People often ask me what it was like moving to Brazil.
Most expect me to talk about learning Portuguese.
Or adapting to a new culture.
Or figuring out visas, banking, and bureaucracy.
Those things certainly mattered.
But they weren't the biggest lessons.
Moving to Brazil taught me something much deeper.
It taught me how little certainty we actually need before taking the next step.
When I arrived, almost everything was unfamiliar.
I didn't know the language.
I didn't know the systems.
I didn't have an established network.
Every simple task felt complicated.
Opening a bank account.
Getting a mobile phone.
Understanding contracts.
Finding trustworthy professionals.
Building a business.
There were moments when every day felt like solving another puzzle.
Yet something surprising happened.
Each small challenge made the next one feel less intimidating.
Confidence didn't appear before I started.
It appeared because I started.
During my conversation with Sarah Riley, she asked where I found the confidence to move my family to another country and build a hospitality business from scratch.
The truth is, I didn't wake up one morning feeling fearless.
Necessity became my greatest teacher.
My children needed stability.
My family needed an income.
Waiting until I felt completely ready simply wasn't an option.
So I kept taking the next step.
Engineering had already taught me another lesson that became invaluable.
The 80/20 principle.
In engineering, waiting for 100 percent certainty often means nothing gets built.
Getting to 80 percent is usually enough to move forward, learn, adjust and improve.
That mindset became essential in Brazil.
If I had waited until I understood everything, Casa JOMO would never have opened.
Instead, I learned as I went.
Every conversation taught me something.
Every guest taught me something.
Every mistake became part of the education.
Looking back, Brazil gave me much more than a hospitality business.
It reminded me that adaptability is a skill.
Curiosity is an advantage.
And resilience isn't something we're born with.
It's something we build through experience.
Today I often speak with people who dream about moving abroad.
Many have spent years researching countries, visas and neighborhoods.
Research is valuable.
But eventually there comes a point where more information doesn't create more confidence.
Action does.
Moving to another country will always involve uncertainty.
There will always be things you couldn't have predicted.
The goal isn't to eliminate uncertainty.
It's to become the kind of person who knows they can navigate it.
Brazil taught me that.
And for that lesson, I'll always be grateful.