Being a Global Citizen with Russian-American Digital Nomad, Vlad Glebov

Kristin:    00:00:06    Hey guys. Welcome to another episode of Digital Nomad TV. Uh, we're coming to you from the 360 Sky Bar on the Nomad Cruise. We are on day 11, I believe. Mm-Hmm. Yeah. So we only have one more day on the ship. We're sailing from Europe to Brazil, and then we're gonna be landing in Brazil, uh, the day after tomorrow. So I'm sitting here with Vlad Glebov, and he gave an amazing presentation on how digital nomads can basically change the future and help change the world. And I was just so touched by his talk. It resonated with me so much that I wanted to bring him on the show to kind of discuss his, um, image of the future and how digital nomads and remote workers are a part of it. So, welcome to Digital Nomad TV, Vlad.  

Podcast Interview: 

Vlad:    00:01:00    Thank you for having me.  

Kristin:    00:01:01    So, tell us a little bit about your, um, your background and how you became a digital nomad. Because my audience is always really interested in learning how people transition from a conventional lifestyle to like a remote work nomadic lifestyle.  

Vlad:    00:01:18    Seven years ago now, uh, I started a solar energy company. So we developed large scale commercial sized solar projects in, in Canada. And then about two years ago, I more or less had an exit from that company, uh, which was a huge success for me at that time. And I realized that sort of accumulating material possessions wasn't really making me happy. Um, and so I wanted to explore and find out what else is out there, and decided to scale down all of my material possessions down to a carry-on. Um, in that case, at that time it was actually a suitcase. And then I scaled down to a carry-on a little bit later and a backpack, and took off and wanted to travel the world and explore and learn and, uh, find out what, uh, what's out there, what's possible.  

Kristin:    00:02:07    And how many years now have you been an entrepreneur traveling around the world?  

Vlad:    00:02:11    So it's been, it's been two years.  

Kristin:    00:02:13    Okay. Yeah. When did you start getting interested in this concept of, well, you call it earth first, so like, uh, kind of changing your worldview from that of typical countries with borders and normal immigration patterns to a more comprehensive, uh, global home for citizens instead of being divided by countries?  

Vlad:    00:02:37    I, I'd say for me, it's, it's been something that has been an ongoing question since really Mm-Hmm. uh, the day of my birth, um, I was born in a, in a small town or a village in, in Russia, um, uh, not too far from Moscow. And my parents ended up moving to Moscow, and then later ended up moving to Toronto and to Canada when I was 10. And I, whenever I'd, I get asked the question of like, where are you from? Um, I would, I would sort of hesitate how to answer it. Mm-Hmm. uh, 'cause I wasn't sure. I knew that we were supposed to attach some identity to some place or some country, uh, but I wasn't sure where to attach that identity. Uh, am I from Canada now? The fact that I'm, I'm living there and that's kind of where I feel like I'm, I'm growing up and a lot of my friends are, am I from, uh, from Russia, uh, because I was born there.  

Vlad:    00:03:30    Um, and then of course, in addition to that, you get a different reaction from people if you say you're from Russia or if you're from Canada. This is something I noticed. Uh, you know, whenever there is something, especially going on in the news, um, you, you, you ask someone to ask you, oh, where were you born? You say, oh, I'm born in Russia. And there's just a little bit, like the temperature in the room kind of goes down just a little bit. And I, maybe they're trying not to judge you, but, uh, at best. And, but they still can't help but associate whatever concepts they have. Now, of course, in other cases, if somebody's like, really, really into Russia and like, really likes Russia, the temperature goes up. So it really varies, uh, depending on the person. Uh,  

Kristin:    00:04:11    And Canada's neutral. Everyone likes Canada. <laugh> nice people.  

Vlad:    00:04:16    Well, apparently, yeah. And people think, um, sometimes they'd say, oh, your name is Vlad, but you don't have an accent. So how does this work? Like, I can't really put you in a box. Like, you were so polite. Yeah. So like, but but you were born in Russia. Like, what's happening? 

Kristin:    00:04:30    All  their stereotypes are clashing together.  

Vlad:    00:04:34    Yeah. And so I just, I found the whole thing a little bit. Uh, it, it kind of, it took me, it took me on a journey to really discover, answer this question. Like, where am I from? Mm-Hmm. And, and so I, I did a DNA test and I tried to figure out all of my ancestral roots. And of course, the story got so complicated. 'cause it turns out, um, my DNA and most people's DNAs are, are from, you're just from so many different places. Yeah. So many different backgrounds, so many different population groups moving through. I ended up, um, just sort of figuring out, okay, well, where do I feel home? But I, I, you know, I, I couldn't really, you know, am I between Russia and Canada? Do I land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? Like, it just didn't make sense. Um, and so eventually it, it got me thinking about this notion that maybe, uh, it's actually much more simpler than that.  

