Angela McCourt 0:00
Let's get ready for some serious shift. This is a podcast shifting Inside Out hosted by your quantum shifter Angela McCourt, we are diving into ways to empower and enable a quantum shift. Inspiring topics hacks and guest speakers take us on a journey around authenticity, challenging status quo, personal power and living a purpose filled life.

In this episode, we talk about Gabby McKees journey, and how exploration and curiosity really helped her to overcome any fears, and has opened up an amazing journey in life that has led her down many paths. It's going to be an incredible episode that all began with a house. Stay tuned. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode. As you listen. You can find me on LinkedIn at Angie belts McCourt on Instagram at Angie underscore McCourt, or on Twitter at McCourt, Angie. So without further ado, let's hear from Gabby.

Gaby McKee Welcome to shifting inside out. I am so grateful to have you on this episode. To get started, why don't you introduce yourself?

Gabby McGee 1:26
Sure. Well, Angie, thank you for inviting me to participate in this. And also congratulations on your new book, looking for three years such an accomplishment. So I'm Gabby McGee, I'm, I'm 35 years old. I'm currently based in Barcelona, Spain, but I really grew up in the Tampa Bay, Florida region. And, you know, I'm from a very southern family. They have big accents and big personalities. My mother was a very independent woman. She's been raising children since she was a child herself, and was always sort of a consummate business professional, and loving and thoughtful. And my father as well, was always supporting my sisters and I. But, you know, he also always knew we were capable of doing anything. So they had very supportive and independent parents growing up. And I'm the youngest of four girls. So I was also used to not always being the center of attention, you know, I had a lot of a lot of alone time and creative freedom growing up as well. You know, I'm currently the the leader for Cisco's partner renewals organization in the Amir region. So Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Russia. I've collectively spent about 15 years in the in the IT channel industry. And in parallel to that, I spent six of those years as well as a Councilwoman and the vice mayor in my local city. I'm really passionate about you know, leading teams in cities, I really love historical architecture, it's one of the reasons why I love Barcelona so much. And, and I really love developing people. And so that overlaid really nicely into developing a city and, and kind of that pivoting towards city council as a passion of mine. And I think something you would relate to, since you're now a published author, with your new book is that I'm also really passionate about writing, it's, it's a great outlet for me, and it was actually you, who encouraged me to write my own book. And so I have you to think for the nine chapters that I've, I've written so far. And then the many more that all that I'll continue to write as well. And the book is actually called Sunday came. And the story behind that is we always say, you know, someday I'll do this, or someday I'll have that. And really, for me, it's about you know, my experience growing up with my family. It's about, you know, solo travel experiences that I've had and lessons learned along the way. And that really, you know, you can live Sunday today, and I really, you know, feel that I am doing that here in Barcelona.

Angela McCourt 4:13
Yeah, yes. And I did get a sneak peek at some of those nine chapters. Absolutely amazing and a story that needs to be told. So if you need any help finish, or if you want guidance on publishing I would love that. Oh, that's so awesome. I'm so amazing. We're going to get to definitely Barcelona we're going to get to solo travel and we're definitely going to also get to you know just how to overcome you know, the the fears that may hold you back from the Sunday now. And but first I wanted to just do a quick round of questions so the audience can get to know you on another front, which is number one, what is your morning ritual?

Gabby McGee 5:01
Coffee. Coffee has always been at the center of my morning rituals. When I was living in the US, it was usually a pot of coffee at home with the newspaper, the physical newspaper, I used to love to read it. And it was a former Cisco manager of mine that that used to make fun of me because he couldn't believe I was still reading the traditional newspaper and I hadn't moved to the online. It's something it's for me, it's a special memory of my mother. Ever since we were kids, she always had, you know, a cuppa to have coffee in the morning and the newspaper. And so I definitely inherited that ritual from her. Now moving to Barcelona, the rituals the same, but different in the sense that it doesn't revolve around the news anymore. You know, I try not to even read the news that regularly here, I think often it kind of keeps us from being in the present. And, and, you know, I like to focus on things I can control and not so much on the things I that I can't control or worry about. But I think the great thing about Barcelona and the morning ritual is that instead of making a pot of coffee at home, I just walked downstairs, I go across the street, and there's this beautiful little cafe with all tiles on the floor. And they make the best cafe con leche Aveda which is coffee with oat milk in the city and my feel quite spoiled. And it's it's funny because the name of the cafe is lamelle criada, which means the spoiled one. And yeah, it kind of it's kind of a reminder for me in the mornings, because it's really starting your day with a cup of gratitude. Because every day that I go down there, and I sit in that cafe and I have that coffee, I just you know have this gratitude for this experience and where I live and that I get to go do that every morning. So it's really a great, great ritual for me to start the day.

