You know why most people never take that big leap of faith?

Of course you do.  It's because they're scared.  You've been scared of leaping before, and I know I have as well.  It's tough to leap.  It's hard to jump into the great unknown.  But what if you could make things a bit less scary?  What if instead of blindly jumping from the cliff you could test the waters a bit first and build up your confidence?  What if, with just some effort and creativity, you could take that passionate leap of faith and turn it into a leap of fact?

Would that make things easier? 

Would you then be more likely to go on and pursue the life you desire?

I think you would.

Slow travel is my dream.

To be able to sit, enjoy, and explore without worrying about the the time of day - this is travel.

But right now, I'm not a slow traveler.  I just don't have the time.  Right now I travel fast.  I travel with a fixed agenda.  I try to squeeze out every last second of a week's vacation before I have to settle back into my daily routine.  I don't like travel much right now, but that will change.  In the meantime, I'll have to live a little bit through the slow travels of others.

My friend Emiel van den Boomen is about to embark on a slow, 6-week trek around Southeast Asia with his family.  He is traveling without guidebooks and bucket list.  All he wants to do is show up in India and see where the day takes him.  I love it!  And I can't wait to see where travel will take him and his family.

Before Emiel ventures off into the great unknown, I wanted to ask him some questions.  Sort of do a before and after look into the experiences of a slow traveling family.  So without further rambling from me - here is Emiel.

Why travel?

I have to say that at times I've struggled with this question.  I've just never been sure of the answer.

For us, traveling just works.  It makes us happier.  It makes us feel right.

But why?  Why travel?

Well, I think I might have finally found my answer.

"We had to leave.  The President was doing bad things and killing people."  ~ 7-year old girl from Syria while swinging on the playgrounds of Boston

"Security is the chief enemy of mortals." ~ William Shakespeare

"The only security that a man can have is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability." ~ Henry Ford

Years ago if you had asked me about the term security, I would have given you what I was taught.

Security is money.  Possibly in the form of savings and a good retirement fund, but it certainly includes a steady salary.  A nice secure home doesn't hurt.  A good neighborhood.  Insurance.  A good school system.  And a Volvo, with lots of airbags.

I believed this.  For me, my security was based on obtaining a whole lot of stuff.  I was naive.

A friend of mine asked an interesting question the other day.

What would you do with $10 million dollars?

It's a tough question to answer.  We all have different wants and needs, and our wants and needs often change over time.  Some days we believe we need more money than we did the day before.  It's tough to decide what we want and need.

It's no different when it comes to a travel lifestyle.  The toughest thing about setting out to travel the world is deciding what you want and need, and how much money it's going to take to make it happen.

How do you want to travel?  How will you pay the bills?  What bills will you have to pay? 

We all have a different idea of how much it costs to travel the world, because traveling the world represents something different for all of us.  We're all starting in different places, and our goals are rarely ever the same.

But, at some point - if we're going to do this travel thing - we have to make a decision.

How much do I need to travel the world forever?

The Question is always the same.

We find ourselves with an idea, a dream, a wish - but we don't know how to make it happen.  We know what we want, but sometimes the forest is so thick we just can't seem to find a way through it.  We run around in circles looking for a way out.  We get lost and tired.  We settle down somewhere, build a house, and we take on a job pulling weeds for our lost neighbor.

But what if someone were there to guide us through the forest?  What if we had some help along the way?

The Question is:

How do I do it?

The Answer:

Find someone who can get you through the forest.

I've got a secret for you.  And yes, it works just like magic.  But first a story.

Some time ago, before the days of Wifi and Facebook, I found myself running an internet-based business out of a concrete apartment on the outskirts of Nanning, China.  I was 26, and not only was I creating my first business, I was also deeply entrenched in my first trip abroad.  I had been in China only 6 months.  I didn't speak the language, I was struggling with culture shock, and between my wife and I we had about $1,500 to our name.  And yet, here we were, starting a business, and the pieces were just falling into place.

A few months ago my Iphone slipped from my daughter's hand, found the end of a nail protruding from the floor boards of our dining room, and died.

Now this is something none of us ever want to experience, but I have to say - I'm glad it happened.

I never bothered getting my phone fixed and that has made all the difference.  Sure, I missed it at first, but as time passed I quickly realized I was missing a lot more when I had the phone around.  I found myself observing more.  Showing patience.  Listening.  I started playing with my kids more at the playground.

I always thought technology was a necessity as we travel in the modern world, but looking at it now, I think we might actually be better travelers without it.

I give up!

For a while now I have been trying to create some all-encompassing health plan travelers could use to keep themselves amazingly fresh and fit on the road - but that's not going to happen.  It's not possible.  The world is too diverse.  People are too different.  And frankly, I'll never get myself to go to the hotel workout room when the street life of some exotic locale is calling.

By this time next year we will be traveling the world.  I kinda can't get over that idea, but it's happening.

One of my concerns as a traveler has always been health.  Getting sick on the road just kills your travels.  I don't want my back going out while camping or the kids getting the cramps in Mexico.  I want to be healthy, energetic, and comfortable.  So even though we are months away from setting off for a life of travel, we might as well start getting healthy now.  I'm going to get in shape, eat better, and be as good as I can be by the time we get rolling.  And once we start traveling, I am going to pay close attention to the experts.  People who have traveled and been sick on the road.  I want to know how they suggest we stay healthy.  So I did some research, gathered some advice, and here you go.