Travel and Personal Growth: Lisa Grout of FI Venturers On Why & How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings

An interview with Maria Angelova

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Plan something that makes you uncomfortable. The key here is to intentionally pick an activity or experience outside your comfort zone. Plan for it, research it, and enlist the support of others to help you! Keep in mind you don’t have to pick something extreme as you start off. It could as simple as trying a different type of cuisine or dish. Smart small, and you will begin to build your confidence. Your growing confidence will help you take on bigger challenges in the future.

Thankfully, the world is open for travel once again. Traveling can broaden our horizons and make space for people to become more open-minded. How can travel give us the opportunity for personal growth? What are some ways that travel can help us become better human beings? As a part of our series about “How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Grout.

Lisa Grout is a travel enthusiast and blogger at FI Venturers (www.fiventurers.com). After working 15+ years in Human Resources, Lisa recently ditched her 9–5 and took the leap to join the world of content creators. She hopes to inspire others to have more adventures and live more intentionally through the blog. You will frequently find Lisa traveling in her RV with her husband and their dog Ziggy.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

Absolutely! I grew up in the Cincinnati area, in a lower middle-class family.

I owe my love of travel to my parents. Although we didn’t have a lot of money growing up, my parents still prioritized travel. I have fond memories of adventures with my parents and younger brother from a very young age. My parents were so fearless to take two, young children on extensive road trips! We would load up our van and drive to Las Vegas each summer over a couple weeks to visit family. We always took a different route, seeing new places. As a child, I remember rating the hotels we stayed at based on the quality of the pool. During other school breaks we would take the opportunity to explore other parts of the country. I experienced a large part of the United States at a young age.

I worked hard in high school to earn scholarships to cover the cost of my college tuition. In my junior year of college, I studied abroad at the University of Stirling in Scotland. This was a life-changing experience for me to live in a different country and immerse myself in a different culture.

After college I began my career in Human Resources and began traveling more with my husband. We experimented with different types of travel, including extensive road trips, renting remote shacks in the Bahamas, and hiking trips to national parks. We fell in love with DIY (do it yourself) travel, and in 2021 bought an RV to begin traveling across the United States to visit our national parks.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.

I knew I wanted to pursue a degree in psychology when I was in high school. I have always found human behavior fascinating; helping others appealed to me. In college I took psychology classes, and figured I’d end up as a therapist or counselor. I had no idea I would end of working in Human Resources, and went on to earn my Masters degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. While I was pursuing my graduate degree, I got a lucky break to work in an entry-level Human Resources position at a local nonprofit organization. Through the years I eventually worked my way up into different HR leadership positions, and eventually into a HR-consulting role. I love working with organizations and individuals to help solve problems and develop strong relationships.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

Oh my gosh, it’s difficult to identify one person! I have had so many wonderful people come into my life to help shape my career and help me discover opportunities. However, I am forever in debt to the HR Manager at the first nonprofit organization who hired me into an HR role. She took a chance on me but was patient as I learned and gained experience.

Additionally, I have had the support of several mentors and coaches along my career journey. They coached me through difficult situations, asked me hard questions, and inspired me to keep pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. One mentor in particular helped me make the transition into HR consulting, a goal I realized in 2019.

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?

Oh boy, I’ve made a lot of mistakes… When I look back on my career, I job hopped. A lot. My friends and family would joke, “Well it’s time for Lisa to get a new job,” any time I neared a two-year anniversary. It was true though, pretty much every 2–3 years I would make a job change. Granted, the job changes made sense from a career progression and compensation perspective. However, these frequent changes were seen by others, including myself, as a mistake. Everyone assumed I would eventually dead-end my career when no one wanted to hire me.

It’s funny to look back on my career moves now. I can see how my various roles were just part of my journey. They were opportunities, not mistakes. I learned a lot about myself, including how much I needed variety, challenges, and the opportunity to learn new industries, as well as apply principles in different situations. Because of my “job hopping,” I was well-prepared to transition into consulting.

Now as my post-HR path unfolds, I have the confidence to pursue entirely new ventures outside my comfort zone.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

“Real growth happens outside your comfort zone.”

This one resonates with me because I’ve lived it and speak from experience! We all need to get outside our comfort zones to grow and effect change in our lives. Every time I made the scary leap to a new role I came out on the other side with new skills, perspective, confidence, and the ability to reflect to see how I had changed as a person. The same is true when I’ve persevered during difficult times at work or in my personal relationships — I’ve come out on the other end wiser and a more empathetic person.

