Getting started…
This entry is brought to you by the husband of “The Executive Geek”. As we embark on this journey, I'd like to talk about the importance of planning. Planning plays a significant role in both our personal and professional lives. If we want to achieve great things, it all starts with setting goals and carefully planning how to reach them. Our current adventure was purposeful and meticulously planned.
The reason behind this grand adventure is our desire to provide our children with the experience of a lifetime. We both grew up camping and heard stories of others going on epic vacations that spark new passions and reveal unknown skills. We have always wanted to give our kids that same opportunity. It's important to us that they get to explore the diverse landscapes of our country. As our oldest child prepares to start working this summer, we realized that our window of opportunity was closing rapidly. Coordinating two work schedules was challenging enough, but managing three would be nearly impossible.
We had dreamed of this trip but decided that this year would be the year to make it happen. We came to realize that an extended RV road trip would require better equipment. Our trusty 19-foot travel trailer had served us well, but it simply wouldn't be practical for a trip longer than a week, especially with our family of five.
This realization led us to set a budget, search for an RV that met our needs, secure financing, and sell our old unit. All these tasks take time, so we started setting our milestones and lining up our steps immediately. We scheduled numerous appointments, conducted thorough analyses, and finalized decisions into April, when we finally picked up our new home on wheels.
Visiting six states also required meticulous planning to secure all the necessary reservations. The National Park Service added an extra layer of complexity by implementing a reservation system and timed entry tickets to control the number of visitors in the parks at any given time. Once we had determined our desired destinations, we meticulously organized our itinerary on a calendar.
Initially, we aimed for five stops, spending five days at each place, considering the drive time between destinations. However, we soon learned about the breathtaking beauty of Oregon and decided that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to explore it while driving through. We adjusted our plans, accordingly, reducing the time spent in some less exciting places to make room for Oregon. Even with a detailed goal and budget in mind, we appreciate the need for flexibility to adjust as needed. With our destinations and desired duration in mind, we purchased the timed entry tickets, creating an itinerary for an epic adventure.
Our plans weren't crafted in isolation; we sought input and guidance from friends, engaged in conversations on social media groups, and extensively read reviews. The experiences and opinions of these individuals helped shape our decisions. Although we applied these planning principles to our personal lives, we also understand their significance in our professional endeavors.
At The Executive Geek, planning is paramount. We believe in the power of organizing and strategizing your business finances. We are honored to be assisting you in planning and organizing your own endeavors. We hope you have enjoyed this first blog post, and we look forward to sharing more with you.
~Jeremy