Travel and Personal Growth: TV Host Pamela Holt On Why & How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings

An Interview With Maria Angelova

Personal growth can multiply when you are “child-like” in your curiosity of a new city, town, or country! It opens you up to new and unexpected experiences that can lead to future changes in your life.

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 Pamela Holt.

Pamela Holt is a travel expert, Executive Producer & Host of the new streaming series, Me, Myself & The World: The Art of Solo Travel, now streaming on Amazon Prime, GoTraveler and Sling TV. An avid adventurer, Pamela has journeyed to over 81 countries solo, including Antarctica, Bali, Japan, Singapore, and nearly everywhere in between. From living in a hut deep in the Amazon rainforest to jumping from the highest commercial bungee in the world in South Africa to getting detained in Russia, Pamela is inspiring others to join her solo travel revolution, explore the world on their own terms, and seek adventure in everyday life.

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 was born in Westlake Village, CA and grew up as a typical 70’s tomboy modeled after my idols Pippy Longstocking and the girl in The Bad News Bears. In 7th grade, we moved to the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It was the greatest gift my parents ever gave my sister and I! We stayed for 1.5 years and then took an exotic trip and traveled around Asia for a month. I had worked all summer as an assistant to a pool cleaner to earn spending money for our trip. I bought my first big purchase, a SEIKO watch, in Hong Kong — then under British rule. To me, it was the epitome of class — and I had saved just enough to buy it! Later that night, after my first big purchase, my parents took us to Jimmy’s, a famous restaurant in Hong Kong at the time. It was my 14th birthday and I wore that watch with such pride. When the whole restaurant joined in on singing me Happy Birthday, I felt I had arrived. I truly believe this was the moment I caught the travel bug!

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

Mrs. Honey was my 3rd grade teacher. She gave us an assignment to write 10 things we would like to do in life — an early “bucket list,” if you will. My list included mostly travel-related items, like traveling to Russia and China, learning Japanese, getting my pilot’s license, etc. As it turns out, Mrs. Honey happens to be the niece of the one and only Amelia Earhart! Mrs. Honey inspired us to dream big at a very young age and I guess we can deduce that it runs in her blood!

Fast forward a couple of decades later and I completed my list by the age of 30! The first thing I did was to start a new bucket list. It’s been a source of pride for me, not because of the number of countries I’ve been to or grandiose things on the list, but because of the memories they hold and the courage it took to do some of them and the lessons I learned along the way.

Fast forward again, I found Mrs. Honey 6 months ago. She is still alive and kickin’! She could only get together for a short visit as she was off on a 4-week European trip the next morning and was busy packing. Go figure! We will meet for tea this summer with a few of my 3rd grade classmates– in between Mrs. Honey’s trips of course.

My mom has also been a big inspiration in my life. She is the one that planned and paid for our month-long Asia trip. It was the catalyst for unearthing my wander-lust gene! She is a big traveler herself, and at 83 still travels solo. She is my inspiration!

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?

My parents always encouraged me to be who I was and who I wanted to be. Luckily, as a girl growing up in the 70’s, I was allowed to dream, play, experiment, fail, and grow. The only thing that was expected of me was to be a kid (along with following the golden rules).

Growing up with a foundation of support from my family allowed me to become my own champion at an early age. Us 70’s kids are resilient and tough — while we were allowed to be kids with zero pressure to achieve world domination and make our first million by 18, we were scrappy. We worked hard to make money. I had my first paper route by the age of 10 and made a whopping $1.25 a week for doing countless house chores (5-cents for clearing the dish washer and 10-cents for setting the table and clearing the dishes after dinner).

I’m not meaning to name-drop, but I think this story is relevant. I booked the very first professional audition I ever went on, the first! The role was in “Indecent Proposal.” My scene was with Woody Harrelson (his girlfriend) and Demi Moore (her best friend). The three of us were locked in a car for hours together on two different filming days, so we got to talkin’. Demi shared some of the most important advice with me: she said to treat the crew like family — take care of them and they will take care of you! She walked the walk. On set, she made and personally passed out lemonade to the crew members and kept a masseuse on staff on certain days of the week to offer massages for crew who needed some rest and relaxation.

