How She Went From Corporate Burnout to Traveling the World Solo with Ali from @alisrealities | EP 18

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Feeling trapped in a successful life that looks perfect on paper, but leaves you empty inside?

Ryan sits down with Ali, a former corporate accountant who traded her six-figure salary and downtown Toronto apartment for a life of adventure in Southeast Asia. They show you how to start listening to your inner voice and build the courage to make a change.

Ali shares her raw and honest journey of overcoming the guilt, fear, and anxiety that kept her stuck in a life that looked successful on the outside but felt hollow within. She breaks down how she navigated leaving her corporate job, testing the waters of international travel, and eventually building a location-independent life that brings her genuine joy and fulfillment.

Chapters:
05:38 - Leaving a stable job behind
11:51 - How travel helped conquer fear
27:03 - Building a business while traveling
36:45 - Affording the digital nomad lifestyle
47:33 - Best ways to make friends abroad

You'll discover practical insights about managing your finances while traveling, strategies for overcoming the fear of solo travel, and how to deal with the judgment and expectations of others when choosing an unconventional path.

Whether you're considering a major life change or just curious about what's possible beyond the corporate path, this conversation will give you the inspiration and practical tools to start building a life that excites you.

Listen and learn how one woman transformed her relationship with herself, her career, and her definition of success by having the courage to choose authenticity over expectations.

Connect with guest, Ali: https://www.instagram.com/alisrealities/

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DISCLAIMER:
Listening to stories of beachside zoom calls, mountainside work views, and island-hopping entrepreneurs may cause severe wanderlust and an irresistible urge to turn your laptop into a passport to freedom. Side effects include daydreaming about tropical coworking spaces, working with Ryan to learn how you can start working and traveling and buying a one-way ticket to Bali. Get ready to start living your dream life today!

Chapters

• 5:38 Leaving a stable job behind
• 11:51 How travel helped conquer fear
• 27:03 Building a business while traveling
• 36:45 Affording the digital nomad lifestyle
• 47:33 Best ways to make friends abroad

Transcript

[00:00:00] Ryan Mellon: Are you feeling stuck in your comfort zone and dreaming of something more? Today, I sit down with Allie, who left her corporate accounting career in Toronto to pursue life as a digital nomad. She's navigated the challenging transition from corporate life to location independence, 

[00:00:14] Ryan Mellon: we dive deep into how she overcame the fear of leaving behind an externally successful life that she spent years building. practical tips for starting your solo travel journey, and the real cost of living as a digital nomad in Asia. 

[00:00:29] Ryan Mellon: Stay until the end where Allie shares a frightening experience during a boat expedition in the Philippines that completely changed her perspective on what really matters in life.



[00:00:38] Ryan Mellon: . [00:01:00] Welcome Ali.

[00:01:44] Ali: Hi, thank you for having me. I'm really excited.

[00:01:46] Ali: How are you doing?

[00:01:48] Ryan Mellon: I'm amazing. It's another amazing day here in Bali, and so where are you at right now?

[00:01:54] Ali: I'm in Taipei in Taiwan at the moment. I'm actually traveling with my parents. So we're here for a week together.

[00:01:59] Ryan Mellon: [00:02:00] And I saw, I was looking on your Instagram, I saw you guys were just recently in China, so tell me a little bit about that experience.

[00:02:06] Ali: Yeah, we met up in China. So it's been already over a week together and I left home four months ago. So I'm originally from Toronto. They flew out from Toronto to China and we went to their hometown. They grew up in a village in North of China, a little, yeah, a little town there that I haven't gone back to in over 10 years, and I was born and raised in Toronto.

[00:02:31] Ali: So it was a really amazing experience to see what it's like as an adult now, because 10 years ago was before I went to university. And it was really wholesome and healing in a lot of ways for the child, inner child in me. Yeah.

[00:02:47] Ryan Mellon: ~Awesome.~ And I imagine,~ uh,~ the culture and the views and everything is quite different than Toronto.

[00:02:53] Ali: Very different, especially in the village. So they, it was like, China's obviously modernized too, [00:03:00] but there's like cities and villages and I was staying there with my aunts and uncles and grandparents. So. Yeah, very, uh, rustic, I guess, like the toilets were holes in the ground outside and the sleeping arrangements, like really hard beds and it was cold, but I think it was a humbling experience and also there's censorship in China, in mainland China.

[00:03:20] Ali: So Google, Instagram, TikTok, everything being blocked. I could have gotten a VPN, but I actually wanted to do a digital detox. So for a whole week, I just went offline and it was really peaceful. And so it was a nice getaway. It just felt like being in a different world for a little bit.

[00:03:35] Ryan Mellon: Yeah, for sure. I've been in China for just a quick transition in Shanghai for three days. Definitely very different from a lot of other places. ~Uh, ~and it was very challenging, at least for me, getting around with English. So I, it was a bit of a challenge, but it was a very good experience. I really enjoyed my time there.

[00:03:55] Ali: Yeah. And same for me. I don't really speak Chinese that well. I can understand it [00:04:00] conversationally decently well, but that's why I haven't gone back to China in all this time. Even when I went to Asia last year, my parents were saying I could go visit, but I don't really speak Chinese. So I wouldn't really go without them.

[00:04:10] Ali: But yeah, Shanghai is a beautiful city. I stopped over there as well. And as a kid, I went, but Beijing and Shanghai, like those big cities in China are also very different from where my parents are from. So it's. A huge country, obviously, with different aspects, and that's like every place in the world that you travel to.

[00:04:26] Ryan Mellon: Yeah, I just remember being in Shanghai and like how high tech it is. Like there's Lamborghinis and Ferraris on the streets. And then like, you've got the,~ uh,~ crosswalks that light up like red and green, like when you, when you're supposed to go when you're not, it just felt like I was on Mario Kart. It was pretty cool.

