STP069: Why Risk-taking is “The Only Way You Can Innovate and Grow” with Travel Writer Allan Karl
Allan Karl has explored more than 60 countries, photographing, blogging, and writing about them on the way. His book Forks: The Quest for Culture, Cuisine and Connection (2014) documents a three-year motorcycle journey through 35 countries. In this interview, Karl discusses his decision to turn his passion for travel into a way to live, and the hesitation that too often prevents people from taking a similar leap in their own entrepreneurial endeavors. He describes how “Anyone can do this—the hardest part about deciding to choose your passion, and follow your dream, is that decision point: deciding to do it.”
He also describes:
- The power of “change conditioning”: how practicing small changes can make it easier to take on larger changes
- Balancing the benefits of consistency against the risk of allowing habits to turn into stagnancy.
- Why risk taking is “the only way you can innovate and grow”
- The necessity of “being open” to new experiences and new people, and of trusting both yourself and others
- The value of curiosity: “When we’re curious, we tend to ask more questions”
Currently, Karl is preparing to film his next journey (another motorcycle odyssey, beginning in China) for television. He is principal of WorldRider Productions, where he focuses on speaking, publishing, and coaching, and a marketing strategist for clearcloud, a digital marketing and branding consultancy located in Southern California.
Learn more about Karl on AllanKarl.com; WorldRider.com; Twitter (@WorldRider), Instagram, and Facebook; and at ForksTheBook.com.
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About the author, David Shriner-Cahn
David is the podcast host and community builder behind Smashing the Plateau, an online platform offering resources, accountability, and camaraderie to high-performing professionals who are making the leap from the corporate career track to entrepreneurial business ownership.