Blog series, ebooks, and opportunities galore. Click on images to find the articles of discussion! Charlotte Halligan tapped into a topic this week I identify with and hope to explore further myself in the coming weeks.
"If you let it, traveling can give you the push you need to do the things you never thought you could. When you’re in the comfort zone of home, the prospect of doing something scary isn’t very tempting; you can find excuses with ease; you can tell yourself you have better things to do; you can procrastinate until opportunities wither and fade. But for me, being on the other side of the world and surrounded by the unfamiliar, taking the plunge is almost mandatory, because if I don’t, how can I justify all I have given up to be in that place, in that moment?"
Experiential Travel: it's the premise of a new travel magazine now out in physical form in America. I appreciate AFAR's approach to travel media and hope I implement some of their values in my own work. It seems if anyone wants to document travels for a viewing community, they must create relatable experiences that teleport wanna-be travelers into the body of the observer and participant. Here are the values they aspire to with experiential travel:
Explore from the inside looking out
Provide a sense of cultural immersion
Offer the unexpected
Touch on a range of emotions
Be genuine, real, authentic
Promote connection
Feed the curious
Respect the earth and its people
Celebrate global diversity
This week, I've been reading Jonathan Mead's free ebook about working for your passions, living a life where work and leisure blend and have no distinction. After reading this short 60-pager, I wrote my mission statement with clarity and felt the gears in my brain a-churning. The following quote also really got me going:
The master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his work and his play, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether his is working or playing. To himself, he is always doing both. —James A. Michener
Other discoveries
Vagablogging Calls for WritersThe Best Job in the CountryThe Ultimate Thailand Explorers
Update on Nomadderwhere
This Wednesday, the 23rd, Nomadderwhere will have a brand new look. It's so cool, I can barely force myself to look at the old design. I had no idea how to start self-hosting, and none of the progress I've achieved could have been possible without Jenn Vargas. Not only did she do some top-notch freelance work on the design but generously offered her expertise from start to finish. Thank her, as well as Joost Bakker (whose images make the new design look downright badass), for their excellent work come Wednesday.