[00:04:43] Ryan Mellon: Like it was very different

[00:04:45] Ali: is, Shanghai is very sophisticated.

[00:04:47] Ryan Mellon: ~Yeah, ~absolutely. tell me about what you were doing before you became a digital nomad, like old Allie's life, a corporate Allie's life.

[00:04:56] Ali: Oh man, I remember that all too well. It [00:05:00] honestly was an identity that I built my whole life. It was always the goal that came from childhood. Actually, this is pretty relevant to being with my parents now as well, and why I think going to China with them was healing. Them having immigrated out of China to North America.

[00:05:15] Ali: To get to have a better life for me and my brother. They always pushed us to do well in school and to get a good, stable job because that's how they succeeded. And also just being with them in their home and seeing their brothers and sisters. They each have four siblings younger than them, and a lot of them are still working physical labour jobs, and so that's what led me down my path going into the corporate world.

[00:05:39] Ali: It was never an option to not go to university for me. That was like the path, and it led me into studying business, because I tried to, you know, the typical stereotype for Asians, it's like doctor, lawyer, engineer. I wasn't good at science and I hated law, so I couldn't do any of that. [00:06:00] And it led me to thinking like, well, this is the next best thing.

[00:06:04] Ali: And in business, there's so many different avenues to go down as well. Even in first and second year, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I ended up falling into accounting and I got my CPA designation cause that was my goal. And I realized. Now, like later in life that I ended up picking it just because it was easy.

[00:06:22] Ali: It was a clear path. I didn't have to think about what I wanted to do. And so I was pretty much on autopilot my whole life until I think 26. and that's what led me into the corporate life. Like I worked a pretty good job in, like I started an accounting firm and then I went into tech, which was my dream job at the time, spent three years there.

[00:06:40] Ali: It was to a lot of people. It was. And to younger me, it was the dream. But when I was in that role, I realized it was not my dream. And that's what led me to really looking inward on like, clearly I'm deeply unhappy. There's something missing in my life, but externally, materialistically, it should be fine.

[00:06:59] Ali: And so I [00:07:00] took that leap two years ago. I switched careers first. I went, I went into recruiting and then after six months I got really burnt out and I realized it's just the whole corporate world. That's not for me. I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and I always wanted to. Have my own freedom when it came to my time, my energy, and also geographically.

[00:07:18] Ali: So I started to travel because what held me back was my fear of traveling. Internationally, I had only really done trips within North America and just felt like Europe, Asia, the different languages, the way of living here, I thought it was going to be impossible for me to navigate. but I took that leap.

[00:07:38] Ali: I did my first solo trip September 2023, and that was my first time in Europe as well. I did like a week solo there and then. At the beginning of last year, I challenged myself to do three months in Asia. And it was in those three months that I realized I can do this. I want to live with a dual nomad lifestyle.

[00:07:56] Ali: And it's cause I met people during my time in Asia that were living like this, that [00:08:00] showed me like, Oh, it's not that far fetched. It's not that it's not impossible actually. And so I went home for four months, got rid of my apartment, sold a bunch of my things and moved back to my parents house regrouped.

[00:08:13] Ali: And then I booked my one way flight and I started traveling. Since the end of September, and I'm still out here now.

[00:08:19] Ryan Mellon: That's amazing. And so how was it, like taking that first leap, like as a solo female traveler? Was it scary? Was it like, how are you feeling? ~Like, you know, taking that leap on that first trip?~

[00:08:30] Ali: Terrified. So scared. I'm an anxious person by nature. I get that from my mom, like my anxiety. I actually was documenting it because on Ally's Realities, which is my Instagram page, I made this account May 2023, which is when I left my career behind. And I was dedicated to the experience and this journey of healing myself and healing from my anxiety and Building my dream life because I just knew I couldn't live like that anymore, but I was so scared I [00:09:00] didn't know how it would work out, but I just trusted like something in me was like it's gonna work and Share it online because there's gonna be people that witness along the way and it's gonna help inspire them I just followed that calling And so I was extremely nervous to go and a lot of fears and doubts were kicking in, especially getting closer to the day that I went.

[00:09:22] Ali: but I always, I'm someone who takes baby steps to get to where I'm going. And so what felt comfortable for me was doing smaller solo trips first. So I did like a little bit in. Vancouver, like New York, I visited a friend in LA, so I got used to spending some time alone in different cities first that were easier to navigate.

[00:09:43] Ali: And then I took that leap and I went to Europe and that was the first time I ever stayed in a hostel. But on my first day, I just met people right away and all my fears were alleviated. And then that week, the things that I was worried about, like my phone getting stolen, sleeping in a room with other people, like, will they be weird?

[00:09:59] Ali: [00:10:00] Will I even make friends? Will I have fun? But like that one week, just none of that happened. I had the best time and it got me really excited about doing it for a lifestyle, I guess. And that's why I kept challenging myself the next time to do three months only. And that's how I got to this point this year that I was ready.

[00:10:17] Ryan Mellon: ~That's awesome.~ So it sounds like All your fears kind of just got dismissed or figured out like the very first trip. And I mean, how's your anxiety now? Like has travel and like this lifestyle helped, helped you in the. In the way that you thought it might or I mean you ~were thinking maybe it what it might got I'll just rephrase that so maybe ~Were you feeling like you might have more anxiety during travel and then it turned out that you didn't?

[00:10:42] Ali: No, I, I knew that facing my fears and anxieties would help me alleviate them. Like, the only way to overcome it is to face it. I knew that, I knew that it was normal what I was feeling and I didn't want that to rule my life continuously. I didn't want to let that hold me back because I would never actually get [00:11:00] over it.

[00:11:00] Ali: So, It was a challenge for me that I set out knowing that it would help me grow as a person and get rid of it. And so yeah, I don't really have anxieties now anymore over going to hostels and going to a new city. I love it. Um, but it took getting over that hump and it just takes like getting your reps in, right?

