The Week I Finally Left Bali

by Peter Meglisin Life Updateon Posted on

This Week

  • The craziness of the final days in Bali, fitting it all in.
  • Final reflections leaving Bali after 6 months.
  • My impressions coming back to Porto and how things have changed.

October 2025

Su M T W Th F S
28293010/1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
26272829303111/1

Where In The World Was I?

  • 🇮🇩 Canggu (Bali, Indonesia)
  • 🇵🇹 Porto, Portugal

Metrics From The Week

Final Snaps From Bali

It felt like this race to the finish this week (or really the past two weeks) trying to squeeze everything in before I left.

The Workshop

Monday was the workshop! Super grateful I found a place to run it.

I threw the slides together the morning of.

And given that I announced it on Saturday and not being 100% sure if the topic would land, I was a little worried that no one would show up, or that it’d just be me and like 2 other friends who are there just to support me.

But I boosted the Nomeo post and it got a lot of views. By Monday morning, there were 16 people registered (the co-working space caps it at 20 max) and so I started worrying that people wouldn’t be able to get in, that they’d be standing in the back 😂 What a change of pace that was.

It ended up going really well! I think 14 or 15 people showed up! Massive!

I wasn’t super sure how and what things would land, so I ended up having a couple different “buckets” based on where people are at and just ran with the group.

People were taking notes, chatting with others, we had some good questions back and forth, and a lot of great feedback and suggestions for improvements at the end.

After concluding, I went “so… this is my first workshop…” and everyone went wait really? 😂

So anyways, a big success! Can’t wait to run another one.

My Last Tribal Solutions

This was my seventh time running Tribal Solutions! How time flies.

At the end the community manager(s) gave me a big thank you in front of the group, they made brownies for everyone, and gifted me a Tribal merch shirt. I have nothing to say besides “🥺”

A couple hours later they posted a clip of me saying thank you/receiving the shirt to their Instagram stories.

And almost at the same time I received a testimonial video from someone, sharing how grateful he was to get to know me.

There was this very distinct entire body softening, feeling my heart open up and the tears start to well up.

Gonna miss this place man.

Lock Icon This content is not ready to be made public yet.

Here You Go

After Tribal Solutions, one of the guys from the group came up to me after and basically said “can you tell me more about what you do, I’m curious.”

We started talking and he was basically like, “yeah that’s me 😅” so I offered to chat with him.

We chatted for an hour and helped him get some clarity on his direction and fulfillment right now in his life.

Walked away feeling quite good about that. He didn’t seem like an ideal fit as a client, but I felt great about being able to help, and he was very receptive and incredibly appreciative for the help.

And also walked away thinking, “huh… interesting :)” It’s always interesting and feels like a sign when people come TO you.

The Other Side

Finally made it to the other side of the chaos my last full day in Bali.

There was this little gap, this little valley that night, before the new chaos started the next day as I flew out.

I could barely put two braincells together, so I got a massage, gelato, some very good pasta, and did some reflecting.

It felt very rewarding (more like, relieving) to have made it through all the chaos of the last two weeks.

Reflecting

The next morning I was collecting all the learnings I had from the last 6 months in Bali (will post them in the Thoughts From The Week section below).

I was just almost blown away by the transformation I’ve had, how different I am compared to when I came to Bali.

There was another one of these heart softening moments reflecting on this chapter, all the people I’ve met and who have helped me this year.

I summed it up in this caption I posted to Instagram.

Bali absolutely tore me apart this year.

I came seeking progress and productivity. My life was structured, organized, rigid..

But I left a completely different person.

Honestly, I don't even recognize myself anymore...


This island is special.

There's no bullshit.

It has a way of showing you exactly what you're hiding behind.

And then taking it away until you're standing there staring at yourself.


Some of you saw a glimpse into the transformation this year.

Some of you saw the ridigity and routine, the fear of expressing my emotions, the struggle to say "hi," the uncertainty in my words.

Some of you saw the breakdowns, the tears running down my cheeks, the stacks of tissues piled up next to me.

Some of you saw the surrender, the laptop breaking, the nights out until 4AM, the clenched hands.

Some of you saw the shift in my language, how I introduced myself, how I spoke about what I do.

Some of you saw the change in expression, the laughter, the hugs, the new energy.


None of this was planned.

It just happened.

Looking back, it wasn't in my routine, it wasn't behind my laptop, it wasn't in a course I bought...