Angela McCourt 6:54
Oh, that's wonderful. I love it. I love it. gratitude practice built in and in a very mindful way, you know, not a forced way. I love it. Yeah. So how do you renew your energy?

Gabby McGee 7:08
Well, I think I'm like you, I always have a lot of things on my plate. And I'm traditionally go go go lots of planning lots of research. And because of that, when I do take a break, when I do, you know need time to rest, I go into full decompression mode, which is usually, you know, laying on the couch for the weekend. And binging on a series, you know, because I need that I need that, to really just recharge my batteries for say, the upcoming week or the upcoming year. I'm also super active, I love to be outdoors, traveling, hiking, exercising, I think is super important. And at the same time, because I can be hard on my body, you know, hiking and things of that nature. It's also really important that I get back to it, you know, so I'm a big advocate for massage and those kinds of things for your overall wellness. And I think the other thing too, is for me time to myself is really important. As I mentioned, you know, I was raised in a household with very independent and autonomous women. And so I'm used to having that, that solo time and it's I think it's important for everyone to have time to themselves to do the things that they really enjoy that that brings them joy to recharge their batteries.

Angela McCourt 8:28
Yes, definitely totally agree with that. So what is your guilty pleasure?

Gabby McGee 8:34
It's definitely the cafe con legend. If I could have four or five of them a day if my body is that much caffeine, I would. I think also too, in Spain and Europe in general, like having pastries for breakfast as a way of life here. I think here it's like pastry and espresso and a cigarette, they seem to have like for their bread. And so, you know, I'm definitely tempted by pastries and croissants and things every morning. So I definitely eat a lot more banana bread here that's at the local cafe than I probably ever would in a year. I eat in a week. So yes, these are definitely a guilty pleasure for sure.

Angela McCourt 9:15
Oh, that's so awesome. But you have to you have to enjoy the local culture you have to enjoy the local foods right. So one of the things that I thought would be so wonderful for you to share from your journey and personal experience and you know, just the the things that you've built up from a tools perspective, kind of your own built in toolbox. What helps you to be able to make your moves, follow your passions, and then also overcome any kind of fears or expectations so that you could push through and do someday now and I thought it would be really really great for you to share some of your journeys with the audience.

