Life Update (after 10 years)

🗓️ I’ve been creating language content for 10 years, and I realised I have never talked about myself. Stick around while I talk about languages, life, health, family, and my plans for the future.
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⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Time to tell you about me
2:49 - Languages (and why I learn them)
8:32 - My focus these days
15:32 - Book unboxing
17:49 - Health, soul, and spirituality
22:18 - Family
25:26 - Music
29:10 - Thoughts on work (likes and dislikes)
31:55 - Future projects and final thoughts

[@storylearning]

Check out my language learning tips, 10 years in the making. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3zRqpaied6bl7Msi=GafzYncEFGqwo0cE

[@FlamingBasketballClub]

Do you have a Discord server? 🤔

[@KGTiberius]

Music is a language… actually, multiple languages. Reading it, chromatic differences, harmonics, tone… yet they all convey messages, emotions, stories.

[@Learninglotsoflanguages]

After just reading a disturbing article about the dangers of children exploitation online, it’s refreshing to hear about your commitment to keeping family separate from your work and recognizing that your daughter can’t consent. Great work!

[@SPEAKLANGUAGESTRAVELTHEWORLD]

Absolutely agree!!

[@seenonyt2210]

I like your chill attitude about not keeping up languages that you don't use or need in your life at this stage.

[@SPEAKLANGUAGESTRAVELTHEWORLD]

Very interesting point of view I had never considered.

[@daniel.mojimaki]

As a long time fan, I want to thank you so much for sharing this with us all. Here’s to many more wonderful years!

[@AidenDavid11]

You are in the zone, dude!! Fantastic to know your experience... 10 years are 10 years!!

[@languagemaus8083]

Interesting to see that connecting with people is your main motivation. There are others (the introverts!) who rather enjoy being able to consume content in a language. It's hard to keep learning as a beginner (so many abandoned languages...) but when I finally reach the level where I can understand most things, there is nothing better than watching shows, listening to podcasts, read fiction, find a fav youtuber, play games and chat with random people online. It opens up a whole new world and it's just awesome + easy to maintain :)

[@nendoakuma7451]

I can’t say I have never wondered your personal stuff, but you are under no obligation to share anything. I relate about having to finally focus on health.

[@denniswooller4860]

Olly, I have been a part of your KZbin presence for years and now I am a Story Learner, albeit a slack one! You exude a passion for languages, mixed with a bit of the spieler (as in an ability to talk something up). Thank you for your courage in this video. I have a lot of respect for those living an examined life and your humility connected a few dots for me. You showed some human frailties and this 37:30 minutes allowed me to see the man travelling a journey to a more balanced perspective on life. You should be very proud of your achievements and I wish you continued personal and professional success.

[@hlt8770]

It's lovely to get to know you, Olly. Would also enjoy seeing you meet with your team and what business planning and fun you engage in.

[@storylearning]

Great idea!

[@Maria...-mo5qm]

Thank you, Olly! It was very nice to know you a little better - you have a great personality :) I wish all the best to you and your family! Big hug from Brazil💚💛

[@Yroma7]

Thanks for sharing Olly. It is beautiful. My favourite part is near the end when you said "You can't spend an entire book worth of attention and effort, and fail to improve." Words of wisdom.

[@educatethechildren]

“Life is a collection of moments” - well put. Moments grouped into stages, in ways. I often thought, when our kid was much younger and needed so much time and energy and sometimes that seemed hard: “It’s that time of life.” Kid is now 20 and at university and definitely it’s no longer “that time of life,” but it’s some other time of life, and that’s good too! Also, thanks for the perspective on maintaining - or rather, not worrying about maintaining - languages. It does feel challenging to add Language X+1 while being worried about losing X. Something’s gotta give!

[@EFeffie]

This was long overdue! Yes, we want to know about you, because we have involved ourselves with your line of thinking (for language learning) and it’s a given we would want to know about the person we invest time in learning from. Thanks for being so candid! All the best to you, the fam, and your “Story” endeavors!

