I have a friend and colleague who I “chop it up with” from time to time. Recently, we talked about how we stop ourselves from achieving certain goals. When I say “we,” I mean everyone who grew up being told there was a right way and a right time to do things. That way of thinking is a hindrance in today’s world.
Now, don’t get me wrong. When I say “right way,” there is definitely a right way to do things. But take this example: I’m a trained video production professional with years of experience. I would never think of shooting a movie on an iPhone but people are getting movie deals doing just that. My professional mind says, “No way! The picture quality is not the same as a film camera,” and “you’d be wasting your time,” or “yeah, you could do it, but why?” While young folks today (yeah, I said young folks) think, “Hell yeah, let’s do it!” They pay no heed to what people think or what’s usually done. They do it and own it and wonder why you aren’t doing the same.
The conclusion my buddy and I came up with is we know too much. When we have an idea, our wealth of experience creeps in and we let it derail us. The curse of knowledge is real. So, we decided, this is the year we get out of our own way. Create things and just see what happens. What’s the worst that could happen? We even flipped that phrase to help prepare ourselves for the best thing that could happen.
When I talked to my wife about starting this travel blog, it came out of wanting to live a life that we’ve both dreamed of. We would like to experience living abroad, not necessarily as nomads, but with a home base in the States. Ultimately, my wife wants a beach house – I do too! But we need to figure out the where of our dream beach house. A travel blog is the perfect way to scout locations!
LaShon loves romance novels, and Nora Roberts has her obsessed with Ireland. She can’t wait to explore a castle or sit in a real Irish pub. Me, not so much. I grew up wanting to see Amsterdam, visit the coffeehouses and experience the chill vibe. I told her let’s get out of our own damn way and just do it!
We researched the travel blog industry to get the information we need to make it all happen. We came across a travel bloggers conference called TravelCon. It looked like a great place to start. Just like with any good business, you need a solid grasp of how others who are successful in your chosen industry run their business. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just ride the wheel your way. Plus, if you believe in coincidence, I was just in Austin about three weeks ago, so I’m taking the conference being in Austin as a good omen.
Hopefully, this conference will help us stay out of our own way and create building blocks for those dream destinations. Stay tuned to see what happens and join us on this journey.
Do you think you get in your own way? Comment below.
LaShon Ison Hill
Kevin Hill
