Albania

We'd moved to a new country, new culture, being bullied, being looked at differently for wearing different clothes, and being kind of like the leader in the family.

Nobody spoke English besides myself with, uh, with some English that I had been taught in, in Albania.

So now all of these responsibilities at 14 just came crashing down with also trying to fit in in a culture and a society that was a bit cruel to me at the time.

So m- me trying to control that in the midst of these uncontrollables is what led to developing that eating disorder, developing perhaps anxiety and depression at the same time, and your body is going through such an incredible shift at, at that age.

Yeah.

So I've spent my life, I'm forty years old, forty-one, Mark, and I spent twenty-two years in Italy and eighteen years in Albania.

So I was born in Tirana.

That's where I got the first educational background rooted into mathematics, if you want, and also, and also a little bit more scientific background.

Cardo was connecting north and south, and Decumano east and west, and Cardo was the main street where the whole economic activity of the city was handled.

And when I heard this story, I was like, "Wow, this is exactly what I wanna do for my company and my market, because I wanna create a technology highway, which is software, data, and AI, that everyone could work better in a standardized way and could, could make the market scale faster," because that's what we are lacking now.

And for those listening who are contemplating European vacations, looking for idyllic, non-trod locations, reach out to Alton if you want a brief on Albania as a destination, which I would recommend.

So you're at BlackRock.

For a couple extra thrills at your wedding and some extra fireworks, that is why they did it.

What about this one? I haven't covered this in a while, but Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, so Trump's daughter and Trump's son-in-law, are taking over an Albanian island that used to be protected land.

This Albanian island is protected land.

And then all of a sudden, after Jared Kushner met with some Albanian politicians, they removed the protection around this land.

We got closer with Albania and then Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump announced they were buying this private island.

It was so unpopular that Albanian citizens protested for over a month.

They're still protesting.

This clip from a month or two back is of them pushing over some of the construction supplies off of a cliff because they don't want this island to be sold.

Let's go.

The first country on my list is Albania.

This will come as a shock to many of you unless you're in my Freedom Life Experience program, and then it will absolutely not be a shock for you because we recommend it to so many people.

If you want the Mediterranean coast and ease of traveling all over Europe, but with a super easy visa and very low cost of living, welcome to Albania.

First, I want to talk a little bit about why it's so underrated.

While this is a vacation destination for a lot of Europeans, most Americans have never even considered visiting, let alone living here.

Albania, what's that like? Where even is it? It's just north of Greece and across the Adriatic from Italy and south of Montenegro.

It's got a gorgeous coastline and it is super affordable compared to the US.

Uh, yes.

In fact, we're just, uh, we're talking about getting, reissuing, republishing her 1939 bestseller book about growing up in Albania.

Wow.

That's called Daughter of the Eagle.

And, uh, she, uh, because of her knowledge of Albania and the Middle East and Turkey and Egypt and things, uh, when she moved to the US in the 1940s, she, uh, became a, uh, correspondent lecturer on the region, uh, for the Western media, for the OAS, OAS, which was the predecessor of the CIA, and, uh, of a, and a broadcaster.

And, uh, she was used, hired by the State Department to try and s- figure out what was going on in the Middle East, 'cause nobody knew anything about that, and, uh, she did it.

She traveled across the Middle East.

Uh, yes.

In fact, we're just, uh, we're talking about getting, reissuing, republishing her 1939 bestseller, a book about growing up in Albania-

Wow

... that's called Daughter of the Eagle.

And, uh, she, uh, because of her knowledge of Albania and the Middle East and Turkey and Egypt and things, uh, when she moved to the US in the 1940s, she, uh, became a, a correspondent lecturer on the region, uh, for the Western media, for the OAS, OAS, which was the predecessor of the CIA, and, uh, of a, and a broadcaster.

And, uh, she was used, hired by the State Department to try and s- figure out what was going on in the Middle East, 'cause nobody knew anything about that.

And, uh, she did it.

And now it's like they just don't have that in their heart.

And then they just get shipped off to like Albania or something to go try and play overseas.

And it's like, stop it.

Next thing.

The book also looks at the social movements pushing back.

All over the world, we're seeing social movements, whether they're rising up against data centers or against AI in schools or against corrupt governments in Albania.

All over the world, these social movements are committing to the living world that the places where they live are worth saving, worth putting themselves on the line for.

Their neighbors are worth saving.

The book also looks at the social movements pushing back.

All over the world, we're seeing social movements, whether they're rising up against data centers or against AI in schools or against corrupt governments in Albania.

Um, all over the world, these social movements are committing to the living world, that their, the places where they live, um, are worth saving, um, worth putting themselves on the line for.

Their neighbors are worth saving.