June 28, 2023 • 29 mins
Ever felt like you're just going through the motions, trying to maintain a facade of perfection while juggling work, family, and personal well-being? Join me and my friend Anna Durkin, owner of Seek Wild Travel, as we share our own personal journeys of overcoming burnout and reigniting our passions through travel and self-discovery.
Together, we explore the magic of creating unique travel experiences, uncovering hidden gems in local coffee shops, and embracing the beauty of nature. Listen in as we reminisce about childhood adventures that sparked our love for travel and discuss how Anna found her calling in helping others explore the world. This episode is an inspiring conversation about the transformative power of travel and the importance of disrupting burnout to truly find ourselves. Don't miss out on this soul-stirring adventure!
Journeying Beyond Burnout Takeaways
● “My goal is to expose the world to people and allow them to travel and see the world in a different light.” - Anna Durkin
● I came home to myself.” - Anna Durkin
● “Beautiful things can be disruptive.” - Dr. PBJ
● “I create inspiring and rejuvenating experiences.” - Anna Durkin
● “I bring travel to people.” - Anna Durkin
● “You learn about yourself when you travel.” - Anna Durkin
● “Having an open mind to anything that will come up in travel is the key to having a good time.” - Anna Durkin
● “Travel feeds my soul.” - Dr. PBJ
Connect With Anna:
Instagram: @seekwildtravel | https://www.instagram.com/seekwildtravel/
Website: https://seekwildtravel.com/
Let’s Connect
● To connect with Dr. PBJ, go topatricebucknerjackson.com
● Follow Dr. PBJ on IG@drpatricebucknerjackson for#aspoonfulofpbj.
● Need a dynamic transformational speaker? Dr. PBJ is ready to serve. Check outDr. PBJ Speaks | https://www.patricebucknerjackson.com/speaking
● Support The Show |https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lovepbj?locale.x=en_US
Upgrade to Premium Membership to access the Disrupting Burnout audiobook and other bonus content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1213895/supporters/new
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My goal is to expose the world to people and allow
them to travel and see the worldin a different light than maybe
they're used to, and thatreally fills my cup.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hey friends, it's PBJ again and I have another
episode of Women Who DefineDisruption to share with you.
If you all have been followingmy journey at all, especially
the last year, you know that mytravels have been one of the
greatest sources of joy.
(00:44):
In this whole journey that I amtaking, i love going to a place
that I've never visited andgetting to know the people and
the surroundings and theatmosphere and the scenery, and
it just fills me with so muchjoy.
I mean, one of the things Ialways think about is y'all know
(01:05):
, my people are fromCrockettville, south Carolina,
and I love Crockettville, butmany of my people have never
gone very far from Crockettvilleand I have the blessing and the
honor to travel and my heartdesires so much more travel.
So today, today, i have afriend that I am introducing you
(01:25):
to, my friend, anna Durkin.
Anna is a person that helpspeople travel and have beautiful
experiences And I am here tointroduce you all to her and
Anna, thank you for being onDisrupting Burnout and I'm so
excited to hear from you today.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Absolutely, absolutely.
So, anna, if you would just getstarted, because I know a
little bit about what you do,but I would love to hear more
about your story.
So would you just tell thepeople who you are.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, so I'm Anna, i'm well.
First, i always I'm definitelya mother And that's right now.
That's definitely my title formyself is a mother.
I have a sweet four year oldand a two year old, and so I'm
right in the midst of being a,you know, a new mom and enjoying
(02:24):
life so much with their energyand their positivity, and it's
just so much fun.
But beyond that, i, you know,have many hats.
But, yes, i'm the owner ofSequel Travel and my goal is to
expose the world to people andallow them to travel and see the
(02:48):
world in a different light thanmaybe they're used to, and that
really fills my cup.
So I would say I'm still on thejourney.
For sure, it's never, you know,it's ever evolving.
But, yeah, i really had aturning point.
I had my son in 2018.
And I kind of thought I couldjust keep rolling with it, right
(03:09):
, i could just keep pushing andpushing and doing all the things
And I started to just kind ofpile on more.
Right, motherhood was already anew challenge And I had, you
know, i ended up having aC-section, which was unplanned,
and then during that time that Ihad off which wasn't really, i
(03:30):
didn't have any paid leave oranything like that Like a lot of
people don't.
And so during that time Idecided to leave the job that I
thought I was going to go backto, and I just couldn't imagine
going back in that environmentafter I had become a mother.
So, as I'm recovering fromlabor and birth and all of those
(03:51):
things, i decided to startinterviewing for positions.
So I did that with like a fiveweek old baby, because I just
knew I needed somethingdifferent And thankfully,
something landed in my lap injust the right time.
But it was a challenge.
I started a new position.
I was a new mom, i was pumpingat work in the closet, and then
(04:16):
you're trying to show up at workas if you don't have all these
other things going on.
So many of us show up at workas if we're not moms or fathers
or have a loved one that we'recaring for.
And that becomes reallydifficult because all of a
sudden you're putting on a lotof layers, a lot of protection,
(04:39):
a lot of things to show up asthis perfect employee.
And yeah, it really took a toll.
And then that same year, alongwith being a new mom and new job
, i decided that we needed tobuy a house.
