When you travel you see such amazing things like this view from the top of a mountain near Christchurch New Zealand. I hope your trips are over the top exhilarating. These tips might help to keep you safe and to increase your fun. I’ve learned a lot of things because of my incident (see prior blog post) what I did that worked, what I did that didn’t work, and ideas others told me when I got back. I’m reminded of what I learned early in my career. It’s smart to learn from your own mistakes. It’s wise to learn from other’s mistakes. So here are things that I hope you’ll use to travel wisely. Thanks to all who have added their suggestions. If you want to talk about any of these, schedule a time to talk on https://calendly.com/drivingimprovedresults/60min. Be safe and have a wonderful time.

1. Research on Google ‘scams in <the country> and <the city>’ before I go, so I know what to watch out for and take precautions.
2. Research on Google ‘unsafe neighborhoods in <the city>’ before I go so I don’t inadvertently wander into those neighborhoods.
3. Don’t get into cars with strangers.
4. Don’t take food from strangers.
5. Don’t go on tours when I’m the only one on the tour. (This happened to a person I met at a hostel. Even though the tour was well-vetted, she still got locked into a store and they tried to get her credit card.)
6. Have locks on my luggage so no one can slip something illegal in and then blackmail me so it will go through the airport scanner. It doesn't matter if you have the best oliver thomas tennis backpacks or the best American Tourister. You must keep them locked at all the times you're out.
7. Use the app currently on my phone (XE) to do money conversions so I know what I’m paying every time. (a tip from a fellow hostel-er)
8. Carry a non-active (but not expired) ATM card in my money belt. Hide my active ATM card in another place on my person. (a tip from a well-traveled tour operator)
9. If you suspect you’ve been drugged, immediately go to a hospital/clinic and get a blood/urine test so you have proof. Do it right away before it wears off or leaves your system. (I wish I had thought of that at the time.)
10. If you’ve been drugged and robbed and you need to file a fraud claim, make sure the drug is completely out of your system when you file the claim. Any grogginess in that initial phone call that results in incomplete details will be considered ‘inconsistencies’ and will be held against you. (yes, I experienced that.)
11. T-Mobile’s international plan is better and less costly and cumbersome than Verizon’s. (found that out from fellow hostel-ers)
12. After I was robbed, I needed cash to finish the trip and I couldn’t use my ATM card. Getting cash from a credit card is very expensive. I used Moneygram. There was a small fee when my husband set it up and there was a small fee when I got the cash in the country’s currency. But it was immediate and easy and available in the most backward of areas. Didn’t even need a bank.
13. When you’re flying into some countries, they want to know your plans for leaving that country before they’ll give you a boarding pass. Be prepared to show the flight reservation for when you’re leaving. I found it easier to carry a printout so I didn’t have to fumble with my phone, worry about wifi or if it was charged. I had 10 flights on my last trip. I numbered the printouts in date order with a magic marker so I could find them easily.
14. For my purposes a really light roller bag was better than a backpack with wheels. I also found having the roller bag and a backpack gave me lots of flexibility for short side trips, going back and forth to hostel bathrooms, keeping me organized, and having a personal item on the plane when they wanted to check my bag.
15. After researching best credit cards to use for travel, I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Benefits include: a bunch of start up points, double points on food and travel, no international transaction fees. It’s recommended on a number of travel sites.
16. I kept in touch with family and friends with ‘What’s App’. I also had a google spreadsheet with dates and locations and hostel contact info so people could track me down if necessary. I booked my hostels along the way so it was important my family had this to rely on.
17. On the second tab of the google spreadsheet I had some time conversion tables for the countries I was going to be in and the dates I’d be there. I used it and my family used it, too, so we could plan good call times when the other person wasn’t sleeping.
18. I have an Android phone. The pictures I took automatically came over to Google Photos. I copied them into a Google Photos ‘album’ and added comments. They all automatically had dates and locations and were in sequence. Easy. And easy to share with friends and family as I traveled. Also, easy to mix in pictures that fellow travelers took and sent to me.
19. When I bought things in New Zealand and Australia, I often was asked when I presented a credit card, ‘do you want to pay in the country’s currency or in American dollars?’ Choose the country’s currency. If you choose American dollars, they convert at a very high rate, even more than an international transaction fee. They make money on it.
20. I used Hostelworld.com to choose my hostels. I also asked the other travelers and then verified their choices with Hostelworld. I checked for being close to the city center, cleanliness, safety, staff friendliness/helpfulness, etc. I read the reviews, especially by older travelers. I didn’t stay at the cheapest, nor the most expensive. (Remember hostels are a fraction of what a hotel costs.) I also avoided hostels that advertised they were party places for 18-25 year-olds. I was not disappointed. Every hostel was well described. I was very happy every place I stayed.