Gabby McGee 10:00
Yeah. So maybe we'll start at the beginning. You know, that kind of led into city council that really came first. I was 21 years old at the time. And I'm also the kind of person, I've always been this way, I guess you would say stubborn or strong willed. Where if I get an idea in my head, I need to see it to fruition. Like, once I have that idea, I hyper focus and think, How can I make this happen? And 21, I got this idea that I really wanted to own my own home, and I didn't have any money. So my parents were a bit kind of like, well, no, maybe you should wait till you have some savings to go look at a house but I was No, I'm going to go look and and then in six to eight months, when I have some money I'll buy Well, of course, I I start looking and what happens I fall in love with this house. And it was it was a house that needed to be gutted. You know, from from floor to ceiling, it was 100 year old craftsman bungalow, one of the oldest houses in the city that I lived in. And I just fell in love with the character like I fell in love with the potential. And it was not what I would have picked, you know, I had this very specific wish list. If I didn't like certain tile, I wouldn't even kind of entertain the house. And then I go to this house that has nothing but bare bones. And somehow I was just drawn to it. And I just, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the architecture, the history. And it was within my budget, you know, of, of having no money. And so I ended up buying it and I move forward with it. And this process of buying this home at such a young age and also renovating it was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, you know, it was more challenging than I thought it cost twice as much as I thought it would. But in the process, because it was one of the oldest houses in the city. I just became really drawn to the history of the city and the history of the house in particular. So I was going to the courthouse and looking through microfilm to find the old deeds and trying to find out who owned it and any anything I could any little nuggets about the house. And in that process, I really fell in love with the history of the city and I became kind of this, this local historian there. And people knew me for kind of my passion for architecture and and that really evolved into my city council seat. So I'm, I'm forever grateful for this house. And this decision that I was very headstrong about because I know without a doubt, if I hadn't bought it, it wouldn't have led me to, you know, to what I'll explain next. But I met this this amazing person who was on council at the time. And, you know, when I told her I was thinking of running for city council, because I just felt like I was so drawn to the city, I was already doing so much volunteering, I really was passionate about it. And I was also young, you know, I was probably 25 at the time. And I felt like you know, the city that was Oldsmar, Florida, I felt like could be more progressive, I thought we were missing out on opportunities. I also thought there wasn't a lot of opportunity for us, you know, for the things that I really enjoyed. And I often found myself driving to larger cities nearby, you know, to do these things. And so, you know, I said, I would love to run, I think you're running for city council, I don't know. And, and as soon as I told her, she was like me, she gets this idea in her head, and she has to see it to fruition. And she says, that is an amazing idea you have to run, you would be incredible at it. You know, I'm going to I'm going to introduce you to everyone I know. And and so, you know, from that day forward, I was running whether

or not when I went to City Hall. So I filed, you know, the petitions to run. And I think at that point, I wasn't even sure what I was getting into or what it would take. But once I had filed and I was I was qualified to run. And it was a there were other competitors. There were other candidates that were also in the race. I became super passionate about winning it, you know, I believed that I was the strongest candidate I was, you know, I believed in what I was going to bring to the city and my vision for the city. You know, I believed I was the best person for the role. And so then I was hyper focused on I need to win this election, you know, you know, needs my voice and the people around me were super supportive of that. And not be can this campaigning campaign trail and began sort of my process to becoming a Councilwoman, I think in short or In summary, campaigning is the hardest thing you will ever do in your life. It is. I had no idea what I was getting into. I had never done anything like this before. And I ended up getting this great support system around me. And it was really through strangers, it was through these random connections, like, for example, a barista at Starbucks, who happened to be a political science major. And when she found out that I was running for city council, she offered to help support me and volunteer. And she offered to connect me to other people who had helped with campaigns in larger cities. And so then here, I had this campaign team that I didn't even know I needed. And they gave me so much insight into elections and, and really how to win an election, you know, and, and one of the things that will always stick with me, and I give this advice to anyone that's interested in running for city council, or local politics, is that signs don't win elections people do. And because when I was running for city council, you know, my competitors were putting up bigger signs and more visible locations, and it was creating a lot of stress for me, you know, you get this fear of, I'm not going to when they have more visibility, or even your constituents will say, Oh, I saw they have more signs than you, you need more signs. And I remember this individual on my campaign team, he said, you know, signs don't want elections people do. He said, You need to get out there, and you need to meet your constituents. And that was what I focused on, I focused on going to as many doors as I possibly could. I remember one Saturday, I think I knocked on 180 doors, you know, we were burning the rubber off our shoes, off my porch volunteers, including my parents and my friends and family. You ended up being volunteers. And, and that's really, you know, I think within campaigning and running for local politics, you need to touch the people, you know, you really need to get close to the people. It's not always easy as a candidate, because everybody wants to talk to you and hear your platform. And that's why volunteers are also super critical. Because you just will never be able to be in all the places you need to be. And so you need this support system. And so I'm forever grateful to my family and my friends and my volunteers that knocked on so many doors on my behalf. You know, in a lot of people that really started out as strangers for me that became really close friends. The end result was that we ended up winning the election. In a three way race, we won 60% of the vote. It was really unbelievable. It was it was unexpected. I knew I had worked the hardest, you know, I was there was no way anyone was working as hard as I was. But I just didn't expect that that was going to be the result. And so when I walked into the election night party, and just immediately found out that I had one, you know, that was just tears of just the release of all the pressure you had been under for six months and, and the affirmation that people believed in you and supported you and and then the real work began. And it led to six years and three terms as the council woman and vice mayor for the city of Oldsmar. And it's some of the best things I've ever done in my life was,

