Following the Dream (Conclusion)

So there I sat in the office of my local travel agent hearing options for various vacation ideas before finally settling on the idea of taking our first Caribbean cruise. We were excited. We had never been on a cruise before and the more I researched the ship and its itinerary, the more I watched the clock hoping time would go by quicker and quicker.

But something else was happening as we planned for this trip. The light bulb of destiny started to shine a little brighter. It was becoming clear again that I was doing most of the research. I may not have mentioned this, but one of the reasons I also chose to get into real estate was that we had a bad experience when we bought our first home and we were not informed or educated about the process of home buying by our Realtor. The Realtor we used back so many years ago was more interested in getting her commission than she was helping us through the process. I sensed that and I knew that I could be different and make sure clients never had to feel the way we felt. Well...the same sort of thing was happening with our first experience with a travel agent. She got the booking and we were left feeling somewhat on our own. I had to initiate all contact even though she knew quite well that we had never taken a cruise before in our life. I knew things could be different.

Then an event happened that I will never forget as long as I live. One sunny summer day, a friend and myself were enjoying a visit. He and I were discussing our jobs versus our career dreams. We both had good jobs, myself still in real estate and he was an insurance claims processor. We were making good livings but we both realized that they were simply jobs to us now. They were not what we dreamed of doing. So he simply asked me the question..."what is your dream career?" Without hesitation I said..."travel agent." I had never said that out loud before. But then I said what I had always felt..."but I don't think I could make a living at it." Well...to make a long story short, he questioned me on why I felt that way and talked about my travels and where I was raised and my experiences helping others with their trip plans and he could tell that there was some passion in my voice. I also listened to myself and how I was answering. I never said nor would I say today that I got into the travel business because I like to go on vacation just like I never said that I got into real estate because "I like looking at new homes" which some new real estate agents unfortunately had vocalized.

Traveling and the desire to learn about people and cultures and the desire to help people achieve their vacation goals all combined in my answer to why I had always wanted to get into the travel field. So that day, that afternoon even, I went home and started a search into what it would take to get involved in the travel industry. I researched...I studied...I trained...and here I am today. Now I am at the point that clients trust my experiences and knowledge which in turn makes me referable to their friends and family. I continue to achieve the necessary certifications that distinguish me from those who simply like to go on vacation and then tell others that they are "travel professionals." I am following the dream that I had so many years ago. I now feel that I am on my path and my career is no longer just another job. I feel it was what I was meant to do all these years, but had been afraid to try. I am now on my path and my wife and I travel as frequently as we can so I can continue to gain first hand knowledge of various destinations and experiences which better equips me to serve my clients.

So I am thankful for that friend who challenged my thinking and encouraged me to follow my dream and I encourage all of you to do the same.

Following the Dream (Part 4)

As I stated in my previous post...sometimes life throws you a curve ball just to see if you are paying attention. My wife and I have learned that tomorrow really is not a given. Her battle with cancer was a wake up call. Here we were and here I was on a path that I thought I would be on for years to come. But only during those difficult months did we realize that we had not been truly living. We were in “career mode.” We were becoming successful at our careers, but losing sight of what made life truly enjoyable. Up until that point, I had only thought of travel as a business necessity. My wife had tried and tried to get me to agree to go on a true vacation, but I had always balked and used work as an excuse. I decided we would finally take a trip, but even that trip was built around a real estate training event which meant that it really was not a vacation.

Well...after her chemo was completed...I broke down and agreed that we needed a getaway. Life had been pummeling us for a while and you can feel when you are nearing some form of breaking point so we made it official and I booked us a trip out west to the sleepy seaside town of La Jolla. My real estate career took a very positive turn a few months before this trip and I had made it a point that no career was more important than quality time with someone you love so I agreed to not check voice mail and I would not be checking e-mails during this getaway.

It was as if a HUGE lightbulb finally went off in my head. Here I was living in the moment or in the “present” as Spencer Johnson so eloquently wrote about. I was seeing everything more clearly. We were truly vacating during that trip. Everything slowed down and things were perfect. So there I now sat on the plane coming home skimming magazines and trying to find our next vacation destination. It was now in my blood, but in a different way. I was hooked on real travel, the kind where you are open to experiences and places that are different from your normal way of life. The kind of travel that you are excited about months before the trip actually gets here.

So one of the first things I did when I got home was go to see a local travel agent for help with a much more exotic location and little did I know that I would be taking my first step upon my new path... (to be continued)

Be More Than a Tourist

A tourist, by definition, is someone who travels. So why then is a travel professional (me) telling you to be more than a tourist. Let me further explain. I want you to be more than a tourist, I want you to be a traveler. Is that clearer? Maybe not, so let me give you another definition. A traveler is defined as someone who “travels or has traveled to distant places or foreign lands.”

The two terms may seem synonymous, but they are not. Both the tourist and the traveler go to visit places beyond their own towns and cities, yet the tourist is not the same as the traveler. I can drive 3 hours to the east of my hometown and visit a city in which I have never stepped foot in before and be a tourist. I can go learn of its history and see its highlights and be 100% a tourist, but not a traveler. That city or town 3 hours away would still be a town I could relate to. The same types of folks would probably be in that town as they are near my home. I would have food choices that would be well within my comfort zone. I may or may not seek out anything that would be a “new experience” for me because I would not be forced to. So many like to travel only to those places that offer the same comforts of home and where they will not be forced to see things through the lives and eyes of people completely different from themselves.

A traveler, on the other hand, will embrace the “new.” They will seek out the unfamiliar and different as they journey across the country and around the globe. Each step or mile that a traveler takes is soaked in as part of the experience. Now I am not saying that you have to get a passport and plan a trip to across the ocean to a new Country. But what I am saying is that more “tourists” need to look at their trips as journeys and look at destinations that take themselves out of the norm. People need to start their journey from the time that they leave their home and until they return.

Try to look at things through the eyes and lives of others as you traverse from place to place. Take each moment and soak up the sounds and smells of each destination. Each place has more to offer than what is in the tour guide books. There are people who can teach you so much more just by being observant of how life is going on around you. The temptation is to always seek out the familiar when traveling to a new place, but I want to challenge you to search for things that you have never seen or tasted before and use your journeys as stepping stones to personal growth.

We all need to slow down and see the things around us when we take our journeys. My most memorable moments from any of my travels has been the interaction with those who make those places their homes and it is those moments that make me more than a tourist.

So are you a traveler? Do you like to see and experience people and cultures that are far different than your own? When and where was the last place that you journeyed to where you were taken out of your comfort zone? What was that experience like?

A Traveler's Journey Through Pictures

Wanted to share my travel and life's journey through picture and song. I captured the places that I have visited and seen in my life to help me appreciate where I am and where I have been.