Vlad:    00:05:21    Maybe I'm just from planet Earth. Mm-Hmm. And the moment I started to travel, the moment I really got out, um, and, and spent some time in California and, and San Francisco and then, uh, traveled to Europe, um, I began to notice how common, how many similar similarities we all have. Yeah. We all have something in common, all of us. And that really resonated with me. That really felt more like home for me. Uh, and at some point it just became natural to say, well, I'm from planet Earth. Yeah, of course. That's where I'm from. That's where I've always been. It's where all my ancestors are from. Um, and that's where my home is.  

Kristin:    00:05:59    Yeah. That, that makes so much sense. Um, to me, like after having traveled a lot, because it got to the point where people were asking, that's the first thing they ask you is like, where are you from? What do you do? And it's like, well, I'm from Florida, but I haven't lived there since I was practically a teenager in college. And so, uh, at first it started like, I'm from this city in Florida, but then I spent more years in another city. And then it went like, okay, well I'm from Florida, but I've been living in Costa Rica for eight years, and now it's like, I don't, I actually have a home base, but I'm from Florida and I live everywhere. And, and you start to realize really how, like it is a way of identifying people and like getting a kind of a perspective, like you were saying, putting them in a box.  

Kristin:    00:06:48    But it also is a, a label and it's just kind of reflective of how the world is organized. So it started to, like, when you said like, I'm from planet Earth. Like I've always said that, and I've even tried to tag things in social media, like, why isn't there an option for your location just being earth? Like, why does it have to be a specific place? And then I saw this shirt from Stella and I was like, I have to buy this, because it really just sums it up like birthplace earth. Yeah. And I think, you know, before recent modern history, everyone was just from Earth before there were borders. And the more I travel, the more I think that borders can become like quite silly and quite arbitrary. And instead of seeing differences between people, I think there was a distinct turning point where I started seeing how similar everyone is.  

Kristin:    00:07:42    Like everyone is a human being. Everybody has all human qualities and traits and characteristics in common. And the only things that differentiate us are what makes us unique as individuals, like, um, personality and, and things like that. And then also a cultural differences. But, um, everyone still like, you know how they say everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time, but like, everyone likes all of the same things. Everyone likes to eat <laugh>, everyone has to sleep. Like, yeah. It just makes so much sense while you've been traveling around and, um, kind of getting this more comprehensive worldview, what are some of the problems that have become more pronounced, um, now that you've kind of removed yourself, uh, geographically speaking from your most recent home country and have been like a citizen of the world? Like, what do you think are the biggest challenges facing the human race right now?  

Vlad:    00:08:38    There are challenges everywhere. Of course, there are local and, um, specific to a specific place, but there are also challenges that we all share as people living on planet earth. Mm-Hmm. Um, and perhaps the easiest way to think of it is, let's say one of the, one of the challenges that we face, um, is  

Vlad:    00:09:03    Like, we know there has been a previous time in which an asteroid has hit planet Earth. So no matter what country you're from, if an asteroid hits planet Earth, uh, we would all be effective in some way. It depends on the size of the asteroid where it lands, but it would really disrupt all of us. Yeah. Um, so it therefore, it begs the, begs the question of should we not be tracking all of the near earth objects that might potentially, uh, be headed our way? And should we not have some sort of earth defense, uh, system against these potential objects hitting our planet? Um,  

Kristin:    00:09:39    Because we have country defense systems  

Vlad:    00:09:42    Yeah. We have country defense systems, which, which, uh, feels, uh, like, like that could that, you know, could, you know, is that, is that something that we really need to have? Yeah. Um, that's a different question. But then should we have an earth defense system against potential objects hitting us? Uh, that seems like a no brainer to me. Yeah, right. Um, it didn't work out too well for the dinosaurs, the fact that they weren't able to get to that point. So something that we should consider. And so there must be somebody that's tracking all of these near earth objects, I thought. And it turns out that, um, there are, but it's underfunded. Mm-Hmm. and the majority of the near earth objects were not tracking. Um, I think the latest estimate that I've saw, that I've seen is that there's something like at least 17,000 near earth objects that we're not tracking, we're not sure of.  

