Everywhere is Possible: Why Staring Before You Feel Ready Changes Everything

0:00 Hey, do you want to go and do something and you think, oh, I'm really tired right now. If I go and do this thing, I'm going to be so tired tomorrow at work, it's going to be a rubbish day. What I've started doing now is thinking in five years time, in ten years time, will I remember that I felt great that day because I had a good sleep, Or will I remember that I had a rubbish day at work as I was tired, but that concert was awesome. I know what I will remember. I'm going to remember the concert was amazing. I'm not going to think, oh you remember that. Hey, it's ten years ago that I was feeling tired at work. Do you remember that day? No, we don't think about that. We think about that amazing concert that I went to.

1:16 Henry Manuel, welcome to quick before you forget hi, lo chat, I'm so excited that you're here in friends. You don't even know what you have in store today, so it's going to be so much fun. Today's guest is someone who quite literally decided to follow his curiosity and hasn't stopped moving since. Henri Manuel is a primary school teacher who has spent the last fifteen years living and working around the world and is currently riding a motorbike across continents in search of something deeper, connection, learning, and what it really means to be alive. From jaguars in Brazil to strangers who become family. His journey is a powerful reminder that the urge to travel is often the urge to and I already know that this conversation is one that I won't forget anytime soon, partially because I read a Yahoo article about your journey Henry then involved jaguars and sharks and dog bites, and then ended with something completely different. What stayed with you most is the kindness of strangers, and I love that contrast so quick before you forget, can you take us through one of those moments where humanity surprised you in a way that you didn't expect.

2:30 Well, in a way Ty, to go back on your question already, I think those interactions have not been a surprise because, like you said about living abroad for fifteen years, and actually my job as a primary school elementary school teacher as well with spending most of my time with four year old's, five year old six year olds, I think one thing that you learn is that people are good. We are all born good. I really do believe that. And things can happen and that can change sometimes, but that's what we start with. So I was almost expecting on this journey, on my drive around the world. Now, I was kind of expecting in a way to meet wonderful people, and maybe there would be some difficult situations along the way here and there, but ultimately people would help me or be there to help me solve problems in some kind of way. But there have been some particularly special moments, for sure. One that was mentioned in the Yahoo article was when I met a lovely family in El Salvador. We met just in a hostel, and hostels are a great place to meet people. Often. Maybe

4:01 that's changed a little bit because people tend to be on their phones a bit too much. But on this occasion, I started chatting to one member of this family in the hostel with my terrible Spanish. I can speak Portuguese fairly well because of having lived in Brazil most recently for a few years, but Spanish is different and it was hard work. But that was part of the where the connections started. I suppose that this person's patience with my Spanish and trying to help me through the conversation. And then the rest of the family came to join the conversation, and it turns out they are from Guatemala.

4:46 And the next day they are returning home after a little holiday in El Salvador. They're returning to Guatemala, their home just on the edge of Guatemala City, and it turns out I'm going there as well as continue doing my journey. But then suddenly they're offering for me to stay at their place, to stay the night in their home. And this is this is something you can't say no to when you're traveling like this. You have to say yes and take advantage of these moments because they always end up being so wonderful, so special. And when I arrived at their home, I realize even more how special it is because they have a very modest home. It's not this huge mansion or anything. You know. They're a family of five, the three children and the two parents.

5:44 The youngest. Their son had to give up his bedroom for me so I could stay there, which is part of the generosity. We had a lovely dinner together and chatting still in my terrible Spanish, and then the next day they took me to the nearby lake and showed me around there. It's just such a wonderful thing. I'm still in contact with them. They still regularly write and ask how every thing is going. And yeah, that's something that will stay with me forever, and it makes that's why I'm doing this these travels. For sure. The human connection speaks to my soul and it is something that I knew when I friends Henry and I met in the bad Lands. We were my family was driving through and he was on his motorbike and I asked him to take my picture and I used that as my profile picture for a while. I could tell he was like a photography type because he just looked like it like a like he looked you, looked like a world traveler. He had, he had the hat that was just spot on, and there the fancy camera. And I was so grateful to connect with Henry in such a unexpected place. You know, it was the bad Lands and it was hot. It was like one hundred and two degrees that day, was so hot. And I know that that is such a gift that you that you have with people, to have picked up so many interesting friends through through your journey that that is really cool

7:15 for me to hear that you've made this family that you keep in touch with. You know, you and I have kept in touch. I can't imagine you probably have. You've probably collected a good deal of amazing relationships and human connection along the way, and that's really fun. So can you walk us through a little bit about your journey, because I take for granted that I know more than anybody that's listening or watching probably knows. So walk us through a little bit, you know, take your time and tell us kind of what led you to do this adventure and you kind of like some of the highlights along the way. Well, first, I'm glad you brought up about how we met Ty, because that's a very important part. I mean, as you know, you asked for an example of a human connection, and I could have brought up this one because that was just so wonderful and like you you made you said you recognized in that I was the kind of person that you could talk to, and immediately it was the other way around as well, for sure, And here we are, and here we are, and.

