The School of Greatness - 493 What Breaking a Global Travel Record Taught Cassie De Pecol About Life

Episode Date: June 5, 2017

"Use fear as fuel to your inner fire." - Cassie De Pecol If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes, video, and more at http://lewishowes.com/493

This is episode number 493 with Cassie DePeckel. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Mark Twain once said,

travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. And many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. Welcome to episode 493. We've got a great show for you today. I'm excited about this topic, about traveling the world. And our guest today is Cassie DePeckel.

She's a world traveler, environmental activist, explorer, women's rights and peace activist, triathlete, entrepreneur, you name it, she's doing it. And in July of 2015, after a year and a half of planning, saving money, obtaining sponsors and endorsements, she launched on her expedition on a stage at a major public event called the World Domination Summit. And in 2017, at just 27 years old, she finished her journey, which was called Expedition 196, in a Guinness World Record time. And as of February 2017, she traveled to 196 countries alone as a female all over the world. And Cassie has some incredible stories to share and lessons that she learned while traveling the world alone.

But first off, we talked about what Cassie learned while being on the TV show Naked and Afraid. Also, how she handled running out of money only six months into her 18-month expedition and how she stayed on track to complete her goal even when it looked like she wasn't able to, why committing to your goal is so crucial to achieving it, the biggest lessons that she learned about herself while traveling the world alone, and the power of making your own choices instead of listening to other people make them for you. This is going to be a big one.

If you've ever traveled the world or any parts of the world, you know how meaningful it is and what actually opens up to you and the awareness that you bring into your own life when you come back home. And for those who haven't traveled much, then I urge you to listen and explore this in your own way. So let's go ahead and dive into this episode number 493 with Cassie DePeckel. Welcome back, everyone, to the School of Greatness podcast. Very excited about our guest, Cassie DePeckel, in the house. Good to see you.

How are you? Thanks for having me. Good. How are you? I'm excited, too. I'm doing good. I'm excited you're here because you've done something no one else on this show has done, except for maybe Chris Gilliboo, but I'm not even sure if he's done what you've done,

but you've been to 196 countries. I didn't even know there were 196 countries first off in the world, but not all of them are countries. They're something else or what? What are they called? Sovereign nations. Sovereign nations. What is the difference between a sovereign nation and a country?

So they have a centralized government monetary system, and, yeah, they're kind of independent from, from other countries, right? Like Puerto Rico is part of the state. So I didn't go to Puerto Rico and same with Scotland's part of the UK. So I had to go to like London and Northern Ireland and yeah. So you didn't go to Puerto Rico. I didn't go. Yeah.

Cause it's part of the state. Yeah, exactly. Gotcha. Now you made this declaration, this announcement in 2015 at an event that i was speaking at called world domination summit yeah and that you said you're going to go on this trip right and do 196 countries and how how long uh i i said two and a half years but i knew that it was going to be a year and a half but i? But I was like, just in case. Just in case I get kidnapped or I'm in jail or whatever.

Yeah, or someone's trying to beat my record. You know, I got to be a little bit careful with my, you know. Oh, you want to say two and a half, but actually not. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And how long did you plan this out beforehand? Yeah, so it took a year and five months to plan out the entire thing. Wow. Yeah, I had to start off with just mapping it all out.

And then I had to find the nonprofit endorsement, the supporters, the funding, then the visas, and the setup social media, the website, the branding, everything. Just, yeah, it took a year and a half to really get it going. How many visas did you get? Oh, that's a question I don't think I can even, I mean, it must, because there was visas kind of in advance, and one's on arrival, and I don't know, maybe around 30, something like that, 40. Wow. Yeah.

How much did the whole thing cost? So it was about $110,000. To go to every country? Yes. That's not that bad when you think about it. It's not bad. It could be a little bit more. It could be a little bit less because I kind of had to take into account kind of the free hotels and flights and everything that I got as well. But it was around that figure. So that was not including the free stuff you got, the sponsored stuff.