So we went into that journeywhich was, you know, there's not
(05:01):
a lot of options out there andyou're going back and forth and
it can just be so overwhelming.
So, thankfully, we found awonderful place for us to live
and we made it happen and wemade it possible.
But as the summer came along, ihad my child in October.
I got really sick.
I couldn't get over a cold thatI had and I had a cough for
(05:26):
months and I wasn't sleepingright.
I had a newborn baby.
I've tried to do so many thingsall the time for everyone and
show up perfect and Finally thatAugust my body was like you've
had enough, you can't keep goingon this path.
(05:49):
But it took several years afterthat to finally kind of
transition out of that phase and, like I said, i'm still on that
journey and one of the powerfulthings that I started doing was
meditating and the practiceitself, you know, was a piece to
(06:12):
the puzzle of kind of thisrecovery that I found and It
really allowed myself to centerand and Slow down and through
that process things started tobecome very clear and very vivid
and You know I sought help inother ways to support from
(06:35):
family outside professional help, things like that.
But It was really interestinghow just coming to myself,
coming home to myself, was kindof the magic in it.
So As the years went on, istarted to really dive into what
.
What does my passion look like?
(06:57):
What do I want my day to belike?
who do I want to serve?
and That led me to where I amwith this company, and I am just
so thrilled to help people Go,finally, go on those trips that
they've always wanted to go onand open up the passion.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Oh, My goodness, Anna , so many important nuggets
there Throughout your story.
First of all, thank you forsharing your journey with us.
I Have to stop and appreciatehow you described that beautiful
things can be disruptive.
Right, beautiful things.
(07:36):
Motherhood is a beautiful,beautiful thing.
A new home is a beautiful thing.
A new job often is a beautifulthing.
Beautiful things can bedisruptive in a way that it
Interrupts the flow that you'reaccustomed to.
It stops the the cadence ofwhat you have set for your life,
(08:03):
And sometimes that's exactlywhat we need.
Sometimes, in order for us toeven consider that something
else is a possibility, we needsomething to interrupt or
disrupt that cadence.
So thank you for giving voiceto the fact that more than one
(08:26):
thing can be true.
I can be overwhelmingly joyfulof this blessing in my life and
overwhelmed, I can be exhaustedand so grateful at the same time
.
More than one thing can be true.
So that is just so importantfor folks to hear, because
(08:47):
sometimes we feel like we're inthe good part of my life, Like
things are good.
What is wrong with me?
All of this is good, but I'mfeeling heavy And our emotions
are a gauge.
We have to pay attention,because that's the signal that
something in our life needs someattention.
(09:09):
I also appreciate the way thatyou described how your body was
speaking to you, because we'llkeep going, We'll keep going.
When can I stop?
I can't stop.
I have to do my best at workand I can't just chill When I
get home.
I have a new baby, So when wejust keep pushing and keep
(09:31):
pushing, and I always sayburnout is the fourth stop, You
don't have a choice.
It's when your body, your soulor your spirit says we're done,
We're done, Yeah.
And then that final piece that Iwanted to highlight is you
started thinking about what do Iwant?
(09:53):
And I just want to pause for aminute and I want to pose that
question to someone who'slistening What do you want?
So often we allow ourselves tobe stuck in a box that someone
else created, or a career ladderwhere someone says choose one,
two or three.
(10:13):
Those are your only two optionsfor promotion, or those are
your only two options of movingforward, or your only two
options for success.
But you stopped and you saidwait a minute.
What do I want my days to looklike?
Who do I want to serve?
And I know, to someone who'slistening that sounds like some
(10:34):
pie in the sky idea that youwould even get to manifest what
you want.
But Anna is here as proof.
I'm here as proof that when youpause and really ask and really
, really dig deep.
You said coming home to yourself.
That reminds me.
(10:55):
Dr Tama Bryant wrote a bookcalled Homecoming And she talks
about coming home to yourself.
So often we are so conditionedto follow the rules and march in
step that we've forgotten whowe are, Or maybe we've not even
discovered it in adulthoodbecause we've been so busy
(11:18):
succeeding and accomplishing.
Yeah.
So how does your work, yourpassion, now help people break
that cast, that cadence, so thatthey can come home to
themselves?
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, so I always like to describe that I create
inspiring and rejuvenatingexperiences.
So some of the typical travelplanning models are a lot of
more chain properties, hotel,that kind of thing, and that has
(11:58):
a place.
But I focus on really off thebeaten path travel, and so two
things that I feel like I'm ableto offer.
One, take the burden off ofpeople and the planning of trips
, because that can be just veryoverwhelming.
We're so busy There's notalways time to fit all those
(12:20):
things in, but people know thevalue of it.
They really do.
They know that they need tostep away, and it's really
important to step away becausethat is how you can find clarity
.
And so one is helping peoplenavigate the complicated parts
of travel.
(12:40):
But really I'm bringing travelto people and showing what is
possible.
And when people go on thesetrips they are kind of awakened.
They come back not feeling likethey need a vacation from their
vacation.
(13:01):
Planning appropriately allowsyou to have breathing room and
truly settle into theenvironment that you're in.
And maybe you're traveling forthe weekends Or maybe you're
traveling across the world, itdoesn't matter.
