In partnership with

NoScrubs laundry delivery - same day, affordable laundry delivery

• 2-3 hour turnaround - never wait to wear your favorite clothes

• Professionally washed and folded with quality guarantee

• Live laundry free for less than $2 a day!

Sign up now at noscrubs.io

📩 In Today’s Email

• The Deep Dive: Why Living Boldly was just the warm-up—and what Borderless Creativity really means.

• The Read: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey—bold wisdom from a fellow Texas nomad and ATN’s Patron Saint of Chaos and Reinvention.

• Introducing: The Squeeze – our newest rotating section. This week: Jungle Brew at Minorista—mystery drink, jungle energy, and creative risk.

📢 Newsletter News

1. The official website is live: Visit www.atexasnomad.com to explore the new digital home for ATN. Here lies the archive.

2. Email issues resolved: Some messages didn’t go through last week—apologies. It’s fixed now. You can reach us anytime at [email protected].

3. Got something relevant or weirdly on-theme? Send it our way. If it fits, we might include it in the next issue.

4. Comments are now open: Want to start a discussion or chime in on something from the newsletter? You can now respond directly. As the ATN community grows, so will this section.

🤿 The Deep Dive

THE FLAMING LIPS ask:

“Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die?”

They don’t whisper it. They belt it—full-throated, euphoric, cosmic.

I heard it live once.

My brother and I were at a surprise Flaming Lips show at the Montalbán Theater in L.A., just across the street from our office on Hollywood Boulevard. We weren’t even supposed to be there—just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

The lead singer, Wayne Coyne, ever talkative, paused between songs and said something I’ll never forget.

He said they didn’t really own that song.

What!?

They found it, he said.

Complete. Already finished.

(Their intellectual property attorneys probably did a 🤦.)

But I knew they wrote it, lived it, and it was theirs. But they didn’t think so.

What he meant was: some things don’t feel written—they feel given.

Like the universe handed it to them, fully formed, and said: ”You didn’t write this, you remembered it.”

That stuck with me. Not just the humility of it. But the sense that some things come through us, not from us.

And that if you get one of those things—a song, a story, a second chance—you honor it by living it out loud.

That’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.

Because once you realize that’s the deal—

that everyone you know, including you, will die—

The only real question becomes:

How do you want to live?

A few months ago, I gave myself some dares. Not the skydiving, eat-pray-love kind.

A quieter one. Sharper. Daily:

• Wake up early and write.

• Cold showers, even when Medellín begs me not to.

• Meditate twice a day—no skipping.

• Film vlogs in public, even when I look insane.

• No screens before bed—because my brain deserves peace, not pixels.

• Say the thing—even when the voice in my head whispers, “Don’t.”

That voice? That’s the gatekeeper asking if your on the list. Ignore that voice. (Unintentionally, that also is my L.A. advice 101).

Ignore it long enough, and something opens.

I heard Howard Stern say his whole career changed when he stopped holding back—

when he started saying the things he was told not to say.

That’s when people leaned in.

That’s also when he got fired and the hate mail started.

But that’s the tax of being visible. If you’re going to lead your karass—the people spiritually linked to your mission—

you will be misunderstood.

You might even get a DM asking you if you even watch your videos before you post them, you bloated-faced idiot.

If that happens?

Good.

And sure—there’s egg flying in the wind.

A little yolk on your face, a little mess in your hair.

But hey, I’ve heard egg yolk makes your hair healthier and glossier.

Better for video.

For the last 12 issues, this newsletter’s tagline included Living Boldly—showing up sharper, weirder, more honest.

And it worked.

Living Boldly helped me say the thing, take the risk, show up sharper and weirder.

But something deeper kept tugging at the edges.

It wasn’t just about being loud. It was about being uncontained.

Not just boldness—borderlessness.

Not just living louder—living wider.

Across countries.

Across careers.

Across identities.

So I’m giving it a name and a mission.

Welcome to Borderless Creativity.

Not a rebrand but a north star.

It means:

• You don’t need permission to start over.

• Your mind is your most powerful passport.

• Travel isn’t escape—it’s evolution.

• Creativity isn’t just what you make—it’s how you build your life.

Wherever we go, we leave it better than we found it. Wherever we are, we make something of it.

That’s the whole point.

This isn’t about chaos or recklessness. It’s about intentional resistance—

doing the exact thing you normally avoid. Like Howard said.

• For introverts, that’s starting the conversation.

• For extroverts, it’s skipping the party.

• For creators, it’s sharing the messy thing before it’s “ready.”

This is how we grow and stretch and stay awake.

Because the real currency isn’t money or status—

It’s neuroplasticity.

At the end of the day, that’s really why I am doing all this.

The Borderless Creativity Framework

1. Disrupt Comfort – Do what your resistance tells you not to.

2. Inject Novelty – New experiences = new wiring.

3. Create Publicly – Share the process, not just the polish.

This is how I rebuilt everything. And it’s just the beginning.

This Week’s Challenge:

Do the thing your brain says “not today” to.

Cold shower. Publish the messy thing. Say the truth.

Book the flight. Make the call. Break the pattern.

One small rebellion. Every day.

And if you ever forget why any of this matters—

I’ll let those artsy Oklahomans, The Flaming Lips, finish what they—or I guess the universe—started:

What gift, indeed.

See the video here.

🤓 The Read

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Let’s be honest—when a movie star writes a memoir, you expect... well, maybe they need to pay off the ranch. But Greenlights isn’t that.

