The Life-Changing Lesson From My First Solo Cross-Country Road Trip You Need To Know

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As I write this, I am sitting in my apartment in Brooklyn.

Other than getting off-grid a few times this summer, I haven't traveled much, and it's killing me a little bit.

This is the first summer I haven't traveled extensively in well over ten years.

My two "non-negotiable" summer life experiences are an international mini-retirement and a cross-country road trip.

It's a bit late in the summer to plan an international trip.

And I'm still deciding whether to drive to Wyoming next week.

I haven't traveled extensively, like I usually do, because we're still working on our "big something" (to be revealed) and have been waiting for one major task to be completed.

We thought we'd at least have a date for the major task, but no joy.

We're still waiting.

The biggest fear is that we'll plan a trip, go somewhere, and while we're away, we'll receive notification of the date for that major task.

And, if we're not in the city and need to be in the city….

It's a challenge trying to determine whether to roll the dice or not.

On the flip side of the coin, had we known we'd be waiting this long, we would have planned something and gone away late last month.

At a minimum, I would have taken a cross-country road trip to Wyoming.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

I'm not saying this summer is a complete bust.

Like I said, I've been spending time off-grid often.

Additionally, I saved some money, got my SUV serviced (complete with new all-terrain tires for those off-grid adventures), and tackled some personal projects.

But it is frustrating to live with a fear of the unknown (the unknown being that date we're waiting for).

The last time I felt a bit frustrated enough to overcome fear was when I took my first solo cross-country road trip.

Let me explain:

In 2016, towards the end of the 5th year in my current career, I was a bit frustrated (9-5 jobs may do that to you).

At that time, I decided the best thing for me was to rent a car (I didn't have one then) and drive to Montana.

Alone.

I've driven from Miami to NYC and back again multiple times.

But NYC to Montana is an entirely different beast of a challenge.

I didn't have a plan, a route, or an idea of what to expect.

I simply picked a date, picked up the rental car that day, and started driving west.

It took me 3 days to reach Montana.

And it was one of the best experiences of my life.

That road trip became the one experience that helped tilt the balance of life in my favor.

How?

Why?

Have you ever driven across the country?

Alone?

You start driving (from NYC) and don't stop until you've crossed the Mississippi or you're west of Chicago.

Then you check for the best route through the Heartland states because you still have more driving.

Now, here's what I want to emphasize and why I'm all about cross-country road trips (and why it's the one experience that helps tilt the balance of life in my favor):

A long-distance road trip is one thing, e.g., from NYC to Florida.

A cross-country road trip that involves driving border-to-border through South Dakota or border-to-border through Wyoming is something else.

The South Dakota landscape, like Wyoming, is breathtaking.

It's like being on another planet.

It's unlike anything you've ever seen.

The first time I drove through Wyoming, I took Interstate 25, a major highway, from the Wyoming-Montana border to the Wyoming-Colorado border.

I didn't see another human being for about three hours.

Like watching a sunset in Africa, you haven't lived until you've driven border-to-border through South Dakota.

Or Wyoming.

I've done both.

Multiple times.

And to say I can't wait for the experience to do it again is a dramatic understatement.

What's the point of all this?

The point of all this is to emphasize that you must find that one experience that will help tilt the balance of life in your favor.

The one experience that will give you something to look forward to and helps you get out of bed in the morning when life gets a little too challenging (or frustrating).

Life is challenging (and frustrating) enough as it is.

And going to/working a job day in and day out, five days per week (for presumably decades), is not the life you want to live.

I don't know.

Maybe it is.

I know it's not for me.

Not after I watched a sunset in Africa.

Not after I've driven across South Dakota and Wyoming.

But, at this point in my life, like most people, I have to work a 9-5 job. I have no choice. I am not financially independent (yet).

And, if I have to work a 9-5 job, I want as much time away from the job as possible.

As much of an advocate as I am for the cross-country road trip, with limited PTO, jumping into your car and driving cross-country one way for three days may be a bit ambitious.

As is, spending a month (or more) in one of your dream destinations, i.e., a mini-retirement.

If so, find the one experience you can do in the time you are afforded away from your job, e.g., get off-grid for a weekend or a week.

Or, take a short road trip to someplace you've been interested in traveling to and explore that destination without a "down-to-the-minute" planned itinerary.

It would be best to balance time spent in your career with time away from it.

Far away.

As often as you can.

Take it from me, you don't want to look back at the time you had only to say to yourself:

"I really should've just planned that trip and gone."

Quote that caught my attention:

“Most [people] die at 25, we just bury them at 75.” —Benjamin Franklin

You can find the collection of financial tools & resources that helped me grow from a 6-figure debt to a 6-figure net worth by clicking here.

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