[00:11:18] Ali: Like just continuously doing it over and over again until it becomes normal and natural. And the, when the nerves turn into just excitement, that's when it. Really shifts. And I think like fear for anything is normal and even coming on this podcast, for example, I'll be honest, like this is only my third podcast I've been on.

[00:11:37] Ali: So there's some nerves, but I'm also excited and I want to do this to practice so I can get better at it. And I want to be on more podcasts. I want to have my own someday. So it's just a stepping stone to get to all like, to achieve your goals and to realize your visions, you need to, you need to face that anxiety and fear.

[00:11:57] Ali: ~Uh huh.~

[00:11:57] Ryan Mellon: Yeah, you need to make a you need to make the [00:12:00] jump no matter what it is a new job new career, you know um traveling and I think like doing the solo travel thing holds a lot of people back because they feel like You know, will I be alone? Will I feel lonely? Like, how's it going to go? Is it going to be dangerous?

[00:12:15] Ryan Mellon: And there's just so many, so many of those,~ uh,~ fears. And then once you actually get out there and meet the other travelers and the people that have been doing it for years and other digital nomads, and you build that community and you make friends, like. All that just kind of disappears so quickly and then you just get in the, just get into the groove and like start jumping on planes and going to explore amazing places.

[00:12:40] Ryan Mellon: And in my opinion, I, I feel like it gets better and better as it goes.

[00:12:44] Ali: exactly. Yeah. And I like what you said about community because that's what I've learned along this journey, too. I was scared to solo travel before because I also hated being alone. I never really intentionally spent time alone. And that's what led to a lot of my [00:13:00] anxieties and also anxious attachment when it came to relationships like friendships, too.

[00:13:05] Ali: And so I. Wanted to solo travel to force myself to learn how to be alone. And now I love my alone time. I crave it. I see the benefits of being alone and solo travel. I think brings out a side of you that you don't otherwise see, because when are you in a brand new environment where you have to fend for yourself and figure things out on your own, it's terrifying in theory.

[00:13:27] Ali: But when you actually go out there and do it, parts of you that you don't even know about or forgot about come out and come to light. And that's how you gain confidence to take on more things in life. And the world you realize is not so scary because people along the way are, you're meeting them, they're helping you.

[00:13:43] Ali: And there you're connecting with people that are more like you because you're when you're absolutely alone I think you're able to be exactly who you are Where when you're at home or when you're traveling with friends You don't even realize that you're being a version of you that perhaps you're actually filtering some things out [00:14:00] And you're not leaving room to meet Newer people that can help you actually get to where you truly want to go and who your authentic self is, you know

[00:14:07] Ryan Mellon: Absolutely. I I've experienced the same thing through solo traveling. So my first solo trip was to Costa Rica, like eight or nine years ago, before I really started becoming a digital nomad. And I took two weeks and I didn't speak any Spanish and I went alone. And like, I had a lot of the same anxieties about everything and, you know, how it was going to go.

[00:14:28] Ryan Mellon: And it turned out to just be the most amazing trip ever. Just meeting so many friends, like people that I still keep in touch with. And then also, like you mentioned, having like, like you're, you're able to be more of yourself because you you're out there meeting new people. And so like, I've had conversations with.

[00:14:47] Ryan Mellon: Complete strangers or people that I've just met, like, ~uh, ~friends and other solo travelers that have gotten so deep so quick because like you let a lot of your guards down and you're not worried about like, [00:15:00] Oh, if I tell this about myself to someone, it's going to get around to my friends and family, right?

[00:15:05] Ryan Mellon: No, that's not going to happen because these people are not in your circle at all. They're just now becoming in your circle and like you're in a different. Environment in a different country in a different culture, so it really helps you grow as a person and to be more of your authentic self.

[00:15:22] Ali: Yeah, absolutely, and it's Interesting, because I had the same things happen to me. I would be meeting all these people thinking, how did I feel so deeply connected to them after such a short period of time? Logically, that doesn't make sense. Friends that I've known for years back home, I don't feel this way about.

[00:15:39] Ali: And a lot of it comes down to, I think you kind of put a mask on back home. Sometimes you want to make sure you're still perceived a certain way. You need to maintain the identity that people know you as, and especially when you have a job. And, you know, you're, it's like your coworkers, like your money is on the line for that, right?

[00:15:56] Ali: Like your, your career. So that's why I left the [00:16:00] corporate world behind as well, because I realized that that was something blocking me from fully expressing myself. And while traveling, I'm meeting people who live their lives more freely. And I connect with that because inside, I really want to do that as well.

[00:16:14] Ali: And I've, my whole life has changed in these last couple of years. I've lost a lot of friends. I've gained a lot of new ones. And I think it's very special to feel that, to go through that experience and realize there's a whole world out there, so many people, a lot of my closest friends now are people that I've met in just like, we maybe could have, could have just had one small conversation, really hit it off, but then we just kept in touch.

[00:16:36] Ali: And something I talk a lot about on my page and in general is about following the flow of life and following your energy and your intuition. And that's what I learned too. A lot of these connections that you end up making are not forced. It's genuinely, you just start having conversation and you connect and it lasts and you don't need to, I used to overthink it, but now I realize they're just the people that are meant for you at this point [00:17:00] in your life.

[00:17:00] Ali: And if you naturally drift away from other people, that's also because you're evolving and changing and you got to learn how to flow with life and let that go and move forward. And that's why I love traveling so much and the way that I'm living life now compared to before.

[00:17:14] Ryan Mellon: Yeah, absolutely. And the people that you meet on the road, like, not everyone is gonna, you know, stick around or you're going to keep in touch, but like, there's a lot that are and that are going to be really tight bonds that you've created and you'll get up and. Go to their home country and visit them and vice versa, or you'll go on new travels together, even after you've split up.

