How it all Started Part 4

It’s all about the experience when it comes to luxury.  It’s waiting at the port for your driver to arrive and pick you up and being grateful that your driver is dressed in the highest quality shoes and clothing to make you feel like a true VIP.  With a private driver, you can stop whenever and wherever you want without having to follow a rigid schedule.  You can skip the places you don’t enjoy and decide when and where to eat.  It is pure pleasure.  A good guide knows where to bring you for lunch so that you can enjoy fresh, quality food in a beautiful atmosphere.  They may be willing to share a secret spot that only the locals know about.  

I didn’t realize it at the time, but all these (and many more) travel experiences were contributing to the development of my mission.  I was feeling into a new and better way of traveling.  Why not experience things that average people would not find value in?  Why not enjoy the finer things in life?  Why not help facilitate those same experiences for others?  

I lost my job just before the pandemic began. I started going to networking meetings.  It was almost a compulsion.  I think I attended five networking meetings in seven days.  I was supposed to attend a large local networking meeting, usually attended by 80-100 people in a relatively small room, when I heard the rumblings about Covid-19 and thought that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to go to that event.  

Within a week, we were in lockdown. 

At that time, no one knew what was going to happen.  I still wanted to keep and expand a travel business, but the rumblings at the back of my mind that I didn’t want to work for free compelled me to switch my allegiance to a luxury host agency.  

It wasn’t merely a change of agencies.  It was a travel school with real business training and people who share a similar spiritual philosophy to me.  One of the things taught is to regularly meditate for 20 minutes a day!  This host was perfect for me!  

But the uncertainty associated with Covid-19 was making me feel that it was wrong to facilitate travel because I could be causing the travelers harm.  I thought deeply on karma.  Was I taking on the karma for their actions and experience if something were to happen to them because I booked their trip?  I don’t believe that is possible.  I do realize that there could always be unintended consequences of any action, but to fail to take any action because there could be a negative result leads to the worst kind of stagnation.  

I had access to the best travel experiences that money could buy and a fear to take on new clients because travel might cause them harm!  

In mid-2021, I finally registered my LLC under the name Balanced Explorations. 

It was not easy to come up with the name. 

I thought deeply on what I stand for and want my company to stand for.  My zodiac sign is Libra.  I believe sustainability is critical in our current world.  “Balanced” came to mind when I thought of Libra and sustainability.  The process of deciding on a name took several days, but in the end, I was satisfied with my choice. 

I had the opportunity to take three trips in 2021 when I hadn’t been anywhere in over two years.  They were amazing, luxurious, and unexpected.  My heart had been aching to fly somewhere new.  I love being above the clouds and seeing the sun rise or set.  I was traveling so often over such a short period that I was becoming quite familiar with JFK airport.  It started to feel like my second home.  I upgraded to first class on a couple of flight segments and was able to achieve frequent flyer status after only two trips. 

After my adventure in Greece, I realized that I would need to go back to work in order to fully fund my business and give it the attention it deserved.  

I began a wholehearted job search.  There is no shame in having a full-time job and having your business be your overflow.  That is what I desire. I need to feel fully creative and express myself through my travel business.  

I recently decided that starting a new YouTube Channel named after my business and focusing solely on luxury travel would make the most sense for me.  I am now more intentional with my time and energy.  The job gives me structure and a framework within which I can work to build my business.  

It is so easy to forget, but the most important lesson that travel teaches us is that the world is bigger than OUR corner of the world.  My goal is to open people’s minds to what is available to them if they are willing to look.  There is so much more than can even be imagined. 

When people travel to new places, they move outside their normal cares and concerns to see with a wider lens.  There is more than any one person can imagine, and the only way to experience even a fraction of it is to go there for themselves and see and realize that they can’t rely on other people’s interpretations. 

My ambition is to create unique ways to explore the world for those interested in a 5-Star travel experience.  I have access to the best experiences, the most custom and exclusive opportunities, and the most elite hotel programs.  

Additionally, I feel that when people look for a more meaningful travel experience they will find it.  Whether it be more socially-conscious travel, heritage travel, travel based on ethnicity estimates, or DNA, all of these are ways to expand a person’s mind and view of the world and everyone in it.