What Is “Happiness”? Discovering Meaning on the Silk Road with Will Rickard

Jul 17, 2025

Will Rickard, author of 'The Silk Road to Happiness,' shares insights from his transformative travels through Central Asia. He dives into the complexities of happiness, discussing themes like purpose, minimalism, and the importance of authentic connections with locals. Will reflects on the tension between gratitude for one’s current life and ambition for new experiences, emphasizing that embracing discomfort can lead to profound self-discovery. His journey illustrates how travel can profoundly reshape our understanding of what truly makes us happy.

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ANECDOTE

Quitting Corporate for Exploration

Will Rickard quit a prestigious corporate job to explore the Silk Road seeking answers to happiness.
He booked a flight to Kazakhstan impulsively without a plan, embracing uncertainty to find meaning.

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ADVICE

Travel Broadens Career Perspective

Travel can widen your perspective beyond your current career path or social circle.
Disappear for months to gain fresh insights and trust your intuition about your next steps.

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ADVICE

Choose a Career You Enjoy

Choose a career that you like to enjoy work since it consumes much of your life.
Try multiple paths to find what sticks and avoid being at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Exploring the Nature of Happiness Through Travel

01:49 • 3min

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Exploring the Nuances of Happiness on the Silk Road

Journey to Self-Discovery: The Impact of Travel

17:54 • 7min

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Balancing Gratitude and Ambition

24:55 • 14min

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Exploring Happiness Through Authentic Connections in the Silk Road

39:13 • 4min

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The Pursuit of True Happiness

43:22 • 18min

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Embracing Change and Gratitude

01:00:58 • 20min

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Finding Contentment: The Journey from Nomad to Settler

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Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

Meditations is a series of private writings composed by Marcus Aurelius, one of Rome's greatest emperors, as he struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. Written between 170 and 180 CE while on military campaigns, this work combines Stoic philosophy with personal observations on leadership, duty, mortality, and human nature. Through twelve books of intimate thoughts never intended for publication, Marcus Aurelius explores themes of self-improvement, resilience in the face of adversity, and living virtuously while accepting what cannot be changed.

Principles

Ray Dalio

In 'Principles: Life and Work', Ray Dalio shares the principles he has developed over his career that have helped him achieve success. The book is divided into three sections: the first section explains how Dalio's principles were formed from his personal and professional experiences; the second section outlines life principles, such as embracing reality, being radically open-minded, and understanding the importance of pain and reflection in personal growth; and the third section focuses on work principles, including the use of radical truth and radical transparency to transform an organization. Dalio advocates for systematizing decision-making into algorithms, learning from failures, and building a culture where it is okay to make mistakes but unacceptable not to learn from them.

The top five regrets of the dying

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Walden

Henry David Thoreau

Published in 1854, 'Walden; Or, Life in the Woods' is a series of 18 essays that reflect Thoreau's experiences living in a small cabin near Walden Pond from July 1845 to September 1847. The book is a personal declaration of independence, a social experiment, and a voyage of spiritual discovery. Thoreau details his life in the woods, discussing the construction of his cabin, his daily activities, and his philosophical reflections on economy, social relations, and the importance of living in harmony with nature. The work is considered a cornerstone of American literature and a foundational text in the Transcendentalist movement, emphasizing the benefits of a simplified lifestyle and the importance of individual freedom and self-reliance.

Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is a central text in Hinduism, embedded within the epic Mahabharata. It recounts a dialogue between the warrior-prince Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna, who is an avatar of the god Vishnu. The text explores themes of dharma (duty), karma (action), and the path to spiritual enlightenment. Krishna advises Arjuna on the importance of performing his duties without attachment to the outcomes, emphasizing the concept of nishkama karma (nonattached action). The Gita synthesizes various strands of Indian religious thought, including Vedic concepts, samkhya yoga, and bhakti (devotion), providing a coherent vision of Hindu philosophy and spiritual practice.

Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor Frankl

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What if chasing happiness meant giving up everything you thought you wanted?

Will Rickard is the author of The Silk Road to Happiness, a book born from his solo journey through the “Stans" - Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan - on a quest to explore happiness through travel, conversations, and culture. After leaving a prestigious corporate career in Sydney, he hit reset, taking only a backpack and a big question on the road: What is happiness?

In this episode, Will and I unpack the complex relationship between travel and happiness, and what he discovered by going off-grid in some of the world’s least-visited countries.

If you’ve ever felt torn between being grateful for what you have and craving something more, this conversation might hit home. Will doesn’t offer a tidy formula for happiness, but instead, he shares five powerful themes that emerged during his journey - from purpose and minimalism to gratitude and detachment. We talk about how travel can shift your perspective, why sometimes you just have to book the flight, and how embracing discomfort can lead to deeper meaning. Plus, we explore how moving abroad redefined my own ideas about happiness.

What’s something you’ve learned about yourself while traveling that changed the way you define happiness? I'd love for you to share your thoughts by sending me an audio message.

*This is a previously released episode from the archives! Zero To Travel interviews are timeless, offering valuable insight whenever you listen.

Tune In To Learn:

Why Will walked away from a “dream” corporate job to explore the Silk Road

How a photo on Instagram sparked a life-changing decision

What the “anti-bucket list” is and how it might reshape your goals

Advice to anyone stuck in a career rut and wondering what’s next

Why pursuing “more” isn’t always a bad thing—and when it is

How five schools in Afghanistan changed Will’s view of purpose

Why these little-visited countries offer some of the most generous hospitality

Insights from ancient philosophy (and a scary night on the Pamir Highway)

The difference between enthusiasm and passion when it comes to career

How practicing gratitude—especially while traveling—can shift your mental state

And so much more

Resources:

Will's book The Silk Road To Happiness

Follow Will on Instagram, LinkedIn

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