Entrepreneurs – like most people in other professions – are highly susceptible to funks. Once you get into a routine, it’s hard to get out of it. And, unfortunately, this can stifle creativity and leave you feeling uninspired.
While there are plenty of unique ways to crawl your way out of a funk, traveling the world is one of the best-kept secrets. Is this the year when you’ll finally book that flight and visit another country? As an entrepreneur, the benefits are too valuable to pass up.
3 Ways Travel Makes You a Better Entrepreneur
How exactly does traveling the world benefit you and leave you feeling more inspired? Well, let’s unpack a few specific takeaways:
1. Exposure to New Ideas
“Very often you will hear that, while traveling, a business owner thought of a new product or a ground breaking idea that changed their business dramatically,” entrepreneur Tyler Leslie points out. “You even hear that while traveling, people think of ideas and open their own business. Traveling has a unique way of helping you clear your mind which in turn helps you think more clearly for new ideas.”
When you get out of your office, home, or city, you see new things. You’re exposed to new landscapes, languages, foods, and habits. This convergence of new experiences may very well lead you to a unique idea for your business.
2. Enhanced Creativity
There are a number of different studies that support the idea that traveling the world makes people more creative. The idea is that diverse experiences – which come with travel – boost creativity by forcing people to look at basic problems from multiple viewpoints. If you spend time visiting enough unique locations, you’ll eventually learn how to think more creatively, even when you’re home in your normal setting.
3. More Career Opportunities
According to a 10-month study that was published in the Journal of Social Psychological & Personality Science, those who travel abroad and spend time in different cultures are offered more job opportunities than those who have never lived abroad. In other words, you have a better chance of encountering lucrative career opportunities once you have some multicultural experiences under your belt.
Where Should Your Travels Take You?
Where should you go in order to make the most of your time? A lot depends on your personal circumstances and what your home environment and past experiences are like, but here are a few cities that should expose you to vibrant culture.
*Barcelona, Spain. There’s so much to see and do in Barcelona. There are breathtaking buildings with unique architecture and rich history, world-class sporting venues, savory cuisine, and much more. Time spent in Barcelona can be eye-opening and invigorating.
*Svalbard, Norway. Most people have never even heard of Svalbard, Norway. It’s one of the last stops before the North Pole and is a gorgeous, glacier-covered landscape that’s unlike any other place in the world. The beauty of Svalbard is that many of the modern conveniences found in other parts of the world don’t exist here. It’s like going back in time. As a result, visitors begin to see the world in a new way.
*Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Visiting Cambodia will give you a much needed wakeup call. It’ll force you to recognize how fortunate you are and what plight and poverty look like. But in the midst of this poverty, you’ll experience true happiness, good food, and a culture that’s unlike any other.
Return Home Inspired
Traveling around the world can make you wary, but the physical fatigue you feel is only temporary. Once you catch up on sleep and settle back into your office, you’ll find that the benefits from your international trip far outweigh what you put into it. Start planning your next trip and give your career the much-needed boost it needs.
