"I'm not going to spend my youth doing something I don't love. It seems really flip-flopped to me that we spend our youth working so that we can go travel when we're older when we might not make it that far in life, or have the ability to carry a bag anymore." - Kristin Addis After growing up in Southern California, Kristin Addis found herself in the role of an investment banker who couldn’t ignore her own inherent curiosity. In 2012, following a year-long recovery from a debilitating shoulder surgery that helped her realize she wasn't satisfied with her financial career, she quit her job, sold her stuff, and chose travel instead. On her own, she hit the road to explore the unknown with neither a plan nor a guide, just her wits. Today, she writes about what she's found at her travel blog, Be My Travel Muse, which covers her experiences in a life of travel and offers guidance and advice for others dreaming or striving to follow her unconventional path. In this session, you'll learn how someone can make the difficult and bold decision to quit a lucrative career for a more challenging lifestyle as well as what successful solo-travel has meant for her. Kristin even took on the Annapurna Circuit without a guide and through our conversation, you'll hear how you can to. What We Cover: How shoulder surgery helped Kristin realize her priority was to see the world, not pursue an unfulfilling career. When she realized she was not going back and that she could create a new career as a travel writer, earning from her blog. Even though she travels solo, she explains how she's rarely alone. Where she's headed and why she might slow down. Explore further: Be My Travel Muse @bemytravelmuse Kristin's post on Burning Man How to Prepare for the Annapurna Circuit The Annapurna Circuit Without a Guide Music credit: Moth’s Wings (Artec Remix), Passion Pit; 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 102: How Kristin Addis Quit Her Job to Travel Solo – Part 1 appeared first on The Daily Travel Podcast.