Angela McCourt 18:15
that's so amazing. And all while holding down a pretty demanding full time job. As well as all your volunteer work and everything else that you're doing, which is pretty incredible. So what did you find to be one of the biggest legacy items that you left the city of Oldsmar with your with your time there?

Gabby McGee 18:37
Yeah, I would say from a legacy perspective, you know, that I think my passion is the thing that follows through even to this day. It I'd also created a lot of mutual respect for me. So people there even to this day, the council, the current council, the mayor, they're my friends, and many of them I helped when they ran for election, I share these tips and best practices with them. I love doing that actually, when people reach out to me, I love because these were, these were all things I learned, and not the easy way. So I love giving back to them. But they're close friends of mine, and they still rely on me for counsel. You know, so when there's big decisions upcoming like recently, there's a big decision about developing the downtown. You know, the mayor and some of the other council members reached out to me and asked for my advice, and, and a lot of cases, these are people that are older than me, you know, and, but so I think they're the legacy is just this, I think respect for my ideas and my passion for the city. You know, they knew I would always be fully transparent when I was in the city council. You know, I never had a hidden agenda. I always voiced my opinion. I was always very assertive, but I was always fair I was very professional. And I was a mediator, you know, I think, to be a good politician, you also have to be able to be the bigger person. And and to be able to mediate to solve really complex, you know, problems and so, so yeah, I think it's, it's the respect and the passion, but also the friendship, you know, they really are my friends to this day.

Angela McCourt 20:24
Oh, that's amazing. And I love the fact that you're so passionate about sharing what you've learned as well. Because like you said, it wasn't an easy journey, and you had to learn from scratch. And, you know, this is where I also love the fact that people entered your life to show you, and guide you through your journey, so that you could get to the point of making a difference, you know, so that you could be that person that, you know, spent many, many years having a huge impact on that city, which is impactful.

Gabby McGee 20:53
In times, they were from different political backgrounds. You know, this is a nonpartisan race. But people have political parties. And I remember even one example, that it will always stick with me, there was a resident, that I had obviously delivered a flyer to gone by knocked on their door during the campaign process. And one day, they emailed me and said, they got my flyer, and they wanted to know who I voted for, for the election. And, you know, generally you don't share that that's a very private, private thing. But I was fully transparent. I said, you know, this is who I voted for this is my political party, you know, and they wrote back and said, Sorry, I can't support you. And, and I didn't take that as a no, I actually responded to them. And I said, totally understand, you know, you have a different political affiliation. I respect that. But I encourage you to reach out to the other candidates and ask them the same question. And I, I kind of reaffirmed for them why I felt like I was the best candidate, you know, and had nothing to do with my political party. And the funny thing is, months later, probably a couple days before election day, this gentleman emailed me back, and he said, I just wanted to let you know that my wife and I just put two votes in the mail for you. And we would have done for if our dogs could vote. And so it was such a great, you know, feeling that this person that originally told me no, you know, I didn't take no for an answer. I was very transparent and honest. And it worked well in my favor.

Angela McCourt 22:30
Yeah. Oh, that's so incredible. Oh, I have chills. So when you when you think about, you know, kind of that that journey of an a very young age, early in career now having this other career and whole other perspective of contribution to your community. There's, there's also a sense of adventure in you. I sense. And I've seen that and I think, you know, as far as building up toolbox of, you know, just knowledge and process and resilience. All of these different life experiences kind of open up other avenues. So I view your travel experiences and a lot of solo travel you've done and, you know, just different amazing things that most people don't even know about exist. Or they may have them on a bucket list, but they're not quite sure even how to tackle it. I think it would be so great to hear your journey and just you know, what do you what do you do to give yourself the competence to do solo traveling and where have you been? Sure.