Getting out of your routine canbe such a way to transform your
(13:21):
approach to your everyday Andalso learning.
You learn about yourself whenyou travel.
There's always little thingsthat you learn about yourself.
Whoever you're traveling with,you can form a better bond with
them, and then, whateverenvironment you're going into,
it really helps you to see howother people live.
(13:42):
I think I always enjoy thesimplicity of some places I go.
I'm like, wow, you know, youdon't have to have an open
concept kitchen to have awonderful life.
It's really important to see theway other people live, hear
their stories, you know, go to apub and sit with locals and
(14:06):
stay in a neighborhood thatpeople that live there year
round stay in, you know, andlive in, and we have just fully
become immersed in theenvironment around them while
traveling.
And then another little piecethat I always like to say is
incorporating some time innature.
I really think that we are sobusy all the time and a lot of
(14:28):
people have the best access tonature, and so I like to always
throw in some of that to kind ofhelp realize that there's some
routines that maybe you canincorporate in your daily life.
You know, maybe you wanna takea walk on your trip and you're
like, hey, that needs to becomepart of who I am, or maybe you
(14:49):
are, you know, on a trip and yousee people doing an activity
that you're like how that couldbecome part of my life too, or
wow, that really opens up mymind to this idea, and so travel
just can really be an openingfor you to look at life in a
different way.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Oh, i think that's beautiful And I agree with you.
I agree with you.
Sometimes in our normal routinewe become so blind, we're so
focused on what we're used to.
It's possible to go from yourhome to the car, from the car to
the office, from the officeback to the car, back home to
(15:31):
bed and get up and do it allover again, and you're walking
through and walking by beautyevery day, but you don't have
the mindfulness to benefit fromit because of the overwhelm and
the routine and everything thathas taken over.
Anna, tell us where thisconnection and love for travel
(15:54):
came from for you.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, so I actually, even as a young person deciding
on a major for school, i decidedto study hospitality and
tourism because, as a child, myparents did such a great job of
exposing us.
We would, you know, with my mom, we would jump in the car and
(16:17):
go what we call discovery, andthat's it.
You know, they were just daytrips, but we would go discover
the countryside and find antiqueshops or go to historic
properties or go through gardens, you know things like that.
And they just showed that youcan do it in such a simple way.
you know that you can just jumpin the car or however, and kind
(16:41):
of see the world.
And I always just loved that.
I loved the feelings that I hadwhen I went into, you know, a
beautiful garden.
you know we would go tobotanical gardens or historic
homes and things like that, andthere's just this overwhelming
sense of calm and excitement ofseeing some new place.
And so I brought that all theway through and then I decided
(17:04):
to go to school and studyhospitality and tourism, and so
it was kind of tucked away and Igot out of that industry for a
while and then was like this iswhy I did that.
That's why, when I say to behome to myself, i kind of came
back to myself as a child.
(17:25):
you know where.
how did I think when I was achild and what lit me up?
and that same passion stilllights me up today And so, yeah,
it's just been really fun tocome back to it.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
I love that you went back to those memories and those
experiences from your childhood.
We do a process called discoveryour brilliance And I always
ask the question tell me who youwere as a child, because a lot
of our answers are there.
Before someone told us we werewrong.
Before someone told us youcouldn't make money with that.
(18:05):
Before someone told us whatmakes sense and what doesn't.
Before we learned all of therules of adulthood.
There's a purity in going backand revisiting what we
experienced in our childhood.
So give us some examples, anna.
So because you said your tripsare kind of off the beaten path,
(18:27):
not what maybe you normally getfrom travel agent.
So give us an example of anexperience that you might curate
for someone.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Yeah.
So some examples can be well,maybe like a weekend trip
somewhere.
For example, say, you live nearthe Smoky Mountains or where I
grew up.
I grew up near Shando NationalPark And you can start your
morning and go to the localcoffee shop, right, and then
(19:00):
find lodging that's like rightat the entrance of the park so
that you don't have to go farAnd then find three activities
that you wanna do that weekend,right, don't overbook yourself.
And go into the park.
Maybe first you're gonna tryjust a simple nature walk.
Maybe you're not super intohiking, but you wanna go on a
little walk, right.
(19:21):
So you go on the walk and thenyou drive a little farther
through the park and you go tosome overlooks and you step out
and you see the view.
And then you travel a littlefarther and you find the
historic lodge in the park andyou eat lunch and you eat at a
leisurely pace And you talk tothe waitress or the waiter and
(19:45):
you ask them wait, what'ssomething else really cool that
we should do in the area?
And they point something elseout to you And then you go down
that path of finding where theysaid it was a really cool place
to go And you just continue thatjourney with a little bit of an
open mind, right?
And I think having an open mindto anything that can come up in
(20:08):
travel because things do come upis the key to having a good
time and discovering yourselfand taking that breathing time.
So, as far as a weekend trip,that's an easy thing you can do.
You can just go and discover.
But other trips that I plan forexample, going to Scotland well
(20:32):
, there's a lot to see inScotland.
Do you need to see it all?
No, you can pick out a handfulof things that you really wanna
do and then decide this is whatI'm gonna do.
