Traveling: Every Blogger’s Best Friend

I do not care if you travel from one village to another.

Traveling is your best blogging friend. Why? Traveling propels you well outside of your comfort zone. Home feels comfortable, cozy and safe. Leaving home instantly nudges you out of that constant comfort zone. The next village, town or city feels a little bit uncomfortable to visit. No longer do you chill at home base.

Now, if you want to take things up 100 levels, begin traveling internationally. Leaving your home country to visit some far off, exotic land feels fun, freeing and incredibly uncomfortable sometimes.

I loved visiting Thailand, Bali, Costa Rica, and India. But in moments, visiting countries quite unlike my USA in some regards felt highly uncomfortable. Why? You guessed it: traveling far from home pushes you outside of your comfort zone like few other practices.

How does traveling help your blogging campaign? Circling the globe, your country or your home region is your best friend because all success occurs well outside of your comfort zone. Traveling just makes it easier to succeed online because you get comfortable with being uncomfortable, offline and online.

Most bloggers cannot understand how I publish 10-12 – or more – blog posts daily, between my blog and guest posts. But most bloggers have not traveled as much as I, so most bloggers do not leave their comfort zone quite like me. Driving traffic and profits seems to be easier and easier as you leave your comfort zone routinely. Travel. Guaranteed, you exit your comfort zone on a regular basis.

Why would I be afraid to publish 10 posts daily? I have faced death in India and Bali. I contracted giardia in India. Became dangerously dehydrated. I stared down a spitting cobra in Bali and also had a wicked motorbike accident on the Island of the Gods. Minus that rough giardia experience, India was fun, fascinating and freeing. Plus I had to sit with uncomfortable feelings arising as I was swarmed by beggars who pleaded for money in certain spots.

I usually felt fine either smiling and refusing or offering a few rupees to these mendicants, but I felt tiny surges of anger and annoyance anytime a parent told their 4-year-old child to beg. In the next breath, I stopped judging the parent, realizing how much fear and pain exudes from *their* being, to make their little children beg, both parents and kids in ragged clothes, barefoot and starving.

Heck yeah, this Westerner felt uncomfortable processing these experiences at first. But I eventually framed each interaction with beggars more through compassionate, truthful energy. We all make choices in life, no matter the circumstances we face.

Traveling made me a much more skilled blogger because I routinely face, feel and release the fears and discomfort that help me reach my next level of blogging growth. Travel! See the world. Even if you travel to the next village, you set a healthy precedent for leaving your comfort zone. Do the same with your blogging career. Do freeing but uncomfortable things. Broadcast live, even if you feel self-conscious. We want to hear from you!

Traveling also benefits you because you see things from a different perspective. People in Bali told me the Balinese could learn much from Americans about making money. I told Balinese folks that Americans can learn much from Bali folks about living a spiritually centered, serene, balanced, happy life. I took this broader perspective to my blogging campaign, spotting problems through the eyes of my readers, being more compassionate to their feelings, their viewpoints, their needs.

For example, I ceased pushing for all of my Indian readers and blogging buddies to go selfie-mad or to solely brand themselves, bringing attention to themselves. Why? After traveling through India, I understand how Indian culture places a strong emphasis on the family, community, tribe or village, versus bringing attention to one individual. Being aware of cultural differences experienced in person helps me tailor advice to all of my readers from around the globe.

eBook

Do you want to accelerate your blogging success with my colorful travel stories? I learned 8 blogging lessons during a 23-hour flight around the world. Does this sound fun? Buy the eBook here:

8 Blogging Lessons I Learned from a 23 Hour Flight Around the World