they lost their house. And those. It was cold, so they had their hands in the water washing the bricks. And they were smiling and they were laughing. And then I asked the guy, what are they laughing at? And they said, oh, because your hair looks like a noodle. So, they were like, noodle hair in Nepali, whatever you say, they’re like, oh, you have noodle hair.

So, I was like, wow, they lost their houses. They are using the things from destroyed house to rebuild the house. It’s cold. They have their hands in the water and they have the energy to laugh at my hair. It was so magic to see that. Yeah, they are happy people. It doesn’t matter the circumstances. They are still alive. They still make things happen. So, it was a big lesson of yeah, value more the things that we take for granted, running water, hot water and clean place to sleep and electricity. They don’t take those things for granted. And still, they are extremely nice and friendly and polite and open to connect with foreigners. Yeah.

Matt Bowles: You were telling me the story about the hot water situation at the place where you were staying, right? Yeah, the couch surfing place when you arrived.

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah. So, the hot water situation was that there was no hot water. That was the thing. And it was November, so it was cold. So, when I arrived, I asked if I could take a shower and they said yes. And it was like, is there hot water? And the host, the owner of the house, he asked me, do you need hot water? And then it was the first time someone asked me that. It was like inside my mind. I was like, how do I answer this question? Do I need hot water? Is this a need? So of course, I replied fast to him. But in my mind, I was like, wow, I don’t know how to answer this question. So, I told him, well, if it’s possible, yes, it was cold. And then he said, for how many minutes do you need hot water? And again, nobody ever asked me how many minutes I need hot water. Like, nobody calculates my showering time.

So, I didn’t know again what to answer. So, I came up with like, I think three or four minutes. Is that okay? And he said, up to five is okay. So initially, I was a bit shocked. I was like, this guy is controlling my showering time. That’s weird. But then I understood. Because the first day I had hot water. The second day there was no hot water anymore. It was not available. So, this was something that they don’t have. So, it was winter time, high in the mountains, and they don’t use hot water. So again, we take for granted those things, and the hot water comes from home, and we don’t just value that. But there I was like, wow, it makes you reveal the things you take for granted.

Matt Bowles: Pretty much, yeah, absolutely. And then can you talk as well about, you know, going into 2018 and 2019 after that trip, your career and professional and lifestyle transition?

Juliana Rabbi: Oh, that’s a very important part of my life. And it was all connected, I think, with that trip. When I was 16 and I went for the first time to the U.S. I left Brazil and I was like, I want to travel more, right? So that voice inside me and inside my heart like, I want to travel more. I want to travel more never left me. So, I was an expat in Spain, living for 15 years, having a stable job and working as a recruiter in nice companies and all of that. So, I had a stable life. I had quite good life. Friends, boyfriends, and traveling here and there. But it’s still inside me there was this part of, I want to travel more, I want to travel more.

So randomly, I start attending events and reading books and all of that that people were asking me the same question was like, what would you do if you know, you could not fail? So, this question was coming back to me from different places, and my answer was always the same. I was not hesitating to answer. I was like, travel more. And then I caught myself in this situation that I was talking about traveling more, but I was not leaving that. So, I start finding myself a very boring person. I was like, I don’t like to be the person who talks about it, doesn’t do it. And it was all internal dialogue because from the outside, my life was perfect, right? I was an expat. I had a nice job. I was living in a great apartment in an amazing city like Barcelona. I had friends. Everything was perfect in my life from the outside.

But from inside, there was the thing like, why am I talking all the time about travel? I was attending travel events. I was volunteering travel events. I was super involved in this travel community. I was like, no, I don’t want to be a volunteer in a travel event. I want to be the one sharing my travels. I want to be traveling. So, I noticed that, yeah, there was something wrong with the, the whole situation for me. Although from the outside it was all good, but I was like, no, it’s time to make a change. I want to walk the talk. I want to travel more instead of just talking about traveling more.