[00:17:35] Ryan Mellon: So you talk a little bit about, like, following the intuition and the flow of things. So how does that play into, like, where you decide, like, you're gonna go next?

[00:17:47] Ali: Oh, it doesn't just play into it. It actually guides it entirely. I would say I, that's one of the biggest things that traveling and solo travel has taught me too, because when you're alone is how you're [00:18:00] able to block out all the noise and hear your own inner voice. And that's your intuition. I've only found that part of me through solo travel.

[00:18:08] Ali: I'm sure there's other ways to do it, but obviously I'm an advocate for what worked for me. and I noticed a lot of the times, I just feel a certain pull towards people and places and back home, I had all these reasons why I couldn't follow it. Like I had my job, I had my friends, I had my, all these, my apartment, my lease, like all these things holding me back.

[00:18:29] Ali: But when I'm out in the world with nothing, it just, you're allowed to follow that for a little bit. And it's a cool kind of experiment, I feel like, that I did. And I think people, if they ever get that opportunity to take that leap and just treat their life. Like an experiment and like, try honoring that part of you that wants to do things a certain way. You'll realize that's your intuition guiding you to go to certain places for a reason. And so, the way that I travel now, it's like, I [00:19:00] have a lot of ideas that come to me. And it's normal, we always have thoughts. And it's about deciphering which ones are us, truly. And discerning between that or if it's Something that we think we should do for some reason, like someone maybe told us.

[00:19:14] Ali: So I take the time to process my thoughts and ideas. And then I'm also like, I have goals and I have plans, but I leave myself open to being flexible on the how, because I want to leave room for that to adjust my plans if I need to, to follow what. Think that is like the universe or God guiding me towards like what I'm meant to be doing.

[00:19:38] Ali: And so for a practical example, I was initially thinking in March, I would go to Sri Lanka. Um, I'm going to go to back to Thailand next week. And my plan was before I live in Vietnam for three months from April to July, I could do a month in Sri Lanka. And actually, it was going to be with a girl that I met last year in Vietnam.[00:20:00] 

[00:20:00] Ali: And I did meet her in her home in Belgium in October. And she's also in Asia now. And we were thinking maybe we can meet up in Sri Lanka. But With the coaching business that I'm building and the flow that I'm feeling now with building that out, I actually want to be somewhere that makes me feel more stable.

[00:20:19] Ali: And this is how I know I want to stay in Thailand is I'm following my energy. The way that I felt on the islands in the Philippines recently, that piece that I had, I want to have that headspace to be in versus Sri Lanka is beautiful. I still want to go there, but traveling around a brand new country, like I've already been to the South of Thailand.

[00:20:39] Ali: So. I decided a couple weeks ago that no, I'm just going to go to Thailand and stay there for March and then go straight to Vietnam.

[00:20:47] Ryan Mellon: Yeah, that's awesome. I think Thailand calls everybody back

[00:20:50] Ali: Mm

[00:20:51] Ryan Mellon: you go once you you you like You have to go back again. Like I've been a couple times and even now here in Bali yet some days I'm just [00:21:00] like, oh man I should just look at flights and go to Thailand for a week because it's just so amazing the street food the vibes The the people it's such a good time and

[00:21:11] Ali: I love

[00:21:11] Ryan Mellon: you up Yeah, it's, I don't know, I've never met anyone who's been to Thailand.

[00:21:16] Ryan Mellon: It's like, ugh, like, it was terrible, like, it's never happened, you know, like it's such a, such a cool place.

[00:21:24] Ali: ~of Thailand to visit. In the south, all the different islands. Like~ I'm actually going to the west side that I didn't go to last year. So I'm going to go to Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta. And then last year I only did the east islands like Koh And so that's why I decided in March, I'll go back to those islands again, for some familiarity and comfortability, considering I'm embarking on something brand new with my business, it's, I don't want to tackle too much at once.

[00:21:51] Ali: I know that it would decrease on my priority list. If I went to Sri Lanka, like, my goal would be to make sure I'm going to the places I want to go. And it's [00:22:00] harder to navigate. That's something that you learn while traveling as well. Like what works for you and the pace you want to go at. It takes a lot of energy to explore new places versus going somewhere a second time where you've already been before.

[00:22:10] Ali: You don't feel that pressure to go do the touristy things or make the most of your time. You're okay to just rest and focus on other things like business or, yeah.

[00:22:21] Ryan Mellon: yeah, especially with me being here in Bali for the fourth time and me now actually living here in Bali. Like, I've done very little tourist things. Like, my days are working and out, you know, like meeting with new people, making new friends and going to the beach and cool stuff like that. But like, I feel no rush to like, Go do a tour of this or that or, you know, like, go on a expedition or like, go see this side or that site like I have so much time here.

[00:22:49] Ryan Mellon: I've done a lot of that stuff already. And so I'm just living, you know, and, and, and I have that room to, you know, I think being in a place like [00:23:00] Bali, it's, it helps with, My creative side, which I've always thought I'm not too creative, but like right now I'm building out a coat like a course and stuff.

[00:23:10] Ryan Mellon: And so it's really the perfect environment for me to bring out my creative side and to to work on my business. So having that stability is kind of huge. 

[00:23:20] Ali: Oh, I wanted to add on to that. That's a great tip for people who want to be digital nomads and are thinking, How do I know where to go or where should I go? you're in a season of your life where you have something you really want to focus your energy on, and you're building, and you feel that creativity, and you want an environment that is more conducive of that, I stress this so much, the importance of environment, and how you know an environment is right for you is when you're there and you feel how it feels to be, ~um,~ Like you said, you just, you've been to Bali four times.

