Speaker 1: I spent four years as a digital nomad, dancing from
one destination to the next. Because of Covid, I needed to set
some roots and establish myself somewhere. I literally was
between three destinations and was just Lisbon. You can get to a
beach for five euros, you can visit a winery for 15. You can go
for a long walk along the river for free. Hi, my name is Alienor
Salmon and I'm an author and happiness expert. I moved to Lisbon,
Portugal to build my happiest life.
HELEN ZHAO: There are so many beautiful cities in Europe, why
Lisbon?
Speaker 1: For me, Lisbon just has so much charm. There's a
beautiful sense of calm, where I'm able to do things in my own
time, where people are very gentle. I feel literally like someone
hit me with a tranquilizer dart. So in my old life, I was working
at UNESCO, which is the United Nations agency in charge of
education, culture and sciences. I was looking at education,
policy and reform in terms of peace and happiness and well-being
in schools. I had a really wonderful life, a great group of
friends and a really beautiful apartment. Somehow something was
missing. The more that I was researching happiness in my work,
the more that I realized that I wasn't completely happy. I was
struggling with the first signs of burnout. I really wanted to
liberate my body from my desk. I saw myself in the streets of
Cuba dancing, and being completely free and alive. I made the
decision to leave everything behind to learn how to dance as a
total beginner.
HELEN ZHAO: That is such an amazing mentality shift as someone
who is from the US, and you know, we have such a goal oriented
culture. It's so hard to relax because I'm always thinking, "I
could be achieving something instead."
Speaker 1: It was terrifying. It was terrifying because it had
been my dream to work for the UN my whole life. I loved my job.
It turned out to be a one-year career break, dancing through
eight different countries, learning a total of 18 dances. I had
actually saved for one year. And I then also took out my life
savings and invested it all in this, which was the best decision
I ever made. And then when I was ready to work again, I contacted
my old colleagues and said, "Why don't I do some things I did
before, but just from anywhere?" And it really worked well and
different projects came in. Five years later, it's still working.
I don't do full-time jobs. I don't do offices. So I recently
published a book about my journey called, "Finding Rhythm: An
International Dance Journey." People tell me that they quit their
jobs after reading my book. I also offer coaching programs where
I take people through kind of seven steps to happiness that I
have identified based on my research. How can you design a life
that is more life centric, more than work centric? I think that
we should have non-negotiables based on our happiness. So for
instance, if having a daily walk, very simple example, is what
makes you happy, that is non-negotiable. Your work will wait.
HELEN ZHAO: So this is your new home and you're a regular now on
this street.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. I have my favorite flower shop, my
favorite bookshop and one of my favorite cafes, A Brasileira. I
love to come here for a coffee and a pastel. I could go back to
London and give myself an average income that's higher, maybe,
maybe double. But for what? To live with roommates until I'm 45?
You could earn half the amount and live somewhere more
comfortable.
HELEN ZHAO: You know, in many big cities in the US, the cost of
living is so high that you're constantly working to just feel
like you're keeping up. And that's not something you have to do
here. It sounds like Lisbon is a place where you personally can
afford to put your happiness first.
Speaker 1: My apartment is 1,100 euros per month, which by Lisbon
standards would be considered quite high. But then for the
neighborhood, and for the quality of the apartment, I got a
really good deal I think. And then I leave myself more or less
1,000 for kind of daily living, two or three meals out per week,
which average around 30 euros. And here you can probably have
three-course meal, a couple of glasses of wine. I occasionally
get Ubers. Ubers are very affordable here. I mean a short trip
could be just two euro 50. If I have anything left, I would
usually have a happy fund. And every month I'll have intentions
that I work towards, and then I will buy things based on those
intentions. So September, my theme was grounding and healing. So
I bought myself beautiful houseplants, and ceramic pots to put
them in. I have plenty of free time to do the things that I love
while also being able to live very comfortably. But I'm well
aware that that is not the reality for many. And I want to be
really sensitive to the fact that this is far more than the
minimum wage in Europe or in Portugal actually.
HELEN ZHAO: What did your dance journey around the world teach
you about happiness that working as a happiness researcher
couldn't?
Speaker 1: A lot of us think "I'll be happy once I'm successful."
But actually happiness is found in small, daily choices. Being
happy is the most successful life that we can aim for. We're not
going to look back on our life thinking about that time we got
promoted. We're going to look back at our life at the moments
where we were truly and fully alive.