Wise words from our MPG Boston Host Lillie Marshall, who followed her dream and took a year-long Leave of Absence to travel around the world after 6 years of teaching in Boston Public Schools. But that dream almost didn’t see the light of day.

“Part of what nearly stopped me from taking a Travel Leave of Absence from my job as a public school teacher was guilt. ‘What will my students do without me?’ I wondered, worry gnawing at my stomach. ‘How can you do this to us?!’ wailed my coworkers when they found out about my impending Leave of Absence. ‘Do you realize how much you leaving will screw everything up?’

Thank heaven I didn’t cave into this guilt, because the reality is: after I left, the world as we knew it at my job did NOT end. In fact, I would assert that the state of Boston Public Schools is now BETTER since my Travel Leave.”

Lillie chronicled her adventures on AroundTheWorldL and is now inspiring and assisting more teachers to travel through her new site, Teaching Traveling. Why?

1. Happiness leads to effectiveness. First and foremost, a fulfilled, happy staff is the key to an energetic, powerfully effective organization. Going into my sixth year of teaching, I was getting tired, falling into a rut, and lacking sparkle. But now, after a year away, I return to Boston Public Schools with such renewed passion for teaching! And the students and my coworkers now appreciate that.

2. Have faith in humans!The students who I left on my year-long Leave of Absence didn’t have me as an English teacher, but they ended up having a lot of other great teachers that year. If you are being pressured not to leave because of the threat that ‘everything will fall apart,’ remind folks of the reality: humans have the ability to rise to a challenge. Your workplace WILL go on, and in fact, the new configuration might even cause a positive breakthrough for the whole organization!

3. If you decide to return to your workplace after a Travel Leave, what an asset you will be! Now that I’m back in BPS, I have a wealth of new curriculum from working with students in West Africa and beyond, I have a ton of contacts for teachers wanting guest contributors to their lessons and projects, and I have a veritable trove of resources for educators wishing to follow their own travel dreams. What would BPS rather have: 7 years of a tired, un-inspired teacher who never once took time to fulfill her own life goals by taking the risk of a Leave, or a zest-filled, world-traveling dynamo, freshly back from Around the World?

Teaching Traveling profiles teachers who have traveled, shows how they have done it, and shares how the experience has benefited them. You also meet travelers who have decided to teach – many of whom are teaching English overseas.

Lillie will also be hosting a night of travel inspiration for teachers and those who have dreams of teaching abroad.

During this event, you can connect with aspiring and expert Teacher-Travelers as well as representatives from related organizations. All types of Teacher-Travel will be discussed – from short-term to long term and educational to “non-educational.” You can also learn secrets of cheap travel from a diverse, interactive panel and speakers will discuss balancing travel with raising kids, dealing with a small bank account, and having no time.

EVENT DETAILS
Teaching Traveling Inspiration Night in Boston
Thursday, March 31 – 6:30-8:30pm
Elephant and Castle Restaurant, Lower Level
161 Devonshire Street - Boston, MA 02110
For more information and to RSVP

The Amateur Traveler is an online travel show that focuses primarily on travel destinations and the best places to travel. According to Chris Christensen, “It covers everything from knowing what to put on your Chicago dog to swimming with whales in Tonga.” In addition to a weekly audio podcast, Chris also produces a twice montly video podcast and blog.

We love Amateur Traveler because there is no better way to learn about a destination and what to do than from people who have actually done it. How often do you take action on something based on a friend’s recommendation – whether it’s a restaurant or movie? Well think of Chris and his guests as friends that are giving you great travel advice.

In the past five years, Chris has interviewed over 230 guests for his podcast, has produced more than 60 videos, and has even added on a weekly travel show: This Week in Travel. That’s a lot of inspiration to pull from! He even interviewed Sherry Ott (pre-Briefcase to Backpack) back in 2007 about traveling solo as a woman.

And if you sign up for the newsletter, you will receive his free eBook: “How to Save Money Booking Your Travel Online” – which serves as a nice supplement to our post “Let’s Go: Round the World Tickets”.

So check out Amateur Traveler and get ready to be inspired!

It’s often a dream come true when you can combine your passion with your work, and that is what Garrett Schemmel has done with his website:

Garrett graduated with a degree in industrial design but has also been very interested in sketching and graphic design. And then he caught the travel bug, which set him on a path combining the two passions. Garrett shares with us how he has been able to successfully bring his two passions together to create a business he cares about.

When were you first inspired to travel?
My fascination with all things international probably started when I was a senior in high school and became great friends with the exchange students at my high school. They just seemed different. It’s hard to say what exactly it is that made them fun to hang out with, but I built great friendships there that lasted past high school.

I got to be great friends with a guy from Brazil, named Eduardo. Still friends to this day, he made his way to my house through a roundabout means and ended up staying for six months. Three years into college, I made the decision to go visit him and his family in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. That’s when I got a real taste of international travel and being fully immersed in the local culture. Every minute of every day was me being surrounded by folks from “Belo” and I had to learn quickly what it meant to live in a foreign culture.