I think that was including the free stuff. So if you went on every flight and paid for every hotel, that's what it costs, $100,000. To see the world, that's not a bad ticket. $100,000 for a world. And you see the world? That's not a bad ticket, you know? Yeah, yeah. $100,000 for a world. And you're on a budget, too. Like, I wasn't staying in, you know? Yeah, you're not staying in the Ritz-Carlton or whatever. Yeah, no, no.

But you're not staying in a hostel either, right? No, no. So it's kind of in between. A lot of Airbnbs, local bed and breakfast. Wow. Yeah, so. Now, before this expedition and journey, you were doing door-to-door sales. Is that right?

Yeah. I was in DC kind of going door-to-door, business-to-business, selling a cell phone service to people that just didn't want that or needed it. They didn't want them. Yep. Spit in the face, like dead of winter in DC. That's the best lessons though. You learn the most going door-to-door. I did door-to-door selling books. You did? For a guy that couldn't read. That was kind of ironic. Really? of ironic yeah man i only did it for like a day and a half really this is not for me yeah oh and you're on commission too right so it's all commission yeah and i was like yeah it's a struggle it was like a college summer thing and i was just like no way no thanks

yeah but you do learn a lot how long did you do it for i did it for six months that's all i could hold out that's a long time. Yeah, yeah. People came and went. It was one of those pyramid scheme things. So I didn't find out until after. And I went to go get unemployment because I was unemployed. And they couldn't even get a hold of up.

They're like, yeah, we're still in business. But they were. It was not a good situation. OK, so you're doing that. And then how did you come up with this idea to go on an expedition and why the expedition around the world? So I will bring up the show that I was on just because it was – We'll bring it up.

Yeah. It was – So you came up with this during the show. So yeah. So one day after work, I was watching TV, my roommate's TV, and I saw a bunch of naked people running across the TV screen. You were like, I want to be that person. I was like, I need to be there right now.

I need to be in that situation. And so I filled out a casting application. It was for a discovery show. And yeah, I just- Was it called Naked in the Jungle? Naked and Afraid. Naked and Afraid. Yeah, you are afraid.

You were terrified? You are afraid. Well, there's camera people that aren't naked. Yeah, that's the weird thing. And they were all men too. My first like- No way. My first 10 days was all even the camera guys. Everyone, sound people, they're all like, just take your clothes off. Yeah, that's the weird thing. And they were all men too. My first like, No way. My first 10 days

was all even the camera guys. Everyone, sound people, they're all like, just take your clothes off. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they're just watching you all day. Yeah. That's weird, isn't it?

It was weird. It wasn't fun. And they're like eating like sandwiches and hamburgers and they're like, Yeah, I know. They'd be having an egg salad sandwich

and I'm like, No way. Now I gotta forge and I can't forge. I mean, let's be honest. egg salad sandwich. No way. Yeah, now I got to forge and I can't forge. I mean, let's be honest. I can eat like a coconut. Anyway, so the experience was I survived, but it was the best worst experience of my life up until that point. And afterwards, I didn't realize it's like when you sign those papers,

like the hate could like really destroy you or you're going to get, we're going to edit you in a certain way to make you look a certain way. Any way they want. You know, yeah, know yeah yeah they'd be like how'd that snail taste i'm like well i'm grateful to have a snail you know and then they'd be like but was it crunchy and then i'm like okay it was a crunchy disgusting snail and it's you know like um so that's kind of how it went and yeah the aftermath of it like the hate i'm like oh am i really that terrible of a person am i really that selfish am i really what they're saying? And I'd never experienced that before. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to, I want to do something bigger than myself. And I want to pursue my dream of

