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Construct a private journey mission that makes each journey extra significant.
After I took my yr profession break and traveled all over the world for the primary time, I spent my time ticking off all the favored locations that I wished to see on the planet. I went to Hong Kong, the Nice Wall, did a safari, went to Rome, explored the nice barrier reef, noticed the Taj Mahal, went to New Zealand, considered the Nice pyramids, partied on the islands of Greece, and had memorable nights in Bangkok. After a yr or two or touring to those standard locations, my journey needs began altering. Ticking locations off a generic bucklist was loosing it’s enchantment to me. I wished extra.
I began dipping my toe into longer journey journeys and journey targets that had a theme. In spite of everything – I LOVE a superb theme! I began with studying methods to drive a bike in Vietnam as I lived in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis for a yr. I hiked the Camino de Santiago solo. I drove a automobile from London to Mongolia as a part of the Mongol Rally. I drove a Rickshaw throughout India for 2000 miles. These have been all journey initiatives that drove me and challenged me – however in addition they launched me to totally different a part of the world, totally different cultures, and finally I discovered quite a bit about myself throughout these journey initiatives!
I like large initiatives. They devour me and maintain me targeted on dwelling within the current, relatively than simply repeating the identical previous routine day after day. Journey initiatives have a long-term, purposeful really feel, like a much bigger mission past simply “go on a visit.” They make me have a look at my travels in another way than merely roaming round to sights, I journey deeper, slower, and extra introspectively when on a journey challenge.
I like Large Journey Tasks
My largest challenge that I had ever accomplished lasted for 9 years – it was referred to as the Niece Challenge. After I stopped shopping for items for my nieces, I didn’t know it will flip into one of the significant journey initiatives of my life. As an alternative of extra toys and devices, I wished to provide them one thing they’d by no means outgrow — one thing that might form how they see the world.
So I made them a promise: after they turned 16, I’d take every of them wherever they wished to go. What began as a easy concept turned years of dreaming, planning, and unforgettable adventures — for them and for me.
This challenge didn’t simply change their lives. It modified mine too.
With the Niece Challenge behind me, it didn’t take me too lengthy to provide you with one more journey challenge – my boldest but – taking up my dad’s previous Capitol to Capitol challenge – biking to the entire Capitol buildings within the US.
I do know I’m not alone in relation to loving journey initiatives. In spite of everything, there are a variety of people that have visited each nation on the planet.
Why Begin a Journey Challenge?
If you journey with a private challenge in thoughts, each journey turns into a part of one thing greater — your individual story, your individual quest. As an alternative of simply ticking locations off a listing, you construct expertise, deepen your understanding of the world, and keep motivated even when life will get busy.
The advantages of beginning a journey challenge embody:
✅ Staying impressed to journey long-term
✅ Constructing experience and confidence
✅ Creating deeper cultural connections
✅ Turning journey recollections into an enduring legacy
✅ Fostering curiosity, creativity, and resilience
Journey initiatives with a long-term, purposeful really feel, like a much bigger mission past simply “go on a visit.”
The Happiness of Pursuit
After I was beginning to plan my Capitol to Capitol challenge and make it a actuality, I learn a guide referred to as The Happiness of Pursuit – by Chris Guillebeau. Some time again, Chris visited each nation and that impressed him to dig additional into the anatomy of massive private quests. His guide covers all aspects of aim planning from the preliminary step of figuring out your large aim (or quest) by way of its execution. This consists of discovering assist, how a lot a quest may cost a little, methods to deal with misadventures (or failure) and at last, what to do when a quest ends.
In The Happiness of Pursuit, Chris Guillebeau explores how setting a private quest — whether or not it’s touring to each nation on the planet (which he did), cooking a meal from each nation, or strolling throughout a continent — provides life extra construction, objective, and pleasure.
“If you happen to’re going to construct a quest round journey, it helps to make it particular. Going in all places is much less essential than going someplace—particularly someplace that challenges you or modifications your perspective.” — Chris Guillebeau
His analysis and private expertise reveal that long-term targets aren’t simply motivating — they’re deeply transformative. Individuals who tackle quests really feel extra engaged with life, expertise higher readability, and report a stronger sense of id.
“The pursuit of happiness isn’t about passive contentment — it’s about energetic engagement.”
Chris Guillebeau
Advantages of Lengthy Time period Journey Tasks or Quests
Guillebeau discovered that individuals who pursue daring, long-term quests — particularly ones involving journey — profit in 5 key methods:
- Renewed Motivation – When you might have a significant aim, even the planning turns into joyful.
- Larger Resilience – Dealing with challenges whereas chasing your dream builds confidence and adaptableness.
- A Sense of Progress – Each journey turns into half of a bigger journey, supplying you with objective.
