Go Now!

by Emmanuel Marshall.

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This is basically a rant, so…

Strap Yourself In!

OK.  We all know life is too short. Sooner rather than later we all end up with sore knees, stiff backs, dull eyes and short breath.
The good news is, James Reyne was spot on. Any day above ground, is a good day.

(Top photo: Rainbow Gathering, in Tasmania, Australia.)

I started traveling in my thirties. Looking back, my only regret is that I didn’t hit the road sooner. If you have an urge to travel, the time to do it is NOW.

The only thing holding you back is motivation. Everyone knows what they really want, the only difference between excited people and people dreaming of excitement is one short step. The step away from the familiar.

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(Above: happy hippies at Confest, 2014. I love gatherings like Confest. So many people, determined to be free and happy.)

We all instinctively seek comfort.  Our default setting as creatures is to create a situation where we don’t have to think.  We know where our next meal is coming from – it’s in the fridge.  We know where we are going to sleep tonight – in our cosy interest-free-terms bed, of course.  Monday will roll around, we’ll go to work, drink coffee, watch the clock, and some anonymous person somewhere will put money in our bank accounts.  Like lab rats, we walk the maze, and nudge the bell, and food comes out of the slot.
We are drawn, by our instincts, to comfort.  But, if you feel bored, unappreciated, trapped, lonely, restless, fat, tired and frustrated, then what’s so special about your comfort zone?

(Below: me, hosting the World Thumb Wrestling Championships.)

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How I Found the Road.

I discovered travel by accident.  From my early teens I was obsessed with the arts. I made pictures, I designed clothes, I wrote stories, but my big passion was movies.  I wanted, more than anything, to be in movies.
I went to acting school.  I went to castings.  I worked as an extra.  I got some jobs doing TV ad’s and soap opera.  I worked my ass off doing low budget theatre shows, short films, weird performance art.  I even got a role in a real movie.  It was all great fun, but as I entered my thirties, I started to realise that acting wasn’t enough.  I was sick of being told what to do.  I wanted to direct.
I wrote plays.  I made short films and showed them at festivals.  I was growing as an artist.  I felt more independent.  I was totally broke.

I took a job as a P.A. on a big budget movie.  The job was mostly making coffee for my caffeine addicted boss.  The hours were infinite, it was boring as bat shit, but the money was good, and I needed to pay off my credit card.
The film’s schedule included a lot of location shooting.  My boss would be traveling all over Australia, and because he had become addicted to my cappuccinos,  I would be going with him everywhere.
We went to the great northern deserts of The Kimberley.   We went to northern Queensland.  The production company gave me a 4×4, so I could deliver coffee to my boss, even in the most remote situations. Between making coffee deliveries, I bounced over endless dusty tracks, and pot holed roads, just exploring the Australian wilderness.
My job was tedious.  The film making process was excruciatingly slow.  But I was traveling, and I loved it.

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(Above: I love hitchhiking in the Australian outback. It is exciting, awe inspiring, and also very dusty. I’ve waited a while for rides sometimes, but when you get picked up by one of these rigs, you can go a thousand kilometres in one stretch!)

When the film shoot ended and I found myself unemployed, I decided to see the rest of the world.  I had done a bit of hitchhiking before, and enjoyed it, and I realised that if I hitchhiked, instead of paying for train and bus tickets, I would go a lot further before I ran out of cash.
It was that simple.  I thought.  I had no idea what I was about.

I packed a massive bag full of heavy stuff.  I took a flight to south east Asia, and set out, in the tropical heat.  I hitched across Malaysia and Thailand, shedding clothing and equipment as I went.  Every time I checked out of a hostel I would leave stuff behind; a jumper; my mess kit; a pair of sneakers.
Booze and pot was cheap, and the bars were always open. I hired a motorbike and rode hundreds of kilometers across Thailand’s mountainous north.  I was partying every night and hardly sleeping.  My sense of new found freedom had overwhelmed me.  I felt indestructible.

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(Above: that’s me, biking in Thailand, 2007. I was on a high. The low was on its way.)

By the time I reached Chang Mai, in northern Thailand I was exhausted.  I’d gone too far, too fast.  I’d smoked and drunk and partied way too much.  My brain was fried.  I crashed. 
My manic personality sent me into a dive.  Depression overtook me.  I went back to Australia feeling ashamed and disappointed.
I felt like a failure.
My dream of the road, of roaming free, had collapsed under its own weight.

A few years passed, and eventually, I got the courage to quit my job, pack my bag, and walk out the door again.  But this time I took a much smaller bag.

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(Above: Cordoba, Spain, one of the most beautiful and romantic cities I have visited in Europe. You can buy a print of this picture in the Raw Safari Print Shop.)

(Below: Morocco. I hitchhiked across Morocco in 2013. It was an amazing experience, that I will never forget.)

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Now.

I’m on a mission to see as much of the world, and meet as many humans as I possibly can.  I’m forty plus. I’m excited. I’ve learned something important from life: 
It ain’t over ’til it’s over. 
The secret of happiness isn’t winning. The secret of happiness is gratitude.  To be happy is to be fully, sharply aware of every moment you are alive, and appreciating what that means.  Right now, I can do.  I have opportunities.  I can be free.  It isn’t about choosing the right road, it’s about not sitting down on the curb and giving up.