It was life breaking me open until I stopped trying to control it.

And through that breaking, I found myself.

I found what was behind all the excuses.
I found what was behind the fear.


I needed to let a part of myself die. The controlling part who believed respect had to be earned from other people.

It wasn't one moment, it wasn't one switch.
It was a collection of little nudges, conversations, and experiences.


And now? I notice it everywhere.
It's in the smiles and laughter.
It's in the comments and compliments.
It's in the way I walk.
It's in the way I speak.
It's in the presence I give.

It's... energy.


I came to Bali chasing productivity.

But I'm leaving with a level of confidence, trust, and pride in myself I never imagined.


The work isn't over.

I'm not "fixed," I'm not "done," but I'm a hell of a lot more of myself.

This is just beginning.


Bali didn't just tear me apart. It put me back together.

And for that, I'm forever grateful.



To everyone that I met along the way,

Terima kasih banyak, dan sampai jumpa lagi

Back To The Backpacks

Said goodbye to my second family (all the staff at Tribal), some friends that we there, and went off on my way to the airport.

Flew to Bankok, Bangkok to Zurich, Zurich to Porto.

Honestly the trip wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. It was about 24 hours of travel, but the 12 hour flight Bangkok to Zurich, I had the whole 3 seat row to myself so I slept lying flat.

GAME CHANGER.

Can’t wait to fly business/first class lie-flat seats.

Back To Porto

Honest first third impressions?

  • Why does everything open so late? All the coffee shops open at 8am, 8:30am, 9am. I’m up at 6:30am ready to rock and roll and the whole city is still asleep (it’s also still dark until 7:00am)
  • I love and missed walking everywhere. First two full days back I’m at 14k and 16.5k steps, compared to a daily average of 3.5k-4.5k steps per day in Bali 😅
  • It’s so much more expensive than Bali
  • I don’t think I would survive in Porto without Honest Greens
  • Walking the river and bridge is so nice
  • Everyone feels depressed compared to the people in Bali
  • I made a “Porto Travel Guide” note to myself with just coffee shops and restaurants to go to after I left in January. SO clutch to have.

Flying The Nest

One of the things top of mind having left Bali a new person than when I arrived, I’m trying to figure out how to not lose all the things I learned, the tools, awareness, skills, etc.

Bali makes it very easy, but I feel like now is the “real test,” jumping off the diving board, taking off the training wheels, and going back to the real world.

One of the things has been bringing more awareness to fear and where fear is directing my life on a more daily and weekly basis.

Will update how that goes.

202510240719 I'm back in Porto, how am I different

#journal 

~~Selamat pagi,~~ wait, Bon dia lol

I can't keep speaking Indonesian anymore haha

So we're back in Porto. I was here January 2025 for 3 weeks, working on building VideoHawk, just starting to post edited YouTube videos.

What's changed?

And not just how is my life different, but maybe more specifically what do I now do differently?

I thought of this this morning or yesterday, that a massive learning from Bali was learning to learn into intuition and just what feels right. Like the "hours behind laptop is no longer the best metric," I can't just revert back to my old habits.
- [[202510211800 Everything I learned from 6mo in Bali]]

Some ideas:
- More journaling, flow, friction, feeling. What feels right?
- Awareness about my fears. More active attention towards breaking those down. Fear of rejection especially.
- More time away from my laptop to think, space to process, creative time, ideation for content, path, clients.
- Much more content, shorts, stories, long form videos. People need me.
- Dedicating time specifically to clients now that I have them.

Thoughts From The Week

202510211800 Everything I learned from 6mo in Bali

#learnings 

## 💭 Emotional & Inner Growth
- Feeling versus Understanding emotions - I stopped conceptually understanding emotions and starting letting them move through me. Progress became somatic instead of logical.
	- Allowing yourself to feel fear and feelings. And that actual step by step _process_ of visualizing and integrating it.
- Control was my armor - Realizing my reliance on control and logic. How things started to just unlock when I started to surrender to life.
	- Learn to surrender, let go, and allow life to happen. Release control. Go out partying, drinking, let it happen.
	    - Breath work - that intense constriction, then just releasing and allowing it to happen.
- Listening to signs from the universe, seeing synchronicities. What _feels_ right here? Listening to intuition more.
- Authenticity came from permission and subtraction - removing the layers of overthinking, fear of judgement until the natural expressiveness just came out.
	- All the expressiveness, movement, and laughter. Something like embodied self confidence.
	- Permission to be yourself, from Dan Bolton. And that literally anything works.
	- Living more in alignment, finding more of my authenticity
- Fear as a compass - Seeing fear of starting social exchanges as a compass, as data, pointing to the next version of myself.
	- You think you're good but you just don't realize how much fear is driving your life because you've rationalized and built narratives around what you are waiting to do
- The desire for feelings - We don't actually want to achieve goals. We want to achieve the internal state, the feelings that achieving those goals will give us. And we can tap into those feelings anytime we want.