But I didn’t know how to do it because although I was working remotely at that time, six years already around that I had the Spanish contract, I could travel, I could work remotely punctually, but I had to ask for permission. It was just for a short period of time. So, it was not the lifestyle that I wanted to travel. I was actually saying like, I don’t want to travel only on weekends and bank holidays. I want to travel as much as I want for whatever I want. So, I didn’t want it to be like a secondary aspect of my life, but to be the main thing. So, I had to figure out how to do it. And I didn’t know how. I knew the what, but not the how. And then one of the pivot things that I did was hire a coach, a life coach to help me on the plan. It’s like, how do I make this happen? Like, take it from my brain and making Juliana. So that was the first big step, let’s say, that I took.

Matt Bowles: So that’s really interesting. So, you had the vision, you got a taste of the lifestyle through these different trips that you had done and the feelings that you had when you were on these travel experiences and all of that. And you had the vision that you wanted this to be your lifestyle. You wanted total location independence. You wanted to travel the world on your terms, wherever you want, for as long as you want. And that was the vision and that was the goal. And then you needed to then design a plan for how you were going to get from where you were to that goal. And that’s very interesting. Your first move was to hire a coach to help you to design that plan and get to where you want to go. So how did that work out? How was that experience?

Juliana Rabbi: It was amazing. One of the best decisions I made, I’m still in contact with her. I worked with her in different moments of this journey because my needs were different also. So, I remember the first time I hired her, my goal was to have another source of income outside of my full-time job as an employee. I was like, I need to make money in a different way, but I don’t know how to do it. So, we were working on a plan to in three months have some different source of income. So that goal was reached. And then I start working on more income and all of that. And then I hired her again when I decided that I was ready to quit my job, but I didn’t know how to do it, how to do this process. So, I hired her for the second time.

So, we worked on a plan and then I quit my job. And then I already had freelancing at the time for two companies. I had my own clients and I had the full-time job. So, I quit the full-time job. I had more free time. And then one week after I quit my full-time job, I hired her again because I was like, now I don’t know how to organize my time. I don’t know how to balance things. I don’t know how to prioritize the task. Like I have more time now, but how do I balance things? I’m getting overwhelmed. So, I hired her again to try to find like more balance in my life and prioritize things. So, this coach, always, her name was extremely important to my journey. Not because she was telling me the answers, but she was not, because that’s not what a coach does. But it was a safe space to talk about those things because the friends I had at the moment, the friends that were not traveling right, my local friends in Barcelona, they didn’t understand that because they were like, your life is already perfect, why do you want to change it? Why are you over complicating your life? People that were surrounding me, they didn’t really understand or support what I was doing. So, the coaching was a nice place to talk about those things deeply face my fears, come up with options, test them out, talk to people. So, it was important.

Matt Bowles: And can you talk about how you arrived at what you’re doing today?

Juliana Rabbi: Oh, there were so many steps in the meantime because this is not magic. It was a changing completely the way I was living for the past 30 something years in my life. It was completely new for me. So, one of the choices that I made in this coaching process was that I was going to go for the easiest step. So, what is the easiest way to start traveling and having incomes? Because I had clear that I didn’t want to use my savings to do that. I had savings and actually at some point I defined how much of my savings I was willing to use right to live this dream and tested out this lifestyle. But I didn’t want to rely on savings. So, I had to make income. So, I needed a job. Money had to keep coming to be.

So, the easiest way for me after testing out and exploring all the options, was do what I knew how to do already, but remotely. So, because I was working for 15 years as a recruiter, I knew exactly what companies were looking for. I knew about resumes, I knew about job interviews, and I knew about LinkedIn. So, I was like, what if I get this knowledge that I have and I change sides of the story? So as a recruiter, I was serving the companies, I was placing candidates in the companies. The companies were my clients. Then I changed and I start serving the candidates, the job seekers, so preparing them better to land a job faster because I knew exactly that. So, I just switch a little bit what I knew and I start doing that. So as a freelancer for two companies, that was pretty much like CV writing, LinkedIn strategy, interview preparation, which was pretty much what I was doing in the past 15 years of my life.

So, I didn’t reinvent the wheel. I actually chose the easiest step for me to do that and I start having direct clients also. So, I had like my full-time job, the two freelancer collaborations and my full-time job, my direct clients. So, I was working like 11, 12 hours per day, every day, weekends even more so it was like crazy. I was not going out; it was not meeting friends. My full priority was making this thing happen because I knew what I wanted and where I wanted to be. So, it was a process. The whole thing took me two years. Another thing that helped me in this process was that the holidays that I had, I had 30 days holiday. That’s the amount of holidays you have in Spain, right? Per year. So those 30 days, I was using them to attend in person. There was before the pandemic, so we could all go in person to events, right? Attend to digital nomad events.

