30 Lessons from 30 Days Living in the Puerto Rican Rainforest

Over the summer of 2022 I spent 30 days in the rainforest mountains of Puerto Rico building an ecolodge. These are 30 lessons I learned during that experience that taught me how to better in both my professional and personal life.

This is a table of contents that will have links to each individual post I make. Of course, if you are looking to have your own adventure, visit manacenterpr.com!

1. Always Keep Your Bro Jug Full (A Lesson on Backup Plans)

2. Swim in Another Pond. You Might Like the Fish (A Lesson on Ignorance)

3. Great Food Comes in a Tent (A Lesson on Ignoring Brands)

4. Cool Stuff Transcends Language (A Lesson on Working Across Cultures)

5. You Can Do a lot with Rice (A Lesson on Simplicity)

6. A Night in Your Own Filth Makes Even the Coldest Showers Seem Warm (A Lesson on Gratitude)

7. Beetles Are Cute if You Give Them a Chance (A Lesson on Fear)

8. One man’s bamboo is another man’s treasure (A Lesson on Potential)

9. They have a Duck Donuts!? (A lesson on sharing your culture)

10. Make lots of music (A lesson on creativity)

11. Power tools are fun (A lesson on embracing yourself)

12. Avocados and honey are surprisingly really good together (A lesson on making the best of any situation)

13. Stop overthinking (A lesson on overthinking…really there’s not much more to it)

14. Get really hot. Get really cold. Then get really hot again (A lesson on pain)

15. Chickens and cats make great workout buddies (A lesson on humour)

16. You’ll never know when you’ll shake hands with a billionaire (A lesson on people)

17. When a guy is selling pina coladas on the beach get you one and talk about Slash (A lesson on going with the flow)

18. Join in on the dance party (A lesson on conviction)

19. If someone isn’t dancing, hype them up (A lesson on comradery)

20. Make your own earplugs (A lesson on ingenuity)

21. Crush my trachea. It’s okay (A lesson on teaching comfort in chaos)

22. Learn one new word from every new person you meet (A lesson on curiosity)

23. Coffee coladas? Yes please! (A lesson on encouraging others to share)

24. Sounding like an idiot is better than silence (A lesson on ego)

25. Let a grown man hug you (A lesson on letting go)

26. Enjoy a good snorkel (A lesson on order and chaos)

27. Timing is key in settlers of Catan (A lesson on squabbles…aka mutual respect)

28. Cook from the heart (A lesson on rediscovering old passions)

29. Hug them like you mean it (A lesson on vulnerability)

30. When someone is special to you, tell them, even if you risk looking like a bumbling nincompoop (A lesson on speaking from the heart)

Please feel free to reach out to chat. I'm always happy to learn more about your story as well!