Interview with Don Bales – travelling around the world

I met Don through my online course “Creating Inspiration” in 2009 – he was very keen of learning and travelling. But I never expected that he would actually embark on a journey around the world.

In 2012 I met Don in Germany at JCI European Conference. At that time he had been travelling for 5,5 months and had 8 months ahead. He had travelled to Antarctica, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Equador, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, Panama, Costa-Rica, Belize, Mexico, Orlando, Miami, New York, Austin, Montreal and so forth.

What are the highlights of travelling around the world?

The main reason why people go travel is for seeing the world. Don pointed out that one of the interesting highlights was the impact his travel photos had to his friends at Facebook – they got inspired by what he was doing. It became not only travelling for himself, but also travelling for his friends.

But the main highlight of travelling are the people you meet in particular moments and places.

Turning a dream into a reality

Many dream of travelling, few actually do it.

Don had 3 key factors that enabled him to start the journey:

  1. He got year off from work (he will get his job back when he returns)
  2. He had some savings (chose travelling instead of downpayment for a house)
  3. He is single (no commitments)
It´s time to travel 🙂

“I´d love to go and travel, but…”

Don´t be afraid to follow your dreams. Get rid of all the excuses. If you really want it bad enough, you´ll do it.

Don actually had dreamed and imagined about places he wants to go. When he had made the decision to take action, the other necessary preconditions (as mentioned before) fell into place. The law of attraction.

If money is an issue – work while travelling.

If loneliness is an issue – you´ll meet new friends. As a matter of fact – travelling forces you to meet new people (otherwise you might stay in your comfort zone as you might do in your hometown).

If uncertainty is an issue – the key to reducing stress while travelling is turning your fear into fascination.

If job is an issue – there will be a new one.

Go travel to learn about yourself

Dreams do come true. If you really want it bad enough, you´ll be creative about it. Just follow your heart. If you´re really passionate about it, nothing is impossible.

Don has discovered his inner charisma through travelling and meeting new people, although he had always considered himself as an introvert. Despite being an analytic person in his professional life, Don now makes more and more decisions by using his gut-feeling and having an adventurous spirit. Taking a leap of faith.

So it appears that travelling is a form of experience that opens up something you already have inside of you.

Will there be life after the world travels?

Don agrees that travelling around the world is a life changing trip. He promises that when returning back to his “normal life” he will do extraordinary things.

You can life an extraordinary life even in your own city on ordinary days.

What to pack when travelling around the world?

Tips for packing your bag

Main rule: pack as light as you can. Send unnecessary things back to home or give them away. Scan your business cards.

Use phone cache memory to store map images in Google Maps application. Ask for a local map at your hostel.

Bag limit: 23 kg, recommended goal: 11-13 kg.

Don´t bring white clothes (getting mixed in laundry). Use generic shirts (you can reuse them without anyone knowing that you are wearing the same shirt again)

List of items to pack:

  • Hiking shoes (comfortable, with Gore-tex)
  • Black shoes for formal events
  • Flip-flops
  • Compact jacket with thermal layer
  • Silk travel liner
  • Toiletry stuff
  • Electronic stuff (chargers, flashlight)
  • Security wire and locks for securing the bag
  • Wire for drying clothes
  • Personal journal
  • Clothes (thermals, fleece, wind-breaker, jacket, raincoat, cap, jeans, jogging pants, shorts, swimming shorts, t-shirts)
  • Microfiber towel
  • Special travel shirt for patches.

Ship is safe in harbour, but it´s not what ships are made for. (W. A. Shedd)

Go for your dream!

Thank you for today – breathtaking gratitude video

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

(Louis Armstrong)

Do you think this is just another day in your life?
It’s not just another day.
It’s the one day that is given to you today.
It’s given to you – it’s a gift.
It’s the only gift you have right now,
And the only appropriate response is gratefulness.

If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response,
Through the great gift that this unique day is,
If you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life,
And the very last day.
Then you will have spent this day very well.

Begin by opening your eyes, and be surprised that you have eyes you can open.
That incredible array of colours that is constantly offered to us for pure enjoyment.
Look at the sky. We so rarely look at the sky.
We so rarely note how different it is from moment to moment with clouds coming and going.
We just think of the weather and if even of the weather,
We never think of all the many nuances of the weather.
We just think of good weather and bad weather.
This day, right now has its unique weather,
Maybe a kind that will never exactly in that form come again.
The formation of clouds in the sky will never be the same that it is right now.
Open your eyes—look at that.

Look at the faces of people whom you meet.
Each one has an incredible story behind their face;
A story that you could never fully fathom—
Not only their own story, but the story of their ancestors.
We all go back so far, and in this present moment on this day,
All the people you meet—all that life from generations and from so many places all over the world
Flows together and meets you here like life-giving water,
If only you open your heart and drink.