going to every country that I'd always had this like dream of going to every country in the world. Since I did travel before, before this expedition a little bit. And I was 24. Yeah. 24. And I was like, you know, I got to make it happen. You know, I have to make it happen. So I moved out to LA for the weather. Let's be honest. You were living in DC. Miserable. I was living in DC up. Then I drove across and I, you know, I was like, I drove across in three and a half days. I was like, I just booked it. I didn't have any money, you know, going off my savings. And right when I got to the last pit stop before my apartment that I had paid first and last up on Lake Arrowhead, um, I'm filling my tank and it stops halfway. I've ran out of money. Like my debit card was, was out. I was

like, okay, I think I can get up that Hill up to Lake Arrowhead. Okay. And I did. And at that point I was like, I never want to be in the situation again and i have to make this this expedition happen so i started like i was babysitting full-time two jobs 85 hours a week for that like year and a half while i was planning to save money planning yeah yeah i saved up about 10 grand during that time um but yeah yeah, that was even really challenging, you know, like, you know, raising kids and I myself don't want kids. So I was like, I'm not, it's not like I'm furthering that part of my life either, you know? But it was great. I mean, the kids were great and everything and, but it was a lot of hard work and I was really stressed out and trying to plan this whole thing and trying to find sponsors. I had no idea what that even was. Wow. And so then you kind of realized, okay, I can make this happen.

Yeah. Right. Yeah. And you kind of were putting the pieces together. You're getting a sponsor here and there. You got like a flight sponsor. Is that right? You got some hotel sponsors, I'm assuming. Yep. What are all the sponsors you've got? Travel? Yeah. Hotels? Cash, goods, sponsors you got travel yeah hotels cash goods and services so some companies you know cash sponsorship some services um travel services like insurance that sort of thing and then goods like flights and hotels and stuff and yeah i had no idea what you know what a sponsor was and i didn't know where to go i looked at people like michael phelps and I was like how does he get a sponsor you know how does he how is the best in the world he's got a massive audience how is he like promoting these brands and what does that even mean so yeah it took it took committing to the idea like I don't think people realize like the amount of commit you have to

fully commit to in order to make something like this happen you can't just be like yeah we'll see if I can get a sponsor it's like once you you have to commit yourself, then you have to go after it like 110%. It's got to be like living, breathing like your whole life, you know? And that's how you're going to make it happen. I tell people sometimes like if your life was on the line for your dream, like they had a gun to your head and in 30 days you had to get a sponsor or you were dead. I guarantee you'd figure out a had to get a sponsor or you were dead. Yeah. I guarantee you'd figure out a way to get that sponsor.

You know what I mean? Or you'd figure something out. Exactly. If your life was on the line. Yeah. But I think people don't want it enough sometimes. They're like, eh, like you said, unless you're 110% in, it's like if you're half in, you're not going to go all, you're not going to go afterwards.

So you've got all these sponsors. Yeah. And I didn't get all of them to fund the whole trip. So I had just enough. And then by the time when I left at the summit, I was like ready to go. And then, you know, at that point I had about 10,000 saved up for my babysitting jobs because I just like had no social life for that year. I mean, let's just be honest. I was like drinking a bottle of wine in my, my apartment alone most nights,

you know, I had to save as much as possible. And so, yeah, I had that. Then I had a few sponsors to kind of get me going through the first like six months. And I was like,

they'll come, I'll be in the media and then they'll cut, they'll start coming along, you know, no, like big mistake, you know? So about six months in,

I was, I don't know, maybe about 40 or so countries in at that point. Uh, it was January. I ran out, like I ran, I was, I ran out dry, you know, and I had these sponsors, these commitments. And I was like, you know, I had to come back home to Connecticut. I didn't tell anyone. I was like, I'm going to have to like quit, you know, like this is extremely embarrassing. I can't tell anyone I'm coming home. Like, so I didn't, you know, only my parents knew. And I was like, what am I going to do?

