Two People Crossed the Whole Continent Looking for Answers About Life, Career Choices and How to Pursue Happiness.
Working for Google is one of the most highly desirable jobs in the world for technically-inclined young people. But two former employees quit their cushy positions at the search engine… in favor of another type of searching.
Nicolás Bori and his girlfriend, Judith, sensed something was missing and wanted to seek it out. They felt a need to get out of their own comfort zones, and see if they could find the key to happiness somewhere else. They wanted to experience the world in a different way. And they wanted to explore Africa to see a different perspective on life.
They set out to cross the entire African continent from south to north by land. It took five months and a lot of trials and tribulations, but they made it in amazingly good spirits.
You could say that it’s impossible to “find” happiness if you don’t have it within you. But it was more than seeking happiness… it was seeking answers.
“I found many things in Africa,” says Nicolas. “I learned about being resourceful, about being happy with what you have (pasta with tomato and onion every day can become the most delicious thing if you are in the right place). I realised that having less things, or less ambition to acquire more things, leave you more room to spend time with people, with the things you are passionate about. And I decided that that is what I wanted to do with my life.”
During the trip Nicolas decided to keep shooting with his camera to turn the journey into a documentary series eventually. During that journey Nicolas also realized that poverty comes in many forms. “Walking among the people in Africa, only rarely I found myself thinking ‘oh, they are so poor.’ They definitely lacked lots of what we considered necessities in the western world, but they had other things to take their place, more valuable things, things that last, things that don’t have a price. I’ve never seen so many friendly and smiley people walking down the streets in ‘civilised cities’ as I did in many of the villages in Africa. People there are closer to their friends, family. They have time for them. They don’t have much, but what they have they share,” he explains.
And yet… quitting a well-paid job that comes with perks like gourmet food at every meal, a beautiful office, annual tech-inspired Christmas presents and cool trips to other locations? Well, we might not all go that far to see how self-reliant we could be. But Nicolas wanted to do something more meaningful with his life.
“So, towards the end of the trip I can say that I found the most practical thing I needed. I found the courage to give myself a chance, and fail if necessary, to do what I love the most, videos projects. If I managed to do this, and still pay some modest bills, I would feel better than the richest man on the world,” Nicolas says.
They currently have an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the completion and release of the documentary series that was born conceptually during their African journey. They called it “I Quit: Searching Out of the Comfort Zone”. He hopes to encourage people to find meaning in their lives, and not postpone hopes and dreams for a vague future that may never arrive.
You can learn more about this project at Indiegogo.