About 8 years ago, I ran into Demi at Sundance, it was a full-circle joy to remind her of the advice she gave me and to let her know that I followed her lead.

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 takeaway did you learn from that?

I wouldn’t necessarily categorize this as a mistake, but a series of events lead me to the incredible career path I have as the Executive Producer and host of my own travel series. Having studied theater, film and television at UCLA, I developed a passion for storytelling at a young age. Despite making headway in my acting and musical theater career, my plans came to a screeching halt when I experienced a traumatic car accident at the age of 35. Nearly immobilized, I later required extensive spinal surgery that I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover from.

On the heels of accomplishing major career highs, like singing a duet with Barry Manilow at the Hollywood Palladium and selling my first indie film, “The Three Amigas,” at the Cannes Short Film Corner, I realized the long road to recovery ahead meant I had to pause my acting and singing pursuits.

It was in recovery that I decided to marry her two passions in life — travel and storytelling — which would inevitably take me on a journey to the farthest corners of the world. As I was wheeled into the OR, I made an “80 by 50” promise to myself — travel to 80 countries before turning 50 years old — and the minute I regained my strength, I set out to fulfill this promise.

Now 53 years old, I have certainly made good on this promise — I have journeyed to over 81 countries solo, including Antarctica, Bali, Japan, Singapore, and nearly everywhere in between. Along the way, I worked as a travel reporter and host, documenting content from my travels. From living in a hut deep in the Amazon rainforest to jumping from the highest commercial bungee in the world in South Africa to getting detained in Russia, I hope to inspire others to join my solo travel revolution, explore the world on your own terms, and seek adventure in everyday life.

My new show, Me, Myself & The World: The Art of Solo Travel, is a love letter to the journey of rediscovering oneself and embracing second chances, or better yet, second acts.

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

Traveling alone will be the scariest, most liberating, life-changing experience of your life…. And the best thing you can do for yourself is to try it at least once. I can’t think of a quote that better represents my life. Traveling solo can be incredibly daunting, but I’m so glad I “felt the fear and did it anyway.” It changed my life for the better.

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

We’re currently in post production for season 2 and building out season 3 of Me, Myself & The World: The Art of Solo Travel! Travel is a passion and central theme in my life. I believe through travel, people can come together, find common ground, celebrate differences, and share in what it means to be human. If I can tell these stories through my platform, I will have done my job!

Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview about 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?

Travel can be scary. When I say travel, I’m not talking about staying at a 5-star all-inclusive resort — that’s a vacation. Travel, that’s something different. And solo travel is the ultimate high risk, high reward situation. These opportunities to “leap and let the net appear” can have big pay-offs in terms of acquiring perspective, building character, and gaining confidence — not as in “oh, I went alone and made it back in one piece” confidence, but something deeper — a confidence that you can trust your decision-making skills, be comfortable in your own skin, and more importantly, feel empowered alone and with your own thoughts. To me, that is personal growth.

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?

• Travel helps with problem-solving and decision-making because you are left to your own thoughts — good, bad, and everything in between. Often all we need is space to gain perspective on a situation or time to juggle outcomes in our mind in order to find our solution. How many times have we heard someone took a solo trip away from their partner and either came home renewed in their commitment or single? Nearly every problem can be solved with perspective and time — and that’s exactly what traveling can offer.

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

Travel can do lots of things — like enhance our mindfulness, optimism, or sense of gratitude — BUT only if we are truly open to it. Some people go on vacation hoping for a zen moment or a spiritual awakening and never get it. Other times, it hits you in the face when you least expect it. I’ve learned many lessons along the road, but some of them didn’t come into my awareness until later.

When I returned from an 8-week journey to Africa, I thought nothing of it. I was happy to get some sleep after my long travels, unpack, and do my laundry. It wasn’t till about 24 hours later that I walked in the bathroom, ran the water and looked in the mirror. All of a sudden, I burst into tears. A memory from my trip instantly came into focus.

