I figured a good place to start was with some sort of about me style post.

• Why I’ve decided to join the ranks of travel blogger?
• Why you should come back everyday and read my posts?
• Why am I different from any other blogger?

So lets start at the beginning:

Why I want to blog

I want to keep a journal of my adventures. I tried this once. I kept a daily journal of all the new experiences I had, and people I met when I lived in Canada for a year in 2000. I kept everything on a dodgy old laptop, in plain text files. One day the laptop crashed, and I lost everything. Leasons learned: keep diary online, make backups.

I am an amateur, a beginner. All of the blogs I have been reading are of experienced and seasoned travelers and travel writers. I am not one of these.

Wait! Don’t click away to YouTube just yet. I figure it will be a learning experience for all of us. As the content evolves, hopefully the sense of community will too, and I will be able to pose questions to friends/family/general public and have meaningful and intelligent answers that will help us all feel warm and fuzzy. I generally enjoy healthy discussion, and like feedback. I’m kind of indecisive, and welcome the advice.

Blog philosophy

Where does Eager Existence come from?

Well, I wanted a name that summed me up as a person, I didn’t want to brand my site as a travel blog, as I’d like to keep it going beyond traveling.

I am an adventurer and explorer; I love to try new things, meet new people, and generally have a great time along the way.

Along with all the self-help books, I figure we only have one life, so we should make use of it… live an Eager Existence, enjoy being exactly where you are, right now.

I think Eager Existence as a blog / brand falls into these categories (my interests):

• Travel
• Self-Help
• Photography
• Health & Fitness

So, you can expect that these will be things I comment on.

I am more likely to blog about people I’ve met, adventures I’ve had, places I’ve seen, places I want to see, and lessons I’ve learned rather than global politics, current affairs, the latest products on the market, etc.

On the topic of self-help: It’s a bit of an interesting one. I’m always going on about improving myself. I’m aware of my flaws, and working on overcoming them. I am quite socially anxious, and think a solo round-the-world travel experience will help balance me out as a person. So expect a few posts on fears, loneliness, and generally getting out of my own head.

What makes me different to any other blogger?

Well, what makes me different kind of makes me the same. I love to meet new people, try new things, and have adventures. I will endeavor to post topics not just on popular destinations/experiences, but off the beaten track adventure, profiles of characters I’ve met along the way, lessons I’ve learned, and strange things I have tried. I will try not to make this a destination blog, or a travel deals blog; but more of a diary when you can get to know me, and hopefully I can get to know you.

Goals

To keep me on the right track, and stop this blog becoming bloated and rambly, I’ve decided to list a few goals:

1. Establish a working theme
2. Create marketable images
3. Accept as much blogging help as possible
4. Post a few times a week, initially this will be #rtwsoon style posts about packing, selling, and fears about solo travel.
5. Create a vague itinerary
6. Buy a plane ticket

I’ll come back to this post regularly and see how things are progressing.

For more information about me, stay tuned.

Ian Cartwright

is a guy who gave up his career and mortgage for solo long-term travel. He travelled extensively across Europe for a year before heading onward to North Africa. He is now planning a trip to Latin America. As always there’s sure to be plenty of laughs, tears, and misadventures along the way.