“Where’s my phone?” by David Powers

Each Monday we take our favorite day of the week as an opportunity to whip up a tasty dish of weekly motivation. Breakfast is served.

It’s easy to find bits of motivation in everyday life if you know where to look, but it’s often easier to forget to look. Life sometimes feels boring, mundane, repetitive, but there is one thing you can always do to shake yourself out of a routine. Travel.

We need to get out of our comfort zones — to experience the uncomfortable and unfamiliar. This could mean getting lost in a place whose name you can’t pronounce, losing your phone, and having your bank accounts locked. Forging new experiences, ones you thought you would never have, is critical to growth and personal development. Maybe it’s time to take that trip you’ve been dreaming about. Last week, I did.

I am by no account experienced in the art of traveling. The most foreign place I had been prior to this trip was visiting the different countries in Epcot. Even then, I was young and my most vivid memory of the trip was eating at the Sci-Fi Dine-In. So, when the opportunity presented itself to go visit a friend in Budapest for a week, I jumped.

As I traveled to 5 countries in a week, I wrote down the 3 biggest lessons I learned and how they relate to the business world.

Plans are for suckers. Make moves for yourself.

Going into this trip, I had a pretty simple plan. Head over to Budapest, relax and explore for a couple days, and then meet my friend, Annie, at the train station to spend the rest of week together. Little did I know that about 2 hours after getting to the hostel, that plan would fall apart. Or rather, a new plan would come together.

As soon as I got to the hostel, I napped. While falling in and out of sleep, I had a serendipitous moment. I had the realization that I needed to make the absolute most of my time while traveling. A week seemed like a long time while planning the trip, but in that moment, I realized it was just the opposite.

Instead of waiting for 2 days, I logged on the computer and booked a ticket to meet Annie in Prague. I boarded the bus at midnight, passed out, and woke up in the Czech Republic. The day that followed turned out to be my favorite day of the entire trip.

We tell ourselves our lives are long. We think we have the time. But let’s be real, we don’t. In life, you need to seize the moment, capture opportunities, and make moves under your own power. Stop waiting for the stars to align. Forget a plan. Jump and build your wings on the way down.

Spend money on experiences.

As I grow, I am learning the roll I want money to play in my life. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t absolutely love making money and watching my bank account grow (well, eventually grow). I’m sure a lot of you can relate.

Until recently, I loved buying the latest gadgets and spending money going out with friends. This past year, I spent money on travel for the first time. I’ve taken 3 trips — New Orleans, Washington, DC, and this one. They have provided me with more knowledge, smiles, and memories than any camera, drone, or night out have ever given me.

After saving to go on this trip, I realized the real reason I am constantly chasing money — it gives me the freedom to live how I want. Money shouldn’t be a means to purchase material items, but a way to give yourself the life you deserve to live — to gain experiences that make you a better version of yourself.Keep chasing the money, but remember why it’s important. Fast cars are nice, freedom to live however you want and make the most of your life is nicer.

Talking to strangers is okay.

I took an 8.5-hour flight from Toronto to Budapest. Being by myself, I wanted to push myself to get out of my comfort zone and go against everything my parents taught me when I was 5. I wanted to talk to strangers.

During the flight, I struck up a conversation with a lovely couple who grew up in India. We talked about our travel plans, families, and schooling. It turned out they had traveled the world together — taking a trip every year for the last 25 years of their relationship.

They provided me with a different perspective on travel. Travel had always been about seeing sights, being a tourist, and trying to absorb the culture (whatever that means). But this couple traveled for the sole purpose of meeting people from different walks of life and trying to put themselves in their shoes. They wanted to see how different people viewed the world, all to widen their own perspective. Just like that, meeting new people became a new focus of my trip.

How often do we encounter someone that may be a blessing to meet that we simply don’t work up the necessary courage to talk to? Each new conversation, each new person you meet, is an opportunity to build your network and gain new perspectives.

“There is no world. There are only six billion understandings of it.” The more of those understandings we can learn, the greater understanding we have of our reality. And with a greater understanding of our reality comes the power to change it. Travel only helps to strengthen that power.