Travel Goals

1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
4. Visit every continent.
5. See the Galapagos Islands.
6. Sail down the Amazon River.
7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
8. Ride the Trans-Siberian.
9. Go into space.
10. Go wild at La Tomintina.
11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
12. Gaze at Borobudor.
13. Visit the Pyramids
14. Safari in East Africa.
15. Go to the World Cup!
16. See Machu Picchu.
17. Join the Century Club.
18. Visit Antarctica.
19. Do development work.
20. See Petra Jordan.
21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
22. See the Northern Lights.
23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
24. Greek Island hop.
25. Cycle Tuscany.
26. Visit India.
27. Lounge in the Seychelles.
28. See Morocco.
29. Oktoberfest!
30. Caravan across the Sahara.
31. Visit Tibet.
32. Fly first class.
33. Go to Israel.
34. Carnival!!!!
35. Mardi Gras!
36. Cannes Film Festival.
37. Sundance Film Festival.
38. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
39. Pacific Island hop.
40. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel.
41. See Glacier National Park.

Book Your Travel Here!!

Motivating Yourself to Travel

June 30, 2008

Motivate yourself

Fear keeps most people from traveling. When I first went away in 2006, people always wished they could do what I was doing. For some people it is easy to just jump ship and travel. We have it in us all along and we just need a gentle nudge. For me, all it took was a trip to Thailand and jealousy before I was quiting my job and telling my friends I was going to travel. For others it is a lot harder. They are more tied down, more afraid, more uncertain. They want to do it but, instead the nudge I needed, they need a full on push.

So what keeps people back?

“I have too many responsibilities.” This is the biggest excuse people give. But when you leave, you have none. Bills disappear, car payments go away, errands you have to run become non-existent. It is often said that the more stuff we own, the more our stuff owns us. The modern world creates a lot of baggage that ties us to society’s approved path. Once you make the decision to go, you’ll find that all those bonds quickly disappear and those responsibilities vanish. The only responsibilities I have are the ones I create for myself, the only bills I have are those of my everyday needs. Once you come back, you’ll also realize you can do with less. Suddenly, we seem less busy.

“I don’t have the money.” People are always under the illusion travel is expensive. It’s not. There’s a plethora of ways to travel cheap. I traveled the world for about 40 dollars a day. You can backpack Asia on $20 a day. Same with Central America. Europe can be expensive but if you Couchsurf and limit your restaurant dining, you can do it on $40 dollars a day. I’ve heard of people who do it on less. Travel is not expensive, you just need to make it a financial priority. We regret the things we didn’t do. If you want to travel, use that money now- you can’t take it with you when you die.

“I won’t gain any skills.” People think traveling is a luxurious holiday- it’s all fun and games in their mind. Taking time off from their “real world” jobs won’t advance their career or give them any marketable skills. NOT TRUE!!! Travel can be work. Landing in an unknown country and finding your way takes talent. In fact, there are a lot of skills you gain while traveling:

Negotiation. Ever try talking down a vendor in India or Asia to reasonable price? That takes skills. You need to know what they want and what you want in order to come to an agreement. Bartering and haggling for prices from everything from hotel rooms to bus tickets to goods requires the ability to artfully negotiate. You need to know when to push more, settle, and walkaway. That’s a skill you can take right back into the boardroom.
People Skills/Networking. You walk into the room at a hostel and there’s twenty people chatting and having fun. Then there’s you. You can either go break into that group or sit by yourself. What do you do? Travel forces you to develop people skills so you can meet new people and socialize with them. You learn to be comfortable enough to talk to anyone and introduce yourself to anonymous strangers. The most sociable people end up at the top. If people don’t like you, you’ll never land that top CEO spot! (Also, the better your people skills, the easier it will be to negotiate with them!)
Adaptability. Travel teaches you how to adapt to sudden and unknown changes in situations. It teaches you how to be versatile. In the business world, you adapt or perish. Just another skill you can use!
Cultural Awareness. In today’s globalized world, it is important to know and understand other cultures. Traveling exposes you to cultures and people of the world. You gain insights into how people do things. Back in the “real world,” that skill becomes hugely important as companies from around the world interact with each other. If you’re the only person who has been to China when it comes time to work with a Chinese company, you’ll likely be picked to work on that project.

