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Are you feeling stuck or looking for ways to take your life or business to the next level? As entrepreneurs, we often face obstacles and challenges that can leave us feeling overwhelmed and unsure of how to move forward.

But what if I told you that the key to unlocking your business potential might be found outside of your comfort zone? That’s right … stepping out into the world and experiencing new things can give you a fresh perspective and help you grow in ways you’d never thought possible.

My husband and I boldly decided to leave our home in America to travel abroad, focus on growing our business, and seek new opportunities. This was not an easy decision, but we knew we needed to take a leap of faith and step out of our comfort zones to achieve our dreams.

Along our journey, we realized that traveling presented us with unique opportunities to learn and grow in ways that neither of us could have imagined. Experiencing new cultures and creating unforgettable experiences with new friends worldwide has taught us so much. All of which I have learned to apply in my business.

In this blog post, I want to share the five key things I learned from my year of travel that has helped me grow as an entrepreneur. Whether you’re just starting out or looking for ways to take your business to the next level, these lessons will inspire and encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and pursue your dreams. You might even feel inspired to book a plane ticket!

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Let’s jump in.

God is always guiding and protecting me

During our year of travel, we faced many uncertainties and challenges. Between the language barriers to the cultural differences, even everyday task, like package delivery, was now more challenging than before when we lived in America

But we learned, managed, became resourceful, and even found support and community. When I look back on our experiences and the people who have come into our lives, I realized that we were never alone. God was guiding and protecting us on our journey all along.

Now rather than fall paralyzed with fear of uncertainties in my life or business, I’ve learned to rely on my faith and trust that God has my back. As an entrepreneur, you will face many challenges and setbacks, but it is important to look at these as opportunities for growth and have faith that God will guide you through them.

Beautiful things happen when you go with the flow

I had a strict plan of what I wanted to accomplish during our travels. But, we quickly learned that things don’t always go as planned, and sometimes it’s best to go with the flow.

We all like to be in control of things because it makes us feel safe and secure. But the reality is, there are so many things in life that we simply can’t control. Learning to let go of our need for control can be tricky, but it can lead to personal growth and fulfillment.

When we try to control everything, it can take a toll on our mental health. We become stressed, anxious, and exhausted over small things. This prevents us from expanding personally and professionally and ultimately limits our potential.

Outside of the comfort of America, I knew nothing about how this world works and at one point, I felt I had lost a sense of control over how things were going in my life and business. I felt like I was spiraling. As an avid planner, this was a hard lesson to learn.

Looking back, some of my most memorable experiences happened when I surrendered my rigidity, embraced the unexpected, and allowed myself to be open to new experiences and opportunities.

This lesson also applies in business. Sometimes the best opportunities come from unexpected places. Be open to new ideas and be willing to pivot when necessary.

Your uniqueness is golden

One of the things that made our year of travel so special was embracing the unique aspects of each culture we visited. But as a black couple traveling in Asia, we often found ourselves in situations where we were the only black persons around. Yet, even across the world in Asia, I found laces of black American culture, music, phrases, and hairstyles all around.

This made me realize how unique, powerful, and diverse black American culture is. My Texas accent, my black girl swag, my once deemed unprofessional box braids or curly fro, and all the things that make me uniquely me, I’ve confidently learned to appreciate them even more.

I am uniquely golden. My travel journey has deepened my confidence, sense of pride, and appreciation for who I am and how I show up authentically as me.

Your unique perspective and experiences are what make you stand out from the crowd. Embrace your uniqueness, and use it to your advantage. When I stand in my uniqueness and show up as me and no one else, I bring value to my clients.

You’ll be surprised at what you can do once you decide to do it

Before our year of travel, my husband and I were excited to see the world. But then came the fears, many of which were not our own.

Family and friends began to instill their own fears and doubts in us. Responding with comments like, “That’s really expensive” or “It’s dangerous to travel.” Hearing these negative comments made us question ourselves. We were struck with fears we were initially confident about. We didn’t know what to expect.

But we took yet another leap of faith and did it anyway. Now here we are 1 year later. We’ve surprised ourselves with how well we adapted and used our resources. We’ve learned that we were capable of much more than we or anyone else thought.

Sometimes we hold ourselves back with limiting beliefs about our abilities. Once we decide to move in faith rather than fear, we often find that we are capable of more than we thought.

Real freedom comes when you can sell what you know

Over the last couple of years, we’ve learned that our ideas and intellectual property were valuable assets that we could use to create financial stability. We can monetize our skills and knowledge to generate income and support ourselves.

In a traditional work setting, your employers monetize and leverage their employee’s intellectual property for the benefit of the company. As an entrepreneur, you have the ability to do this for yourself. Understanding this, we’ve been able to support ourselves and live a life of freedom and adventure abroad for 1 full year.

As an entrepreneur whose ultimate goal is freedom and self-sustainability, you must recognize the value of your intellectual property and leverage it to create income streams for yourself and your business.

When you can sell what you know, you have the freedom to truly live life on your own terms.

What’s Next?

Our travel experiences taught us valuable lessons that I’ve been able to apply to my business and personal life. My goal in sharing these lessons with you is simply to inspire you as you work to build an amazing, purposeful business and live a fulfilling life.

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