8:20 I'm grateful, I'm so grateful, thank you for that. How long ago was that. It was, Oh, that's okay. It was in July. Yeah, I know, almost six months ago. Eight months ago, I don't even know. But it's been a journey since then. We were just talking about how it's been. We've both had some life happen in the last months that have passed, and it's been really core to follow everything that's happened with you. I know, you followed what's happened with me, And like I say, that's just such a cool thing. When you take the risk and you ask a stranger to take your picture. I mean, they could steal your phone. That I know that happens, but I tend to I tend to be a fairly good judge of character, and that's why I knew. I was like, this guy looks like he knows what he's doing. So yeah, yeah, you didn't really think I was going to take your phone? Yeah, Vercial, that would be a crazy place in the bad lands, would be a bad place to run and run off. So when yeah, when I met you, i'd been traveling almost a year by then.

9:18 It's now been eighteen months more or less since I left Brazil. I left Brazil in October twenty twenty four, with the intention of driving around the world back kind of back home, as I've been considering it back home to Oxford in England, and I kind of got this idea that rewinds further back. As you said, I've lived in some other countries as well, and before Brazil was the last country, and that's why I started in Brazil. But before that, I lived in Kazakhstan, one of the biggest countries the world that people haven't heard of, I would probably say, or at least not Maybe I've heard of, but don't know where. It is so quick geography les lesson.

10:08 It's between China and Russia roughly, and I worked there for four years as a primary school teacher, and I really I love road trips. I love driving, and I wanted to have a vehicle in Kazakhstan. It's a huge country, but public transport's not amazing. But even then, to have your own vehicle takes travel to another level, I think. So I wanted to have my own vehicle there, but it was really difficult to get something there. If you're a foreigner living in another country, it can be a bit tricky. Sometimes not sometimes can be. So I got an idea I'll buy my vehicle in England and then drive it to Kazakhstan and with my lovely summer holidays.

10:57 As a primary school teacher, I had that time. So I bought a car in England, drove it to Kazakhstan and had an amazing year traveling around Kazakhstan with my car and with friends as as well. But then it was time to leave Kazakhstan. But I had this car, so well, I've got to drive back home to England from Kazakhstan. I'm finishing work, you know, as everyone does at the end of the day, they drive back home, right, That's all I was doing. But when I was doing it, and I thought, wherever I live next, I will drive back home when I finish. And the next place I lived was Brazil. So when I finished working in Brazil, I had to drive back home to England, and well, there's oceans in the way, is one issue. But even then I decided to go the long way around. I could have driven up through the Americas, maybe to New York, and then shipped my bike over, but I wanted to go the other way, the longer way around. My first year roughly was driving Brazil to North America. I went all the way up to Alaska and then crossed the US twice before flying with my bike from Vancouver to Japan.

12:20 But in our first year, I mean, the contrasts are just ridiculous. I know, I know in the US you say you are Americans, but the rest of America considers themselves Americans as well. Brazilians are Americans. So seeing the contrast between those Americans in Brazil and Bolivia was next, and Chile, Peru, and then thinking about how different that is to the US and Canada is just totally crazy. Just it's impossible to We need several episodes to your podcast ascribed that tie. So, yeah, you mentioned jaguars. That was one of the first things that I did in Brazil.

13:10 I was very fortunate that well I planned it to a certain extent, but I happened to be in this place that's probably the best place in the world to see jaguars in the wild, and I happened to be there at the best time of the year to see jaguars in the wild there and you just go on this little boat, I mean, it was little along the river and then just suddenly, five the ten meters I don't want to exaggerate. Ten meters away on the bank are these two jaguars, this mother and child going along the bank, you know, just on the side of the almost putting their feet in the water, looking for the alligators to eat. Just just wild, just totally, I mean, they were wild. It was wild experience. And then and then another jaguar starts crossing the river with a massive snake in its mouth. Just totally incredible to see those things.

14:19 In Bolivia, I stayed with some wonderful people there. I don't know whether utaie or listeners have heard of couch surfing or bunk a biker. These are both wonderful networks where you can stay with people, and I mean that's it, basically, that is the nub of it, to stay with people. It's free, and it's all about cultural exchange, to meet amazing people. And I suppose there's an element of helping people, but I've done lots of that on the trip. Count surf in many countries, and bunker biker as well. That's more aimed at bikers of course. So so yeah, the beginning of the trip with jaguars was just incredible. And then what else the other highlights. Peru is just an incredible country.

15:20 The mountains there are just so beautiful. That the highest tunnel in all of them, all of the Americas, is in Peru. It's that I'll have to translate this to it's four seven hundred meters, so what's that like? Fourteen thousand feet there's a road tunnel going through the mountain at this height, it's just incredible. And I drove up this winding road to get to this tunnel, and just as I got to the top with the tunnel, there there's a guy playing the saxophone in front of the glacier right there. Well, and it turns out he's he's mining for a music video that he's recording. I just the these things that can happen, it's just wonderful. I could tell you a thousand different highlights from from that part.

16:18 It's very tricky to explain everything. Well, I want to encourage people to go and watch your channel because your channel has it's called Another Little Trip on YouTube, and you have You've documented a lot of this journey there, and I think that people would find it super entertaining to go. And we're just we're scratching the surface of the things that you've shared there. So that's a that's a good opportunity for people that are curious to go and see and learn more about your journey and to see some of more of these these incredible highlights. Because I'm wondering, when you're sharing this, these these unreal moment if you will, like, what does that unlock in you that you wouldn't have gotten? Like, what does travel unlock in you that you would that's staying in one place?

