“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”  ~Lao Tzu

I have to admit that I’ve always loved loved loved traveling, but since my little one was born nearly 4 years back ( ok not so little anymore 😉 ) I had this not so positive feeling when it came to traveling with her. I kept thinking, I’ll need to travel with so much stuff, and my child’s moods, tantrums etc etc. But in time I’ve realized those fears were baseless. The reason for coming to this conclusion is once you HAVE TO travel, the experience itself teaches you so much. It makes you realize that those fears were all in your head, and reality is far more simpler than that.
Just in the past year, I’ve traveled so many times I can’t even count. I was over the fear of traveling with my little one after my first airplane ride when she was eight months old, but the motivation to travel MORE Fearlessly came from The Fear Crushing Travel Guide. Read on to know how brilliant Farnoosh, the creator of this guide is at Traveling and all else 🙂 I had the amazing chance to interview this jet setting gal…the result is below. Enjoy! 

Zeenat Asks: You write on a variety of topics on Prolific Living. Why choose Crushing Travel Fears as a topic for your very first guide/product?

Farnoosh Responds: You are absolutely right. Even though I write on a variety of topics, all of them serve one purpose and that is to empower people to develop smart habits for rich living. I did the Fear-Crushing Travel Guide as my very first product because I have met so many people over the years who dream of traveling but feel paralyzed by fears, anxieties and excuses. As the blog grew, I noticed that a number of my readers are also in that category – they wish to travel but instead of doing it, they feel limited by their fears. If I had a penny for every person who has said to me, “I wish I could travel like you.” and the true response is that you can! As a result of all this, I have felt compelled for a while to create an entire product around answering this one question. If I can enable just one person to stand up to their dreams and to crush their travel fears, I have done my job.

Farnoosh Responds: Oh you can get personal with me, dear Zeenat. That’s what interviews are all about! You know, our travel actually varies with seasons and now with my husband’s job. As you know, I recently left the corporate world to work for myself so I am pretty flexible. I can tell you that in the last year, we have been to Hawaii (twice), Los Angeles (twice), London, Berlin, Switzerland, Singapore, Bali, Toronto (twice), New York (twice), South Carolina (twice), Las Vegas, Washington DC, Seattle, Boston, and I am packing for Las Vegas and Portland tonight!

Zeenat Asks: After reading your Travel guide I was motivated to book my next trip asap! What I’m wondering is, what keeps You motivated to be so adventurous and travel far and wide?

Farnoosh Responds: I am delighted that I had that effect on you. So proud of you! I think my job is done then! But I hardly think that you, the warrior that you are, Zeenat, would have any fears to crush. However, we can all aspire to become fearless travelers. The guide is not geared to just crushing travel fears; it also serves the purpose of enhancing your current travel experience, such as enabling you to tap into luxury travel in ways that you may not have thought possible or accessible.

Oh the motivation? I get excited just thinking about the idea of seeing another corner of the world. Every time I travel, I become a better person. And I know I have tons of room to grow. I become more patient, less judgmental, more understanding, less hurried, more inspired, less confused about life and more grateful for it. The act of traveling answers questions deep within my heart and it even helps me understand humanity, one person and one culture and one country at a time. I also have a lot of passions to explore many different things; I used to be rather limited in how I approached a trip but when you open your mind to all the possible ways you can enjoy a new place, you reach higher levels of enjoyment and fun.

For example, I did not realize how much I love elephants and how badly I want to watch the humpack whales every time they return to the Hawaiian waters. I did not believe it was possible to get over my lifelong fear of frogs – yes you can laugh – until I traveled to Bali and was fine across a komodo dragon because there was such deep harmony between man and nature. In short, I have connected more with Mother Nature by traveling away from home than I ever have growing up at home. Pretty good incentive to take on the road, no?

Zeenat Asks: You have provided excellent solutions in your Fear Crushing Guide to all the fears anyone might have with traveling. Which according to you is the most common fear people face?

Farnoosh Responds: Thank you so much. I am so glad you think so. The most common fear? That’s a tricky one because it varies with people in different stages of their life.

In the younger crowd, I think that the fear of not having enough money dominates all other fears and it inspires a lot of creativity in them to find a way to manage. The guide talks about ways to tap into the resources that may not be very obvious to us in how to afford budget travel or make luxury travel accessible.

In the older crowd, I think just leaving home is the biggest anxiety. People are so very attached to their homes and routines and jobs and lives that tearing away from that overpowers the desire to travel. As excited as they can be about the prospect of traveling, I think that the force of routine keeps us put and also on top of that, the anxiety and fear of the unknown especially for those novice travelers. The safety of a home environment seems more appealing than taking a risk and going through the “trouble” of traveling. I tell you in the guide how to do that because the biggest risk facing us is the risk of regret later in life.

Zeenat Asks: What makes this Fear Crushing Travel Guide so indispensable to every one?

Farnoosh Responds: The guide is made for those who dream of traveling and feel held back. It is not for those who do not have a single wish to leave home. So for those who have a yearning to see the world, and to enrich their lives by seeing the lives of others and the cities and countries of the world, this guide enables them to become a fearless traveler. I have had to crush many of those fears and my only regret is that I did not start traveling further sooner. So you learn how to first become aware of and understand your fears and then you learn the tips and tools and techniques that are proven to help you overcome those fears and be prepared for your unique adventure, wherever that may take you.

Ahh…now thats what I call an invigorating interview! Thank you Farnoosh for answering my questions and for sharing so much of your precious self with us here. I just know the readers have had a blast reading your thoughts here.

To get your hands on this awesome guide, or to know more about Farnoosh and her work CLICK HERE!

Now its your turn dearest readers. What are your thoughts on Travel Fears? Do you want to ask Farnoosh any questions about this awesome guide? Do you have any fun recent travel memories you would like to share with us? Share your thoughts in the comments below….

With Immense Love & Gratitude,
~Zeenat~
Counseling Psychologist/Spiritual Counselor
Motivational Speaker/Naturopath

DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE?
Get the latest articles(FREE) as soon as they are published, by Email OR RSS.PLUS if you are an Email Subscriber, You get My Free Ebook “The Best of Positive Provocations”+ “Your Self Healing Starter Kit”+a free Positive Newsletter on the 15th of every month with the months highlights+Positive Living Affirmations +New Tips and articles which are Exclusively for Email Subscribers and not published anywhere else. Come Join the facebook community & follow me on Twitter for Positive Provocations Everyday!

Please Share Positive Provocations: If you like what you read and see here, please spread the word by sharing this article on your favorite social networks. I appreciate every bit of love and support from each and every one of you.