Why Travel?

The untold lands it takes you if you listen.

I was once told I would never be the same once I left for the open road. I imagined he knew because he did it himself.

I didn't ask why, I just sorta nodded my head, gulped, and bought a one-way plane ticket.

I would tell anyone else considering long-term solo travel the same thing.

“Once you participate with it, you lose a part of yourself and find another”

I think that is what called me to it. It's not that I was unhappy with life, it's that, I felt like there was more out there.

I didn't know what I was missing.

FOMO!!!!

Fear of missing out. It has gotten me into some of the best situations and worst situations of my life. I would say though, that FOMO is based off a perspective footed on loose soil, you believe there is something that is temporary on the other side. Something that will vanish if you don't grab it fast enough.

It's obviously a narrow-minded idea, to think that opportunity will vanish forever if you don't urgently jump for it. But, we are human, and humans can be irrational.

There's a saying in stock trading.

“The market can remain irrational much longer than you can remain solvent”

It's true that some people need that extra nudge to get going. I know I do. So I don't think irrationality is necessarily detrimental. I think, if you're going to be irrational, you'd better have a lot of resolve.

The fear of missing out may not be helpful when buying investments, but it is helpful when making changes in life that you can easily talk yourself out of.

I will share a snippet of a story from my time in Queensland Australia when I was in my early years of traveling.

I had been desperate and destitute. Eating from dumpsters and handouts, cleaning rooms to keep a shared roof over my head.

I arrived in Australia from Papua New Guinea with 250 dollars and a rolled-up playing card filling with gold powder.

The desperation sent me to a place of fear. I didn't know where I would get money from, I didn't know how I would be able to continue traveling in this foreign land.

So, I sold the gold and started looking for a job.

I set an intention before leaving my home that I would do new things. I didn't want to fall back into old rhythms I wanted to create new experiences for myself.

I found a place that was willing to train me to be a raft guide. The thing is, I had been a raft guide for five years before this. I knew I was breaking my code, but the training was free, and they gave me lunch every day. So I decided to join and see if it was something id be willing to do.

I stuck with the training for 3 weeks, and at that point, they were preparing to test me to have me be a licensed guide. On the bus, on the way to the Tully river that day, I became overwhelmed by a feeling that I wasn't doing something right. Tears welled up within me, I started to cry. In that moment I had FOMO, I had an urgent sense that by doing this I was missing out on the opportunities of something new.

I reluctantly stood up, immensely embarrassed, and told the lead guide that I wasn't interested in the position. They could keep my gear. I asked the bus to stop, and I left, tears still streaming down my face.

I hitchhiked back to the place I was living, feeling both like a turbulent waterfall, and a liberated dove. I had made the right decision.

Things did not continue magically or smoothly from there. It was not an easy decision to just up and leave an almost certain job, but, it was necessary. It was a sacrifice of security for potential future gain.

Investments, do not always have to do with money, travel does not always have to do with international movement, just as growth doesn't always have to do with a meter stick.

So, why travel? Why put yourself in new places?

Because you're missing out otherwise.

Just remember to keep your head up, make irrational decisions, and hope you have enough resolve to make it through the rapids.