17:12 Couldn't you mentioned it briefly in the introduction about travel being growing one wonderful thing that from the traveling that I've been doing, and maybe maybe that for the first thing to define is is the difference between travel and a holiday. I love holidays for sure. You know, a holiday is a week or two maybe it could just even be a weekend and you just take a break from what you from your hectic work schedule and stuff, and you just want to go and see something cultural, or lie by the pool for a day, or go to a nice restaurant and treat yourself. I don't know, you know, that's a lovely holiday, But traveling is like stretching that out so much and taking the time to experience different things, and yeah, it's the time is the key there. I think my whole trip is two years, so I've got a whole lot of time to spend and think about things, and I've been reflecting a lot.

18:23 I think I'm as someone who reflects upon myself a lot anyway, But when you're on the motorbike and driving through mountains and stuff, then you have even more time to think about things. And one thing that I sort of realized and thought about a lot and realized is that that's what the love of travel is. It's the love of learning. And this was a lovely thing to realize being a teacher as well, I suppose, and it's hopefully something that I can pass on to my pupils. Maybe I've been doing it in the past, hopefully I can do it in the future as well. So yeah, I think that that realizing that so that's what travel is, has, as you said, unlocked something in this to a certain extent, because I certainly enjoyed my travels for sure, and seeing all these different places, but realizing what that actually means, understanding the depth of it, then I think has been really important to how I see things Wherever I am.

19:31 And that's what the travel gives, all those opportunities to learn from people, learn from the places, learned, learned from the history of different places. And yeah, everyone's got something to learn, for sure. We should never stop trying to do that. For sure. What has the journey taught you about fear that you didn't understand before. Is a really interesting question, Tie, I have never considered that. Now now I feel I want to get on my motorbike and drive for three hours to reflect upon that about fear, you know, I don't think that's not something that comes into my mind very often at all. I think when when I'm traveling. I don't know whether everyone does this. I'll be interested with what you think about this time. When I'm traveling. Each trip I do, each trip, I plan I want to go outside my comfort zone a little bit. And I suppose that's that is a way.

20:49 I suppose in a way, that is what fear and the comfort zone is all about, right, just pushing things a little bit more. I've done a few trips, so I would I think my my comfort zone is quite large. Maybe it's a bit bigger than some other people's because to me, driving around the world on a motorbike. It is only just a tiny bit outside my comfort zone. Really, it's I'm not that afraid of it. But driving my motorbike on a narrow mountain cliff road which you can certainly see in some of my YouTube videos with no barrier on the side, just clouds, so you can't even see how far you will fall. Yeah, that's outside my comfort zone. But but still it's it's it's within side of my comfort zone. I'm not leaping out of my comfort zone too into nowhere. I'm still just I'm still feeling safe enough that I'm not crying or anything. You know, it's tough. It was, It's been tough sometimes when I've done that, and there's been a couple of times when I've thought, why am I doing this again? But I know that if you're there, are just outside the comfort zone and it's a little bit scary, then it's definitely

22:21 going to be worth it when you get to the end. Perhaps if it's too far outside your zone, then that the balance isn't right. You're You're gonna get to the end and okay, feel glad you got to the end. But but there's been too much fear that it's it's it's not worth it. So hopefully I've got that balance just about right. When I've been doing that interesting question, Well. Fear and excitement are the same chemical in your brain, so we get to decide what we're feeling in the moment. And that's a really cool mindset shift that I've been practicing for the last years to decide to be excited when I feel the fear. I'm not I'm not not feeling the fear. I'm still feeling the fear. Like I have done fifty four i think, if I'm counting right, roller coasters in the last two years. And I never did a roller coaster before I was thirty eight years old.

23:17 When I did my first one, and I thought I was dying, like I was like this, I'm it's over. I've gone to heaven. It's done. And I have been practicing, actively, intentionally practicing fear on roller coasters because I've decided to be excited about it. I've decided to embrace it. Because you know what happens when you're talking about your comfort zone, henry, growth and learning happen on the other side of that comfort zone. So from you to say that you know you you think your comfort zone is fairly large, and you have you know, you have just had this practice of pushing yourself kind of pushing a little harder or pushing a little further, or like you said, you you chose, you chose intentionally to go the longer way or the harder way. And I think that there's a lesson there, Henry, because I think that people could learn from your skill in that area. So I'm curious how you would coach somebody through it, Like if you're thinking about like growth happening on the other side of the comfort zone, and comfort zones are hard for people in general, how would you coach a friend through working through that uncomfortable comfort zone spot that they're in.

24:29 I suppose what I've done is pushed my zone in a certain area. And maybe one thing to think about is that zone isn't just a circle in a perfect circle around you in the middle. It's sticking out one way in one place and maybe in another area it's really close to you. In another part it's miles away. And therefore, but you don't have to have this perfect zone. It's all right to be scared of some things and then more comfortable with others. What I think I've done is really pushed in one particular area and maybe another area I've not worried about so much. I'm trying to think.

