Curiosity as a Path to Abundance

I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

This article and photo image are submitted by Betsy Talbot.

My husband Warren and I have been traveling around the world since 2010. It took a couple of years of serious saving and downsizing to make it happen, and during that lean time you could say we were a bit challenged when it came to entertainment options.

Our friends were going out to dinner, taking trips, and going to movies and concerts without us. We didn’t even have basic television and were selling our only car, so we could hardly afford to join them. We went from being just like them to having to rethink our entertainment options entirely.

How did we take this situation and use curiosity to turn it into abundance? We just focused on how we would be living in our new lives of world travel and tried to duplicate it at home.

We hosted potluck dinner parties with an international theme. We scoured the city listings for free and low-cost cultural events, like the free lunchtime flamenco concerts downtown. We ate at food trucks instead of sit-down dinners, mimicking the market-style eating we knew we’d do in our travels. When we weren’t taking public transportation, we walked and biked everywhere, knowing this is how we’d get around on our travels.

When we eventually left on our trip, we were both financially and socially ready for the change. We knew how to live on a budget, but – more importantly – we knew how to have fun on a budget. It doesn’t take a lot of money or structure to entertain us, and that makes life more interesting no matter where we are.

• A well-developed sense of curiosity means you know how to entertain yourself, no matter what the outside limitations.

Curiosity leads to making new friends

It can be a challenge to make new friends as an adult. No longer are you in a school of potential playmates every day or blessed with the free time to just hang out in the summer and on the weekends. You may have more money than a student, but you also have the job and responsibilities that go along with it.

As we began working toward our goal of world travel, we didn’t expect our social circle to grow. In fact, we expected it to shrink! Who would want to go along with our new austerity plan, much less invest in a friendship that would soon be challenged by distance when we left?

This is when we were reminded about the Internet. It doesn’t matter where you live when you befriend someone online, and if they like to travel, too, there’s a good chance you’ll actually meet up in person. We began sharing our story and dream online and found about a dozen people locally who also did or wanted to travel long-term. We began hosting meetups for people interested in long-term travel, sharing ideas, tips, and recommendations with each other, and the number grew.

Just 2 weeks before we left on our trip, over 100 people attended the Meet, Plan, Go! career break event we hosted in Seattle (part of the national Meet, Plan, Go! night in 15 cities). We started off not knowing anyone who had taken time off from their careers to travel to knowing more people than we could invite to a single party. It showed us that expressing our interests – no matter how far-fetched – will always lead to meeting new people.

• Pursuing your interests means you’ll meet other people with the same interests.

Curiosity about others leads to interest in you

Sometimes you just want someone to listen, to appreciate your joys and sorrows, and to ask your opinion. Too many people find this interest in them lessening as they get older, and they don’t know why. They feel invisible, as if the “don’t trust anyone over 30” mantra from the 60s was still being chanted today.

As we fully embraced our new lifestyle, seeking new ways to live on a smaller budget and connecting with other travel lovers, we found more people taking an interest in us. It wasn’t just travelers, either. People were interested in how two nearly mid-life people could change their lives and finances completely to follow a wild dream. It resonated with them, and they wanted to know more.

Our website grew, and we began writing books about the various aspects of our transformation and ongoing lifestyle. We hit a nerve without trying to, and our site moved away from travel and on to the deeper subject of creating the life you want out of the life you already have.

We didn’t set out to do this. In fact, we didn’t expect to be gone longer than a year at the start. But we’ve now been traveling since 2010 and there is no end in sight. As long as people are interested in what we have to say, we’ll keep exploring and writing what we learn.

• When you begin learning something new, others will want to learn from you.

Curiosity as a path to abundance

The path to abundance is not a straight line. If the twists and turns make you stop in your tracks you’ll never reach your destination. Practice developing your curiosity as a way to master those twists and turns, leading you closer to your goal of abundant living.

• Eliminate boredom from your life by seeking new experiences and knowledge every single day.
• Seek out new friendships as you pursue your hobbies and interests.
• Share your knowledge and experience with others.

When you become curious about life, it instantly becomes curious about you.

About the Author: Betsy Talbot and her husband Warren have lived with Mongolian nomads, European sophisticates, and even penguins in Antarctica. Their curiosity knows no bounds, and they are grateful for the abundance in their lives. They write about creating the life you want from the life you already have in their books and at their website, Married with Luggage.

Editor’s Note: Share Your Thoughts

Would this sound like a dream you would like to have too? To be able to travel the world and make a living on your own terms?

Share your thoughts about living a dream lifestyle and whether being curious has led you to living your dreams in the comments below.

Love and Abundance always,

Author. Energy Healing Practitioner. Life Coach. More About Me.

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