They're like, you got to, you got to keep pushing. My dad especially is like, you got to push. You got to do what you were doing and do it now like 110% again. And so I didn't, in those two weeks, I was able to rack up enough to get going. I was like, you know what? I can't stop. Now I got to just keep this going throughout. It's not like I got to keep going on LinkedIn, reaching out to CEOs, sending my pitch, my

deck, my proposal every single morning so that I can continue to obtain funding to cover the rest of this trip. So what did you do? You just reached out to CEOs and say, hey, can you give me a thousand bucks? Oh, yeah. I wish it were that easy. But that did work once sure well it was for flights it was like the ceo here in new zealand i was like well you want to

you know sponsor my trip and he's like sure you know but that was a fluke thing right right and what are these people getting in return from you know them helping you out yeah so um of course the media when i finished i think they saw that but it was a huge risk for them to take um you know I'm a woman traveling alone who knows what's going to happen their mind it was a huge risk but I was filming an educational documentary and that from the beginning was something that I decided to commit to and um they wanted to be seen in that you know like for a cause you know a cause documentary and they saw kind of like all right we, we'll contribute, you know, biting their tongue, taking a risk. But it's paid off.

And I think now they see that. And I still have strong relationships with a few of them. Right. Yeah. Wow. So you just kept emailing people and reaching out and they would, what would get them to kind of like support you then? You know, actually, I got to say, so networking is huge.

And before I left on my expedition, the International Institute of Peace through Tourism was the organization who endorsed my expedition. Not financially, but they connect me to a lot of people. And I went to their symposium in Johannesburg six months before I left. And I met a lot of people there. I met Naomi King and Andy Mandela, Nelson Mandela's granddaughter and Martin Luther King Jr. Sister-in-law. And it was like a huge peacemaking event.

And that's where I really met a lot of influential people. And the King of Spain was one of them. Yeah. But that's, they're kind of like, let me connect you to this person. So I ended up attending the, um,

world travel and tourism council summit. And that was a big, um, kind of like the jackpot for me for finding sponsors. I was just there for the third year in a row two weeks ago in Bangkok. But there it's like you had the CEO of Expedia, of Airbnb, of Cruise Line, everything. And so I'd kind of dress up, get a decent outfit, give them my pamphlet with my face on it. This is what I have to offer. And just like guerrilla marketing.

And that's how I was able to get a lot of my sponsors. So you got them through that event? I depended on that. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Every year. Crazy.

So every flight was taken care of? Oh, no. You had to pay for a lot of things. Yeah, I had to pay for a lot of flights. But you got cash from people to pay for it too. Yeah, I did. I did. Essentially, it was paid for. Yeah. things. Yeah, I had to pay for a lot of things. But you got cash from people to pay for it too. Yeah, I did. Essentially, it was paid for. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.

And I used like credit card, you know, that I got the – The point deal. Yeah, I tried to get into that. For me, it wasn't really that easy. The like travel hacking thing. It's kind of hard, right? It is, yeah. You're always opening a new credit card and always like –

Yeah, I would like email Chris. I'm like, but I didn't want to ask him too much you know um give away his secrets for free but i was like i gotta figure this out on my own i never did so what was the whole vision then was it to promote like traveling alone as a woman was it to promote education what was promote going after a dream was it like promote doing the impossible and making it possible was it to break a world record you know what was the real mission that's the question i think to this no so it was to break a guinness world record um and become which was which was the fastest person to travel to every country every sovereign nation and that was actually kind of led to the women's

achievement aspect of it because six months in guinness records emailed me and said we're breaking the record category up into two separate ones so female and male females get four years to break the record and males get three years to break the record i'm like why do women need more time to travel interesting more lung capacity maybe i don't think so wow so. So I didn't agree with that. So I was like, you know, I fought that like till the very end. And finally, they're like, okay, you know, we will have still the fastest person, but then you'll get another category as well, fastest female. So I have two or whatever.