25:16 I've just thought something that I am not comfortable with. And I love snorkeling, but scuba diving. Ah no, no, that's too much. So do I want to push in that zone? No, I'm fine. Actually no, I'll leave it where it is. So my zone is very dented. It's one part is really close to me, and that's fine. Don't worry about that. You don't need to push every part, but find maybe one bit that you are strong with and push in that area. And I the the motorbike that I have now that I'm doing this trip on.

26:03 It's the only bike I have ever owned. I bought the bike. I learned how to drive a motorbike bike after I came up with the plan to drive around the world. So but I have built up on this slowly. I drove to Kazakhstan and back. A couple of years before that, I bought a little scooter and I drove it across Indonesia. That gave me the idea for more more trips. That gave me the idea of maybe a motorbike might be interesting. So I pushed you know, this road trip zone a little bit further. I then I learned to drive a motorbike. I pushed it a little bit further. I did some trips in South America when I lived in Brazil. I pushed it further. That scuba diving zone is still still very close to me. But I'm still pushing this one bit out. So I think it's all right. Maybe, you know, thinking about coaching someone, you don't need to be amazing at everything. You don't have to be fearless of everything. You can just focus on one thing and keep pushing that part of the zone and be amazing at that part. Or yeah, whichever part you are more comfortable with, that's the better part.

27:24 To keep pushing and become less afraid of. Thank you for that. So it got me thinking about when things do go wrong, because they do, you know, things do happen, Things do go wrong, and they have for you. What's the voice in your head saying that keeps you going when that happens. This might be hard for some people to appreciate, but honestly, the voice what I'm hearing when something goes wrong is ah, this could be really fun. And I know ye that that might be hard to to to really see sometimes for some people. I don't know. But when I got bidden by a dog, for example, in a in a fairly rural area of Ecuador is where I was, Yes, it did hurt a lot, and I did swear once, maybe twice, but once I was able to pull up my trousers and look at my knee, just above my knee where the dog had bitten. And then this woman came out from this house nearby, and then her whole family came out, and then this I think the woman's husband said he would give me. I said, he didn't say.

28:52 He just turned up with the car suddenly and gave me a lift down the road into the town where we discovered the hospital was closed because it was a Sunday. Very quickly after the initial swearing and discovering the blood, very quickly I thought, oh, this could be fun. The guy's the guy's car was really old, it's kind of like a classic. That was kind of fun. And then the hospital being closed, I thought, oh, wow, what are we going to do next? Even that was fun. Then I got Eventually we found these kind of firemen, health and safety guys, and I got in their truck and they put the flashing light on and the sirens. That was so fun. It was such a such a great experience.

29:43 In the end, I mean, maybe if it had been a more serious injury and I was in more pain than okay, the perspective is different. But there's still interesting things. And when I think about it now, I don't think about the pain that I was going through. I don't think about Honestly, I wasn't that worried. I just thought it's going to be fine, even when I was asking about you know what about rabies, jabs and stuff, and I still I was in this lovely hospital. Lovely It wasn't a lovely hospital. It was a very basic hospital, but the people were lovely and they were looking after me and laughing a bit when I was kind of biting my fist because they were cleaning the wound out and it hurt a bit, but even that was kind of fun. And yeah, if you want to see the blood, then you can look at the YouTube episode you don't don't don't worry if you don't want too tight. But things like that when I got sick and I was in a hospital and Nicaragua for three days. There was a kind of fun experience. Lovely doctors were coming into chat. Yeah, things.

30:58 I ran out of petrol couple of times, once put in Alaska and once on the interstate in Minnesota, I think it was, and both experiences were lovely. In the end, this guy stopped on the interstate to pick me up and I sat in the back of the truck. They took me to the gas station and I filled up. I gave his kids some biscuits and we had a lovely chat. Yeah, you can get wonderful experiences when things go wrong because it brings out the best out in people. People want to help you and then you have these lovely connections again, so that there's always a positive side of those problems. Yeah, it can be fun. You know.

31:55 When I was growing up, one of the things that I remember that my mom used to to do was when things went wrong, we'd make it into an adventure. Like it made it less hard because you're thinking, well, now it's an adventure. When it poured when we were expecting it to be sunny and beautiful and it like rained the day out, it was an adventure or you know, and I love that because bad things are going to happen and we don't have any control over them, but we do control how we respond to them. And there's there's something to be said about choosing to have it be an adventure, and a lot of that stuff is legit henry, like getting bit by a dog, a strange dog in a strange country, and like not knowing if you're going to get rap, Like that's something to be concerned about, and I don't want to like diminish the severity of that. But also you're like, well, this could be fun, and I think a lot of us, a lot of us could benefit from kind of just remembering that when those bad things happen, it's how we react to them that not only matters in them, but matters later.

33:01 Like you're looking back on those things fondly, as opposed to having it be some kind of horrible, awful thing. It was that the hospital, which was quite basic, was lovely, and the people were lovely, and the keumen connection that happened was lovely. And it's just it's a testament to deciding and in the opportunity that you have to decide, like hey, this can be fun, even when it seems maybe not so fun. The perspective, like you said, the perspective looking knowing that when you look back on it, what you will look back on I think is vital there. And it's something that I really I really apply, not even just the problems, but in everyday life when I'm working as well, and I think it's about making the most of opportunities as well.