## 🔥 Courage, Action & Fear

- Growth lives in those micro-edge opportunities - Those 10% not 10x opportunities _just_ outside the comfort zone. Taking the opportunities that are just outside your comfort zone. Putting myself in this growth opportunities.
	- [name] asking me to run Tribal Solutions, Give It All speech. Bali Intensive event.
	- Same thing that [manager] did for me at [company].
- Excuses were just intellectualized fears - "I'm waiting for X" was just the narrative above "I'm afraid of Y"
	- Stop waiting to do the thing you want to do, breaking down my excuses. It was something deeper.
		- I waited because I never actually addressed the narratives I was telling myself and other people. "Oh I'm waiting because I need to build a business first, I need to make money, I don't want to dull my gift, I don't want to ruin the enjoyment of the process..."
- Using environment as a trigger, not a fix - Change your environment to stop procrastinating on something.
    - Jatiluwih trip, getting into short form videos
- Literal movement creates opportunities - You need to physically (or mentally) start moving.
- Interesting things happen when you just delete your fear.

## 🧘‍♂️ Energy, Discipline & Sexual Transmutation

- Stop relying on your environment as a crutch. Realizing I'm relying on the external and not actually addressing the internal.
- How powerful semen retention is. How much it affects self-confidence. And how useful it is to have a daily habit system to actually help for this.
- Physical trust rebuilt psychological trust - Learning self-trust through pushing myself physically. The treadmill runs.
- Fixing the self confidence around starting social exchanges WAS indeed the thing, the unlock I needed.

## 🧩 Purpose, Value & Alignment

- Really understanding where and how I'm MOST valuable to other people, finding my unique gift that no one else has
- The realization that I'm living the dream life that I set out to achieve
- Bringing more awareness to Flow, Friction, and Feeling in my life. That's been really useful.
- To actually address the fears and things I've been avoiding
- Hours behind laptop cannot be the number one qualitative measure anymore. I need to show up with energy for other people now.
- My body still wants validation from giving my presence.

## 🫱 Connection, People & Relationships

- I've learned SO MUCH from talking to people. All the conversations, taking notes, reflecting on what people say. So much better than wordsmithing.
    - Both in terms of target clients [names]; but also in terms of my own learning.
- The locals make such a big difference. The feeling of community, family from Tribal and restaurants I go back to when they remember me.
- Sometimes the answers are in other people. Or at least they bring out the answers and mirror for ourselves.
    - Bali Intensive
- Finding good people that challenge you, question you, to explore deep ideas with, and that push you.
- It also feels really good to feel seen, heard, and believed in.
- Shit can turn around VERY quickly, going from not going on a date in 7 years to the whole 5 dates in 3 days.
- Man, fuck women, waste of my time 😂 Okay kidding obviously. But I learned just how much time, attention, and mental energy other people can take up when you're trying to feel seen by someone.
- Something about talking to attractive women. Spend time in shared spaces - gym, co-working space, coffee shop, social events, networking events
- Find a gym where the women are attractive and plentiful and it will make you motivated to go and work out LOL.
- there are a lot of lost people out there.
- How interesting it is to notice and FEEL presence now that I'm more attuned to it. Feeling in Bali Brotherhood shares, looking up and seeing someone looking somewhere else versus someone with eye contact fully there.
- The importance of setting energy boundaries. Realizing how people can drain me very easily.
- How to ACTUALLY start social exchanges, the thing I had been fearing so much and been struggling with so much
	- The combination of embodied authenticity and self-confidence, with the emotional alchemy process, with repeated exchanges (Nirvana, Tribal, social events)

## 💗 Love, Flow & Presence

- How powerful tapping into love is. And visualizations.
    - All the breathworks, Bali Intensive, crying after Bali Brotherhood
- There's an idea, process, and mindset behind the thing I do naturally to drop into deep conversations.