Vlad:    00:10:33    So, and, and who knows what else is out there. Right. Um, so that, that is a, like if you, if you were to categorize a problem that affects everyone, yeah. That's probably the easiest one to grasp. Um, the other urgent one, of course, there are many urgent ones. Um, but one, one is that I've noticed as I began to explore oceans in different places, is I really began to notice how much plastic is in the ocean, how much garbage is in the ocean. And this is a common thing. Again, we, there may be somebody dumping, um, garbage in Asia, and it could land all the way in Mexico. Mm-Hmm. Uh, and in, in fact, I, I found out that something like at least one garbage, a truck, um, full of plastic is being dumped every minute. So it, it's, it's a huge problem. Um, and it's a huge problem not only for all the fish and all of the people, all of the, um, animals that are living in, in the ocean, but it's actually a huge problem for us as well. 'cause we, we like the ocean. Yeah. And it's, it's something that we should take care of. Um, I mean, another obvious one of course, is that you many people have heard about is climate change. Yeah. Um, this is, it does not matter if you live in United States. It does not matter if you live in Europe. Um, when the effects of climate change begin to take place, it will affect everybody. Yeah. Now, of course, it will affect everybody differently, but it's going to be quite a disruptive thing for most of us.  

Kristin:    00:12:06    So we have these like, major challenges facing the world that are so urgent that they need to be really taken care of Yesterday. We have oceans full of plastic. Um, we have climate change challenges. We have, uh, the, always the, the potential of nuclear war because we have nuclear weapons on the planet. Um, I don't, I don't know about you guys, but I've always wondered, um, why do the political leaders and decision makers always tend to choose things that are not in the general interest of the population or of the world population, so of their domestic national population, and then of the world as a child? This never made sense to me, and I never fully understood why politics was such a contentious topic. Um, so can you explain, uh, to our viewers, why do countries and governments make the choices they do that seem counterproductive, that seem to be, uh, adding fuel to the fire when it comes to global emergencies, while then also focusing a lot on like, country first domestic policies that seem to contradict the interests of the world at large? Like, how, why is that dynamic in play  

Vlad:    00:13:19    In this case? I look at it from, uh, the perspective of game theory. Mm-Hmm. And in this case, there is a prediction that's being made. Um, and maybe, maybe the best way to explain this concept, um, is to really just give an example. So let's say we, let's say you imagine an island. And on this island, there are only two countries, uh, occupying half of the island. Each. And each country really wants to take care of its people. And so it wants to grow its economy, and it wants to create industry. It wants to, uh, incentivize innovation, new technologies. And of course, through the course of that, they, they consume energy and they produce pollution. One day, uh, the leaders of both countries decide to meet up and have, uh, create an agreement to, to control and reduce the amount of pollution that those two countries produce. And if that sounds like, and they reached an agreement, it makes a lot of sense. Similar to what of course, the international community did during the Paris climate change agreements and previous agreements that have taken place. Sounds like that could be the end of it. Like everything is great. Yeah. Except that of course, it doesn't work out that way. Each country goes back home and realizes that if, if we as a country pull outta that agreement, or if we cheat, we will have some kind of a payoff because there is a cost, of course, to reducing pollution. Yeah.  

Vlad:    00:14:50    And if we just pollute a little bit longer than that other country, we will have slightly better economy. We will have slightly more newer products and maybe a stronger military. Um, and the other country, of course, also has smart policy makers, and they come back home and they say, well, wait a minute, we will be worse off if the other country pollutes a little bit longer, so we should pollute a little bit longer. And so what ends up happening and what game theory predicts in this case is that we have, um, the national equilibrium here, which is pollute. Pollute is what we're, what both countries end up choosing in the end. Um, instead of the socially optimal outcome, which is that neither country, both countries should reduce pollution. Right. And when we, so that's the theory. Mm-Hmm. how is it working out in practice? When we look at the G 20 and the Paris, uh, climate change agreement that's been reached, um, there is a huge gap between what was, what was agreed upon and what's actually being implemented at a policy level.  

Vlad:    00:15:51    And worse, what's actually being, what, what are actually being, what's actually being projected. Because just because the country has a certain policy doesn't mean that that policy will be implemented in the first place. Right. Um, so it's really not the fault of any individual policy maker, uh, in my view or any individual country. Uh, they are, it's a systemic problem of dividing our civilization into countries Yeah. Creating these borders and each country acting its own self-interest. And of course, when you add short term thinking for your, uh, election cycles or, or, or, or something like that, that, that really reprioritizes Yeah. Um, the, the interests of that they're trying to, that they're trying to, um, look after. So the problem, I think, and this is the idea that, um, that I've been sort of, I've been mulling over for a few years now, and I propose that this cruise is that it is that if we divide our civilization into countries, they will ultimately try to look after each country, and it creates an us and a them.  

