Whether you are away for a few months or a few years, travelling the world could open up many doors for you in terms of developing your self, your relationships and your career and ultimately change your life for the better. With much more leisure time at your disposal and with you being exposed to various cultures and ways of living, you might find yourself with a fresh perspective on what you want and need out of life and your future goals. You will also meet people from diverse backgrounds, which could lead to various opportunities.
Here are just five potential opportunities that could arise while you are travelling and things to consider if you are travelling with intent to start your own business, network and/or advance your career, meet someone new and start a new life abroad, develop your interpersonal skills and worldly knowledge or discover your calling.
1. Set up your own business
With all that time on your hands to ponder and explore, you might be inspired to start your own business while on the road or return home to set up said business. While travelling, there are many ways you can start making money. For example, you might start blogging about your adventures and inspiring others to take the leap and travel the world too. You might specialise in how to backpack on a budget in South America or how to travel the states with a family.
Whatever it is, you can learn ways to monetise your blog such as affiliate marketing or developing ebooks and online courses. The latter two could even develop into an online business in their own right. If you start your business while on the road, this could result in you continuing your travels for much longer than anticipated because you will be earning money to keep you going.
2. Networking and advance your career
One of the beauty’s of travelling the world is that you never know who you might meet. The world is full of fascinating people that you might never have met if you had stayed within the vicinity of your home town. Meeting people is a great way to make lifelong friends but also you never know what opportunities might present themselves in terms of advancing your career.
For instance, you might meet someone who has their own business and is looking for a freelance designer or writer to join their team, which just so happens to be your area of expertise. You might even meet a local business owner who has the perfect job opportunity for you, or you could build a network and meet the ideal employer through this network and land yourself that dream job in Australia. There are so many opportunities in this area and this is just one of the many reasons why it’s a great idea to get chatting to others and develop friendships and connections while you are travelling.
3. Meet someone new and start a new life abroad
So many of our friends have gone travelling to South East Asia and Australia and either met someone out there and started a new life, or returned home with a partner they have met while travelling. For example, our friend from a small town in the High Peaks National Park, UK, travelled all around South East Asia where he met his South Korean girlfriend. Together, they continued their adventures and went on to Australia before finally returning to the UK almost a year later.
While his South Korean girlfriend spoke limited English when they met, after spending so much time together travelling, she developed her English language skills and he can now hold a conversation in Korean. Not only have each of them learnt a new language, they have built memories that will last a lifetime and met someone they could potentially spend the rest of their life with. Who knows whether they will end up living in the UK or Korea, or somewhere completely different. The point is that when travelling you never know who you might meet and where that could lead too. But the chances are it could lead you to moving abroad and embracing a completely different culture and way of life, beyond anything you ever imagined.
4. Develop interpersonal skills and worldly knowledge
Whether you are barely in your 20’s or you are far into your 30’s, 40’s or more, taking a trip around the world will open you up to new experiences, which will deepen your worldly knowledge. If you go alone or with friends, you will grow as a person, such as developing your own independence, learning how to take time to yourself, learning a new skill, or gaining the confidence to make new friends and try new things. There’s just something about being out of your home country that makes you able to push your mental boundaries and take more risks. As a result, you will surprise yourself at how outgoing you really are and how many things you are actually willing to experience. For example, you might never have dreamed of skydiving, however, in a new land and with new friends, you might have the spontaneity within you to take that plunge.
5. Discover your calling
During your time travelling, your perspective on life and your goals might change because of two reasons. First, you will have plenty of time to ponder and rediscover your inner self in terms of your interests, passion, things that are most important to you, and the overall direction you want your life to take. Second, you will be exposed to new cultures and ways of living, some that may be much less privileged than your life back home, which could lead to you appreciating the ‘smaller’ things in life. Both of us and the majority of our friends who are well travelled have returned with much more content and self-awareness and understanding of themselves and the world around them.
There are many opportunities that could potentially arise while you are travelling the world. They will present themselves in various ways and it’s up to you to grab a hold and make the most of them. By doing so, you will have a much richer and meaningful travelling experience and could change your life in wonderful ways.
The Travelling Guru 