And then it just came down to the women's achievement aspect. My dad was like, you're a woman, you know, and you're traveling alone to these places. You should really be talking about that more. And I'm like, ah, I never thought of myself as, I mean, I know, like I know a woman, but I never was really into like women's rights and everything. I just kind of lived my life and I just didn't, wasn't really, I don't know. I guess I wasn't that educated on it, you know? Um, so I thought maybe going into like Saudi Arabia or promoting women's rights wasn't something I should do. Cause I wasn't that educated on it, you know? So I thought maybe going into like Saudi Arabia or promoting women's rights wasn't something I should do because I wasn't really educated on it or informed that well.

Yeah. But I started educating myself on it and I started getting passionate about women's achievement, promoting more women's achievement, women's empowerment. And then the sustainability aspect of it, so promoting peace through sustainable tourism. So just, you know, I could break it all apart, but my goal was to promote peace through sustainable tourism and women's empowerment through breaking two Guinness World Records and becoming the first woman on record to do so. Got it.

That's that. There you go. Got it. Yeah. And what were some of the most unsafe places you went to then that you thought maybe weren't going to be that bad, but actually were in the places that you thought were to be bad that actually weren't. Yeah. Um, so I would say, uh, one country that I, I didn't think was going to be that, but I was probably Somalia and I was like, should I go to Somalia land? Which is obviously it's a, it's an okay place to go. Um, they're pretty peaceful actually right now, but I was like, no, I'm going to go into Mogadishu and like have the real experience of Somalia.

And so, and that place was pretty, pretty, pretty bad. Probably the worst. Alone as a woman, was it like scary? Were you like turning your head left and right everywhere? It's just, you have to take an armored vehicle to go two minutes to the hotel. What? From like the airport? Yeah. And the hotel, I was like, I'll just walk there. I'll walk to the hotel. What? From like the airport? Yeah, and the hotel. I was like, I'll just walk there. I'll walk to the hotel. And they're like, no way. You're kidnapped and dead. Yeah, they're like, no, we have to.

And we have to have a truck behind you and in front of you with guards with machine guns. What? Just to get to the hotel? Yes. I was like, I didn't even get that in Afghanistan and Kabul and Syria and any of the other countries I've been to.

I'm surprised they even just let you in then. Why would they even? I know. I know. What's the point if there's that much of a risk? Yeah, exactly. If they have to spend that much money just to escort you. I know.

And they're so humble. They actually sponsored me. I was like, you know, and they're called the Peace Hotel too. So I think they just really appreciated, you know, what I was trying to promote. And then they took me around and they're like, okay, we can get out now. Okay, there's something weird over there. You know, it was very like, you know, you're on your toes, you know.

And then, you know, Kabul wasn't really, I thought Kabul was going to be worse, but it really wasn't. You know, I mean, just covered up and walked around and I talked to some guys on the street, you know, filmed them. Fully covered up. Yeah, I mean, I didn't wear the full burqa,

but just the hijab. Your face was exposed? Yeah, the face was exposed. Everything else was covered up. Yeah. I mean, I didn't wear the full burka. Right. But just the hijab. Your face was exposed? Yeah. And not even, yeah, the face was exposed. Everything else was covered up, yeah. Yeah, yeah. You're not allowed to go around exposed in it. You cannot, yeah.

But the face is okay. The face is okay. Yeah. Yeah. What happens if you were exposed? Like your arms or like your, you know, your knees below or something? Yeah, that's a good question. You didn't test it.

I don't know if I want to try. I'll leave that up to someone else. I mean, I wouldn't want to do that. You want to respect their culture. Of course. And that's really important, especially as a woman. You want to go and respect. So when I was actually heading into Saudi Arabia, I thought I had to wear the full burqa, like only the eyes to be seen. And so I was putting on the hijab and wearing my abaya on the plane. And the women were like, no, it's okay. It's okay. Really? I was putting on the hijab and wearing my abaya on the plane and the women were like, no, it's okay, it's okay. Really? I was like, all right.