So, I was traveling to different countries to be close to people that were living the lifestyle that I wanted to have. I was like, I want to get proximity with those people. I want to learn from them, I want to make friends with, I want to see the reality. Because I was like, I have read all the travel blogs, all the digital nomad blog. I have done that already. But I was like, no, it’s time to bring this down to earth and see how people actually live, talk to them. So, it was a mix of traveling to digital nomad events and maybe going one week before and already working from there. So, I start having a taste of how is a Digital nomad life and the basic things from finding an apartment, deciding where to stay, and find a cafe to work from. So, all those things, getting close to people that were living the lifestyle and working 11/12 hours per day to build up income outside of me at that time, full time job. So, when I made enough income to the criteria was, I can live in Thailand with that money because Thailand is cheap, right? So, I’m making enough money to live in Thailand without touching my savings. And then that’s when I was like, I’m ready to quit my full-time job. And that’s what I did in October 2019.

Matt Bowles: So, let’s talk about what you do today. You are a career coach. You help people find their remote dream job in 90 days, the ideal job for them, so they can create their dream lifestyle and travel the world on their terms just as you do. Can you talk a little bit about your methodology for that?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, I figured it out that once I was more stable, right? I was a digital nomad, I had clients and all of that. I was traveling, so I was living the life I wanted to have. I figured it out that not everybody found it easy to get to where I was at the moment. And I figured out that I was working between working from home and working remotely for like eight years already. So, I decided to put that all together, like shape it, put my own methodology together and start helping others to do the same. Because when I saw someone like, I want to land a remote job, I want to travel more, I was like, oh my goodness, that was me a couple of years ago. Like I have been exactly there. I understand exactly what you’re going through, and if I succeed, I can help people to do that. So, I realized I had the HR background. I knew exactly what companies were looking for when they were selecting candidates to work remotely. I had the experience myself, working remotely for almost eight years.

And I had this facility of sharing that with people, teaching people how to do it. So, I had pretty much the three parts, parts of the triangle. And I said, okay, I want to help people to have the same lifestyle that I have. It took me a while to get there. So, if I can speed up the process for people, they don’t need to spend two years doing this transition. So, what about short enough for them and use my knowledge to help them to speed up the process. So that’s how I create the, the methodology that I use today. What I say is that I help people to land a remote job in 90 days. And those 90 days came based on experience like the results I was getting. So, most of my clients, they do get not 100% of them, but most of them get their first or next remote job in 90 days.

Matt Bowles: And what does that 90-day process look like? When your clients come to you and they commit to working with you for three months with this goal, what does that 90-day process look like?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, there are six steps that I follow. So, the first step is related to clarity. So, if we don’t know where you’re going to, like when I was doing this transition, I knew what I wanted, right? I had this clarity. So that was my guideline to keep me motivated and walking towards the right direction. So, with my clients, we first talk about clarity. Short term goals, long term goals, the lifestyle they want to have. So put them into the situation they want to live. And then once we get clarity about that, we’re going to create a roadmap, a personalized one that serves them and helps them to achieve that lifestyle. So instead of just go to the technical part first, we need to understand who are you, what do you want? Which are your dreams, what do you want to achieve in your life, in your career? And then we adjust the rest of the strategies and the sessions towards that.

So, first step is clarity and create a roadmap to get you there. The second step is related to your online image, so your resume, your LinkedIn profile, your cover letter. Because probably this is going to be the first impression that people will have about you. So, we need to show your best version online now that we reconnect with that because you got more clarity. So, we’re going to reflect your best version online. So, we cover resume, LinkedIn and cover letter. Then we talk about mindset because it’s not only about strategy, it’s about mindset. And when, when we start going deep into landing a remote job, living the life that you want and you deserve, and having more flexibility, making choices. It goes against the feeling of I’m not sure if I’m capable of, I’m hesitant about my skills. Maybe my case is different, it’s taking too long. Maybe I should just accept what I have. So, all those limiting beliefs that come up during the, the whole process, we also cover that. So, there’s a special part related to mindset because it’s not only about technique. Mindset is a key element in landing a remote job.