#travelingwhileworking #workingwhiletraveling

The title sounds like a novel. Right? Well it’s not. This actually happened to me. Here’s my story. Trust: On May 10, my first day in Manila, The Philippines (see the photo – a mix of skyscrapers and shanty towns, modern highways and back alleys), I took a walk from my hostel to see what was around. I was walking in the early afternoon down a major street. Three women my age (two sisters and an out-of-town cousin) were walking in the same direction and we got to talking. They, of course, knew I was a tourist and welcomed me. After talking for a while, they said they were going to take their cousin to see an open-air market. Would I like to come? It would involve a bus ride on a public bus. So I said ‘sure’. I thought it was great that I was going to see local things and learn from the locals. A wonderful adventure. On the bus we shared pictures of children and grand-children, our thinking about racial relations, governments and educational systems. We saw the market and we got on a jeepney, a public open air hop-on hop-off vehicle with a jeep front and long bench seats in the back. I never would have done something like that without local help. We went to a jeepney factory and then to a restaurant. They wanted to practice their English. I learned a few words from their language. There was Karaoke so we sang and danced. I learned about traditions, local foods, holidays, birthday celebrations, etc. They wouldn’t let me contribute to the cost of lunch. I trusted them. Risk: I didn’t think about it at the time. But I had traveled to an unsafe neighborhood. Talked extensively to people I didn’t know. Trusted strangers over the course of an afternoon. Made assumptions about the motivations of their friendliness. Ate with them. Showed them my money belt when I was paying for bus/jeepney rides. Betrayal: We left the restaurant and one woman called for her van and driver. We got in so we could do more dancing at another place. My daughter had done a lot of dancing when she had been in the Philippines many years before, so I didn’t think anything of it. They fed me a piece of mango for dessert. The police later said that was what probably was laced with drugs. I immediately blacked out. I woke up 14 hours later in my bed at my hostel with no recollection of anything that happened after I ate the mango. I fell back asleep for 9 more hours. Then I checked my email and saw I had alerts from my bank that my account was overdrawn by almost $1,000. The next day I went to the police and got a police report, and I got photos from the hostel’s surveillance thermal camera. The video showed that it took 3 people to hold me up and walk me to the hostel entrance. The hostel security staff had taken me upstairs to my bed. I remember nothing. How did they get my pin? In my drugged state, maybe they asked me and I told them. Maybe they walked me to the ATM and I typed it in myself. I don’t know. I’m not sure what drug they used, but other accounts online suggest that it might be Ativan since it’s cheap and effective as a date-rape drug. Others have been quick to point out that it could have been much worse. I could have been raped, left in a ditch, had my passport or credit cards stolen, overdosed on the drug, etc. Resilience: This happened on the 10th and I had presentations scheduled on the 14^th and 15^th. It took a couple of days for the drug to wear off. But I was fine for the presentations. I partnered with another coach from the Philippines to present on ‘agile leadership’ to senior leadership teams in three large companies. I spoke about changing yourself before you could expect others you lead to change and used my shifting business model as the example. My partner in these talks commented on how resilient I was, how fast I bounced back, that I could just shake off my experience, adapt and move forward. What I didn’t do is turn it into drama that makes it mean anything. It hasn’t become stressful or traumatic. It won’t prevent me from trusting others or traveling again (although I’ll be more careful). I was a victim of this incident, but I’m not a victim in life. I had to fight with my bank to get the fraudulent withdrawals reversed. The bank’s back office denied it four times, but I was persistent and eventually prevailed with the help of my branch manager and the bank’s senior executive team. Seeing me continuing to escalate my claim, use social media and threaten legal action, the bank finally did the right thing. More challenges build more strength and reinforce resilience. I had to dig up the courage to share all this online. No one wants to admit the mistakes they’ve made or how gullible they’ve been. Vulnerability builds resilience. By sharing it on Facebook, lots of people showed their concern. Through their posts on Facebook, emails, phone calls and face to face meetings, I felt very supported. Feeling loved by a caring community builds resilience. It’s important to me that no one else falls for this scam. So I’ve made it very public. I’ve also been asked to speak about it. Sharing takes the focus off of me and puts it on lessons learned that others can benefit from. Resilience comes from focusing on others. The title of my talk is the same as this posting: Trust, Risk, Betrayal and Resilience. I can gear it to travel groups, women’s groups, entrepreneur groups, career professionals and more. Trust, risk, betrayal and resilience are part of all our lives, our families, our workplaces, our business plans. There is also neuroscience to shed light on it all, which my audiences find value in. Making lemonade from lemons builds resilience (reframing as an opportunity, adding a little humor). I know everyone Is not like me. Sometimes people have a harder time letting things go or not getting invested in their own drama. But everyone has the power to create their lives any way they choose, no matter what they have to overcome. I welcome your thoughts. Or call me if you want to talk privately. https://calendly.com/drivingimprovedresults/60min #travelingwhileworking #workingwhiletraveling

