The Journey Starts with the Mind

I’ve been blogging for a few years now hoping to share with the world my thoughts and ideas. I’ve realized that although the number of readers were few, I found the medium a great way to chronicle my life.

For the past 6 years, I’ve carried with me a small leather bound journal. It holds my thoughts, ideas and comments about the world I see around me. I often felt that one day I’ll be able to compile all these observations and memorable conversations into a story line. Inside this leather bound book, I’ve also been writing down my short and long term goals. Basically, every January of the New Year, I start to write down annual goals, both professionally and personally, that I’d like to achieve. The week between Christmas and New Years I take the time to go through these annual goals (keep in mind I read these goals periodically throughout the year) and asses my progress. I realized in 2011 that I achieved none of the 5 goals I set or was closer to any of the long term goals in my bucket list. I decided I needed to make a change.

[dropcap]I’ve held the belief that one has more power to influence their situation.[/dropcap]

You may call me “positive peter,” but the truth is that you can’t change someone other than yourself and if you can’t change your environment, you have the power to walk away.

I’ve been asked if I am searching for something possibly my soul or my purpose in life. If you asked me that 3.5 years ago, I would have to agree with you that I was doing just that leaving Manhattan behind for the Bay Area. I learned a great deal about myself being alone in a place I had no close friends or family (Ok I did have my Aunt and Grandma 3 hours away). It made me stronger. The job I held built up my confidence and self-worth. I learned that anything I put my mind to I could achieve.

So I set to achieve a lot which landed me unfulfilled. I love helping people, listening and yes hearing myself talk especially providing guidance and wisdom.

In 2012, it was time for me to take on a new challenge and work closer to those personal goals. First, I wanted to hibernate in a remote island in the Philippines but then my natural desire to explore and seek adventure pointed me to challenge myself to explore 20 countries in 12 months in 2012. Okay, that is my marketing mind working!

In the next day or so I’ll post my tentative itinerary which will start from Elizabeth, NJ to Chicago to Honolulu then Guam and will hit my first foreign country. A country dear to my heart, the Philippines.

I hope to challenge myself to do things I typically would not do (which is very few…ok jumping off an airplane is definitely one of those things that might make me faint). I want to meet and hear people’s stories, help as many people I meet along the way and all-in-all grow to become a better human being. I plan to share these adventures and the things I see through this blog with photos and videos.

I am asking you my friends and family who have been to some of these places to share with me what I should experience or challenge me to