I met a woman in a campsite bathroom in Botswana. It was early morning and we had exchanged pleasantries but were going about our morning routine in silence. All of sudden, she starts crying, but not the kind where she is looking for sympathy, more the kind that was a surprise to her and one that needed to come out. I set down my mascara and walked over to comfort her. She told me that she and her husband were from Zimbabwe. He was English by birth and had been in Zimbabwe since he was 8. She was born and raised in Zimbabwe. They had been elected by their community to pick up much needed supplies in Botswana. They owned a truck and could carry the gas and oil needed for cooking. The problem was that on Monday, Robert Mugabi, the ruler of Zimbabwe, had put out a message to the people planning to protest his regime that anyone who did not show up to work on Monday in protest would be arrested, deported, and possibly killed. The woman’s husband was adamant that he would join the protest and not go to work. This meant he would most likely be arrested, deported, or possibly killed. She would then be forced to find a new home if she wanted to stay with her husband.

She explained that she had been strong and supportive of her husband’s beliefs as they discussed it over their 7-hour drive from Zimbabwe to Botswana to buy oil and gas, but she could not contain her fears in this safe space — this quiet morning in the woman’s bathroom with just the two of us.

Back in my bathroom in LA, weeks later, she popped into my mind at that precise moment — as I was running the faucet looking in the mirror. I wondered if her husband had been arrested, deported, or worse yet, killed. I realized our realities were so different. And moreover, I sat there crying as the faucet ran with hot water, realizing I had not had hot running water in weeks. My trip gave me such perspective on my reality — I wondered how I was born into such opulence, with hot running water and freedom in one lifetime!

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?

Fear is a major obstacle that prevents people from missing out on growth opportunities while traveling. It’s why so many tourists choose to stay in Western chain hotels, eat at Western chain restaurants, and are afraid to experience anything new while traveling. Fear also prevents people from being open to new perspectives, cultures, and experiences, which can be extremely limiting.

Thank you for that. Now for our main question; What are your “5 Habits You Should Develop in Order Make Travel into An Opportunity for Personal Growth?”

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

New things can be scary — but there is a difference between feeling scared and having a “gut feeling” about an event/situation. If you want to try solo travel but are scared to travel alone, might I suggest you take a group tour and tag on a few extra days to explore a destination on your own. You will have already gotten the lay of the land from the tour and it’s a perfect way to “get your feet wet” in a city or country you already have some experience in.

Make a conscious effort to learn a few words in the language of your destination.

Especially dialects if you are going to specific regions. Even if you get the words wrong — your efforts will be appreciated!

I once said “hello, how are you?” to someone but mixed up the words and said the equivalent of the “F” word. Everyone froze; except me of course as I was standing in all my glory of having pulled out some fancy words. Someone politely explained what I had said and gave me the correct pronunciation. I guess the look of shame on my face was priceless because they broke out in a belly laugh! It helped break the ice and they helped me practice the correct pronunciation after we had a good laugh.

Get your feet wet!

Try new things when you travel — it will help to stimulate the

synapses in your brain, which according to science can help keep up cognition and brain health.

Arrive Curious

Personal growth can multiply when you are “child-like” in your curiosity of a new city, town, or country! It opens you up to new and unexpected experiences that can lead to future changes in your life.

Reflect with Gratitude

It‘s important to reflect on our experiences — the good, the bad, and the yummy! With reflection can come gratitude for what we have; motivation for what we want; and wisdom for how truly lucky we are to share in other cultures. Acknowledgement alone is growth.

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

Nope. My life is exponentially richer because of travel. It has allowed me to experience personal growth on a level I never thought was possible, and for that I am incredibly grateful.

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 :-)

I’d love to meet Brian Chesky of Airbnb. I have so many things to share with him, including the original designs of a toilet seat he made that ultimately propelled him to leave LA, move to San Francisco, and team up with Joe Gebbia and Nate Blecharczyk to start, in my opinion, one of the most revolutionary and uniting movements of our time — home-sharing!

I’d love to work with him to create content around home-sharing and how it connects people from all corners of the world.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Stream my show, Me, Myself & The World: The Art of Solo Travel, on Amazon Prime, GoTraveler and Sling TV. You can also follow me for more solo travel tips on Instagram at @ThePamelaHolt.

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent on 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.