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Chris Guillebeau of Portland, Oregon never intended to travel to all 193 officially recognized countries in the world—at least not originally. But 11 years and an estimated $130,000 later, he did.
The accomplishment is eye-opening. It’s also incredibly rare. Although there are no records for number of people to have visited every country, it’s safe to say that Guillebeau, a best-selling author and explorer, is in extremely limited company.
“I worked as an aid worker in West Africa for several years and became comfortable traveling in challenging environments,” Guillebeau says. “So when I came back to the U.S., I set a goal of visiting 100 countries.”
As he neared completion of that first goal, however, Guillebeau realized it was easier (and cheaper) than he expected. “So then I decided to go for all 193 by my 35th birthday,” he says, which was eight years away at the time.
What drove him to such a logistical, expensive, and time-consuming undertaking? “The ability to overcome a challenge,” he answers. “The sense that if I failed I’d be disappointed, but if I didn’t attempt I would deeply regret,” he adds.
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These were shared with me without an attributed author but are spot on:
- Time passes much more quickly than you realize.
- If you don’t take care of your body early then it won’t take care of you later. Your world becomes smaller each day as you lose mobility, continence and sight.
- Sex and beauty may fade, but intimacy and friendship only grow.
- People are far more important than any other thing in your life. No hobby, interest, book, work is going to be as important to you as the people you spend time with as you get older.
- Money talks. It says “Goodbye.” If you don’t plan your finances for later in life, you’ll wish you had.
- Any seeds you planted in the past, either good or bad, will begin to bear fruit and affect the quality of your life as you get older — for better or worse.
- Jealousy is a wasted emotion. People you hate are going to succeed. People you like are going to sometimes do better than you did. Kids are going to be smarter and quicker than you are. Accept it with grace.
- That big house you had to have becomes a bigger and bigger burden, even as the mortgage gets smaller. The cleaning, the maintenance, the stairs — all of it. Don’t let your possessions own you.
- You will badly regret the things you didn’t do far more than the things you did that were “wrong” — the girl you didn’t kiss, the trip you didn’t take, the project you kept putting off, the time you could have helped someone. If you get the chance — doit. You may never get the chance again.
- Every day you wake up is a victory. It’s never too late to become what you wanted to be or might have been if you start now.
For that last three years, I’ve played competitive soccer three times a week on my lunch break. I mostly play forward with really good guys between the age of 20-50 at this incredible, $10 million indoor football field (pictured). It’s quite the hookup!
More than just being a fun way to stay in shape though, the weekly games constantly humble and encourage me. The other day I played really poorly, which frustrated several of my teammates. I left feeling doubtful and inadequate, even though my family and work life were both going really well.
The week before that, I scored two hat tricks and assisted on several more goals, which left me feeling like a bigger deal than I really am.
Sometimes I play well when there are stresses at home or at work, and that gives me confidence to push through the hard times. Other times I play poorly and that humbles me when I’m riding high in other areas of life.
Of course, I’d rather be firing on all cylinders all of the time. But the uneven experience helps me grow in what I hope is a slow, upward trajectory, which I’m thankful for.
Moral of the story: find a hobby outside of work and family that can continually humble and encourage you. The rest of life will be better for it.