33:52 And if someone says, hey, do you want to go and do something, and you think, oh, I'm really tired right now. If I go and do this thing, I'm going to be so tired tomorrow at work, it's going to be a rubbish day. What I've started doing now is thinking in five years time, in ten years time, will I remember that I felt great that day because I had a good sleep. Or will I remember that I had a rubbish day at work as I was tired, but that concert was awesome. I know what I will remember. I'm going to remember the concert was amazing. I'm not going to think, oh you remember that, Hey, it's ten years ago that I was feeling tired at work. Do you remember that day? No, we don't think about that.

34:42 We think about that amazing concert that I went to. So it's the same thing exactly like you said, it's the perspective and trying to put yourself into the future and think what it's going to be like and make the most of what is happening right now, because if you make the most, then that's what you will remember. Yet I love a good concert and I always pay for it after in the last year, I've been to more concerts than It's all part of the whole fear and excitement thing for me because I've been to more concerts than I probably should at forty years old, but I enjoy it so much. And Henry, I jump. I don't know what happens, but like, I'm not physically able to jump for three hours, but in the concert settings somehow I'm able. And then three days, four days a week after I'm still struggling. But it's so worth it, like you said, it's so freaking worth it. And even that has to do with human connection, because you know the friends and stuff that I've made at these shows, and at these you know, there were all coming together with something that we care about, which is really cool.

35:49 So you've experienced a lot of kindness from strangers. Why do you think we underestimate people so much? Oh? Who is doing that? Time? Oh? I don't think you and I are We're not. But I do know that there's there's people out there that do. And I'm curious, like, what what are what are we? What are they missing that that we that we know? What that what that Henry knows? Like what could they learn from how Henry sees people in human connection? Are people not just giving it a chance? I understand, you know, two difficult things happen to people, for sure, and maybe to a certain extent, I'm I'm fortunate enough that that, you know, some some knock good things have happened my life, sure, but but but not as bad as some other people. Okay, you know, I'm sure I'm fortunate enough in that respect. So maybe for some people things have really knocked knocked their confidence back and it's difficult to regain that. Then maybe that just goes back to the like the com the zone kind of thing we were talking about, and people have lost some people have lost confidence in humankind or whatever. And I can understand that from external things as well that are going on in the world right now, all over the world.

37:19 So so that so that loss of confidence is understandable in many ways. But but if people give it a chance and just creep up, creep out a little bit of that you know, confidence zone maybe to see what is possible and then just push a little bit further. It doesn't have to be again kind of like going back to what we said before, it doesn't have to be a massive leap. If someone's a little bit thinking about a concept time, I mean, I would love to go to a concert with you. It sounds fun. When I was living in Brazil, I resolved to myself that I would go and see minimum average through concerts a week and I was just so good. Yeah, often tired at work, but it didn't matter because partly I'm surrounded by twenty kids, but also the music just is totally worth it anyway. So you know, if someone's fearful they kind of want to go to a concert, but they don't want to be jumping up around at the front with utai, then that's fine. Don't do that. To stand at the back and just first little step to see what is possible, and then maybe the second time you go, you step a few more forward and where it's a little bit more busy and bit more cheering and stuff like that. I remember going to a concert, one of my first ever concerts that I went to when I

38:51 was like fifteen or something like that, and I wanted to stand at the back. My friend wanted to go into the moshpit at the front, and I really I was reluctant. So so I did. I think it was his birthday, so I thought, okay, I'll go with you. I lost my jumper and my glasses within seconds, I found my glasses a miracle, but I never got that jumper back. I went back. I went to the back again after that. So so so in a way I've experienced that as well, you know, metaphorically efforts. So yeah, I can understand how how that can happen. But it is possible, I think, to regain that confidence in people, for.

39:42 Sure, Amen, I hope so, because you know, one one conversation, one connection at a time, it's happening, particularly with humans like yourself out there exploring and meeting people every single day, which is such such a special gift that you give to everybody that you meet. So, speaking of which, at the end of all this, when you're done with the whole journey. What do you hope the journey gives you that you didn't have before. I mean, every time I'm traveling, I'm already thinking about the next traveling trip. So I don't know, toy. I don't know whether it's something entirely new. I think it's just wanting more of what I've already been doing. It's not like this trip is the first time I've done something like this. You know, it's been something building on something, building on building and building, So I'm not sure I can say it's something there is something totally new, it's just wanting more of the same. And I suppose being I could say though, that each time I do a trip like this, and it was the same when I started living in other countries and not being sure about what I wanted in my whole life, not being sure And I'm the first country I lived in outside the

41:12 UK was China I moved to fifteen years ago. Yeah, almost, I moved to China. I had never been to China when I moved there. And I remember going back to England after living in China for the for a first year and people asking me back in England, so how do you do you like living in China, And weirdly I had never thought about it before people started asking me, and I thought, oh, I I don't know, do I. It took me ages to answer that question. Ages. It was well into my second year of living in China that I that I realized, yes, I do like living in China, but actually I just like living in other countries.

