I was never one of those people who knew exactly what my life purpose was.  Some people grow up knowing exactly what they are meant to do like those who become doctors or people who enter university knowing exactly what career path they wanted once they graduated.  That was never me.

Although I enjoyed doing a lot of different things and I had a wide range of skills, nothing made me say “yes! That’s what I want to do!”.  I liked learning about a variety of topics in college, I worked numerous jobs that I really enjoyed but, I just wasn’t sure what path I wanted to take once I finished school.  I started studying about tourism in my third year of university and I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Despite having a degree in a field that I had knowledge, interest, and work experience in, nothing stuck out to me as a forever career.

That’s when I decided to do something that many people dream of doing but don’t ever get to.  I packed a backpack and took off to travel the world.  I was sickened by the travel bug, in the best way possible, and I didn’t stop.  I couldn’t stop.

I became addicted to traveling.  Not only because I was going to jaw-dropping destinations where mountains reflected on the mirror-like body of water below or climbing over 700 steps up to get a view that went on for miles but rather  I became addicted to traveling because of how I was changing.  The more that I traveled the more I was learning about myself, about humanity, and this thing called life.  I was learning what scared me, who I really was when I was faced with hard decisions, what gave me inner joy, what type of relationships mattered most to me,  what impact I wanted to make on this world, what I needed in my life, and so much more.

Despite the gratitude that I had from living a lifestyle of time and spiritual freedom that many only dream of, I was struggling inside.  I always allowed time to be my safety cushion that freed me from putting pressure on myself.  I too wanted to earn a consistent income, find a life partner, settle down, buy a house, and have a family but, timing just wasn’t right, yet.  I never felt the pressure of family, society, or myself get to me.  That was until I turned 30.  There was something that changed inside of me.  Like an internal clock.  Once 30 came, my fire for finding my purpose and gain clarity on my life path kicked into high gear.

While traveling, I was finding it extremely difficult to figure out what career I wanted to have for the rest of my life.  None of the travel-related jobs that I learned about in school or the popular digital nomad jobs that everyone was doing intrigued me. I knew that the power that travel held needed to be brought to light but I just didn’t know how.  I knew that the impact that travel had on me and my life was something so powerful that I wanted others to be able to experience for themselves.  I knew that the stigma of traveling the world is only for those who have tons of money in the bank or have a high-paying corporate job and can travel in luxury couldn’t be further from the truth.  I know because I made it happen for myself.  I went from the typical broke college student struggling to pay rent and bills to changing how I managed my money so I could accomplish my travel goals.  I have traveled to over 80 countries by the time that I turned 30 and I wanted to let others know that they too can live whatever dream lifestyle they wanted as well.

Throughout my years of traveling the world, my life, mind, and soul transformed in many ways.  I gain new personal and professional skills like speaking another language, becoming a great problem-solver, gaining confidence and independence, learning how to ask for help, learning how I react to certain situations, and I realized what the bigger picture of my ideal life looked like.  I learned that travel and helping others were huge passions of mine.  I also learned an immense amount about the travel industry, it’s trends, what travelers wanted and didn’t want, what voids and obstacles laid within the industry, and so much more.

That’s when I decided to take the action that was needed for me to figure out what kind of career I wanted. I began studying anything and everything that I could about the travel and hospitality industry and about starting an online business.  I listened to and worked with successful mentors of my own to help teach and guide me.  I put all of my new teachings with everything that I knew, experienced, and loved about traveling together, applied my own story, and became a travel coach.  Now,  I can help others achieve a transformation in their life through the power of travel, I can empower them on how to design their own lifestyle, and I can help change the way that travel is valued and used among travel brands and the corporate world.

Everyone has a unique story to tell.  If you continue to follow your heart, listen to your gut, meet new people, open yourself up to the world, challenge yourself, and never give up, you too can find your purpose in life, maybe even through travel like I did.