Vlad:    00:17:01    Yeah. And then we get trapped by this game theory, and it's unsustainable for our civilization to continue to divide ourselves in this way. Keep in mind that this is not a, this is a relatively new phenomenon, like having countries the way that they currently are. It's a very new thing in our 200,000 plus year history. Yeah. And we are running this experiment, but if we just look a little bit further, you know, look, 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, a hundred years ahead, how long can this continue to work? And the problem is that with these global challenges of climate change, ai, um, lack of AI regulation, um, something that Elon Musk talks about a lot, uh, disruptive biotech, asteroids, um, ocean plastic, um, you name it, these are problems that countries unfortunately just cannot protect us from. Right. They cannot solve these problems acting in their own self-interest. And so, and, and so that, that, that, that's really the problem that I've realized that exists. And so we have to think about how to fix that.  

Kristin:    00:18:16    Yeah. That really explains a lot, especially the nuclear race as well. Like, if countries don't have their own nuclear weapons, then if there are nuclear weapons on the planet, then they don't really have a defense against nuclear weapons. So it's like everybody's arming themselves to defend themselves. But if there weren't any weapons at all, then there would be no need to have nuclear weapons in the first place. But that's how things tend to escalate, whether it's pollution, um, you know, economic development, people trying to, um, to raise the, the economic wellbeing of their country and having to pollute and destroy the planet in order to get there. If they don't do that, then they're always going to lag behind the, the more developed countries that have already been through that process. So we can see this playing out in real time. But I guess the big difference is that now things are happening so fast technology is evolving exponentially in innovation.  

Kristin:    00:19:13    And maybe this border system experiment that worked for us for a hundred years or so is, is maybe not as relevant, um, when everybody has the economic ability and, and technological ability basically to travel around the world very cheaply and very easily. So this possibility really wasn't available until the last <laugh>, the last decade or so for people to be able to fly all around the planet, um, so quickly. And now we have, you know, we can possibly go to other planets or, or go out into the, into the atmosphere and come back down in China in 10 minutes or whatever. Like, there's so many things on the horizon that I really don't think that, that our countries and governments can adapt to.  

Vlad:    00:20:03    And, and to be fair to, to countries like, it's, it's worked out pretty well so far. Right. I mean, if you subtract all the world wars and all the people that were have died as a result, but, you know, we are where we are now, and overall things are seem to be pretty good. Right. Um, so it's, it's not, but it, it, the, we, we have not really, our civilization has not faced a problem like climate change before. Mm-Hmm. we have not faced something like, um, the, the possibility of, of general ai, uh, taken over before. Um, so, so new technologies that are only have been in existence during the 21st century, or these possibilities have only been existence in, in the 21st century. We have a system of dividing our civilization that's been going on since, for the last 11,000 years, let's say. But it's really not equipped to deal with these new things. Right. And so it's been working pretty well. Perhaps, you know, some may disagree because of all the world wars and all that, but Yeah. Um, how do we go forward from here? Right? Uh, because change in is inevitable and these challenges are coming to us whether we like them or not. So how do we address them? And I, I, I think the way to address them is to, is to really put the interest of planet earth above the interest of individual country.  

Kristin:    00:21:21    Okay. There's a lot of overwhelming problems affecting the planet right now that people can feel a bit, uh, overwhelmed and scattered and they think of pollution and political issues and possible war and things like that. Um, what are some practical things that people can do in their everyday lives to make an impact so that we don't all feel like we're watching some kind of slow motion train wreck? 'cause I know a lot of people also think like, well, we're, we're basically out of time. The ocean levels are gonna rise and, you know, we're all, or whatever. Like, what can people do and in their daily lives too to, to help change the perspective or help make some kind of impact?  

Vlad:    00:22:06    I want to just talk a little bit about this, um, this feeling, right? Yeah. Of kind of helplessness. Yeah. And this, this, this potential. 'cause it is a kind of a barrier to any, any action. It, it, it can feel a little bit overwhelming and like you said, just let's just give up and have a good time while we're, while we're at it. Yeah. And, um, so this is how I have thought about it for myself is like this, ev even if the world, like even if we're all doomed, worst case scenario, we are all doomed. Um, uh, it, it is still like, it is still reasonable to try and, um, avoid that consequence. And if there's some chance that our ARS civilization can survive and, and, and, and the best possible futures is, is available for us, then even more reasons to do so. Yeah. So even, but even if it's like we're all about to jump off a cliff, it's still like, and you're, you're sitting, like, let's say you're on an airplane and, and you feel like the airplane is going to crash and there's a person beside you and they're, they're like really concerned. Are you gonna hold their hand or are you gonna yell like, we're all gonna die  

Kristin:    00:23:24    <laugh>?  

