Why Most Women’s Travel Dreams Are Still Dreams
Does this sound familiar?
You’re having a great day. You had a two hour lunch meeting, someone held the elevator for you and you’re giving everyone life in your outfit today.
Then you decide to take a couple of minutes (okay more than a couple of minutes) to scroll through your Instagram feed. Your eyes widen and the wheels in your mind start to turn.
You see a hot deal on a flight to Cuba.
Your heart tells you buy a plane ticket, but your head tells you:
“Really?! I can’t afford to travel right now with everything that’s going on at work.”
OR
“I’ll never be taken seriously at work if I keep taking extra days off (even if it is unpaid).”
And this, my friend is how travel dreams begin to die a little bit each day.
Where is it written that we have to choose between our heads and our hearts? (okay okay maybe it was in some sad love song or soap opera but I digress.)
Look, it’s easy to point at someone who has an amazing career where they get to globetrot around the world and say, “Well, I could never do that.”
But if you pulled back the veil, you’ll see that it’s not so mysterious and magical as you would think.
The truth is, it’s been a long time coming from when I was working at a medical textbook publishing company and a music programmer for digital cable television, to where I am today.
And I’ve made every mistake in the book.
And yet…I didn’t give up.
Because the truth is, in order to be successful, you have to make mistakes. You have to fail.
In fact, I’ve learned throughout my career that by taking risks and failing, I’ve been able to pinpoint what does work by eliminating what doesn’t.
But this is only one of the things I wish I better understood in the early years of my career when I first was trying to get paid to travel, that would’ve made my career journey a bit smoother.
Here are a couple more lessons I’ve learned throughout the years that took me from clueless dreamer to a professional jetsetter.
Lesson #1: Where you work can be a big asset.
I didn’t know it while I was working, but a big thing that has worked in my favor as far as getting in front of hiring managers and people who would have great influence in my career, are the companies I’ve worked for. When targeting companies that you would be interested in working for, think about those that would take you a step forward and beyond.
Does it set you apart by making you more relevant or credible? Does it give you the chance to meet and develop relationships with movers and shakers? Always keep that in mind. It’s not always what you can do for a company, but also what can a company do for you and your career trajectory.
Lesson #2: You need to be really good at working and connecting with other people.
Working in the travel industry isn’t a one-person show. You have to work as a team with colleagues, clients, third-party vendors and of course visitors or tourists. But before you start working in the travel industry, first making those important connections is crucial to finding work.
It’s critical that people get to know you, including what you’re good at, what you’re curious about, what you’ve done and what you’d like to do. This puts other people in a position to help you. After all, people you know can lead you to people you don’t know or haven’t yet met, who can help you find more people who can connect you to more opportunities for you to craft your global lifestyle.
Lesson #3: Don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek advice.
After managing a team of 17 national and international sales and operations managers, restructuring entire corporate tourism departments and interviewing and hiring over 100 professionals for various travel, tourism and hospitality positions, there’s one thing I’ve realized.
People rarely ask questions.
I think we’re afraid to ask others for help, either because we don’t know there’s a better way or for nothing other than trying to save face and preserve our ego.
After sitting in on thousands of meetings with people, I can usually tell the difference between those who are really smart and those who are fake smart. It always comes down to those who are comfortable enough to ask questions and not be ashamed to show that they don’t know it all.
If someone actively seeks out advice or help, I’d be willing to bet that they succeed more often than someone who tries to go at it alone. Ironically, I’ve found that the more successful you get in your career, the more questions you’ll end up having.
In the same vein as not being afraid to ask questions, I’ve learned that people who are successful in their careers plan for feedback. They actively solicit it. But as you seek out people for guidance, always ask yourself: “Is this person in the position I want to be?”
I recommend you remind yourself that everyone has an opinion, and it’s easy to point out things you’re doing wrong, or ways you “should” think about things. Anyone can offer you advice. But it’s up to you to decide whose advice you take.
Just remember, not everyone deserves your full attention. Choose carefully who you listen to. Take advice from people who have accomplished what you want to accomplish.
There you have it, fabulous lady. All of my biggest mistakes...out there in plain sight.
I didn't tell you this stuff for no reason. I told you because I want you to know it's okay to make mistakes, but also show you that working with someone who's already MADE those mistakes and can guide you AROUND them is pretty much priceless.
And that's why I created an in-depth program called Professional Jetsetter Academy to guide you and ensure your success. I'm giving you all my secrets, shortcuts and mistake-proof strategies, wrapped up with a pretty bow.
So are you finally ready to have an unique career that pays you to travel the world, while doing work you love, so you live a global lifestyle?
If so let me help you.
Let's have a quick chat on Messenger to see if I can help you. DM on Facebook if interested and we’ll see if the program is a good match for you.
Looking forward to chatting with you,
