Lists, they are what is going to get this thing started (and carried through). Simple words on a page lined up vertically and emphasized with bullets and/or color. I have a problem with dreaming big and never following through. I can’t even count the number of ideas that have passed through my head but have been lost to a stray thought or by not writing something down. Well, not just writing something down, I’ve done that, but putting it in a form that requires action.
This idea for my trip, where exactly it will be I’m not sure (deciding where is on the list), started I’d say about a year ago when my company decided to take a dump on me. It stayed just that, an idea, until I finally put something down that was actionable.
You see, ‘go on a big trip’ isn’t a plan. It is an idea floating in the vastness of space and until it is broken up and put into little steps it (and you) won’t go anywhere. Same as ‘I want to get rich.’ What is ‘rich’ and how will you get there?
It was when I sat down about a week ago and wrote down ‘big trip’ along with a list of ‘to-do’s’ that that idea gained substance. Over the past few months the idea had been turning over inside my head, its shape slowly being formed by the conversations with people around me.
‘Where are you going to go?’ ‘How are you going to get there?’ ‘Where is the money going to come from?’ ‘Where are you going to go?’
They were practically making that list for me. All I had to do was write it down. The dream, that idea in the sky, was becoming a realistic goal with each item I added. It was also helping me to refine things and think realistically.
How can I make money while traveling? Will companies really let me just stop in and talk? What are my goals and are they realistic? Should I even be taking this trip? How can I get traffic through my website? The questions go on and on.
But, it is no longer floating around in space. My idea has finally been tethered to the ground and through my list(s) I am slowly but surely building stairs to get there.
I have a list for what things I need to get done, such as research visas, open an international bank account, and replace my drivers license. I have a list for gear I plan to carry divided into groups like ‘camping,’ ‘camera,’ ‘clothing.’
I’m sure my lists are woefully inadequate but I’ve taken the first step. Each day they get longer as I figure out more but the real joy is crossing things off. ‘Yep, that ones done, and that one too,’ scratches my pen. Each one another step closer to my dream.
What kind of dreams/ideas do you have that could be helped along by putting a few things down on paper?
(Just a note. After writing this I will be scratching another thing off my list, ‘Write first post on tramproyal.com)
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