1 MONTH IN...
It’s officially been one month since I packed my entire life in a backpack and left the only place I’ve ever lived to follow my dream of traveling around the world.
Writing this reminds me of what I wrote a couple days before I left a month ago. Click here to read it.
I still remember the complete fear I felt walking into LAX after giving my Dad a hug goodbye. I’m surprised I didn't faint!
I have never experienced emotions quite like that before. It was surreal. Pure exhilaration and then utter terror! Will Smith has an amazing quote, “God put the greatest things in life on the other side of maximum fear.”
Even though I was completely scared and had no idea what I was getting into this has been the best month of my entire life. The growth you experience by being completely self reliant while being outside of your comfort zone is remarkable.
This has also been the most challenging month of my life.
This trip is 24/7 outside my comfort zone! Which is actually the most positive part and at the same time the most negative part. There’s no timeouts out here. There’s no feeling safe by hanging with my friends and family. I don’t have my comfy couch and 65’ TV anymore and Netflix has been cancelled.
There are no longer any safety nets out here.
We all experience challenges that make us feel uncomfortable. Most people give up, but in order to feel comfortable you have to stay the course.
My biggest challenge so far is I love to let things come to me, I've been that way my entire life. I expect to walk down the street and have every local and every traveler come up to me and want to hang out!!
I know being 6′5 and a man, with tattoos and a shaved head, no one is really going to approach me. It’s up to me to approach locals, tourists, and other travelers. No one is going to make this easy on me and I wouldn’t want them to.
The people I’ve talked to back home ask me about loneliness. I am not going to lie and say that I haven't felt lonely at times. The reason is I left such an amazing group of friends back home and I miss them and my family. However, the thoughts of loneliness are very fleeting.
5 years ago, if I had to be by myself this much I would have drank myself to oblivion because I couldn't stand the person I was. Wayne Dyer said "You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with." The starting point to the happiness I experience on a daily basis is the love I have developed for myself.
“Live every day as if it were your last and then some day you’ll be right.”
I have been brought to tears about 30 times so far this trip. The beauty I've experienced and the people I've met will be with me forever.
I get teary eyed more for how grateful I am that I took this opportunity. I was living a lie for years and kept convincing myself it was normal. I am so grateful my dream is now a reality.
Life is too damn short to be doing something you don’t want to do. Telling yourself you don’t have a choice is the worst part.
You ALWAYS have a choice. You just have to be brave enough to make it.
I am so proud of myself for taking this leap. I start laughing sometimes when I think about where I am. It still blows my mind that I’ve been to 9 countries in 30 days and I’m writing this in Prague! I pray for that feeling to never go away!
There is nothing better than knowing you are living your passion day in and day out. It's unbelievably freeing.
Every single person, whether you have money or not, have kids or not, are younger or older, it doesn’t matter, you can still have whatever life you want.
It's whether you believe you can. That's it.
I believe in you, hopefully that's the start you need to take the first step.