42:07 So that was certainly a big realization then that that's what I wanted to do, to keep living in other countries. And then since then it's just reinforcing that that's what I want to do, and traveling around now I'm even more sure. And I suppose I've probably added some places on my long long list of places that I'd like to live. So yeah, it's not something necessarily completely new, but just reinforcing things I think I already. Knew, including that you like to think forward, you like to think what's next. So that leads me to wonder, how do you stay grounded in the present when you're kind of one foot next and one foot forward all the time.

43:00 Someone asked me this just a few months ago, actually, and I think, I mean, I do have the benefit of time when I'm traveling this much because sometimes when you're traveling or not just not even just in not even just traveling, just in everyday life, it's easy to get distracted by things and and and not be stay in that moment. M maybe I'm maybe being grounded and being in the moment similar but different. I suppose, aren't they well being grounded. I suppose this perspective is the important part, right you said about looking into the future and thinking from the future what the present looks like. Well, and I suppose that perspective is important. And maybe the more you travel, the more perspective you are given as well to help you be grounded. I've I was spent time in New York and Chicago. South Power is one of the biggest cities in the world where I always spent time in Tokyo Bangkok, this you know, incredibly affluent metropolis.

44:31 But then I've also spent time with this family in Guatemala. I've stayed in a hotel. I mean, I don't know what I can say. It was a hotel, a room of someone's house in Bolivian the Bolivian countryside, which was different to how I stayed in some places. The whole range of different places meeting the whole range different people, people who've got everything, people have got almost nothing, and that perspective, it's not just time, but it's also the perspective of different people. I think that can keep you grounded.

45:15 I know every day, I know that I'm incredibly fortunate enough to be doing what I'm doing. In a way, I've worked hard for it. I saved up money for many years so that I could do this. But also I know that I'm incredibly fortunate privilege to be able to do this kind of thing. And I think meeting all the different kind of people that I've met and seeing the way people live gives you that perspective for sure. What would you tell twenty two year old you if you could? Can? I ask you first time? Why do you ask twenty two?

45:58 Why twenty two? That's a great question that nobody's asked me yet, Thank you, Henry. I pick twenty two because I have done a lot of mindset work in the last few years, and one of the things that I've learned is we are as old as we think we are. Your brain is a powerful thing, and in my head, Henry, I have decided that I am twenty two, and I know I'm not. Everybody knows I'm not. I've already talked about being forty. I turned forty last year. I actually turned forty about a week before I met you. So I just have decided that life is this gift that we're given and we get to choose, you know, all these different things. And one of the choices that I make every day is that I'm very grateful to be here.

46:41 I'm very grateful to be alive and have what feels like a second chance at life after I was very sick, and twenty two was a pivotal age when things happened and I made I made some bad decisions, and I made some bad choices, and I wish I could go back and talk to her and tell her a lot of different things. So that's why I asked the question, and it's a question that I've been asking. I think I've managed to ask it almost every time so far, in almost two dozen conversations. So you're the first one that said, hey, turned it back on me and said why twenty two. But that's why, because I do think that it's it's too pronged answer, where I believe that we have we have some amount of say, you know over where our head is at in our age. And also it was a pivotal age for me when I need I wish I could go back and do some things differently. So that's that's why I ask, and now I need to know Henry, like, what would you tell your twenty two year old self.

47:38 Well, you chosen twenty two yourself, so that means I could choose a different age. You could, Yes, according to the rules. I being a primary school teacher, I normally teach sort of six year old seven year olds. And I'm one thing about that. I really believe with education, and it's different in lots of different schools and country and different systems that when you're younger, when you're that age, that it's you want things to be as free as possible. I mean not just well, it depends everyone's different. Everyone's different, and of course in all way, I advocate for having classrooms of children with a teacher. That is my job, but it's not right for everyone. But as much as possible things can. You need to have freedom when you are young to make your own choices and to learn from those choices as long as you are reflecting upon them and learning from them. Then people should have that freedom.

48:45 And even when you're twenty two, I mean I was. I've been at the university for three years. By the time I was twenty two, I didn't know what I was doing in life then. I mean, I was at university studying, but I didn't know what I was going to end up with. Did I know then that I wanted to live abroad. I didn't even know I was going to be wanted to be a teacher. At that point. I had no idea at all. Driving a motorbike wasn't even in my mind at all. No. Wait, so at twenty two I was still I mean, if I had to say something to when I was twenty two, then I'd say, just just be free and do whatever you want to do within reason. But I would have said the same thing to me when I was five years old, six seven, twenty two, still to my forty four year old self as well, probably I think as well, to really do you what makes you happy, what makes you you, because I think too many people don't do that. At twenty two, when I was at university, there were lots of people who well, some people had already graduated and already started at work, and they're still doing those same jobs now, which they chose because they had to choose university when they were sixteen or seventeen and didn't choose

50:15 the right thing. But they were maybe told to some people were told to, you know, by a parent or a teacher, you should do this, and then suddenly, you know, twenty five years later, they're still doing the same thing. But they didn't really like it. So that's what I would go and tell my twenty two year old self, but also my twelve year old self, my thirty two year old self, my forty two year old self. Do what makes you happy, and there are caveats to that. You know, you need to have a job often to be able to do the things that make you happy. Sure, I wouldn't traveling around the world on my motorbike if I didn't have a job to earn money to do that. Sure, but to find what makes that it's going to be able to do that. I'm very fortunate. I love my job of a primary school teacher. I'm also enjoying taking a break from it for two years to travel, but I'm very excited to go back to teaching in five months time. So yeah, I'm very fortunate enough, but to have that or or is it that I made sure I found that I wasn't a teacher when I was in my mid twenties. I was doing another job and I changed because I was not happy doing that.

