"How many people trudge off to work dreading the day ahead? How many people do you know who feel trapped in their jobs, working just to pay the mortgage, instead of pursuing their life's ambition because they just can't afford to take a risk? I can't, but I'm doing it anyway." Today’s guest wrote this, 3 years ago — on her kickstarter page, which launched a dream that changed her life. Jean Ellen Whatley is a writer who after experiencing a few deaths in her life successfully ran a kickstarter in 2011 to quit her job, hit the road, and pursue her dream of writing her first book, Off the Leash — which chronicled her eventual road trip with her dog, 8,400 miles across the country to meet her half brother for the very first time. Identity - who we are and the ways we relate to a world, where we fit — these questions play such a large role in travel. And Jean stopped letting these questions go unanswered. By making the simple realization that the obstacles preventing her from leaving were almost entirely self-imposed. A Quick Preview: How Jean’s dog made her realize that her barriers to travel the world and experience life were entirely self-imposed. The stories that came from the people she found waiting for her on the road. How losing one brother led her to meeting another. Recognize that the barriers preventing you from traveling might be self-imposed. Explore Further: Jean Ellen Whatley's website Her book, a memoir about the roadtrip, Off the Leash Credits Music credit: Intrepid Journey, by Aaron Static Become a Friend of the Show: Please subscribe and review! It just takes a second and you can help the show increase its rankings on iTunes just by this simple and quick gesture. We’d be grateful for a review. Leave one here. If you do, click here to let me know so I can personally thank you! Your Feedback If you have an idea for a podcast you would like to see or a question about an upcoming episode, email me! I’d love to hear from you. Thank you so much for your support! The post 137: Unleash Yourself with Jean Ellen Whatley appeared first on The Daily Travel Podcast.