Think and Go Travel

Think and Go Travel: 6 Steps to Get You on Your Next Vacation
By Don Miller, Staff Writer

Recent issues of Live Life Travel discussed "How to Save for a Vacation" and "Ten Reasons to Visit Europe". Several people commented positively on both articles but still expressed doubts whether such a vacation could ever be in their future. Money represented the major problem. Finances may be a hurdle but not an insurmountable obstacle. You are the obstacle. Instead of concentrating on reasons to go, how to go, many individuals choose to focus on why it is impossible. Writing this article in-flight as our family crosses the Atlantic, it is our fondest hope for you to experience the anticipation, the excitement and the thrill of an extraordinary vacation.

Seventy years ago, Napoleon Hill wrote the classic success motivational book entitled "Think and Grow Rich". For purposes of this article, his title will be paraphrased to "Think and Go Travel.” If you consider anything you have accomplished during your life, it begins with a plan. The successful completion of any plan depends on desire. "If there is a will, there is a way". "What the mind of a person can conceive and believe, it can achieve". In his book, Mr. Hill provides proven methods and the exact steps to follow to achieve any reasonable goal. For those of you who long to travel but feel it is an elusive goal, perhaps this will be useful.

Step #1.

Determine exactly where you want to go and approximately how much it will cost. Start at the travel section in Barnes and Noble and select a few books and maps of areas in which you are interested. Utilize the internet to supplement your research. What countries, cities or sites do you wish to visit? What activities interest you? How long will you be gone? Begin to form an itinerary and a budget. Begin your trip research, pick and choose and refine your plans. It is insufficient to just say you want to go somewhere. Plans lacking specificity never get accomplished.

Step #2.

Decide exactly what you will give up to achieve your goal expressed in step #1. Travel is a matter of priorities. Most people do not possess the resources to travel at will so some sort of sacrifice is necessary. You may need to give up personal and family time to work more to generate extra income. Or you may need to alter your spending and savings habits. Please refer to a previous issue concerning saving for a vacation.

Step #3.

Establish a definite date for your trip. This step is absolutely vital. Depending on your individual circumstances, your timetable may be measured in months while others may require three to four years. Nevertheless, time flies and a specific date creates a sense of urgency and structure to your plans.

Step #4.

Begin your plans at once whether you are ready or not. It is essential to initiate your ideas immediately before they fall into the trap of endless procrastination. Go to the bookstore or get on the internet now. Discuss with the family the approximate costs, how they can help and start your family saving account now. When can everyone go? Share the excitement of potential places you might visit.

Step #5.

Write out a clear, concise statement of where you plan to go, approximately how much money you will need, how you plan to acquire said funds, how you will put the money aside , when you plan to go, how long you will be gone and your specific itinerary.

Step #6.

Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once in the morning and once just before retiring at night. As you read------see and feel and believe yourself already on your vacation.

Although the above steps appear rather structured and inflexible, planning a vacation is actually an evolutionary process that may continue until you depart. The above steps will be in a constant state of flux. Any reasonable trip is within your grasp. You have been given the method but you must provide the desire. If we could somehow convey to you the wondrous things we have seen and done, travel would not be a wish or a desire but would become an absolute passion in your life.