Something strange hit me on those islands...the rest of my trip I couldn't quite fit into the crowd...I felt like almost everyone around me was doing the same things that I had left back home. I don't want to sound like some superior being, but this trip was supposed to be so much more than a vacation to me, and yet, here I was following the crowd again. This time it wasn't the crowd that I left back home, 9-5'ers, these were the travelers that were one step physically closer to their dreams, but a million steps mentally from them.
Why the Sudden Change?
These islands left me hungry for more. I knew that I needed a change in my mind-set if I was going to have any success at pursuing my dreams, and that's exactly what happened. Towards the end of my time on the island, I became distant with the girls that I came on the trip with. I didn't do this to hurt or insult them, we simply were on different paths, and like I mentioned before you can be whoever you want while traveling, and the beauty of traveling is that you can change your mind in an instant.
Adventure From That Night
After I got back to Panama City from the islands, I stayed one more night in hostel el machico with the girls, but we didn't interact much. That night I decided to try and meetup with friends that I had met back at luna's castle, but while I was walking back to Casco Viejo there was a massive thunder storm that decided to down-pour on me about half-way there. There was a storm shelter near where I was walking, and I decided to try and wait it out because there was no way to hail a cab from where I was. When I made my way under the protection of the shelter I found myself in the middle of some kind of late-night workout group. There were people jumping rope, doing headstands, and push-ups. I wish I had my camera, because these weren't regular push-ups. These guys who were all jacked, were competing. One guy would do a push up, then in mid-air, spin around and land back on his hands. Three or four guys would try it until someone else could do it. Then another guy would step up, push up clap his hands in-front of himself, behind himself, and back in-front of himself, ALL before landing! Meanwhile, all his buddies would hoot and holler from the side, and then laugh as the next guy tried and landed flat on his face.
I was the only "foreigner" there by the looks and I'm glad that I didn't attract more attention because I have a hard enough time doing regular push ups, haha. While I waited and watched I found myself distracted by a few food and drink vendors in the corner of the shelter. To my surprise, several of the guys working out were buying street food and Gatorades. All that was on my mind was, "if these guys meet regularly here, I could sell some sort of protein drinks and meals and make a killing."
I thought about that for the night, especially on my long walk back to the hostel (in the rain). Why not go and try it? Why don't people do more of this back in the states? Both the group workout, where everyone was encouraging and bettering themselves while doing what they love as a community, and the street vendors. Of course there are different laws in the states that prohibit some if not most of all this stuff, but it fueled the business side of my mind. I actually had planned to buy a cooler and drinks the next day and go back, until I realized that if I set up shop in Panama I would be locked to a location dependent business (something I left in the States). My dream is to create something so that I could continue to travel and inspire people with, something online...which is why the next morning I took off for Colombia on a boat!
These islands left me hungry for more. I knew that I needed a change in my mind-set if I was going to have any success at pursuing my dreams, and that's exactly what happened. Towards the end of my time on the island, I became distant with the girls that I came on the trip with. I didn't do this to hurt or insult them, we simply were on different paths, and like I mentioned before you can be whoever you want while traveling, and the beauty of traveling is that you can change your mind in an instant.
Adventure From That Night
After I got back to Panama City from the islands, I stayed one more night in hostel el machico with the girls, but we didn't interact much. That night I decided to try and meetup with friends that I had met back at luna's castle, but while I was walking back to Casco Viejo there was a massive thunder storm that decided to down-pour on me about half-way there. There was a storm shelter near where I was walking, and I decided to try and wait it out because there was no way to hail a cab from where I was. When I made my way under the protection of the shelter I found myself in the middle of some kind of late-night workout group. There were people jumping rope, doing headstands, and push-ups. I wish I had my camera, because these weren't regular push-ups. These guys who were all jacked, were competing. One guy would do a push up, then in mid-air, spin around and land back on his hands. Three or four guys would try it until someone else could do it. Then another guy would step up, push up clap his hands in-front of himself, behind himself, and back in-front of himself, ALL before landing! Meanwhile, all his buddies would hoot and holler from the side, and then laugh as the next guy tried and landed flat on his face.
I was the only "foreigner" there by the looks and I'm glad that I didn't attract more attention because I have a hard enough time doing regular push ups, haha. While I waited and watched I found myself distracted by a few food and drink vendors in the corner of the shelter. To my surprise, several of the guys working out were buying street food and Gatorades. All that was on my mind was, "if these guys meet regularly here, I could sell some sort of protein drinks and meals and make a killing."
I thought about that for the night, especially on my long walk back to the hostel (in the rain). Why not go and try it? Why don't people do more of this back in the states? Both the group workout, where everyone was encouraging and bettering themselves while doing what they love as a community, and the street vendors. Of course there are different laws in the states that prohibit some if not most of all this stuff, but it fueled the business side of my mind. I actually had planned to buy a cooler and drinks the next day and go back, until I realized that if I set up shop in Panama I would be locked to a location dependent business (something I left in the States). My dream is to create something so that I could continue to travel and inspire people with, something online...which is why the next morning I took off for Colombia on a boat!