[00:23:48] Ali: You know what it's like for you when you're there. So to put yourself in that space, knowing that this is where you want to focus on your coaching business, you're doing your podcast and makes sense. You don't feel the pressure to do all those [00:24:00] things. You've already done them. I think for digital nomads to keep that in mind.

[00:24:04] Ali: For me, I do really want to go to Shanghai and part of me was like, you know, that anxiety, that fear, what if I don't get the chance to go again? Like, Oh, is it a waste of time then for me to be so close, but not go? And why am I going back to Thailand? I already went. But I'm following my energy. My flow right now is I'm really excited about this thing that I'm building this coaching Program that I've worked on and I want to see it through fully I want to give it my attention and my energy and it's easier for me to do that when I don't feel The pressure of being in a new a completely new environment that could be beautiful and amazing I would rather wait till I'm in the right Stage of my life and state to go there.

[00:24:43] Ryan Mellon: Yeah, and when you go to a new place to that, you've never been like you feel the pressure of like kind of check everything out and the excitement and it can be very distracting. So you really have some big ambitious goals for your business or for your work. Sometimes it's better just to [00:25:00] hunker down and in a place that, you know, and love and just.

[00:25:03] Ryan Mellon: Really,~ uh,~ spend the time and energy on, on focusing on your business. So tell us a little bit about your business and your coaching and what you're building. It sounds pretty exciting.

[00:25:15] Ali: That was the perfect segue you just did because the question I was about to add on that I Went to Pai in Thailand, specifically just before China, because I loved it there last year, the way that I felt that environment for me, and it was somewhere I'm comfortable. I went there purposely to work on my coaching business, knowing that the version of me that came out in pie last year is the version of me that I want to be as I work on this.

[00:25:46] Ali: So I planned my trip around. Going there for this time because I hired a business coach to work with. I actually paid her in full in November because I knew in 2025, I was [00:26:00] going to focus on this. And I booked my meeting with her. I think it was like January 16th. So as I was slowly planning my trip.

[00:26:07] Ali: Eventually I just knew I was like, I'm going to, I need to be in PI. It's, it was a digital call. She's in the States, but I was like, I want to be in PI when we work on this. And when I build out my first program and my first offer. So that whole week I immersed myself in creating, I booked private rooms. I invested in myself with this coach, but also in staying in private rooms and nice places that could help me block out the noise and all the distractions.

[00:26:34] Ali: Really bring to life this idea that has actually been in the works three years. It's been the premise of my Instagram account, this whole journey of really. Just becoming a coach to help others embark on the same journey that I'm on. The one where they're able to finally build a life that they love, where they feel fulfilled.

[00:26:59] Ali: They wake up [00:27:00] energized and excited to be alive and finally a life that they feel that they're not escaping from. And it's been years in the making because I went, put myself in all these new experiences, faced a lot of these fears, challenged myself, went through highs and lows so that I could learn a lot of things that I could apply into this coaching.

[00:27:20] Ali: And truly help others and make a positive impact in their lives. And I feel finally felt ready coming into 2025, but this is the year that like, feel the whole idea of being ready. I think it's true that you can be ready at any time, but in my experience, there's also a time where you feel like, how do I even describe this? It's about following your intuition and your flow. And finally, it just clicked to me after a year and a half of posting now is like I'm ready to step into my power step into that next chapter of my life this season of being a coach and [00:28:00] standing firm in that I finally believe that I do have a lot to offer the world.

[00:28:03] Ali: I know that I'm going to pack this coaching program with as much value as I can, and I believe in my ability to truly transform lives and help others do the same. So that's. The whole idea behind what I've been working on.

[00:28:16] Ryan Mellon: ~That's awesome.~ That's really exciting. So do you, could you give us an example of like the type of person that you would be helping and like some of the things that you will be helping them with? If they're like, if it's the. If you're talking to your ideal client right now, like that's listening and maybe going through some things and what are what are the things that you can help help them get through?

[00:28:38] Ali: ~Yeah. Um, ~so the main driver behind my coaching and my life now is almost like a, an ode to my younger self, a way that to be someone that I wish was there for me as I was struggling. And so a lot of the elements that were in my life is the kind [00:29:00] of client that I want to work with. So for someone, they don't necessarily have to be in corporate.

[00:29:04] Ali: But someone that has a good job, basically a lot of good things from the outside. People look at them and might think they have it all or they have all these amazing things. Why are they complaining? They should be happy. That's all the voices I was telling myself because I had my own apartment in downtown Toronto.

[00:29:22] Ali: I was paying my own rent. I had so many friends. I was going out all the time. Um, I, you know, social life, great. Physically, like I was working out consistently, and I was in the best shape of my life, and I had a job, almost six figures. I built my career really quickly. I thought, right, as a kid, again, the way my parents raised me, all those things.

[00:29:46] Ali: were the hallmark of, like, a good life, but deep down, when my head hit the pillow every night, and every new year, I would feel empty. It was weird, and it's like fighting a silent battle inside that [00:30:00] people, you can't really talk to people about it because they'll tell you, like, oh, but they'll try to console you and say, oh, but you have all these things, like, be grateful, right?

[00:30:09] Ali: And so I always felt like something was wrong with me. It wasn't bad, it was deep down, I knew I was meant for so much more. But I was so scared to let go of all these amazing things that I had and the fear of judgment because and also just that fear of being like seen as ungrateful, the guilt and the shame behind it.

[00:30:28] Ali: Like, my parents worked their ass off to get me to like, have that life. Right? And so that's a lot of the stuff that I was dealing with internally that a lot of my friends back home, too. I don't think they really understand because on the outside, again, I had a good life. That's the kind of person I want to help because it's, it's mental.

