Why I decided: “Screw it, book the trip.”
Booking a one-way, round-the-world trip is no small feat.
Even before organizing all of the logistics…
Deciding to actually book the trip was a serious process.
So many factors come into play:
I run my business full-time, part of it literally operating out of my house
I love Austin, my family being here and having such an amazing local community
$$$$
The global climate is crazy and it doesn’t seem to be simmering down
Recession?
Wasn’t I looking for a full-time job?
There was no shortage of logical reasons to stay.
But for me, it really came down to one single thought:
Looking back on this decision as my 85 year old self, what should I do?
The answer was an undoubted, “Buy the ticket.”
If I didn’t take this trip, I would 100% regret it.
Using this framework of, “How would 85-year-old Zach feel about this choice while sitting around a campfire telling this story to his great-grandkids?” has helped me make a lot of decisions that for the most part have worked out pretty well.
I like to look to the future to see how I would look back on the past.
Another framework I use involves another simple question:
Which is the better story?
Stay at home, make and save some money, grow my business, spend time with friends/fam
Book a one-way flight with my love for a year-long round-the-world trip
I mean, it’s obvious.
Not often in life is the fork in the road so obvious and we just don’t know the right choice.
In these cases, choose the better story.
Your 85-year-old self will appreciate having the story to share.
PART 2
I was sitting around the kitchen table sharing details of the trip with 11 family members including grandparents, uncle, sister, mom and all of their partners.
“You have to understand, Zach, as an 85-year-old who grew up in a very different time, it’s hard for me to really comprehend all of this,” my grand-dad told me.
“I couldn’t leave run my job from across the world. I had children to provide for. I was paying for a house. Anything like your upcoming trip was out of the question.”
The conversation kept flowing and through inputs from my uncle and his family, my sister and her new eight-month old son and my grandparents, I became even more deeply aware of Mona and my special opportunity to take this trip.
The possibility presented itself with the perfect small window of time.
With only a few differences, this trip wouldn’t necessarily be possible.
This conversation and the input from my family further cemented my conviction that this trip is a now-or-never opportunity.
Sure, there are plenty of reasons not to go, but they are far outweighed by the reasons to go.
As the evening was coming to a close, my grandfather approached me.
“I hope I wasn’t too questioning of your choice,” he said.
“I’m just kind of jealous that you’re taking this trip and I wish I could have done this when I was your age.”
This moment was the exact vision I had when I considered this decision from my 85-year-old’s perspective.
To stay true to me, there’s no way I can’t go on this trip.
So I’ve decided to go on this adventure for myself.
But I’ve also decided to go on this trip for all of those who can’t.
And also those who might want to go, to show you that it’s totally possible.
