It was over dim sum and beer last night, celebrating the finish of our book, we realized another big milestone. Today marks 500 days since we left on this life-changing journey around the world. It reminds me of the 1001 stories Scheherazade told in One Thousand and One Nights – we’ve had 500 of our own stories so far. (Though I have to admit we are not collecting our stories to escape murder by the king, so Scheherazade’s one up on the badass scale from us.)

We recorded a video for you below to mark the occasion and share some of our lessons. I swear we did not hire those monks to casually walk through the frame, but I’m pretty thrilled they did. We want to remind you that living your dream is pretty freaking great, and the only way to get there is through the small steps you take today, tomorrow, and every day after.

It boils down to how you treat yourself, how you treat the people around you, and the focus and energy you put toward your dreams every single day.

What have we learned in 500 days?

Warren has become a much calmer person, less prone to stressful outbursts, and more adaptable as a whole. I’ve seen the years melt off his face on this journey as he lets go of the negative energy. By getting rid of it, he’s opened himself up to new hobbies and interests, like learning Spanish and Thai, cooking and writing.

I’ve learned to be more dependent on others and ask for help, which was hard for me to do before. I’m overcoming my good girl tendencies to never need anything or anyone and to only show my work when it is complete. I’m exposing more of my imperfections and in-progress self than ever before, and it is both scary and exhilarating. I have done more in the last 500 days by sharing my half-baked ideas and asking for help than I have done in the last 5 years by myself.

These are our lessons. There are lessons out there waiting to be learned by you. But you’ve gotta take the first step.

(click here if you don’t see the video below)

Do you know someone who is struggling with their goals right now? Send them a link to this article so they can see what it looks like on the other side of all the hard work. It is worth it!