As I prepare to head out on the second part of my RTW trip next week it’s proving to be the biggest focus point of my conversations with people. Alot of the people I chat about my travels with all reply in the same way – thy say I’m lucky to do what I’m doing.
But there’s no real luck involved in what I do.
Product of an Aim
I didn’t win my flight ticket. I didn’t stumble into a book of things to do in the places I visited and I wasn’t given the money I’m using to fund it all.
Long term travel or seeing the world through multiple trips isn’t luck – its the product of hard work, planning and commitment.
I’ve spent the last 2 years saving hard to build up my travel funds. It’s been hard. I’ve sacrificed a large chunk of my social life and have refused myself certain luxuries knowing that every penny saved will be quadrupled when I head out through Asia.
Would i rather have a Starbucks coffee for the best part of a fiver and let it last half an hour – or would I rather spend that money on a hostel room and a meal in Thailand?!
Everything I spent in the UK during that time was weighed up against what I could get for the same value on the road.
Planning
It’s that mindset that helped me plan.
My pay cheques were carefully divided up at the beginning of the month and allocated to expenses, any left over at the end wasn’t splurged – it was viewed as a bonus saving!
And I spent a whole heap of time wading through the Internet, travel guides and chatting to other backpackers researching where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do.
That way instead of going in blind I spent my time well I see/do everything that draws me to that destination.
Whilst I’m on the road I’m constantly talking to backpackers, prying for tips and advice and have structured in enough free time to allow myself to change plans and adapt my travel experience.
That’s not luck – that’s being prepared!
Commit to the Cause
A lot of people who I know want to travel, but they put mental obstacles in their own paths. It’s too expensive. I don’t want to travel alone. I don’t feel confident enough. I have a job…they’re all stupid reasons to hold off on travels.
You live within your means on the road. You’ll meet tons of people. You’ll find that confidence along the way. You can always get another job.
Commit yourself to leaving to travel and it’ll happen. Just book one single flight. Then your committed.
Even something as simple as making an appointment to chat to a travel agent is the first step. Talk to another backpacker – hell even ping us an email and we’re happy to share our advice with you all!
Follow through on your promise to yourself and you’ll be rewarded with an epic experience that you’ll never forget.
Make your own luck
Contrary to what you may think as bloggers we don’t get everything for free. And the freebies we do get are also the product of planning, commitment and hard work. We didn’t get here by accident, we made the choice that this is what we wanted to do and found a way to get what we wanted.
I didn’t study blogging at Uni, nor did someone give me a site to run. I saw an opportunity, researched it, acted on it and committed to it.
There’s no reason you couldn’t do the same.
My way of life at the moment has nothing to do with luck.
Come join me on the road, stop making excuses and explore the world – its a beautiful place.
Comments