Vlad:    00:23:25    And I would just like, I would take your hand and be like, oh, it's gonna be okay. Yeah. So it still makes sense. It still makes total sense to do that. Um, but, but actually there is, um, there is a whole future possible for us, um, that does not involve, um, uh, you know, us perishing or, or, or some kind of, um, doomsday like scenario. Right? Um, and so the question is how do we actually get there? And the the trick here is that while the problems are complex, but the basic, the basic problem the most at its core is actually quite simple. Mm-Hmm. And the, and it's really about how do we dissolve the game that these two countries are playing on this island? Yeah. And the reason why these two countries are playing that game is because there isn't us and a them mentality.  

Vlad:    00:24:17    And the moment that happens, that's when that game theory begins to switch on. Yep. However, if every person living on that island was acting in the best interest of the island and not of the specific country Yes. Then there is no more game to be played. Right. Um, and so this, this is the same solution that, um, can work for the all, the whole planet, is that if we simply reprioritize how we think of the world and in what interests we act, so priority number one, earth, earth first. Yes. Right. And then after that, it could be country first, it could be city first. It could be whatever tribe you are associated with first. And the nice thing about this is that you don't have to give anything up. You know, you can, you can be quite, quite proud and celebrate your ancestral roots and, and your culture and all these things.  

Vlad:    00:25:17    There's no need to give up any of it. Right. Um, but the only thing that I do invite all your listeners is to, whenever they are asked this question of where are you from, where are you from? Really like, consider that question, really think about it and imagine that you're from planet Earth, <laugh>, imagine that earth is your home. And imagine if that this is the only reality you've ever known. And it's been true for a long time. Like, imagine if you went to the movie theater, science fiction, movie theater one day, and you saw, and you went back to your friends and you're like, friends, I saw this movie. It was super unrealistic. Like this civilization decided to divide themselves into these mythical countries, <laugh> these invisible borders. And they, it was so important that those mythical places were more important to them than the, the planet as a whole.  

Vlad:    00:26:15    And they were destroying themselves. It seemed like a really unrealistic, bad scenario. And your friends would laugh and say, well, that's silly. That could never be the case. Of course. Because, and once, 'cause once you have that mind shift Yeah. Um, you begin to see clearly what you know, what you should be doing. And so I can get, I can get a little bit more practical for, for those people, um, who want to know like, what are the next steps, especially some of the people out there who, who are wondering like, what should I do with my life? How should I best contribute to changing the world? Um, and I would say I would encourage people to really consider, so imagine this future where we are, we are all earth first or we are earthy earth end or, or earth citizens or global citizens. Mm-Hmm.  

Vlad:    00:27:00    Hmm. What are some of the needs that this, that, that this requires? What are some of the potential obstacles? What is, what are some of the ways it, we can make it easier for people to take on that way of thinking and actually live that in their everyday life? Mm-Hmm. Uh, because we, we don't actually need, um, political parties to change. We don't actually even need countries to change. All we need to do is just live that lifestyle ourselves, right. Individually and spread it, um, for, for it to actually impact the whole planet. Um, so if you're, if you're a potential entrepreneur, ask yourself, okay, earth first, how does my business impact the planet? Maybe it's not impacting the planet at all. Well, if I really care about the planet, maybe I need to start a new business or consider changing my business so that it does benefit the planet somehow.  

Vlad:    00:27:54    Yeah. If you are a marketer, maybe you have a really smart idea for how to, uh, market this concept better. Um, if you are, uh, an investor, you know, what sort of investments are you making? Are those investments benefiting planet Earth? Um, if you are a real estate developer, I mean, you name it, any profession, any specialization that you may have, if you're a blogger, you know, if you're an Instagrammer, YouTuber, uh, like what you're doing here, right? How is it impacting planet Earth first? So it's like really step into that role. Like imagine, you know, there's a role, there's a person that is a global citizen, that is an earth citizen, and then really just like step into it, right? And then what does that mean for you? And how can you implement that on a daily basis? And the simple thing, really the simplest thing is just when you get asked, where are you from? Just say, I'm from the same place as you planet Earth.  

Kristin:    00:28:51    Yeah. I really like that because you can notice from a micro level to a macro level how these identities play out. So everything from a high school football rivalry, like one town in another town next to each other, to like one state versus another state. Or even, like, let's use high school as, as a good example. So you can have like high school football, and then you can have college football where it's like rivalries within the state. So you go from local town to within the state, and then you have like a national championship where it's like Nebraska versus Florida or whatever. But then you see national pride. So you see in the Olympics, for example, everyone's on the team of their country, but then when it comes to voting in an election, we divide again and it's like Republicans versus Democrats or whatever. So it's always like a competition and a rivalry.  

