13 : Embarking on Adventure & Opportunity in America with Val Coelho (Part 1)

“Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans” - Val Coelho (my dad)

Welcome to the Mindful FIRE Podcast, where we explore living mindfully on the path to financial independence and beyond. I’m your host Adam Coelho and I’m glad you’re here.

On this episode I’m joined by my dad, Val Coelho, on his birthday, November 15th. That day was also my 10th anniversary of working at Google so it was a good day to have a reflective conversation. I’m breaking our conversation into 2 parts to make each episode more focused.

This first episode, Part 1 of our conversation is all about my dad’s adventure of coming to America and building a life here. It took a lot of guts to leave behind everyone he knows. Part 2 will be released in 2 weeks and focus on Val’s thoughts about money lessons and the FIRE movement. Subscribe below and we’ll let you know when Part 2 is available.

Val Coelho came to the United States from Portugal when he was 24 years old. He left working in a 5 star hotel in Portugal to come and work on the cruise ships in Miami. He meets my mom working in the dining room on the cruise ship. They fell in love and got married.

My dad worked at UPS for 14 years until he and my mother started a small business of assisted living facilities. Val shares the story of how they went from 0 facilities to 3 facilities in the first year and then to 6 facilities with 44 residents in 5 years.

I learned a lot and really enjoyed my dad’s stories. I hope that you enjoy it as well.

Make sure to subscribe below to receive Part 2 of my conversation with my dad in 2 weeks. 

Full show notes at MindfulFIRE.org

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