Gabby McGee 23:41
So yes, I have I have done a lot of solo travel. I wouldn't say I was always this adventurous woman i i actually am still terrified of roller coasters. So there are things that I fear that I won't do. I will skydive I will hang glide off a mountain but I will not get on a roller coaster. I can't tell you why. It just terrifies me and so I do have things that I'm afraid of that I have these boundaries but I have done a lot of solo travel in the last probably five years you know it five or six years and it really started after a loss you know, I had a really significant loss in love. I was so heartbroken and surprised and shocked by what happened that you know I couldn't get out of bed and and I really lost myself in that loss. And you know my older sister Linda, you know she's such a great advice giver. She's also a really wonderful writer. You know, she told me like you your your life is too precious. You can't lose yourself and last you you have to get up and keep going. And it was so difficult. It actually brings me to tears thinking about it because even though it was so long ago, you know, I think people still carry those scars with them. And, and so I couldn't get out of bed. And I remember my father saying one day like, you can't even get out of bed, you know. And it was him saying that that really kind of, you know, that person inside of me that jumps up and is so strong willed that was like, I'm going to show him that I can, I can get out of bed and I can go home again, and I can do anything. And so it started, you know, from this, this significant loss. And it was a part of rediscovery in myself, like, who am I without this person? And, and what do I love? And how do I find joy again, without them and by myself? And so, you know, it was actually started as a girls trip, I was planning to go on this girl's trip with two other girls. And I think we were going to go to Mexico. And then one of them said, Oh, I've always wanted to go to Iceland. And then I said, Well, I've always actually wanted to go to Norway. There's this amazing hike there cultural Tanga. It's this legendary cliff that juts out into this fjord. And I had seen a picture years before and I had kind of told myself, someday I'll go there, someday, I'll hike that. And so they were all a bit excited about this trip, you know, we kind of pivoted to Norway, and then sort of one by one, they started kind of getting, they started dropping out, one of them had a wedding. And then the other one got nervous that it was just going to be the two of us going by ourselves to this foreign country. And the more that she was nervous about it, the more I felt like, I don't know if I wanted to go, because I really want to go and I want to open myself up to this, and I want to talk to strangers, and I want to do things I've never done because here I was really trying hard to to find myself again. And so you know, she ended up not going and I said I'm still going to go, I'm going to attend. And I remember my parents were terrified. But the funny thing is Norway's one of the safest countries in the world. So it's, it's not you know, that scary, but for them, it was really scary. And, and I think I was more excited than I was scared, because it was just like I'm going and doing this trip, and I can't believe I'm gonna do it. And there was a lot of preparation, a lot of research. That's just who I am as a person, you know, I am a, I am a planner, I am a researcher. And and I honestly thought I had planned everything in advance. And there were definitely some things I didn't realize till I got there. But I made it to Norway. And I ended up getting to the hotel, and I had these printed out Google Maps, like back in the day, but I printed out all the directions. Because I thought well, what if there's no GPS service, I have to have these backups, you know, even imagine doing I don't even have a printer anymore, but that's what I did. And and I'm going through them and I'm looking through and I'm reading about ferries and I'm like, Oh my gosh, do I have to take a car ferry? And then I started thinking, do I need to buy a ticket in advance? And and do they run all night? Like, you know, everything when I got there that that was pretty stressful. But it ended up working out i i had this amazing trip I did incredible hikes, I met the most amazing people that you know, just on these hikes that were they couldn't believe I was there by myself.

I even ended up picking up some hitchhikers. And now I wouldn't encourage you know your audience to do that. But in Norway, I had read that on some of these hikes people will try to hitch a ride up to kind of the summit and, or to the trail. And so I was already prepared that people would do that. And there was this, this young girl from India and I stopped and I thought well, she looks nice enough, I'll pick her up and, and she was a student she had just done the hike by herself. So I loved meeting her and realizing it wasn't just me, there's a whole world of women out there willing to do these things by themselves. And, you know, befriended her and that became became a thing for me i i was more open to picking up people which my parents of course, you know, didn't appreciate, but I've met some really interesting characters, you know, along the way. And this one trip to Norway, turned into so many more, you know, from there once I realized I could do it, and that I could enjoy it and it empowered me. You know, I've been to South America, I've been to Colombia and to Patagonia by myself I've I've been to China and the Philippines and other countries in Europe. You know, and it's it's something I really crave when I talked about that alone time. That also includes that I really need solo trips, to reenergize myself and that became a really big part of who I am as a person. You know, that I didn't know I was until I went through this loss and kind of rediscovered myself.

