The short summary of my life

I was born in a small town in Italy, just out of Venice.

When I was a kid I was running and super energetic and nobody could stop me. I always loved to be outdoors and I always had this amazing Adventure Spirit.

At that time, we were living with my grandmother

Mom and dad?always had a respectful and peaceful relationship.

By the time I was in primary school I was all about sport, in fact, I was never considered the smart kid but I always had outstanding skills in anything sport-related.

I started with the competitions at 4 years old. I still remember my first running race, hand in hand running with dad.

My life was all about becoming a champion, an olympian. I lived and went to bed every night with the dream of becoming a professional athlete.

In this early stage of my life, mum and dad cultivated a love for Triathlon in me. And every time we were travelling for competition and coming back home I always felt like I was in a bubble in this small town where nobody understood me. I was dreaming to travel the world and be a champion and I always felt this sense of not being understood because most people were not interested in accomplishing big goals. They didn't have big dreams.

Dad and I were very close but when I was competing and getting disappointed and angry with my results, both my parents didn’t know how to handle me. So slowly slowly they stopped coming to watch me compete. Naturally, I became very independent but every time I came back in town I felt so constrained that I started hating living there.

By the age of 23, I decided to quit my pursuit to be a professional athlete as I couldn't see how I could earn a decent income being a professional triathlete. It was a tough time and it was very hard to let it go, but eventually I decided to leave my country, to gain confidence in myself, learn a new language and grow.

Nobody believed me when I shared my dream of moving to the other side of the world, learning the language and having a successful career.?In fact I remember most people laughing and asking me if I wasn't scared.... Travelling the world was kind of like going to Mars for my friends....

So I took the leap on that challenge and moved to Australia. I came here with $2000 dollars in my pocket and I didn't speak one single word of English.... Well perhaps I could say my name and where I was from.....

In the beginning, I stayed in hostels and it was tough trying to look for a job. I remember walking 16km per day in the city asking for work in all of the restaurants and coffee shops and nobody wanted to take my CV as my own experience was just in sport....

After about 3 months, eventually, I found my first job and I started working as a personal trainer in a local gym. That was great fun for a part-time job but I needed to figure out a way to get my visa sorted.

So, after a few months of research, we enrolled in a traineeship visa and I began working for free in this big sport facility. The place was outstanding, right in the middle of Albert Park where they race the F1 and had the Commonwealth games with the most fabulous sports facilities but something wasn't quite right...

Within two years into that organization, I couldn't stand the culture anymore and hated every minute of my traineeship. There was a very hostile environment. People were so protective of their jobs.

One day my manager asked me to see him into his office to have a chat, I was quite excited. However, after a couple of minutes, he started calling my attention saying that I had too much enthusiasm. It was the most deflating and frustrating experience I had up until that time. How can someone have too much enthusiasm in what he does?

Very soon I lost that enthusiasm for real and started looking for alternatives...

As time went by, I moved into all different types of jobs, from trades to real estate, sales, and eventually even financial planning. It was the latest one that gave me the opportunity to build myself up starting completely from scratch.

In fact, it was the first job that gave me the opportunity to realize the original dream that drove me to come to Australia. I wanted to travel for work and earn a 6 figure salary, and after 4 years not only did I achieve that, but I also got a private office in the city which was a big achievement for me. I remember all my colleagues being so impressed by the fact that I was so young yet so successful. Leave it alone my family and friends in Italy, I made it...

It was the most workaholic place but I wanted to prove myself. I was where I wanted to be earning the money I wanted to earn.

As time went by I realized that something was missing inside of me. I used to wake up at 5 am to do my workout on the bike and have a coffee with Renata before work and I remember looking at this tall skyscraper feeling sick at the idea of spending my whole day inside that cubical.

So, I started doing lots of research to see if I could find an alternative and after about 4 months came up with the idea of working online because of the enormous emptiness inside of me. I hated the job. At that point I wanted to figure out how to earn my own money rather than working for a boss.

The worst is when I realized my boss was spending the same time in the office as me, living the same life, wearing the same clothes and taking the same amount of holidays... the only difference was the number of zeros in his bank account... So I started to question if that is where I wanted to be in 30 years' time. Is that what I really wanted? Kill myself working long hours every day for the sake of making some "big money", while I was dying inside feeling like I was wasting my whole life...

He was paying me pretty well however I hated the environment and the culture.

I didn't like being in a big city either. I missed all the outdoor activities from Italy, being in nature, and doing the things I really wanted to do.

Hiking, MTB, riding my motorbike on the alps, training on my road bike, and just being out of this chaotic mess.?

So I started to realize that I wanted to earn my own money working anywhere in the world with no geographical constraints. I wanted to do something meaningful. Working for a boss ticking in and ticking out isn't meaningful for me.? Working for myself doesn't feel like working because we are building our legacy.? Having the freedom to work till midnight and be outdoor all day the next day sounds a lot more exciting than a 9 to 5 rat race

I am now in control and I choose what I want to do with my time...

We are now building a brand where people love us for our energy, excitement, and enthusiasm... YES, WE GOT A TON OF ENTHUSIASM in fact it even comes in buckets because we got so much of it; both me and Renata stand for being positive energy and we love mentoring others to accomplish things they would never imagine they could achieve in their lifetimes

High energy, excitement, and enthusiasm are at the core foundation of the way we do things.

We stand for trust, love, and respect and we show up to be role models and leaders of this amazing community we are building online.

We are far from perfect, but WE GET THINGS DONE AND WE SHOW UP EVERY SINGLE DAY

Thanks for reading my story

Don't EVER allow anyone to tell you that:

You can't do things

You have too much enthusiasm

You are not smart

Surround yourself with people who raise you up and see potential in you.

For the ones that shut you down, you can tell them where to go...

Believe, achieve, inspire

Matteo