At our annual retreat a few years back, we did an exercise that got us thinking about BootsnAll’s values in a completely different way. The result was a set of four core values that we think not only fit the company brilliantly, they speak to many of the things we love about travel, too.
BootsnAll’s Core Values:
- Embrace change
- Love learning
- Make meaningful connections
- Work & play with passion
It’s easy for us to say, “Yes! All of those values are the values of BootsnAll’s readers and travelers, too!” but we thought it would make more sense to demonstrate that by highlighting some of the articles we’ve published over the years that showcase one (or more) of these core values – articles you’ve read, enjoyed, and shared.
>> What do you think of BootsnAll’s core values?
Embrace Change
- embrace
(v) to take up especially readily or gladly - change
(n) alteration; transformation
Change can be challenging, even for those who thrive on it – because, let’s be honest, not all change is positive. When it comes to indie travel, change is usually sought after, desired, and still (sometimes) unexpected. How you handle change, however, is up to you – and it impacts everything that follows. We embrace change at BootsnAll, adapting to the ever-changing environment that is the online travel business, because we’re travelers who recognize that as the only way to move forward in potentially difficult situations.
Stephanie Storke’s article, 8 Travel Tips For the Type A Personality, provides the reader with her hard-won advice about letting go of her inner control freak so that we can understand the perks of adopting a different persona when traveling. Jennifer Sutherland-Miller’s essay, Travel is Not a Contest, encourages people to not just slow down when traveling but to bring the benefits of that slower pace into every day life.
One of our most popular articles over the year’s, 11 Reasons to Stop Dreaming and Start Planning Your Round the World Trip, is what the “embrace change” core value is all about. There are many indie travelers who, for one reason or another, think they can’t manage a RTW trip – even though they really want to take one. And there are many more travelers who may not want to take a full-fledged RTW trip but can’t even get themselves to take their allocated vacation days each year. The change we’re embracing in this article is all about getting off the fence, making some possibly difficult and life-changing decisions, and putting one foot in front of the other to get where you want to go.
But the article that personifies the value of embracing change, it’s the late Tristan Cano’s, Facing Death: Why One Man Travels to Embrace Life. Tristan was dealt a very unfair blow a few years back when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In the limited time he had left, he embraced the life he was dealt and made the most of life. RIP Tristan – you will always remain an inspiration.
Love Learning
- learning
(n) modification of a behavioral tendency by experience
(v) to gain knowledge or understanding of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience
Travel is an incredible, if intense, education. Through exploring the world, we are presented with opportunities to learn about it and ourselves – should we choose to do so. And though we may discover that things are precisely as we expected them to be, travelers sometimes find their foundations rocked. Adopting a love of learning early on can help enable a person to rebuild foundations, or build entirely new ones, before setting off in search of new learning opportunities.
We wouldn’t be surprised if Mabel Lee’s article about the 12 Career Skills That Travel Will Improve or the one by Kristin Glenn and Shannon Whitehead, Why Travelers Make Great Entrepreneurs, were forwarded to a number of skeptical family members as would-be long-term travelers seek the support of loved ones by demonstrating travel’s educational and career benefits. Stephanie Yoder gives travelers ideas for 11 Skills to Learn on Your RTW Trip (or, really, on any trip).
Jennifer Sutherland-Miller just recently wrote an article about combining travel and education to get a degree – and shows you how to do it for far less than a traditional college education. Jenn’s daughter Hannah threw her opinions out there about education on the road, from a teenager’s perspective, in Five Reasons Parents Should Travel with Their Kids. Vickie Lillo wrote, A Boots On the Ground Diploma: Lessons from Around the Globe and shows how she and her family plan trips around learning with their son.
It’s Renee Lo Iacono’s article, 7 Things You Learn About Yourself (and the World) While Traveling Solo, however, that we feel really speaks to the core value of “love learning.” We like what Renee says in this piece about seeing the world as a solo traveler, but ultimately it’s what she says about how you can come to see yourself after traveling solo that puts this one over the top. After all, what could be better than learning you’re more resourceful, confident, and independent than you previously thought?
Make Meaningful Connections
- meaningful
(adj) significant; having a purpose - connection
(n) a set of persons associated together; a person connected with another especially by marriage, kinship, or common interest
The vast majority of travelers we know, even those who have “life lists,” travel not to check things off but to have meaningful experiences – and that often equals having interactions with people along the way. Sometimes it’s meeting other travelers in the hostel common room, sometimes it’s having hand-gestures-only chats with the guy at the next cafe table, sometimes it’s falling in love (however briefly) with someone you didn’t know a week before, and sometimes it’s taking part in a community event like #Indie30 and connecting with someone who lives on the other side of the world as you. These connections can change the course of your travels, and, indeed, your life – if you let them.
Sarah Tiedemann isn’t the most outgoing person in the world and often has trouble meeting new people, though her husband is the opposite, and she discusses this phenomenon in Is Meeting People the Best Part of Travel? Catherine Bodry offered some ideas for How to Meet People on the Road Without Hosteling for those of us who may not be interested in the dorms anymore but still love the camaraderie found in the common room. Jennifer Miller and her family make a habit of meeting new people on the road by picking up hitchhikers, an often frowned upon tactic. But it’s provided lots of memorable memories for her.
The meaningful connections we loved most, however, were the ones Audrey Scott and Daniel Knoll of Uncornered Market made when they visited Iran. In a country traditionally seen as off-limits and hostile toward the United States, they found the people were not only warm and hospitable but overtly welcoming when they found out Audrey and Dan were American. Connections like that are even more meaningful when you’re least expecting them.
Work and Play with Passion
- passion
(n) a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept; an object of desire or deep interest
Mark Twain said, “The secret of success is to make your vocation your vacation,” and while not everyone can be so fortunate as to turn their travel for passion into a profession, it’s entirely possible to bring the same kind of passion we bring to our travels to our jobs. In fact, being passionate about doing good work – whatever your work is – can help make your job more meaningful.
Adam Seper’s article on 12 of the Best Jobs that Combine Work and Travel might just help those of you stuck in a job you don’t love find something to which you can devote yourself. Our list of 18 Travel Resolutions to Keep This Year is great for your vacations, but it’s even better if you can apply some of those resolutions to your every day life. Whitney Cox’s 10 Important Life Lessons You Learn from Living Abroad talks about what happens when you go after your passions and the lessons you can learn from them.
Our favorite “work and play with passion” article, though, was Julie Ovenell-Carter’s How to Travel More Without Quitting Your Job – because not everyone hates their job or dreams of taking a long-term trip. Combining a love of travel (along with ideas for how to do more of it) with the fact that travel makes for more well-adjusted and productive employees is something we can be quite passionate about, indeed.