But I'm also gonna leave someroom for any kind of experience
that might come up, and sothat's kind of the principles
(20:53):
that I live by.
As far as travel is, breathingroom, enjoy every part of it.
Transportation can be you think, oh, i'm just getting from
point A to point B.
Well, actually that could be areally transformative part of it
.
The flight, the people you'resitting near, the train ride,
looking at the scenery There'sso many parts of travel that can
(21:17):
open your mind and be relaxingand fun and exciting.
So, taking each piece of thattravel experience in with you
incorporating nature.
I always think that's superimportant And it kinda helps you
appreciate what we have right.
Yeah, breathe in that fresh airand seeing what's out there.
(21:40):
So I think that's also reallyimportant.
And pack light, you know, don'toverdo it, you're not moving
there.
That's why I always like totell people So pack light, make
your load light, make the tripof lightening up your load of
life And so kind ofincorporating that.
(22:02):
But really in the heart of ittoo is where do you wanna go?
You know, i always ask peoplethat what has always been your
bucket list?
They may think it's so pie inthe sky that they can't do it.
Oh, there's no way I can dothat.
And they put up a lot ofexcuses.
I start to say wait a minute,let's back up, let's.
Can we make this possible foryou?
(22:23):
Where do you wanna go?
And sometimes they have to comeback and say you know, give me
some time to really think aboutthat, because they just thought
it wasn't possible for so long.
All of a sudden it's come tolight that they oh, you know
I've always wanted to do this,but you know I don't think so.
(22:43):
And then I'll do some researchand figure out if it is possible
for them, and most of the timeit is.
So it's just about planning andbut really reaching down deep,
where do you wanna go And comeup with a plan for the next five
years?
Where do you wanna go?
You know what's gonna let youup, what's gonna help you maybe,
(23:05):
get through a tough time.
Maybe you need a trip plan inthe next two months, and so,
yeah, that's kinda there's justso much to dive into and each
person's so different, and so Ilike to take each client in as
its own special case.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, yeah, you went exactly where I was gonna go
next with my next question,because I was gonna ask you what
are some of those limitingbeliefs or excuses that people
make to say, oh, i can't do thatAnd like that's not available
to me.
So you mentioned, you know,maybe financially right.
(23:41):
What are some of the otherlimiting beliefs that you hear
from folks that you don't know?
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Yeah, i would say the other limitations are time.
I would say that's probablyactually one of the biggest
things is people can't figureout how to pick a time to go
Because they have this, theyhave that, they have so many
obligations that they can't seepast that.
They can't see past all theto-dos, and so then I can even
(24:11):
help them, guide them throughthat process as well.
You know you're going to haveto go on a trip that you've
always wanted to go on.
You may have to sacrifice onething or another, and that's
okay.
That's okay.
You might have to tell theoffice that you're out for a
week.
It's okay.
You may take your child out ofschool for one week, because the
(24:35):
destination you want to go tohappens to be the best time to
go is during the school year.
You can still learn on thattrip a week.
Second, to hurt anyone Even twoweeks isn't going to hurt
anyone.
Time seems to be one of themost limiting things.
That's part of what I've comeinto is let me plan it for you,
(24:58):
so all you have to do is packyour bag.
I've taken a huge chunk of thattime that people think they
don't have to.
At least plan it for them, andthen all they have to do is go
through their schedule and picka time to go.
So that is a big limitingfactor is time.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Oh my gosh.
Listen, I know at this pointfolks are probably ready to pack
their bags and go.
I'm already thinking okay, Iwant to go to Scotland, I want
to go to France.
It's like wow.
So, Anna, how do people connectwith you?
What does your process looklike?
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yeah, so first we usually start with a 30 minute
discovery call just to kind ofdive into exactly the nitty
gritty of my process and kind ofhelp them think it through a
little bit.
And then from there we startbuilding an itinerary and it can
be really fun and I can reallyhelp guide people on that so
(25:58):
they don't have to really thinktoo hard about it.
I'll ask them the rightquestions And then I'll give
them a proposal of you know,here's your trip, what do you
think?
And so then once they say, hey,yeah, that looks really good,
let's tweak a couple things,then I present them with the
final proposal.
Then after that they can eithergo and book the trip on their
(26:20):
own or they can have me go aheadand book it.
So it's kind of a three tierprocess.
You know a temporary proposal,then we have like our final
itinerary and then booking.
So yeah, it's, it could be justsuch an easy process.
I walk you through the wholething, so there's no, no
stressing on it.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
No, no, no, no, no, no excuse.
And I can tell you that travelis just one of those things that
feed my soul.
You know, I it's having a trip,whether it's a weekend trip, a
day trip, having a trip on thecalendar, that's.
I'm looking forward to that, sothat that's my goal.
I've got all this to do, but Iknow that that is coming And it
(27:05):
just fills my cup.
And it's not the same as havinga day off, because a day off at
home, you're literally justconsumed.
You're looking at all thethings that you should be doing
or you feel like you should bedoing, whether you are doing
there or not, even if you'resitting on your couch, you're,
you're grinding in your mind,thinking about all the things.
(27:26):
Going away physically helps youto disconnect, it helps you to
take a break from everything Andreally, like you said, be clear
.