51:45 Nearing the end of the journey, what do you think as of right now? I know that there could be more between now and five months, but as of right now, like, what do you think you're going to go back to the classroom with most Like what's something that stands out to you that you've learned or an experience that you've had that you're that you know is going to impact how you behave or how you teach in the classroom. I like the end of that question, Tai about how I behave in the classroom, because I think that's what it is going to be. It's not going to be a particular lesson. Hey, kids, sit down, let me tell you this one thing I learned. I don't think that's what it is. I think it will be the kind of person I am, And I think what I always, what I really feel is that the relationship between the teacher and the child is the most important thing in the classroom, and if you have that have a strong relationship, then I mean, magical things can happen. You know, the very best learning can come from that. So if I am the best person I can be, if I am open to the it's ideas, too ready to listen, if if if I'm the right person for them, then then we will have that relationship. And I and I think all the connections that I've made on my travels, meeting you, meeting everyone, then that's made me who I am. That's

53:16 made me the kind of person who can connect with my my future pupils in the classroom. That that's that's what's uh, that's what I've kind of learned, I suppose from from these experiences. Yeah, that's what I will take to the classroom. That's beautiful. As a as a parent that has younger kids, I think that you're absolutely right in the relationship between the kids and the teacher mattering a lot, and you've garnered so many different perspectives that you can take with you into the classroom, which I think is a gift not only for yourself, but it will you know, ripple into the classroom that you're that you're teaching. So that's really that's a that's a gift for them as well as yourself. And speaking of gifts, I'm wondering if you had a megaphone, Henry, Like, if you had a megaphone and everybody had to listen, like everybody in the world was forced to listen to Henry for you know, thirty to ninety seconds, what would you say?

54:19 The walls in a bit of a tricky place right now, isn't it. Lots of people are really angry at each other for some reason. I mean for some reason, for lots of different reasons, I should say, And isn't it frustrating? But when when I have been able to have all these wonderful experience with experiences with different people from I've been this is I think I'm in the nineteenth country on my trip. By the end it'll be forty or something I can't even remember. I've met people of all different backgrounds, cultures, religion, and you know what, we all got on really well. There were not issues here. It is possible I'm going to struggle to fit into a sixteen thirty second megaphone speech tie, but we can all get on. There doesn't have to be arguments between us differings of opinion. Yes, for sure, that's fine. But we don't have to argue about it. We can just talk about it and get on and have a good time and enjoy each other's company.

55:37 Speaking of having a good time, I am curious when you said you were going to three concerts a week. That's a lot. But also music is one of my love languages, as I think you know, and I'm wondering, what is your song like you? Do you listen to music when you're traveling like I guess this is two questions because I'm curious if you're alone with your thoughts while you're on your bike, or do you listen to music? And then what is your like song of survival? The song that you turn on when you need a reminder, you just need to kind of come home to yourself. Well, first, I listen to a music a lot. Yeah, when you're driving a motorbike, the wind is so loud that you you can just put ear foot either wear ear plugs or if I have earbuds, or people get speakers in their helmets. So I listen to a lot of music and podcasts as well. Actually, but I try and mix it up, so sometimes I just put ear plugs in and I want to enjoy what I'm seeing.

56:43 Sometimes I put my ear plugs in and I'm just reflecting about everything. And then another time, you know, from the next hour, I'll listen to some music or whatever. So yes, I listen to music a lot while I'm traveling. And to answer the first part of the question, my theory on music is that good music makes you feel good, and bad music, well, I don't want to listen to bad music. So I know some people say that, oh, that music's depressing and that music is happy. I disagree with that. A band that often comes up in this is Radiohead, which is probably one of my one of my favorite bands, top three, maybe my favorite band, and they happen to be from Oxford, where I'm from as well, and a lot of people describe their music as depressing, and I I see why they're saying that, because it's slow maybe, and the sounds are quite aggressive or in minor chords sometimes, or the particular feel is kind of dark.

58:02 But I don't find that depressing. If the song is good, I feel great that that makes me feel good. So I don't have a particular song, but I just want to listen to good music and that makes me feel great. However, there there's there are sometimes when I'm on my bike driving and if the song is particularly just full of life and dancing and stuff like that, I do dance a little bit on my bike. There's one video I can't remember which episode is when you'd see me dancing along? Was it? So? I don't know what song it was exactly, but I can tell you one song of one recent song. Actually, you know what, it's not even that recent now, it's two years old already. But the kind of song Tiny Moves by Bleaches, do you know that? Yeah, that is just that. That is the kind of song that is going to get me dancing on my on my motorbike.

