One Place in the World? Try MANY places in this world. (Prompt 5)

Prompt:

Travel by Chris Guillebeau

If we live truly, we shall see truly. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?

My Response:

Ahhhhhh I don't have ONE place, I have A MILLION places. The author of this prompt says, "not everyone wants to travel the world", BUT I DO!! Here is a sampling of where I want to go.

I want to walk then run with excitement through the Alhambra in Spain.

I want to bike my way from winery to winery in Mendoza, Argentina.

I want to sail on a boat in Venice, Italy with a cute boy at my side a la the ending to Italian Job. If that boy ends up being Mark Wahlberg, well then hey, that's a bonus.

I want to road trip through all the great national parks in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, California, New Mexico and more.

I want to watch a game in every single Major League ball park in the United States (plus that pesky one in Canada).

I want to get out there and live on the Great Ocean Road in Australia.

I want to visit my friends and family wherever they end up in this world.

I don't have a single travel goal. I have life goals (or a life list, rather) that include a lot of travel.

And I am going to do them all. How? By working hard so I can play hard. By remembering that saving is important and not so hard if you put your mind to it. By investing in experiences and not in super nice things. By believing in myself, in these goals and the belief that you can do absolutely anything if you put your mind to it.

So see you out there, world.

It's going to be absolutely fabulous.

All images courtesy of Google images.

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.

Patience: My Biggest Challenge (Prompt 4)

The Prompt:

Post-It Question by Jenny Blake

That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton? . . . Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare. Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Identify one of your biggest challenges at the moment (ie I don’t feel passionate about my work) and turn it into a question (ie How can I do work I’m passionate about?) Write it on a post-it and put it up on your bathroom mirror or the back of your front door. After 48-hours, journal what answers came up for you and be sure to evaluate them.

{yes, my bathroom is rubber ducky themed}

My Response:

My mother always says, "Patience is a virtue". I usually respond with "Only if you have it". Maybe it's about time I figure out how to find myself some.

Results pending.

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.

I Needed To Do This (Prompt 3)

Prompt:

One Strong Belief by Buster Benson

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

My Response:

I had a hard time thinking about a response to this. For the most part I have surrounded myself with people whose core beliefs, those things that really shape who they are at the very heart of things, are similar to my own. Then I re-read the quote about and thought about "the independence of solitude". Doing something for yourself, and not other people. Of going at it alone, even if the going gets tough.

That's exactly what I am doing. Have been doing for two years. Will be doing for at least one more. When I was 21 years old I went to a job fair in northern Iowa and made a decision within 48 hours to leave the only place I had ever called home in search of something more in Colombia. A job, yes. But also a lifestyle of travel, of adventure, of exploring. A view of the world that expanded beyond middle America.

At the time I realized the impact this decision would have on those around me, but it is only in hindsight that I can see just how different this decision was from those of my peers. I mean, we are all searching for something...but not everyone moves to a different continent to find it. And while there are times I miss the places, the things, and most of all the people who make Minnesota home, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I wasn't ready to just settle down and stay there.

We all have our own paths in life, and that just wasn't mine.

Maybe someday.

But that day just isn't today.

So, that's it - my strong belief that isn't shared by everyone.

The belief that I needed to do this. That moving far away from the people you need, who also need you back, isn't incredibly selfish, but rather demonstrates the passion I have for living my very best life.

As for what I have done to actively live this belief? See the last two years of my blog for references... ;)

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.