McConaughey spent years on this thing—journaling, dictating, collecting scraps from decades of living out loud.

And then he narrated the audiobook himself, meaning there’s a version of McConaughey listening to McConaughey so he can re-McConaughey the McConaughey that McConaughey once McConaughey’d into, I’m assuming, a van’s C.B. radio somewhere outside Marfa.

Yes. That sentence is correct.

It’s Being Matthew McConaughey, for reals.

The stories are sometimes funny, sometimes strange—like his chaotic high school year abroad in Australia or the time he turned down $14 million for a role to break out of romantic comedy typecasting.

This led to his Oscar role in Dallas Buyers Club and the—as he coined it himself, believe it or not (of course you believe it)—“McConaissance.”

Yep.

But! In this he doesn’t present a curated version of himself.

Instead, you get the rough edges: the bad decisions, the obsessive journaling, the belief that life gives you "greenlights"—those moments when the path opens up and you just go.

Now, if you want to point to a bold-living Texan, go no further than McConaughey—a man who went from Uvalde to international stardom.

Here's a guy who once went out for drinks with a man connected to the film industry, and during that very session was invited to audition for a small indie movie by some guy named Richard Linklater.

The film? Dazed and Confused. 

McConaughey got the role, of course, showed up on set in costume, of course, was asked to ad-lib a line, and what came out became one of the most iconic lines in film history.

Of course.

Let that sink in again. He opened his mouth, improvised, and the very first words he ever spoke on film became so famous they were tattooed on thighs.

The inner part.

No two 'alrights.' Not four. The Goldilocks amount of 'alrights.'

The, if you will, alright number of 'alrights.'

And if you claim you're not saying it in your head right now, you're lyin'.

And if you claim you don't say it again a few hours from now? Still lyin'.

Now, I was lucky enough to work on a project with Linklater years later (I Dream Too Much by Katie Cokinos – check it out!), so I can confirm the bones of this story are true.

Well, minus the thighs part—but who really doubts that?

Honestly, at times in the book, you get the feeling that thigh tattoos might be a more satisfying marker of success to McConaughey than the Oscar.

But that’s neither here nor there.

There’s something grounded here.

McConaughey owns where he got lucky, but he also points to the moments where he created his own momentum by saying no to easy paths.

He’s not trying to be your guru.

He’s just sharing what worked for him, what didn’t, and where it all landed. That’s valuable.

It reads exactly like you’d expect McConaughey to deliver it—full commitment, rolling the dice, going for it.

Accent, laughing, acting, and all.

It’s not a just a performance, though. It’s a man showing up fully as himself.

There’s beauty in that.

Also worth noting: McConaughey lived the nomad life at times to reset, recharge, and find clarity—just like Present-Me, here in South America.

And, if the signs are right, Future-Me in Africa too.

There’s a through-line there. A wanderer’s instinct.

He followed it, and Greenlights is what he brought back.

Now, you might be skeptical about this book.

And it sometimes pains me a little to say this—but it's honest, and authentic, and as true to brand as you could imagine.

And it's as hard to put down as it is to pick up.

Verdict: Listen to the audiobook. Seriously.

I mean, why the hell wouldn’t you?

It’s McConaughey. 

🍋 The Squeeze — Jungle Brew 🗿 

Let’s be real—most mocktails suck.

They’re smoothies in fancy glasses. 

I like drinks with teeth. Not the kind that whisper sweet nothings, but the ones that slap you awake—bitter, sour, fermented, full of character.

So now and then, when the fruit is strange and the day demands something more than water, The Squeeze will appear.

Not every week. Not on a schedule.

Just when the right flavors show up at the right time.

The idea hit me somewhere between the borojó lady and the chontaduro stand.

Plaza Minorista is more like a back-alley apothecary—packed with potion ingredients you won’t find on Amazon, but in the Amazon.

And that’s where Jungle Brew was born.

No, it’s not easy to find all the ingredients.

But it wasn’t meant to be easy.

Jungle Brew 🗿

This is Colombia’s potion of temptation—borojó, chontaduro, and guanábana blended into a creamy jungle cocktail that locals swear will boost your energy, your mood, and, hombres your, umm… “magnetism.”

Ingredients:

• ½ cup borojó pulp

• 1 chontaduro, peeled & pitted

• ½ cup guanábana pulp

• 1 cup almond or oat milk

• 1 tbsp raw panela or honey

• Pinch of cinnamon

• Ice cubes

• ½ tsp maca powder or ashwagandha

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender.

2. Blend until smooth and creamy.

3. Serve cold in a tall glass.

4. Garnish with a cinnamon stick or slice of guanábana (optional).

Recommended Spikage

(ATN’s pours are crafted to stand out—bold, layered, and full of character. No spirits required. But if you prefer a touch of refinement, we suggest:)

Diplomático Ambassador (Venezuelan)—A rum of exceptional pedigree, aged up to 12 years to develop rich notes of dark chocolate, dried fruit, and oak. Its smooth, luxurious finish enhances the earthy tropical complexity of Jungle Brew, creating a drink that’s nothing short of an indulgence.

You know how much you need. I’m not your sponsor.

🛤️ Outtro

Reinvention isn’t just about where you go—it’s about how you create.

Every place you land is a blank page. What you write there? That’s the legacy.

If this newsletter sparked something, pass it along to a friend, a fellow explorer, or anyone rewriting their life.

This community grows through real connection—one story, one share at a time.

Enjoyed This? Share It.

See you next week. Keep moving. Keep making.