It was over egg rolls and stir fry, when her Aunt Judy unexpectedly shared her travel stories with her teenage niece. Captivated and enthralled by her aunt's own personal legend, Regina Busse knew instantly that she wanted the same, to be more adventurous and have these stories of her own to share, just like her aunt. "The life she had lead and continued to lead sparked a fire inside me," says Regina. And so a 16-year old midwestern girl from Omaha, a small city in the heart of the state of Nebraska, planned a one month trip to Australia and bought that ticket. One month turned into a year, and Reggie turned into an explorer of an amazing world. Nine years later, she's still on the road. This transformation was so profound, she's now compelled to help others experience the same, to inspire those who aren't seeing the world to aspire to do so, to incorporate a love of travel into their lives, and promote the encouragement to do so within society. Let Reggie's message entrance you and her passion for inspiring others to share in similar experiences help you aspire to travel. Words from an Explorer "Aspire to travel. Take the proactive steps to reach your goals. Whatever you need to do, recognize your weakness and make them strengths. Then book that ticket." Tweet this! "Risk. Risk is huge. And you never reward until you risk. And that’s what travel is all about." Tweet this! What We Discuss How a girl from the midwest was able to become an explorer Why encouragement from her family gave Reggie the push she needed What make for the best stories, the ones that stay with you beyond the trip How she used Couchsurfing to stay for free with locals in Indonesia, and why she wasn’t ever worried about it How she stayed for four nights for free in the Emirates Palace, one of the world’s two 7-star (!) hotels in Abu Dhabi Reggie's Best Travel Advice The First Step: If you have the means, what are you waiting for? Travel is all about risk. Take the leap of faith. Money Saving Tip: Give it to the pig! Cheapest airfare: Skyscanner, Kayak. Packing Tips: Lay it all out, then half it. Then half it again. Two halts equal a whole. Favorite Internet Travel Tool: Focus on the positive on Couchsurfing, TripAdvisor. Favorite Travel Book: The Travels of Ibn Batuta The Travels of Ibn Battuta Weirdest Food: Grasshopper Mentioned in this episode Reggie’s site Backpackers Wanted Couchsurfing TripAdvisor Music Credit: Passion Pit - Moth’s Wings (Artec Remix), Aaron Static – Intrepid Journey Like the show? I’d love a rating and review! Take action and please share the show! All you have to do is click one of the social sharing buttons at the top of this post. Also please leave a rating or review on iTunes! It just takes a second and you can help the show increase its rankings on iTunes just by this simple and quick gesture. If you do, click here to let me know so I can personally thank you! Thank you so much for your support! See you next time! The post 23: Aspire to Travel with Regina Busse appeared first on The Daily Travel Podcast.