Here we are - the first day of 2019. A nice quiet office and a cup of coffee, and we’re off to the races! The cover picture for this article (below) is significant, in that it was one of the first pictures I ever took - on my first trip to Italy in 2006. A cold February morning, that marked the beginning of my photo journey that would take me far and wide!
As we start to build up this new destination for you, I wanted to take a few moments to talk about the site a little more, and give you an overview of our vision for it!
One thing I have noticed about us humans, is that deep down we all have a desire for adventure. Whether that adventure involves traveling to a remote corner of the world to experience the majesty of nature, or just simply finding the energy and discipline to create a newer, better version of ourselves every year around this time - we crave it, we find energy in it, and it brings richness to our lives.
So why “Leave the Harbor”? One of our favorite quotes, one that is often attributed wrongly to Mark Twain, uses the metaphor of our safe comfortable lives being like a harbor. Safe from the storms and wind, but with never changing scenery, with no new places to explore, and with very little adventure. To untie the boat from the dock, to set out into the bigger waters of the world, to seize the opportunity of life and all that we have in this beautiful world around us, is what we want for everyone that visits this site!
Maybe you are the person that is just waiting until you retire to take that special trip. Maybe you have a great business idea and would love to share it, but just don’t think anyone would care or want it. Maybe you know someone would love a product or service you could offer, but are afraid of leaving your 9-5 job with great benefits. Maybe you’d give anything to take a trip to that one city you’ve always wanted to, but just don’t know where to start. Just remember :
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
We’ve broken this website down into several kinds of adventures, and the fuel which we believe binds them all. Together, we believe we will be able to create an amazing resource that will help you genuinely “leave the harbor.”
Travel
There are truly so many adventures that can found simply by traveling. Recently my wife and I started watching “Parts Unknown” with the late Anthony Bourdain. Each episode we watch transports us, in part, to a place Anthony visited. We get to see the sights he saw, imagine the tastes of the wild new foods he tried, hear the sounds of the streets he walked down, and for just a moment allow ourselves to be immersed in what it must like to have been there. It seems that no matter what the destination of the episode is, it always ends with us looking at each other and saying “let’s go there!”
Business
There is another kind of adventure as well! We are privileged enough to live in a world where entrepreneurship, passion, creativity, vision and drive all allow us to build businesses - whether with 200 employees in a giant office complex, or just ourselves, as a hobby - that can generate the resources we need to be able to not just watch shows about where we’d like to go, but to actually hop on a plane and go!
Inspiration
Sometimes both kinds of adventures, however, need some fuel. Whether it is guidance, tips and vision on how to build our business or hobby, or direction and travel checklists to fully enjoy a destination, or just some motivation that helps you get through your day to make it to your adventure, we plan to keep a steady stream of inspiration here for you to enjoy and use to facilitate whatever adventure you are planning for or on.
So, what are you waiting for? Make your plan, set your goals, and throw off those bow lines and leave the harbor!
-Ben