- Private Progress – A quest stretches your consolation zone, forcing studying and reinvention.
- Deeper Tales – As an alternative of fragmented recollections, you construct a cohesive narrative that lasts.
Ottsworld Favourite
The Happiness of Pursuit: Discovering the Quest That Will Deliver Function to Your Life
A guide that challenges every of us to take management—to make our lives be about one thing whereas on the similar time remaining clear-eyed in regards to the dedication—The Happiness of Pursuit will encourage readers of all ages and aspiration. It’s a playbook for making your life rely.
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08/28/2025 07:02 pm GMT
Large Journey Challenge Concepts For You to Taken on As Your Personal
“A quest doesn’t should be grandiose; it simply needs to be yours.”
Whether or not you’re visiting each desert on the planet or chasing down the world’s greatest libraries, your journey challenge turns into greater than a guidelines — it turns into a supply of pleasure, id, and which means.
As a result of I’m loopy about having to be totally different, I wished to create a list of journey challenge concepts which might be extra inventive and much less apparent than “go to each nation.” Right here’s what I got here up with. Be at liberty to make use of any of those concepts on your personal journey challenge!
1. Chasing the Equator
Go to all of the nations the Equator runs by way of (there are 13!). Think about touring by way of Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Kenya, Uganda, and others — and documenting how life alongside the Equator differs all over the world.
Lengthy-term aim: Discover “life at zero levels” — local weather, tradition, and biodiversity.
2. Pilgrimage Routes of the World
As an alternative of simply mountaineering the Camino de Santiago, construct a lifetime challenge to finish well-known pilgrimage routes throughout totally different faiths and cultures — like Japan’s Kumano Kodo, India’s Char Dham, or Mexico’s pilgrimage to the Basilica of Guadalupe.
Lengthy-term aim: Stroll sacred paths across the globe.
Learn my article about Via-hikes all over the world: Options to the Camino de Santiago
3. Island Nations Solely
Deal with visiting solely island nations — from the Maldives to Iceland to Madagascar to Wrangle Island. Doc how island life varies throughout totally different oceans and cultures.
Lengthy-term aim: Perceive remoted ecosystems and distinctive cultures formed by the ocean.
I really like visiting distant islands – learn my article about South Pacific Journey: Methods to Go to 14 of the Most Distant and Culturally Fascinating Islands
4. World’s Finest Practice Journeys
Create a challenge to expertise the world’s most iconic practice rides — the Trans-Siberian Railway, India’s Palace on Wheels, the Rocky Mountaineer, Switzerland’s Glacier Specific, Australia’s Ghan, and so forth.
Lengthy-term aim: See the world from a gradual, immersive perspective.
5. Festivals of the World Tour
Plan your travels round attending distinctive festivals globally — Holi in India, Día de los Muertos in Mexico, the Working of the Bulls in Spain, Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Pageant in Eire.
Lengthy-term aim: Rejoice humanity’s numerous methods of honoring life, dying, seasons, and pleasure.
6. Historical Civilizations Path
Journey to see the ruins and legacies of historical civilizations — suppose the Mayans, Greeks, Egyptians, Khmer, Incas, and so forth. Not simply the favored ones, however lesser-known ones too (just like the Nabataeans or the Etruscans).
Lengthy-term aim: Piece collectively humanity’s historical tales throughout continents.
7. One River, Many Lives
Observe the course of 1 main river (the Amazon, Nile, Danube, Mekong, Mississippi) by way of totally different nations, finding out how the river shapes cultures, economies, and day by day life alongside the way in which.
Lengthy-term aim: Inform the story of a river by way of the eyes of those that stay by it.
8. World Capitals at Evening
Go to main world capitals, however give attention to exploring and photographing them solely at evening — seeing how cities remodel after darkish.
Lengthy-term aim: Create a portfolio or picture collection of “the world after sundown.”
9. Border Crossings Challenge
Journey overland throughout worldwide borders and doc the experiences, particularly in distinctive locations the place cultures visibly change throughout an invisible line — like crossing from France to Spain within the Basque Nation or from Thailand to Myanmar.
Lengthy-term aim: Discover what borders imply — and the way synthetic (or actual) they really feel on the bottom.
10. World Libraries or Bookstores Tour
If you happen to’re literary, design a journey challenge round visiting essentially the most lovely, historic, or quirky libraries and bookstores all over the world — from Livraria Lello in Portugal to the George Peabody Library in Baltimore.
Lengthy-term aim: Rejoice international tales and structure tied to studying and information.
11. Summit the World’s Iconic Mountains
Climb legendary peaks — Kilimanjaro, Fuji, Mont Blanc, and Desk Mountain — whether or not by technical climb or mountaineering path.
Lengthy-term aim: Doc your ascents in a private journal or “Seven Summits” problem.
12. Expertise the World’s Deserts
From the purple sands of Namibia’s Sossusvlei to the white dunes of New Mexico, to the rocky Gobi Desert, and the salt flats of Bolivia, immerse your self on the planet’s arid magnificence.
Lengthy-term aim: Create a photographic collection titled “The Silent Landscapes.”
13. Go to All Continents Earlier than You Flip [Age]
Set a private milestone to the touch all seven continents — sure, even Antarctica — earlier than a particular birthday (30, 40, 50?).
Lengthy-term aim: Full a private documentary referred to as “Seven Continents, One Life.”
14. Cross a Nation Totally on Foot
Trek throughout a complete nation, whether or not it’s the UK’s Coast-to-Coast Path, New Zealand’s Te Araroa, or Japan’s Nakasendo Manner.
Lengthy-term aim: Write a memoir titled “Step by Step: Crossing Borders on Foot.”
15. Go to the World’s Extremes
Journey to the world’s most northerly, southerly, highest, lowest, wettest, driest, and hottest factors.
Lengthy-term aim: Compile a file referred to as “The Fringe of the Earth: My Excessive Adventures.”
Examine my 7 Finest Locations for Excessive Journey
16. Observe the World’s Volcanic Ring of Hearth
Go to volcanic hotspots like Hawaii, Iceland, Japan, and Chile, witnessing earth’s rawest energy firsthand.
Lengthy-term aim: Create a journey documentary titled “Dwelling With Hearth.”
17. Journey by Historic Commerce Routes
Observe historical commerce paths just like the Silk Highway throughout Central Asia, the Spice Route by way of the Indian Ocean, or the Amber Highway by way of Europe.
Lengthy-term aim: Construct an academic weblog referred to as “Routes That Formed Civilization.”
18. Dive the World’s Finest Coral Reefs
Scuba dive or snorkel by way of the Nice Barrier Reef, Raja Ampat, the Maldives, and the Pink Sea to witness marine biodiversity earlier than it disappears.
Lengthy-term aim: Curate a conservation-focused picture collection “Beneath the Floor.”
19. Go to the World’s Nice Wine Areas
Tour iconic vineyards from Napa Valley to Bordeaux to Mendoza and South Africa’s Stellenbosch.
Lengthy-term aim: Create a tasting journal referred to as “The Grand Wine Tour: Sipping Throughout the World.”
20. Monitor Endangered Animals within the Wild
Search out the world’s rarest creatures — mountain gorillas in Rwanda, snow leopards in Mongolia, orangutans in Borneo, and polar bears in Churchill Canada.
Lengthy-term aim: Develop a conservation storytelling challenge titled “Wild Encounters: Saving the Final Ones.”
Tremendous Area of interest Cat Journey Tasks
As you all know – I’m a cat lover. So after all I’ve provide you with a couple of cat journey initiatives for the cat lover on the market. Or you possibly can be part of me on my Cat Tour of Japan to get began! Plus – in order for you extra cat journey concepts – take a look at my CatLadyTours.com (coming quickly) website for all cat journey!
Right here’s a deep dive into cat-themed journey initiatives that might be each long-term and travel-intensive, not simply “go to one place,” however a actual private mission:
1. The International Cat Cultures Challenge
Journey to nations the place cats are deeply woven into the tradition — Japan (cat cafés, shrines), Turkey (avenue cats of Istanbul), Egypt (historical worship), Greece (island cats), Morocco (medina cats), Russia (Hermitage cats).
Lengthy-term aim: Doc the alternative ways cats are revered, protected, or built-in into on a regular basis life all over the world.
2. Avenue Cats Documentary Journey
Journey to cities with massive, seen avenue cat populations (like Istanbul, Marrakech, Rome, Athens) and {photograph} or movie their day by day lives — their interactions with individuals, how they’re cared for, or not.
Lengthy-term aim: Make a heartfelt mini-documentary “Avenue Souls: Cats With out Borders.”
3. Cat Islands and Sanctuaries Tour
Go to well-known cat islands and main cat sanctuaries:
- Tashirojima, Japan
- Aoshima, Japan
- Lanai Cat Sanctuary, Hawaii
- Rome’s Largo di Torre Argentina, Italy
- Greece’s Syros Island
- Kalkan’s KAPSA group, Turkey
Lengthy-term aim: Create a photograph collection, weblog, or perhaps a documentary referred to as “The place Cats Rule the World.”
4. Rescue Across the World Challenge
Volunteer with or go to cat rescue organizations globally — from neighborhood cat initiatives within the U.S. and Europe to temple cat caretakers in Asia. Possibly even accomplice with small rescues to focus on their work.