So I have my hair down like this and just this long abaya kind of thing. And they were like, it's cool? And that was fine, yeah. That was fine. So, yeah. Powerful. Kind of crazy.

So where did you go into it expecting and then what did you come out of it learning? Okay, so I think what I expected was So where did you go into it expecting and then what did you come out of it learning? Okay. So I think what I expected was, number one, I'd die in a plane crash. You thought that was going to happen? I thought it was really that was going to be my demise. Really? Yeah, of everything.

I don't know. I just, yeah, I kind of had a fear of flying. So many flights and you're like, what are the odds? Yeah, exactly. How many flights did you take? A little over 250 i stopped counting that's a lot it's a lot it's like 20 000 trees and what uh consisted of a how much time in a country did you have to spend for that to count yeah um for me okay so for guinness you had to

get your passport stamp stamped and leave the airport that's it so yeah you could have left and walked back in. Yeah. And I did that in a few places, about 10 to 15 places. Like, oh, I'm not going to lie, you know? And it came down to budgeting, too. It's not like I can really. Tuvalu, okay?

The middle of the Pacific Ocean. And, you know, they had a flight coming in. Their next flight leaving wasn't until the following week. And they have, like, two hotels on the islands. They're, like, 200 bucks a night. And I'm like, I can't be here for, like, hotels on the islands they're like 200 bucks a night and i'm like i can't be here for like a week waiting for the next for 200 night i mean so you went out for like so i just kind of i circled right around you know yeah went out for 10 minutes came back in and like looked around and like yeah see you later got a photo got my

gps got my proof and then scooted out and that's that happened in like 10 to 15 countries you know you gotta hack it a little bit sometimes yeah exactly exactly and what's the country you stayed my proof and then scooted out. And that's, that happened in like 10 to 15 countries. You know, you got to hack it a little bit sometimes. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And what's the country you stayed the longest in intentionally? Not because of like, Oh, I didn't have the visa or some, you know, hiccup. Yeah. Um, so according to Guinness with the regulations, I wasn't able to spend more than 14 days in a country either. So I kind of had that limitation. So I spent about two weeks in Russia and St. Petersburg. And I also was a good week in Pakistan and a good week in Mongolia. Because I'm sure some of these places you wanted to like explore, right? Yeah. Yeah. Otherwise you have to go back again. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, it's exhausting. Yeah. Might as well enjoy the process, not just like check it off a list, right?

Yeah, exactly. And so I had to pick and choose, you know, for my, like, I really wanted to be in the Mongolian wilderness, like for my birthday. So I was able to get sponsored by this yurt camp and there was no cell phone reception, no wifi, like no one was even staying there until my last day. So I was really alone for that full week and in the wilds. And there was a little husky dog who followed me around and we went on hikes. And like, that was really, uh, one of the most memorable times on my expedition just because

it was so like peaceful. Right. That's cool. Yeah. What's the biggest lesson you learned about yourself on the journey um i think you know so to never judge anyone and to be completely open-minded um i think when i went into this i was definitely a much more selfish person i'd say um and i didn't really have a complete understanding about the world and religions and everything. And so this expedition really opened up my eyes to be more humble towards all people, cultures, ethnicities, genders, you know, everything and cultural differences as well. And to really not just accept, but appreciate and learn someone's story and not just go there and kind of talk about the weather, but learn, learn their story and learn where they come from and what

makes them happy. And, and that's one thing I realized on this trip too, is how, how kind really everyone is around the world. You, we see all this negative stuff on the media and the news, but, um, at the end of the day, everyone just wants to help one another and they just want a hot plate in front of them. They want a roof over their head. They want a loving family. And that's just a universal thing that everyone wants. And so I've learned to just really appreciate people more in general and becoming less judgmental and more accepting. Wow.

