{"id":76974,"date":"2025-04-15T21:01:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T13:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mindvalley.com\/?p=76974"},"modified":"2025-04-22T19:33:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T11:33:15","slug":"newsletter-mvu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mindvalley.com\/blog\/newsletter-mvu\/","title":{"rendered":"It started as a wild experiment\u2026 Now it\u2019s one of the most transformational experiences in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let me take you back to early 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, I was living in Malaysia. My kids were going to an American school. Life was good, but something inside me felt stuck. You probably know that feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Same meetings. Same conversations. Same coffee shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how much you achieve, a quiet voice whispers:
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to shake things up. I wanted to give my children a broader view of the world\u2014and maybe start a new family tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I came up with this idea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every summer, we\u2019d move to a different city for one month. A new place. A new culture. A shared experience.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That could feel isolating.
<\/strong>My kids love making friends. I thrive in the community. Exploring a city alone\u2014especially as a family\u2014can get lonely fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what if\u2026
What if we didn\u2019t do it alone?
What if other families joined us?
What if people passionate about growth, learning, and adventure could come together in one city?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had visited Barcelona before, and the city had blown me away. The beauty, the vibe, the culture\u2014it was the perfect place to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I opened Facebook and typed a post in February 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey everyone\u2014this summer, I\u2019m moving to Barcelona for a month with my kids. Want to come too?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought 20 people might be interested.
Instead, 170 people commented, saying they just might do it.
And I laughed to myself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLiars.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back then, I wasn\u2019t that well-known. My book hadn\u2019t hit #1 on Amazon. Mindvalley Membership hadn\u2019t even launched yet. Most people knew me as a successful online blogger\u2014but not someone you\u2019d move countries to be with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here\u2019s where it gets wild: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

300 people actually came. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, 300 PEOPLE MOVED TO BARCELONA WITH ME. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And just like that, a spontaneous experiment turned into something extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image below: The original post that started the movement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vishen's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first summer: The Barcelona Experiment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We weren\u2019t sure what we were doing. There was no roadmap, no structure. Just a bunch of us moving to a city with hope, curiosity, and kids in tow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We rented Airbnbs in the same neighborhood.
We turned a co-working space into a shared campus.
We set up a classroom for our children.
And I called a few Mindvalley authors\u2014Lisa Nichols, Marisa Peer, and others\u2014and asked them to join us in Barcelona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To my surprise, many of them said yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They flew in to teach, speak, and hang out. Not for fame. Not for money. But because they believed in the vision: a better way to live and learn, surrounded by community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that one month:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People created mastermind groups in coffee shops.<\/em>
<\/em>They hosted spontaneous workshops in their apartments.<\/em>
<\/em>New businesses were launched.<\/em>
<\/em>Children formed friendships that felt like summer camp\u2014but way more conscious.<\/em>
<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at the end of it all, people cried.
Not because it was over.
But because they had experienced something they didn\u2019t even know they were missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had found a tribe.
They had rediscovered their spark.
They had felt fully alive\u2014maybe for the first time in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That month became known as \u201cThe Barcelona Experiment.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it lit the fuse for what would eventually become Mindvalley University<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vishen<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why we called it a university (even when it wasn\u2019t)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I saw what was happening, I went to my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan we create some infrastructure around this? We have 300 people in Barcelona. Let\u2019s give them something more.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we launched a project: Mindvalley University<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We called it a \u201cuniversity\u201d not because it was academic but because it felt like we were all students again\u2014learning, growing, and reimagining life together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That summer, we built a co-working campus for the adults, a classroom space for the kids, and a community experience unlike anything I had seen before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And something clicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We weren\u2019t just on vacation. We were reinventing education.<\/em>
<\/em>We were rediscovering life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mindvalley<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mindvalley University today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since 2017, Mindvalley University has grown into an annual tradition.
Every summer\u2014except during the pandemic\u2014we choose a new city and transform it into a living, breathing, global campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve gathered in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n