Shannon O'DonnellIn 2008, Shannon O’Donnell took off a year off from her career in to go around the world, supporting herself with her SEO, and make a travel a bigger priority in her life.

Today, she’s been on the road for five and a half years, and helps others get started doing the same at her blog A Little Adrift, while supporting herself along the way as an independent consultant, writer, and photographer. She is also the author of The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook and as such is a foremost expert online and off, in the topic of volunteer travel.

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What We Cover:

  • How Shannon takes a service-based approach to life
  • What compelled her to take the step to make life a bigger priority, and a lifestyle
  • The complications and nuances of selecting an overseas volunteer work opportunity
  • Research and do your background work on what it means to develop a country. Don’t assume that you’re perfect for any job.

Words from an Explorer:

“All of this that is gonna happen and I don’t know what it is but I know I will be different on the other side of a year… I valued that so greatly that I was willing to overcome the fears for it.” – Shannon O’Donnell

More Quotes:

  • “I had built up these fears because others had these fears and were like, ‘These are the things you should be afraid of on the road.’”

  • “It’s all impermanent. You can feel intensely lonely and you can move through that. It’s a natural and healthy emotion. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad traveler.”
  • “Volunteering is a prism through which you can connect deeper.”

Explore Further:

Music Credit: Passion Pit – Moth’s Wings (Artec Remix), Aaron Static – Intrepid Journey

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See you next time!

Nathaniel

Nathaniel

I’m a lifelong international traveler, the host of The Travelers podcast, and founder of Holocene, a framework and community for writing the story of your life using travel and creativity.