When you boil it down, there are only 2 outcomes to anything:

1. It happens
2. It doesn’t happen

Maybe it doesn’t happen exactly the way you intended, but I would count that as part of the first outcome. On the other hand, if you don’t even go out and try, you only have one outcome:

1. It doesn’t happen

The least we can do is put together a plan, take a deep breath, and try. If you don’t do anything, you already know what your outcome will be. If you get out and try, you will open up the possibility for things happening – even if they aren’t exactly how you had planned them.

Attitude is everything. Get out there and make something happen.

Paul Polak – How Much Money is Enough?

Making money is something that we have all – at one point or another – taken into consideration in our lives.  Paul’s article points out some great ideas on how we can determine when is enough and what we will do with our lives after we reach that goal.

That one word is so simple yet so extraordinarily important in today’s world.  We live in a world where change happens, and is happening faster and faster every single day.  Thinking back just 5 or 10 years and we can see the huge changes in life and society all over the world.

For those of us who travel, seeing change around us is something that you get very used to, very quickly.  By throwing ourselves out into the unknown – which is the thrill of traveling, right? – we are exposed to the front lines of change across the world. It amazes me every time I think about the change that is happening all around us.  Especially in developing countries around the world where technology hits and the change is not gradual but instead a huge leap.

“In times of change, the learner inherits the earth while the learned stand perfectly equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” – Helen Rortvedt

Being open and accepting to the changes that are happening around us all the time is very important.  Some of us are more exposed and affected by changes going on in the world – anyone who is willing to step out of the “known” and into the “unknown” is throwing themselves to the mercy of change.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

We live in a world where change is inevitable.  When and how that change comes and graces our lives is unpredictable and arbitrary.  But we can be sure that it will happen eventually, so let’s be open to it and accept it when it comes.

Today I happened upon a TED talk today by Derek Sivers about Keeping Your Goals to Yourself.  He gives an interesting perspective on goal setting and telling others about your goals.  It is a short video and worth the 3 minutes to watch:

Derek Sivers – Keeping Your Goals to Yourself

But it brought about some interesting thoughts about getting up and doing something – working towards your goals.  If you stay where you are, you’ll continue to remain the same exact distance from your goals.  But, if you decide to do something – even a little something – you are that much closer to realizing what you have set out to do.

Those of us who realize our goals and dreams are the ones that are actively out there pursuing them.  How can you arrive somewhere that you aren’t headed?  Each person in the world needs to raise their sails and find the winds that will take them towards where they want to be.  Don’t wait for the day when you might have the chance to start – do it now.  Every journey in recorded history began with a single step.

So whether you are traveling the world, looking for a job, or simply signing up to do something you haven’t done before, I encourage you to dive in.  Don’t hold back – your future is waiting.

Sometimes it takes an outside force to wake us up and realize that we aren’t where we want to be.  But getting where we want to be isn’t going to happen overnight – You can’t just decide that you are  going to be the CEO of a company tomorrow.  It takes dedication, practice, and most importantly: perseverance.  It’s difficult to continue walking the path towards your dreams when there are so many obstacles.

One of the best descriptions of the obstacles we will face while pursuing our dreams was written by Paulo Coehlo and is featured at the beginning of his book “The Alchemist.”  Paulo describes the path to your dreams as your Personal Legend, and details out the four major obstacles each of us will face as we make our journey.  Personal Legend - Paulo Cohelo

I’d like to challenge everyone to take 5 minutes and do something related to the ultimate goal you have in your life.  See where it leads you.  Start making your way to realizing your dreams, and don’t let any obstacles stand in your way.

The first magical moment on the trip happened when we were getting close to Moab just as the sun started to set.  We had to stop the car on the side of the road and snapped a few pictures of the sunset in the clouds.  We also happened to find some sunflowers out in the desert and included them in some of the pictures as well. After about 30 minutes watching the sunset unfold before our eyes, we finally dragged ourselves away and continued down I-70 on our way.

Moab in July is ridiculously hot.  I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity so I decided to be strategic about how I went about seeing the area.  Every day started early – we were up and going by 6am – so we could get out and enjoy things before the day heated up too much by noon.  Then the afternoons we spent our time at swimming holes, enjoying some cool water during the intense heat.

The area was incredibly beautiful and there was so much to do we filled our days as much as we could.  There was, however, a specific event that inspired me and is what I will forever remember about this trip.

Around 3pm we were out hiking through some of the canyons in the area (along some water) and we heard a storm approaching.  Usually there won’t be much rain and the storms will pass quickly, but we decided to head back toward our car anyways.  A short while later we started to feel the first drops, then it really started to come down.  We found a small covered area along the side of the cliff to hide under while the worst of the storm passed, and while we were waiting we started to see the magic that a rainstorm in a dry climate can bring.

As the rain fell, we started to see steam rising off of the cliffs all around us, caused by the intense heat of the rocks and the cool water hitting them.  Shortly thereafter we started to see the first waterfalls forming as the water ran off of the cliffs and headed down towards the creek we were hiking along.  When the storm started to lighten a bit, we made a break for the car, not knowing that there was still much more magic to come.

After arriving back at our campsite, we heard some commotion over near the dry creek bed.  When we went over to check it out, we saw the creek start flowing right before our eyes.  Then we headed upstream to check out our campsite, and we saw an amazing waterfall up at the far end of the canyon.  I ran back to grab my camera and still caught the waterfall before the water stopped running.  I can’t say for certainty, but my guess is each of the two waterfall sections was around 200 feet. An impressive waterfall that was gone almost as quickly as it came.  And just as the evening was winding down – and the sun was setting – we thought “Wouldn’t a rainbow be perfect?”  And somehow it just magically appeared!

The whole trip was a great reminder to me that every day is unique and special.  Each and every single moment we are alive is a completely unique, and we should cherish every day and every passing moment.  Magic happens around us every day, it’s just up to us to open our eyes and see the beauty.

For many years now, I have been a member of Couchsurfing, and have enjoyed the interactions I have had with people.  This is a great way to meet people from the local area, find out about things to do and see that the average tourist will never experience, and many times even get a free place to stay for a night (a great thing for people who spend a lot of time on the road).  As a host and a surfer myself, I can definitely say that it is a legitimate organization and I would recommend using this service whenever possible.

Another option that just recently came to my attention is Tripping.  Although I have no first-hand experience with this organization, I have heard good things about it from different sources.  It seems to be another option to break through the tourist wall and really get out there and experience different countries and cultures.

I’m sure there are many other options out there, and I encourage everyone to use all kinds of different sources and techniques to break away from the beaten path and start to walk the road less traveled.

“Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means” – Dr. Kaichi Kawana

There are many other things that play a role in my happiness including friends, family, purpose, etc.  But happiness isn’t all about external things – I believe it comes from the inside. I’d like to hear the opinion of some of our readers:

What does happiness mean to you?