The fourth step is about job search strategies in plural. Because there is not a magic formula like you do A and B and then C, you land the job. If I ever find that Formula, I’m going to write a book and be like a millionaire. But so far, I haven’t found it. So, a testing out different job search strategies and see what works for each client. So, it’s a very personalized process that I have this one-on-one coaching service. Then step five, we talk about network and the hidden job market. So, the real job offers that are not posted anywhere, but they do exist and you need to find a way to get into it because there are studies that say that 80%, 80%, the big majority of the job offers, they are not posted anywhere. So how to tap into that spoiler? It has a lot to do with network. But then what is network, right? Because this word is empty.

Nowadays everybody talks, oh, you need to network and all of that. But how to do it? So, there are different layers in network and all of that. We also cover that. And the final step, step number six, it’s about interview preparation. So how to better prepare for the typical job interview questions. What to expect from a remote job interview. How to negotiate your seller, which benefits you can expect from a remote company. And all of that is done in a very personalized way according to the client’s needs. There is the framework that we are going to follow, but it’s very tailored to each person.

Matt Bowles: That’s awesome. Can you give us a couple tactics or a couple specific strategies? For example, with LinkedIn, if folks are trying to use LinkedIn in the most effective way to land a remote job, what are some tactics that they should be employing today?

Juliana Rabbi: First thing, have a complete and updated profile. Sometimes people create the profile and then, oh, I forgot what I put there. I just, you know, fill it up, the mandatory parts and not even remember what I put there. I don’t know what is on it. Google likes LinkedIn a lot. So even if you forget about it, when people search for your name on Google, probably LinkedIn is going to appear on the first or on the second page. So, you better go there and show the right image, right? And yeah, people will find your LinkedIn profile and you want to reflect your best version online. So that would be the first tip. Have a complete and updated profile. Second, if you have any remote work experience. So, for an example, during the pandemic, right. That some people were temporarily working remotely, make sure you state that very clear in your profile because those counts.

That helps you to be closer to a remote job because you actually worked remotely or from home. So, make sure you mention that some people think no, because it was temporary. My contract was not remote no, make sure you mention that and also make sure you want to keep working remotely because we both know that some people were forced to work remotely during the pandemic, but they are dying to go back to the office because they miss the environment, because they don’t want to spend the whole day with their partner and all this kind of thing. So, if you want to work remotely, make sure you make that clear in your profile. So remote companies will find you and they will know that you’re interested in doing that.

Also, all the networking part that you can do on LinkedIn so you have a nice profile that sells you well and then you start attracting people to your profile by networking. So first make things right and then you invite people to visit your profile. So, network and all the possibilities that you have with remote companies so you can go directly to the CEO of the company, to someone working remotely, another country that is doing the exactly job that you want to do. So, the possibilities are endless. It’s all for free, so you don’t need to pay any premium version of that. But it’s a great way to find companies, talk to people who are working there, stand out from others, be updated about what is going on those companies.

Matt Bowles: I also want to ask you a little bit more about this hidden job market. That is an incredible statistic that you just dropped, that 80% of remote jobs are not usually formally publicly listed on a job board or public publicly advertised in that way. Can you talk a little bit about that? Any tips or tactics for how to navigate that reality? And I assume that means that the 20% that are listed, that’s what everybody’s applying for. They just get barraged with a bazillion things and all this kind of stuff and it kind of gets lost. What are some of the ways that folks can tap into that other 80% and get some advantages?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, I always tell my clients that I want them to eat the full pizza, not only one slice of pizza, which would be the 20% of the job offers that are posted out there. I want them to have access to the full pizza and then they choose this lies that they like more. So how to tap into the hidden job market, right, connecting with people that are in the areas that you want to work in, the sectors that you want to work in, the companies you want to work. Why is that? Because when people know you, they know about your profile, about your interest. Whenever there is a position before posting, they will probably ask in their team, do you know someone that can do the job? Or if you hear about someone that is interested. So, companies talk about it.