## 🌴 Environment & External World

- Just how beautiful Bali is.
    - Kintamani, Jatiluwih
- The locals make such a big difference. The feeling of community, family from Tribal and restaurants I go back to when they remember me.
- Stop relying on your environment as a crutch.
- Change your environment to stop procrastinating on something.
    - Jatiluwih trip, getting into short form videos


---

## 🧠 Synthesis
### Stories
Which 3 moments would you retell as _mini-stories_ that summarize your Bali transformation arc?
1. The Coaching Catalyst → Internal Alignment (Identity shift)
	- [...]
	- Chatting with [name], sharing what happened, giving me direction (reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho)
2. The Surrender and Transition → Emotional Trust (Letting go)
	- Laptop breaking, surrendering to the universe, stopping work, going out partying with [friends] [[202507141515 The Week Of The Signs From The Universe - Life Update July 14th, 2025]]
	- [...]
	- The Bali Intensive, the realizations about authenticity, permission
	- Going to Terra, meeting [name] and [name] and being directed to Bali Brotherhood
	- To putting out my first CTA
	- To onboarding my first client
3. The Embodied Self-Confidence → External Expression (Owning presence)
	- Coming out the other side, laughing more, being more expressive, being more goofy
	- Making my first Reel, just total silly joke
	- Doubling down on the goofy authenticity
	- Taking bigger opportunities - Tribal Solutions, speaking at Give It All - realizing there's something bigger here for me

Bottom line takeaways:
- It wasn't about becoming someone new or different, it was about removing everything that blocked my natural state.
- Growth here didn't come from logic, structure, or routine, it came from surrender and emotional integration.
- Confidence came from emotional integration, building self-trust through motion, action, and the physical self-trust.

In one line: I went from trying to control my path to trusting myself enough to be guided by it.


### Transferrable Truths
1. **Trust beats control.**
2. **Feeling beats thinking.**
3. **Action beats analysis.**
4. **Embodiment beats aspiration.**
5. **Presence beats validation.**
6. **Alignment beats productivity.**
7. **Environment magnifies, not creates.**

### Learnings
If your past self (pre-Bali) asked you “what did you actually learn there?” — what would you say that would make him _pause_?
- (Amazing question... something like)
- How to live in alignment, how much better life gets when you do what you're actually meant to do, doubling down on your gift
- Authenticity and permission, expressiveness, embodied self-confidence, the energy I carry now
- How to actually face fears. Courage is a skill. Fear doesn't vanish.
- Learning how to actually unlock and start social exchanges. Social flow, presence, and conversation isn't charisma tricks, it's the byproduct of being safe and confident in your own skin.
	- Emotional integration.

One line: I stopped using my brain to think my way through my direction and instead learned to trust and feel my way forward. 

One line: Bali didn’t teach me who to become. It taught me how to be myself without resistance.


### Moving Forward
What lesson feels **unfinished** — something you intellectually know but haven’t yet fully embodied?
- Realizing I'm still being held back by fears. How to continually remind myself of this so that it's more conscious and not unconsciously driven.

One line: I understand fear, but full freedom means continuing to live unguarded, not just knowing the theory.

### Still True
Which of these lessons would _still hold true_ if you lost all your comfort, income, and community again?
- (pain the scene: stock market crashes, fully down to zero money, Bali volcano erupts, wipes out Canggu, I have to go back to the U.S., van gets destroyed, I'm living with my parents, no community, Instagram deletes my account, YouTube wipes all my videos... Now what?)
- How valuable human presence is, connecting with one another, fully listening. I fucking know how to listen to other people and question them.
- I still have my brain, my life experience, knowing how to embody my own authenticity, laughing, joking.
- I know that progress towards a meaningful goal is what creates positive emotion, so I get a job, swallow my pride, and start rebuilding.

One line: Strip away everything external, and what remains is attention, creativity, and character. That’s the real foundation.

### The Core
What lesson feels _so core_ that you’d teach it to a client tomorrow?
- How to actually face fears

One line: Everything changes when you stop treating fear as the enemy and start treating it as the doorway.
Lock Icon This content is not ready to be made public yet.

What’s Next?

Another in-person event (same group as The Week Of The Insane Bali Villa, May 11th, 2025)

Location

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *