I set a big goal several years back. I wanted to take a year to travel around the world with my family.

Begin with the End in Mind

It all began with an article in O, The Oprah Magazine.  A family of four, embarking on a sailing trip around the world, was being highlighted.  I was so inspired!  I tore the article out of the magazine and hung it where I could see it every day.  I talked to my husband about it and his interest slowly built until he was as excited as I was about this amazing possibility.

We thought about how to make it happen—and had a lot of questions.  When should we go?  How will we travel? How much money will it cost?  What will you need to do to homeschool the girls that year? How much planning do we need to do up front? What do we do about work?  Which continents, countries, and cities will we visit?  And on and on.

Let’s Go in 2018…

We set a goal to go in 2018, which was right before my oldest daughter entered high school.  Our youngest would be 10, which seemed old enough to remember and navigate life on the road.  The planning process had begun, and we were making financial decisions to save money for the trip.  We started collecting information about places we wanted to visit.  We were so inspired!

“I hope you do that”

When I shared our dream with others, we encountered a variety of responses, such as:

“That’s so exciting. I would LOVE to do that!”
“I could never do that, it would be too scary/stressful.”
“No one does that, what a great idea!”

And the most annoying response of all:

“I hope you do that.” (Translation: I don’t believe you will ever do that.)

I have no problem taking the road less traveled and never have.  Don’t get me wrong. It isn’t the easy path, and it isn’t without stress and very trying times, but I have found that my high tolerance for risk reaps some amazing rewards.  Like a trip around the world!

Stretching and Courage

Our time to go on the trip came much earlier than we had originally planned.  A window opened for us in November of 2014, and a few months later on New Year’s Day, we found ourselves on American Airlines, heading to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to begin our trip. We were excited, nervous, apprehensive, and euphoric all at the same time.

As we flew towards the South American continent, we were realizing our big dream to travel the world. We took the leap and reaped the rewards!  In the end, we traveled for eight months, visited five new continents, and spent time in 26 countries. It was ah-mazing!  There are too many stories to tell and you will just have to wait until we finish the book. :)

Was it Everything We Hoped For?

Yes, yes, and yes. The big trip was so worth it! We gained so much from our travels, from the places we visited, the people we met, and the food we ate.  The best experience, however, was the time we spent together as a family.

Hold it Just a Minute…

Let’s pause here because this is important: I was a F500 executive who was moving up the corporate ladder and achieving success in the career part of my life.  I had invested A LOT in my work, and it was a huge part of my identity. And I walked away from all of it.  This was still a conundrum for me.
Did I do the right thing? As we traveled and had downtime, I thought a lot about what I wanted next.  You already know what I decided: to found Aspiration Catalyst® and build my own company to inspire leaders to become people first and reap the rewards of building high-performing teams.

One of the other reasons I took this big leap was to be in control of my time.  Yes, I do work a lot of hours as an entrepreneur, but I decide when and where, and this new segment of my career allows me to be home with my family most nights of the year.  My top value is family, so this is extremely important to me.  Being an entrepreneur, versus the 70% travel job I had when I left the corporate world, allows me to live in alignment with my true self.  So, this is actually two “dream one size too big goals,” and I’ll save the starting my business story for another time.

A Clear Vision

None of these things would have happened if I didn’t begin with the end in mind and get crystal clear on my vision of success for my life and business.  How is your vision? Are you clear on what you want for your career and life?  It’s ok if you aren’t because I have the perfect solution for you.

Join us at the Powerful Leadership Executive Retreat for Women in San Diego, CA on April 24-26.  (sorry guys, ladies only this time!)

You will be in the company of amazing women, and the Pacific Ocean provides the perfect backdrop for you to expand your vision, dream a bigger dream, and create new possibilities for your business and your life.

You can get more details here: https://www.aspirationcatalyst.com/womens-retreats

Set up a call with me to save your spot ASAP.  I am limiting the number of participants to curate an intimate, game-changing, and highly productive experience.  Email me now to see if you qualify and save your place at kimberly@aspirationcatalyst.com