Angela McCourt 30:00
That's so beautiful. But also the fact that, you know, you could have easily said, but that's not normal for me to go by myself and being a woman and going to a foreign country. So expectation wise, and especially with your parents being concerned, too, you know, a lot of times will be like, oh, we'll just cave to the expectations, but you were like, No, I am going to do this, this is this, to me is more meaningful for me than anything else that could be negative about it. And I think that's just so beautiful. And then the fact that you learn this about yourself, and that you continue to do this, and I think it's just amazing. A lot of times, I think we were hesitant to really kind of follow what inside we feel is a good thing for us. And we miss out on a lot of those different opportunities, which is another, you know, if you think about you're moving to Barcelona, that's a whole other, you know, move that you've made, that, you know, where did that come from? How did you figure that one out? And, and what was your process for, I mean, a lot of people that they would love to live in another country to work and, but they don't even know the first step how to how to go about it, or they feel like, but my kids are young, and I'm here. And my job is is x, and I'm used to that, and I'm in my comfort zone. So how, how do I even get started? And this is where so many people kill the dream is because they put all these things in their head, these limitations and expectations and fears. So what was your process?

Gabby McGee 31:36
Yeah. So, you know, I think the challenge I had was, after these trips, I then had to come home and face reality

that I was alone again, you know, and that's tough, because you're going through this rediscovery process, you can go on these trips, and you're having this amazing time, and sometimes it's lonely, you know, if you're by yourself, you're having dinner alone, you know, those things can be lonely, but overall, you're, you're having this amazing experience. But then you come home, and it's back to the real world, and it's back to work, and it's back to being alone or going home alone. And, you know, I think that for me, what happened was, I just had this idea in my head, that someday I was going to live abroad. And I it's really because I have always been super close to my family. I grown up close to home, I went to school, close to home, I went to college, you know, less than an hour away from my home, because my niece was very young, and I wanted to be close and see her grow up. So I've always been really close to home. And even my house in Oldsmar at the time was 20 minutes drive from my parents, so they were never too far away. So I always had that support system to follow on. But you know, I think as I started going through this rediscovery process, and learning how to be more autonomous, I kind of told myself, Okay, I'm going to move away someday I'm going to live abroad. I love to travel, I love other countries. And I really love Spanish language. It's something that I, I studied in university, I learned when I was younger, and I was never fluent. And so I've always kind of said, I'll live in a Spanish country because I want to be fully immersed in the language and the culture. And I love Europe. And so for me, Spain was easy, because it's the only country in Europe that speak Spanish. So they weren't any other option. And so I had this idea in my head, someday, I'm going to move to Spain. And it was so funny, because as I started dating, you know, as I got older, I would tell people that right away like, oh, just so you know, I'm moving to spend Sunday like I, I wanted to make sure they knew because I wanted to set that boundary early on, like, this is my dream. I'm never going to lose myself again, in anyone or anything like I'm going to be true to what I really want. And so I it was really important for me to sort of set that intention out into the universe, as my sister would say, and set that boundary with people that I met and always kind of staying true to that is the goal. And so, fast forward, I ended up meeting my partner Alex, who is now my fiancee and the love of my life. But I meet him and I met him actually on a trip, a ski trip. And the only reason I was on this ski trip was because another guy had asked me if I wanted to join his his ski trip. And so I said yes to something that again, I would have probably never said yes to but I went for it. And because I said yes to this person I barely knew that invited me on a ski trip. I met Alex, you know, this random chance meeting. And you know, we hit it off and we developed this amazing relationship and we were doing long distance he was based in San Francisco and I was based in Oldsmar, Florida. And it became quite tiring and inexpensive, you know, and just the flights and the money over the time. And at one point, we decided, you know, we were going to want to live in the same city. And so I had this intention of moving to San Francisco, it's where Cisco is headquartered, there was opportunity there for me, was a great city. And that's where my love was. But you know, when I had verbally accepted a role out there, I still had this feeling inside, like I, I still have this dream of moving to Spain. And Alex was always very supportive of that he loves Barcelona, and he loves Spain in general. And so the day that I had kind of verbally accepted this role in California, I told a former manager of mine who's from Spain, originally, and we had always talked about how someday we wanted to live in Spain. And he said, you know, you really should reach out to this director in Europe, and just, you know, just tell him you're interested, you never know what will happen. And, and so I sent this email to this director that I didn't know out here in the in London. And I said, you know, here's who I am. I would love to work for you for Sunday. Ideally, I would love to live in Barcelona in Spain. But I'm about to take this job, you know, in California, but if you ever have anything in the future, please, please think of me, you know. And he actually called me about an hour later. He said, It's really for to it is that you emailed me because I have this role I'm about to post and you would be a perfect fit for it. And Spain is a great location, and it's a low cost of living. And that's what happened. So I, I couldn't believe it. I called Alex told him like, how do you feel about moving to Barcelona.