[@sweetlolitaChii]

You've helped a lot of people and inspire them. I'm really happy to see how far you've come, thank you for all the hard work you do.

[@kane2734]

Please do StoryLearning books in Polish - I would love them!

[@Nathwaan]

Tak tak tak!

[@storylearning]

We spoke about this just yesterday

[@kane2734]

@@storylearning Fantastic! I've been looking around for story books in Polish and I could only find Krok po Kroku. They're literally just sets of two-page stories, but they're quite mundane

[@SailOnSG]

Hi Olly, I enjoyed this life update. I’ve been following for awhile and have all of Spanish StoryLearning (original 5 & 6 cohort) and beginner French. I also have 5 or 6 books. I see you as more of an entrepreneur than an “influencer,” so I have not felt a “lack” of sharing from you. However, it was nice to get to know you a little better. This little peek inside your life experience wasn’t something I was anticipating or expecting in any way. I don’t think you need to do this on the regular. It’s here now for anyone who is curious. Maybe at some later date, you’ll share again when you have big news or life change. That would be welcome. Just don’t feel that because you’ve opened this door, you have to keep it ajar. I think you are wise to keep family life separate from work life in the social media sphere. I did enjoy learning about your daughter’s podcast because as a former elementary teacher, I thought it was a great idea. I listened to episode 1 and found it delightful! I have a grandson around her age and I will be sharing it with him. He’s a big reader and it may just give him an idea.😊Thank you for your creative contributions to language learning. Truly unique and valuable resources!

[@storylearning]

Thank you so much!

[@aarongreenway756]

Love your videos, Olly! Keep it up!

[@michaelchr4239]

Very cool insight. Thanks for the video Olly

[@user-rm1cq1kx4b]

Wishing you and your family well! You've been such a great teacher to us!

[@megangardner_science_and_art]

I love this video 💜 . It’s great to just know something more about you - the person who created the German Short Story book I bought, the guy whose videos about languages are always entertaining. Thanks for making this one. It would be nice to see more videos like this in the future.

[@giovannacasadio9600]

I grew up speaking English and Swahili than I moved to Italy and learned Italian, I had to put aside Swahili to learn Italian but if I go back to Kenya it will take me 2 weeks to be able to speak it again. I have been in Italy for 40 years now and I am sure of what i said. Great video love them all.😊

[@reza2kn]

Thanks for the video Olly! I'm super happy to hear you're doing well, have a nice family and are healthy. That's the most important thing anyway, not how many languages we learn ;)

[@flockenstein]

Fantastic all around, Olly. Thanks for your hard work and for your vulnerability.

[@raymarquez123]

Olly you are an inspiration. I am a big fan of your books and KZbin channel. Keep up the great work!!

[@lisab2856]

Thanks for this, Olly! I've followed your channel for 7 years and have about 10 of your StoryLearning books so a bit of a life update on how everything is going for you personally is really interesting. I also loved your perspective on balancing language learning with the rest of your life and not feeling guilty about not maintaining languages just for the sake of it. Thanks again, Olly, for all the fantastic content you create for all of us... :)

[@Dragonstarns]

This was a nice little insight. It was cool.

[@user-nx7ig2lg2q]

Olly, this was a fantastic video! I have purchased a few of your products and watched a lot of your other videos, but you being so open and candid in this video makes learning with you that much better because you now seem so much more "real" or "human" and therefore relatable. I really liked, among other things, how you expressed not always maintaining all of your languages and that it's ok to sort of forget them, because a lot of polyglots out there often make it seem like they're "perfect" in all of their languages, and it adds a lot of pressure and stress (on me, personally, as a novice language learner) when learning languages. So, a big thank you to you for this video and all that you do!

[@calibre997]

Great to hear more about you and why you do what you do. Been a fan for a while now, so I really wanted to thank you especially for your upcoming book on Welsh. There aren't many resources for learning my countries language, so it means a lot to see it represented. Wish you and the Storylearning team the best!

