Insights Traveling 16 Months Around the World
Adam inside a cozy off-the-grid AirBnB on Lago Atitlan, Guatemala
For this Goyo Spotlight, we would like to highlight our friend Adam Ziegler, an entrepreneur and world traveler. I started our interview by asking Adam how he defines the word “adventure”. In the past, he thought about an adventure as a trip that you haven’t done before, typically outdoors like a trek or backpacking trip. But ironically through the exposure of long-term travel his definition of adventure doesn’t necessarily have to be a walk around the globe. It can be anything that challenges your comfort zone and changes your perspective like learning a new skill, visiting a new place, or pushing your physical boundaries.
He made sure to point out that everyone has a their own baseline of fear. What one person considers fear, for another person it might be their day-to-day. Especially in the world of social media, there’s a tendency to compare yourself with others. We see snippets of grand adventures and people think that their life isn’t an adventure because they’re not on top of a mountain, but that’s not a healthy perspective. Adam makes a habit to continuously to ask himself: what can I do today that’s going to challenge me and teach me something new? Seeking those opportunities are what lead him to life’s greatest adventures.
In 2015, Adam and his fiancé Bonnie had a shared dream to travel long-term. In 2017, they left their corporate jobs, hit reset and set out to travel around the world for a year. They originally planned for 12 months but they realized that they could get so much more out of traveling for much less money than they expected. Their lives were so enriched with travel so they kept going for 16 months.
They used the trip as a project to work on themselves. Every few months, they would set aside personal reflection time, asking “what have I gotten out of the last few months and what do I want to get out of the next few months?” Their perspective changed over the journey and they had gained clarity for what values they had in their life. At the end of the trip they journaled and reflected on what the trip had meant to them and continue to set goals in this way now that they’re back in Berkeley, CA.
“Stripping down to the bare minimum of what you can take with you on your back lets time and space for self-reflection. When there aren’t so many distractions or commitments along the way, you can really reflect.”
The best decision they made along the way was to volunteer in various countries around the world using the Workaway service. Workaway is a platform that allows members to arrange homestays and cultural exchange. Volunteers or "Workawayers", are expected to contribute a pre-agreed amount of time per day in exchange for lodging and food, which is provided by their host. They taught English in a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar, harvested coffee and guided plantation tours in Peru and Colombia, and built marketing strategies for jungle retreat centers in Brazil.
Adam’s newest adventure is building his two companies: America's Next Talented Stars (ANTS) and Aglow Candle Company. ANTS is a Bay Area after-school sports program for elementary school youth. Aglow Candle Company produces hand poured, small batch soy candles in his family’s’ workshop in Fort Collins, CO.
To check out Adam’s companies, click the links above. Follow him on instagram @aziggs
Photos: Adam Zieglar