It is human nature to resist change and to want to maintain status quo. Let’s face it, it’s easier that way! To grow you must break through your own barriers and do something that scares you. Which, I’m betting is outside your comfort zone.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

After years of knowing it was time to try something outside of Human Resources, in November I made a drastic change. I quit my HR consulting job and started a blog, FI Venturers. This is a very exciting project for me, especially after years of being a “buttoned up” HR professional! Now I’m trying to wrap my head around being a… content creator (?!).

I’ve dreamed of creating a blog for years. It is exciting to see it become reality. My husband and I have worked very hard to be at a point where I could quit my 9–5. The purpose of the blog is to share our adventures while inspiring others to travel and live more intentionally. We talk about travel, career, mindset, and personal finance. We hope to inspire others to take action in their lives by sharing our stories and what we’ve learned.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. In this interview series, we’d like to discuss travel and personal growth. Let’s dive deeper into these together. Based on your research or personal experience, why do you think travel can lead to personal growth? Can you share a story?

Travel is an amazing way to experience personal growth.

Like me, I’m sure you have your normal, day-to-day routines — your job, chores, hobbies, the people you interact with, food you eat, etc. You generally know how to act and what to expect from your day-to-day; you are comfortable, besides a few random curveballs here and there.

The truth is we limit our potential for personal growth when we keep things predictable and stay in our comfort zone. Travel is a great way to help move us out of our comfort zone.

Earlier in 2022, my husband and I decided to get out of our comfort zone and take a four-week trip in our RV while I was on a sixty-day Leave of Absence from work. Prior to this RV trip, the longest we’d stayed in the RV was 11 nights. We knew this trip would be a challenge for us. We weren’t sure how it would go. As if traveling in our RV for four-weeks wasn’t enough of a challenge, we added other dynamics. We were taking our 6-month-old puppy with us, my husband planned to work remotely (part-time), and we planned to move campgrounds every 4–5 nights (RV set up and tear down takes time and effort!).

As the trip approached, we were both scared and excited. At times we were hopeful we could pull it off and things would go smoothly. At other times we were skeptical and had many doubts running through our head, telling us why we shouldn’t go.

We look back on the adventure and know it was a pivotal trip for us. Despite the fact we were outside of our comfort zone, we thrived during this trip!

We encountered wild weather, including high winds in South Dakota and Wyoming. At one point the expressway was shut down, and we had to adjust our travel plans on the fly. It was literally too dangerous for us to drive. We were in the middle of nowhere, and had to find a last-minute campground to stay at for the night. In Colorado we encountered a freak, late-season snowstorm. During the storm we had several long periods without power, and we prayed our water lines didn’t freeze — all while we had 15 inches of snow outside! That is a good memory. Note to self: always bring a snow shovel.

Living in a 30-foot box meant we had to have good boundaries for my husband to work successfully, and even better communication between the two of us to manage expectations.

Our water-heater went out (twice) and my husband was able to use his trouble-shooting skills to fix the issue.

While we are generally introverted, we met a couple while hiking a difficult trail and ended up summiting the trail together. We all got together the next day for lunch and wine-tasting! That would never happen in our “normal,” day-to-day lives because our routines would prevent that chance meeting.

Most importantly, as we neared the end of our 4-week trip, we realized how much we loved the RV lifestyle. In fact, we were sad our trip was ending. The beauty in getting outside of your comfort zone is you quickly learn what you truly enjoy and what you don’t enjoy, which is underrated in American culture. After this adventure we knew longer RV trips were in our future.

In order to thrive during this trip we were flexible, adaptable, and resourceful. We were required to use communication skills that our normal day-to-day didn’t require. Finally, and maybe most importantly, we learned more about how we want to spend our free time doing things we love.

All this happened because we stepped outside our comfort zone!

A recent survey from Psychology Today showed that over 80% of participants found that travel helped them with problem solving or decision making. Why do you think this is true for so many people?

I’m not surprised by this statistic. Through travel we experience new situations where we may not know the best outcome or answer. Additionally, the “normal” strategies we use to make decisions and solve problems may not work for the unique circumstances arising during travel.

