Before we talk about all the life lessons I learned by traveling the world, I’d like to share with you all the travel tips and hacks I have used throughout these past 4 years traveling the world.

If you want to learn how to save money while traveling or get paid to travel, make sure to grab your free copy of my ebook via the form below.

I made the decision to put travel as a priority in my life because I did a burn out from work back in 2014.

Working long hours at work and not paying attention to red signals coming down my way. It did not miss because it really affected my health, my relationship with people I cared about, but also my faith in climbing the corporate ladder.

This is when I realised that I was not in control of my life and that I needed this situation to change fast.

But where to start?

I attended a speech of a man named Nando Parrado who survived a near death experience. There is actually a movie based on his story called Alive that came out in the 90’s.
And I remember him asking a question to the crowd of young adults we were:

" What would you do if you knew you were going to die tomorrow?"

And I remember that this question resonated with me because of the life events that happened to me at that time.
I was dedicating my time and energy to something I had no control of. Working overtime and taking more projects with no or little recognition in the end.
And missing out on spending quality time with the people I cared about...

He then finished his speech saying "Life is short, Create Memories" which I kept as the motto of my blog as a reminder.

Since then I put my passion for traveling as a priority in my life and started taking control of my life.

The Millennial Nomad was born.

4 years later, after traveling to 40 countries across 5 different continents, I managed to build an online business focused around my passions and help other motivated individuals follow my foot steps.

Here are the lessons I learned along the way.

Benefits to traveling

1. The world is an incredible place

Don't be afraid to travel, whether with a group of friends or family, or even solo. Traveling solo has been the best experience I have had in my life. It allowed me to learn who I really was, what I was aspiring for and most importantly, how to spend time with myself.

You can have a read at this article I wrote The Benefits Of Traveling Solo.

The world has so much to offer. I only touched the surface of what it has to offer and I am amazed by how incredible it is. I am grateful today to have been able to set foot in countries I never imagined would travel to one day.

2. The people you will meet will change your life

I have met incredible people while traveling with who I spent an amazing time. Moments you live with other people while traveling will always be memorable. You will remember them for the rest of your life. It is also because I met these incredible people that I decided to follow the digital nomad lifestyle path. And the main benefit of having such an international network is that you have a local guide in nearly every country you will want to travel to!

3. Traveling does not have to be expensive

I started my travels backpacking and staying at hostels to meet with other travelers. Then the more I traveled the more I tried to live like a local.

There are many ways to experience a country like a local nowadays. Not staying in big hotels or eating at big restaurants but rather stay with a local host and experience the street food or go shopping at the local market have become my way of traveling now anywhere I go. And, to explore the city and country I visit, I would just walk or take the local transports.

The biggest expense you need to pay would be your plane tickets. Sure I'd like to splurge from time to time and treat myself, but not always.

4. Let go of material possessions

There have been a few destinations where I just had my backpack of 90L to travel for a few weeks in a country. This taught me that we do not need to own a lot of things to live a good life. On the contrary the more you declutter your life the easier it gets.

I discovered the minimalism lifestyle through the documentary on Netflix. And Marie Kondo’s method to declutter and organise your home has also had a big impact on my lifestyle. I still have some work to do, but I am getting closer adopting this minimalism lifestyle.

5. The more you travel the more difficult it is to call a place home

I actually wrote a blog post about it. What Does Home Mean To You?

It can become tricky to call a specific place home when you travel so often. I have also lived in 5 countries so far in my life. Every place has its pros and cons.

Bottom line there are many countries where I felt home but picking a specific one is for me impossible today. I'd rather have the choice to go to as many places where I can feel home. Home for me is a feeling more than a physical place now.

6. Take control of your life, you are the one responsible for what happens in your life

Making the decision to put travel as a priority in my life was not easy.

It required a lot of organisation because I was still working a full-time job back then, that was also very demanding. But when you want something really badly, you are ready to make the sacrifices you need to make it come true.

Traveling made me more responsible. It helped me gained new life skills and reminded me that I was the one in control and that nothing is impossible.