That's cool. And is there one person you met that really stood out? I've been asked that a couple of times that it's so hard to kind of think about that one. But maybe shifted your perspective on something in life or opened you up to a different way of thinking. Yeah, yeah. Oh, man. That's actually a good question. There are so many people that really.

I would say there's someone I met in, in Syria, actually. And this is most recently. And she, she was my age and we were sharing a taxi and she said goodbye to her sisters. And I didn't know they were her sisters, but she was like, I saw her, I was sitting in the back. I saw her kind of tearing up in the front rear view mirror. And I asked her, you know, who were they? And what was that about? And she said, well, she's 27. She's leaving her, her sisters, she's leaving Syria for the first time. This was in Latakia. And she's going to go be with her husband, who's a refugee in Germany. And she's the next day I was going to go into Yemen alone. And she was about to get on her first ever flight, you know, to go to some foreign country, Germany.

For her, that was a big deal, you know. Absolutely. And for me, going to Yemen was a big deal. So it didn't matter, you know, where we were from. It didn't matter our religion, anything at that time. But what we connect, like we connected, we both knew the universal word of love, you know, and she's like, I love you. And I was like, you know, it was just this moment that I, I'd never really had that sort of moment on the expedition until then. And it was just, um,

yeah, it was really special and really eyeopening. And, um, yeah, so she definitely changed, changed me a lot. That's cool. What do you say to people who don't think they're allowed to go after their dreams or allowed to go after something crazy or some expedition or journey because maybe they don't think they have the resources that they're not capable of? Maybe all the things that maybe you were struggling with at one point of tackling this journey. What would you say to people who are trying to do something more? Um, you know, you own your life, right? And I, it's, it's hard to, to act on

something you want to do when, you know, especially if you're under your parents' roof or people all around you are telling you can't do something. But at the end of the day, you own your life and you know your truth more than anyone else. You're born alone. You die alone. I mean, just thinking of the scientifical aspect of it. And you know what you go through in your life. You can achieve anything that you set your mind to. You know what you can do.

And you own your life. And at the end of the day, you have to think about that. We're here for such a short period of time, you know, a few years in the grand scheme of things. And you just have to take advantage of these moments and pursue, um, pursue your own life in that way, pursue your own path. So how do you feel after now, you know, year and a half or two years almost, how do you feel after? And are you able to travel, uh, with a sense of like relaxation now or more like i don't know a different sense or and what are you focused on now what's the vision moving forward um so i'm tired now yeah a lot of travel a lot of plane rides yeah yeah but um it's so right now it's actually great because everyone's

like what's next i hate that question i mean the know, I, what's exciting for me right now is focusing on my career, you know, and you know, speaking engagements, kind of furthering this message of, you know, promoting peace for tourism, women's achievement, um, all over the world on a grander scale, you know, through speaking, through branding, through starting my own nonprofit, completely offsetting my carbon footprint by 2020 through my nonprofit, you know, finishing up the book, the documentary. So it's kind of working on my career, but working to address, you know, three or so of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and helping people pursue their own projects, aiming to address one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Because I think we all, you know, entrepreneurial or not, we get into these

career fields and, you know, for money, obviously, to survive. But we can also focus on enhancing our world. And I think the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a great guideline to doing so. I mean, starting little projects or going abroad and doing so. And so I think people just really need to focus on that in their careers. That's at least what I'm trying to educate at least. That's cool. Very cool. Awesome. Was there anything you wish you want to share more of before I get to the final few questions? Anything you think would be meaningful to share or valuable for people to understand about the world or your travels or if anyone wants to go on their own trip, any advice you'd give for them? Yeah. I would just say you really have to

study your mentors, people who inspire you, not follow in their footsteps, but study them and know them and know how they got to where they are and kind of take tips and tricks from like where they've, you know, the lessons they've learned, their failures in order to create your own success and be 100% passionate about it, 100% committed to it. And yeah, you'll make it happen. Cool, cool. Well, a couple of final questions for you. Where can we learn more about you online?

