In Today’s Email

Did you know that Einstein often credited his biggest breakthroughs to long walks? It’s true—and it’s just one way the brain fires up when you give it space to explore.

This week, we’re diving into what travel does to your mind, with some nomadic inspiration to fuel your week.

What’s Inside:

• Newsletter News: Since we’re young, expect lots of fun builds and changes as we strengthen our base and grow together.

• Leuchtturm1917 Notebook (GEAR): Why settle for average when your ideas deserve the best?

• The Man on the Inside (STREAM): Ted Danson shines as an unlikely spy in this graceful, addictive Netflix hit.

• Originals by Adam Grant (READ): Discover how to champion new ideas, stand out, and embrace originality.

• This is Your Brain on Travel: How exploring new places boosts creativity, intelligence, and empathy.

Let’s dive in!

Newsletter News

Big changes ahead! 🚀 Based on your feedback 💬 (and a little self-reflection 🤔), we’ve slimmed down and upped the fun factor.

Expect interactive polls 📊, trivia, and quick feedback options—because life’s too short for fluff.

Still want the deep dive? 🏊‍♂️ Check out my new blog on Substack 📖.

It’s where we’ll expand on newsletter topics, explore personal musings , and dig into travel stories —think bigger, bolder, and deeper.

And get ready to meet Rio! Our mascot 🐦—a nod to a certain departed blue bird. The website is under construction 🏗️, but Rio’s already making moves. 🔥

Thanks for reading. Let’s keep it light, fast, and fun. Nomad style. 🌎✨

GEAR — Bullet Journal: A Love Letter to the Leuchtturm1917

A rose might be a rose might be a rose, but a notebook is not just a notebook. ✍️

In a digital world, the Leuchtturm1917 stands out as a timeless tool for thinkers, creators, and adventurers. 🗺️ It’s a notebook built to last, with impeccable paper—crisp, thick, and resistant to smudging and fingerprints (in case you are bank robber).

The binding is sturdy, with rounded corners to ensure it ages gracefully like its owner. 📖

Moleskines? They’re fine as entry-level notebooks, but that’s it. 😏 The paper quality disappoints, and their durability doesn’t match the demands of real-world use.

At ATN, we prefer notebooks that can weather the journey and still look and feel incredible. 💼

This notebook includes different page styles than just blank. Graph paper pages make it perfect to sketch and plan, while tear-off sheets at the back add functionality. ✂️

A built-in pocket is super cool for storing quick scraps, reveipts, or even a handwritten phone number—because sometimes, romance is better in ink than on Instagram. ❤️

Every scratch and crease tells a story, reflecting the places you’ve been and the ideas you’ve captured.

Pulling out a notebook like this isn’t just practical; it’s a statement. It says you value your thoughts enough to record them with intention.

Forget the average. Choose a notebook that inspires. 🌟 The Leuchtturm1917 isn’t just for writing—it’s for creating a legacy.

Bullet Journal Basics

• Index: Organize your thoughts. 🗂️

• Collections: Group related ideas. 📝

• Daily Logs: Track tasks and events. 📆

• Migration: Reflect and refine as you go. 🔄

Get your hands on a Leuchtturm1917 and let it become a part of your story. 🖋️

STREAM

Man on the Inside is a masterful show that feels effortless in its execution. Inspired by the 2020 Chilean documentary The Mole Agent 🇨🇱, the series follows an elderly man 👴 tasked with infiltrating a retirement home 🏠 to uncover mistreatment.

The result is a poignant, sometimes humorous 😂 exploration of aging, dignity, and reinvention.

Ted Danson, at 77 👴, is magnetic as the unlikely spy 🕵️. His performance balances charm 💞 and vulnerability, showing the resilience 🤜🤛 and fears of growing older.

Mary Elizabeth Ellis shines as Sarah. Her nuanced performance captures the mix of frustration, hope, and love that drives her to push him into an unexpected journey of reinvention.

