Today’s motivational message is about taking a trip and truly experiencing this. The trip can be a day to the beach, it could be two weeks out of the country. You choose. My choice is sharing about my trips to Chicago.

Courage

It takes courage to go on a trip to unknown places. The goal is that your curiosity trumps those uneasy feelings of not being familiar with the location, activities and whatever else might come up. For some the journey of the unknown starts by getting on a plane. Support and information can make a ton of difference.

History

Chicago consists of a lot of history. Certain choices are the direct result of this history, including the big fire which destroyed a large area of the city, but also the direction of the water flow. Those things are showing nowadays in the choice to have the trains elevated, hence the L-train (elevated train).

Imprint

If you really pay attention to your surroundings, including any preparation, you will take memories and experiences with you, which are first or at least experienced with a new look on life (and perhaps your busy). How do you capture and remember those memories? 

Chicagoans 

The residents of Chicago are multi diverse. All walks of life can be seen walking and talking next to one another. There are guys with long hair and artistic nails, just as there are guys with dogs in their purses. We expect that women dress up, but seeing men do so is kinda cool. 

A number of these citizens have no trouble interacting with you, asking questions and simply being utmost kind. I can tell you that’s not to be compared with where I come from. 

Architecture

Chicago consists of a lot of high buildings. You can look up, doing a 360 and you realize you are surrounded by buildings. Some are historic ones, some are modern ones. They all are impressive.

If you look at the layout of the city there’s a rough distinction between north and south Chicago. Nowadays there are a lot of projects, restoring the older buildings which needed a lot of maintenance. The question rises whether the people who once used to live there, still can pay the rent after renovation. Regardless seeing the difference just turning a corner, is quite remarkable.

Group Activities 

The benefit of going alone is that you might run into a group of people who are eager to share stories with you and maybe even show you places (yes it happens). Being with others can be just as fun, especially when it comes to eating, washing and doing other daily choirs together. I had a lot of fun, both times I went with a close friend (and her daughter the second time around).

Overview

Getting an overview of the city is nowadays something you do online. The only maps out there are the ones showing buses and L-trains. You can also walk into a firehouse and see how it’s divided in districts. Of course, you can also take a boat ride on the Chicago rives, or go all the way up in one of the two tallest buildings and literally look down to see the entire city, through the glass windows. Last but not least, there’s also the ferris wheel, which goes all the way up, giving you a short, but spectacular view of the city.

This acronym is called Chicago and in this case is about Chicago. I want to share this experience with others, whilst coaching them, giving assignments and create a group of likeminded people.

What do you want?

What’s next?

In part II, I will explain how Chicago links to the training, which I will be discussed during the challenge, which will start next Monday. Every day will represent one of these words, related to the acronym of Chicago.

If you are curious, be sure to sign up for the free challenge.