Where can we connect with your message and everything you're talking about, your nonprofit? Yeah, yeah. So the nonprofit will be up hopefully later this year. But I'm doing actually Google Expeditions, kind of educating people on what I did through Google Expeditions. So I'm working on that course now. It should be out in the summer. But CassieDePeckel.com if you want to learn about my project, Expedition196.com. And then, of course, I'm on social media, Instagram, CassieDePeckel.com if you want to learn about my project Expedition196.com and then of course I'm on social media, Instagram, CassieDePeckel

CassieDePeckel on Facebook and CassieDePeckel elsewhere cool, cool, awesome cool, well before I ask the final couple questions what are you most grateful for? my health because I don't think I'd be able to do any of this if it weren't for my health what are you most grateful for? My health.

Because I don't think I'd be able to do any of this if it weren't for my health. And I think I have my parents to thank for that, for raising me healthy. Yeah, I think it stems from health. And that's something I'm really passionate about as well. That's cool. Yeah. You seem fit. You seem healthy.

And you probably wouldn't be able to go on a journey like that if you're unhealthy. I mean, you probably need to keep up with it. I was only sick once, which I think was shocking. That's powerful. It's shocking, yeah. You probably took a million shots, huh? Oh, God. You've got to get all those vaccines.

That's crazy. It's crazy. Yeah. Wow. I want to acknowledge you for a moment for your incredible courage to go on a journey like this alone, even though maybe it didn't seem like it was very courageous for you. But I think for a lot of women, it's probably, you know, something they would never think about going to every country alone.

So to be an example and to, yeah, and to really like say, hey, you can do this and here's what is possible and here's what you need to look out for and don't do it blindly, but you did it and you accomplish your dream and your goal. I think it's powerful. So yeah. Thanks, Lewis.. I think it's powerful. Thanks, Lewis. I really appreciate it. This is called The Three Truths. So if there was three things you could share with the world

about all your lessons you've learned from the naked TV show to the journey around the world to childhood, to everything you've ever done, and you could just share three truths. What would your three truths be? Three lessons. Okay. I would say embrace failure.

Okay. Number one. Use fear as fuel to your inner fire. Whether that's like fear from hatred online or from an experience, use that as fuel to pursue your own passion and to like really pursue it big. And of course, embrace your failures.

And then, yeah, and then I would just say, learn someone's story, be respectful, be accepting of people and learn their story and be completely open-minded towards humanity. Yeah. Awesome. Final question is what's your definition of greatness? Um, let's see. I think this is going to sound really cheesy, but, um, being humble towards others and embracing your own successes. Um, you know, like don't depend on others to tell you whether or not you've succeeded or not. It could be something big. It could be something small, but embrace the work that you've put into something. Um, brace your own successes and, and, and just to be really

humble towards other people. Yeah. Awesome. Cassie, thanks so much for coming on. Thanks Louis. I appreciate it. Thanks. There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this episode with Cassie. If you did, make sure to share with your friends, lewishouse.com slash 493. Tweet me out. Say hi to me there. Tag me on Instagram story. I'm always replying to people over on Instagram story posted on your Instagram feed. Let me know what you think. Have you explored the world? Is this making you think more about traveling alone, even if you've been afraid? Make sure to share with me in the comments, on the show notes, or on social media. I hope you guys enjoyed this one. We've got some big episodes coming up. We're almost coming up on the 500th episode. What would you guys like to hear or have me talk about on

episode 500? Let me know over on Instagram or Twitter or message me online, wherever you'd like to message me. Tell me. 500, almost at half a thousand episodes. It's hard to believe, but I'm so grateful we're almost there because you guys make me want to continue to find the best information, the most inspiring individuals in the world to show us how to unlock the greatness within us. Let me know your thoughts at Lewis Howes on social media. I love you very much. And you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Thank you.