In 2008, Shannon O'Donnell took off a year off from her career in to go around the world, supporting herself with her SEO, and make a travel a bigger priority in her life.

Today, she's been on the road for five and a half years, and helps others get started doing the same at her blog A Little Adrift, while supporting herself along the way as an independent consultant, writer, and photographer. She is also the author of The Volunteer Traveler's Handbook and as such is a foremost expert online and off, in the topic of volunteer travel.


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What We Cover:


How Shannon takes a service-based approach to life

What compelled her to take the step to make life a bigger priority, and a lifestyle

The complications and nuances of selecting an overseas volunteer work opportunity

Research and do your background work on what it means to develop a country. Don't assume that you're perfect for any job.


Words from an Explorer:


“All of this that is gonna happen and I don’t know what it is but I know I will be different on the other side of a year… I valued that so greatly that I was willing to overcome the fears for it." – Shannon O'Donnell


More Quotes:


“I had built up these fears because others had these fears and were like, 'These are the things you should be afraid of on the road.'”


"It's all impermanent. You can feel intensely lonely and you can move through that. It's a natural and healthy emotion. It doesn't mean you're a bad traveler."

"Volunteering is a prism through which you can connect deeper."


Explore Further:


A Little Adrift, Shannon's blog

@shannonrtw on Twitter

Shannon's book, The Volunteer Traveler's Handbook

Shannon's article "Understanding the Developing World"


Music Credit: Passion Pit - Moth’s Wings (Artec Remix), Aaron Static – Intrepid Journey


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The post 81: Shannon O’Donnell’s Service-Based Travel and Life appeared first on The Daily Travel Podcast.