Travel and Personal Growth: Jordan Wenck On Why & How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings

An interview with Maria Angelova

Don’t be afraid to do things alone, don’t let someone or the lack of someone hold you back. By doing this, you give yourself the opportunity to learn a lot about yourself and do what YOU want to do without having to worry about someone else’s preferences. And you make a lot more friends when you’re alone than with someone.

Thankfully, the world is open for travel once again. Traveling can broaden our horizons and make space for people to become more open-minded. How can travel give us the opportunity for personal growth? What are some ways that travel can help us become better human beings? As a part of our series about “How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jordan Wenck.

Jordan is a Florida native currently living in Southern California with a passion for healthy living, giving back, authenticity, and making connections through culture and travel. After working in digital marketing, social media, and ecommerce for 10 years, Jordan saw Taaluma and Rice Love as the ideal places to begin her entrepreneurial journey. As co-owner and operator, Jordan is able to put all of her energy and creativity into more than just a business. She gets to work with an amazing team to create one-of-a-kind products with a mission that helps other people around the world also begin their entrepreneurial journeys, and another mission that helps feed the world. She believes in doing good, eating your veggies, and playing outside as much as possible. This year, Jordan plans to spend a significant amount of time on the road exploring other cultures, you can plan to see her expanding her Spanish in Latin America and then in Europe toward the end of the year. Generally, her happy place is at the beach while watching the sunset with her shoes in hand and her Taaluma Tote on her back.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

I grew up in Florida and the majority of my childhood was spent outside. I was a very active kid, and my family was always doing something fun! We fished, we water skied, we rode dirt bikes and go karts, we played capture the flag in the yard, and played as many sports as my dad would sign us up for. I think this is where my sense of adventure began. Our big trips as a family were one week spent in the Florida Keys in the summer and one week in the mountains in the winter. I was also natural bred negotiator with no fear of the phone. My grandmother recently told me one of her favorite stories about me as a kid. When I was 12, I wanted to play the clarinet but I couldn’t get a new one because we didn’t have a lot of money. I went into the classified’s section in the newspaper, found a used one, called the man and negotiated it for half of the price. Now, buying and selling used things is a hobby!

What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.

I have always had a very entrepreneurial spirit, paving my own path as I go. When I was an undergraduate at Florida State University, I graduated in a class of 1 as the first person with the degree that combined the best of communications and the best of IT which was basically made for digital marketing/social media. I had dream jobs at Coca-Cola, Bridgestone and PUMA but still always felt like something was missing in the corporate environment. I remember reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crushing It! and he talks about some people just have a burning desire to build something, that’s always been me and that line has stuck with me. Now, as co-owner and operator of Taaluma Totes and Rice Love, not only do I get to combine all of my working experience from digital marketing, social media and ecommerce, but I get to inspire people to travel through our products and also give back to the global community through our microloans and rice deliveries. It’s pretty amazing.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

I have been very lucky throughout my career but who I am today is most definitely because of my dad. He was born into poverty and worked harder than anyone I’ve ever met to give my sister and I the lives that we had. At one point, he was delivering pizzas for Papa John’s just so that we could play travel softball. He taught us to be confident, independent, and to work hard giving 100% to everything we do. I am forever grateful for his lessons and how much he loves us.

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?

As I said before, I always felt like something was missing for me in the corporate environment. In the summer of 2019, I left my job running social media for PUMA’s golf division to go back to school to pursue an entirely new career as a dietitian. I spent my 30th birthday at community college taking Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry, and Microbiology. I enrolled in a Master’s program in Human Nutrition. I was working as a nutrition assistant at a health spa until COVID hit. Then I took a job working part time doing customer service for a friend’s ecommerce business that sold skateboards while I was finishing my program. That was when I realized how special small business is, and how much I thrived in that environment. I started taking less classes and took on more responsibility there. Before long, I was running their social media, helping with logistics and product development, created their wholesale program and got us into Costco! At this point I knew small business is where I wanted to be, and that I didn’t need to be a dietitian, although that journey taught me so much and got me to the path I’m on now. Then the opportunity to join Taaluma and Rice Love came along, and here I am living my dream as an entrepreneur for two company with a mission and amazing products. I am slowly finishing the Master’s program one class at a time, with only 3 classes left to finish because I am still very passionate about nutrition and wellness, and at some point I would love to use it in some capacity. But it has been a very funny and windy road to get to where I am! My biggest lesson is that your dreams can change and you never know where your path will lead.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

The last few years, I have been really resonating with Jocko Willink’s “Discipline = Freedom.” To be in school and working full time takes discipline. To stay healthy takes discipline. And to run a business without anyone keeping you on task takes even more discipline. But all these things result in so much freedom freedom. I’m currently reading atomic habits and the principle applies there as well, breaking discipline down into tiny habits that lead to more freedom within those micro disciplines.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Both of my businesses are taking up the majority of my time. Because they are both travel friendly and mission based, they help people in many ways. Our best-selling products are backpacks. Backpacks encourage travel, and as we will discuss later in this interview, travel makes people better humans. Both of our brands are mission based, so they give back to the global community, Rice Love sends 2.2 lbs of rice to families in India for every bag made, Taaluma funds microloans for small business owners in the countries where the fabric came from. Rice Love bags are handmade in India at a facility that pays fair wages. Taaluma Totes are handmade in the USA. From the people making our bags to the end user to those that receive from our mission, every bag has a story and we get to help so many people through our business. Everyone needs a bag to travel, and we’ve got the perfect ones.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. In this interview series we’d like to discuss travel and personal growth. Let’s dive deeper into these together. Based on your research or personal experience, why do you think travel can lead to personal growth? Can you share a story?

