Top 5 Invaluable Lessons Learned on the Road

It’s the ultimate road trip: We’re traveling the country for an entire year! We left our “perfect” life for an “imperfect” future. Sounds like a piece of cake, right? Well, we’re not exactly aimless wanderers, and technically, we’re still entrepreneurs operating our small business on the road…which means staying connected, responding to customers and filling orders.

Fun and inspiration are a big part of the equation though, and we’re absolutely fitting in our fair share of hiking, sightseeing and exploring. However, do not be fooled…we may post the highlight reel on social media, but there are missteps along the way…

Here are five lessons I/we have learned (or rather, been reminded of) on the road:

Everyone’s a New Kid on the Block.

Huh? Not, NKTOB the boy band, but a newbie. In our case, we were newbies to RV-ing. Sure, we read the manuals, watched videos and practiced, but…we were still newbies. #westilldontknowwhatweredoing. So, our first night on the road we met Steve and Rhonda, aka our “RV Angels”.

Basically, they gave pointers, answered questions and were more than helpful as we learned the ropes with our first setup. When we expressed our gratitude, Steve simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “We’re all new kids on the block at some point.”

In everything we pursue, we are all beginners at some point. Thank you, Steve, for the wise words, we will pay it forward to other new kids we encounter.

Check the Checklist.

Pilots have checklists for a reason – it’s a matter of life and death. In our case, maybe it’s not life and death, but it’s pretty important when you’re hauling your home and business behind your truck.

We have setup and breakdown checklists which go over each task we need to complete for the trailer hitch, water lines, electricity, etc. Those are some of the big things, but even not doing a little task, like “Check for loose items inside and outside the trailer” is important. A coffee cup on a counter will slide and shatter, duh.

However, we also have racks of supplies and tools in the back for the business. These are all bundled and strapped down with bungees to stay secure when we’re traveling. Unless we forget. We learned that the hard way when we opened the door to shattered shelves, supplies and glass. It was actually WORSE than it looked. There was a lot of broken glass under all that.

Duly noted. Check the checklist.

Enjoy the Ride.

Sounds easy enough. But after years of schedules, deadlines, and my Type A personality, it’s a little harder to employ. Visions of multi-tasking danced in my head…which turned out to be completely unrealistic.

Typing a blog post on a bouncing laptop, while scrolling through social media, and also calling out upcoming turns and merges was not only unproductive, but I was missing all the scenery right in front of me.

So, screens away. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the view. Be okay with taking a few wrong turns. Good advice for a road trip…and for life.

Stop Making Excuses.

It’s too cold. There’s too many mosquitoes. There’s a storm coming. These were the lame “excuses” in my head for why I didn’t want to go outside and look at the stars. I can be a real baby.

Fortunately, I listened to Matt and laid side by side with him on top of a picnic table. The pitch black sky, glittery stars and misty milky way were my reward. The impending storm lit the sky with silent lightning and we counted the meteors until the storm clouds rolled in.

I don’t know why I was making excuses, but I’m glad I didn’t listen to them. Sure, I got a few mosquito bites, but it was worth it.

P.S. No pictures of this. 1) Because a picture wouldn’t do it justice, and 2) Because it was a technology-free night.

Less is More.

We knew this going into it. As we sold most of our belongings, it felt good to declutter, freeing to get rid of things we didn’t need, or use. But the lesson is reiterated again and again as we learn to live in a smaller space.

Sure, we pared down a lot, but even with much less, we’re still only using a fraction of what we brought with us. (Why did I think we needed 4 coffee cups instead of 2? I’m not even going to tell you how many t-shirts, yoga pants and shoes I brought…)

Anyhow, the less “stuff” we have, the easier it is to keep our space organized and livable for two people and two dogs. Less stuff actually gives us more happiness.

And in case you missed it, here’s a tour of our cozy, small space, with less stuff: