Travel

Still Thinking of Travelling? What are you Waiting for?

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Muhammad Ijaz - Inbound Professor and Principal at Kips College with a focus on English literature. Also an expert in digital humanities, law and literature, political theory, early modern literature, global studies, and the history of political thought.
Still Thinking of Travelling? What are you Waiting for?

Two years ago, I was seated at a GST Registration conference, happily eating my salmon and listening to the sound of breaking waves when a thought hit me. What if I could spend more days here in the idyllic island watching the sunset every evening without losing my job as a tax planner? Realistically speaking, it was impossible at the time being as my job demanded too much of my attention and I was this close to making partner at one of the largest tax firms in Canada. Was I to give all that up just to get a few weeks of sun and tan?

Thinking of Travelling

I let go of that line of thought and focused on the job at hand. It would all go away by the time I got back home. Well, it didn’t and the more I thought about travel, the more I found myself wanting more flexibility and freedom. I went up to my boss and told her I would settle for lots of work for two weeks of the month, then I could take it easy on the next two. She agreed to this but only after reminding me that taking time off would not get me the corner office I so badly coveted. I was ready to make that sacrifice. I have been working while traveling for two years now and this is just a tip of what I have learned while on the road.

You can Work and Travel

It can be done if you manage your time properly. I positioned myself from the beginning of my career as one of the greatest tax planners for the corporate world and now that it paying off. At times, I will set up conference calls with CEOs while in some exotic destination in Thailand and work while surrounded by beauty. Don’t quit your job to travel – make both plans work.

You don’t have to be a Trust Fund Kid to Travel

There is this misconception that you have to be filthy rich to travel the world. I am not financially badly off but even I know not to blow all my money in travel. I perennially stay in AirBnB instead of hotels. While I love fine dining as the next person, I know that street food is the heart and soul of a community and if you want to know a country best, then follow its street food and the markets. I spend a fraction of what I normally would.

Sole Female Travelers are Safe

My female – and male – colleagues ask how I get the guts to travel to foreign countries alone. I never know how to handle this question and so I ask them, “why not?” and laugh off their answers. Fear prevents people from living their best lives and I am not good at being a statistic. So, I travel all by myself and I love the peace of mind that comes with it.

So, if traveling is what you want to do, let nothing hold you back. Enjoy the ride!

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