7 Mindset Tips for Traveling   Wake Up Early   I’m reminded of a quote from one of the greatest philosophers of our time.    “There’s no such thing as spare time, no such thing as free time, no such thing as down time. All you got it life time."   Did I say philosopher? I meant angry lead singer of 80s hardcore punk band, Black Flag, but the point still stands- get yourself out of bed and get moving.    Do you ever get that feeling when you’re awake super early, and you’re the only one around and you feel like it’s ‘your day’, and you welcome everyone else as they join you on your day:   “Oh, hi! Welcome to my day! You’ve missed a glorious three hours already, let me catch you up to speed."   When you’re traveling, the amount of things to see and do goes up a ridiculous amount, and if you’re only waking up at midday, just think of the things you miss. The sunrise, the locals setting up market stalls, the roosters crowing- you’re gonna want to soak that stuff in, because it’s far more interesting than the inside of your eyelids.   Laugh at Yourself   In foreign countries where you don’t speak the language, you’re going to get laughed at. I remember I had stopped in the mountains, and I started talking to a few people. They would say something in their local language, and I would immediately start trying to translate things I wanted to say, using books, translators and hand gestures that would put the world’s charades champion to shame. Only to be given an immediate response in the same, local language.     When they could see I was obviously confused, their first reaction was to laugh. Literally pointing, laughing.    What’s a guy to do? Simple. Laugh at yourself. The road is no place for anger and humility will always bring better consequences.    In the end, they noticed I had a guitar and we sat and played for a bit. If they laughed at my guitar playing though, that would be a different story.   Don’t Give Up   If you listened to the last episode, you’ll have heard the story of how Meg Jerrard saved for her travels. She caught the travel bug, realised that it was something she wanted, and strived for it. She worked two full time jobs whilst studying full time. She’d regularly work 6am-11pm, and the most she worked was 110 odd hours a week.    They key takeaway here is that she didn’t give up. She knew that it was something she wanted, and she made it happen. So remember this, whether you think that you can’t live a life of travel and wonder, or that you can- you’re right.    Open Your Mind   “Oh I would never do that, it’s not my thing.” often transforms into “I can’t believe how amazing that was” with the catalyst of “Go on, I guess I’ll give it a go."   That happens a lot more than you think.    Remember that you are not you. I know that sounds weird, but, hear me out. You are not this person that has likes and dislikes, things they do, things they don’t do - you are just ‘You So Far’. Not a lot of people pack up  and move to New Zealand to be a skydiving instructor out of the blue - what happens a lot though, is they’re in New Zealand, get talked into going skydiving and realise that it’s the thing they love most in the world.    So the advice here is not to just try new things. But to try every-thing. Everything that’s offered to you (fatal allergies aside) should be considered deeply. You are a gold miner, and your pan is filled with experiences, and each pan full you get has the potential to contain a big nugget- so don’t throw away half of the pan before you’ve explored it.    Don’t Believe the News   Would you believe me if I said “I had a terrible time in India, it’s so corrupt.”?    Would you believe me if I said “My time in India was life changing. I fell in love, learnt about myself and found the most welcoming people in the world.”?   I’d rather you didn’t believe either. Why? Because you’re seeing it through my lens.    With the news, it gets a little deeper. It’s more like I have an interest in you