And I know based on my experience in HR that before posting a job offer, they talk internally. People know that someone is leaving, that a new project is coming. So, if you are someone that they will remember, they will say, oh, I actually know a guy that has this profile. You will be remembered. And you can skip the whole traditional application process and your curriculum can ended up on the table of the hiring manager and he can call you and do an interview. And you never applied to that job and that job was never posted anywhere. So, networking with people in the companies you want to work for, even if the position is not available today, it’s not about today. This is a long-term strategy. So, a new position can be open in a month. But you need time to build up the network and the trust. This is not like, hey, I want to connect with you because I want a job that’s begging, that’s showing desperation. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about taking the time instead of applying for 10 jobs per day to find the companies you want to follow, you want to engage with, you want to be known by people that are there. You want to be friends or at least be connected with your future hiring manager. So, when the position come, it’s like, like hey, this is for you, like I thought about you.

So, this is one way to do that. Some companies, they have this referral police, right? So, when a position is open, they initially post it internally and they say, well, if you know someone, please, you know, bring the resume, whatever. So, there is a formal procedure to do that. And then if they hire you, the person that was referred, they make some money out of that. So, it’s a win situation. The employee that referred, you make some money, you get the job that you want. The company saves money with the whole recruitment process and posting job offer. That’s extremely expensive. So, referral programs. But again, people need to know you, they need to trust you, they need to know that you are available, they need to know about your potential. So pretty much the hidden job market has a lot to do with networking. And as I said, this word is kind of empty because everybody says oh, you need to network. Oh, to land a job you need to network. And then people like I feel awkward going to network events or now that’s everything online if you even more awkward. So, it’s not about that. I like to say that there are three layers of networking.

So, the first layer is that people that you are connected already today. People who probably worked with you in the past, your family, your friends, people that are already connect on LinkedIn. So, people that already know you and you know them, there is already relationship out there. We take for granted that those people will never be able to help us, but hey, they will because they already know you. So, they are probably willing to help you if there is a position in their wife’s company and they hear about the position and they know that you’re open to jobs. So, explore a bit that let people know that you’re open for jobs and engage into conversation with the person that went to your MBA course 10 years ago, that you never reach out again. But now the person is working a very interesting company.

So, start by the ones that you are connected already, that they know you somehow and explore that a bit. That’s the first layer of network. The second layer of networking is the ones you’re going to target and proactively go for them. So, you want to work in that specific remote company. So, who is strategically do I want to connect in that company? Who are the people I want to target and how to approach them? And there is a strategy to do that. But you go after the people you want to bring to your network, they are not yet in your network, but you want to bring them because it strategically is the company want to work for the kind of position and all of that. That’s the second layer that we work.

And the third layer is putting your profile out there, mainly your LinkedIn profile, in your curriculum, in a way that you start attracting passively people to your profile. So, headhunters and recruiters, they search for candidates for positions that are not posted anywhere. So, if you are using the right keywords, if you’re selling your best version online, people will find you and will contact you for exactly the kind of positions you want to work for. So, these are the three layers of networking that will help you to tap into the hidden job market.

Matt Bowles: Awesome advice. And then once you land an interview, what are some tactics or strategy for preparing to knock that interview out of the park and land that job?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah. So, the interview preparation starts actually before you apply the job, right? You should choose the kind of companies you want to work for. So instead of randomly applying for any jobs that you see out there just because it’s remote, take some time, go a little bit deeper, check about the company, check if the job is actually remote and which conditions like do you need to be in a certain time zone, do you need to work certain hours, or do you have flexibility. Can you travel while you’re working? So, make your research before applying for jobs just to make sure that you’re only going for the companies that make sense to you. You don’t want to figure out in the final interview that, oh, hey, I need to work us hours and I want to travel, so it doesn’t suit me. So, save your time, save the recruiters time and do your homework before. So, you target companies that you want to work for, actually.

And then when you go for interviews, it’s interesting to know who is going to interview you. And most of the time you know it because the person is going to send you an email or a zoom invitation or something like that. So, research a little bit who is the person who is interviewing you? Is it the HR person in this case? Make sure you don’t go too deep into technical details of your area because that person is from HR. The person won’t know the detail of the detail of the technical thing that you have done. So, you might want to mention the names because probably the person has a checklist or let me see if he’s going to mention that program. But you don’t need to go into details about what you do in the program and all the technical things. On the other side, if it’s the hiring manager, the person that we work side by side with, you probably someone with a more technical background. So that’s the moment to showcase all the details of how you’re doing that and the tools and the techniques and all of that.

