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24. Happiness Without Borders, with Maggie Giele

August 15, 2016 by Bernardo Margulis Leave a Comment

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Maggie talks about living all around the world, doing kind things for others and why people make her happy.

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Show Notes

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Maggie Giele is a digital business and marketing strategy specialist living in Germany. She helps entrepreneurs work with their dream clients, work smarter and grow their businesses. She’s lived all around the world which has helped her evolve both professionally and personally.

When asked what makes her happy, Maggie’s answer is simple: people. Having lived in the Czech Republic, the US, Singapore, Amsterdam and now Germany, she has had to put a lot of effort into making new friends and gaining understanding of different cultures. This always made her feel like a bit of an outsider and led her to enjoy connecting and communicating with others right now. She finds that talking and uncovering things about people is both fascinating and enlightening.

Born in Prague, she and her family moved to the US when she was 3. While they didn’t have much money growing up, her memories were still very happy. She and her family had the opportunity to live in a few different cities where moving always seemed fun. It wasn’t until she was 9 that she and her family moved to Singapore and she felt the toll of moving to a new, wildly different place. Once she got to high school there, she found it difficult to make friends. So she stuck to her books and being a fake goth. It wasn’t until she got into theatre that she began to connect with others and make friends.

Maggie remembers the exact moment she realized how happy people made her. She was living in Amsterdam and traveling through London at the time. A stranger saw her in the street, looking a bit lost, and asked her if she needed help. This is when she understood that people are not always out to promote themselves and sell you things. Instead they can show you how helpful they can be through small, and sometimes big, actions.

Maggie began to find so much joy in doing kind things for others after that moment. She now enjoys sending physical things—letters, small tokens, etc.—to show the effort she is putting into connecting with someone versus just sending a thank you email. She likes getting the connection started online since they’re so many possibilities of networking on the internet. For her, nothing is like a good conversation in person or a Skype coffee date.

Speaking of conversations, did we mention Maggie is really great at starting them? (People tell her they’re jealous about this all the time!) This isn’t because she thinks she’s extroverted. In fact, she often enjoys her peace and quiet. Instead, Maggie has a really interesting story and finds she can connect with others on variety of different topics. Her favorite type of people are those who are a little stubborn and have a strong opinion. This to her says passion, ambition and “I want more!” She finds she simply doesn’t gel with those who are too passive.

To Maggie, it’s also really important to communicate effectively, which can greatly differ by culture. For example, she finds the culture in Singapore has a bit of a hierarchy meaning there are certain ways to behave and give your opinion. On the contrary in the Netherlands, people are blunt and sometimes too honest. Understanding these differences after living in very distinct places has helped her share with her clients how to market to their target clients effectively.

Because she’s so used to being in a new place so often, Maggie oftentimes finds herself connecting with others who are in a similar predicament. For example, living in Germany, she is connecting with people who went to college with her in Singapore. Although she didn’t connect with them while living in Singapore, it is easy and great to connect with them over similarities they shared—places, foods, etc.—while both parties are in a new, but the same, place.

What else makes Maggie happy? Her husband, tom kah gai and memories of Yellowstone National Park eating blueberry ice cream.

You can connect with Maggie by visiting her website. And if you’re an entrepreneur looking for someone to help you strategize about your business, she is more than happy to give you a phone consultation for free!

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Links / Read / See / Hear

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Tom Kah Gai, Bon ApetitThird Culture Kids, Denizen

Yellowstone National Park

Blueberry Ice Cream, Food.com

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Follow

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]From Maggie: Website

From Bernardo: This Makes Me Happy, twitter and instagram

This Makes Me Happy, the podcast: twitter, instagram, and facebook

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Thank You

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Jason Zappolo for editing and mixing this episode; follow Jason on instagram.

Orly Margulis for social media support; follow Orly on linkedIn.

Rocío Castañeda for ongoing support; follow Rocío on instagram.

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Filed Under: Podcast Episode Tagged With: amsterdam, consultant, digital, fun, germany, international third culture, kindness, london, marketing, pay it forward, people, singapore, travel, traveler

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