And three days later, I declined to the other job and accepted this one. And a couple months later, we, we were moving to Barcelona, it's, you know, like, that's why I still feel this immense gratitude every day. It's been two years, but it feels like it just happened. I just, I really can't believe it, you know, but it is I think it's super important to set the intention to put it out in the universe. And my sister would say that I manifested it, and maybe I did. You know, but I definitely set the intention. And I asked for it. That's the thing. If you don't ask for it, you most certainly won't get it. You know, you have to go after what you want. You have to ask? And if they say no, they say no. And that's okay. You know, on?

Angela McCourt 37:26
Well, and I think to just, you know, even if timing wise, it didn't work out the fact that you let someone else know you're interested in exactly. I think a lot of times people just give up because they're like, Oh, well, it's not available, but it's because wherever you're you're seeking, they don't even know you're interested. And this could even be locally, this could even be within within your current role or leadership role or whatnot, you know, you have to speak up and say, here's what I want. Keep me in mind. But I think it's just amazing. And nowadays, there are a lot of global companies. So you know, where, you know, starting out with a company working in the US or working in a different country, you may think, Oh, well, this is where my base is, this is where I'm supposed to work. But yet you have so many opportunities to then expand into other parts of the world. And now with more remote working on top of it, there's so much more flexibility on where we work, and that we don't have to work next to our home, like it doesn't have to be an office and home correlation. And so I think there's so much more freedom that is going to open up for others. But it'll be interesting to see how that evolves and how people overcome the fears, overcome the expectations, and then say, Okay, here's the action I'm going to take, I'm going to put it out there. And I'm going to see what happens. And so yeah, I think there's going to be a lot more of that happening, which is so fantastic. So, but I think one of the things people think about is okay, but how do I even go about like, moving to Barcelona living in a different country? What are some of the things I have to do? I know every country is different. But you know, you did your research, right?