So, adjust your language to your audience. And the way to do that is knowing in advance who are you going to talk with. So, an interview with HR is completely different. The preparation that you should do comparing to an interview with your manager or a colleague from another department that will be, for example, your internal client. So, get to know who is the person. Prepare for that. Have the answer prepared, of course, for the basic interview questions, such as tell me a bit about yourself. Why do you want to work for us? Your main achievement in your career or the main mistake you have done. So those basic questions that everybody knows they’re going to be asked about it, they still leave the interview like I, damn it, I don’t know if I replied well.

So, stop that and prepare in advance because you, you have a good idea. Everybody has a good idea of the kind of questions that will be asked. So, prepare for that in advance. And another thing about the interview preparation is regarding the salary negotiation. It’s, it’s interesting that in 2021, people still some people still don’t know that they can negotiate salary and conditions instead of just saying yes or no to, to the job offer. And some people that know that they can don’t know how to do that. So, I also cover all those things because there is a lot of money that can be left on the table if you just say yes or no to a job without going to the next step, which is, oh, thank you for the offer. Now let’s talk about the conditions and the salary.

Matt Bowles: Awesome advice. So let me ask you this. Who is your ideal client? Who is the right type of person for your services to work with you? If folks are listening out there and they’re wondering if your services would be right for them, if your three-month package would be right for them, what types of people are the ideal client for you?

Juliana Rabbi: Clearly someone that is working at the moment, they have between 10 to 15 years of experience, they are doing okay in their work, they have some financial stability, they got internal promotions, they are doing fine in their work, but internally they feel that there is something more that they are missing. They want to enjoy more what they do or they want to do a more meaningful job. But they are comfortable there, they’re making good money, they have a nice life quality, they probably have family, they have like financial obligations. So, they are okay from the outside, but from the inside they are like, there must be something more out there for me. They’re in this stage that it’s not all about money anymore. It’s about how I want to spend my time and things that are a priority for me. So probably they are between 30 and 40, 50 something.

So, they did already all the rush, rush about being promoted within the company and go for a better company and make more money. They have done that and they achieved, but now it’s like they want to create space for other things in their life. So, they see remote work as an opportunity to still take care of their career because that’s an important thing for them. They want to work, they want to be leaders, they want to, you know, make money, they have a certain lifestyle that they want to keep, they have family obligations, they’re not ignoring the career, but they are ready to, to make a step towards also other areas of their life. So, a remote job allows them to experience new things, to have more flexibility and all of that.

Matt Bowles: Awesome. I also want to ask how you have exercised your location independence in terms of your travel choices and lifestyle design. How do you structure your lifestyle? How do you choose where to go, how long to travel for and you know, what is your sort of day look like as a digital nomad?

Juliana Rabbi: This is a 100% in process. I don’t have a formula yet. I keep testing out things and changing and improving. So, what I’m saying now, maybe in six months will be different, warning you. But for now, a few things that I figured out already. So, for example, I don’t travel for less than a month to a place. So minimum time that I stay is one month because I need around two weeks to settle down in one place. And what I mean by that is finding a nice coffee shop to work from, finding the supermarket restaurants I like to eat from. Yeah, move around the place and feel safe and start making friends and understanding the city. So minimum one month, ideally more than one month, because then I can settle down and enjoy also more the experience of being there. And I don’t have this feeling like, oh, I have to rush because I need to explore the city and then I need to work and then I feel divided. So minimum one month in each place. This is one of the things that I have established.

I talk to friends about places that they had been or if I know someone that just left the place. So, I think as a digital nomad, I haven’t been to a place that I didn’t know anyone that have been there before. So, things like, is Internet good? Is it safe for a woman traveling alone to go there? Which is the best time of the year to go there? Is winter like very hard or is it raining all the time? So, this kind of information, yes, you can find it online, I know it, but it’s just more reliable if you talk to a friend that has the same lifestyle and they will say, oh, don’t go to the city because Internet is terrible. Avoid that city or go on holidays only. So, this kind of detail you might not find online or it might be mixed up in all the information. So, talking to people that have a similar journey and a similar lifestyle. So, I get a lot of tips.

