[ Editors note: This post is a bit longer then what I usually put out here at A Boundless World, but it's one I feel has a tremendous amount of value. I hope you enjoy.]
Last Friday my friend’s girlfriend called me asking if I could fly in to Houston and surprise him for his 22nd birthday. Having not seen my friend for over a half a year, the idea was tempting.
It also just so happened that this very weekend SXSW was going on in Austin as well.
The idea of seeing my friends in Houston, and attending the conference had me really excited. I’ve been wanting to go to SXSW for the last few years but every year I’ve allowed a handful of excuses to stop me in my tracks.
The excuses were quite literally endless.
Not enough money. I’d have to miss class. And on and on and on.
I told my friend’s girlfriend I’d take a look at the flights, secretly thinking there was no way I’d be able to go. I went on to my favorite flight booking site Hipmunk, and was devastated to find that the cheapest flight from St. Louis to Houston was a cool 850 bucks.
Shit.
Yet another year I wouldn’t see my best friends or attend SXSW.
For entrainment purposes, I decided to see how much the flight directly from St. Louis to Austin was.
I literally laughed out loud. 1610. Wow.
Feeling defeated, I told my friend’s girlfriend there was just no way I’d be able to make it.
But then I remembered: the miles.
For the last year and a half, I’ve been on a mile collecting frenzy, doing everything I can to stock up my mileage accounts. It has quite literally been an obsession. But despite collecting over 250,000 miles in the last year (I’ll share my methods in another blog post), I hadn’t yet used them to go on any excursions.
Here was my chance.
So having another burst of wind, I logged onto my American Airlines account to see if I could put my miles to good use. It turns out, I would be able to make it to Houston after all.
The final cost was 89 dollars and 40,000 miles. And while travel hacking experts wouldn’t be particularly pleased with the return on my redemption, I was happy I made something happen.
Excuses defeated in the ring, I was the victor.
I booked my ticket on Friday afternoon and called my friend’s family to let them know I would be coming in for the surprise. They were pleased to hear I’d be making the visit.
I then called my Grandpa who so generously chauffeurs me to and from the airport when ever I travel the globe, (my aunt also aids him in the process.) Grandpa and Aunt Ann if you’re reading this I love you.
After getting off the phone with my Grandpa and discovering my roommate was driving to St. Louis, I finally realized I was going to the great state of Texas. I was ecstatic.
If you’ve been reading A Boundless World for any length of time, you know I’ve been extremely blessed and fortunate to have been able to travel all over the globe.
I’ve lived in the Netherlands, Texas, and Shanghai China. But yet 99.9 percent of all my travel excursions have involved my parents footing the bill and or the result of my family following my dad to his new job location.
While this isn’t inherently bad, I’m certainly grateful; it’s nice to know that at the age of 20 I was able to fully fund this trip on my own dime.
As I mentioned before, I’ve been consciously chasing miles for the last year and a half. I didn’t need to ask my parents for permission or request they help fund my trip. It was a great feeling.
To be clear, I’m still spoiled beyond belief, but this trip made me realize how capable I am, and how the bulk of my new adventures will now start with me.
I went home Friday evening and spent a few hours with my Grandpa, and then caught a flight to Houston on Saturday afternoon.
I arrived in Houston at 6 and and my friend didn’t get off work until around midnight, so my other friend Jimmie and I hung out until he arrived.
I think he was quite startled by the surprise.
I told my friends Johnathan and Jimmie about the conference in Austin and how awesome it would be if we could go. (The weekend literally would not have been possible if it weren’t for them. Thank you guys!)
We made the three hour trek to Austin on Sunday afternoon.
It’s always nice to go on a road trip with two friends who I’ve literally known for more than half my life. It was great catching up with them and reminiscing the good old days.
We arrived in Austin Saturday night and crashed at my high school friends apartment. She was very generous to let us stay for free, as the cheapest hotels in Austin were going for at least a couple hundred a night.
Saturday night, my friends and I ended up going downtown where I was able to meet up with some bloggers who I’ve been reading for ages. It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in a while.
It was interesting how though I was meeting many of my blogging friends for the first time, I felt like I had known them for many years.
Some of the amazing people I met for the first time: Srini, David Crandall, Josh and Ryan, Karol, Jenny Blake, Sean, Joel Runyon, Dave Ursillo (This list is by no means complete, sorry if I missed you!)
I literally could not have been any happier at the moment. Not only did I get to see my friends from Houston, but I was also able to solidify my many online connections by looking giving them a big hug.
My friends and I ended up hanging with Srini and David Crandall most of Saturday evening, though because I was not 21 I wasn’t able to attend the LiveFyre party. It originally bummed me out at first, but at the end I reminded myself how important patience is.
We then went back to my friends place late Saturday evening to crash.
Sunday morning I did the best to make the most of my time. I met up (and hugged) the beautiful Kristin and Shannon who are doing amazing things with their fashion projects. I rather enjoyed their hugs 
I also spent a few hours meeting up with other bloggers I missed before, and or chatting with future potential employers. I met up with a guy from one company in particular for an informal chat and came away feeling pumped up and alive. I’m pretty excited to graduate.
Though my trip to Austin was brief (less than 24 hours), I grew such an incredible amount. It was honestly one of the better decisions I’ve made, even though I had to miss a few monday classes.
I didn’t get to go deep into as many of my relationships as I would have liked, but I still benefited from the weekend immensely. I’ll move heaven and earth to make sure I can make it back next year and further strengthen my real life relationships.
How You Can Make Shit Happen
While I realize the majority of this post was how happy I was and how much I did, there’s a very important lesson to be learned that doesn’t involve me.
So often we shut down doors of opportunity because we don’t think something is possible, when in reality, we often have far more options then we realize.
I could have easily called it quits after seeing the prices of the flights. In fact, I honestly almost did.
I could have easily convinced myself I had far too much to do that weekend, and the trip wouldn’t be worth while.
But there was something nagging inside me telling me to stop making excuses and make shit happen.
I know you know the feeling. It’s a great one to have, because when you do drop excuses so many amazing opportunities arise.
I smile when I look back at how much I would have missed if I let my fears get the best of me. I’ll certainly continue to succumb to excuses every now and then, but the feeling I received from making the weekend happen is one I’ll be chasing for quite sometime.
If you’re looking to change the trajectory of your current path it will be tempting to simply continue to do what you’ve always done. But if you do that, you’ll simply continue to get the same results you’ve always gotten.
Making a trip small to Austin one weekend isn’t the biggest accomplishment in the long scheme of my life, but it further enhanced my belief that in order to do great things you must be willing to commit and make shit happen.
What have you been putting off because you’ve thought it was impossible? What have you been avoiding simply because chasing it would be a bit uncomfortable? What have you been wanting to do but haven’t done it?
Drop the excuses. Stop asking why you can’t do something, and begin asking how.
Asking how will get you to the promised land.
Asking how made me one excited young man.