Kristin:    00:29:46    But, um, without having like the bigger picture in mind, sometimes that can be lost in like, the immediate competition or the immediate fight between, uh, ideologies or, or what have you. So I really like thinking of earth first from just an individual perspective, instead of like, what can I do to just make a lot of money for me or for my family, but thinking like, what can I do to make a living on the planet, of course, but still express who I am, what my natural talents are, um, what my creative ideas are in a way that not only benefits me and allows me to exist on the planet, but also contributes something to the world, um, puts the needs of the planet and of the global population first. So it's not just a like zero sum game, but everybody's contributing what they want to bring into the world at a time when it's actually possible.  

Vlad:    00:30:50    Yeah. So, so imagine if, if everyone cared as much about the planet as they did about United States.  

Kristin:    00:30:56    Yeah.  

Vlad:    00:30:57    It's like, I, I care about United, you know, I care, like if I was a citizen of the United States, I can just, Ima I'm not, but I just can imagine what that can feel like. Mm-Hmm. Um, I don't even need to be told how such a citizen should act in some ways. Like the majority of people can kind of just get it right.  

Kristin:    00:31:14    Yeah.  

Vlad:    00:31:15    We, you know, but imagine if the same mentality was just expanded one level higher. Right. Which is now we care about the whole planet. Um, and, and what will happen in that moment is that when, when you have that mentality shift, it's not that United States needs to dissolve, it's just that the borders just kind of become a little bit less important. Mm-Hmm. um, I mean a great example, we just, we've just seen the World Cup not too, not too long ago. And of course, um, people really, we really cheer for those, for each country that, that, that is competing in the World Cup. But of course, when you look at the, the demographics of the people actually playing on each team, they have a very diverse background Yeah. From all kinds of places. In fact, more than half the team can be from all, all over the world, really.  

Vlad:    00:32:08    Yeah. Um, but it's kind of fun to cheer for this flag. It's kind of fun to cheer for the identity so that you don't need to lose that, but, but you also don't need to fight a war over it. Yes. Right. Like, um, and we can actually share our, our cultures and we can actually share our skill sets and celebrate our uniqueness and diversity, um, while being united by this idea that we're all from the same place. We're all from, from planet earth. Mm-Hmm. and whatever I do will affect people from all over the world. Yeah. Um, and if I don't do something that also affects people from planet Earth, um, and I understand, uh, this notion that I should just really take care of myself and my family, um, I, I completely understand it. And if you want to take care of your family, if you want to take care of yourself, consider the global challenges that your family and you face.  

Vlad:    00:33:10    Yeah. Can you solve, can you protect you and your family from an asteroid strike? Can you protect you and your family from climate change? Can you protect you and your family from, from general AI taking over the world? Yeah. <laugh> like Elon is trying to warn, warn us about. Yeah. Um, can you protect you and your family? If there's a nuclear, uh, strike somewhere. And of course the answer is no. Right? Mm-Hmm. we need, we, in order for our civilization to continue to prosper and exist, it requires global cooperation. But here's some good news. Okay. Yes. Here's some good news. Um, it took us 200,000 years or so, something like that to get to a place where 11,000 years ago, we began to cooperate, um, in, in fairly large settlements.  

Kristin:    00:34:02    Yeah. Self-organizing,  

Vlad:    00:34:04    Well, organizing communities beyond, let's say, uh, next tribes.  

Vlad:    00:34:09    Yes. So beyond the hunter gatherer tribes. Yeah. And the way we did it is, um, we created myths. And these myths helped us, uh, cooperate at a much larger scale. We started to have larger, larger settlements. And now we have a, we have some countries over a billion people, and somehow they're cooperating together in interest of that country. So to go from, uh, a country, a cooperation of a billion people around a myth of a country to cooperating at a level of seven and a half billion people at the level of earth, planet earth, that's not that big of a leap. Yeah. It's, it's a much smaller leap. It could happen very quickly. And the way it could happen, one scenario is that, um, I would imagine, let's say we need 10 billion conversations, 10 billion conversations. Like, where are you from? It's, I'm from Planet Earth.  

