I’ve failed to become a beach entrepreneur earlier this summer. My girlfriend and I chose experience over money and went broke by the end of September.

You don’t need luck. You need to fail.

I’m reading this stellar quote by Shaunta Grimes over and over again in the last couple of days.

It made me think.

For the third consecutive year, I’m back in the UK with my girl to run a couple of seasonal retail stores from early October up until Christmas. Only this time, things are different. We are different. Our mindsets have changed because we’ve failed so many times.

With Brexit around the corner, everything points out to another massive failure with a big historic stamp all over it.

Yet, most of the time, we find ourselves being in a steady line.

We’re getting older and maybe even growing up a little at 35.

Here’s the full mosaic.

You don’t need to worry about survival, you need to redecorate your home

We used to kill ourselves out of work here and our only motivation was to earn enough money to meet ends back in Croatia until the next UK season.

Recently, we bought our own place there (with the generous help of my parents) and decided it’s time for us to settle. At least for a while.

Our main goal this season is to refurnish our new home.

We want to create a space that suits all of our needs.

This feels much better than competing with other shops for more money like we did last year.

Also, we’ve decided to pay ourselves first and save 20% of our income here for future investing.

You don’t need unnecessary stress to feel alive, you need better preparation

Last year, we did everything at the last minute. We were stressed out from the start, worked a 12-hour shift and worried about everything that could possibly go wrong.

This year, we focused on better preparation.

We worked out almost every day for three months. We bought the plane tickets early. We booked a stunning flat in the center of Newcastle in advance.

We decided to work a maximum of eight hours a day and hire a bunch of staff.

You don’t need to become an entrepreneur, you need to improve as a human

I’ve put so much pressure on myself to become an entrepreneur asap.

In reality, I like the place we bought, our new neighborhood and our life.

I’m much more content working on improving myself as a person, partner and writer than pursuing the hot hustle image.

For the first time in my life, I’m seriously considering tackling a “boring” 9 to 5 job and engaging in the local community.

You don’t need to travel more, you need to spend more time with your dog

I’m tired of this analog nomad lifestyle we’ve been living for the past three years.

Always being on the road like a hitman has its romantic advantages, but I want to take a long break from living in a David Lynch movie.

I crave to root myself, make a new beginning in our new apartment and take it from there one step at a time.

I want to enjoy the process for a change and our life now when we learned how to appreciate it because of our failures.

Every time we leave our dog before traveling to the UK, we collapse, cry and feel like terrible people.

If I’m about to have a kid in the future, I don’t want to leave him for three months and miss him like I miss Lola.

You don’t need to be special, you need to consider getting married

I have a younger sister. She’s at a turning point. First, she started to visit a good therapist. Then, she told me she’s getting married.

It made me think about my own marriage after postponing the thought for a decade.

Am I ready? Are we ever ready?

Do I need to have a ton of money, an entrepreneurial Instagram profile or fame to get married?

It’s all bullshit.

There are no special needs besides loving each other, our life and wanting to get married.

You don’t need a perfect country, you need to know what you stand for

The pound is about to crash if the Brexit goes on. We could lose a lot of money after the exchange.

For the rest, no one knows what will happen. We’re self-employed but it looks like we’ll probably need to go and check-in at the office for foreigners. Deal with papers and bureaucracy.

I’ve never felt like a foreigner in this country. Sure, it did lose a lot of its glamour and power from the old days, but I’ve always felt Britain is a big supporting stage, open to meet new people, free for trade and everyone having tons of fun while doing it.

I’ve been called strange, Polish and Buddhist. The Government turned down my application for National Insurance Number but it never changed the fact that somehow, I‘ve always felt at home here.

It’s probably because of my childhood fascination with British music, fashion, actresses, actors, writers and watching too much of the BBC.

But we live in different times now.

Foreign policy can break connections but it can’t erase values and a sense of good taste.

You don’t have to obey, you need to speak your truth

No more nice guys and silent immigrant syndrome. A funny thing happens when you stop living in fear of losing money or opportunity.

You start to own your truth and feel more freedom.

People and even your boss start to appreciate you more and pay attention to what you’re saying.

So, thank you Brexit.

Thank you for pushing us to the point where we feel we have nothing to lose besides our own truth and authenticity.

Thank you for setting us free.

Thank you, next.

You don’t need halogen lights, you need the Himalayan salt lamp and quality sleep

How come the majority of people who voted for isolation still find it interesting to reach out for alternative and foreign products?

As always, the real-life is happening on the ground, far away from the political construct of good and bad. It is formed out of relationships, trade, services, and human interaction.

So, what’s the deal with these Himalayan salt lamps and why do they make killer sales in our shops?

They’re like a healthy night mode app for your room.

And they look very nice.

We’ve taken one and put it close to our bed. We sleep like babies from 11 pm till 6.30 am.

You don’t need to criticize, you need to be grateful

We used to bitch about not signing malls in larger UK cities like London, Liverpool or Birmingham.

In the long run, it made us discover Scotland, English countryside and small towns with a fascinating history like Bolton and Wigan.

If this turns out to be our last visit to the UK, I’m glad it’s in Newcastle.

In the words of a Quoran Mike Williams:

I’m an ex Londoner living in Newcastle Upon Tyne and I like to think of it as having most of the benefits of London (vibrant nightlife and arts, good food and drink, reasonably high level of cultural diversity, decent public transport) on a much smaller, more human scale. The inhabitants are friendly to a degree that might cause some culture shock if you’re used to the isolation of big cities. It’s also architecturally very attractive and within a very short distance of strikingly beautiful coastline and countryside. It does have a level of poverty and deprivation and the North East generally has been hard hit by austerity, in part due to a comparatively high reliance on public sector employment, but very little would tempt me to move back.

You don’t need to watch the news about Boris Johnson, you need to read Winston Churchill

“My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me.” — Winston Churchill

If this comes from a guy who shaped the world as we know it today, then you know what’s the most important tool for a good life.

I wonder what would he say about Brexit. How would he comment on this seasonal immigrant’s letter on Medium? The country he created opened its doors to people from all around the world who became its vital force.

Would he appreciate the contribution, honesty and hard work from Hong Kong, India, Poland, China, USA, and Croatia to the United Kingdom?

Would he still support the free trade today?

Would he be aware of how Britain without it’s economic and cultural variety could drain out of isolation, obscurity, and misery?

If my European vote is worth anything, I don’t want to divorce the UK.

After three years, it became like a second homeland.

I believe Churchill would do the same. He would persist in love in the most difficult times to persist.

The final dispatch

I don’t understand Brexit. It feels like a postmodern, abstract and fake Kramer vs. Kramer story to numb and frighten us.

I do understand the necessity of failing.

I do understand the power of owning your truth and authenticity when society tries to shutter you down.

I feel the benefits of rootedness, gratefulness and Himalayan salt lamps.

I believe it’s hard to create a lasting marriage and easy to tear it apart.

No matter how macro gets chaotic, life is about creating a perfect micro space for you and your loved ones.

This is the big picture I’m painting for myself and my relationships in the time of Brexit.

It’s the picture, I believe, we all need a bit more.

—

Previously Published on Medium

—

Shutterstock