Open your heart to the incredible gifts that civilization gives to us.
You flip a switch and there is electric light.
You turn a faucet and there warm water and cold water,
And drinkable water.
It’s a gift that millions and millions in the world will never experience.

These are just a few of an enormous number of gifts to which we can open our hearts.
And so I wish you that you will open your heart to all these blessings.
And let them flow through you,
That everyone whom you will meet on this day will be blessed by you—
Just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch—just by your presence.
Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you,

And then it will really be a good day

(Brother David Steindl-Rast)

 

This overwhelming joy and gratitude fills you up and reminds you – life is awesome, love it, live it.

Sometimes the thing you are looking finds you. Thank you for the inspiration.

It´s an amazing yourney. Enjoy.

Video: What inspires you to take action?

We made our Estonian version of 50 people 1 question – in full HD and with English subtitles (press “play” and then button “cc” on the Youtube player to enable subtitles).

 

We received many answers and left many people pondering. What would be your answer to the question “What inspires you to take action?”

How to create success?

How to find motivation and self-belief to achieve outstanding results?

I got some inspiration from Anthony Robbins´ foundation of success and decided to enrich this model with my own tips and ideas on how to manifest more success in your life. This is how the 4 step success model looks like:

The circle of success

The concept is simple:

Your beliefs determine your understanding of your potential. This potential determines whether you dare to take action. By taking action you get resultsand by interpreting these results you form your beliefs. The circle of success where each link plays vital role in creating success of failure. Which one would you choose?

If you prefer success, then take a look on these ideas I generated for making sure that each link would empower your success.

 

How to tap your hidden potential?

Your potential is your understanding of what you are capable of doing.

  • Set your focus – make clear what is most important for you now? Which activities would have the strongest impact on your future?
  • Make a list of your resources – write down all the opportunities and resources you could use.
  • Make a list of previous successes – write down all the things you have been successful in.
  • Amplify your special skills – use the talents that you have been recognized for.
  • Find out what your friends think about you – ask people you trust to give their opinion on what you seem to be really good at.
  • Test yourself– if you are having difficulties using the previous tips, try out different personality tests to find out what your strengths and special talents are.

How to take your ideas into action?

Ideas without implementation are worthless.

  • Force yourself – create an irreversible need to take action. Take yourself into a state where you just have to do it and succeed.
  • Set a deadline – define a specific date by which you will have it done.
  • Be an experimenter – don´t worry about failure, but test, experiment.
  • Give promises you have to fulfill – tell others how you are going to do it. After promising you just have to do it, otherwise you will be embarrassed if you are asked “so, did you do it?”.
  • Eliminate unimportant – get rid of things and activities that do not add value to you. What could you eliminate now?
  • Slice your goal into smaller tasks – make an action plan of achievable tasks that gradually reach your final goal.
  • Grab some inspiration from your role-models – look how your role-models have done great things and decide that you will perform at the same level.
  • Take action immediately – never leave a place of goal-setting without taking action to IMMEDIATELY do something to move a step closer to reaching the goal.

Before diving into tips on how to get better results, check out this inspiring video with Michael Jordan:

How to achieve really good results?

Result is what you want to achieve. Then again you define what it is that you have achieved.

  • Clarify your measurement criteria – how do you know that you have achieved your goal? How do you measure it?
  • Set higher goals – higher goals make you do more and this way you will achieve a greater result, than you would have achieved with modest goals.
  •  Decide to become the superstar in your niche field – decide to become really good in your specific domain and devote yourself to do it.
  • There is no failure, there is only feedback – whatever happens, this is what happened and you received feedback about it. Learn from it and move on.
  • Reject rejections – don´t let fools take you down.
  • See positive in everything– see what opportunities the result offers, whatever it is. You interpret your results.

How to form positive, empowering beliefs?

Your  beliefs determine how you see the world. They form the lens through which you see the world.

  • Enjoy recognition – sincerely thank everyone who have appreciated your achievements. Let the good feeling go through you and decide: “Yes, I´m really good!”
  • Create positive affirmations – repeat positive affirmations about yourself out loud, make sure to add the emotion to each time you say the affirmation.
  • Write you beliefs manifest – write down all the things you believe in. Define, which are your empowering and which are your dis-empowering beliefs. Brake the dis-empowering and amplify the empowering beliefs.
  • Use hypnosis – let experts help you reprogram your beliefs (only use this if you have found a trustworthy therapist and you are unable to find any other option that works).

Apply these principles now and let your circle of success expand! Get yourself an inspiring coach to accelerate your success.