[@maxximum5980]

Amazing video, and so cool to see another side of you. It definitely can be stressful, but everything is just a cloud, it comes and goes, we are clouds, might as well be in peace with it and do our best to live an amazing life, and to always remember that so many people around the world don’t even get the opportunity to live those amazing lives, gratitude helps with everything. I’m going to the UK over the summer for vacation and can’t wait to explore the countryside!

[@nickflynn439]

I have been watching your videos for 7 years. It is good to hear a little about you. You have helped me so much in my language journeys. It is good to know things are going well for you. You deserve it.

[@SusanCollins-dk9kv]

Hi Olly, I enjoyed learning about your life, struggles along the way and how you cope with work.

[@paulfrancis4824]

This was a great video Olly, thanks for sharing 😊

[@JoeClifford77]

Good man, great video, nice to hear more about you. Congratulations on StoryLearning, and long may it and you continue.

[@swk258]

Olly, thank you for opening up like this. It's so good to hear from you and know how you've been. Rock on!

[@richardsimon6578]

Olly, I’m so glad you did this video! I really appreciate your allowing us to have a better sense of you, and especially your sharing the many sides of yourself that we don’t see in these videos. Wishing you continued success and happiness!

[@AnaCamileSynthpaintann]

Hello Olly.I appreciate you making this video .Thankyou.

[@anitawaters4745]

Such a genuine, authentic, interesting & unscripted life update Olly. Really enjoyed it 🩶 thank you for doing it!!

[@nette4307]

Starting from the end: this was very interesting, Ollie - thanks for sharing! Your thoughts and comments on your own language learning really hit home with me: I just can't relate to the "celebrity polyglots" who are essentially just marketing themselves at every turn and talking about how they maintain 10-15 languages. As you said, life is just too short. That I can relate to! Kudos on your Storylearning books: I got the ones in French and am blown away by how much I understand - thank you: it's clicking into place! I am combining your books and the language course I bought from you with a French podcaster, and I am making strides. Now to the point of my ramblings: I am currently recovering from some really nasty health issues - and thanks to your books and the course, I am doing really, really well in that process. I have come to realize that learning a language can have some healing effects - who even knew?! Finally, kudos to you for keeping your family out of this story that you are creating with your followers. We are not entitled to know anything about your private life at all, and even though some KZbinrs share WAY, way too much about themselves, you are definitely not required to do so. Life really is very short - and your life with your family and the cats belongs to you - not your customers and followers. Thank you for being a huge inspiration in my language learning process. I plan to head to a french speaking country within a year and will probably drink the better part of a nice bottle of Bordeaux and raise a glass to you!

[@blindschach]

That was super interesting! And thanks for your work

[@jck956]

I can imagine it may be a longshot but I love more obscure languages, so seeing something like Basque, Estonian, Georgian, Pashto, Telugu, Armenian, etc would be awesome and I suppose Irish and Welsh means anything is possible, so hoping! In the meantime, I’m definitely looking at getting the German Storylearning Course Interesting insight into your situation, it’s a very different perspective into language learning and it’s absolutely valid Also also, cute cats!

[@olixz]

You're a wise man Olly. Keep up the good work.

[@QuinnCloudz]

Loved this video! Thank you!! 😃

[@ShireTown1824]

I think this gives us insight into what type of dialogue and vocabulary you learn as you pick up a language because you most often pick up the lingo of the circles in which you spend the most time.

[@SeriouslyLeslie]

Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us! 😊

[@foreverlearningfrench]

This was amazing! Thanks for sharing, Olly.

