Moving from one place to another sounds interesting. This ‘moving’ can be a day-to-day routine, travel for work, family trips, to take a break from a busy schedule, to explore, to experience life in different ways etc. For many it’s an alternative to get away from their stressful life, to rejuvenate, and to gain some knowledge. Many it's adventurous, to meet people, come across different culture etc. But for some of the individuals, it’s a life-changing experience. Travel and its experience have made great leaders broaden their horizons. The lessons learnt through travelling have pushed them to the next stage in their life, through which they had taken new directions creating a remarkable history. This simple hobby of many has played a transformational role in a great leader’s life.
Reading about a few of them we came across:
Mahatma Gandhiji’s travel throughout South Africa and India influenced him and changed his thought process. The exposure and understanding of various people and their lifestyle gave him a strong background and made him a great freedom fighter. He could gel with people and portray their difficulties in a better manner which made him fight for the nation.
Nelson Mandela son of the chief Thembu Clan was a clean and simple human being till he started travelling. The observations he made and the insight he got changed him from a law-abiding lawyer to a person who worked for the freedom of fellow humans.
Richard E bright a well-known scientist discovered several new inventions in Biology. His interest in biology and the research enthusiasm was a result of his trips where he got to know about different species. In the process of knowing more about his field, he ended up with hardcore research and came up with inventions beneficial for the human race.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru our country's first Prime minister became a freedom fighter after travelling around various places in India and around the world. He could witness the condition of people at different places gained a lot of experience which helped him to get a better picture of India and Indians.
JRD Tata a great businessman and the founder of Air India started the airlines only after travelling across the English Channel. Driven by his passion he ventured into lots of innovative ideas, schemes, products based on the knowledge he gained through his experience. He valued human relationships and believed in building the same along with the various business models he developed.
Though I have mentioned about few we have many more who got inspired and who has inspired others through travel as a medium of gaining knowledge. We also have Swami Vivekananda, Hsuan-Tsang, Columbus and many more. Apart from travelling as a hobby, all about exploring new places, cultures, cuisines, rituals and styles of living its all about learning, gaining knowledge which cannot be gained by sitting at home.
It’s all about memories and the impact of those memories.