7. Be open-minded

Before I started traveling, even though I already lived in 4 countries, I was very skeptical to travel by myself to some destinations.

The medias always tend to exaggerate and bring fear to the eyes of the viewers. I remember traveling to Cairo a few weeks after the Coup d'Etat that happened in 2013.

Like everywhere when this type of events happen you need to be careful and use common sense. But the main benefit of this situation is that when I went to visit the pyramids and temples, there was no tourists.

I was able to enjoy these amazing History sites by myself and a few other brave souls! So, be open to new adventures and do not always listen to what other people say. Always make your own opinion and use your common sense.

8. Make time for yourself

Traveling solo is one of the best things I have done in my life.

I was in my mid-twenties and had that crisis where I wondered what was I supposed to do with my life? So far, I always had a plan: Go to school, go to University and graduate, get a job, get an apartment, have a social life and belong to a community, etc...

But comes a time in your life when you will wonder "What's next". And that is when being by myself really helped me find the answers to my questions. It was also the time I discovered photography and photography became a form of therapy. I would take my camera with me after work to go and shoot for 1-2 hours non stop with no real purpose.

Just spend time with myself and be creative.

9. If you believe that it is possible, then do it

Some people I knew did not believe that I could manage to travel once or twice per month while working a 50 hours per week job. And yet, I managed to do it. Why? Because I knew it was possible and I made it a priority in my life.

Always listen to that little voice within you and don't let anyone transfer their fear of the unknown to you.

They are only right until you prove them wrong!

10. Live with no regrets

It is only after bad events that we feel grateful for what we already have. Otherwise we just live life on automation.

Wake up, get ready, go to work, socialise, come home, watch TV, go to sleep and repeat.

Some people believe that because they graduated University they have to stop learning new things. But no, instead learn new things every day, be curious and do things you have always wanted to do.

This quote of Les Brown sum up pretty well this point: “The graveyard is the richest place on Earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”

11. Traveling will teach you new skills

Since I started traveling, I decided to create a blog to write about my experience around the world. This has taught me the following skills:

• Create and manage a website

• Create content through writing blog posts, taking photos, recording videos, create online courses and other digital products

• Social Media Management. I’ve learned how to manage several social media platforms at once and engage with my audience

• Social Media Marketing. I’ve learned how to promote my content and digital products using social media and earn a living from it.

These are all transferable skills that most employers are looking for on the job market. If I’d have not started this adventure in 2015, I would still be working overtime at a job that offered a great salary but no self-actualisation.

So my advice to you is to go after your dreams no matter what. You can do it. And along the way you will meet people and experience things that will comfort you in the decision you took.

Have love for travelling

Traveling has allowed me to design the lifestyle I was aspiring for, be nomadic, work on social media, learn new skills on a daily basis, spend more quality time with the people I care about.

Was it easy? Yes and NO. The only obstacles we face are the fears we set in our minds. Once you have managed to unlock those fears, then new opportunities come to you. It is up to you to know how to seize them.

Would I do it again? yes 100%

How did I manage to travel the world while working full-time? I worked for companies that offered me the freedom to travel to their remote offices around the world. As long as my job was done, I could work remotely from any places. This is how I started tasting the laptop lifestyle.

How did I make money online? At that time through affiliate marketing. I learned everything through an online training from two travel influencers I followed who are from New Zealand and who created an education hub for aspiring digital nomads; to help equip you with the digital skills and know how to work online called Wired Creatives. I wrote a review here about their training if you are interested to learn more.

Now my question to you is:

How To Design A Life You Love?

There is no overnight success. It takes time to reach the goals you set in your life. But there are ways to fast track your results. Especially nowadays thanks to the technology and our modern lifestyle. It is up to each one of us to leverage technology to live our ideal lifestyle.

If you would like to learn all my travel tips to travel more often, feel free to grab your free copy of my ebook by filling the form below.

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And if you know anyone willing to travel the world but are still thinking twice, feel free to share this article with them.

Safe travels!

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