Last week I outlined some travels and adventures I am planning in 2017. Someone said to me this week that it was easy to make a life more adventurous when the financial strains are not so pressing. Whilst there can be some truth in this, I think its more down to the individual's mindset and it isn't just our wallets that can make us "stop imaging and start living".
When I turned 18 I was under the illusion that to have really big epic adventures you needed bags of money. I saw friends travel around the world and have amazing experiences and I figured it was something I could never do.
I lacked the vision, the maturity and the self confidence to think about doing something differently. Every summer through my childhood we travelled to Italy to visit family and although I loved it, I guess this mentality of doing the simple thing stuck with me.
I remember talking of going walking for a month in the mountains of Turkey or walking across France, but I did none of these things. It was all talk - day dreams. Money was the problem. "You can't do things if you don't have money." Somewhere I picked up this line of code and that was that.
At no point did I think to myself; "well lets see just how far I could get without a cushion of cash to fall back on". I don't regret many things, but I do regret this lack of vision in my younger self. Or perhaps it wasn't a lack of vision but an all too clear vision that I had to keep my steady, and financially unrewarding job, working towards some undefined magical day when every dream would come true..
When I closed down my little business and ended up aged 29, stacking shelves in a supermarket at night, I realised this vision was bullshit. I should have done things.
Not that a little money doesn't help to get you places, but in my case it was just an excuse. I could have done something if I really wanted. Something that would have opened my mind to opportunity; an adventure or experience that would have educated me more than the system could.
So I think making your life more adventurous is more a matter of mindset that money.
This week I spoke to Ash Dykes, Alex Roddie, Gilad Nachmani and my friend Dan, on the subject of funding adventure travel. You can read the thoughts of these more seasoned wanderers, on financing their adventures, in two full length articles (links below). The first of which I am publishing today and the second will go online in a few days time.
- Funding your Adventure: What the Experts Say - Part 1
- Funding Your Adventure: What the Experts Say - Part 2
Read them, digest them. Do something.