[@storylearning]

I appreciate that :)

[@heyoka775]

i hope you have a happy life' you have helped me alot with language acquisition

[@rashidah9307]

I enjoyed watching this video and learning about you and your family, Olly! I, too, am learning languages (Arabic at the moment) for the sake of connecting with other people, not for the sake of the language itself (although I think Arabic is fascinating) or the sake of the learning process (which can be arduous at times). I hope to find the same motivation to learn more languages and build more bridges through them, but we'll see. . . Your desire to find balance between your family life and personal passions also resonated with me, as I am a wife and mother and have limitations on my study time and energy that single folks don't have.

[@thomaspscheidt3876]

thanks!!!

[@justgold1]

I've bought your Spanish book & Welsh turned up yesterday very impressed keep making them! 🥳👍

[@studyingasahobby]

It was nice to get to know you a bit more. :) Thanks for this video and congrats on your amazing company!

[@l.renault3044]

I loved this! Thank you!

[@vule-sq5xj]

I find that videos in which the creators speak about their life in general or just random thoughts pretty underrated. I love to watch or listen to them when I'm doing something else. Also I find more connection between a creator and the audience which I really like. Also 10 years?!?! That's incredible. I love your content. I've been following you for some time and whenever I have low motivation for learning languages I just watch one of your videos. Thanks for everything really.

[@MsZembla]

I really enjoyed this, Olly, thank you. I've read many of the Story Learning books now (Intermediate Italian, German, French; elementary Norwegian, Dutch, Russian - waiting patiently for Greek and wishing for a different font for Arabic!) with pleasure and gratitude, and have taught the English books to my language students, who approached them with timidity at first, but then excitement and a sense of accomplishment and excitement. I also loved to hear we have so much in common with music, writing, and family priorities. Your daughter's podcast is enchanting. Sending you all my warmest wishes from the West Midlands.

[@grethen123]

Thank you for sharing!

[@secretariatgirl4249]

Really enjoyed getting to know the guy I've just signed on with to learn Italian!!!

[@celestecarrera2963]

I like listening to you because you’re a a down to earth person.

[@RustyB-ip9si]

Hi Olly, I enjoyed the video and shall continue to follow your journey.

[@bricoleman]

I loved this video, thank you.

[@storylearning]

Really glad :)

[@nicolasnone3088]

Hey Olly, I think I can call myself a long-term fan. Long enough that I don't remember when I bought my first copy of one of your books. Obviously, that would make me a fan of story learning. That being said, you are certainly the heart of Story Learning. So, thank you for sharing this bit of your personal life with us.

[@AdamGuyot]

Olly, thanks so much for this video, it was incredibly interesting to hear about your life. Who you are really shows up in all your videos and I think that’s why people like them so much. You’re straight forward and honest. Also, I can’t imagine if you had not created StoryLearning, for me it works incredibly well and really opened everything else in Language Learning for me. Most of my early childhood education was through learning on my own, not what I was taught in school. Then when I came across your books it really unlock French for me, and by the end of this year I hope to start learning another language. It’s just too much fun! Thanks again!

[@storylearning]

What a great testimonial, thank you!

[@wendyrulnick9059]

Fantastic! Well done! Great examination on choices - whether to follow the drumbeat of more, more, more (re: language learning or maintenance - or other things that this can be applied to), or just focusing on what's important. Nice "reveal" to add depth to channel/product.

[@storylearning]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@yeri786]

Thank you so much for sharing. I love these types of videos, not to mention the regular videos you produce. Thank you!

[@nattell9357]

Great video, thanks for the insight

[@lunalui]

Certainly an honest and personal talk: your self-consciousness, especially at the beginning of the video, is palpable and pretty endearing. Lovely cats. It would have been great to have a snippet of you playing something. 頑張って！

[@londongael414]

Yay, that's that done, and now you don't have to do it again for another ten years! It's really nice to know you have a happy, fulfilling life, with family, friends, community, cats, meditation, music and meaningful work, and that'll do me just fine. I can relate to being more comfortable talking about enthusiasms and inspiring projects than about yourself - I'd be just the same. Actually, and this surprises me a bit, I'd like to know a little more about Storylearning - how a book gets put together, new projects, the team, how the texts are calibrated for different levels, how it might develop in the future - that sort of thing. I'd find that more interesting than just the plugs (which I realise you have to do). I am exactly that kind of language learner - I like to do it my way, and I love to read (and re-read!) in my TL. Sadly, Storylearning doesn't (yet?) cover my TL (clue's in the username!), but, as soon as it does, I'll be right there.

