Steve Kamb wants to help his fellow nerds get healthy.
To differentiate in a very crowded fitness industry, he leveraged the idea of creating a community around helping people like himself get healthy and stay fit on his blog, Nerd Fitness. When the blog took off, after a few years of hard work, he decided to quit his job to focus on it 100%. He knew he could do that from anywhere. But the more he wrote about amazing characters like Jason Bourne or James Bond, or amazing places like Middle Earth or Hyrule, Steve realized that he needed his own ongoing adventures. He suddenly knew that not only did he need to make travel more of a priority but also that it was now an achievable reality. So, with the opportunity before him, he took conscious action, sold all his stuff, and made travel a bigger part of his life.
Once his success as a blogger afforded him the freedom to work anywhere, he was inspired by Chris Guillebeau’s book The Art of Non-Conformity and put a plan in place to book an 8-month round the world trip... for $418. Today, he’s made travel a core part of his lifestyle, with multiple big trips every year while on a mission to complete what he calls his Epic Quest of Awesome — a far nerdier, and more adventurous way of describing his bucket list.
I was thrilled to bring him to the show to discuss why he chose to make travel a priority and how someone with no travel background or experience, without huge sums cash, with picky eating habits and a fear of new experiences and things, can make round the world exploration into a reality for themselves, and learn to love it.
Words from an Explorer:
"Travel for me was always one of those things that I would say, 'Wouldn't it be nice?' but people never actually take those steps to actually do it... I finally just forced myself to stop. I forced myself to make [travel] a priority." - Steve Kamb
What we cover on the show:
Why Steve can't get himself to slow down.
How Steve Kamb started Nerd Fitness and why it worked.
How Steve overcame his fears of eating new foods, different languages and cultures by challenging himself, physically or comfortably, and found he had a lot of fun.
The intersection of fitness and travel, and how both can personally challenge and grow you in a similar way.
How Steve lived his dream to live like James Bond.
Fitness can give you the confidence to travel and do anything you want without having to think, "Am I able to do this?"
Travel is a departure from routine. Fitness thrives on routine. How does Steve reconcile that paradox?
Steve makes exercise a priority in his travels. Most people don't because the travel alone is the priority. But this simple decision helped him maintain his routine
Links
Steve's website, Nerd Fitness
@stevekamb
@nerdfitness
Steve's great article on how to travel around the world for $418
The Nerd Fitness Epic Quest of Awesome
Music Credit: Move Slow by Felxprod ft. Jess Abran (Myriad Remix), Intrepid Journey, by Aaron Static
The post 11: How Steve Kamb Made Travel a Bigger Priority in his Life – Part 1 appeared first on The Daily Travel Podcast.