[00:30:45] Ali: It's emotional. It's It's so complicated, and it's a painful experience to go through, but there is, there is a way out, and the only way is through, I believe, and that's why I want to help these kinds of people, because I have been there, and it [00:31:00] takes, I believe, two things, faith in yourself, so that's why I did all these things that challenged me to, Start believing in myself more, um, push myself out of my comfort zone with the traveling, with leaving my career, switching careers, leaving all of it and moving completely, like,~ uh, ~uh, leaving behind my comfort zone, my apartment, my friends.

[00:31:21] Ali: But then also the second thing that I learned along the way was faith in something greater than you, something like the universe or God or a higher power creator, the source that. Even no matter what you do, you'll, you will be fine. I think with those two combined, that's your way out of feeling all those things because it's just fear.

[00:31:41] Ali: You're literally living in a state of, you're just scared to be who you are and do what you really want to do.

[00:31:47] Ryan Mellon: Yeah. So it sounds like you're helping people that have the hallmarks of the successful life, helping them become more authentic and tapping into their true selves.

[00:31:56] Ali: Absolutely. People that just, [00:32:00] they're seeking freedom and fulfillment. That's what I would describe it as because deep down, those were the things that I felt was missing. I didn't feel free. I, you know, I technically had enough money. I mean, I'm still living off of my savings, so technically I always had, and I have a safety net of so many friends that would help me out if I needed to, and my family, if I needed to yet, I was staying stuck in a job that was draining me, staying stuck in an environment that was draining me and not prioritizing myself.

[00:32:32] Ali: Like I had all these resources that I could use, but it was a mental issue. Like I psychologically. I didn't believe in my own heart too, that I had enough. I didn't believe that I was enough. I didn't believe I was good enough. The only way to start believing it though, is to prove it to yourself. And you have to start somewhere.

[00:32:51] Ali: You have to start taking action. That's why I made my account as well. Cause I truly, after that career ended, I was terrified. I didn't know how I would do it, [00:33:00] but I just started posting every day. Like you got to start with the simple things, the little wins, and it can snowball into something bigger. And even today, like being on your podcast, I have.

[00:33:10] Ali: I reached like 20K followers on Instagram. Like I have all these things, but I still feel like this is just the beginning. These are little wins for me still. And I'm celebrating it all along the way. I learned what presence is and being in the now and true gratitude. Cause before I would be so hard on myself, like I should be grateful for all these things.

[00:33:27] Ali: And now I genuinely understand, like, I am grateful for everything that I have. It's all working exactly how it should. And every moment is. It's leading me to the next and it's just such a beautiful way to live life now. I actually feel inner peace and I feel that I'm truly free from like my own inner demons.

[00:33:48] Ryan Mellon: ~Yeah. Awesome.~ I love the journey. I love the way you tell it. So you did mention something that there that I wanted to clarify more about you traveling. Basically living off some of your savings. So [00:34:00] was that scary to do? And like, have you found it affordable to be able to be out traveling the world while building this business while, you know, basically using savings?

[00:34:12] Ryan Mellon: ~Like, tell me, uh, tell me a little bit about that.~

[00:34:12] Ali: Yeah. Especially as an accountant and I'm Asian, my mom raised me to be very. Money conscious, you know, I grew up with deep scarcity mindset Like I was saying just not having enough not being enough even when physically I do have enough So I would say for the first six months since leaving my job every single morning I woke up with anxiety about my money running out and that was A year and a half ago.

[00:34:36] Ali: And now I've spent so much of that money and I don't wake up with that feeling at all. I feel like I have so much more to spend so much like more to do. ~So it's a lot of the time, because ~I know people that built successful businesses from being in debt and they go into debt or they started from debt and then now they came out of it.

[00:34:52] Ali: So it's not about how much money you have. It actually isn't. Money is just energy. It's. What you believe to be [00:35:00] true about how your money works for you and how are you using your money? This is actually something i'm gonna incorporate into my business and my coaching programs because I want it to be Both mindset, but also practical strategy.

[00:35:11] Ali: I think I am someone who has I've learned, I'm naturally very emotional and I follow my intuition. I have a really strong intuition, but growing up with a very logical family, a whole family's engineers, and then going to school for accounting, which is a very logical job. I have both experiences and I've found a way to bridge them together in my last three years that I want to help others with too.

[00:35:38] Ali: So for me, I took a look at my finances and I did a rough, a rough budget and. That's what the three months in Asia for me last year was, was a trial to see how much does it really cost to live in Asia. And I started to see, on average, I'd spend maybe like three to four thousand Canadian dollars. And that's actually pretty [00:36:00] feasible.

[00:36:00] Ali: I think a lot of people spend that in Toronto as well. So it's not that crazy. And there's so many ways you can You can spend so much more or so much less. There's ways to adjust that, but it was trial and error for me. And then I was able to kind of map that out, extrapolate to now. I have a rough also budget again with how I'm planning to build up my business and money in and out.

[00:36:21] Ali: I think I have good financial literacy to do that. So it's helpful for sure. It's helpful to bring into my business, but also for myself, because I'm just living off savings. It takes the pressure off.

[00:36:33] Ryan Mellon: ~Yeah.~ Yeah. Well, and it's, it's also,~ uh,~ I feel like. It would be a little bit, you know, stressful, but because you have the accounting experience and you're good with your money and you've learned those lessons, like just knowing the cost and actually getting out there and living in Asia and like you said, three or four thousand Canadian dollars, I know a lot of people that are living in Asia for less than like a thousand dollars a month, you know, so like it's as, it's as [00:37:00] little, I mean, like.

[00:37:01] Ryan Mellon: It can be as little as like, you know, less than a thousand dollars a month to, of course, the sky's the limit, just like anywhere. So, it's just super affordable and I think a lot of people don't realize that if you're coming from a country that has a high cost of living, like, you're gonna be able to live cheaper traveling than at home most of the time.

[00:37:22] Ryan Mellon: So, it's a, it's something that people just don't realize.

[00:37:26] Ali: Yeah. Because you kind of have to go out there to see it first.