[@victorhabon9048]

Your honesty is powerful material, and it's been a pleasure watching this video.

[@PippyPets]

Thanks for sharing with us - great video! I was happy to see your Stories book for Welsh! I’m a Welsh language learner and always on the look out for Welsh content!

[@youssofable]

It’s an amazing video, Olly. I have been following your channel for the past 3 years and for me, it’s just inspiring to see that personal dimension!

[@storylearning]

Wow, thank you!

[@SPEAKLANGUAGESTRAVELTHEWORLD]

Very interesting indeed!

[@jameslaux4094]

I’m a big fan. I have two of your books. You are a very likable guy. I have enjoyed all your videos about language learning, and especially your enthusiasm for life. Nice to get to know you a little better here.

[@susannegatelykochner6318]

I did not know he had books. I just went to Amazon, and found out that the German conversation book is something I already own and really really value! I’m going to check out many of his other ones. Thank you for writing this.

[@fobbitguy]

Thank you for sharing. It takes a great deal of courage to put yourself out there on the WWW. I appreciate it. Keep up the great work.

[@julioferr]

thank you

[@dedepace]

You sharing even this bit makes us feel connected with you on this language learning journey. Thanks for sharing

[@natc6601]

Thank you Olly for all your hard work! I loved the video! Your Spanish readers have helped my Spanish exponentially, and this KZbin channel has been one of my motivators for over two years now ❤ It was really cool to hear your story

[@storylearning]

I'm so glad!

[@BlissfulDee]

Thank you for allowing us to get to know you a little bit. I enjoyed this video very much. However, after you talked about being a musician, I was hoping for a little bit of your piano playing at some point!

[@teslaanderson6838]

I really enjoyed this video! Thanks for making it! I really liked what you said about family and the shift of focus. I really related to that and enjoyed hearing your personal experiences.

[@RooneysRose]

Olly really loved getting to know you better ❤ thank you for sharing. I’m up for this content anytime. I’m a sociologist by training and people’s stories are what I love. Thank you for the info on your company. My husband and I plan to move to Ireland from America sometime in the next few years and would like to learn more languages beyond the French I studied in high school and uni 20 years ago.

[@Colyde25]

Absolutely lovely video thanks Olly! Been rereading my Spanish books I purchased from ya a couple years ago even tho I’m passed the reading grade I still enjoy revisiting the stories and characters!

[@TheLouChannel]

Yes! 🎉❤

[@abernardes2]

You are as adorable as I imagined! I appreciate your love for my birth country, Brazil, and how beautifully you speak Portuguese. I loved the video and I hope you update us time to time how you are getting on!

[@Lab1817]

Enjoyed this and learning more about the experiences that you have had. Thanks for sharing!

[@veronicadcf]

You are inspirational! When learning languages, it is "you do you". I know it might be super hard to open up, but it is nice for the world to get to know you better. Keep up with the good work.

[@storylearning]

Thank you!

[@SophieLeung-du9we]

@@storylearningI am currently interested in south Slavic languages. It is a bit niche, but as a hobby, would you mind introducing us a bit about these languages, I.e. Bulgarian, BCMS, Slovak, etc

[@naheda1]

Hey Olly, I just want to say that I have been with you since the start. I’ve watched every single video, followed your suggestions on language learning to learn Italian and when you created StoryLearning I’ve joined all the courses and bought all the books in Italian, then I moved on to Spanish. I want to thank you for this wonderful journey of language learning & I’m sure I’ll continue for as long as you do. شكراً جزيلاً

[@Cestvache]

Enjoyable! Your cats are lovely.