Vlad:    00:35:02    Oh, what's that about? Like, tell me, you know, I will identify from that. And those kind of conversations, once you hear that more than once, you can't ever go back. Right. Like, you can't everyone hear that. Right. Once you, once you create that additional circle, um, and you prioritize earth first, it's hard to go. It's hard to go back. So 10 billion conversations, well, what is it gonna take to have 10 billion conversations within one year? Well, it turns out it's actually only 10 million people who on average have that conversation three times a day or a thousand times a year. Now, at this conference, you and I have had the, where are you from conversation? Probably 200, 300 times. Yeah. <laugh>. So we're already like, well, on our way <laugh>. Um, and I've been answering that question for at least a year. Yeah. And like, I'm from Planet Earth. Um, and so if our, if the people that are watching this video, if all they do is they just have this conversation every time they get asked from now on for the next year, I am from Planet Earth. Here's why. Um, that conversation, if 10 billion, 10 million people, which is really like a small, quite a small number actually. Um, that means within one year we're gonna have that conversation 10 billion times. And of course, what's happening now is that a lot of countries in, and we're seeing this, um, in, in Britain, all over Europe,  

Kristin:    00:36:27    Really,  

Vlad:    00:36:28    In the US especially. Um, and of course in Brazil, most recently it's country first country. First country first. So people are sitting around the bar or the kitchen table, and they're saying, Hey, should country come first? Well, I love my country. Of course, I have so many warm and fuzzy memories of my country. Of course, we should take care of our country country first done. Right. No problem. Well, if we have, if the same convers type of conversation happens, but it's like, you know, I love my planet, I love the ocean, I love the civilization that we've, we've created. I love all of the, all the amazing, beautiful spots on this planet. I, I would like our civilization to keep going. Um, should we put planet earth first since that's where all the countries are located anyway, should  

Kristin:    00:37:17    We do it? That's what everyone has in common. Like the common good is for the planet. And if one person's, or if one civilization's country is first, or one person's religion is first by default, everyone else has to come fall in line after that. So yeah, I think just like, as a takeaway for everybody to still have country pride and think about your nationality and where you come from and all the different, uh, ancestors you have, but to also kind of think of it on a bigger picture level as like earth first country second, because every country can't be first. That's when we get into this zero sum game and game theory and people, you know, trying to one up each other. So yeah. Just thinking of like, everybody is on the planet. We have this one common good and one common priority to protect our global home. And then, you know, the rest of it can come after.  

Vlad:    00:38:16    Yeah. And, and, and if you just have that conversation on average three times a day for a whole year, um, you know, eventually we'll get to 10 billion conversations. Yeah. And at some point there is just no turning back. Right. You'll, you'll bump into somebody in Mexico, or you'll bump into somebody in, in France, and you'll ask them, where are you from? And they'll say, I'm from planet Earth.  

Kristin:    00:38:38    Yeah. <laugh>. And  

Vlad:    00:38:39    You'll be like, wow, that's working. Yeah. And then political parties will reflect that viewpoint. Um, businesses will reflect that viewpoint and we'll have a whole shift, and all of a sudden we have, um, our future looks prosperous. Yeah. How do we feel about, um, working together on cooperating on climate change when we know that most of the people are thinking earth first? Yeah. It's a lot more hopeful, isn't it? Mm-Hmm. Right. Um, so this is, I think there is something to hope for. There is something to look forward to. Um, and it really is just as simple as country first or earth first. Earth first  

Kristin:    00:39:18    <laugh> Yeah.  

Vlad:    00:39:19    Have those conversations, put that into your life. Really step into that role. What does that mean for you? What, how do you, how can you express that worldview? Yeah. Um, and then take, and then from then on, um, it just, it just continues to spread. And before we know it, um, this is something that it's unimaginable. Like people in the future will look back and be like, I, I can't imagine living in a world where it's country first. Right. I just, it just does not even make sense. Right. It just feels wrong. Like it doesn't feel intuitive. And that's, we'll get there eventually. Um, I, I believe, uh, um, if, if we are to survive as a civilization  

Kristin:    00:40:01    Yeah. That, that's great. I, I think so as well. I completely agree. And I love what you did in the talk where you had everybody envision what it would be like if you were born onto a planet where everybody had this mentality and this mindset of country first. And if we were taught that from a very young age, like from babies on up, that's all it would take really, is just that mind mindset shift. Um, because right now what we're all fighting is that we've all been raised country first, family first, you know, individual first. Whether we're collectivist societies or individualist societies, it's still been like that on some level of us versus them. And so as we grow older, we have to kind of retrace our steps, uh, reject certain models that we've been brought up to believe and kind of unlearn some things and replace that with a new outlook or a new belief, or a new kind of life mission that makes more sense and is more intuitive to us.  

Kristin:    00:41:08    And I think that's why your talk resonated with me so much is because after traveling around the world and meeting so many amazing people, it's really hard to think like, no matter what, even though I've met thousands of people in 60 different countries, I still think that my country needs to be the priority. No. Like, you start to just have empathy and compassion for everybody equally, and feel like you're on the same team as everyone on planet Earth. And it's such an amazing time to be alive where we can actually, um, identify with that belief and then put that into practicality in our lives, in our choices as consumers and in our businesses, uh, with the internet to be able to basically create whatever we can think of. So thank you for sharing this perspective with me, with everyone on the cruise and with the internet. And if you guys want to learn more about the work that Vlad is doing, uh, where can people find you on social media?  