[00:37:29] Ryan Mellon: ~Absolutely.~ Absolutely. ~So tell me about,~ so you've traveled a lot. You've been to a lot of different countries. Tell me one of your top five experiences. Just something that sticks out in your mind that, has been like magical or amazing to experience in your travels.

[00:37:44] Ali: The first thing that comes to mind is the most recent one. I actually just posted a whole series about it on my Instagram. At the end of 2024, I was in the Philippines, and I did the three day It's supposed to be a two night boat expedition in Palawan. I went from El Nido to Coron, [00:38:00] and essentially, you're on this boat during the day, going snorkeling, you're having fun in the water with this group of people, and eating on the boat, and it's taking you to all these secluded islands.

[00:38:11] Ali: The Philippines is stunning. I don't know if you've been there yet. but that was, oh my gosh, okay, this has to be on your list, ~and~

[00:38:17] Ryan Mellon: ~ it is. It's been, uh, it's been on my list.~ It's been on my list and I just always get stuck in, like, Bali and Thailand.

[00:38:21] Ali: Yeah, that's, so, You do have to plan a trip in the Philippines more than you can just wing it in Thailand and Bali, but I would say those beaches were the most beautiful ones that I've seen. They're better because Thailand is obviously really touristy now. A lot of people go there and I think the Philippines is not as, as packed.

[00:38:41] Ali: ~And, um,~ but yeah, that boat expedition is really popular and really common. A lot of people told me to do it. we ended up getting stuck in the ocean during a storm. And so, We got extended a day and we were sleeping in huts. It's a very rustic, bare bones experience. [00:39:00] Sometimes there's no showers, it's just like buckets of water.

[00:39:03] Ali: And I wanted to do this to challenge myself out of my comfort zone and to prove to myself that I can do hard things, because I also am someone that gets seasick. And I, at the time, was feeling really insecure about my body because in 2024 it changed a lot. You know, with traveling, I had to let go of my Workout routine and that body that I had worked for for so long, like that was hard for me to let go of, but I knew that this was true freedom for me as well, ~um,~ traveling.

[00:39:31] Ali: So I've had to come to terms with how my body has changed. And so being on this boat. And in a bikini all the time around new people was so scary for me. And I have past trauma with, my weight, because I used to be really overweight and I had a whole weight loss journey back in like 2017. And growing up, it was my biggest insecurity.

[00:39:48] Ali: And I think to this day, it's still one of the biggest insecurities. And that's why this experience was the most memorable for me. It was life changing because almost dying on that boat. It actually hit [00:40:00] me. Like it made me realize, Oh my God, these things that I worry about. Are so insignificant when it comes to your physical safety and in that moment when we were stuck in the ocean and the waves were going crazy and I was feeling nauseous and I was freezing and I actually thought maybe the boat might sink. It just was such a good reminder for me to stop caring so much about all these little things and just go for what I want and don't let these things hold me back. Um, and that was towards, it was literally Christmas Eve that we got to land and, Made it out alive. So, ~um,~ it was a great experience and I'm not saying this to scare anybody that rarely happens.

[00:40:39] Ali: It was just, I guess, bad luck, but also in the end, I would do it all over again for what I experienced. The life lessons I gained from that, that's how I know 2025 is going to be my year. I feel like I'm ready. I think near death experiences. Teach you a lot.

[00:40:55] Ryan Mellon: ~Yeah, and ~I think all us travelers have some similar experiences for sure. Like, [00:41:00] like, there's a couple that come to mind that are just, like, you know, real reminders that, like, you know, like, A lot of stuff doesn't matter, and you get in a different space and you do have some near misses sometimes, but overall the experience is generally very safe and controlled, but you do get to get that paradigm shift when you have some experiences that might just not go like you expected them to.

[00:41:28] Ali: I like how you said that paradigm shift. Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:41:31] Ryan Mellon: Yeah. So tell me, is there any one place that comes to mind for you that you feels underrated?

[00:41:39] Ali: Again, the first thing that came to mind for me now is Da Nang in Vietnam. That is the city that I'm actually going to go live in for three months from April to July, where I focus on, because I want to have a 10 week program running during that time. And I want to be put somewhere so I can focus on it and focus on my clients that I'm working with.[00:42:00] 

[00:42:00] Ali: Um, I'm so excited. Become this version of me and I'm really dedicating myself to it. And Danong was the first city I went to in Vietnam last year in February. And I just instantly felt at home. Like it has a lot of the components of a city that make me feel like it's a place that I want to live in. It has easy access to anything you could need across the bridge.

[00:42:29] Ali: It's like the whole city. I. Like, and just quality services to like any like lashes, nails, like those kinds of things in Vietnam. It's so affordable and so high quality and the food is amazing. And then across the bridge, there's a beach and that's actually the side that I was staying on last time too.

[00:42:46] Ali: And it's becoming, or already is a really popular digital nomad hub and. ~I think because~ it's not as touristy as places like Bali, that I still feel like it's a little underrated. I [00:43:00] think Vietnam is one of those sleeper countries. People don't realize how amazing it is until they go. But the price point is way cheaper, the quality, like I said, is very high, and there is community there, and there is a beach, and it, yeah, I'm super excited to go back there.

[00:43:14] Ali: The weather being nice as well, um, and because it's a digital nomad hub too, and a lot of expats go there and live there, there's a lot of western food. So I think for someone like me, coming from the west, it helps me feel that balance between both worlds. Yeah, and I can't wait to go back.

[00:43:32] Ryan Mellon: Awesome. Yeah. I love it. I spent six weeks in Vietnam and it's like, it's like no other place I've ever been. And it's one of the most least, least expensive. I've not been to Danang since it's become a digital nomad hotspot. So I'm curious to, to see what it's like now. But yeah, Vietnam is a very cool, cool place. ~So, wrapping up, just had a couple rapid fire questions for you. So, ~tell me, what's one of the best ways to make friends in a new city for you?

