Five things I learned from traveling the world and why you should travel in your 20s.

1. Crazy shit happens

           

            Ever seen the movie Hangover, traveling is just like this when you have no expectations, and you just go with whatever happens. Opportunities arise out of the middle of nowhere, and you have to be ready to seize the moment. Experiences like this are some of the most memorable you will have in your life.

            For me I had just bought a car with my roommate in Australia for $1,800, and on our first road trip the car broke down on the highway. Talk about a bad-sinking feeling when the mechanic tells you your probably going to have to scrap it. That totally sucked, but in the end it was only a minor issue. Good thing I sold that car for $1,700 five months later.

2. You meet awesome new friends

            Living and traveling abroad has allowed me to develop friendships around the world, and I really appreciate this, as it is one of the most rewarding things in my life. Having friends in different countries is just simply awesome. You get a free place to stay next time you visit, and it is always a blast to have them come visit you, especially the Aussies.

As an entrepreneur, I am always eager to meet new people. The more people you know equates to the more chances you ultimately have at success. This also allows you to bounce ideas off people from other backgrounds and gain a different perspective on your ideas. .

3. No Job, No Problem: GO TRAVEL

            If you are one on the millions of college students that find yourself unemployed or hate your boring desk job; go travel, explore new places, and meet new people. I guarantee opportunities will arise and doors will open. Worst case, you get to experience a whole new sphere of influences and learn a new language. Maybe that new language will help you land your dream job too. 

Your 20s are a time to explore and find yourself. Traveling helps put some meaning in your life. Why not save up, go to Southeast Asia, and live on the beach for less than a dollar a day. I guarantee you will meet all sorts of fascinating people from around world. When I spent 14 days surfing on the island of Nias in Indonesia, I was the only American and, pretty sure I was the first blonde kid the locals had ever seen. You really feel like the foreigner when that happens.

4. Go on Semester at Sea

           

            I personally did not go on Semester at Sea, but if you have ever met someone that did, they do not shut up about it. SAS has a cult like following for kids that went on that party boat around the world. However for the kids who embark on the voyage, they do come back with more experiences and more connections from around the world than anyone I know. I mean who would not want to go around the world on a cruise ship with 500 other college students. Traveling the world in one semester on a boat is pretty fucking awesome.

SAS > The Yacht Week

5. You will never have the free time, and you can afford to make mistakes

           

            This is the only time in your life when you will be young enough to travel the world with no responsibility except to survive.  Given that, you can pretty much go anywhere and experience all different types of places, people, and cultures.  All of these different influences will change the person you were before you started traveling. You become more open to different ideas and ways of doing things. This is ultimately better for society as a whole.

            As far as making mistakes go, you can get away with a lot more when you are young than when you are old and have responsibilities. Make the most of your youth and go travel the world.

P.S. The number one rule to traveling is: Do not be a dumbass!!!

Class of 2013

       As I am graduating in the class of 2013, there is one thing that I continually notice between my friends who went to college in a small college town verse those who went to school in a major metropolitan area. The kids who went to school in a city are much more connected, and their networks dwarf those of kids in small college towns. Starting to network after you graduate already puts you behind the curve, and with all this talk in the news about how your network equals your net worth. It is imperative that college students start networking from day 1 as a freshman. If you were savvy enough, you would have started in high school.
       Yes, you may have gone to a university in the middle of nowhere and scored that epic summer internship in a big city, but that only leaves you with the summer to network in the area where your position is. Imagine if you could network all year and develop those connections into relationships, you could almost guarantee yourself a job.
      Considering the most common thing successful people have in common is the size of their vast networks. Not only are their networks large, but also they know exactly who to contact in certain situations. Building a network like this takes time, and in my opinion is much harder to do in a small college town in the middle of nowhere.
      Looking at this ultra competitive job environment we live in, your network is the biggest asset you have. I have read countless articles the past few weeks telling me how useless your GPA is and how no one cares where you went to school. In my short experience, this could never be truer. People want to see your experience, what value you will add to a company, and most importantly can you get the job done. In my opinion, the world has already shifted to a point where a traditional education is almost completely obsolete with a few exceptions concerning the more technical fields. Yes college is an ideal place to develop social skills, but even more importantly it is a breeding ground where you can build a top-notch network. I suggest more students reach out to their classmates about their background and their career goals. Trust me you will quickly realize who has similar ambitions.
       This may be an extreme point of view, but I think it is imperative for kids to pick a college located where a certain industry is located. This gives students the ability to easily attend the countless number of networking events held weekly in these areas. People are very receptive to talking to young students about their ideas and ambitions, and in most cases more than willing to help out. For example, kids wanting to enter the tech space, it would be advantageous to go to school in San Francisco, finance in New York, hospitality in Las Vegas, and etc. the list goes on.
Taking from my own experience, I recently graduated from the University of San Diego, and I can honestly say I would not be in the position I am with my start up real estate tech company without the networking opportunities San Diego has offered. Not only has San Diego been a great place to grow my network, but also it has offered great incites to the industry I am in, connections throughout the country, and the ability to meet other like minded college students.
      I mean Southern California is one of the strongest consumer markets in the country, if not the world. Not to be an advocate for Southern California, but it makes a lot of sense to go to school in an area where you could see yourself wanting to live and work. It is all about who you know.

Home for the summer. Start the new job in Miami on Monday.

South Coast

This past weekend Austin, Chelsea, and I went down to the south coast of Australia for the weekend. Here are some photos from our adventures:

Aussie Pipe, we got it pretty good.

Sunset at Ulladulla.

After hearing that we might have to scrap our car for 100 dollars due to mechanical issues. It was great to see that pile still had it in her to make a few more trips.

Slakey and I trying to find a secret spot in which the road became unpassable. Guess we were trying to ruin the car.

Green Island.

The left at Green Island probably 50 guys out.

Chelsea with her underwater camera.

Ulladulla Bommie lookout.

The beachbreak we surf in Ulladulla.

Surfing.

Pretty stoked to have scored this place to ourselves.

INDO

A TRIP OF A LIFETIME

Destination: Nias Island

Travel time to get there: A total mission

24 hours travel time

3 planes

2 layovers

1 3 hour car drive

and we arrive at this.

Lagundri Bay, Nias Island

Petronas Towers in Malaysia.

Just a pair of some pretty tall buildings.

The reef behind me used to covered in a meter of water before the earthquake in 2005. Now the reef is only covered by a few inches of water at high tide.

Mr. Rob Kelly posing for the camera.

 Indo dog walking on water.

Before..

After.

 VIP lounge in Medan, Indonesia. For only 6 american dollars, we received buffet, private security line, and private bus to take us to our plane. Not a bad deal.

The Line up at Nias

Yes the waves are that good.

Timmy our host red rocket jeep.

View from in front of our surf camp.

 Local school kids, they were so stoked to see us.

Enough said...

Rented motorbikes to go into town. Roads in Indo are sketchy.

Teluk Dalam

The kids were so fun. Some of the happiest people I have ever met.

spot called A-Frame. Super heavy shallow wave.

New Job

Got a job as a bartender at Sea Rock cafe, this is the view from work.

Let the Good Times Roll

America!!!

The American clan and the token Aussie Hannah.