Those are just four skills you pick up traveling. Traveling isn’t a career break, it’s a way to harness those soft skills you can’t learn in school. The ones that truly matter at the end of the day. Companies can teach you systems and best practices but they can’t teach you these skills. You learn these yourself and, when you come back, you can also put it on your resume!

“The world isn’t safe.” Despite what CNN and FOX News might say, the world is safe. People aren’t killing each other in the streets. Everyone around the world wants what you want. They have jobs, families, things to do. They want their kids to be safe, earn enough money, and be allowed to live their life. You are not their priority. Moreover, American cities don’t even rank in the top ten of the worlds safest. I believe the safest American city is somewhere around the 40th safest in the world. People aren’t going to terrorize you for being American. Travelers from all corners of the globe are criss-crossing it at any moment without any problems. As long as you use street smarts to avoid dodgy situations (just like you would back home), you’ll be fine.

How to stay motivated

Now that you’ve seen that your fears are unwarranted, there are a few ways to keep yourself motivated for getting out on the road:

Watch the Travel Channel. There’s good programming on 24/7 and I’m always watching. It’s full of great tips, advice, and will give you ideas for future trips. Seeing other people there will make you want to be there too.

Research places to go. Keep looking up places you want to go too and eventually you’ll get there.

Read travel blogs. There are lots of travel blogs out there. Read sites like mine to stay motivated and jealous. I read a ton of blogs and they all keep interested in traveling. Reading the adventures of other travelers can you show that it is easier than you though, give you advice and tips on the art of travel, and teach about places you’ve never heard of. One day you’ll get sick of living their life ad go out and create your own travel stories. Click here to get a list of travel blogs.

Buy a guidebook. Planning your next trip and looking through these books will keep you wishing and dreaming and making your trip closer to reality.

Learn a language. Join a language class and pick up a language you might use on the road. Once you’ve learned the language, you’ll hate to waste your new skll and the only way to not do that is to travel to where they speak it!!

The fears people have about traveling are unfounded. Once you get over your fears, there’s nothing holding you back from traveling now. Once you make the decision to go, there are a lot of ways to keep motivated. As you slowly shed your baggage, you’ll have doubts. People will try to talk you out of it, you’ll wonder if you can do it. Change like this can be scary and people naturally get nervous. But by focusing on travel you’ll keep yourself motivated and stay on the path to breaking free from the cubicle.

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Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Travel Advice

Comments

25 Responses to “Motivating Yourself to Travel”

Peter Quinn on June 30th, 2008 1:59 pm

Hi. I am a long time reader. I wanted to say that I like your blog and the layout.

Peter Quinn
Julie on June 30th, 2008 3:32 pm

Matt-

Great article… so full of actionable tips. It’s hard for me to imagine not living a peripatetic life, but I know people who have precisely this kind of fear, and your article gives them most of the tools they need to get off the couch or out of the cubicle and get moving!
Eliabeth on June 30th, 2008 4:14 pm

And sometimes the best thing to do is to just pack up and go. Even if it’s only for a weekend and you find a last minute deal; that’s the way to experience travel and realize it’s realize not as hard as you think it is.
NP on June 30th, 2008 7:03 pm

Great article! And very true. I am already following all the steps in your article to keep myself motivated during the saving and planning stage. I’ve always dream about traveling and reading these blogs and watching the travel channel definitely makes me jealous and wish I could be where these people are. It’s also give me a lot of motivation to keep planning and saving for it so that I can get out there.
Sand on June 30th, 2008 8:35 pm

Once you’re on the road the old excuses seem silly, but explaining them to family back home when you’ve decided to extend a trip is difficult.

The travel channel was a huge motivator for me, but then the local cable company back home turned it off in exchange for a education-less cartoon channel.

Reading travel blogs became my motivator and thats why I decided to start one of my own. I hope it inspires even just one person to set out on a journey.
woody on July 1st, 2008 12:45 am

Hi, you have some great posts and images there… I am surely inspired to travel now.
Lola on July 1st, 2008 12:53 am

Really good stuff Matt.

With some practical advice as well which is key.
Mark H on July 1st, 2008 1:25 am

Well thought article. Travel is simply one of the best forms of educations around - it broadens the mind, its offers experiences you simply can’t get at home, you make great new friends and you gaina first hand understanding of what makes the world what it is.

To add to Matt’s list (and I certainly encourage reading blogs and books), I think a globe or a map of the world in a visible position is a great and simple reminder of how much we can explore out there.
NomadicMatt on July 1st, 2008 4:17 pm

@peter: Glad you enjoy the blog!!

@everyone: Not enough time to comment individually but just want to say thank you for the positive feedback and opinions!
Sherrie on July 1st, 2008 5:16 pm

I think financial priority is a big one. Everyone always asks how I can afford to travel, but they just have to look at how often they buy books, clothes, cds, and nights out and you can quickly see why I can afford it and they cant.
trang on July 1st, 2008 6:33 pm

matt, this is your absolute best post ever! i thank you for providing me your motivation. i’m about to graduate from college, so it’s really nice to hear that someone not much older can afford to do this. thank you again!
Sam on July 1st, 2008 8:11 pm

Do you just save up all your money then quit your job for a month or so and hit the road then come back and go back to work?
NomadicMatt on July 1st, 2008 9:42 pm

@Sherrie: Yes! Once you cut out those 4 dollar starbucks coffees, you can save quit a bit!!!

@Sam: I worked and save before I went and now I work and travel and work and travel…(etc etc)
sforshner on July 2nd, 2008 12:06 am

Great post.

Mark H’s idea about the map is so true - there is a gigantic one right behind the screen of my computer and I have a million white pins that represent places I have not been: http://transienttravels.wordpress.com/2008/03/24/next/

The only thing financial thing I can’t seem to get rid of is college loans, but to Eliabeth’s point, even just taking the smaller trips is enough to hold you over.
Quickroute on July 2nd, 2008 8:01 pm

You are so right! So many people just postpone their travels until they are retired when they are too old to really maximize the experience! Stop procrastinating and just GO!
Travel Michiganians with travel even with high fuel costs on July 3rd, 2008 3:27 am

[...] Motivating Yourself to Travel By NomadicMatt For some people it is easy to just jump ship and travel. We have it in us all along and we just need a gentle nudge. For me, all it took was a trip to Thailand and jealousy before I was quiting my job and telling my friends I was going … Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site - http://www.nomadicmatt.com/ [...]
TrUlster on July 5th, 2008 7:17 pm

Great post, everyone (at least the ones in the rich parts of the world like Europe and North America can travel if they prioritise it. And very true that material possessions tie you down, I have certainly held off buying that ps3 and big-ass LCD tv as I know I am about to become a ‘global nomad’. Just do it.
Craig on July 9th, 2008 3:46 am

A small bit of inspiration - a list of 30+ families taking the plunge with RTW travel…

http://thewidewideworld.com/2008/06/25/comings-and-goings/
oMan on July 13th, 2008 10:36 pm

No fears! Oman is one of the most stable, safe and peaceful countries in the Arabian Gulf – as rated by the 2007 Global Peace Index. Oman is also the 22nd most peaceful country in the world.
All you need to know before traveling to Oman, visit the Oman Pocket Guide @ http://omanpocketguide.com
oMan
jasmine celion on July 18th, 2008 11:02 am

great post
i’m totally agree with this post
thanks for sharing it

jasmine celion
morefun-time.blogspot.com
jasmine celion on July 18th, 2008 11:04 am

very motivational and inspirational post

jasmine celine
cool-hotstuff.blogspot.com
Anjelina celion on July 18th, 2008 11:07 am

nice stuff

jasmine celion
cool-hotstuff.blogspot.com
Craig on July 20th, 2008 9:48 pm

It’s strange but true. Having lived “on the road” for so long it’s hard to remember these feelings, but I guess I must have felt some trepidation at some point.

Dave Prine posted a great article on our site about how to stay motivated after travelling: Keeping the dream alive. There’s a lot of cross-over but I think you both make some great points.
How to Travel the World | Nomadic Matt's Travel Site on October 6th, 2008 2:30 pm

[...] toughest thing about traveling around the world is not the logistics but motivating yourself to get on the road. However, once you have made the decision to travel, you have to figure out the logistics. Most [...]
How I do it | Nomadic Matt's Travel Site on October 10th, 2008 1:40 pm

[...] you have the desire and motivation to go, nothing can stop you. Related PostsHow I Find the Money to TravelMotivating Yourself to [...]