BEAUTY of Traveling

Hey guys. Just got back from an eventful week in Niagara Falls. Some notables were driving through a tragic plane crash in Buffalo and experiencing a bout of stomach flu with my girlfriend. Nevertheless, the Falls were a wonderful experience illustrating the beauty, power, and grace of nature. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

( The Falls on the US side )

Today, I want to talk about traveling, and how it can be a tremendously valuable experience.

Traveling can serve several purposes:
1. Personal growth, development
2. Learn the local culture - language, cuisine, history, fashion/styles
3. Learn about people from a totally fresh perspective
4. Pleasure, leisure, relaxation

Traveling to an exotic place can be frightening, scary at first. WHY? Because you're stepping out of your comfort zone. Your surroundings, your familiarity with people, everything is being turned upside down. Human beings fear uncertainty. But that's where real value lies.

By visiting a foreign country, you are placing yourself in completely new territory. You will be forced to learn how to get around, how to find the best places to eat & sleep. You will be forced to meet new people. As one of my mentors called it, you will be applying the "INEVITABILITY PRINCIPLE", where you create situations & circumstances where you have no choice, but to succeed. Don't step out of your comfort zone, you risk being bored, alone, eating overpriced food, staying at less than desirable places. Worse than that, you stifle your growth.


By traveling you develop a sense of who you are. Your tastes, styles, passions, likes, dislikes. Your values, your beliefs about yourself and the world. You see where you fit in. You learn to stylize the expression of who you are. You come away with a view that the world is a small place, and have a greater appreciation for the simpler things in this world. You see how & why people live the way they do based on historical, societal, cultural contexts. You learn to be more open minded.

Traveling to places such as Seoul, Sweden, South America, London, Paris, Canada, LA, Manhattan, Sydney I came across some of my greatest insights, had some of my best ideas, & met some of the most unique & amazing people.


Here are some things I personally do when I travel:
1. No work. Total immersion.
2. Read perspective-altering books. One I recommend is: Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell.
3. Bring a journal to write down all of your thoughts, ideas, experiences.
4. Watch some local TV during your down time, even if you don't understand what they're saying.
5. Structure something where you're talking to the locals everyday (cafes, restaurants, streets, bookstores, pubs, anything).

So with summer just around the corner & airfares being cheaper these days, decide what area of the world you'd like to visit & go there within the next few months. Have a blast!