Susan Ruttan stands out as Gladys, a memory care resident, delivering moments of humor 😆 and heartbreak 😢 that linger.

The series tackles cognitive decline with a graceful honesty 🌞 that avoids melodrama. It reflects on the loss of memory 🧠 and identity 👁 with empathy, grounding its narrative in deeply human truths 🌍.

Hollywood rarely invests in stories about older protagonists, often assuming audiences won’t care. Netflix, however, took the risk 🎲 and proved this assumption wrong.

Man on the Inside is a hit 🏆, earning immediate renewals and resonating with viewers who crave authentic, diverse storytelling 📚.

This is a show with quiet confidence—intelligent 🧠 and accessible, but deeply emotional 🫂.

It’s a testament to resilience 🏃‍♂️ and the enduring need for connection 👪, making it a standout in Netflix’s lineup.

Don’t miss it 🎥!Read

READ

Book Review: Originals by Adam Grant – What Makes Us Human, and What Makes Us an OG

If artificial intelligence is the ultimate imitator, humans—at our best—are the originators.

Originals by Adam Grant dives into what sets us apart, what drives some to be truly original, and how we can cultivate this elusive trait. 🔍

It’s a challenge to think beyond conformity and embrace the daring act of originality.

Psychologists identify two paths to achievement: conformity and originality. Most take the safer route. 🏆

Grant argues the world needs less of the same and more of the bold—people who turn visions into reality. 🚀 

Originality, as economist Joseph Schumpeter said, is an act of creative destruction. 🔄 To move forward, we must dismantle the old.

Grant highlights that child prodigies, while brilliant, often fail to create something new because they focus on consuming knowledge rather than pushing boundaries. ✨

Originality isn’t about talent alone; it’s about daring to fail and producing a volume of work to uncover the extraordinary. 🎨

Actionable insights include:

• 🔢 Generate more ideas. Quantity leads to quality.

• 🔗 Share unconventional ideas repeatedly. Repetition builds acceptance.

• ⏳ Procrastinate strategically. Great ideas need time to simmer.

• 🌎 Travel and immerse yourself in new domains to gain fresh perspectives.

• 👥 Find allies. Even one supporter can make all the difference.

Grant reframes procrastination as a tool for creativity. For example, suppose you have to write an article for your newsletter, but you decide you should think about it a little more over some Lego. Grant totally backs me—er, that, um… concept up. Yeah, that!

Comedians like Chris Rock thrive on originality by questioning and subverting norms. 🤣

Ultimately, originality isn’t the easiest path, but it offers the happiness of pursuit. 🌟 

It’s about embracing uncertainty, challenging the status quo, and finding joy in the journey. 🎡

The ORIGINAL Texas Nomad salutes your originality. [😉]

Your Brain on Travel

There’s a reason some of history’s greatest minds were avid travelers.

Before Anthony Bourdain became the voice of global food culture, he was just a broke cook who saved up enough to travel to France 🇫🇷, Mexico 🇲🇽, and Japan 🇯🇵.

That curiosity and willingness to step outside his comfort zone shaped everything he would later become.

Travel isn’t just about transformation—or, fine, the perfect Instagram shot. 📸 Okay, maybe a little. OK!!! — who are we kidding? It’s totally about the Instagram shot.

But it’s also about stepping into the unknown, where your senses fire on all cylinders, and you feel like a creature thrown into an untamed wilderness, every instinct firing, every sense on high alert, survival and exhilaration tangled together. 🏕️🐾🔥

Step off the plane ✈️.

The air feels different—thicker, drier, saltier. Right?

The taxi line is a mess of dented cars 🚖, impatient drivers, and the constant question: are these official taxis or will this be the last bad decision I ever make?

The neon lights flicker 🌆, and unfamiliar voices battle for your attention. You smell food you can’t name 🍜.

The humid air clings to your skin, mixing with jet lag and adrenaline. Every sense is heightened.

