A Personal Evolution Through Travel + Creating Your Own Path with Nikki Vargas
Dec 7, 2023
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In this podcast, Nikki Vargas discusses her evolving relationship with travel and shares her experience with reconnecting with her Colombian roots. She talks about the creative process of writing her memoir and how it was a cathartic experience. Nikki also opens up about calling off her wedding two weeks before the big day and the ripple effect of that decision. She offers advice for making tough decisions and living a life of travel, and shares insights on creating your own path to break into the travel industry. Overall, this episode explores the impact of travel on personal growth and decision-making.
Travel can be a transformative experience, leading to personal growth and inspiration.
Making difficult life decisions, such as calling off a wedding, can be necessary for personal fulfillment.
Building a personal brand and actively pursuing opportunities is crucial for success in the travel industry.
Deep dives
The Evolution of Travel as a Crutch and Passion
The podcast episode delves into the speaker's personal journey with travel as both an escape and a passion. Initially, travel served as a means of running away from life's challenges and problems. However, as the speaker matured, they made the conscious decision to face their life head-on, leading to a transformative shift in their relationship with travel. Instead of using it as an escape, they began to view travel as a way to chase a career, explore new cultures, and connect with others. Ultimately, travel became a source of inspiration, personal growth, and the catalyst for important life decisions.
The Decision to Call Off the Wedding
One of the main topics discussed in the podcast episode is the speaker's decision to call off their wedding. The episode explores the emotional weight of making such a difficult and life-changing decision. The speaker reflects on feeling suffocated and not being true to themselves, which led to the realization that they could not proceed with the wedding. Despite the financial and emotional repercussions, the speaker emphasizes that calling off the wedding was a necessary step to take ownership of their life and pursue a path that aligned with their true self.
The Journey in the World of Blogging
The podcast episode delves into the speaker's experience with travel blogging. They discuss the initial excitement of starting a travel blog as a way to build a platform and pursue a career as a travel writer. However, the speaker discovered that the world of blogging felt unfulfilling and disconnected from their true passion for storytelling. They share their struggle to fit into the various blogging molds, from curated imagery and empty quotes to sponsored content. Ultimately, the speaker outgrew blogging and sought opportunities in freelance writing and editorial positions to further their career as a travel writer.
Building a Personal Brand and Bridging the Gap
The podcast episode highlights the importance of building a personal brand and actively pursuing opportunities in the travel industry. The speaker shares their experience in freelance writing, pitching stories, and connecting with editors to establish their credibility and expand their portfolio. They emphasize the value of treating themselves and their personal brand seriously, even if it means stepping outside of their comfort zone and taking risks. The speaker's journey eventually led them to secure a role as a senior travel editor, bridging the gap between their initial aspirations and their current career achievements.
Power of Influence and Impact of Social Media
The podcast episode emphasizes the importance of recognizing the influence and impact individuals can have through social media, regardless of the number of followers. It highlights that even with a small following, people can still influence others' decisions and actions. An example is given where posting photos of unethical animal tourism activities may inspire others to engage in similar activities without realizing the consequences.
Lessons from Unearth Women Magazine
The podcast delves into the story of Unearth Women magazine and its rise and fall. It discusses the inspiration behind starting the feminist travel magazine, the initial success it achieved, and the challenges it faced leading to its discontinuation. The speaker reflects on the lessons learned from this experience, realizing that her strengths lie in being a writer and editor rather than managing a business. Ultimately, she finds fulfillment as a senior editor in her career.
Today, I’m joined by Nikki Vargas to explore how her relationship with travel has developed and changed over the years and the impact it’s made on the trajectory of her life.
Nikki is the senior editor at Fodor's Travel, a bestselling author, and a public speaker. Her recent book, Call You When I Land, whisks readers away through the countries that brought her new love, self-discovery, and the inspiration to launch the first feminist travel publication, Unearth Women.
In this episode, Nikki talks about her new memoir, that time she called off her wedding two weeks before the big day (and the consequences), and how she’s built a career as a travel journalist. She shares her experience in reconnecting with her Columbian roots, advice for making tough decisions and living a life of travel, creating your own path to break into an industry, and much more.
How has travel influenced making hard decisions in your life? I'd love to hear your thoughts and hope you’ll share them by sending me an audio message.
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Tune In To Learn:
The creative process of writing her memoir and how it was a cathartic experience
Making the choice to do what’s right for your life and the ripple effect of calling off her wedding
Why travel was essential to the evolution of who she wanted to become
What makes travel both escapism and realism and the defining moment that set her course as a writer
Why she chooses to make her heritage a prominent part of her work
Her love/hate relationship with travel blogging and why it made her feel empty
Advice for bridging the gap between where you are and where you want to be (and doing it your way)
Why you should never underestimate your impact no matter your follower count
What she learned from launching (and killing) the first feminist travel publication
The value in revisiting places you’ve already been
Sometimes, it just makes more sense. Book your next group stay with Airbnb!
This episode is also sponsored by US Bank's Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card, with the ability to earn up to 5x the points on travel-related expenses like hotels, and rental cars, this card will get you the most return on your next trip.
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