But what really kicked off my travel habit?

I went to college in Atlanta and was lucky to have a hand full of friends who had co-op positions with Delta. Luckily, my friends were adventurous and it wasn’t uncommon to hear them fly to Santiago, Chile on a long weekend to go skiing in between classes (they flew for almost free).

Travel is difficult at times not because of the cost, but also because it is hard at times to find a travel partner with the same passion and desire to spend every free moment seeing some place new. This group of friends was the foundation for my travels for the next three years. I traveled Europe, South America, Asia and Australia/New Zealand with the friends I made in college.

How did your travels inspire “Hostel Dog”?
I’ve spent a great bit of the past four years as the design and marketing lead for an apparel company. I love design, apparel and travel and for some reason it took me until 2009 to realize that I should combine those passions. Building off these experiences, I launched Hostel Dog with an aim of capturing the unique experiences of the independent backpacker. As someone who loves to travel myself (41 countries and counting!), I thought there really was a void out there for allowing travelers to show that passion on a daily basis.

The hardest part about Hostel Dog is gauging the travel messages that are appropriate for the travel audience overall. Everyone can get behind concepts like “Hosteler” and “I’d Rather be Travelling”, but the niche concepts based on unique geographic experiences have been the tougher sell.

How do you use design to inspire others to travel?
Hostel Dog designs/t-shirts are an avenue to embrace travel further as a lifestyle and not just a one-time experience. Just because you went to Europe your third year of college doesn’t mean that you can’t travel again for three months. So many folks want to travel extensively but write it off as something that’s too difficult.

I want Hostel Dog shirts to be a constant, visual reminder that YES, you can get out and see the world.

We love Garrett’s designs and style and look forward to a future career break-inspired t-shirt from Hostel Dog!

Check out Hostel Dog’s Travel Inspired Apparel and find him on Facebook & Twitter. You can see read some of Hostel Dog’s favorite travel bloggers in one place at Read Travel Blogs.

“Sure, travel bloggers—like travel blogs—have been around for years. But this year, travel bloggers began organizing in new and increasingly prominent ways—and as never before, they were treated to many of the same perks (and some of the same scrutiny) as traditional big media travel journalists.”      - World Hum

So if you have big dreams of doing more with your travel blog, you’re in good, and very crowded, company.

How do you make yourself standout? With Travel Blog Success!

We recently shared David Lee’s career break story, and featured why we love his site, Go Backpacking. And now David has used the successes he has learned in travel blogging to help others achieve their goals.

There are a lot of great resources to help you build your blog, but you could easily spend countless hours sifting through forums, tweets, and websites trying to figure it all out. Travel Blog Success presents it all in one place.

The core courses are broken up into three sections and cover various aspects important to blogging, including setting goals, design & formatting, understanding SEO, incorporating photography/video, and of course making money!

They are designed as weekly courses (for the premium price you gain access to all at once), and they don’t just teach – they also encourage a “call to action” – so you are immediately engaged. And unlike an eBook, they will be updated regularly based on user feedback (and of course, the fast-changing times of the online world).

But it’s what you get above and beyond the courses that make this site so valuable. You have access to:

• A regularly updated blog with great insight on the ever-changing world of online and social media
• Ongoing audio interviews with well-established bloggers
• And an active forum where you can engage with fellow bloggers and gain great insight
• 15% discount on a premium Woo Theme for WordPress

We had the opportunity to gain a sneak-peak at TBS and have already found some valuable information that we’ve incorporated into our site and strategies. And even in its preview stage, David is extremely engaged in the conversation, offering great feedback and advice. And the voices will only grow as more people join.

We think that this is a great investment whether you are just starting off blogging or already have a blog. The core lessons are great for beginners, but the ongoing content (blog, interviews, forums) is what really makes it a valuable resource.

Pricing:
Includes 12 easy-to-follow lessons, audio interviews with established bloggers, exclusive blog, active forum, discounted Woo Theme
3 Monthly Payments ($87)
Premium Membership ($75)

Note: Briefcase to Backpack is an affiliate of Travel Blog Success and we earn a commission if you click through our site to purchase. We wouldn’t be an affiliate if we didn’t endorse this product, so we appreciate you supporting us too!

If you don’t know what TED Talks is, you should! TED is a small nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”. It started out as a conference bringing people together from the worlds of Technology, Entertainment, and Design (thus, the TED). During the annual conference, attendees get to hear riveting talks (18 minutes in length) by more than 50 remarkable people.

The site TED Talks grew out of the idea to give everyone on-demand access to these most inspiring voices.

The TED content has expanded to include talks on business, science, culture, arts, and global issues. Dr. Seligman’s talk is found in the Culture section under “What Makes Us Happy”. Another notable talk in this category is by Stefan Sagmeister titled “The Power of Time Off”.