Vlad:    00:42:13    So this whole, like Earth first concept is very new. Mm-Hmm. Um, this is the second talk that I'm doing. Um, the plan next year is to do a lot more talks, and maybe we will, um, I'll, I'll put together some kind of social media for this specific thing. For I, the thing, the thing that I really believe though is that it's really not about me. Right. So I, I might, I'm just doing my part as, um, earth citizen. Mm-Hmm. And there are several other things I plan to do, um, as an earth citizen. 'cause that's what's available to me. Um, and, and of course, um, so it's what I would like each person is to, is to take this message and apply to themselves and really just own that. Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:42:59    Um,  

Vlad:    00:42:59    And, and, and I think if that, 'cause that's the way to actually get there. Uh, but, you know, I do have an Instagram, if people wanna follow some of my travels, it's, uh, Vlad G Life, uh, is my Instagram and Vlad Glebov is as me on Facebook. Um, you know, I have a startup co life.io, uh, which is, um, a social media, uh, startup, uh, social, um, media startup. But anyway, but all that is, all that aside, we'll probably have, we'll probably need to have some sort of, some more social media stuff in place. Yeah. And I want to really talk about it with other, um, earth citizens and see how they feel about it, what, what's needed, and then we'll just do what, what's needed. But right now, it's, this is like really a brand new idea. So all your listeners are getting, are, are seeing like at the, the very first steps of, of this, of this concept spreading, um, in, in, in this, in this way,  

Kristin:    00:43:54    Sneak peak,  

Vlad:    00:43:55    Sneak peak of potentially the future. If, if, you know, I think we should all end book, but everybody really can, can own it, right? Yeah. Everybody, there's no like, no, there's no, like, there's no Earth President, right? <laugh> Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:44:07    <laugh>, everybody.  

Vlad:    00:44:07    Like, everybody's already an earth citizen, right? Yeah. You don't need to wave a magic wand or you don't need, you don't need to follow like some Instagram thing. It's like you already are born on planet Earth. You've been born on planet Earth this whole time.  

Kristin:    00:44:21    Yeah. <laugh> own your own, own your Earth passport guys, your earth identity. You don't need a document to say you're from Earth, like we just are. But somewhere along the line, we forgot that, or, or it became a second priority. But yeah, let's bring it back. Let's just keep, keep earth first. And I know I'm definitely going to start having this conversation with people. I've always been like, well, I'm from here. But then in the whole explanation, which is a story Mm-Hmm. So it's just replacing your individual story, not losing your whole identity, but replacing that with something, something bigger or adding onto it. Like, I'm from here, but I'm also a citizen of Earth  

Vlad:    00:45:06    And I really like what you said. Like it's really adding onto it. Yeah. Because I think for me, or for some people who, um, it could be a bit of a struggle to replace something, but it's much easier to just add something. Yeah. Right. Because it's like, well, and, and actually, you know, a lot of people are just curious about, oh, where were you born? Where did you travel? How, what was your path? Yeah. You know, it be, it's like, oh, you're, you, you have some roots in Florida, it looks like That's  

Kristin:    00:45:28    Great. They wanna relate to you.  

Vlad:    00:45:30    Yeah. And, and there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. Of course. Everything is, it's all part of the conversation. Uh, but, but, and, and, and if you say, oh, and, and you consider yourself, um, an earth citizen or, or, or an earth and or from planet Earth first, um, that of course says a lot about you too. Yeah. It says a lot about your mentality. It, it actually describes your state of being. Um, so I think it's a, it's a great way to learn about each other that, that I really, I'm, I, this is how I think this is my worldview. Yeah. And so you communicate so much in that conversation and it's all positive, right? It's all, uh, we're all unique and, and, and different and special. So, um, I think it's, it's just a, in my experience, has been a fun conversation to have. Mm-Hmm. and I've every 99% of the people with whom I've had this conversation over the last year,  and I've been having it probably on average like 20 times a day, <laugh> just 'cause of all the travels and all the events I do is that, uh, most people are like, yeah, me too. Yeah. Like, I get it.  

Kristin:    00:46:28    <laugh>. Yeah. Awesome. Well, thanks so much Vlad. Thank you. And thank you guys for tuning in. What do you think about this? Did you identify as an Earth First citizen before seeing this video? Or has it made you think about things in a different way? Let us know in the comments and make sure to subscribe for weekly episodes of Digital Nomad tv. Bye for now. From the Equator. We're in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean passing over the equator right now. So goodbye from the middle of planet Earth,  

Speaker 0    00:47:00    <laugh>.