59:06 I'm dancing. I don't want to scare my mum or anything like that. I'm just, you know, I'm just stable and yeah, bopping my head and stuff like that. That that song that is just wonderful. That really, Yeah, I'd love to see them live. That would be amazing. Good music makes you feel things, and honestly that that that's truly. There's there's certain things that music reaches part of your brain. I think it was in Stranger Things that, and so like, I don't know how scientific this this comment is, but the there was a character in Stranger Things that said music reaches part of your brain, parts of your brain that words can't, and I agree with that one hundred percent. So for me, you know, music, mindset, and movement are kind of the tools that I've used to essentially build what I call my unreal life from the ground up. And a lot of that happens through working out, through those live concerts that we talked about, but also through the really just good music that does things to your heart that you know, you can process emotions other in different ways. It's just it's such a gift.

1:00:10 And picturing Henry dancing around on his motorbike to that song makes me so happy. So if there's something about music that brings us together and it just it's a collective experience, and I just love that so much. So I could talk to you for hours. We've already talked about this, and I probably I don't even know how long we've been talking, but we've talked a lot about the past, a little bit about the present, and now I want you to do me a favor and don't do the math. But picture your eightieth birthday, and I want to know, like, what do you want that to look like? What do you want people to be saying? What kind of legacy are you hoping you've built on your eightieth birthday?

1:00:54 Oh, if people are traveling somewhere, then that would be enough for me. They don't have to be with me on my eightieth birthday. I'd probably be traveling somewhere. I'd be in another country, and that's I think what I would want people to be doing as well. Yeah, traveling and seeing people. I don't I don't know. If people are inspired by my traveling or my YouTube videos or whatever, then then great. Or maybe people just want to sit at home and dream about things. But there's so much to get to learn to enjoy from traveling. So I hope, Yeah, I hope more people want to travel because of seeing what's possible.

1:01:48 I do. I know that travel opens up all the doors and pushes you outside your comfort zone. Like you said, how has this journey changed the way that you see humanity. Or just just knowing how wonderful people are? Tie? Yeah, it's I said already. People are good. People are good, doesn't matter what country or any culture or any differences. People are good and that's what you can see when you're traveling, for sure. So I have a few more questions that are kind of quick hitters, but answer as long as you need to finish the sentence, Henry. Life feels most alive when.

1:02:40 Oh, when you're on your motorbike listening to tiny muse by Bleaches or just you know, My perfect day when I'm when I'm traveling is to wake up and not knowing and not know what I'm doing that day. That that is such a great feeling. And to have the freedom to just go out and see what's going to happen and and not worry about the consequences necessarily. You know, tomorrow, I'm going to fix my windscreen for my bike that broke off. I think I'm going to go to a dinosaur museum, but maybe not. If I don't want to, then well I won't. The river's nearby. The sunset over there over the river is insane. Maybe I'll go over there, Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll go and chat with someone.

1:03:41 That's that's that's the kind of Yeah, that's a great feeling. The biggest lie we believe about the world is. That it's difficult and scary. I mean, yeah, going back to what I said before, it's I don't I don't think I'm doing difficult things. I know that people see some people see that it's just this wild, crazy, amazing thing. But it's not how I see it. It's something that everyone can do. It's not scary. So you know, one thing that people often worry about traveling is the language, and that is not something to be afraid of. If you go into a hotel, then they people know what you want, you want to stay the night, doesn't matter.

1:04:42 You don't need a language to know that. If you go into a restaurant, you don't need to share language to know what that person wants. And yeah, it's it's not something to be afraid of. Everywhere is possible. Every Where is possible. Now, that is a line, that is a one liner. Henry here for that people are more good than we think, because. Oh, because that's how we're born. Yeah, that's that's that's how we're born. We are born Good's that is human nature.

1:05:23 That is how we're born. Yeah, one last one. If you wait until you're ready, you'll never. You'll never do anything. Yeah. I when I set off on my motorcycle trip. I had been researching it for years. I had been thinking about every tiny little bit that I could, but also not planning it. I'd been researching it that I there's a key difference here. I didn't plan it in that I know what I'm doing this day, that day, that day. But I'd researched the border crossings, I'd researched the kind of bike I would need. I had researched how to fly my bike from Canada to Japan.

1:06:12 But I hadn't. But I wasn't ready. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't want to. You can never be completely ready for anything. But that's the that's the fun part, not being ready, because if you're ready for every little thing, then it's not there's no excitement then, you know, you know if when, when? The when? The firework? No, not the firework? What am I thinking? Like like a jack in the box. You know, if you know when it's going to come out, then that's not fun. You want it to be. You want it to be a surprise. You know, Oh yeah, tomorrow's your birth your surprise birthday party. Okay, so when you arrive at three o'clock, I'm going to jump out from that sofa, and Tie is going to be behind the door. She know you wanted to. It's supposed to be a surprise, right, that's the point. So yeah, you're never going to be You don't want to be ready. You don't want to be ready.

1:07:20 Henry, thank you for your time, for your energy, for all of the goodness that you poured into this conversation. I am so grateful for you. And that is all for this time. Friends, can't wait to see you next time on Quick Before You Forget. Thanks Ty, thanks so much greatly. Chat really fun. Thank you for being here with me today on Quick Before You Forget. Please like, share and subscribe as that helps the show so much and I really appreciate it. And I'll see you next time on Quick Before You Forget.