Rolf Potts: Conquer fears & live your travel dreams
Editor’s note: Welcome to the week-long series by guest blogger Rolf Potts. Jen Leo is taking a well deserved vacation and will return July 11th. Enjoy. - Andrew
Conquering your fears and living your travel dreams
By Rolf Potts
The most shocking thing when many people dream of taking time off for world-travel is not the audacity of the dream itself, but the fact that so many folks never get around to doing it. Many of us fantasize about, say, a summer across Europe, or a year around the world, or two months in Thailand learning how to cook and kick-box — but all too often we procrastinate the journey, thinking the time is never quite right to get out and do it.
Central to this procrastination is fear — fear that we don’t enough time, fear that we don’t have enough money, fear of overseas dangers, fear that we don’t have enough travel-savvy, fear of getting out of our home-routines to embrace something new and potentially wonderful.
For the next week, I’ll be sharing ideas and information adapted from my book, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, that will discredit the fears that can get in the way of making your dream of world travel happen. For example:
- Think rich people are the only ones who take their dream-trips? Odds are you aren’t as poor as you thought you were; I’ll tell you how to find a new wealth you never knew you had.
- Think an overseas journey is an invitation to danger? It need not be, and I will explain how to travel most anywhere and stay safe.
- Worried that unfamiliar food and a strange climate will make you sick? I’ll give pointers on how to stay healthy.
- Think travel abroad is too expensive for your budget? I’ll show how daily expenses in an exotic clime need not be any more than what you spend at home.
- Afraid that you won’t be able to communicate in a faraway land? I’ll tell you how to get by with a little improvisation.
Since everyone naturally has different travel goals and destinations, I won’t be sharing narrowly focused tips on, say, how to save $50 on certain airfares, or how to protect yourself from sickness in specific regions. Rather, I’ll be sharing broad advice that can make you a better decision-maker and a more confident traveler as you take a long-term journey overseas — advice that will encourage you to forgo idle comforts and embrace a sense of adventure on the road.I will also encourage an attitude of optimism and flexibility in your travels, since what you learn from your first few days on the road is far more valuable in the long run than micromanaged planning seeks to eliminate all unpredictability.
My advice isn’t aimed at people of certain age groups or social demographics, but toward anyone who is willing to confront a few fears (and, in some cases, make a few sacrifices) to make their dream-trip happen. Indeed, even if the practical reality of departing on that dream-trip is still months or years away, the true journey begins the moment you stop making excuses, start saving money, and begin to look at maps with the narcotic tingle of possibility.
In the coming week, I hope to encourage you to make that journey happen.
- Rolf
Editor’s note: Rolf neglected to mention that he’s busy with his annual gig, leading a creative writing workshop at the Paris American Academy. Post your questions and comments below; Rolf and the L.A. Times Travel squad will reply in a series roundup post next week. Yours in adventure ~ Andrew
5 Comments on “Rolf Potts: Conquer fears & live your travel dreams”
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July 5th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Looking forward to it!
Perhaps you’ll be addressing some of these in the prcess….is the propensity for travel or adventurism an acquired or innate trait ? A willful decision? Perhaps both?
Are excuses primarily rooted in fear? When are so called “excuses” legitimate because of competing life priorities and demands (e.g. saving money for car vs. home vs. retirement vs. medical expenses vs. education vs. college fund, etc).
Are we really that free to realize the fulfillment of travel dreams? Why do some people seem to go through them more easily or fearlessly than others?
July 5th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
The best way to travel is to LIVE in another country for a time; at least establish a home base and travel from that hub. I stayed in Barcelona for five months a few years ago (I had to get special dispensation to stay more than three.) I rented an apartment from a professor on sabbatical in Florida, paying about $1,000 a month. I found the rental online at iagora.com. While in Spain, I went to Montserat, the Alhambra, Madrid, and Tarragona, as well as many places in Barcelona, of course. When you live in a country and live as the natives do, you experience the real country, not just a series of 3d picture postcards of the country. And you save money.
Better yet, as Melville points out in many places, get a job overseas. It’s best to be paid while experiencing other cultures.
July 6th, 2007 at 2:32 am
Living in a country does not necessarily mean you’re traveling. It’s getting to know a country/place better. Personally, I think the best way to travel is to plan a trip extensively - and leave the steady bases out! This way, you have to find and in the end ask your way around. Actually, I’ve seen more of the cities I’ve visited, than I have of my home town. Great tips and good reading I found at
http://www.mjca.nl
and/or
http://www.mjca.nl/english
This site showed me in just a few words the face and atmosphere of Europe!
July 6th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Rolf - I couldn’t agree more with your comments. I too believe it is mostly fear that keeps people from living their dreams; but, I also think there is an element of not knowing how to pull it all together to make it happen.
My husband and I took a year and traveled around the US - saw all of our National Parks, traveled in all of the 48 contiguous states, and had the time of our lives. All along the way, we met people who would say, “Oh, we’d love to do what you are doing, but what did you do about…” and the list would begin.
When we returned from our trip, we found that there was really no book to help people think through all of the organizational details that seemed to bog them down and keep them from living their dreams - no matter where on our earth those dreams led them - so we decided to share our experiences to help others get off their couch and on the road! The result was “Live Your Road Trip Dream” which is available everywhere and just entering its third printing!
A couple of our tips for everyone:
* don’t over plan your trip - too much happens along the way that you want to take advantage of - if you have a rigidly planned schedule, you’ll miss half the fun.
* set a date to leave - up until then, it is just all talk - once you set a date to leave, you’ll find that things will start happening to make it possible. Kind of “The Secret” mentality - but it does work and you’ll find yourself starting to organize your life around when you are going to leave.
But, most of all, as Rolf says, there is no perfect time — just do it before it is too late.
Happy Travels!
Carol White
http://www.roadtripdream.com
July 15th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
rolf! i love you man! really, but in a non-stalker kind of way. Your book along with Erik’s The Global Trip blog and Solbeam’s blog made me realize that if yall could do it I could too! I did 4 mos in mexico in 2006 and just got back from a RTW w/ Semester at Sea. Scary, a little, Worth it? NO question! Thanks for all of your insight and inspiration. I’m an african american, middle class, female and I DID IT and am going to DO IT AGAIN!