I’ve encountered various situations requiring unique problem solving and decision making, including a scary situation during our honeymoon in St. Lucia. While on a popular tour that included snorkeling, we got caught in a strong rip current, along with 20+ others. Luckily, we were able to hold on to a rope that marked the snorkel area before we were literally pulled out to sea. For 10–15 minutes I was literally trying to decide if I should hold on to my bathing suit bottom to keep it from coming off due to the strong current (there’s a case for a one-piece!) or hold on to the rope to stay with the group. Luckily, I managed to do both, while people were screaming and crying around us. Eventually the tour boats noticed and came to rescue us, but it was a truly frightening situation in the moment.

Other nail biters we’ve encountered include finding a nail in our truck tire as we prepared to tow our RV to the next campground in Michigan.

Several years ago, we experienced a last-minute flight cancellation due to inclement weather, despite needing to board a cruise ship later in that day. Somehow, we ended up flying first class!

My personal favorite was when our rental car was stuck in a sand pit, ironically right after the posted sign warned of “deep sand!” Between the two of us, somehow we were able to get the car out. Thankfully, years later, we can now laugh about that one!

I bring up these examples to illustrate how travel presents situations where we must be flexible, creative, resourceful, and often rely on people we don’t even know. It’s difficult to experience these dynamics when we stay in our comfort zone. Travel provides the opportunity to use the “muscles” we don’t frequently use, helping us further develop our skills.

Through honing these skills, I’ve seen an increase in my self-confidence. I have also come to realize (most times) there is not a “right” answer.

Do you think travel enhances our mindfulness, optimism, or sense of gratitude? How? Can you please explain with an example or story?

I have no doubt travel has helped me become a more mindful person with an increased sense of gratitude.

On a small scale, I am reminded of this every time I pack my suitcase (or RV). I simply cannot take all my belongings and clothes. I’m mindful when I decide what to pack based on our plans, weather, duration of the trip, etc. In turn, I’m always grateful for what I do have with me, especially when I unexpectedly need the extra pair of socks or hiking pants, instead of the cute shoes I left at home because I would only wear them once.

On a larger scale, I think of how mindful I am when exploring amazing places, and the respect and gratitude I now have for our natural world. I am mindful to follow “leave no trace” principles when hiking and exploring, meaning I pack out all our trash and waste and leave nothing but footprints. Because of the immense gratitude and appreciation I feel for the world around me, I want to be mindful in doing my part to preserve it.

Additionally, experiencing different cultures has had an impact on my mindfulness and sense of gratitude. It’s difficult to witness others living in less desirable conditions in the places I’ve visited. I’m thinking of places such as St. Lucia, Bahamas, Appalachia, etc. Because of this, I’m more mindful about my travel decisions and how those decisions impact the local people where I visit. And of course, I have an increased sense of gratitude for what I do have.

Surely not everyone who travels automatically becomes an exemplar of human decency. What are a few reasons why some people completely miss out on the growth opportunities that travel can offer?

While I’d like to think travel is the magic bullet for everyone, it’s true you can travel and miss out on those growth opportunities.

I’m thinking of the people who have more of a “check-the-box” mentality. We all know those people, and may have been those people! They want to see Mt. Rushmore, the Grand Canyon, hike on the glacier, etc. But once they achieve the goal, instead of taking time to reflect and appreciate the experience, they are too focused on the next thing to check off the list. Folks who approach travel with this mentality are more likely to miss out on personal growth opportunities because they are more focused on getting it done versus enjoying and appreciating the experience.

While I may get some flack on this one, those who always go to the same place or do the same thing may also be missing out on growth opportunities. Don’t get me wrong — there is a time and place for those destinations or experiences that become treasured traditions. I’m not saying don’t go. We all need comfortable places to escape to at one point or another!

Just be aware once it becomes part of your comfort zone, the opportunities for personal growth decrease. And that is okay!

Thank you for that. Now for our main question; What are your “5 Habits You Should Develop In Order Make Travel Into An Opportunity For Personal Growth?”

Try different types of travel. It’s easy to assume you’ll always travel the same way — flying, driving, vacation rentals, all-inclusive resorts, etc. Mix it up! Try a road trip instead of flying. Interested in sailing the Virgin Islands? Charter a catamaran with friends for a week. Or, lean into your RV or cruise curiosity and try it out for a short trip! Maybe you’ll hate it, but at least you can say you’ve tried it. Through trying different things you’ll learn more about what you truly enjoy.