You’re alive.

This isn’t just travel—it’s awakening an ancient part of our DNA.

The same rush your ancestors felt stepping into the unknown, spear in hand 🏹, unsure if they’d find a feast 🍖 or become one. This is the ultimate brain workout.

No drugs required. 🧠💡

Travel rewires the mind. It builds new connections, forces problem-solving, and makes you see the world in ways you never could from a couch 🛋️.

Understanding different perspectives is the best souvenir you can bring home. 🌐 

It brings wisdom, patience, and expands your strategic playbook—whether for business 💼, just navigating life, or even parenting 👶. Teaching kids that the world is big and wide and deep and colorful?

That’s how you create problem solvers.

When you experience the world firsthand, you think beyond the default settings. You walk in others’ shoes 👟, see through different eyes 👀, and—quite literally—expand the gray matter in your brain. 🧠

The impact of travel doesn’t end when you unpack. Here’s what it does for your mind long-term, with a few real-world visuals:

• Improved Resilience*: You’re lost in Marrakech 🇲🇦, your phone’s dead 📵, and you just agreed to follow a guy named Ali down an alley. You will get through this. 💪*

• Heightened Creativity*: You thought sushi 🍣 was just raw fish until a Tokyo chef hands you a dish you can’t even begin to describe. Mind expanded. 🎨*

• Stronger Relationships*: Share an overnight train cabin 🚂 with a stranger in Vietnam 🇻🇳, and you’ll learn more about human connection than a year on social media.*

• Sharper Thinking*: Convert foreign currency 💱 on the fly, decipher street signs, and suddenly, your brain is working harder than it has in months. 🧐*

Beyond science, there’s something deeply spiritual about travel. Not in a kumbaya, find yourself kind of way—more like an oh crap, I have no control, and I have to trust this process kind of way.

That’s where the magic is. It’s in the unplanned detours, the stranger’s invitation to dinner 🍽️, the sunset you didn’t know you needed. 🌇 

Travel reminds us that life is unpredictable, but the best moments happen when you let go. 🎭

Want to experience all this without flying to Bali? Start small. Take a weekend trip. Try a cuisine that scares you 🌶️. Talk to a stranger. 😅

Inspired by Originals by Adam Grant, here’s how to maximize travel’s impact:

• Immerse Yourself: Skip tourist traps and let a local show you the real city. 🌍

• Generate Ideas: Whether it’s a Leuchtturm1917 or another journal, or digital, keep a bullet journal. ✍️📖*

• Find a Buddy: Use the internet to find at least one travel buddy. You can still do your solo thing, but studies show having just one person to push you makes a massive difference. I know, I’m an introvert too, but whenever you hear that phrase “studies show”—maybe listen. 🤣

• Surrender: Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Walk into that German bar alone 🍺. Order a beer. Try to follow the Bundesliga game on TV even though you’ve never watched soccer in your life. 🏆

Even annoying travel experiences will one day become good stories. Standing in endless customs lines 🛂. Filling out visa forms in the foreign equivalent of the DMV 🏛️.

Waiting in a never-ending queue for a museum ticket in Paris 🇫🇷. Mona who?

Be mindful. Be present. Don’t wish your time away.

Limit the Instagram 📵.

You’re in the aquarium in Medellín 🇨🇴, staring at Amazon piranhas 🐟 behind a floor-to-ceiling glass wall. Check out those teeth. You’ll see them again in Monaco’s aquarium 🇲🇨, right next to the sturgeon 🐟. Why sturgeon? Because they produce caviar, and this is Monaco, bébé.

What does that all mean? Who knows? You are just observing now. Time to pull out the bullet journal—just in case you start a newsletter one day. 😉

Zip up your Samsonite. Roll up your socks and underwear. Dust off that belt with the secret zipper pocket 🎒. This isn’t just another trip—it’s a call to adventure. 🚀

So go. See what’s out there. And let it leave its mark on you. ✨