Matt Bowles: And how do you structure your days? For example, how do you balance your business work obligations with your social priorities, with wanting to go out and do cool stuff in the city and all this sort of thing?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah. So, the way it’s working today, but as I said, it’s a steering process because I like to test out new things. So, the way it’s working today is I don’t schedule client calls. So, I don’t do coaching sessions Mondays and Fridays. So, I do client calls Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which means that on Monday I can do whatever I want. Normally it’s work stuff because probably I have stuff to do on Monday, but I also allow myself to, I don’t know, wake up late or work from a cafe, do other things that I don’t do Tuesday to Thursday, mainly with the coaching sessions. I need a silent place to do the sessions with my clients.

So normally I work from home Tuesday to Thursday because I have a quiet space, I have a decent background to appear on the video calls, and in a cafe, it can be noisy and all of that. So, Monday, I’m flexible with what I do, but normally I work on Monday, most of Monday or part of Monday at least. Then I focus my coaching sessions from Tuesday to Thursday and Fridays. I take off most of Friday, so I’m not working most of Fridays. And that’s when I take to explore the city to do whatever I want. Saturdays and Sundays also, 99% of them. I’m not working. But again, I’m flexible because sometimes I have an event that I’m going to be a speaker and it’s on Saturday. So, it’s not that I can never work Friday, Saturday and Monday. No, in Sunday, of course I can. That’s the lifestyle that I create. So, I adjust to what I need, but by default, I don’t work on weekend. I worked so many weekends in those two years that I was doing my life transition, you know, to build up that now I’m like, I want to enjoy.

So, I want to have autonomy and tell my clients, no, I won’t do a session on Monday afternoon. We are going to do it on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So, they also need to adjust into it. So, I’m starting to take more ownership of my career and setting my rules because that. That’s helping me to be less doing a session with a client. And deep inside I’m sad because I’m not on the beach with my friend. It’s like, it’s okay because I’m going to be on the beach in another time. So, I’m kind of separating more the work, which is one of my big priorities. Still, like, very responsible with work. So, I know people that say, whatever, I’m going to do it, or I don’t care that much. I do care a lot about work. I take it seriously. So, I. Yeah, I’m putting some boundaries that are helping me to balance.

Matt Bowles: Let me ask you one more question, and then we’ll wrap this up and move into The Lightning Round. When you think back about all of your world travels, you’ve now been to over 50 countries. What impact has all of that travel had on you? And why are you continuing to choose to keep traveling? What does travel mean to you?

Juliana Rabbi: It means have access to different experiences. People live different ways; people make different choices. And I find it fascinating because it’s just like opening the door to experience new things that if I was still in Brazil, in my hometown, or still in Spain, I wouldn’t have lived. So, the more I travel, the more I feel like I don’t know how to travel. It’s like, wow. I mean, I know, but there are always new things to explore. New cities, new cultures, new people, new experiences. Yeah. So, it’s keep opening the door for the change and variety that are important to me, and the way I found to keep that alive is traveling.

Matt Bowles: Awesome. All right, Juliana, are you ready to move in to The Lightning Round?

Juliana Rabbi: Oh, yes.

Matt Bowles: Let’s do it.

Juliana Rabbi: Let’s do it.

Matt Bowles: All right. What is one book that has significantly impacted you over the years you’d most recommend people check out?

Juliana Rabbi: I like to read a lot, but one that I read recently there was a wow for me is Atomic Habits. I think the author is James Clear. It was a book that was recommended to me by several people. I was like, yeah, whatever. Productivity Habits. I have read plenty books about it. But what is special about this one is that, I don’t know, it twisted the way I saw habits and the way we get used to some things and we don’t think about it and we keep repeating them. So, there are, like, very practical tips of how to understand why we do things the way we do, and then practical tips also of how to break those patterns.

Matt Bowles: Awesome. We’re going to link that up in the show notes. If you could have dinner with any person who’s currently alive today and you’ve never met just you and that person for an evening of dinner and conversation, who would you choose?