Gabby McGee 39:12
Yeah, we did our research. I mean, of course, I have visa sponsorship through Cisco, so that, you know, having a corporate company that will sponsor you, and that will, you know, pay for someone to take care of, you know, the residency permits, and those things, you know, does help. It takes a lot of that off of you. But there are a lot of other things that you don't know or that you learn along the way. And you don't have to have a job and to move. You know, the reality is, a lot of people even retirees move to these countries. And depending on the country, there are different visas that you can apply for. And some of them are like self sustaining as long as you can show that you have a certain amount of money in your bank account that you can sustain yourself without a career or a job contract. You know, you can apply. So certainly, you know, you just have to research the type of visas that are available in the various countries, you know, other things that we really didn't know, until we got here, we're just intricacies on, you know, like getting a bank account or getting Wi Fi. In Spain, I would not say it's anywhere close to as efficient as the US is, with these types of things. You know, you'd go to get a bank account, and they'd say, Oh, well, you have to have a Spanish phone number to have a bank account, but then you go to get a Spanish phone number, you bet you'd have to have like a Spanish bank account to get the phone number. Like all these things you learned and, and we really, Alex and I laugh about it now, because it's been two years that I have learned, I have developed so much more patience, I was always very impatient. I think as a person, you know, I'm, I want to get things done. I'm very efficient. And here that just doesn't happen. It's a very different culture in the south in general of Europe. And so it's taught me a lot of patience. And so Alex and I really joke now, when things don't go right, or, or they take five days to fix, we joke that so Spain, you know, and we just say that, and we laugh. But yeah, I think it's researching the visas. It's understanding the requirements for basic things, like, you know, apartments, you know, having to look for apartments, and what does that take? And, and how much money do you have to have in your bank account? And how do you get a phone number, you know, but it is it comes down to a lot of research, and some of it just can't be researched. Some of it you just have to learn in the process. And that's okay. You know, I think I'm very lucky because my partner came with me. I think it would have been a lot more daunting if I came by myself now granted what I have. Absolutely. But to have someone with me, definitely the support system helps, you know, yeah, those

Angela McCourt 41:53
be on the journey together. Yeah, exactly. Oh, that's a wonderful, thank you so much for sharing all of your journeys, because I just find them so inspirational and motivating. So real quick, do you have any callouts you'd like to share? So any companies, organizations, or nonprofits or products that you love, or, or apps?

Gabby McGee 42:17
Well, there's definitely some books and some some podcasts and things I really love. One of my favorite books that I encourage anyone to read, and it's one that I often give to people, it's called the bright hour by Nina Riggs. So she's the granddaughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson. So writing is, is genetic for her. But it's a memoir. And of course, so I'm writing a memoir, I really love to read memoirs, and it's a tragic memoir, you know, she is, she is diagnosed with a terminal illness at a young age. But it's really about acceptance in life, you know, that no matter what is handed to you, it's the outlook you have and what you do next, that really defines you. And so I love reading that book. I think she really turned something that a lot of us, you know, if we were given this diagnosis, it would be tragic. But she really looks at it, like, you know what, life isn't fair. And, you know, no one gets to pick, you know, kind of what you're handed. So I love I love that book. And I think so many people can learn from, you know, how do you find the bright hour and things like that,

Angela McCourt 43:25
I am definitely adding that one to my library. The

Gabby McGee 43:29
other one, if you haven't read is one that I haven't read yet that Alex just recently gave me and he loves it. And it's called the surrender experiment by Michael singer. And Alex read it, a co worker of hers of his gifted it to him. And he gifted it to me. And it's really about saying yes to things. And I'm a person too, that generally has this initial resistance. I've got to think through things I mind, I need to plan I need to research. But this individual basically said, you know, what, if I just surrender, what if I stopped the resistance on saying no to things that maybe I don't really want to do or someone you know, I don't really have time for them, and surrender to it and just say yes, and see where it takes me. And so it takes these readers on this journey that he went through and how he evolved into this completely different person and I and I really love that concept. I can't wait to read it. And then the last thing to just especially for anyone that's interested in moving abroad or has a love of languages like I do, I love this podcast called Coffee Break. for language learning, I'm listening to coffee, break Spanish, they have all kinds of languages on there. I'm really a big believer you know, in language learning at any age, because it's so good for both sides of your brain improves cognitive thinking can reduce you know, potential for aging diseases like dementia. So I would absolutely advocate for that. I think it's an amazing podcast and and it's really helping me a lot with my language skills.

Angela McCourt 44:58
Oh, that's so wonderful. Gabby, it has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us and taking time out of your busy day and for being obviously a bit further ahead in the time of day then I really appreciate that. Thank you. You're just wonderful. Really, really happy to share your story.

Gabby McGee 45:18
Thanks, Angie. It was a pleasure to be here and to catch up with you again and I look forward to doing it again in the future if

Angela McCourt 45:24
you'll have me. Absolutely bet. Thanks. Alright Angie, have a great day.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai