I’m on the plane with a 1 way ticket form NYC to Johannesburg. Alexes and I will be traveling for the next 10 weeks to Africa (South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe), South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru and Brazil (if we can get our visa in time) ) and Antarctica.
As I write this post, I’m overwhelmed with many emotions specifically gratitude, possibility and passion. (In addition to Alexes”s amazing packing skills)
The dominant feeling though is certainly gratitude.
I’m grateful for so much… for my amazing family, friends, business partners and team members.
The Beginning
As I think specifically about travel, I’m grateful for my friends who recommended the 4 Hour Work Week to me back in 2008. I’m grateful to my friend Rick who gave Alexes and I a 3 night stay at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City which is when I read the 4HWW cover to cover. At that point I had traveled throughout North America and to Brazil, but had never taken extended travel longer than two weeks. Despite a deep desire to do so there was always this voice in the back of my head that said it wasn’t possible. Being a business owner, it seemed unfathomable that I could walk away from my businesses at months at a time. Reading the 4HWW seemed to quiet that voice and if nothing else, gave me the permission I was looking for to embrace extended travel.
So in the summer of 2008, Alexes and I created the possibility that 1 year later we would take our first extended travels to South America & Africa. As usual, things didn’t go exactly as planned but things also couldn’t have gone any better. Work wise for both Alexes and I it made sense to go in October and November and since it was going to be quite cool in South America & Africa then, we decided to go to Asia & Australia where it was summer time. We traveled for 3 months at the end of 2009 and we were hooked on extended travel.
Our 2nd Extended Travel
Fast forward 2 years later to July 2011 when Alexes and I just got married and it was time for our honeymoon. I remember Alexes being afraid to ask her boss for extended time off again and she ended up not even having to. Her boss, knowing our passion for travel, approached Alexes and said, “so how many months do you want off for your honeymoon?”. On a quick side note, Alexes’s company has been absolutely amazing and supportive of our travel endeavors. When we tell people of our travels the thing they marvel the most at is that a company exists that empowers their employees to pursue their passion and is willing to find a way to make it all work. Thank you Insigniam!
For our honeymoon we planned to go to Greece and Italy but ended up adding two more destinations to our trip for weddings. The best man at my wedding got married in Israel one month after us, and another friend got married in the Dominican Republic one week after our wedding! So after 9 weeks and 4 destinations our honeymoon was complete.
One of the painful lessons I learned on this trip was the importance of cashflow management and financial rituals. And like most painful lessons it became an opportunity to learn and grow. It sparked my passion to develop a mastery of cashflow management and financial rituals. Due to one of my mentors, Hugh, and his Cashflow Multiplier Course, amongst his many extraordinary courses, I was able to immerse myself in creating my own cashflow management rules and financial rituals so I would never allow any grey area again. From that point on, it was black and white and I knew my finances intimately.
The Foundation For Our Current Trip
One of the other recommendations Hugh made to me was to particpate in the Strategic Coach Program. Thanks to his suggestion I joined the Strategic Coach Program in 2013 and have been participating in it ever since. From the concepts I’ve learned in the Strategic Coach program and Hugh’s Partnership Profitable Maximizer course, I’ve been able to redesign my businesses, to focus on my unique ability (focusing on the bigger picture, simplifying complexities and always growing in order to create wealth with passion & purpose) and surround myself with extraordinary partners who, just as importantly, are a fit for me and are in roles where their unique abilities can thrive.
I”m clear that the work I’ve done since our 2011 trip and the amazing partners I have is what has enabled me to finally move forward with this trip.
And as I get ready to touch down in Africa (the 6th continent I’ve traveled to) I’m present to my passion for travel and a question my good friend Michael asked me recently, “What is it about traveling that you’re passionate about Doug”?
I remember my answer vividly, “Well Michael, when I travel abroad I’m present to the beauty of humanity. It doesn’t matter if I’m halfway across the world, don’t speak the native language, and look like a complete foreigner, I can still lock eyes with another human being, exchange a smile , connect with them and both of us be present to the fact that we are all one with the universe. There is something about the authenticity and rawness of humanity that inspires and moves me.”
And with that, I’m excited to begin our travels again…