Juliana Rabbi: I would go for Michelle Obama. I read her book recently, and I didn’t know much about her before that, but then several close people start recommending the book. I was like, yeah, let me give it a try. And I was surprisingly impressed, positively impressed by her power and the amount of things she did. Being like, the second person, right. She was not Obama, but she was still using the opportunity she had to build up things for women, for black woman. So, she was very powerful in the situation that she was a great example of making the most of the situation and the resources that you have

Matt Bowles: With all of your travel experience up to this point, what is one travel hack that you use that you can recommend?

Juliana Rabbi: I talk to people, to friends that are digital nomads and that have been to that place before. So, I try to track and we are always connected on social media. So, I kind of know who had been to the place I’m going and I reach out to the person and I ask the basic things. Things such as where to stay, which is the best neighborhood to stay, how is the Internet connection, is this a good time of the year to go there? Because I save so much time doing that and I somehow know what to expect. So, we talk to people who live the same lifestyle because someone that goes as a tourist is a completely different experience, right. So, all the digital nomad people that I know from the community and ask them basic things such as where to stay, can I take a taxi? Is it safe? Is it safe for a woman? Yeah, basic things like that.

Matt Bowles: If you could go back in time, knowing everything that you know now and give one piece of advice to your 18-year-old self, what would you say to 18-year-old Juliana?

Juliana Rabbi: It’s okay to be different.

Matt Bowles: I love that. All right, of all the places you’ve been in the world, what are your top three favorite travel destinations you’d most recommend people check out?

Juliana Rabbi: Thailand was the beginning for me, but not only that, because I had been to Thailand after that. So also, as a digital nomad is a great place to be. So, Thailand I would recommend and it’s Asia, which I love. It’s all different than the rest of the world. So yeah, definitely Thailand. I will also say Mexico. I was there last year and was a great surprise. So, the country is huge. Every place is very different than other people are lovely and you have amazing experiences there. So, Mexico definitely. And the third, I’m going to say Spain. Although when I was living there, I was not a digital nomad yet. I was living an expat life. But it’s also a nice country to be a digital nomad. I have been recently back to Valencia that I had been many years ago. It’s a great place. You have like the beach; you have like a digital nomad community. It’s easy to move around. It’s. It’s pretty. The city, it’s not too big, it’s not too small. So yeah, I would say Spain also.

Matt Bowles: All right, what are your top three bucket list destinations? These are places you’ve never been, the highest on your list you’d most love to see.

Juliana Rabbi: So, the first country I would love to go is Vietnam. I was supposed to go there in April when the pandemic started. So, I had to pause that plan. But I definitely want to go back there. Another place, I would say India. Like I had been to India already, but I want to do a yoga retreat there for a longer period of time. And also, South Africa. Recently a lot of people that I know have been there and have been sharing stuff on social media that is calling my attention, attention. So, yeah, also South Africa.

Matt Bowles: Those are three really good picks. I’ve spent about three months in Cape Town and that’s a super special place. Vietnam. I also love in India. I want to go back to India as well. I mean, I’ve been twice and talk about a massive country.

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah.

Matt Bowles: With so many culturally different places within it. I just feel like I need to spend an enormous amount of time in India. So, I think that is an awesome pick. All right, Juliana, I want you to let folks know how they can find you, follow you on social media, check out your content and if folks are interested in working with you to find their remote dream job in 90 days, how can they do that? How would you like people to come into your world?

Juliana Rabbi: Yeah, so if they search Juliana Rabbi online, you’ll probably find me on LinkedIn, on Instagram. My website is https://www.julianarabbi.com. So pretty much I use the same my real name in all social media. So yeah, people can approach me, we can check case by case. I have also my YouTube channel that I share every week a new video related to career, to remote job, to job interviews, to career, change international careers. So, it’s also a nice way to learn from me. There are around 80 videos so it’s a nice source of information also for whoever want to learn and improve their career.

Matt Bowles: Awesome. We are going to link all of that up in the show notes. You can just go to one place at themaverickshow.com go to the show notes for this episode. There you will find all of the links for the different ways to find, follow and contact Juliana as well as the book she recommended and all of the other stuff that we talked about in this episode. Juliana, this was amazing. Thank you so much for coming on The Maverick Show.

Juliana Rabbi: Oh, I also enjoyed that. Thank you.

Matt Bowles: All right, good night, everybody.