Sagmeister is a notable designer based in NYC and is also known for shutting down his shop every seven years for a year sabbatical. That’s one idea we know is worth spreading! His reasoning is that we spend the first 25 years of our lives learning, the next 40 years working, and the final 15 in retirement. He wanted to intersperse some of the retirement years within the working years.

He also recognized the value of time off to rejuvenate and refresh his creative outlook. After his first sabbatical, he found that:

• His job became his calling again
• Over the long term it was financially successful
• And everything his shop designed in the seven years following the first sabbatical was originated in that year.

We highly recommend you take the 18 minutes to listen to this fascinating talk. And thank you for helping us spread the idea on career breaks and sabbaticals!

Passports with Purpose was founded in 2008 by four well-respected travel bloggers: Beth Whitman (Wanderlust and Lipstick), Debbie Dubrow (Delicious Baby), Michelle Duffy (WanderMom), and Pam Mandel (Nerd’s Eye View). Together with over 60 bloggers they represent the “Passports”.

So what’s the “Purpose”? Raising funds for American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC), an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving opportunities for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia. The goal this year is to raise $13,000 to help build a school in rural Cambodia.

In order to raise funds, the participating travel bloggers are hosting giveaways ranging from cameras, books, hotels, and gear. A highlight of items include:

• A Flip Ultra Video Camcorder (donated by Heather on her Travels)
• A Casio Exilim Digital Camera (donated By Anil Polat – Fox Nomad)
• Five Nights at Los Suenos Resort in Costa Rica (donated by Ciao Bambino!)
• Two night stay at Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans (donated by Vera Marie Badertscher – A Travelers Library)
• A pair of Kuru shoes (donated by Donna Hull – My Itchy Travel Feet)
• A Kelty backpack (donated by Nomadic Matt)
• $100 Amazon gift card (donated by Shannon Hull Lane)

(For a complete list, visit Passports with Purpose – Donation)

For each $10 donation that you make to AAfC before December 21, you will be entered in the giveaway(s) of your choice. What a deal! Even if you don’t get the item of your choice, it’s a winning opportunity.

We love this idea and will be sure to participate in it next year. But that won’t stop us from shopping this year!

Through iTunes they provide easy to download 20 min. podcasts about how to pack, how to stay in a hostel, what to do when you miss a flight, the 15 essential items you need in your bag, how to buy insurance, and a million other travel topics. And you can find three years of archived travel tips, city guides, interviews, and even videos on their website.

I found them to be a great place to get information on how to do more ‘backpacking’ budget style travel; something I wasn’t used to doing before my career break. I needed a little hand holding in that department and they delivered.

They started solely as a podcast and have now expanded their site to include videos and travel writing. In addition, they often run a number of contests for iTunes certificates and travel items. I was even the lucky winner of Global Bag Tags (a simple system for tagging your bags and linking them to a global database).

Craig and Linda are from New Zealand and have turned their travel passion into a business. They were recently awarded the Best Travel Podcast by Lonely Planet – a huge honor by a respected leader in the industry. Their laid-back ‘kiwi’ style is soothing and super informative.

I invite you to go subscribe to their podcast in iTunes or listen on their site.

You won’t regret it!

Considering I was traveling into remote, developing countries I wasn’t always in the most secure environments. We all hear of those travel stories where someone’s camera is stolen or they dropped their disk down a crevice and lost all of those trip photos and I was just waiting for my time to come.

I needed to come up with a solution for photo storage while on the road. Sure, I had them on my laptop which I religiously backed up and of course separated the backup from the laptop, but I still felt that my memories were at risk of a hostel or hotel thief. In addition to storage, I needed a way to share my photos with my friends and family who wanted to follow along on my journey. I researched a number of options out there for online photo storage, but few offer true protection and unlimited storage. Even on Flickr or Kodak anyone can simply right click and copy/save (aka – steal) your photography. Therefore I had the challenge of finding an online site where I could professionally display/share my photos, have unlimited upload space, have ‘right click’ protection and potentially sell my photos to anyone in the world.

I found it – SmugMug. For a year membership you can get unlimited photo storage, right click protection, ability to share your photos on your own url, a photographic community to converse with, and no ads to clutter your art and memories. Plus, if you have grand ideas of selling your photography and photography related merchandise while setting your own prices, you can accomplish that too with various membership options.

I have been utilizing SmugMug now for 2 years and I love it. I even customized my site so that it didn’t look vanilla and put my own style into it. I have all of my travel memories nicely categorized and displayed for the whole world to see…and purchase!

If you are preparing to head out on a journey, consider SmugMug as your photo storage and protection solution – you can even Start your FREE Trial… and see the benefits for yourself!

We’d love to hear from you:

Do you have any favorite travel websites? Let us know! Share here.