Be clear because even if youneed to do it, you're not in the
space to do it And you can letit rest for a day or a weekend
(27:47):
or a week, and you will comeback and be able to accomplish
those things better and fasterbecause you allowed your brain a
break, a real break, a realbreak.
So I encourage all of you toreach out to Anna to explore
with her.
Have the conversation.
(28:08):
Don't let the excuses stop you.
You don't even know enough tomake a decision yet.
Give, connect with Anna.
Make that connect, call andexplore.
It's time for you to seesomething different, and I'm so
excited for you, anna.
How do folks connect with you?
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, so they can reach out on my website,
seekwhiletravelcom.
You can also find me onInstagram.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
I love communicating that way too, And that's
seekwhiletravel Yeah awesome Andall of this will be in our show
notes so that you can connectwith Anna and have that connect.
Call and go exploring.
Give yourself that gift, thatbreak.
You deserve it, friend.
(28:54):
All right, as always, you knowthat you are powerful, you are
significant and you are loved.
Love always, pbj.
Bye everybody.
My goal is to expose the world to people and allow
them to travel and see the worldin a different light than maybe
they're used to, and thatreally fills my cup.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hey friends, it's PBJ again and I have another
episode of Women Who DefineDisruption to share with you.
If you all have been followingmy journey at all, especially
the last year, you know that mytravels have been one of the
greatest sources of joy.
(00:44):
In this whole journey that I amtaking, i love going to a place
that I've never visited andgetting to know the people and
the surroundings and theatmosphere and the scenery, and
it just fills me with so muchjoy.
I mean, one of the things Ialways think about is y'all know
(01:05):
, my people are fromCrockettville, south Carolina,
and I love Crockettville, butmany of my people have never
gone very far from Crockettvilleand I have the blessing and the
honor to travel and my heartdesires so much more travel.
So today, today, i have afriend that I am introducing you
(01:25):
to, my friend, anna Durkin.
Anna is a person that helpspeople travel and have beautiful
experiences And I am here tointroduce you all to her and
Anna, thank you for being onDisrupting Burnout and I'm so
excited to hear from you today.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Absolutely, absolutely.
So, anna, if you would just getstarted, because I know a
little bit about what you do,but I would love to hear more
about your story.
So would you just tell thepeople who you are.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, so I'm Anna, i'm well.
First, i always I'm definitelya mother And that's right now.
That's definitely my title formyself is a mother.
I have a sweet four year oldand a two year old, and so I'm
right in the midst of being a,you know, a new mom and enjoying
(02:24):
life so much with their energyand their positivity, and it's
just so much fun.
But beyond that, i, you know,have many hats.
But, yes, i'm the owner ofSequel Travel and my goal is to
expose the world to people andallow them to travel and see the
(02:48):
world in a different light thanmaybe they're used to, and that
really fills my cup.
So I would say I'm still on thejourney.
For sure, it's never, you know,it's ever evolving.
But, yeah, i really had aturning point.
I had my son in 2018.
And I kind of thought I couldjust keep rolling with it, right
(03:09):
, i could just keep pushing andpushing and doing all the things
And I started to just kind ofpile on more.
Right, motherhood was already anew challenge And I had, you
know, i ended up having aC-section, which was unplanned,
and then during that time that Ihad off which wasn't really, i
(03:30):
didn't have any paid leave oranything like that Like a lot of
people don't.
And so during that time Idecided to leave the job that I
thought I was going to go backto, and I just couldn't imagine
going back in that environmentafter I had become a mother.
So, as I'm recovering fromlabor and birth and all of those
(03:51):
things, i decided to startinterviewing for positions.
So I did that with like a fiveweek old baby, because I just
knew I needed somethingdifferent And thankfully,
something landed in my lap injust the right time.
But it was a challenge.
I started a new position.
I was a new mom, i was pumpingat work in the closet, and then
(04:16):
you're trying to show up at workas if you don't have all these
other things going on.
So many of us show up at workas if we're not moms or fathers
or have a loved one that we'recaring for.
And that becomes reallydifficult because all of a
sudden you're putting on a lotof layers, a lot of protection,
(04:39):
a lot of things to show up asthis perfect employee.
And yeah, it really took a toll.
And then that same year, alongwith being a new mom and new job
, i decided that we needed tobuy a house.
So we went into that journeywhich was, you know, there's not
(05:01):
a lot of options out there andyou're going back and forth and
it can just be so overwhelming.
So, thankfully, we found awonderful place for us to live
and we made it happen and wemade it possible.
But as the summer came along, ihad my child in October.
I got really sick.
I couldn't get over a cold thatI had and I had a cough for
(05:26):
months and I wasn't sleepingright.
I had a newborn baby.
I've tried to do so many thingsall the time for everyone and
show up perfect and Finally thatAugust my body was like you've
had enough, you can't keep goingon this path.
(05:49):
But it took several years afterthat to finally kind of
transition out of that phase and, like I said, i'm still on that
journey and one of the powerfulthings that I started doing was
meditating and the practiceitself, you know, was a piece to
(06:12):
the puzzle of kind of thisrecovery that I found and It
really allowed myself to centerand and Slow down and through
that process things started tobecome very clear and very vivid
and You know I sought help inother ways to support from
(06:35):
family outside professional help, things like that.
But It was really interestinghow just coming to myself,
coming home to myself, was kindof the magic in it.
So As the years went on, istarted to really dive into what
.
What does my passion look like?
(06:57):
What do I want my day to belike?
who do I want to serve?
and That led me to where I amwith this company, and I am just
so thrilled to help people Go,finally, go on those trips that
they've always wanted to go onand open up the passion.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Oh, My goodness, Anna , so many important nuggets
there Throughout your story.
First of all, thank you forsharing your journey with us.
I Have to stop and appreciatehow you described that beautiful
things can be disruptive.
Right, beautiful things.
(07:36):
Motherhood is a beautiful,beautiful thing.
A new home is a beautiful thing.
A new job often is a beautifulthing.
Beautiful things can bedisruptive in a way that it
Interrupts the flow that you'reaccustomed to.
It stops the the cadence ofwhat you have set for your life,
(08:03):
And sometimes that's exactlywhat we need.
Sometimes, in order for us toeven consider that something
else is a possibility, we needsomething to interrupt or
disrupt that cadence.
So thank you for giving voiceto the fact that more than one
(08:26):
thing can be true.
I can be overwhelmingly joyfulof this blessing in my life and
overwhelmed, I can be exhaustedand so grateful at the same time
.
More than one thing can be true.
So that is just so importantfor folks to hear, because
(08:47):
sometimes we feel like we're inthe good part of my life, Like
things are good.
What is wrong with me?
All of this is good, but I'mfeeling heavy And our emotions
are a gauge.
We have to pay attention,because that's the signal that
something in our life needs someattention.
(09:09):
I also appreciate the way thatyou described how your body was
speaking to you, because we'llkeep going, We'll keep going.
When can I stop?
I can't stop.
I have to do my best at workand I can't just chill When I
get home.
I have a new baby, So when wejust keep pushing and keep
(09:31):
pushing, and I always sayburnout is the fourth stop, You
don't have a choice.
It's when your body, your soulor your spirit says we're done,
We're done, Yeah.
And then that final piece that Iwanted to highlight is you
started thinking about what do Iwant?
(09:53):
And I just want to pause for aminute and I want to pose that
question to someone who'slistening What do you want?
So often we allow ourselves tobe stuck in a box that someone
else created, or a career ladderwhere someone says choose one,
two or three.
(10:13):
Those are your only two optionsfor promotion, or those are
your only two options of movingforward, or your only two
options for success.
But you stopped and you saidwait a minute.
What do I want my days to looklike?
Who do I want to serve?
And I know, to someone who'slistening that sounds like some
(10:34):
pie in the sky idea that youwould even get to manifest what
you want.
But Anna is here as proof.
I'm here as proof that when youpause and really ask and really
, really dig deep.
You said coming home to yourself.
That reminds me.
(10:55):
Dr Tama Bryant wrote a bookcalled Homecoming And she talks
about coming home to yourself.
So often we are so conditionedto follow the rules and march in
step that we've forgotten whowe are, Or maybe we've not even
discovered it in adulthoodbecause we've been so busy
(11:18):
succeeding and accomplishing.
Yeah.
So how does your work, yourpassion, now help people break
that cast, that cadence, so thatthey can come home to
themselves?
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, so I always like to describe that I create
inspiring and rejuvenatingexperiences.
So some of the typical travelplanning models are a lot of
more chain properties, hotel,that kind of thing, and that has
(11:58):
a place.
But I focus on really off thebeaten path travel, and so two
things that I feel like I'm ableto offer.
One, take the burden off ofpeople and the planning of trips
, because that can be just veryoverwhelming.
We're so busy There's notalways time to fit all those
(12:20):
things in, but people know thevalue of it.
They really do.
They know that they need tostep away, and it's really
important to step away becausethat is how you can find clarity
.
And so one is helping peoplenavigate the complicated parts
of travel.
(12:40):
But really I'm bringing travelto people and showing what is
possible.
And when people go on thesetrips they are kind of awakened.
They come back not feeling likethey need a vacation from their
vacation.
(13:01):
Planning appropriately allowsyou to have breathing room and
truly settle into theenvironment that you're in.
And maybe you're traveling forthe weekends Or maybe you're
traveling across the world, itdoesn't matter.
Getting out of your routine canbe such a way to transform your
(13:21):
approach to your everyday Andalso learning.
You learn about yourself whenyou travel.
There's always little thingsthat you learn about yourself.
Whoever you're traveling with,you can form a better bond with
them, and then, whateverenvironment you're going into,
it really helps you to see howother people live.
(13:42):
I think I always enjoy thesimplicity of some places I go.
I'm like, wow, you know, youdon't have to have an open
concept kitchen to have awonderful life.
It's really important to see theway other people live, hear
their stories, you know, go to apub and sit with locals and
(14:06):
stay in a neighborhood thatpeople that live there year
round stay in, you know, andlive in, and we have just fully
become immersed in theenvironment around them while
traveling.
And then another little piecethat I always like to say is
incorporating some time innature.
I really think that we are sobusy all the time and a lot of
(14:28):
people have the best access tonature, and so I like to always
throw in some of that to kind ofhelp realize that there's some
routines that maybe you canincorporate in your daily life.