[@joycarter757]

Thankyou for sharing on so many personal categories. It does help to understand the person who is proposing a teaching method...

[@cosygracegames]

That was really interesting, I love getting to know this incredible person, who’s classes and books and company of helped seriously so many people! Thanks for all you do, I really liked your perspective about life being moments and it’s about the quality of the moments, that was great!

[@kyt-nh1ef]

It is very nice to know who you are even without going into too much detail. With the podcast and music, it sounds like you have two bonding activities with your daughter. That's very special (and adorable!) and I'm sure she'll always treasure those activities. Is your family multilingual as well? Anyways, hoping to see more Portuguese story learning books and more cats!

[@dianeThePebble]

This was really nice. I appreciate hearing how language learning plays a part in your life but isn't the end all be all. I love learning Korean and plan on learning other language after reaching fluency. I appreciate hearing examples of how to live a full life while doing that.

[@KGTiberius]

Comic books have been a great tool for teaching/learning languages. Stories, visual cues, humor, double meanings…

[@languagetraveladoptee]

Beautiful reflection Olly. For sharing not only how you stick to your values (dropping Egyptian arabic when you don't need it) and adjusting to how your values and priorities have changed you, and how that's also affecting your language business and mental health. I absolutely love that and seeing how you're evolving, as we all do behind our languages. Really resonate with this, love your transparency too

[@Restless318]

as fan it up you tell what you want but thank you so much

[@rageface5985]

42? Outrageous. Loving your 101 conversations.

[@seabreeze4339]

Good to hear about your experiences and challenges. Even better to hear that you’re not quitting after just discovering and buying your Spanish books. I’ve studied Spanish for 18 months( lived in Spain for two years now) and after only one week of reading the results for me have been fantastic, three of my Spanish friends have commented. Thanks a lot and please continue to produce language books.

[@ytfrancais]

i do really like this kind of video!

[@hansirolle]

What a great video, so many small things which are interesting about you. Thank you for your content :)

[@storylearning]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@presantthevakumar-vj9vh]

loved it

[@theartfuldodger5326]

As a language learner & teacher, I was always just curious how you balanced family with living overseas. I don't think my family-husband and kids, would've been willing to move for me to have an experience to learn a language, or deepen my knowledge. Seriously respect your ability to make it work. 👏 ❤

[@DNA350ppm]

Yes, this was interesting! I've always hurried to the stage where I could read something fascinating and special in the target language, and sometimes struggled to find that personally attractive material. But it is huge magic when it comes together. My choice music is for me a reliable source of "comfort and joy", and like reading should be available for all, it shouldn't be elitistisk and perfectionistic, and absolutely not in competition with AI. Then rather half-meditative, like pottering in your garden, experimenting in your kitchen, or playing with yarn and fabric in a cosy way. Creativity for everyone! Congrats, Olly, for reaching this milestone! Many happy returns!

[@annie1626]

Olly/Oli, this video was really nice, partly because it seemed pretty unscripted and that is interesting in itself for your audience. I think you managed to share some really interesting things about yourself without oversharing. In particular, all about your daughter and you having fun doing things together. Personally just wish I'd known about our shared interested in Spanish, Portuguese, jazz, Latin culture and music when we were working together in Tokyo. I found this channel completely by chance as part of my Portuguese study journey and used one of your story learning books near the start. It completely chimes with my own approach over the years as both teacher and learner, so it was good to be a guinea pig. Congratulations on finding some balance in your current life - Los años no pasan en vano, ¿verdad?

[@dvf4550]

This was so very interesting! You are so very interesting, what an amazing and intelligent deep thinker you are. I respect your values including family. I've dabbled in languages; I am going to have to check out your Story Learning business. Thanks for sharing. Yes do it again every so often.😊 ENFP? Have a nice week.

[@ruthfrewin9389]

This was really interesting to listen to, Olly. Don't delete it from KZbin!