For Sale: Used Backpack

What is your story? Here is a small bit of mine…

I have this used backpack that has been intimately involved in my life since 1996.

To be sure, when I wrote this last week the backpack and I were on a bus from the border of El Salvador to Guatemala City.

You could hypothetically say that the backpack’s story is my story.

Background
When my initial thoughts started surfacing that, perhaps, corporate life was not for me back in 1996 the backpack was the first purchase I made.

In fact, when I was denied a three-month leave of absence from my job (at a horrific pharmaceutical manufacturing company) the backpack was there.

The leave of absence incident, compounded with other office politic scenarios, prompted me to finally be fed up enough with my situation and helped me to move beyond fear and take my first large step.

Specifically, I quit my job and headed to Ecuador.

While in Ecuador I visited Quito, Montañita, Baños, and many other locales…and during my first real ‘mini-retirement’ the pack was there in the background.

Upon returning from Ecuador I learned that I was accepted into the Peace Corps and would be heading to the jungles of Papua New Guinea for my longest adventure yet.

And, yes, the backpack came along.

Post Peace Corps, whether it was packing for grad school, living in the South Pacific on the island of Samoa, or heading for the Caribbean the backpack was an ever present reminder of where I had come from and the fact that I was working towards a non-conformist and unconventional life.

Travel, like life, is not easy: rude people, delayed flights, unmet expectations, illness, and sub par accommodation are not uncommon.

However, it’s those golden moments that sustain you.

Like when you are traveling by local bus to your destination and in the air is the sweet musky smell of moist vegetation, mixed with wood fire smoke and just a hint of manure, that you feel most alive!

These are the experiences that make us who we are.

How is this relevant to you? (Or what the hell is this guy talking about?)

I feel passionate about the fact that as small business owners, risk takers, and travelers we all have stories that should be shared.

If this backpack has so much to say, imagine what stories you can come up with for your business, your life, or those projects you are working on. Which could result in more opportunities, more product sold, or even the chance to empower others.

What’s your story?