Lengthy-term aim: Create a worldwide community of cat rescue tales, elevate consciousness, and even begin a small basis.
Journey Motivation Tasks
Possibly these concepts are extra journey than what you are able to do at the moment, or possibly you might be simply on the lookout for a non-traveling challenge to maintain you ‘journey motivated’. Listed here are a couple of tremendous inventive methods that can assist you keep enthusiastic about journey and discovery, even between journeys! I name these – journey motivation initiatives.
1. “Across the World” Studying Problem
Learn one guide from each continent — bonus factors in the event you learn novels set in a particular nation or written by authors from there.
Purpose: See the world by way of native voices.
2. Bucket Checklist Delicacies Problem
I really like cooking, and I particularly love cooking totally different ethnic cuisines. Choose a rustic every month and grasp a dish from there. Publish a photograph diary, weblog, or mini video collection.
Purpose: Journey by way of your style buds!
3. Microadventure Challenge
Not each journey needs to be far-off! Set a aim to do one native “microadventure” a month — mountaineering a path, visiting a cultural neighborhood, exploring a close-by small city.
Purpose: Keep adventurous at dwelling.
4. The Nation Alphabet Problem
Choose a rustic for each letter of the alphabet (A for Argentina, B for Botswana, and so forth.) and be taught one thing about every: a recipe, a chunk of historical past, a film, a competition.
Purpose: Broaden your international information one letter at a time.
Additional Studying: Books That Encourage Significant Journey & Private Quests
If The Happiness of Pursuit sparked one thing in you, these books will gasoline your hearth to tackle a journey challenge that goes past the odd:
1. Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
A timeless manifesto for long-term journey
Explores how journey isn’t an escape from life, however a deeper dive into it. Encourages gradual journey and intentional wandering, best for anybody beginning a journey quest.
Vagabonding By Rolf Potts
Vagabonding is about taking day off out of your regular life–from six weeks to 4 months to 2 years–to uncover and expertise the world by yourself phrases. Veteran shoestring traveler Rolf Potts reveals how anybody with an impartial spirit can obtain the dream of prolonged abroad journey.
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08/28/2025 05:13 am GMT
2. A Sense of Course by Gideon Lewis-Kraus
A memoir about strolling pilgrimage routes in Japan, Spain, and Ukraine
A reflective and typically humorous have a look at how journey quests assist us wrestle with id, objective, and spirituality.
A Sense of Course: Pilgrimage for the Stressed and the Hopeful
A Sense of Course is Lewis-Kraus’s dazzling riff on the perpetual warfare between self-discipline and want, and its attendant casualties. Throughout three pilgrimages and lots of a whole lot of miles – the thousand-year-old Camino de Santiago, a solo circuit of 88 Buddhist temples on the Japanese island of Shikoku, and, collectively together with his father and brother, an annual mass migration to the tomb of a well-known Hasidic mystic within the Ukraine.
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08/28/2025 05:16 am GMT
3. Tracks by Robyn Davidson
One lady’s journey strolling solo throughout the Australian desert with camels
A uncooked, empowering story that demonstrates the transformative energy of committing to an excessive journey aim.
5. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
The story of Chris McCandless and his quest for which means in nature
A cautionary however inspiring story in regards to the extremes of self-reliance and the deep craving for an genuine life path.
Into the Wild
Into the Wild is the mesmerizing, heartbreaking story of an enigmatic younger man who goes lacking within the wild and whose story captured the world’s consideration.
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08/28/2025 05:21 am GMT
6. Journeys of a Lifetime by Nationwide Geographic
A visible dream board for journey quests
Options 500 of the world’s best journeys and concepts, good for sparking your individual long-term challenge.
7. Alone Time by Stephanie Rosenbloom
A delicate, fantastically written celebration of solo journey
Displays on how solitude in cities like Paris, Istanbul, and Florence creates house for introspection and transformation.
Alone Time: 4 Seasons, 4 Cities, and the Pleasures of Solitude
Stephanie Rosenbloom considers how being alone as a traveler – and even in a single’s personal metropolis – is conducive to turning into conscious about the sensual particulars of the world – patterns, textures, colours, tastes, sounds – in methods which might be tough to do within the firm of others.
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08/28/2025 05:24 am GMT
8. The Artwork of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
One other highly effective guide from the creator of The Happiness of Pursuit
Encourages readers to design a life round their passions — and never accept the default path.
Let Your Travels Grow to be Your Legacy
The great thing about a journey challenge is that it retains you related to your passions whereas opening doorways to sudden adventures. Whether or not you full the challenge or not, the journey itself turns into your private masterpiece.
Prepared to choose your challenge?
👇 Inform me which one you’re dreaming about — or share your individual inventive concept!