You know, maybe you wanna takea walk on your trip and you're
like, hey, that needs to becomepart of who I am, or maybe you
(14:49):
are, you know, on a trip and yousee people doing an activity
that you're like how that couldbecome part of my life too, or
wow, that really opens up mymind to this idea, and so travel
just can really be an openingfor you to look at life in a
different way.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Oh, i think that's beautiful And I agree with you.
I agree with you.
Sometimes in our normal routinewe become so blind, we're so
focused on what we're used to.
It's possible to go from yourhome to the car, from the car to
the office, from the officeback to the car, back home to
(15:31):
bed and get up and do it allover again, and you're walking
through and walking by beautyevery day, but you don't have
the mindfulness to benefit fromit because of the overwhelm and
the routine and everything thathas taken over.
Anna, tell us where thisconnection and love for travel
(15:54):
came from for you.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, so I actually, even as a young person deciding
on a major for school, i decidedto study hospitality and
tourism because, as a child, myparents did such a great job of
exposing us.
We would, you know, with my mom, we would jump in the car and
(16:17):
go what we call discovery, andthat's it.
You know, they were just daytrips, but we would go discover
the countryside and find antiqueshops or go to historic
properties or go through gardens, you know things like that.
And they just showed that youcan do it in such a simple way.
you know that you can just jumpin the car or however, and kind
(16:41):
of see the world.
And I always just loved that.
I loved the feelings that I hadwhen I went into, you know, a
beautiful garden.
you know we would go tobotanical gardens or historic
homes and things like that, andthere's just this overwhelming
sense of calm and excitement ofseeing some new place.
And so I brought that all theway through and then I decided
(17:04):
to go to school and studyhospitality and tourism, and so
it was kind of tucked away and Igot out of that industry for a
while and then was like this iswhy I did that.
That's why, when I say to behome to myself, i kind of came
back to myself as a child.
(17:25):
you know where.
how did I think when I was achild and what lit me up?
and that same passion stilllights me up today And so, yeah,
it's just been really fun tocome back to it.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
I love that you went back to those memories and those
experiences from your childhood.
We do a process called discoveryour brilliance And I always
ask the question tell me who youwere as a child, because a lot
of our answers are there.
Before someone told us we werewrong.
Before someone told us youcouldn't make money with that.
(18:05):
Before someone told us whatmakes sense and what doesn't.
Before we learned all of therules of adulthood.
There's a purity in going backand revisiting what we
experienced in our childhood.
So give us some examples, anna.
So because you said your tripsare kind of off the beaten path,
(18:27):
not what maybe you normally getfrom travel agent.
So give us an example of anexperience that you might curate
for someone.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Yeah.
So some examples can be well,maybe like a weekend trip
somewhere.
For example, say, you live nearthe Smoky Mountains or where I
grew up.
I grew up near Shando NationalPark And you can start your
morning and go to the localcoffee shop, right, and then
(19:00):
find lodging that's like rightat the entrance of the park so
that you don't have to go farAnd then find three activities
that you wanna do that weekend,right, don't overbook yourself.
And go into the park.
Maybe first you're gonna tryjust a simple nature walk.
Maybe you're not super intohiking, but you wanna go on a
little walk, right.
(19:21):
So you go on the walk and thenyou drive a little farther
through the park and you go tosome overlooks and you step out
and you see the view.
And then you travel a littlefarther and you find the
historic lodge in the park andyou eat lunch and you eat at a
leisurely pace And you talk tothe waitress or the waiter and
(19:45):
you ask them wait, what'ssomething else really cool that
we should do in the area?
And they point something elseout to you And then you go down
that path of finding where theysaid it was a really cool place
to go And you just continue thatjourney with a little bit of an
open mind, right?
And I think having an open mindto anything that can come up in
(20:08):
travel because things do come upis the key to having a good
time and discovering yourselfand taking that breathing time.
So, as far as a weekend trip,that's an easy thing you can do.
You can just go and discover.
But other trips that I plan forexample, going to Scotland well
(20:32):
, there's a lot to see inScotland.
Do you need to see it all?
No, you can pick out a handfulof things that you really wanna
do and then decide this is whatI'm gonna do.
But I'm also gonna leave someroom for any kind of experience
that might come up, and sothat's kind of the principles
(20:53):
that I live by.
As far as travel is, breathingroom, enjoy every part of it.
Transportation can be you think, oh, i'm just getting from
point A to point B.
Well, actually that could be areally transformative part of it
.
The flight, the people you'resitting near, the train ride,
looking at the scenery There'sso many parts of travel that can
(21:17):
open your mind and be relaxingand fun and exciting.
So, taking each piece of thattravel experience in with you
incorporating nature.
I always think that's superimportant And it kinda helps you
appreciate what we have right.
Yeah, breathe in that fresh airand seeing what's out there.
(21:40):
So I think that's also reallyimportant.
And pack light, you know, don'toverdo it, you're not moving
there.
That's why I always like totell people So pack light, make
your load light, make the tripof lightening up your load of
life And so kind ofincorporating that.
(22:02):
But really in the heart of ittoo is where do you wanna go?
You know, i always ask peoplethat what has always been your
bucket list?
