Why create and undertake such a
journey?
Hi! I'm Tom Smith
- a writer and photographer - an everyday kind of person who, some years ago, found
himself at a crossroads in life....
I
was
an unemployed, broke, divorced, and virtually homeless father of two young girls.” I was without real direction. After many years as a law
clerk, I was now looking for a new career. I knew that I needed self-improvement,
including new perspectives on life and love. Of the larger world, I wanted to do something
about those altruistic feelings so many of us have - the desire for world peace, an end to
racism, poverty, disease, evironmental destruction and so on.
Have you ever felt those kind of things? Are you
experiencing them now?
Well, when I reached this crossroads I did something
unusual. First, I put down my remote control and went for some long solitary walks,
soul-searching. I lay awake at night thinking, fantasizing,
scrutinizing. I paced back and forth, my mind racing with ideas. I read books.
I talked with mentors. I made notes, tore them up and made new ones.
But notes began to turn into plans. I finally came up with an idea for a project
that would combine all that I was facing and feeling, something that would present
opportunities for finding solutions -- a solo journey around the world.
I thought: Hey, this could really work!
I called it CYCLE FOR
LIFE: World Odyssey -- a journey around the world to promote
some international friendship and communication. Such a seat-of-the-pants
grand tour, I thought, would also become a profound education in life and the self.
I thought:This is a true and worthwhile enterprise!
But I'd never been outside of what I thought of as the
protective womb of North America. The thought of going all the way around the
world...alone...well, it scared the hell out of me. I agonized over it. At the
very least, it meant that I would have to break out of my comfy owner-built shell.
Yet I knew that if I did it, I would grow in ways I could not even imagine. It
challenged me beyond anything I had ever attempted.
I then hit the streets to try to get some sponsors.
(What a challenge that was!) Finally, after a few companies came on board, I packed
my dreams, good intentions, personal limitations and too much gear onto a Honda Elite 250 motorscooter I named Melawend (for my daughters Melanie and Wendy). Totally out of my usual
reserved character, I had turned myself into a kind of ambassador in blue jeans, on
wheels. With Melawend wobbling under the all that weight, I headed out, around the
world!
Maybe you can understand why I began to wonder: What
the hell am I getting myself into?
Still, have you ever wanted to do something like
that?
Of course, the trip wasn't that simple. For one
thing, I had been planning to go by bicycle - but before I even approached bicycle
sponsors, a training accident cancelled that idea. Someone suggested a motorscooter
- but I had never ridden a motorcycle or a motorscooter before.
And once I got going, there were more accidents. I
dealt with disease, nerve-wracking logistics problems, tense negotiations and the gamut of
human emotions.
I had no financial sponsorship, so once I arrived in a new
counrty I was never sure how I would leave it, especially if overseas transport was
necessary. There came many unforeseen adventures, disasters, comedies and
incredible opportunities - from shaking hands with Pope John Paul, to experiencing some of
the world and feelings Isak Dinesen shared with us in her book, Out of Africa (I
was even kissed by a lion!), to "going in cold" to huge corporations for mutual
benefit. As a single person, I also experienced romantic encounters and
complications. A trip that was scheduled to take one year evolved into a two-year
odyssey.
(Click here for more highlights from the
journey.)
But with all the risks , unknowns and calamities, was it
worth it? Absolutely! I came away with new knowledge and perspectives on
life and love and with intense feelings of hope. I met so many fascinating people,
saw so many wonders and learned so much about the world, relationships and the self.
(Much of that education came from making my own mistakes along the way - some real
gems!). I gained so much value in those two years that to share it, I spent the next
12 years writing a 459,000-word, 597-letter-size-page book about the journey -
told truly and candidly:
(Click on the image for a larger version.)
IN
THE LONG RUN
A Hopeful World Odyssey
Why a "hopeful" World Odyssey? Hope,
by itself, I found, is not a course for action, but it is a necessary first
step. Hope is something you discover when you travel. Too often when people
travel, they spend their time and money merely on sightseeing, dining and shopping.
That's fine. It's fun! And it's rewarding for both the
tourist and the local economies (and especially needed in developing countries). But
whenever you truly travel -- whether it's terrestrial, cerebral, or both -- you explore.
You make outward and inward discoveries. With them, you can see new possibilities in the
world and in yourself – hopeful things that are real, that empower you, that enable
you to visualize opportunities upon which you can develop plans and TAKE ACTION...
make improvements in your life and in life around you.
So come along! You just might find this website --
and especially the odyssey book -- highly entertaining! More important, I believe
you will find some long-term benefits for yourself and those you care about.
Again, here is
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE
BOOK:
Learn from my mistakes and
successes. And more benefits to
you.
As you read along, imagine you
are making this journey... how might you have handled various
situations?
Keep an open mind to new
possibilities for you!
And as you read, make notes...
Turn notes into plans for action... Then TAKE ACTION to improve the odyssey
through life for you and your loved ones!
Through the book, you can do it all and have it all without
all that risk to your time, money, health, sanity... right from the comfort of your
own home, or on the commute to and from work, or on the beach...
More reader reviews and
what some visitors to this website had to say.
The Odyssey book: IN THE NEWS - today.
News montage -
for a larger version...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * *
Again, dear reader, welcome! Thanks for coming
by. Enjoy your stay. Enjoy the odyssey!
Come again!
And if you'd like, send me an
e-mail - I'd love to hear from you!
All the very best to you and yours in your continuing
odyssey through life.... and may 2007 be your best year yet!
Sincerely,
Tom
Tom
& Melawend in Hawaii
after almost two years on the road