Experimenting with different types of travel helped us realize how much we enjoyed traveling in a RV. We thought we would enjoy the RV lifestyle but didn’t know for sure. Before buying in 2021, we experimented with renting several RVs beforehand. We’re glad we did because it also helped us decide what type of RV was the best fit for us — we currently tow a 30-foot travel trailer.

Travel with different people, or even solo. Trust me, there is nothing like sharing a vacation rental with your in-laws to propel you outside your comfort zone. I speak from experience. Pro-tip: ensure everyone has their own bedroom AND bathroom! Even traveling with close friends can get awkward and uncomfortable when no one agrees on the activity of the day, or when things don’t go as planned. Maybe traveling with others will go better (or worse) than you expected. Either way, you’ll always have the memories and stories you can look back on and (hopefully) laugh.

Or, be brave and try solo travel. I know having to rely 100% on myself would put me outside of my comfort zone!

Travel to different destinations. There are so many amazing, unique places to experience! The options are endless. Each place will present circumstances, challenges, and opportunities you cannot anticipate. You may go to a new place and discover a new cuisine, culture, or historical information you knew nothing about! Your personal growth may come from learning something new or having to navigate challenges.

When traveling outside the United States, I’ve learned to adjust my expectations regarding some things we take for granted. In Eleuthera, Bahamas we struggled to find food and groceries we enjoyed. I did not anticipate the lack of supply and variety of food available on the island. After we returned, I discovered it is common to fly a cooler of food down to supplement what you can find on the island. Noted for next time. And boy do I ever appreciate how easy it is for me to go to the grocery and have a wide variety of food available!

Plan something that makes you uncomfortable. The key here is to intentionally pick an activity or experience outside your comfort zone. Plan for it, research it, and enlist the support of others to help you! Keep in mind you don’t have to pick something extreme as you start off. It could as simple as trying a different type of cuisine or dish. Smart small, and you will begin to build your confidence. Your growing confidence will help you take on bigger challenges in the future.

I plan at least one (typically physical) experience that feels like a stretch when we travel. In Glacier National Park, we planned to hike 8-miles to Grinnell Glacier. My husband was doubtful we could do it, but it turned out to be an amazing experience and a highlight of our trip! In Zion National Park, Angel’s Landing was our top hike. As we approached the infamous chain section, I nearly turned back because this hike was way outside my comfort zone. I only made it to the top through the support and encouragement of my husband and others who helped me along the trail. Reflecting back, I’m so glad I did it. Pushing through my fear helped me overcome physical and mental assumptions I had about myself. Now I need to go back to Camelback…

Talk with the locals. Travel provides once in a lifetime opportunities to connect with people from different places, countries, backgrounds, and cultures. Take advantage of this when you travel. When we eat at local restaurants, I try to ask the staff what we should check out while we’re in the area. You can get great recommendations for what to do (and avoid!) from the people who live there.

On a hike in South Dakota, we started talking to a woman who turned out to be local to the area. She helped navigate a small group of us to the trail summit, and then we all grabbed lunch and did a wine-tasting the next day. We keep in touch to this day!

When you connect with others, you’ll quickly discover we all have much more in common than we think — even when we come from different backgrounds, beliefs, countries, cultures, etc.

From your experience, does travel have a negative impact on personal growth too? Is there a downside to travel?

It’s hard for me to see the potential negative impact travel can have on personal growth because I’ve gained so much from travel.

However, I think there are situations where travel could have a negative impact to personal growth, although hopefully rare and extreme. Circumstances where physical violence occurs, to yourself or others, could be very traumatic and detrimental to personal growth. Or, being in a situation where there is a serious threat to your personal safety could be detrimental to personal growth as well. These circumstances may also inadvertently reinforce negative stereotypes.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

I would love to meet Marc and Tricia from Keep Your Daydream, a popular YouTube channel. They really inspired me (and my husband) to take the leap into RV life.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I would love for your readers to check out my work and follow the blog and social media! Please check out the following websites:

Website: https://www.fiventurers.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIVenturers

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiventurers/

Email: hello@fiventurers.com

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.

Thank you for the opportunity to reflect and share!

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.

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Authority Magazine
Authority Magazine

Published in Authority Magazine

In-depth Interviews with Authorities in Business, Pop Culture, Wellness, Social Impact, and Tech. We use interviews to draw out stories that are both empowering and actionable.

Maria Angelova, CEO of Rebellious Intl.
Maria Angelova, CEO of Rebellious Intl.

Written by Maria Angelova, CEO of Rebellious Intl.

Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl.

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