They may think it's so pie inthe sky that they can't do it.
Oh, there's no way I can dothat.
And they put up a lot ofexcuses.
I start to say wait a minute,let's back up, let's.
Can we make this possible foryou?
(22:23):
Where do you wanna go?
And sometimes they have to comeback and say you know, give me
some time to really think aboutthat, because they just thought
it wasn't possible for so long.
All of a sudden it's come tolight that they oh, you know
I've always wanted to do this,but you know I don't think so.
(22:43):
And then I'll do some researchand figure out if it is possible
for them, and most of the timeit is.
So it's just about planning andbut really reaching down deep,
where do you wanna go And comeup with a plan for the next five
years?
Where do you wanna go?
You know what's gonna let youup, what's gonna help you maybe,
(23:05):
get through a tough time.
Maybe you need a trip plan inthe next two months, and so,
yeah, that's kinda there's justso much to dive into and each
person's so different, and so Ilike to take each client in as
its own special case.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, yeah, you went exactly where I was gonna go
next with my next question,because I was gonna ask you what
are some of those limitingbeliefs or excuses that people
make to say, oh, i can't do thatAnd like that's not available
to me.
So you mentioned, you know,maybe financially right.
(23:41):
What are some of the otherlimiting beliefs that you hear
from folks that you don't know?
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Yeah, i would say the other limitations are time.
I would say that's probablyactually one of the biggest
things is people can't figureout how to pick a time to go
Because they have this, theyhave that, they have so many
obligations that they can't seepast that.
They can't see past all theto-dos, and so then I can even
(24:11):
help them, guide them throughthat process as well.
You know you're going to haveto go on a trip that you've
always wanted to go on.
You may have to sacrifice onething or another, and that's
okay.
That's okay.
You might have to tell theoffice that you're out for a
week.
It's okay.
You may take your child out ofschool for one week, because the
(24:35):
destination you want to go tohappens to be the best time to
go is during the school year.
You can still learn on thattrip a week.
Second, to hurt anyone Even twoweeks isn't going to hurt
anyone.
Time seems to be one of themost limiting things.
That's part of what I've comeinto is let me plan it for you,
(24:58):
so all you have to do is packyour bag.
I've taken a huge chunk of thattime that people think they
don't have to.
At least plan it for them, andthen all they have to do is go
through their schedule and picka time to go.
So that is a big limitingfactor is time.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Oh my gosh.
Listen, I know at this pointfolks are probably ready to pack
their bags and go.
I'm already thinking okay, Iwant to go to Scotland, I want
to go to France.
It's like wow.
So, Anna, how do people connectwith you?
What does your process looklike?
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yeah, so first we usually start with a 30 minute
discovery call just to kind ofdive into exactly the nitty
gritty of my process and kind ofhelp them think it through a
little bit.
And then from there we startbuilding an itinerary and it can
be really fun and I can reallyhelp guide people on that so
(25:58):
they don't have to really thinktoo hard about it.
I'll ask them the rightquestions And then I'll give
them a proposal of you know,here's your trip, what do you
think?
And so then once they say, hey,yeah, that looks really good,
let's tweak a couple things,then I present them with the
final proposal.
Then after that they can eithergo and book the trip on their
(26:20):
own or they can have me go aheadand book it.
So it's kind of a three tierprocess.
You know a temporary proposal,then we have like our final
itinerary and then booking.
So yeah, it's, it could be justsuch an easy process.
I walk you through the wholething, so there's no, no
stressing on it.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
No, no, no, no, no, no excuse.
And I can tell you that travelis just one of those things that
feed my soul.
You know, I it's having a trip,whether it's a weekend trip, a
day trip, having a trip on thecalendar, that's.
I'm looking forward to that, sothat that's my goal.
I've got all this to do, but Iknow that that is coming And it
(27:05):
just fills my cup.
And it's not the same as havinga day off, because a day off at
home, you're literally justconsumed.
You're looking at all thethings that you should be doing
or you feel like you should bedoing, whether you are doing
there or not, even if you'resitting on your couch, you're,
you're grinding in your mind,thinking about all the things.
(27:26):
Going away physically helps youto disconnect, it helps you to
take a break from everything Andreally, like you said, be clear
.
Be clear because even if youneed to do it, you're not in the
space to do it And you can letit rest for a day or a weekend
(27:47):
or a week, and you will comeback and be able to accomplish
those things better and fasterbecause you allowed your brain a
break, a real break, a realbreak.
So I encourage all of you toreach out to Anna to explore
with her.
Have the conversation.
(28:08):
Don't let the excuses stop you.
You don't even know enough tomake a decision yet.
Give, connect with Anna.
Make that connect, call andexplore.
It's time for you to seesomething different, and I'm so
excited for you, anna.
How do folks connect with you?
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, so they can reach out on my website,
seekwhiletravelcom.
You can also find me onInstagram.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
I love communicating that way too, And that's
seekwhiletravel Yeah awesome Andall of this will be in our show
notes so that you can connectwith Anna and have that connect.
Call and go exploring.
Give yourself that gift, thatbreak.
You deserve it, friend.
(28:54):
All right, as always, you knowthat you are powerful, you are
significant and you are loved.
Love always, pbj.
Bye everybody.
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