One of my hoped-for outcomes from this trip and from developing a ‘travelling while working’ lifestyle is to cut out the unproductive activities that I’ve been doing to make my business function. If I don’t need them while traveling why do I need them when I’m not traveling? But it’s so easy to fall into old habits. Now that I’m back, I’m trying to be very careful about slipping back into my old habits of working too long, doing unproductive things, not honoring my evenings and weekends, being too much of a perfectionist, not delegating enough, and the list goes on. Our brains like short cuts. They form six lane highways of neural pathways that develop because we do the same things over and over. This helps us become more efficient and we don’t have to think things through every single time. However, we can get caught up in habits that no longer serve us. Then it takes some effort and intention to stop doing certain things and do other things instead. (forming new six lane highways) So I’ve set up a decision tree. Before I do anything, I ask myself, ‘Would I be doing this if I were travelling?’ If the answer is yes, I put it on my ‘Continue’ list. If it’s no, then I ask myself, do I absolutely have to do it between trips when I’m back in NYC, if the answer is yes, then I add it to the ‘Only in NYC’ list. If the answer is no, then I abandon the activity and look to replace it with something I choose, or delegate it to someone on my team. What is your method for getting past habits that used to serve you that are just time wasters now? Want to talk about it? Please set up a time using this app. I adopted it while traveling and it’s helping me use my time more efficiently even when I’m in NYC. https://calendly.com/drivingimprovedresults/60min #travelingwhileworking   #workingwhiletraveling

All my clients know I talk about skinny branches taking risks, mitigating risks, being comfortable with the uncomfortable. One of my favorite sayings is ‘Life is lived at the edge of your comfort zone.’ To get into position for this photo I had to climb out on the outrigger portion of the boat. We were island hopping in the Philippines, swimming and snorkeling at five different islands.  Being away from the safety of the floor of the boat was a little scary. Climbing out over the water. The boat rocking, the poles slippery. But I did it. I’m glad I did. Even traveling by myself to the other side of the world was scary. And then trying to maintain my business while traveling without losing clients to time changes and time away. Very challenging indeed. What are facing that’s scary in your life? Where are you being challenged by something outside your comfort zone? Want to talk about it. Give me a call. Just select a good time from my schedule. Let’s make it happen. https://calendly.com/drivingimprovedresults/60min #travelingwhileworking   #workingwhiletraveling

I’ve come back from my trip to New Zealand Australia and the Philippines. However, I still have thoughts spurred by my recent adventures that I’d like to share.

This couple is from Great Britain. I ran into them at the rooftop pool at the hostel in El Nido, Philippines where we all stayed. They worked their jobs at home for several years and saved their money. Then they quit their jobs, sold everything and are now traveling for a couple of years. Occasionally they supplement their savings with work they are getting along the way.