I have learned a few things from my screw-ups.  I found strength in myself I never had before. I started to see my failures as lessons, rather than mistakes.

I wish I’d had a mentor when I started traveling.  It would have been great to know someone who had done the things I wanted to, had lived the life I wanted to live, and could give me some advice and guidance.  At the time I didn’t even realise I needed such a person.  I didn’t realise how challenging long-term life on the road could be.



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(Above: jamming at Rainbow Gathering, 2014. You don’t have to be a hobo to play the blues, but I reckon it helps.)

I started writing Raw Safari to share my experiences, because I like story telling, and the actor in me likes to have a big audience.  But then I realised, hey, I can do something else here too.  I can share my knowledge with other people who want to live an adventurous life.  I can inspire people to travel.  This can be something really useful.  I can be the mentor I didn’t have.

If you are dreaming of going on a journey, then I urge you: go now.
Procrastination is born of fear.  Fear is in all of us, all the time, but to live adventurously, we have to master our fear.  Like John Wayne said: ‘Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.’

 
Traveling Smart.

That means different things to different people.  For some, it means reading reviews and making reservations in advance.  Getting iron-clad insurance.  Avoiding places with crime problems.  Having a job to come home to.  Having a home to come home to.
I respect caution and preparation, but for me it comes second to adventure.  I like to improvise.  I like to be able to change my plans on a whim.  I like to be able to take my time, and not have a schedule to follow.

For me, traveling smart means being prepared for anything.  I am creating a lifestyle of minimalist liberty, what Jamie Bowlby-Whiting calls, an Avante Garde Life.  I’m seeking the sort of heady immersion in the world that fuelled Kerouac and Hemingway.
I want it to be exciting, but I also want it to be sustainable.  That’s where the preparation comes in.  Not preparation for any specific situation, but for all situations.  It’s partly having the right knowledge.  It’s partly having the right equipment.  It’s a lot about having the right attitude.

It’s a work in progress.  I am not an expert, and I have mentors of my own.  I’ve learned a lot from people like Kent Foster and Wandering Earl.  I keep my mind and my eyes open.
I’m offering you the best advice I can give based on my own experience.

(Below: me and Anna, celebrating Loi Krathong, in Chiang Mai.)

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How Do I Start My Journey?

That’s the million dollar question, and the answer is, of course, very simple.  Take one step.  If you want to see the world, pack a bag, walk out to the road, and go.  There’s no time like the present.
On a practical level, fill your head with useful info, and your bag with useful stuff.

>> Useful info to put in your brain.
>> Useful stuff to put in your bag.

Motivation is more complicated.  Motivation is what it takes to make that first step outside your comfort zone.  Think about it this way: be your own salesperson.
A good salesman or saleswoman knows that the key to motivating people is to eliminate their obstacles.  Selling a car, or selling an idea, are both the same.

You know what you need.  You need a change.  You need adventure.  You need to get off your ass and walk out the door.  But, you say to yourself, but…  I have a good job.  I have a relationship.  I have a dog / cat.  I have responsibilities.
These ‘buts’ are what salespeople call ‘objections’.  Your job is to overcome these objections and close the deal.  You know what you want, you know you can do it, you just have to feel good about making the decision.

Sales logic goes like this:

1.  Identify the objection.  Understand what the problem is really about.

2.  Examine the reasoning.  Do you really love your boss so much that you can’t bear to disappoint them?  Or is it just fear of having to find another job later that stops you quitting?  Is your cat really going to drop dead from heartbreak if you find it a new home?   Is your circle of friends the only opportunity you have for interaction and companionship?  Isn’t it possible you can make new friends as well?
It helps to write stuff down. 
Make a specific list of the things you dream of doing. The places you want to go. Adventures and experiences you fantasize about.
Now make a clear list of the reasons you think you can’t live your dream.  When you look at it in black and white it may be clearer.

3. Answer the objection.  Once you understand what you are really worried about it’s a whole lot easier to face your anxiety.  The vague, unarticulated fears are impossible to overcome.  You need to define your road blocks, before you can take them down.  Look closely at each item on your lists and ask yourself a simple question: 

What do I really want?

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(Above: Mont-St-Michel, France. Hitchhiking in France was just amazing. People were so friendly and kind.)

(Below: hitchhiking in Asia with my son, Jonah.)

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The Take-Away.

I believe nothing matches the exhilaration of freedom.
The world is full of strange and beautiful experiences.
No journey worth making is easy, but a worthwhile journey is always worth the effort.

If you sit on your couch in the evening, watching travel shows with a sense of yearning, if you feel like there must be more to life than the daily routine, if you aren’t afraid to take a risk and live a more adventurous life, then take that risk.   You can always get another couch, but you won’t get yesterday back.

The sun is shining out there.
Go now!

 
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>> Questions?  Check out the Q and A page, or email me.
>> See the world on a shoestring – read the Hitchhiking 101!
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