4 Ways Travel Enhances Your Personal Brand and Informs Your Worldview
My pic of the world's tallest statue of Muragan, a Hindu deity. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

4 Ways Travel Enhances Your Personal Brand and Informs Your Worldview

Travel is insightful and extraordinary. It is hard for me to fully explain the feeling of seeing a spectacular sunrise over the Swiss Alps, the stunning rainforests of Malaysia, the amazing coastline that snakes around the Black Sea, or the jagged, majestic terrain of Greenland's southern region. Travel transforms you, and like a painter, you have this empty canvas on which to create your eternal masterpiece. Here are 4 ways it enhances your personal brand and informs your worldview:

Embracing the Power of Storytelling - In every corner of every single country - from the residential areas to the business districts to the hot-spots and landmarks - you will hear great stories. When I visited Dubai, I struck up a conversation with so many people. The diversity is so dynamic. I know that I heard 16 languages being spoken while waiting on a crowded subway train platform. I got to know the personal stories of Dubai residents from Eastern Africa to the lower Pacific Rim. Being a good listener made it possible.

Taking the Road Less Traveled - Whenever I go on a trip, I always look forward to a great experience. I typically find good stuff when I go off the beaten path. Walking around side streets in Belgrade, Serbia took me into a number of eateries and upfront with beautiful street art. In India, after visiting the Taj Mahal, I got a chance to go off the main roads in Agra to see shops that created stunning art with centuries old methods. Sometimes great things await us on paths unplanned.

Buddha's words come to mind here: "It is better to travel well than to arrive." No matter where you are, make it an adventure because there is so much to see and absorb.

My picture of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

My picture of Saint Basil's Cathedral (in Red Square) in Moscow, Russia

My picture of the Batu Cave, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

My picture of the Ministry of Agriculture's building in Kazan, Russia

Learning Something New - My laptop stopped working when I visited Hamburg, Germany. So when the hotel I was staying at let me use their desktop, I ended up typing my reports on a German keyboard. Awesome! The "@" and "#'" were not where they are on an American keyboard, so it was both funny and cool to reveal that to my social media audience, especially Twitter. The owner of the hotel also informed me that the "@", commonly referred to as the at-sign, has many names in cultures around world. The Norwegian call it kroellalfa, meaning curled a, and in Brazil it is called arroba, which is also a measure of weight. Fascinating topic.

Seeing History in Another Country - When I saw the historic Wembley Stadium from the plane on a trip to London, all I could think about was the epic, 16 hour Live Aid concert there in 1985 - an event which raised $125 million for African famine relief. A billion people (including myself) in over 100 countries saw it via satellite and witnessed a great marriage of philanthropy and technology. That event helped shape my approach to giving. Viewing Wembley from above brought it all back. History!

My travels have taken me all around the world, and allowed me to keynote tech and business conferences in 10 countries on three continents. I love connecting and networking, and doing that on an international stage is quite exhilarating. In the end, the very travels that expand our thinking can also greatly impact our personal brand.

If education is the passport to our future, then travel will always figure prominently in everything I do. Country after country will give you a fantastic lesson. So be ready!

Here is work from my series 'The Business of Travel', and a recent profile of me in the Huffington Post.

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Sean Gardner is a global best-selling author, keynote speaker, digital consultant and business creative who lives in Seattle, WA. He currently conducts workshops and social media training for small business, nonprofits, celebrities and multinational corporations. You can Tweet, Friend, Pin, or Instagram him, and/or circle him on Google Plus.

Also...you can purchase Sean's international best-seller, The Road to Social Media Success, which the Huffington Post praised and recommended to marketers in 2015. It has some of his interviews with experts, and his own observations on a wide range of topics.

So if you're trying to understand social, and its impact, this is the book for you. Inspire, inform and elevate social media. Always!

Reading this article was like reading my thoughts. I wish more people understood the importance of travel on our world view. Great article. Will repost on my site www.vacationtherapist.nyc

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Tia Burnett, MPA

Check out Skyryse, we’re hiring!

8y

"Sometimes great things await us on the paths unplanned." Sean, that quote from you is so simple, yet so profound!!

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Danielle Charles

Humane Business Founder @ Retail Market Practise - B.Com(Hons), MA, SIIRSM - Stress Reduction Consultant emfstrategy.com Future-proofing assets while de-stressing people & spaces Today!

8y

Yes, it can also be very embarrassing as I found when ordering 4 burgers but ended up with 16 as it was a special deal! And it didn't matter that I selected a 'known franchise' either! I've since learned to count beyond 10 Sean Gardner

Danielle Charles

Humane Business Founder @ Retail Market Practise - B.Com(Hons), MA, SIIRSM - Stress Reduction Consultant emfstrategy.com Future-proofing assets while de-stressing people & spaces Today!

8y

Couldn't agree more Sean Gardner - its also good grounding for remaining humble as sometimes there's no option but to start over e.g. learning to count in a foreign language to communicate effectively :)

Dennis Owen

Brand Storyteller and Digital/Social Media Consultant

8y

Excellent post. Truly a life well travelled.

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