Hostels have a different culture than a hotel where everyone stays in their own rooms and wants to maintain privacy. In hostels, people meet at the pool, in the downstairs TV rooms or game rooms or the open lobby. Total strangers eat with each other, share their travel experiences, decide to do activities together. Many times you find out that someone is in your dorm room with you. I’ve learned so much about apps I need to download, best tours, other cities/countries that are recommended, good restaurants, etc. It’s a very open and sharing culture. I’ve met people I’d consider traveling with in the future. I’m hooked on hostel traveling.

How about at your company? Do you have an open sharing culture that fosters employees trying things without retribution if they fail? Do you have a more restricted culture where everyone has to perform a certain way? Is it customer-centric or organization-centric? Is it focused on sharing, trusting and working towards a vision? Or more practical goals and short-term thinking? You as the owner get to set the culture based on your personality and what you want to achieve. Accept the responsibility and proactively grow the culture that will allow you and your employees to be your best  selves.

In my journey I can see how much I’ve changed. Over a year ago I wrote out notes about how I was going to take a year to travel in 2019 still support clients, make contact with people with people around the world, learn, take on new clients, modify my business to make it happen, etc. After reading what I wrote last February and my journal entries throughout the year and notes from coaching conversations, I see I’ve followed Tuckman’s model of ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing.’

Perhaps reading this you can relate to how change is working in your life or organization.

I ‘formed’ the idea of traveling, creating the vision of being a world-wide vagabond, meeting up with people with whom I had much in common (fellow coaches, BNI members, tango dancers, etc).

I ‘stormed’ through how I could do this overwhelming life change, how I could continue to support clients, work my new contract with the City of New York, create the money, master the technology, be safe traveling by myself, arrange the travel, delegate to others what I wouldn’t have time for, cut back on things that were comfortable but would no longer serve my new lifestyle, deal with decision fatigue, face the fear of the unknown, experience the dread in my gut of something so new, as well as the dread of not keeping my promise to myself to do this thing which would expand my life and my business.

This was the tough part. I got coached by two other coaches who pulled out my commitment to myself and my growth, and then held me accountable for making progress. I made the whole thing more manageable by cutting the year into several 4-5 week trips. I stopped worrying about money and I just pushed through knowing that the money would show up if I was totally committed (which it has). I stopped worrying that clients would slip away if I wasn’t in NYC. So many people have said they are inspired by what I’m doing. So I reframed my fear of losing clients to be anticipation of new clients who are inspired by what I’m doing and who want change in their lives and businesses. I got encouragement from my family. I wrote each evening in a gratitude journal. Gratitude and fear can not co-exist. When you’re in the spirit of thankfulness, there is no room for fear. That’s how I slept at night, instead of ruminating on all the things that scared me.

‘Norming’ came about when I made plane reservations. Eight in all for the whole trip. Then I was really committed. Then I worked out how the money would work. Now I was feeling comfortable. I can make this work. I only booked my first hostel, thinking I’ll learn along the way. I found a virtual assistant after 4 tries that was capable and understood my needs. I found someone to help me market myself through LinkedIn. Of course, not everything worked well. Some email marketing and social media marketing didn’t fall together very well. Some phone call scheduling with the time difference presented problems. Little by little it’s all coming together.

‘Performing’ is manifested when results are achieved.  I’m traveling, my calendar app is working and I’m taking phone calls and zoom calls to maintain my clients and talk to prospects. This will make my life easier when I get back to NYC as well. The LinkedIn marketing has yielded some prospects. I’m posting on this blog and people who are getting my newsletter are responding. All of this holds great promise for the future.

Why am I telling you all this in great detail? Because I know what it’s like to go through scary change, change that you don’t think is possible, change that feels you with fear, challenges that seem overwhelming. You may be going through something similar in your life or as a leader in your organization. Just know that it’s normal to go through the stages of ‘forming, storming, norming’ before you ever get to ‘performing’. But when you get there, you’re at a whole new level of success, pride, self-knowledge and performance.

If you can relate to anything I’ve written here either personally or organizationally, please contact me and let’s compare notes. If I can be of help, I’m happy to lend a hand.

travelingwhileworking   workingwhiletraveling