[00:43:56] Ali: I love this question. I also started making videos about it. [00:44:00] One of the best ways that I've made friends is through social media. Through my Instagram. A lot of people have found me from there. And, cause I'm always posting. I do daily photodumps and I tag the locations. So I think a lot of people who are traveling.

[00:44:11] Ali: End up coming across me or just random reels that reach their Feed. And so I have made a lot of good friends just through messaging. And then we ended up voice noting or meeting up in a city that we're also both going to be in. And I found. That to be the best way so far. I love it because off the bat, I already have a connection with someone.

[00:44:32] Ali: I already know about them because I see their social media and usually it's other content creators or people that are traveling similar to me. So I already have that mutual like common interest and it's so much nicer than going into a hostel and like having to filter out the people to see who is your people.

[00:44:53] Ali: Obviously, I get lucky sometimes too. I still recommend hostels. That's another way that I've met so many new friends and made [00:45:00] great connections. So I would say social media is number one and then two hostels.

[00:45:04] Ryan Mellon: Absolutely. Yeah, I've stayed in hundreds of hostels over the years. I, I feel like I'm, I've aged myself out of them now, be 40 soon, but the scene is a little bit different. when I, when I was a younger backpacker, like best way by far for to have me people and just make those instant connections. ~Uh, ~and it's so affordable to, and even a lot of, um, um, yeah.

[00:45:28] Ryan Mellon: Our building in like co working spaces and stuff into the hostels now. So you, you have that environment of both, you know, the hostel living and, and the younger crowd and the fun that goes along with that, but then you can also like go into the office space and have good internet and get work done. So it's a nice change, I think.

[00:45:51] Ali: ~sounds like the best of both worlds. And~ that's something I'm going to be gravitating more towards now that I'm focusing more on my entrepreneurial journey.

[00:45:57] Ryan Mellon: Awesome. ~So one more question.~ Have you ever turned a [00:46:00] travel experience into a business opportunity?

[00:46:03] Ali: So actually, ~um, it was,~ I met up with someone in Bangkok that I connected with on Instagram. So he found me because when I was in Koh Tao last year, ~um,~ he. He told me he actually checks the location tag and as I posted there, he saw me and since then we've been following each other because he has an online business and he posts content.

[00:46:21] Ali: And over time, we've just been watching each other's lives and supporting each other's content. And then this year, like a month ago, we met up in Thailand. And he, because we've been connected this long, it was like instantly, like we already knew each other. And he was saying, you should do a group trip. I could totally see you leading a group trip.

[00:46:41] Ali: Cause he does them, which by the way, his name is Emilio Ramos. I'm going to give him a shout out. If you want to do a group trip in Thailand, he does a bunch of those. And my first reaction was no, I'm like a one on one person. I want to do one on one coaching and like him and I were hanging on one on one.

[00:46:56] Ali: Like, I'm like, that's too much for me, but he helped me. [00:47:00] Change my mindset on it. And he was saying, no, you don't have to do a big group and you end up connecting with every individual one on one during your time on the trip because it's a long time together. And by the end of our conversation, I was actually so energized by this idea of Doing a group trip because I think a lot of people would see value in it and would want to travel with me I've learned so much about how to solo travel by understand the fears that come with it and also as a female There's a lot of safety concerns.

[00:47:27] Ali: Definitely And so this idea came to me this business opportunity. I Think I want to lead a group trip. Currently. I'm envisioning in the fall when I go to Europe again I loved Spain and I could do like a two week girls trip to Spain and I want to keep it small like me and three girls So I, I'm gonna put feelers out there on here if anyone is interested, reach out to me.

[00:47:52] Ali: I'm also going to talk about it on my Instagram. And I think if there's enough interest and I have people that want to do that with me, I would, I just think it's [00:48:00] a good segue for people that have never solo traveled before or are scared to go abroad. ~Um,~ and stay in hostels. Um, so it's a good way that you can have that experience.

[00:48:10] Ali: And I'm going to make sure I plan out this trip where we have time to do solo activities. And I want to help them also equip them with ways to do it on their own next time and give them tips on like how you can follow your own intuition while you're solo traveling too.

[00:48:24] Ryan Mellon: I love it. Yeah, if you're interested in solo travel and it's you want to, like, have the crash course or, you know, kind of go in slow, like solo, but but not like. I think that's going to be a great opportunity for you. It

[00:48:39] Ali: again, I went from being like immediately, no, I'm never going to do that to like, I think he was. meant to come into my life at that point, because he was helping me realize that I do have the, I do have the drive for it, I do have the personality for it, and that's the beauty of, like, community, of [00:49:00] connecting with people that can see things in you that maybe you don't really see in yourself, and that's, A lot of what I feel like is what a coach does.

[00:49:06] Ali: And so I'm excited to do that for clients and also just for more people that I meet every single day and through my page every day as well.

[00:49:14] Ryan Mellon: ~Awesome.~ Awesome. Well, thank you so much. ~This was really good conversation.~ tell us where can people find you online?

[00:49:19] Ali: ~Uh, ~currently the best place is Instagram at Allie's realities. That's where I'm always posting and that's where I'll be launching everything starting with just Instagram. So yeah, check me out there.

[00:49:30] Ryan Mellon: ~Awesome.~ All right. Well, thanks, Allie. I really appreciate it. It was good to hear your story and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day there in Taipei.

[00:49:37] Ali: Thank you. And for giving me this platform and space to talk about it. And it's been great connecting with you so much more as well. ~So hope you enjoy your time with your family ~and hopefully we can meet up someday while we travel.

[00:49:45] Ryan Mellon: ~ I'll be here and so we'll definitely make it happen. Alrighty. ~ [00:50:00]