Photo credit – Luis Llerena via unsplash.com

Travel is educative. Even though you aren’t engaged in a formal learning program, you are picking up so many things informally. I was reminded of that travelling here and settling into some temporary accommodation. We have already had some challenges to provoke our learning.

A recent article I read in Forbes magazine, highlighted the parallels between travel and developing skills to be an entrepreneur. The author, Meggen Taylor sugggests:

Traveling can unexpectedly hone the emotional, intellectual, and interpersonal skills of every aspiring and established businessperson.
~ Meggen Taylor

She identifies a number of learning experiences that can result from travel. I add to that the potential our seasonal work experience has to teach us things – about ourselves and others.

Re-learn how to step outside your comfort zone
Stepping out of one world and into another, with language and culture differences means stepping out of your comfort zone. It forces you to take on a new perspective – to try on the new way of living. This learning is imposed – so you can embrace it or fight it and stick to your established habits.

This is presented to us in new living arrangements – shared accommodation, language differences (although English is spoken everywhere in the resort) and daily living differences. We are staying in a share house with a few others, ranging in age from twenty-something to fifty-something. There will be sixteen in this house when it is full. That could be testing!

Always be flexible and be prepared to adapt
Flexibility and adaptability are important. For that I think a mindset where you are prepared to be flexible and adaptable. These are good skills to have generally, but there is more opportunity to have them tested here. The other thing is to remember that these skills will develop throughout our time here.

Things don’t always go as planned and unexpected situations that arise need to be dealt with. With few people in the house, we are going with the flow at the moment. There will be more demand on our flexibility and adaptability as the house fills up and we all negotiate over the use of common areas.

Be decisive when you have to be
We have been provided with choices for our accommodation and will need to weigh them up and choose an option. This decision-making will be time-bound so this presents an opportunity for us to hone our skills here – to trust our judgement and instincts.

Effective communication and interpersonal skills
When you travel many different experiences can present frustrations. From the check-in desk and dealing with the excess luggage charges to negotiating with local businesses and local transport, communication skills come to the fore.

In this industry (ski holidays and travel), interpersonal skills are important to success at work. Whether that be in managing staff, customers booking in or clients in a ski lesson, communication lies at the heart of successful outcomes. We will have ample opportunity to practise and develop these every day.

Enjoy your ride wherever it takes you
By listing these things, it seems I am focusing on the challenges as difficulties. We are mindful of focusing on the positives our ride has to offer. We work as a team, so if one of us gets caught up in the challenges, the other can urge them out of it.

Will this make entrepreneurs out of us? Perhaps. I am not sure that we are entrepreneurs but we can still hone our skills. It will make us more rounded people though, with interesting experiences to share.

What about you? Has travel been an important part of your education? It would be great to hear your story.

How Traveling More Can Help Hone The Skills Needed To Be A Successful Entrepreneur by Meggen Taylor. Forbes 30 October 2016