I can give you a personal example. In 2022, I spent a lot of time and money on personal growth through coaches, podcasts, neurofeedback, books, plant medicine, and bio hacking like cold plunges and breathwork. In August of 2022 I went on a solo 2-week trip to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy and I came back with more inspiration, self-love, confidence, presence, and joy than many of those other experiences. When you get out of your comfort zone and away from your routines, you give yourself space to experience life in different ways. Still, months later, I am inspired by the world and excited for what life has to offer. Through food, new friends, music, architecture, history, trying new things, and even being through discomfort of not speaking the language or getting lost, I don’t know if anything opens a person up more than traveling. It was on this trip that I decided I was going to leave the corporate job that I had and was going to accept the opportunity with Taaluma and Rice Love to begin my entrepreneurial journey.

A recent survey from Psychology Today showed that over 80% of participants found that travel helped them with problem solving or decision making. Why do you think this is true for so many people?

To me, problem solving and decision making come from clarity and inspiration. When you get out of your comfort zone and your routines, you can think more creatively and more freely, and inspiration comes easily and from anywhere. When you meet new people with different perspectives that inspire you. When you go to a museum or a tour and learn about history or something from someone’s life is inspiring. And when you eat the best pizza of your life, followed by the best gelato of your life, that’s inspiring.

Do you think travel enhance our mindfulness, optimism, or sense of gratitude? How? Can you please explain with an example or story?

Absolutely, all of them. I have a specific memory when I was in Innsbruck, Austria from this recent trip. I was high up in the Alps doing a meditation and I imprinted that spot into my memory as a happy place. In that one moment, I was so grateful to be there and I am still able to connect with that moment. I can still see so clearly the green mountainside and the beauty of the town below. Connecting with that memory even now brings me mindfulness, optimism and gratitude.

Surely not everyone who travels automatically becomes an exemplar of human decency. What are a few reasons why some people completely miss out on the growth opportunities that travel can offer?

I think change is hard for some people. If you travel to a place with a culture that is significantly different than yours, it might not always be easy. The people might not be super nice if you can’t speak their language. Getting stuck in an airport where you can’t communicate with someone can be traumatic. Not being able to read a menu can be a bad experience for some people. If a person doesn’t have an open mind when they travel, it might not be a good experience. If you watch a lot of global news and you have a lot of fear, you won’t feel safe traveling and that can be a block to someone missing out on growth. As I mentioned before, I love and respect my dad so much, but there are many places that I wouldn’t go with him. But that doesn’t mean travel can’t make him a better person, we just have to choose places where he can be open enough to have a good experience. I’d love to go to Ireland and play The Old course with him, I love when he comes to California to visit me and he gets to experience the places I love. There are some places for him that would not be an opportunity for growth for him, but still plenty of places where he can get out of his comfort zone, experience new things and experience growth through travel. Actually, while we’re here, we can add that to the list of how travel can help people be better humans. If you go on a good trip with someone, you’re making memories of a lifetime and deepening bonds through new experiences. The memories of a trip to Ireland with my dad alone would make both of us happier, better people.

Thank you for that. Now for our main question; What are your “5 Habits You Should Develop In Order Make Travel Into An Oppurtunity For Personal Growth?”

1. Don’t spend too much time thinking about things: applying for that job, asking that person out, buying shoes, or planning that trip. There’s a reason you’re thinking about it for a reason, the longer you wait the harder it is to do it. If a place or a thing calls to you, don’t ignore it. Close your eyes and BOOK IT!
2. Don’t be afraid to do things alone, don’t let someone or the lack of someone hold you back. By doing this, you give yourself the opportunity to learn a lot about yourself and do what YOU want to do without having to worry about someone else’s preferences. And you make a lot more friends when you’re alone than with someone.
3. Be open minded — this applies to life and travel. Planning is good but you can’t always plan for everything. You never know what can happen while you’re traveling but just view it all as an adventure, practice saying yes. If you can be open minded on a trip, this can lead to being more open minded in your daily life.
4. Don’t waste your youth on anything! Whether you’re 20 or 50 or 70, if you’re moving, you can travel! Don’t waste your youth at your desk thinking about where you want to go. Do it now.
5. Builds on number 4, Stay active and healthy! Get your steps in, start stretching, do some squats! If you have good movement habits now, you’re ready to go on tours, climb those Spanish steps, run to catch the train, get your luggage in the top rack, and walk for miles in any city across the world. If there’s one thing that translates across all cultures, it’s our health.

From your experience, does travel have a negative impact on personal growth too? Is there a downside to travel?

Travel is expensive and takes time. It might require sacrifice to be able to afford it financially, and it might require time away from your job to have time for it. There’s an opportunity cost on everything, what would you be doing otherwise if you weren’t traveling? Then you have to decide what’s a priority for your life.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

Tim Ferris has helped me more than he will ever know.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

@jordanwenck on Instagram and our businesses are www.taalumatotes.com and www.carryacountry.com

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.